Kamen Rider ZZZ from the American comic book world

Bucky has Hydra's super soldier serum in his body, so even if he loses a mechanical arm, he can easily break free from Tony's control if he wants to.

But Bucky didn't do that; he chose to directly face the anger of the victims' families.

Tony was consumed by rage. He couldn't hear anything and just kept punching Bucky, continuing to hit him even as his knuckles bled.

Furthermore, Bucky reached out to stop Li Ai, telling him not to interfere.

Tony was exhausted from the fight before he gradually calmed down.

Li Ai stepped forward and extended her hand to Tony, saying, "Let's talk somewhere else. I don't think you'd want to be in the same room with him."

“You’re right.” Tony, panting heavily, walked toward the door with Li Ai’s help.

They didn't go far; they just sat down on the stairs in front of the cottage.

Tony's eyes were red-rimmed. After a long silence, he loosened his clenched fists, looked straight ahead, and said:

"Tell me where you found yet another old relic."

“During my winter break, I accompanied my parents to a place called East Slavic Country to fight against bioterrorism. We discovered a brainwashed super soldier, and then I restored his memories, which is the Barnes you see,” Li Ai explained.

"You must have dreamt about that old relic inside, right?" Tony sighed and said in a low voice.

"But that doesn't matter anymore. After all, my parents have been dead for many years, and the guy inside was brainwashed to become an assassin. If I'm going to hate anyone, I should hate Hydra. They're the ones who gave the assassination orders."

Tony did not forgive Bucky; he simply accepted the fact that his parents died from murder, not an accident.

But Tony didn't think Li Ai had done anything wrong. After all, Li Ai wasn't the murderer, so he had no reason to hate her.

On the contrary, Tony felt that Li Ai had given him a chance to know the truth.

Looking at the dejected Tony, Li Ai slowly said:

“When Barnes first woke up, I proposed a plan to him, which was to prepare a neutralizing agent for him that could clear the super soldier serum. This method would damage his telomeres, and the direct result would be that he would only have two years to live at most. Then I thought of locking him up in the underground prison of the New York Sanctum Sanctum.”

"Are you giving him a suspended death sentence?" Tony asked. "That telomere damage side effect should be solvable, right?"

“But he demanded that the side effect of reducing lifespan not be addressed.” Li Ai repeated Bucky’s earlier words to Tony.

"I don't want to say that I was brainwashed by Hydra at the time and that I was a mental patient without self-control and thus escaped punishment."

Tony listened to Li Ai's retelling and asked in surprise, "Did he really say that?"

"Yes," Li Ai confirmed.

"No wonder he's Rogers' lifelong friend." Tony scoffed, glancing around the room before saying, "..."

"I agree to the suspended death sentence, and let him have one last meeting with his family and friends."

Bucky's only friend and family member was Steve, and Li Ai understood this, so he made a phone call to Steve at the Avengers base.

Not long after, Steve arrived at the cabin door. Looking at Tony, whose eyes were red-rimmed, and Li Ai, who remained silent, he asked, puzzled:

What's wrong with you all?

Just then, Bucky, who had heard Steve's voice, opened the door to the cabin. Even though he had been beaten black and blue by Tony, Steve recognized his best friend at a glance.

"Bucky?!"

Steve's eyes lit up, and he rushed to Bucky, giving him a big hug. But when he noticed Bucky's empty left arm, a sense of worry arose in his heart.

"Bucky, what's going on?"

“Steve, let me tell you slowly…” Bucky recounted his experiences and choices.

When he heard that his good friend was offering to take a suspended death sentence, Steve patted Bucky on the shoulder and said:

“I respect your choice, Bucky.”

"Don't do anything foolish after I'm gone," Bucky comforted him.

"You've done all the stupid things."

After so many years, as he spoke those words that only the two of them knew, Steve felt a sense of desolation. He told Bucky to go inside and rest first, then sat down next to Tony and apologized:

"Tony, I'm sorry about Howard."

“I don’t need an apology,” Tony said sharply. “I’m going to cut off every single Hydra head and use their ashes to pay tribute to my parents!”

“We would be happy to lend you a hand,” Li Ai said.

