Skye’s Computer Master (Four Updates, Please Subscribe!)

"What?"

"You want to reopen the investigation into the Howard Stark couple case?"

Upon returning to Arlington, just as Lake had predicted, General Ross and Karen were both somewhat surprised to hear that Lake intended to reopen the investigation into the Howard Stark couple case.

Karen, a prosecutor at the Department of Justice, looked directly at General Ross: "I recall that criminal was caught, wasn’t he?"

General Ross nodded, then looked at Lake with some confusion.

Seeing this, Lake looked at Ross curiously: "General, have you seen his autopsy report?"

Ross nodded: "I know about it. The death was indeed somewhat strange, but nothing special."

"You know that Tony Stark assembled a group of the country’s top forensic experts to re-examine the body, right?"

"I know."

General Ross chuckled: "I approved it. What’s wrong? In the end, nothing was found, and there was no possibility of foul play."

Lake nodded: "Yes, but this Bucky Barnes isn’t the Bucky Barnes we wanted."

General Ross was slightly stunned.

Tony probably got the results back then and didn’t tell anyone out of suspicion of the military. That was normal; rich people’s thought processes were a bit different.

Lake then told General Ross what Tony had discovered and said, "I think the military at the time also wanted to find out what made this Bucky Barnes delay his aging, right?"

Ross hummed in agreement.

Lake continued: "But they found nothing, because this Bucky Barnes wasn’t Bucky Barnes at all, but a clone created based on Bucky Barnes."

From a certain perspective.

Hydra had, in addition to Dr. Zola’s electronic immortality, found another path to eternal life.

Cloning for immortality.

It’s just…

Lake was a bit puzzled. This thing was basically snatching souls from hell. Did that hot-tempered Hell Monarch just ignore it and let Earthlings mess around so haphazardly?

He really couldn’t understand it.

General Ross frowned and exchanged a look with Karen: "Was cloning technology really invented by the Russians?"

Just as Tony Stark knew, General Ross also believed Bucky Barnes was from the Soviet Red Room. From a certain perspective, Bucky Barnes could be considered a reluctant turncoat, serving three masters.

He started by obeying the military.

Then he was saved by the Red Room and obeyed the Red Room.

After that, it was Hydra, and he began to obey Hydra.

Lake said: "I don’t know if it’s Russian technology, but if even Dr. Banner can turn into a light… the Hulk when he’s angry, then cloning technology, which belongs to the scientific side, isn’t impossible."

As he spoke.

Lake looked at General Ross curiously: "By the way, how has Bruce Banner been lately? Is he still worried about being dissected?"

Upon hearing the name Bruce Banner, General Ross’s face instantly darkened.

Karen, standing nearby, shook her head: "I’ve met Dr. Banner. He’s very talented. Recently, Betty has been accompanying him to practice relaxing yoga."

Lake raised an eyebrow.

Had he met the mother-in-law already?

That made sense.

A father meeting his son-in-law often felt like killing him, but a mother meeting her son-in-law usually wouldn’t object as long as her daughter liked him. In the original timeline, Karen was no longer around, so naturally, the father and son-in-law would have clashed.

But here, under the mother-in-law’s influence, the father could only sulk with a dark expression.

The next day.

After the autopsy, Lake directly took the body, which was still frozen in a cold storage unit at Quantico Base, loaded it into a coffin, and flew back to New York on a military plane.

Homeland agents met the coffin at the airport and immediately transported it back to the Homeland Building.

Lake, meanwhile, returned to Starlight Tower first.

He opened the door.

Skye, who was sitting cross-legged in pajamas, holding a laptop, and sucking on a lollipop, heard the door open and looked up at Lake with a hint of surprise: "You’re back?"

Lake grunted and his first destination was the bar: "Didn’t cause any trouble, did you?"

Skye tilted her head: "If I say I don’t want to go to programming cram school anymore, does that count as trouble?"

Lake took out a wine glass, turned to Skye, and said, "Without a reason, it counts as trouble."

Skye put her laptop aside and walked to a high stool at the bar, saying to Lake, who was opening a bottle of wine, "Because my skills are already much better than that teacher’s."

Lake raised an eyebrow: "Really?"

Skye said softly: "If I told you I could hack into your Department of Homeland Security database, how would you react?"

Lake chuckled: "I’d call the police and have you arrested."

Skye blinked.

Lake took a sip of bourbon. "Hacking into the federal database is a felony, you know. I didn’t hear anything."

As he spoke.

Lake suddenly looked at Skye with some curiosity. "That’s not right. I remember the Department of Homeland Security’s database was written and maintained by some top computer geniuses from Harvard. How long have you been studying? You’ve already hacked into it?"

