Chapter 55: New Travel Souvenirs

At Alan's home.

After an exhausting afternoon spent in the sewers, Gwen felt like she was covered in all sorts of strange smells. Upon returning to Alan's place, she immediately decided to take a shower.

Previously, to make it easier to change into her spider suit at Alan's Home, she had already left many personal items there. Alan even prepared a room specifically for Gwen's use.

Alan was alone on the balcony, sipping tea, while the sound of water splashing echoed from the bathroom inside the room. The sound was starting to make Alan's mind wander.

After all, he was a young man, full of energy, who had never experienced such things before.

"Why do girls take such long showers?"

"And why is it so loud?"

"Isn't this just torture?"

Alan thought for a moment and decided to head downstairs to buy some snacks. Just as he was about to get up, a notification rang in his mind.

"Your frog has sent you some travel souvenirs! Go check them out!"

"Oh? That dumb frog finally remembered me, huh?"

Alan calmed his mind and opened the game. He clicked on the photos his frog had sent back. Compared to the souvenirs, Alan was more interested in the world the frog was exploring.

As the photos appeared, Alan's eyes widened: "This is…"

"Pikachu?"

In the photos, his frog was happily posing with a yellow mouse. Behind them stood a young boy wearing a familiar red-white cap with a green, stylized "L" on the front.

It was unmistakably Ash, the protagonist of Pokémon, the straightest of all straight boys!

"The Pokémon world? What kind of souvenirs could come from there?"

Alan eagerly clicked on the souvenirs his frog had brought back. The moment he opened it, Alan realized his dumb frog hadn't been raised in vain. Nor had all the affection been wasted!

[Pokémon Egg]: 

- A special souvenir from the Pokémon world, capable of hatching into a Pokémon.

(Note: Any Pokémon is possible! It's random!)

(Additional Souvenir: Poké Ball, a special tool that can capture and store Pokémon.)

"When you come back, I'll definitely reward you well!" Alan silently gave his frog a thumbs-up in his heart.

Especially after reading the note. If this egg hatched into a legendary Pokémon, wouldn't that be amazing?

But there was still one problem.

"System, how do I hatch this Pokémon egg?"

"Once extracted, it will immediately enter the incubation period and hatch automatically after three days."

"The egg is already bound to the host. After hatching, the Pokémon will immediately recognize you as its master with one hundred percent loyalty."

Alan stood up and returned to his room. He gently patted the egg.

"Do your best, hatch a powerful Pokémon."

He was already looking forward to seeing what would hatch from the egg in three days.

Sometimes, the unknown is precisely what makes things so exciting.

Just then, the sound of running water from the bathroom stopped.

Gwen walked out wearing a thin white shirt. The shirt was actually Alan's, as she hadn't left any extra clothes at his place. Her spider suit and other clothes were already in Alan's washing machine. Once they were washed and dried, she would be able to wear them again.

For now, fresh out of the shower, Gwen could only borrow one of Alan's shirts.

Alan's shirt draped loosely over Gwen, giving her a lazy yet alluring beauty. Coupled with her slightly damp hair, she looked even more captivating.

Water droplets still clung to Gwen's long legs, enhancing a different kind of beauty in her.

When Alan saw Gwen stepping out of the room like this, he couldn't help himself and walked over to her.

"Finished with your shower?" Alan asked.

Gwen responded naturally, and before they knew it, they were kissing.

A moment later, Gwen sat on Alan's lap, recalling the danger they had just faced. If it weren't for that last-minute save, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"What do you think of the Emperor?" Alan asked.

Gwen thought for a moment and replied, "He's strong, but it seems like..."

"Seems like what?"

"It seems like he's a mutated chameleon or something. One second he was there, and then whoosh—he disappeared. I think he might have gone invisible."

Cough, cough, cough... Alan nearly choked on her words.

No way! He had to teach her a lesson.

Slap!

Alan's hand landed firmly on Gwen's butt, and the crisp sound made Gwen's face flush red. Her neck turned so red it looked like it could bleed at any moment.

Afterward, Alan realized something was off. Gwen didn't know he was the Emperor, so her assumption was understandable. But now, seeing her flushed face, Alan was at a loss for how to explain.

"Why... why did you spank me?" Gwen asked, covering the spot Alan had hit with one hand.

Though it didn't hurt, it left a strange, indescribable feeling.

Alan's eyes gleamed as he quickly thought of an excuse. "Gwen, have you know some human can have 207 bones?"

Gwen was puzzled. "Really?"

Alan nodded to himself. Perfect! Now he could trick her.

Alan picked Gwen up and said, "I'll show you, but we need to go to the bedroom first..."

Hearing that they were heading to the bedroom, Gwen's face turned an even deeper shade of red.

She clung to Alan like an octopus wrapping around him.

Seeing Gwen in this state, Alan's heart leapt with joy. Could this be happening?