“That’s right, we’ll always be a team.” Steve was also filled with rage towards Hydra.

If it weren't for Hydra, Bucky wouldn't be the way he is now.

After this mediation, Tony and Steve turned their attention to Hydra, and Li Ai breathed a sigh of relief.

Chapter 143 The First Dance

January 3, 2010, afternoon

The wind in New York still carried a chill. Today was the last day of winter break for Midtown High School, and also the day Nancy moved into her new apartment.

This apartment building, also located in Queens, is four blocks away from Li Ai's residence. It was built just two years ago and is very new.

When Li Ai carried the last large cardboard box into the house, Nancy was standing in the middle of the living room, arms outstretched, smiling:

"The sunshine here is wonderful, and there's plenty of parking, convenience stores, and delicatessens."

"It feels different from Chunmu Town, doesn't it?" Li Ai put the cardboard box in the corner, then casually took off his windbreaker and tossed it onto the back of the chair next to him, hitting it precisely.

This is one of the apartments designated by the 'Stark International Town Student Development Program'. Not all fifty students went to Midtown High School; instead, they were scattered throughout New York City. Only a few girls lived in this building, just like Nancy.

The apartment is decorated in a simple, warm style, with off-white wallpaper, a small bar counter and built-in oven in the kitchen, and a bay window in the bedroom where you can sit and read with a cushion.

Like other apartments on the market, tenants need to purchase their own furniture, such as beds, tables, chairs, wardrobes, and refrigerators.

So Li Ai and Nancy went to buy a batch of new furniture and household items today, and all they have to do now is assemble them.

Nancy found a coffee machine and two mugs in some small storage boxes. She made herself and Li Ai a hot coffee and then said:

"I made you a cup of coffee, but the refrigerator hasn't arrived yet, so you can only have it hot for now."

"Let's leave it for now, I don't like drinking hot drinks," said Li Ai, who was assembling the dining table.

"Okay, then I'll go tidy up the other things."

Nancy placed two cups of coffee on the bar and then continued tidying up her personal belongings. She took out a photo frame from a box, which contained a photo of her with her parents when she was ten years old.

Assembling furniture was not a difficult task for Li Ai, and it was only a little past four in the afternoon when everything was tidied up.

The furniture, including the double table and chairs, bookshelves, wardrobe, and single bed, has all been installed. Only appliances like the refrigerator need to be delivered by the seller.

Li Ai pressed her palm against the tabletop to make sure that each table leg was stable.

The two quickly tidied up the packaging. Nancy stood in the center of the living room, looked around, and said with satisfaction:

"It finally feels like a home."

"I'm glad you like it," Li Ai said with a smile.

Nancy took out her phone to check the time, and realizing it was almost dinnertime, she suggested:

"Li Ai, could you show me around the neighborhood?"

“Okay.” Li Ai picked up the windbreaker and naturally opened the door for her. “I’ll show you the way so you don’t get lost on your first day of school.”

The streets were quite crowded even on a winter's day, and Christmas red and green decorations were still hanging in front of some shops. The two walked slowly along the sidewalk.

As Nancy passed a handmade jewelry shop tucked away in an alley, she stopped and saw a pair of silver bracelets engraved with shooting star patterns.

"You like them?" Li Ai stood next to Nancy, his gaze also falling on the pair of bracelets.

“I quite like it,” Nancy replied.

The two entered the jewelry store, where Nancy asked about the price of the bracelets and then took out the money she had earned while working at a restaurant in Springwood.

The shop assistant placed the bracelets separately into a wooden box and then packed them into a brown paper bag.

"Welcome to visit us again."

The two walked out of the store amidst the farewells of the shop assistants.

Just then, a light snow began to fall. Nancy took a box out of a brown paper bag and handed it to Li Ai. Her ears were slightly red, but she still looked up at him.

"This is for you, just... consider it a small token of my appreciation."

Li Ai looked down for two seconds, then reached out and took it, slipping it directly onto her right wrist, and said with a smile:

"Thank you, I will wear it all the time."

Nancy's heart skipped a beat. She quickly turned around and walked forward, looking at a restaurant not far away, and said in a slightly excited tone:

"I see a Chinese restaurant up ahead, shall we go there to eat?"

