The TV continued to play.
"There's been speculation that I was involved in the series of incidents that occurred on the highway and the rooftop earlier..." Tony said.
A reporter standing in the center interrupted him.
"Sorry, Mr. Stark, but do you really expect us to believe that it was a bodyguard in a suit who just happened to be on the scene? In fact, you..."
"I know this situation is quite perplexing," Tony interrupted him as well.
"But questioning the official narrative is one thing; making some crazy accusations or implying that I'm a superhero is another."
The reporter immediately retorted, "I never said you were a superhero."
Penny was a bit confused by their conversation; she seemed to need to sort some things out.
"No? Well, that's good, because that's an outlandish, fanciful claim."
Tony scoffed, "I'm obviously not superhero material."
A soldier leaned in close to him, "Just read the script."
Tony nodded, "Alright."
He glanced at the paper.
Then he looked up, at the waiting reporters and cameras.
Everyone was watching him.
Tony tossed the paper aside.
"The truth is..." His eyes were bright and sincere.
"I am Iron Man," he said.
The entire press conference erupted in an uproar.
Including those across New York who had just returned home from work or hadn't had time to watch the news that morning.
And Penny, who was eating instant noodles.
"Holy sh*t!!!" Penny roared.
Tony Stark was that tin man!
He was one of those tin men who almost overturned the bus, forced her to expose her superpowers, then got her captured, and finally fired her!
"Iron Man!!!"
Penny, furious, laughed instead, "Tony Stark! Very well!"
Good, good, good! Penny crushed the remote control in her hand.
At this moment, she only wanted to rush into Stark's house and give her former boss a good beating.
But looking at the instant noodles on the table, she decided to eat first.
Releasing the already shattered remote control, she felt another pang of heartache.
Penny decided to blame all these misfortunes on Tony Stark.
And this heartache intensified upon learning that Stark Industries' stock had suddenly soared, and she was no longer an employee... — Penny declared bankruptcy.
— Because she was eating more and more.
The black-haired girl sat in her empty room; this was her fifth day after losing her job.
Her salary and severance pay, originally estimated to last over a month, had already been mostly spent.
Penny hadn't realized she could eat so much, or that her energy was increasing so rapidly.
Thinking about it carefully, in the past few years since she turned eighteen, the growth rate had indeed exceeded her expectations.
If this continued, perhaps in a few years, even if she ate non-stop for twenty-four hours a day, she wouldn't be able to deplete the energy within her.
She sighed deeply at this thought; it was an unknown number of sighs already.
Forget about a year from now; let's solve the current problems first.
Assuming she worked at a coffee shop, the pitiful hourly wage wouldn't even be enough for her to eat for a day.
Hmm... — Perhaps it was time to think of other methods, such as S.H.I.E.L.D.?
Penny looked at the contact again.
Over these five days, countless times she had considered going to say hello to Natasha, but her spirits hadn't picked up.
Going to her in this state, she feared she would leave a bad impression.
Of course, it would be great if Natasha could reach out to her proactively.
As Penny was thinking this, her phone suddenly rang, startling her.
Could it be?
She picked it up and saw it was Mei.
"Penny! I just got off the plane and am getting my luggage; I'll be at the arrival hall in about ten minutes. Where are you?"
Ah.
She forgot.
Penny was shocked.
Then she rushed into her room, grabbed a black jacket, and put it on.
"Mei! Just call me when you come out! I'm going to the restroom first!"
"Alright," Mei said, and the other end had already hung up.
Listening to the beeping sound, she could only shake her head helplessly, still so impulsive despite being so grown up.
Penny didn't use the door but instead opened her room window and jumped out.
She reached her hand upwards, and white webbing shot from her wrist, firmly sticking to the opposite exterior wall.
Penny was already on the opposite building in less than a second.
— This was the fastest way.
She pulled up the hood of her jacket, trying to cover her shoulder-length black hair.
One hand was stuck to the exterior wall, the other reached towards her room.
Whoosh!
The webbing accurately stuck to the black mask she had left on the table, then the webbing was pulled back, and her hand caught it simultaneously.
She immediately put on the mask, looked at her reflection in the window, and nodded in satisfaction.
"Perfect! No one will recognize me!"
Then she swiftly swung towards the distant buildings.
With her memory, she could recall the locations of some surveillance cameras.
But under time pressure, she hadn't meticulously planned her route, so there was inevitably a chance of being recorded.
The disguise was just an extra precaution.
Many streets in New York City are grid-shaped, presenting a unique chessboard pattern.
For Penny, who could use buildings to swing through the air, it was very convenient.
From the Hall apartment to the airport, the fastest taxi ride would still take thirty minutes, and that's with speeding.
But Penny only needed ten minutes, and this was even without using her full speed.
The closer she got to the airport, the fewer tall buildings there were.
By the time she reached the airport, Mei happened to call, asking where she was.
She quickly looked around and finally saw the long-haired woman in her forties.
"Mei!" Penny waved.
Receiving Mei's wave in return, she hung up the phone, walked towards Mei, and gave her a deep hug.
"How was your trip to Hawaii this time?"
Penny released her and asked, taking Mei's suitcase.
"It was good too, since it's not peak season, but I won't be going again for the next few years."
Mei happily looked at the girl she had raised since childhood.
After not seeing her for over two months, had the little one grown taller again?
She wondered if one could continue to grow at twenty-three or twenty-four.
"Having gone for two or three consecutive years, it's time to change places," Mei said.
The two chatted as they walked, arriving at the taxi stand outside the airport and hailing a car.
After Penny put the luggage in the trunk, opened the back door, and sat inside.
"When do you have a break from work? How about we go to Asia or Southeast Asia together next time?"
Penny heard her heart give a bitter laugh, but she didn't want to share the bad news of being fired.
She could only vaguely say, "Hmm, of course, if we go then, I'll see if I can take time off."
Mei seemed to catch Penny's unusual demeanor and looked at her a bit strangely.
But she didn't press about what happened, continuing, "So, are you going to stay home these next few days?"