The next day.
Locke leaned against his car, thoughtfully gazing at a very famous building not far away: Stark Industries Tower. Despite being in New York for some time, this was the first time he had been so close to it.
However, Locke wasn't there to trouble Tony Stark or his employees. It just so happened that the Oscorp Biology Building was located quite near the Stark Tower.
A moment later, Gwen emerged from the Oscorp building. She was wearing a white researcher's lab coat with her hair tied in a ponytail. Seeing Locke leaning by the road, she smiled, waved, and walked over.
Shortly after, they were seated in a Western restaurant near Oscorp.
Gwen handed the menu back to the waiter and looked at Locke with intense curiosity. "Gosh, Locke, what on earth did you say to my dad yesterday? Why do they think I hadn't accepted your invitation yet?"
Locke chuckled. "But they agreed, didn't they?"
Heaven only knew what had actually transpired yesterday. Locke still hadn't figured out exactly what scenario George had cooked up in his head. But George had given his blessing, and that was enough. There was no need to dwell on the minor details; the process didn't matter as much as the result.
And the result was good. At the very least, the price of helmets in New York City wouldn't be going up.
"That's true. While you guys were out fishing, I was constantly worried you wouldn't be able to handle Dad."
"Haha."
Gwen then remembered something else and gave Locke a cute eye-roll. "Couldn't you have let my dad win just a little?"
Locke looked at her curiously.
"The fishing."
"Oh." Locke realized what she meant and felt a bit helpless. "I was using that crappy rod. Who knew the fish would keep biting my hook and not George's? I didn't want it to happen either."
He swore to the heavens that he had tried to let him win. Several times when fish bit the hook, Locke had pretended not to notice. But George had been staring at his rod the whole time with a lingering gaze.
Locke sighed. "In the end, I had no choice. I offered to swap rods with George. Instead, he just reeled in, started the engine, and said we were going home."
What else could he do? He couldn't exactly manifest a clone, jump into the sea, catch a fish, and hook it onto George's line manually. That would just be hand-feeding.
Gwen couldn't help but laugh, imagining the scene. A boat where Locke never stopped catching fish while her father, George, sat perfectly still beside him. The mental image was hilarious. She covered her mouth, took a deep breath, and rolled her eyes at Locke again. "Then you're in trouble."
Locke looked at her.
Gwen shrugged. "My dad is already planning to switch hobbies. Last night, I saw him getting some books about hunting from his colleagues."
Locke: "..."
Comparing hunting skills with a Texas cowboy? George was certainly brave.
However... Locke blinked and saw the look in Gwen's eyes. He smiled. "Don't worry. Fishing is a game of luck; hunting isn't. I know what to do."
It was just about letting George win, right? Fishing was uncontrollable, but hunting was completely manageable. It wasn't like the prey would stupidly hurl itself at his muzzle. He'd just lose. It wasn't a system mission, so it didn't matter.
Gwen laughed. "But it's impossible this year. It'll likely be next year."
Locke nodded. Only someone whose brain had short-circuited would go hunting in the winter. The animals were all hibernating. If you went now, you'd likely be dragged into a cave by a bear to serve as winter rations.
Half an hour later, Locke and Gwen paid separately. Gwen flipped her ponytail and looked at Locke as he walked her back to the Oscorp entrance. "Remember to video call tonight."
Locke agreed and watched with a smile as she went back inside for her internship. He then got back in his car and returned to the Star Tower.
Lying on the sofa, Locke let his mind wander. Midtown High was on break. Routine exam missions and the like would probably have to wait until school started again next year.
As for assassination missions? Locke felt he could do some, but Christmas was almost here. After thinking it over, he shook his head and decided to put them on hold for now. George had agreed to let him take Gwen away; it would be ungrateful to make George's Christmas stressful. For Gwen's sake, he should behave.
Besides, looking at his current balance of nearly 42,000 Achievement Points and almost 30,000 Potential Points, he was quite satisfied. Back in Texas, he could barely save anything over a whole year. After coming to New York, it hadn't even been a full year and he'd amassed this much. If he hadn't spent 50,000 to unlock the Organization System in Augusta, he'd have even more.
So, Locke was bored.
He stared at the ceiling. He figured that since there were still about ten days left, maybe he should spend some money to sign up for an intensive training class that had daily exams. He could grind some missions; after all, even small gains are worth it.