The Chinese restaurant was small, with warm colors used in its interior decoration and the tables and chairs. There was also an upside-down "福" (good fortune) character pasted on the glass door.

The two found a seat by the window and ordered home-style dishes such as sweet and sour pork, steamed sea bass, Mapo tofu, and stir-fried vegetables.

Before serving the dishes, Li Ai asked, "By the way, which club are you planning to join?"

“I told the staff member in charge of the paperwork that I wanted to join the school news club. I wrote articles for the school newspaper in clubs like that when I was in Springwood High School,” Nancy nodded. “Do you know anyone there?”

"I'll barely count one," Li Ai thought for a moment, and finally said the person's name.

"Her name is Felicia Hardy. She's in the same year as us. She's the captain of the team for this academic decathlon and also the host of the campus news."

"If she can be the team leader, then her grades must be excellent. I'd be lucky if I could just start writing the draft," Nancy remarked.

At this moment, the waiter brought out the dishes, and the steaming hot food made people's mouths water.

After finishing their meal, the two strolled around the streets for a while until it got completely dark and the streetlights came on one by one, casting long shadows of the two of them.

When they returned to the apartment building, Nancy didn't immediately go upstairs to say goodbye. Instead, she looked up at Li Ai expectantly and said:

"I don't even have a radio, so this evening might be boring. I'd like to invite you upstairs to chat with me for a while."

“No problem.” Li Ai readily accepted the invitation.

The two went upstairs together, and as Nancy locked the door, she mustered her courage and said the words she had rehearsed in her mind countless times.

"Do you remember those two dances? I'd like to dance one of them today."

Li Ai paused for a moment, then smiled and gestured for them to enter: "It's my pleasure, Miss Thompson."

Only the floor lamp in the living room was on in the apartment, its warm yellow light illuminating the space.

Since there was no sound system, Nancy played the dance music that Li Ai had downloaded to her phone after leaving Springwood Town. She turned the volume up and then placed her phone on the bar.

Soft music filled the room. Nancy took off her down jacket, revealing a dark gray sweater underneath. She brushed a few stray hairs behind her ear a little shyly, then reached out her hand to Li Ai.

Li Ai, who had also taken off her coat and was only wearing a sweater, stepped forward, gently grasped her fingertips with her right hand, and placed her left hand on her waist.

Through the sweater, I could feel a faint warmth, yet we maintained just the right distance.

The two moved slowly through the small living room, their footsteps occasionally brushing together. They would exchange a smile and then move away again in perfect unison.

As the music ended, the two of them happened to stop by the window, holding hands, neither willing to let go first.

Nancy looked up at Li Ai, her eyes shining like two stars in the dim light, and said smugly in a low voice, "Finally, you got your money back."

“Actually, if you’re willing, you can have as many as you want.” Li Ai smiled and turned her head.

Upon hearing this, Nancy's heart raced slightly, and she asked tremblingly, "Is it the reason I imagined?"

Li Ai tightened her grip on Nancy's hand slightly and asked seriously and nervously, "So, will you be my girlfriend, Nancy?"

"I do." Nancy smiled slightly, her nervousness dissipating.

The snow outside the window seemed to be falling a little heavier, pattering against the glass, but the room was quiet, with only the sound of the two people breathing evenly.

Chapter 144 Peter in Adolescence

"Can you stay and chat with me a little longer?" Nancy asked Li Ai, trying to persuade her to stay.

“That’s fine too.” Li Ai glanced at her watch and joked, “It’s only eight o’clock now, I’m not in a hurry to go home, but the sofa you chose won’t arrive until tomorrow, where are you going to let me sit?”

“I have an unopened rug. It’s very warm here, so we can lie down on the rug,” Nancy suggested.

Looking into Nancy's sapphire-like eyes, Li Ai couldn't bring herself to refuse and finally nodded, saying, "Okay."

Nancy found the rug, and the two of them worked together to spread the brand-new plush rug on the floor, then lay down on it together.

"Yes, this carpet is very comfortable." Li Ai's thoughts drifted back to the past, recalling: