Two hours later, a shiny Gundam model stood completed in the center of the garage. At 1.35 meters tall, its weight was already causing fine cracks to form on the concrete floor.
The robot's cold, metallic body stood firm, surrounded by scattered mechanical parts. It held a short rifle, with two pairs of large wings on its back, full of mechanical detail and precision. Even the smallest exhaust ports were carefully carved, with every scratch, edge, and corner full of texture.
Ellen took out the special non-ferrous metal coating he kept for models and applied the final touches to the pure silver exterior.
He clapped his hands together. 'Finally finished!'
He picked up his phone and sent a message: "Kai, the model will be ready in about ten days. I'll leave it at the usual spot then. No need for Harry to contact me."
Kai replied immediately: "Okay, thanks Leo! Let me know if you need anything in the future!"
"Yeah!" Ellen typed back.
With a gentle lift of his hand, the entire model floated up, supported from beneath. Weighing seven or eight hundred pounds, he moved it to a corner and casually threw a black cloth over it.
'Done. Mission complete. Time to go back to my room.'
He walked up to his second-floor room, followed by twelve twenty-kilogram
metal iron rods and his finished equipment.
He peeked out to confirm his aunt and uncle had gone back to their room to sleep before stepping out fully.
'Seems I've been using up metal rods pretty fast recently. Need to restock,' he thought to himself as he returned to his room.
The metal rods settled beside him naturally, while the iron box full of food floated down. He began to eat, stuffing food into his mouth.
Truth was, Ellen's situation was pretty miserable. The only pleasure he got from eating was the feeling of food passing through his mouth and down his throat. He had never experienced the feeling of a full stomach. Within less than a minute of eating, his stomach would be empty again, with only the energy in his mind proving he'd eaten anything at all.
He rubbed his still-hungry belly and put the empty box back on the cabinet. 'Looks like I need to restock food too. Good thing I just got that money, or I'd be broke!'
Ellen sat on the floor, surrounded by metal. The moment he closed his eyes, the room plunged into complete darkness.
Suddenly, tiny points of golden light emerged from the surrounding metal blocks and poured into Ellen's body.
Time passed slowly. The night went by, and the ninth metal rod beside Ellen developed numerous cracks.
When the first ray of sunlight touched him, he opened his eyes. The golden light in his pupils slowly faded. He got up and placed the three remaining rods on a shelf nearby.
The nine cracked metal rods behind him flew automatically into the waste bin at the bottom of the room, breaking into several pieces as they landed.
He stretched his muscles and got ready to go downstairs for breakfast. The stats in his mind had changed.
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Control: 51
Strength: 7
Defense: 6
Speed: 8
Spirit: 17
Skills: D-Class Metal Control, D-Class Body Strengthening
Strengthening: Golden Eye (64%), Copper Skin (10%), Steel Muscle (0%), Iron Bone (0%)
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Uncle George drove Ellen to school again, pulling over smoothly downstairs at Aunt May's place. After a moment, Aunt May came out holding Peter's hand.
In the car, Aunt May wore delicate makeup, acting as if nothing had happened. She smiled happily and chatted with Peter. "Peter, this is Big Brother Leo. He'll take you to school from now on, okay?"
The thin, pale Peter looked curiously at this older brother who wasn't much taller than him. His big eyes blinked, and he smiled and nodded. "Mm-hmm!"
Leo looked at the one-meter-tall Peter, feeling a little embarrassed. He was only about ten centimetres taller than Peter.
But he patted Peter's head and took him to school together.
...
After school, Leo put Peter on the school bus home. Aunt May would pick him up at their stop. Meanwhile, Leo slipped away and headed to the border between Brooklyn and Queens.
There was a small warehouse there. It was where Kai and the others stored metal, a place specially prepared to supply Leo with materials.
He closed his eyes and checked, confirming there were no strange metal objects around, then walked in comfortably.
Looking at the dozens of tons of various metal materials in the warehouse, he smiled happily. This place gave him great convenience. Before, he'd had to go all the way to Staten Island for supplies. Now, it was only five kilometres from home.
He carried a small suitcase filled with five hundred kilograms of metal materials. Without Ellen's special control, the box definitely couldn't have handled that weight.
Ellen was very cautious. He carried the box and got on the bus home, keeping the box slightly suspended above the ground the whole way. With his control level of 51, it was effortless.
Arriving home, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
He had successfully brought back a batch of high-quality steel, much better than the ordinary iron rods Uncle George ordered online. It could also slightly increase his training speed.
He sent a message to Kai on his phone:
"Kai, I went to the warehouse and took five hundred kilograms of materials. Just letting you know."
"No problem. Let me know if you need more. By the way, Leo, you know about that two-monster incident in Manhattan the day before yesterday?"
"Of course, it's all over the newspapers. Why?" Ellen was a little confused.
"I heard a rumour. The police found a gold-titanium alloy throwing knife at the scene. That's the metal they use for satellites! Now they're investigating it everywhere! I heard higher-ups might be looking into it too!"
"So?"
"Uh, just wanted to give you a heads up. But Leo, with your great metal control ability... I wonder if it has anything to do with that knife?" Kai asked casually.
"No idea. I only know what's in the news. Was that metal stolen? Even if you gave it to me, I couldn't work with it!"
"Right, okay. Leo, I'm counting on you for the model. I've got stuff to do!"
"Okay, bye." Ellen tapped out these words, but his expression turned serious.
'Good thing I left the scene quickly and took precautions. Otherwise, I might have been discovered!'
Far away, in a basement on Staten Island, surrounded by all kinds of metal models, a strong white man walked in. He picked up a finely crafted 20-centimeter-tall metal figure from the center and played with it.
"Leo's skills are truly amazing. So lifelike. But why is Boss Crow paying attention to this now? That last batch of goods did go missing in Queens, and now they want us to ask around. Whatever, I don't get it."
He picked up his phone and called Ulysses Crow.
"Boss, I just deal with ordinary metal models. If there was a channel for that, I'd ask other people. I really don't know how that gold-titanium alloy ended up there!"
The strong white man scratched his head. "What's wrong with selling vibranium? I do other things too. I really don't get the boss."
He kept polishing the model in his hand, still muttering, "Leo, I've got to meet you. Your skills are very... attractive." A flash of bloodlust appeared in his eyes.