A Portable Quantum Laboratory

Seeing her father shake hands with Director Wang, Hope smiled with some relief.

Her father had always been rigid and domineering, incapable of listening to anyone, and had never cooperated with government agencies.

Yet now he was actually working with the Shengun Bureau. It was a good start.

Though he was doing it for her mother and still felt somewhat resistant inside, at least he had begun to change.

She wanted a father who loved her, someone warm and dependable, not a cold father who seemed more like an enemy.

"Move back home."

After shaking hands with Old Wang, Dr. Pym looked at his daughter, his eyes full of affection. "This is where you grew up. Everything is arranged exactly as it was when you were little. Nothing has changed. Do you see that cabinet? It’s still there."

Hope’s eyes reddened again, and tears began streaming down her face.

She did not know whether she had some misunderstanding about hide-and-seek, but whenever she played it with her mother as a child, she would hide in that cabinet. Every time, her mother would pretend to search everywhere before finally finding the cabinet with a "surprised" expression.

She had been so happy back then.

More than twenty years had passed in the blink of an eye. Mother, were you doing well?

That night, Hope dreamed of her mother, and her tears soaked through her pillowcase.

To show his sincerity, Old Wang began working his connections early the next morning, smoothing things over with all the relevant parties. Then, the San Francisco Police Department stepped in and arrested Darren Cross.

For someone like him, people usually either did not investigate, or investigating was useless because he had someone protecting him.

But once they investigated, and no one was backing him up, there was not a single clean spot on him. All kinds of crimes—fraud, extortion, even murder with his own hands. More than one murder, at that.

Old Wang personally listed ten major charges, including murder and treason. In a certain Eastern country, every single one of them would have been punishable by death.

Just colluding with Hydra members and attempting to sell weapons to plunge the world into chaos was already unforgivable.

For Old Wang’s sake, they would sentence him as heavily as possible and make sure he spent the rest of his life in prison.

Of course, to make sure nothing went wrong, Old Wang would not let him remain in prison forever. He would simply find an opportunity to deal with him.

Most of Pym Technologies’ shares had originally been in Hope’s hands, so control of the company naturally returned to her.

Cross Technologies became Pym Technologies once more.

Hope became chairman and president, taking control of Pym Technologies, which was valued at over ten billion dollars. With more than fifty percent of the shares in her hands, she instantly rose into the top twenty of the Forbes Rich List, far surpassing Old Wang.

Hope was a sharp and perceptive woman. She knew plenty of people had their eyes on the enormous prize that was Pym Technologies.

Director Wang had rendered them a great service, and the Shengun Bureau was the best possible patron. So she immediately declared that Pym Technologies would provide no less than one hundred million dollars in annual funding to sponsor the Shengun Bureau. Old Wang was so pleased that he ate two extra braised eggs for breakfast.

With everything settled, Dr. Pym finally put his mind at ease. He packed his luggage and followed Old Wang to the Azeroth Laboratory.

"Dr. Pym, this is the quantum laboratory prepared for you."

Old Wang was about to introduce the quantum laboratory built specifically for him at a cost of one hundred and fifty million dollars. The building had a full twenty floors, and the high-tech research equipment inside alone was worth over one hundred million. If Old Wang did not have connections all over the world, much of that equipment would have been impossible to purchase—

There were technological blockades, and equipment exports were restricted as well.

Equipment worth at least thirty million dollars had been acquired through smuggling and transported directly by Quinjet, without anyone noticing.

But before Old Wang could finish speaking, Dr. Pym walked by himself to an empty spot in the plaza and pointed somewhere to the east. "Director Wang, how about building a tower here?"

Old Wang froze.

Setting aside the fact that Dr. Pym did not treat himself like an outsider at all—the employment contract had not even been signed yet. What if I changed my mind?

Even if they were going to build it, that would take time. A project this large would take at least a year. Was he still not satisfied with a laboratory worth one hundred and fifty million dollars?

Wait… Old Wang suddenly thought of something, and his eyes lit up. "Yes!"

Dr. Pym nodded. "Thank you."

Old Wang felt somewhat gratified.

This old man might be stubborn in all the wrong ways, but his nature was still good. The fact that he could say thank you to him was already a major improvement. If they were talking about personality, that brat Tony was actually worse than Dr. Pym…

Pym roughly calculated the length and width, walked to the very center, and steadily set down the suitcase he had been carrying.

Then he returned to Old Wang’s side, took out a remote control, and pressed it lightly.

Boom!

A continuous rumbling erupted, deafening everyone and alarming the entire laboratory.

"What happened, Wang?"

Skye was the first to "fly" out. Looking at the thirty-story tower that had suddenly appeared before her, she opened her mouth. "Is this… magic?"

"It’s science."

Old Wang smiled and waved everyone over before introducing him. "This is Dr. Hank Pym, the founder of Pym Technologies, and also…"

"I know, I know! Dr. Pym has a doctorate in biochemistry and extensive knowledge in quantum physics, robotics, artificial intelligence, and entomology. He’s one of the smartest scientists on Earth today…"

Fitz was beside himself with excitement. His hands practically did not know where to go, and his eyes shone. He had only acted like this the first time he met Tony. "I can recite Dr. Pym’s entire résumé! Also, I’ve read S.H.I.E.L.D.’s classified files. He’s also…"

"Ahem."

Old Wang hurriedly coughed in warning, and only then did Fitz shut up.

Though it was no longer much of a secret within the Shengun Bureau, it was still classified material in S.H.I.E.L.D., accessible only to Level Seven agents and above. It was better not to say it aloud. Who knew whether Egghead had spies in the laboratory?

Naturally, Old Wang was not afraid of Egghead, but since they were both directors and could still laugh and chat whenever they met, there was no need to bully him if he could avoid it. They still had to get along peacefully in the future, after all.

"Leo Fitz, the finest student in S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy’s history, head of the Shengun Bureau’s Science and Technology Division, and director of the Azeroth Group’s Physical Engineering Laboratory. He will also serve as deputy director of the quantum laboratory—your assistant."

Old Wang introduced him with a smile. "He has spent a year studying that knowledge. In terms of attainments in quantum mechanics alone, fewer than ten people in the entire world surpass him. He is the most suitable candidate."

Hearing Old Wang’s praise, Fitz immediately became embarrassed and scratched his head.

"Uh… I calculated it carefully. There should be seven, including Dr. Pym and Mr. Stark. Also, although Banner does not specialize in quantum mechanics, he has seven doctorates and is better than me in this area too. And then there’s my former teacher…"

Pym nodded slightly.

As a former S.H.I.E.L.D. executive whose status had once been second only to the three founders, and who had spent nearly twenty years openly and covertly fighting S.H.I.E.L.D. afterward, he knew the organization very well.

Ever since he left and Howard died unexpectedly, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Science and Technology Division had declined day by day. But even its least qualified members held doctorates.

S.H.I.E.L.D.’s firewall was formidable, and its security system could keep even an ant from crawling inside. But Pym himself was a top scientist in artificial intelligence, so slipping in and stealing some files had not been a problem. He had kept an eye on the Science and Technology Division and S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, paying attention to especially outstanding students—

So he could recruit them.

Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons, doctors at seventeen, had graduated from S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy after only one year, setting a record for all of S.H.I.E.L.D. They truly were remarkable, just as remarkable as he had been in his youth.

Though they had only met for a few minutes, he had already seen through Fitz’s character at a glance.

He was wholly devoted to research, humble, honest, incapable of lying, and lacking in social awareness.

Unlike Darren Cross, who was as arrogant as Pym himself.

This was the assistant best suited to him.

He was very satisfied.