...

On a private jet bound for the Middle East.

Obadiah and Kingpin sat on opposite sides of a large table, flanked by a few blonde women attending to their needs, as they happily discussed their cooperation.

"Not long ago, Nick Fury reached out to me," Kingpin began.

Obadiah's eyes narrowed. The people they usually dealt with were from the U.S. military—those with real power. He had heard rumors about Nick Fury, the leader of a mysterious team of agents.

Obadiah raised his glass, joking, "He contacted you? What, did he want you to become an agent? You're not exactly built for that kind of work."

Kingpin chuckled and pulled a tablet from his pocket, opening a video that Nick Fury had given him.

Obadiah took the tablet from Kingpin, his curiosity piqued. As soon as the video started, Obadiah's expression changed.

"Is this Tony's... No, if Tony had this, he wouldn't have been captured by the Ten Rings."

Kingpin smiled. "I don't know who it is, but Nick Fury wants me to find the owner of this armor, or at least the armor itself."

Obadiah quickly asked, "So, did you find anything?"

Kingpin shook his head. "I've only been able to narrow it down to the Thirteenth District, but beyond that, there's no information."

"The Thirteenth District?" Obadiah frowned.

Kingpin noticed Obadiah's reaction and asked, "Do you know something?"

"I'm not sure, but something strange did happen recently."

"Strange?"

"Yes. A while ago, Stark Industries' stock was being sold off in large quantities by shareholders, and it all ended up in an account in the Thirteenth District."

"Oh?" Kingpin suddenly remembered that the shares he had sold were also immediately bought up.

Could they have ended up in the Thirteenth District too?

But since Stark Industries' stock was in such a slump at the time, Kingpin hadn't paid much attention to it.

Now, after Obadiah's reminder, he decided to have his men investigate when he got back. Still, he kept this to himself and said, "I think it's just a coincidence."

"Maybe it's some Tony Stark fan who believes he'll make a comeback," Kingpin added with a smirk.

Obadiah sneered confidently, "Impossible. He's as good as dead."

"Attention, gentlemen. We're preparing for landing. Please fasten your seatbelts."

In the middle of a vast desert, a series of campsites had been set up, guarded by armed militants on watch. Kingpin and Obadiah entered one of the larger tents, a familiar environment for them.

Inside, a man awaited their arrival. He glanced at Kingpin before turning his attention to Obadiah.

Seeing him, Obadiah's anger flared up as he demanded, "Why didn't you just kill Tony Stark from the start?"

The man in front of them was none other than the leader of the Ten Rings.

"The money you gave me doesn't compare to the value Tony Stark can bring me," he replied coolly. "Keeping him alive meant he could build more weapons for me."

Obadiah scoffed, "And then you let things spiral out of control?"

"You..." The leader of the Ten Rings turned his face to the side, revealing a mass of disfiguring burn scars—scars left behind by the explosion Tony caused when he escaped from the cave.

"This is the mark Tony Stark left on me," he said. "But I'm not at a total loss."

He walked to the center of the tent and dramatically pulled away a covering, revealing the remnants of Tony's Mark I armor.

"This was the tool Tony used to escape the cave."

Kingpin and Obadiah's eyes locked onto the wreckage. Though it looked crude, they could still see the similarities between the eye design of this armor and the one Nick Fury was looking for.

Could it be that Tony had seen the other suit of armor? Or maybe it was connected to him in some way? Obadiah and Kingpin exchanged glances, both understanding each other's thoughts without a word.

The leader of the Ten Rings interpreted their expressions as awe for the Mark I armor and sat down beside it with confidence, ready to negotiate.

"I don't just have this armor," he boasted. "I also have Tony's original blueprints. I can give it all to you!"

Obadiah smiled. "Oh? And what do you want in return?"

"Only one thing," the leader said. "With these armors, I can sweep across all of Asia."

Obadiah and Kingpin looked at him like he was a fool. Did he really think this clunky armor was enough to conquer Asia? What an idiot.

Though they internally mocked him, they maintained calm, neutral expressions. They had already discussed their plan on the way here.

The leader of the Ten Rings confidently approached Obadiah. "Agree to my terms, and all of this will be yours."

He felt he had Obadiah in the palm of his hand, oblivious to the fact that Kingpin had silently moved behind him. In an instant, Kingpin pulled out a knife and stabbed him repeatedly in the back.

The leader of the Ten Rings stared at Obadiah in disbelief.

At that moment, gunshots echoed from outside the tent, and then there was silence. The leader knew that his organization, the Ten Rings, had been wiped out that night.

Obadiah leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "I hate being threatened..."

Outside the tent, the bodies of the Ten Rings militants were piled up like trash.

"Get some people to gather everything inside the tent and move it out," Obadiah ordered his men as he stepped out.

Once everyone was gone, a series of explosions erupted, engulfing the camp in flames once again...

...