Skye said, "I have a good teacher."

Lake put down his glass and looked at Skye.

In the original plot, Skye’s character was established as a top computer hacker from the moment she appeared. The story said she was self-taught and a prodigy.

But…

That was a story. In reality, it was nonsense.

Looking at Skye’s living conditions, one could see she was homeless. She had met Lake twice, once with appendicitis and once with a bug in her brain. If she hadn’t met Lake, she probably would have been finished.

The most important point.

Any hobby or interest was based on having enough to eat. Skye alone could barely make ends meet and save a little money at a time, but what good was that little bit of money?

Even Lake knew that a hacker’s weapon was a computer. A better computer could allow a hacker to exert double the power. Not to mention whether Skye could afford a computer, but when her basic needs weren’t met, even if Skye was self-taught, someone had to push her from behind!

Movies tell stories, reality follows logic.

It seemed…

The good teacher Skye mentioned was the logical reason for Skye’s excellent computer skills.

"Teacher?"

"Mhm."

"What’s their name?"

"Don’t know."

"Male or female?"

"Female."

"Oh… Huh?"

Lake looked at Skye. "You don’t even know her name, but you know she’s female?"

Skye said, "Because we chatted on a video call."

Lake frowned slightly. "Online, there are all sorts of people, good and bad. Chatting is fine, but if she asks you to meet offline, don’t go, okay?"

Skye blinked. "No, I think she’s a good person. And, she seems to know you too."

"Me?"

"Yeah."

Skye mentioned the name of an orphanage and then said to Lake, "She said she grew up with you, and she doesn’t mind me telling you she’s my mentor."

Lake raised an eyebrow.

Orphanage.

Grew up together?

Female?

Computer expert?

Lake looked at Skye. "Seifer?"

Skye looked curious. "See, you said you didn’t know, but that’s our interest group’s name. However, I’m not qualified yet. She said she’d let me join when I’m ready."

Group name?

Lake’s mouth twitched. He took out his phone from his pocket.

He answered!

A lazy voice came from the other end of the phone. "Darling, miss me? Unfortunately, I don’t have time to go to the Federation during this period."

Lake said directly, "Did you take Skye as your apprentice?"

Seifer on the other end chuckled. "She has a lot of talent in computers."

Lake said exasperatedly, "I know. That’s why you didn’t even tell me."

I spent ten thousand US dollars to specifically enroll Skye. The teacher specifically hired for Skye was a computer expert from the former FBI. But in Skye’s words, she was technically inferior?

Seifer laughed heartily. "Sorry, darling. But you know now, don’t you? Besides, I didn’t tell Skye not to tell you. And, this is great."

Lake asked, "Great?"

Seifer said, "You’re Skye’s foster father, so doesn’t that make me Skye’s foster mother? Unless you say I’m not. So, am I, darling?"

Lake opened his mouth, said, "You are," and hung up the phone.

My ten thousand US dollars.

Can I get a refund?

Lake thought to himself.

Skye, who had been watching Lake make the call, blinked her eyes. "So, Lake, you know my master? What’s her name? I’ve always wanted to ask, but she never says."

Lake snapped back to attention and glanced at Skye. "Seifer."

Skye blinked again. "Seifer is the organization’s name. I’m asking about my master."

"It’s Seifer."

"…Really?"

"What do you think?"

Skye nodded, then, driven by intense curiosity, she asked Lake, "Then you and my master… she’s…"

"Your foster mother."

"…"

Lake downed the bourbon in his glass, then poured himself another. Looking at Skye, whose eyes were flashing with a thirst for knowledge and gossip, he simply dropped that line and headed for the spiral staircase.

What is this situation?

That ten thousand dollars in tuition definitely couldn’t be refunded. Even if it could, Lake wouldn’t bother. Nothing was more important than saving face.

Skye stood frozen.

My foster mother?

…What the hell?

Skye came back to herself, blinked, and looked at Lake, who had already disappeared down the spiral staircase. After realizing what "foster mother" meant, a huge, bold, and underlined question mark reappeared in her little head.

Even if she is a foster mother.

But…

Wouldn’t the most likely person to become my foster mother be that famous female reporter from Washington D.C., Rachel?

Did they break up?

Something’s not right. Lake and Rachel just went to Los Angeles for a trip. Skye had seen what happened in Los Angeles on the computer news, even in New York.

So what’s going on?

The next second.

Skye’s mind suddenly sparked with an idea.

Jesus God.

Is Lake seeing two people at once?

Skye came back to herself, looking at the now empty spiral staircase. While the fire of gossip burned fiercely within her, she also had other thoughts.

For example…

What if this master, this foster mother, asks about it, should she tell the truth?