Kamen Rider ZZZ from the American comic book world

"So can I see your superpowers?" Li Ai asked calmly, as if she were asking Jessica what she had for lunch.

"You believed I had superpowers without even hesitating?" Jessica looked into Li Ai's eyes, her tone filled with disbelief.

“I’ve said it before, I believe you,” Li Ai said firmly. “And there are indeed many unbelievable things in this world.”

“Like when I was being chased by a weirdo last time.” Jessica recalled what happened during her last school trip and a news report she saw on TV after waking up that afternoon.

"And yesterday, ZZZ fought a monster in an abandoned factory in Manhattan's West Side, destroying a large area."

At that moment, Jessica was still unaware that the ZZZ she was talking about was sitting right next to her. Li Ai smiled and comforted her:

"Don't worry, awakening superpowers isn't always a bad thing. Besides, you haven't shown me what your superpower is yet."

"Simply put, she's incredibly strong and can fly." Jessica stood up, spread her arms, lifted her toes slightly off the ground, and slowly rose to a height of about five meters.

"Wouldn't that make it easier for you to find shooting angles in the future?" Li Ai offered another reason for Jessica's adaptability.

"It is indeed very convenient, but it is a bit troublesome because it requires a lot of strength. I am now afraid of breaking the camera shutter."

Jessica landed back on the ground. She bent down, picked up a piece of gravel, and then, right in front of Li Ai, crushed it. She opened her palm, letting the gravel fall to the ground, and said dejectedly:

"Look, with this strength, I could crush the whole camera, let alone the shutter button. Since my fever broke, I've already broken a stainless steel cup, two pieces of tableware, and a remote control. I have to be very careful when I put on my clothes."

“Jessica, I understand how you feel,” Li Ai said, looking directly into Jessica's eyes.

“Excessive strength can indeed cause trouble, but you can definitely control it. You are like someone who has just gotten a new tool. It feels unfamiliar and dangerous, but once you learn how to use it, it will become your advantage instead of a burden.”

"So you also have this kind of 'tool'?" Jessica asked, following Li Ai's analogy of using superpowers as tools.

“Some things can’t be better experienced than explained in words.” Li Ai stood up, stretched his limbs, and then invited, “Want to test how strong you are now?”

Looking at the confident Li Ai, Jessica decided to test her with only a small portion of her strength, but she felt that even a small portion of her strength would be very dangerous for Li Ai.

“Okay, but if you feel any danger, you have to tell me immediately. I’ll feel guilty for a long time if you get hurt,” Jessica said, clenching her fist.

"Don't worry, come on over," Li Ai said with a smile.

"it is good."

After receiving permission, Jessica threw a punch at Li Ai, but Li Ai simply extended his left hand and firmly grasped Jessica's fist.

“I feel your limits should be even higher,” Li Ai said.

This performance confirmed Jessica's suspicions; Li Ai hadn't lied to her after all. Although her classmate hadn't fully revealed his superpowers, it made Jessica feel less alone and special.

“Then I’ll use more force.” Jessica then used half her strength, which made Li Ai take a step back.

"Not bad, your strength has surpassed that of all professional boxers," Li Ai praised.

"If you're willing to train, you can become even stronger."

"That depends on whether Coach Li Ai is willing to help me," Jessica said with a slight smile.

“No problem.” Li Ai released Jessica’s fist.

At that moment, both of their stomachs made a 'gurgling' sound at the same time.

"You haven't eaten either?" Jessica smiled awkwardly.

"The main problem is that it digests quickly, which will significantly increase your food expenses in the future." Li Ai turned and walked towards the park exit, inviting him further.

"But you're lucky today, it's on me, you pick the restaurant."

“Great! I know a hot dog truck that specializes in large late-night snacks. Their food is very affordable. I used to be full after eating half a hot dog.”

Jessica quickly followed, and the two walked out of the park together, then found the hot dog truck that specialized in large portions.

Using the excuse of having a party with friends, they bought enough food for about ten people, bought a few drinks at a convenience store, and then found a quiet place to eat.

Halfway through the meal, Li Ai casually asked, "By the way, why didn't you go to the hospital when you had a high fever? Were you afraid of the bill?"

"Not entirely."

Jessica said with a dark face, "I felt very hot after school on Thursday, so I asked my brother to buy a thermometer. But the kid went to a second-hand store and bought an inaccurate electronic thermometer. No matter how I measured it, it was no more than 38 degrees Celsius. I thought I would just tough it out at home by taking medicine, and then I developed superpowers from the fever."

“You need to teach him a lesson,” Li Ai said with a smile.

“Absolutely,” Jessica said through gritted teeth.

After finishing the large hot dogs, the two said goodbye and returned to their respective homes.

...........................

The days leading up to summer vacation were exceptionally fulfilling.

Li Ai and Jessica's photographic works both won awards and were exhibited, and were immediately noticed by collectors, each making a profit.

Afterwards, Li Ai successfully passed the summer intern interview at Osborne and obtained the Spirit-type Barrier Capsule and the Technology-type Mechanical Capsule. Only the Dimensional-type capsule was left to complete the ten basic capsules.

Right after the end-of-term ceremony, he and nine other classmates walked into this top-of-the-line biotechnology building in New York.

The ten people were assigned to different research projects, and the project leader that Li Ai encountered was Dr. Kurt Connors.

Dr. Connors continues his research on interspecies gene transplantation, aiming to transplant the lizard's amazing self-healing ability into humans.

While humbly learning from this biological giant, Li Ai secretly used the knowledge he gained to improve the super soldier serum formula left by Dr. Banner. His talent and diligence soon won the appreciation of Dr. Connors.

The unique insights Li Ai offered during the exchange unexpectedly helped Dr. Connors solve several long-standing experimental problems, pushing the development of lizard serum in a more correct direction.

After finishing his day's work, Dr. Connors stopped Li Ai, who was about to leave, and asked with a smile:

"You've done very well lately. Do you have any plans to pursue further studies in biology?"

"Biology? I haven't decided yet whether I want to pursue that path," Li Ai said tactfully.

“If you have any ideas, feel free to come to me anytime. I can write you a letter of recommendation for an Ivy League school,” Dr. Connors said earnestly.

Upon hearing this, Li Ai nodded and replied:

"Okay, Doctor, but I have to go now. It's my birthday today, and my family is waiting for me to come home."

"Then I wish you a happy birthday too, and please be careful on your journey." Dr. Connors watched Li Ai leave the laboratory.

Chapter 80 Birthday Gift

Soon after, the afterglow of the setting sun bathed the streets of Queens in orange-red. Li Ai pushed open the door and saw Ida leaning against the wall, shaking a Margarita cocktail, as if she had been waiting for him for a long time.

"You're back?" Ada asked. "Is work at Osborn very busy?"

"It's not too busy. After all, I'm just an intern from a high school, so they haven't assigned me too much work," Li Ai replied while changing her shoes.

At that moment, the aroma of roasted meat mixed with the smell of engine oil wafted into Li Ai's nostrils. He frowned slightly and asked, puzzled:

"Are they using engine oil to grill meat at home?"

"I knew I couldn't hide it from you." Ada smiled helplessly, turned and walked towards the garage. "Come on, we have something for you."

"What's all this mystery?" Li Ai followed her mother toward the garage.

As soon as Li Ai arrived at the garage, she saw a brand-new Ducati motorcycle and Lyon, who was tuning the vehicle.

To demonstrate America's resolve in preventing bioterrorism, President Adam Benford established the DSO headquarters in Washington, D.C., and then set up a branch in Manhattan, New York City. Lyon took this opportunity to come to New York, where he would visit his family after his work was completed.

This motorcycle features a fairing-less design with sharp lines, a red body, a black frame, and some carbon fiber parts.

There were also many unopened boxes on the side, which Li Ai guessed contained custom-made modification parts.

"For me?" Li Ai immediately realized.

“This is your birthday present,” Ida said.

At this moment, Leon, whose nose still had a little engine oil on it, put down his tools, stood up, and said, "Didn't we agree to tell him after dinner?"

"Don't wait until after dinner, I was just starting to wonder if we're going to eat engine oil with our dinner tonight," Li Ai said, pointing to her nose.

Although Li Ai did not live to be eighteen years old, Ada and Leon agreed that Li Ai should be treated the same as everyone else.

"Do you like it?" Ada took out a racing helmet and car keys from the side. "We picked them out for you together."

Li Ai took the helmet and keys, feeling a warmth in her heart.

Although Li Ai didn't live with Ada and Leon for very long, he could indeed feel their love and affection.

In his previous life, Li Ai actually had parents, but his family environment was far from harmonious, which left him with psychological trauma. At that time, he could only hide in his room, listening to the noise from the hall and the thunder outside the window, clutching the pirated Kamen Rider Kuuga doll given to him by a friend and trembling. So much so that even when he entered the orphanage, he did not have much of a reaction.

Thinking of this, Li Ai cherished his family. He put down his helmet and keys and said, "Wait a minute, I have something for you."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and strode towards his room, took two briefcases from the operations room, and returned to the garage.

"Is this a belated Father's Day and Mother's Day gift?" Leon took one of the boxes and opened it while joking.

What caught Lyon's eye was a pair of black and white pistols and an elegantly designed mechanical watch.

“Your aesthetic sense regarding guns is truly remarkable.” Leon ignored the watch, focusing all his attention on the pair of black and white pistols.

“But we use a lot more guns every day, these are probably just souvenirs for you,” Ada said, looking at the four handguns and the ladies’ mechanical watch in her case.

These four pistols have a classic design and are inlaid with gemstones, giving the impression that they should be collected rather than used in actual combat.

“These guns are unlike any you’ve used before,” Li Ai said confidently. “They can use your mental energy as bullets, and they’re more powerful than Magnum bullets.”

The weapons that Li Ai gave to his parents in this life were made of Goodnight Steel. The design prototype was based on the Dream Eater Claw, but because Ada and Leon did not have superpowers, Li Ai had to downgrade the design and ultimately created these two sets of weapons that used mental energy as their power source.

Upon hearing this, Ada and Leon inspected the gun and found that it did not have the magazine structure of ordinary firearms.

"Psychic bullets? Interesting. I need to find a place to fire a couple of shots." Leon looked at the pair of black and white pistols with great satisfaction, then asked Li Ai:

Do they have names?

"Ebony and ivory, the inspiration comes from the black and white keys of a piano," Li Ai explained the origin of the name of the black and white pistols, then turned to introduce the four guns he had given to Ida.

"The group of pistols was collectively known as Scarborough Fair, and they were named Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme respectively."

“I might not remember what they’re all called.” Ada smiled, put the ladies’ mechanical watch on her wrist, and asked, “If guns can use mental energy to make bullets, then this watch must be something special.”

“That’s right. After pressing the dial three times, the watch creates an energy barrier that can envelop your entire body,” Li Ai said.

Li Ai infused the two mechanical watches with the power of the barrier capsules. Although the props created in this way were not as effective as the barrier capsules he used himself, they were still powerful enough to withstand direct fire from a tank's main gun.

Leon, who was fascinated by the ebony and ivory, praised them repeatedly, saying, "You've thought of everything so well. This will make things much easier when we go on missions in the future."

“There will be more good stuff in the future,” Li Ai said with a smile.

If his super soldier serum formula wasn't still imperfect and he didn't know the consequences of injecting it into living people, he would have really wanted to give a shot to everyone who cared about him.

"Alright, it's your birthday today, let's not talk about this fighting stuff." Ada looked at Leon and said:

"Go take a shower before you eat. I don't want to eat barbecue while smelling engine oil."

As for why Li Ai was able to produce such equipment, Ada and Leon were not particularly surprised, because they already believed that Li Ai had a secret.

Moreover, just after Ada moved here with Li Ai, a 'Kamen Rider ZZZ' appeared in New York. It's not like the two of them hadn't guessed that.

After these two sets of equipment appeared, even if Li Ai didn't say it directly, Leon and Ada could roughly guess Li Ai's secret, but they just didn't say it. Anyway, Li Ai wasn't going to harm anyone, so they just gave him some space.

"Okay, okay." Leon put the black and white pistols back in the box, dusted himself off, and then reminded Li Ai:

"Oh, right, I've already arranged your driver's license. Just follow the procedures, and you'll be able to legally drive this car on the road before summer vacation ends."

"See that? This is the network of connections among the President's most trusted Secret Service agents," Ada joked.

"To add to that, he was the most trusted agent of both presidents," Lyon retorted.

"We know your salary and rank are very high." Li Ai was amused by the two of them.

And so, Li Ai celebrated his legal eighteenth birthday.

Time flies, and with the end of summer vacation, Li Ai is no longer an intern at Osborne.

But the collaboration between Osborn and Midtown High School is not over yet. Their chairman, Norman Osborn, generously sponsored the renovation of Midtown High School's buildings and teaching facilities during the summer, and will continue to provide internship opportunities for Midtown High School students every year thereafter.

On the first day of the new semester, Osborn also held a technology exhibition at Midtown High School, which attracted a lot of attention.

Chapter 81: Everyone's grabbing the back-to-school events?

Opening Ceremony of Midtown High School

Today was exceptionally lively as new students, accompanied by their guardians, entered the campus that would accompany them for the next four years.

The gymnasium was borrowed by Osborne for an exhibition, and there were also recruitment booths for many clubs, where senior students would enthusiastically introduce the club's projects.

Only one talkative member remained at the photography group's booth; the others were tasked with documenting the start of the school year on campus, as Ashley had assigned them that role.

Li Ai, holding a camera, was squatting in front of a display stand taking pictures. Inside the stand were four somewhat rough-looking metal tentacles, with hydraulic pipes protruding from their joints. A sign next to them read: