Second-Generation Wasp (1)

Big eyes, a bob haircut, a black suit.

Stylish and capable, the very picture of a queen.

Hope van Dyne, chairwoman of Cross Technologies’ board of directors, finished a day of work and drove back to her villa in southern San Francisco.

She parked steadily in the garage, got out, went upstairs, and opened the door.

Looking at the empty house, she gently shook her head, her expression as gloomy as ever.

Ever since she had fallen out with her father at the age of seven and been sent to boarding school, she had never returned to the warm home she remembered.

Twenty-two years had passed since then.

No amount of time could wash away the shadows of the past. The rift between father and daughter could never be mended, just as a torn photograph could never be restored…

Her mother was gone.

She was twenty-nine this year. Every day, all she did was work. There was nothing else left for her to do.

Whenever she left work, she felt hollow and lonely. Beneath that queenly exterior had always been a soft, sensitive heart, waiting for someone to soothe it, someone to warm it.

She wondered when that person would finally arrive.

"Exercise, shower, sleep~~"

It was already ten at night. This had always been her routine:

She got up at six in the morning, ran at six-thirty, ate at seven, went to work at seven-thirty, then endured fourteen long hours of work. At ten that night, she returned home to exercise, showered at eleven, and went to bed at eleven-thirty.

It had been the same for ten years. She was long used to it.

Setting down her briefcase, Hope headed to the training room.

Just as she was about to turn on the lights, her entire body suddenly tensed.

Something was wrong!

Though it was dark, she could still make out a vague silhouette standing in the very center of the training room, its back to her. It gave off the feeling of being one with heaven and earth. If she had not seen it with her own eyes, she would never have sensed it at all—not even with a woman’s intuition.

A home intruder?

Hmph. You picked the wrong place!

Anyone who could break through her tight security system was naturally no ordinary person, but there was no way he would get past her!

Having always favored black, she had long grown accustomed to darkness.

During those darkest years, she had learned martial arts and learned to protect herself. Even if a special forces soldier appeared before her, she had nothing to fear. It was not as though she had never fought one before.

Her knees bent, then suddenly straightened.

Her fist shot out, sharp as the wind!

Hope could practically see her opponent falling. Her mind and body were already prepared for the next move—to subdue him completely, then call the police.

Then she suddenly felt her fist slow down. Her entire body slowed down.

No, it was not a feeling. She really was slowing down.

It was as though she had entered water. Resistance pressed against every part of her body, and her fist lost its strength and speed.

Hope was utterly horrified.

She looked up, ready to call for backup.

At that moment, the figure who had kept his back to her suddenly moved.

He turned around, smiled, raised his left hand, caught her right hand, and bent it downward. He was firm and powerful, leaving no room for doubt or resistance.

Hope felt the queenly protective shell she had always worn shatter in an instant, exposing the softness buried deep within her heart.

She knew she could not resist. His abilities had already surpassed the realm of martial arts, like the state her martial arts instructor had once mentioned—entering the Dao through martial arts.

Unbelievable.

At that moment, she gave up on calling for backup. There was no point.

Unless she got her father’s suit, there was simply no way to resist.

More importantly, he did not seem malicious.

That powerful resistance suddenly vanished, and the left hand holding her right hand released it as well. A faintly amused voice rang out. "Hope, shall we talk?"

Hope murmured an acknowledgment, turned on the lights, and clearly saw the man before her. She froze slightly. "It’s you?"

She did not care about the legendary Immortal Iron Fist, but she cared greatly about the recently ascendant Azeroth Group, especially its two major subsidiaries:

Azeroth Social Network Company and Azeroth Industries.

One had completely monopolized the virtual technology industry. The other was the Department of Defense’s largest arms contractor and had even developed Iron Soldiers similar to Iron Man’s armor.

Both were technology companies. Although Cross Technologies had been established for more than twenty years and possessed considerable assets, its reputation was now inferior to Azeroth Group’s. Darren Cross had even lost his temper over this several times during board meetings, and research into those miraculous particles had begun accelerating.

She did not understand.

Why would the chairman and president of Azeroth Group, the owner of tens of billions in assets and an honored guest of both the Department of Defense and S.H.I.E.L.D., break into a private residence and play out this lone man and lone woman scenario with her in this empty villa?

Could he have that kind of fetish?

"Don’t misunderstand, Hope. I’m here to help you."

Old Wang smiled and looked her over a few more times.

Hope was not exceptionally beautiful, slightly less so than Skye, but she had a fine temperament and just the right air about her. She was his type.

Having practiced martial arts for years, she did not have an ounce of excess fat on her body and radiated youthful, athletic vitality.

Like a wild black cat.

At first glance, she was not stunningly beautiful, but the longer one looked, the more beautiful she became.

The purpose of beautiful things was to please those who appreciated them and adorn this already beautiful world.

Naturally, Old Wang had to appreciate her a little more. It cultivated one’s sensibilities and was good for the eyesight too—very pleasing to look at.

"Help me?"

Hope frowned slightly. "I don’t know what I need help with."

I really do need help, but you can’t help me. No one in this world can…

Her expression darkened slightly, but she quickly recovered, her face turning cold. This was her protective coloring.

"Here is a document. I think you should look at it first."

Old Wang raised his hand, and a stack of A4 papers appeared, floating over to Hope.

That was so cool… Hope hesitated for three seconds before taking them.

She was a very rational person. She knew he had no reason to bully her, and even if he wanted to, she could not resist him anyway, could she?

After only one glance, she frowned. "These are internal documents from Cross Technologies?"

Mr. Wang, you stole Cross Technologies’ internal files and brought them to the chairwoman of Cross Technologies. Was that really appropriate?

That was just too much!

"They aren’t merely internal documents. They’re top-secret documents that even you haven’t seen."

Old Wang shrugged. "Read them first, then we’ll talk."

Hope was somewhat puzzled, unable to understand what Mr. Wang was trying to do.

She turned the pages one by one, and her expression grew increasingly grim.

These were actually Darren Cross’ dirty secrets!

Could they all be true?

How was that possible? He should not be that kind of person. Where would he get such nerve?

He had said he was researching Pym Particles to benefit humanity, but he had not said he was developing weapons to sell to others, and…

Not to the Department of Defense!

"Cross Technologies’ firewall is indeed impressive, only slightly inferior to Stark Industries’. These files were all on Darren Cross’ personal computer, so they could only be stolen while he was online and his computer was powered on… He’s also an outstanding computer expert. It truly wasn’t easy."

Old Wang smiled. "He was a thief to begin with. He stole your father’s company, so it isn’t hard to understand him doing a little illegal and criminal business as well, is it?"

Hope clenched her hands tightly.

Mr. Wang’s words struck her sore spot. It was the thing she regretted most in her life.

Cross Technologies had been founded by her father, Hank Pym. It had originally been called Pym Technologies.

Perhaps to make amends, perhaps out of affection, her father had transferred most of the shares into her name. After she came of age and returned to the company, he made her chairwoman while he served as CEO.

Disappointed in and resentful of her father, the first thing she did was drive him out of Pym Technologies and give the CEO position to her father’s student, Darren Cross.

Darren Cross had been her father’s most prized student and resembled him in many ways—equally brilliant, equally arrogant.

Perhaps it was that resemblance that reminded her of her father in his younger days, making her like and trust him more.

Together, they researched Pym Particles, trying to reproduce her father’s results—

The reason she had agreed and allowed it was because she had always suspected that her mother’s disappearance was connected to Pym Particles.

Her father would not tell her, so she had to find the answer in her own way.

Who could have imagined…

He had been deceiving her all along. He actually wanted to use Pym Particles to develop weapons, recreate the Ant-Man Armor, and sell it to Hydra!

Yes, Hydra.

The documents contained detailed information. Mr. Carson, who had close ties with Darren, was a high-ranking Hydra operative, one of the fish that had slipped through the net.

This was outrageous!

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Hope’s chest stopped heaving. She looked at Old Wang. "Mr. Wang, what is your purpose?"

"I can help you deal with Darren Cross, turn Cross Technologies back into Pym Technologies, and return it to your control. I know he has connections in the government, the police, and the military, but I can guarantee that his connections aren’t stronger than mine."

Old Wang said, "In return, I hope Pym Technologies can establish a partnership with Azeroth Group. Also… I hope you can persuade Dr. Pym to join my laboratory. There’s an extremely advanced project, and he is the only person in the world suited for it."

Hope froze slightly.

She believed in Mr. Wang’s capabilities. Besides being the chairman and president of Azeroth Group, he had an even more important identity:

Director of the Shengun Bureau, on equal footing with Nick Fury and possessing a certain degree of influence even within the United Nations.

Dealing with a mere Darren Cross would naturally not be a problem.

The problem was…

"A partnership is no problem. Cooperating with a company like Azeroth Group would also benefit Cr… Pym Technologies."

Hope shook her head and frowned. "But you may not know about the relationship between my father and me, nor do you understand him. He’s stubborn—more stubborn than anyone, especially when it comes to distrusting the government, and S.H.I.E.L.D. in particular. In his eyes, the Shengun Bureau is no different from S.H.I.E.L.D. They both want to steal his technology. Once he makes up his mind, no one can change it."

"It’s not that difficult. You have to believe that Dr. Pym loves you. A father’s love is as solid as a mountain; he’s simply not good at expressing it. You are the only person in this world who can persuade him."

Old Wang smiled. "You only need to tell him one thing. He’ll definitely agree."

"What?"

"His wife is still alive!"