87: Underground Base

"We'll be living here from now on."

In Brooklyn, Lyon landed with Sherry.

In fact, Lyon had already purchased this New York residence, along with the office building, some time ago.

The location was just a few blocks away from the high-rise in a residential area. He had bought an entire upscale 26-story apartment building, with each floor containing four units.

He specifically asked Natasha to combine the four apartments on the 16th floor into one large unit, planning to use it as his temporary residence.

Now, with Sherry tagging along, they were moving in with their luggage.

As for the other floors, they were freely allocated to the Widow agents. Since only a few of them were stationed in New York at any given time, the building was more than enough to accommodate them.

Lyon gave little Sherry a tour of the place, showing her all the functional areas and assigning rooms, before they set off together for the office building.

"Oh yeah! I get to see Sister Yelena again so soon!" Little Sherry cheered.

Lyon placed his hand on her head, holding her down. "You little rascal, why do you like Yelena so much? Don't let her make you silly."

"But Sister Yelena is really nice! She has such a kind smile."

"Kind?" Lyon recalled Yelena's goofy grin when she smiled at him. It did seem kind of innocent, now that he thought about it.

After all, fools rarely have any bad intentions; their thoughts run so straight that they don't even need guardrails. Isn't that a form of kindness?

"You can learn her strengths, like her combat skills and techniques, but don't pick up her way of thinking."

"Oh, okay." Sherry nodded obediently.

The distance between the office building and their residence was ridiculously short. Lyon carried Sherry, and with a quick movement, they were on the rooftop of the office building.

Coincidentally, Natasha was there too. She was covered in dust, working alongside her fellow Widows.

Seeing Lyon, she wiped her hands and handed him a document.

"The equity transfer agreement for Pioneer Tech?" Lyon flipped through the pages. "Nice work, Nat."

"I saw it all yesterday. You completely wrecked their CEO,"

"Especially that downward kick. Very impressive!"

"What happened to Killian in the end?" Lyon asked.

"He went to jail," Natasha replied, wiping the dust off her face with a towel.

"I contacted the police through Stark's channels, sent over the evidence and Killian himself. It shouldn't take long before the news reports come out that he's been sentenced to over ten years."

Lyon tucked the document away. "I thought you might've just killed him outright."

"No… unless it's absolutely necessary, I prefer letting the law handle things now," Natasha winked. "Especially since Stark's influence can guarantee him a fair sentence. Otherwise, I probably would have killed him."

"A very fair decision," Lyon nodded.

Natasha had already taken enough lives in the past decade. Now, unless the situation demanded it, she preferred not to kill.

"And who's this little girl by your side? Aren't you going to introduce me?" Natasha asked, noticing Sherry. She smiled warmly at her.

Then Natasha leaned in and whispered to Lyon, "She's not, by any chance, your long-lost daughter, right?"

"Pfft~ No, she's a very adorable girl I adopted. For now, she's officially registered under Tony," Lyon explained.

"You know, even though I'm almost nineteen, I'm still not old enough to legally adopt a child on my own."

He gently patted Sherry's head. "Her name is Sherry."

"Sherry, this is Natasha. She's the one I mentioned before. She lives just downstairs, so if you ever need anything, you can always ask her."

"Okay!" Sherry shyly smiled. "Hello, Big Sis Natasha. Yesterday, Yelena told me about you—she said you're really amazing!"

"Yelena? She talks about me?" Natasha crouched down, her first impression of Sherry was a positive one.

"She's already best friends with Yelena," Lyon said with a shrug. "They spent all of yesterday playing hide-and-seek."

"That sounds exactly like something Yelena would do," Natasha said, knowing her sister could be a bit childish at times.

"Ok! Come on, let's go find Yelena. I need to talk to both of you," Lyon said, leading them to the elevator.

As they reached the first floor, they noticed that all the wall murals had been changed overnight. Although they still featured battles between superheroes like Superman and other DC heroes, the artwork was different.

The face of Superman on the mural had been altered to show a classic "butt chin."

As soon as Lyon and the others arrived, Yelena made a dramatic entrance by sliding across the floor.

"Welcome, boss! What do you think of the mural now?"

She eagerly displayed her artwork, arms spread wide, her grin gleaming with pride.

"It looks much better now," Lyon remarked. "But I suggest adding some superheroes from our universe as well."

"Our universe?" Yelena looked confused. "You mean like Uncle Tony, I mean Iron Man? Wouldn't adding just him make it a bit dull?"

"Pfft~" Sherry covered her mouth.

"Ehm.. There will be more over time."

Lyon motioned for her to follow him. "Come on, let's head down to the underground lab."

The elevator descended further, stopping at the second basement level.

This section had been prioritized for renovations by the Widow agents a week ago, and now access required Jarvis's authorization.

As the elevator doors opened, a completely different area, unlike the rest of the building, unfolded before their eyes.

Rows of circular lights illuminated one by one, casting bright light into the deepest part of the underground space as soon as the elevator doors opened.

The entire vast area was bathed in brightness, as if it were an open-air platform. The grand hall, mostly white like the first floor, spanned thousands of square meters, neatly divided by glass partitions.

Standing at the elevator entrance, Lyon and the others took in the view of the modernized ceiling and the spotless, pearl-white marble floors. Hundreds of sleek white lacquered desks stood in perfect rows, each projecting holographic images.

In stark contrast to this sleek, futuristic underground space, the vividly decorated first floor now seemed like a chaotic courtyard. No one would ever guess that just by riding an elevator, they'd enter what felt like a completely different world.

"Wow!" Little Sherry exclaimed in awe, looking up and around.

She thought even the underground research facility in Raccoon City wasn't this high-tech.

"It feels like stepping into a world of the future!" she marveled.

"Well, let your sister Yelena show you around," Lyon said, patting Sherry's head.

Yelena's eyes lit up at the suggestion. "Yaay! Let's go! Sherry, follow me. This place was designed by Lyon himself, and there are so many hidden rooms—perfect for hide-and-seek!"

"Really? Sister, take me to see! Brother Lyon, come with us!"

The two, filled with childlike excitement, immediately dashed off, hand in hand, deeper into the vast hall.

Natasha watched their retreating figures and rubbed her forehead. "What should I even say? Has Yelena really regressed to the point where she's hanging out with elementary school kids?"

"Well... it's not necessarily a bad thing," Lyon said with a smile. "At least it shows the Red Room didn't leave her with too many scars... Actually, no, I can't keep lying. She's just immature."

Lyon struggled to find the right words.

"Who knows when that girl will ever grow up."

After a brief pause, Natasha turned to Lyon and asked, "Now that they're gone, Lyon, you sent Yelena off. What is it that you really want to say to me?"

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