Thinking this, Locke got up and headed upstairs to see if there were any cheap off-campus training classes with a "one exam per day" format.
...
December 20th.
Times Square.
After getting tired from shopping, Locke, Gwen, Cindy, and Kahn grabbed food from a roadside food truck and found an outdoor table to sit down.
Cindy exhaled a puff of cold air and rubbed her hands together. "I feel like Christmas is getting closer."
Gwen laughed. "It's in five days. It's not a feeling, it's a fact."
Cindy shook her head. "I remember when I was little, as soon as it snowed, I'd ask my dad if it was Christmas yet."
Gwen blinked. "Cindy, I think you're just looking forward to the ball in three days. Kahn and you will probably be the Prom King and Queen."
Cindy rolled her eyes at Gwen. "Well, thanks for not participating then."
Gwen's popularity at Midtown High was top-tier. Simply put, no matter who her date was, if Gwen participated, she was the locked-in Prom Queen. As the saying goes, Gwen was the "prestige" herself; she didn't need to look for it.
Gwen glanced at Locke and smiled. "That's good then. Otherwise, you wouldn't stand a chance, right?"
Cindy shrugged. "There's still Kim."
Gwen nodded. "Kim seems to be planning to spend the New Year in Paris."
Locke looked up. Kim? Paris? Taken? Locke felt a surge of excitement. Finally, the time for Kim to receive a beating from society had arrived.
But Cindy laughed. "Kim told me too. She's going with her mom and stepfather to see the fashion shows in Paris. Tsk, you and Locke are going to the Poseidon, Kim is going to Paris, and I'm left all alone in New York."
She wanted to go to the Poseidon too. However, the ticket prices were far too high. Although her family was middle-class Wall Street and could afford it, what was the point of going alone?
Kahn, sitting nearby, put down his hot dog and coughed. "Uh, Cindy, actually, we can go together too."
Locke and Gwen looked at Kahn. Cindy also looked at her boyfriend. What did that mean?
Kahn pulled two Poseidon tickets from his jacket and smiled at Cindy. "I was going to tell you later when I walked you home, but telling you now is fine. Would you like to spend the New Year with me on the Poseidon?"
Gwen's eyes sparkled. "Wow!"
Locke also curiously looked at the two tickets in Kahn's hand.
Cindy was stunned, staring at the tickets. "Where did you get the money?"
Kahn smiled. "I sold one of my patents from last year."
Gwen frowned. "Was it the one regarding shark serum research?"
Kahn nodded. "Exactly. I quoted a price of 100,000 plus two Poseidon tickets. The boss who bought it happened to have them already, so he just gave them to me as part of the deal."
Tickets for the Poseidon had been sold out for ages. Even if Kahn had the money, without the right connections, he wouldn't be able to buy them. This was a stroke of good luck.
Still... a shark serum research patent? Is this just the daily life of kids in the big city? What the hell was I doing last year?
Oh, right. Locke was killing people to save up money.
Gwen opened her mouth. "But the teacher said that patent would be worth at least a million once deep-sea research picks up."
Selling it for 100,000? Was he crazy?
Kahn laughed. "I sold it for roughly a million total. 100,000 in cash after taxes, plus these two S-Class cabin tickets. Altogether, it's about a million."
Gwen looked at Cindy but still shook her head. "Too impulsive."
If Locke had spent his own money on the tickets, Gwen would have said the same thing. After all, the price was too high; you could vacation anywhere.
Kahn looked at Cindy with a smile, seemingly explaining to Gwen: "I hope Cindy and I can have a very beautiful memory together."
Can a young person be called young if they aren't impulsive? Besides, it's just a patent. If it's gone, he can just research more and apply again. This was the unique confidence of a top student.
Cindy smiled. "Sell one of them."
Kahn was startled.
Cindy said with a smile, "We can just share one cabin. Put the other one online at a discount; I'm sure someone will buy it."
After speaking, Cindy glanced at Gwen. "Kahn and I aren't the 'mutual respect' type like you and Locke. We can stay in one cabin; it'll help our relationship."
Since they had made their relationship official, they had already explored everything—shaking the bed, shaking the car, they'd tried it all.
Hearing this, Gwen's mouth hung open. "..."
***
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