Ashley Barton

"What kind of freak are you? Why have you been staring at my house?"

Hearing the voice, Zhang Ye slowly turned his head.

What came into view was a mixed-race Black girl with short hair and a somewhat boyish air about her. She looked to be only fifteen or sixteen, and Zhang Ye had identified her the instant he saw her.

She was Old Hawkeye’s daughter and Spider-Man’s granddaughter—Ashley Barton.

Completely unlike others her age in normal worlds, Ashley was conspicuous—or rather, rebellious. That was obvious from the clothes covered in wild slogans, as well as her unusual hairstyle and piercings.

It was hard to imagine how Ashley’s guardian had raised her into such a delinquent. Looking at her now, Zhang Ye thought she resembled a gang recruit, the sort ready to take up a gun at any moment.

"Don’t misunderstand, little girl. I don’t mean your family any harm. I’m here to find your father, but he’s hard to track down, so I could only try my luck here."

Zhang Ye spoke casually, paying no mind to Ashley’s offensive words.

To be fair, children raised in this chaotic wasteland had basically lost most of their humanity. Expecting people like this to understand manners was nothing but a fool’s dream.

When people could not change the world, all they could do was adapt to it. In this twisted society where people traded children for food, one should not expect to find anyone kind enough to remain unstained by the mud. People like that simply could not survive here.

"You’ll be disappointed. I may have someone called a ‘father,’ but I’ll never call him that. Right now, that old bastard is probably somewhere transporting cocaine," Ashley said coldly.

"But if I wanted to contact him, I’m guessing you have ways to do that too, right?" Zhang Ye said with a smile.

"Fuck, what exactly do you want?" Murderous intent appeared in Ashley’s icy eyes.

Sensing that look, Zhang Ye could not help but let out a soft breath. This wasteland really was a fine place for tempering people. Zhang Ye had no doubt that if he did anything out of line, this little girl would strike without hesitation and make him pay for it.

How should he put it?

Was she truly worthy of being the future Crime Queen?

By then, the spirits of your father and grandfather in heaven would surely be very "pleased," wouldn’t they?

"Believe me, girl. The Dagger hidden at the back of your waist poses no threat to me. And the warning from your extremely weak Spider-Sense should have reminded you of that already, shouldn’t it?"

Ashley’s pupils contracted at those words. She seemed surprised, and understandably so. The fact that she had inherited Spider-Man’s powers across a generation had always been her secret. She had never mentioned it to anyone.

Yet this man she had met for the first time had casually exposed it. That was enough to make the young Ashley panic.

Still, she quickly forced herself to calm down.

"Are you one of those mind-reading mutant freaks?"

"You really need some discipline. This is my final act of tolerance toward you. If you speak disrespectfully again, I’ll teach you a proper lesson on behalf of your guardian."

Zhang Ye’s expression remained calm and unruffled, yet it placed enormous pressure on Ashley. Then he continued.

"But… you guessed wrong. I’m just an ordinary person, and I’m friends with your father."

This time, Ashley was indeed much more restrained. Though her expression remained as distant as before, she said, "He hasn’t been here for a long time. This isn’t his home. He only comes around once every few years."

Just then, Ultron Eight walked out of the auto repair shop.

He had actually been watching the situation all along. He had spotted Zhang Ye early on, but following the principle that less trouble was better, Ultron Eight had not come out to speak with him.

But now, seeing Ashley talking to the man and her expression growing worse and worse, Ultron Eight had no choice but to step in.

"Hey, friend, what are you doing?" Ultron’s electronic voice was heavy, though his tone carried a surprising warmth.

"This guy is looking for my mom’s ex-husband." Seeing an adult from her household emerge, Ashley immediately spoke up.

"Is that so, sir?" Ultron Eight looked at Zhang Ye skeptically. There was no record of Zhang Ye in his database, so he remained somewhat wary.

After all, Hawkeye had been doing shady work lately. It would not be unusual for him to have made enemies outside, not to mention that he had never been short on enemies to begin with.

"Yes. Barton and I are friends. There are some… very important matters I need to discuss with him," Zhang Ye said after considering his words.

At that, Ultron’s electronic eyes flickered several times. Zhang Ye did not know whether he was thinking or doing something else, but he preferred to believe that the robot was judging whether he was lying.

After a while, a voice finally came from his red-glowing mouth.

"I understand, sir. If it’s convenient, you may sit inside the shop for a while. You’re in luck—I just received a message from Barton. He said he would come by in the next few days to pay Ashley’s child support."

"Then I’ll take you up on that." Zhang Ye smiled and nodded, not refusing.

Then the two of them, along with a robot, headed toward the auto repair shop. Ashley kept staring at Zhang Ye the entire time. For some reason, ever since she had first seen this man, the alarm from her Spider-Sense had never stopped.

After entering the shop, Zhang Ye finally saw Spider-Man’s younger daughter, Tonia. She was a slightly plump Black woman. Whether because of her surroundings or something else, her face already looked weathered at her age, and she even had a few gray hairs.

But the main credit probably went to Ashley, Zhang Ye guessed. On top of that, she had to keep this auto repair shop running by herself. The pressure on this woman was simply too great.

No wonder that after divorcing Barton, she had chosen to spend the rest of her life with a robot.

After learning why Zhang Ye had come, Tonia responded indifferently. She poured him a glass of water, then turned back to work. It seemed she truly did not want anything to do with Barton or any of Barton’s friends.

"Don’t misunderstand, sir. That’s simply Tonia’s personality." Ultron Eight stayed behind to keep Zhang Ye company.

It had to be said that this Ultron was quite friendly in the way he handled people. His conduct and mannerisms were utterly at odds with the wasteland’s social environment. An ordinary person would have been bullied to death long ago, yet for some reason, this behavior seemed perfectly natural on a robot.