Chapter 78
Colt snapped his eyes open and stared at the top of Timothy's head for a long while, even reaching out to touch it; there was no fatigue value.
Was the Little Messenger from last night's dream really just a dream?
Good morning, Colt." Timothy reached out to hug Colt: "I dreamed you called my name last night.
That was no dream!
Colt kissed Timothy's lips, as Timothy chased after him, he blocked him with his hand: "Good morning, Brush Your Teeth."
He wasn't wearing Holographic Glasses; he spoke with his mouth.
Timothy kissed Colt's palm, laughing like a happy little bird. He popped up from the bed like a carp jumping out of water, with boundless energy, he scooped Colt up and carried him toward the bathroom as if performing a ballet dance.
They slept until eleven. The food in the refrigerator had been cleared out during last night's party, but the dining table was piled high with the mulberries and cherries Birdie had brought back.
Colt thought of his new account and posted a status with a photo: Breakfast.
Timothy was the first to like it, then he hopped around looking for the right angle, taking over a dozen photos of Colt eating cherries. Finally, he picked out a side profile shot where Colt seemed to be glowing, shared it on his Cole Duck account with the caption: Breakfast.
Whether his breakfast was actually food or just cherries was a matter of perspective for the netizens.
Tony loves monitoring online public opinion with high intensity. Colt had just finished liking Timothy's post when he discovered Tony's comment under his own status.
[Iron Man: Xiao Ke'er, don't tell me you're dieting?]
Colt was afraid that Iron Man would charge into Gotham, so he quickly replied: 【This is pre-meal fruit, a little bird's loving feeding. 】
[Iron Man: If Wayne can't afford to take care of you, come to New York.]
[Bruce Wayne: Wayne is currently the richest man in the world; there is no need for you to help support him.]
[Joseph: Is it possible that my son also doesn't need Wayne to support him? Cole, use your father's card when you go out to play; you are not allowed to spend Timothy's money.]
Colt and Timothy locked eyes.
Timothy: "Go to Iceberg Restaurant for Chinese food?"
Great idea! We won't spend a dime; we'll let Jason pick up the tab!
Colt raised his hand.
The two of them high-fived.
..
Timothy seemed to want to make up for the ten years Colt had missed, taking Colt out every single day.
Learning to ride horses, getting a little pony along for the ride; going skiing to experience the thrill of racing an avalanche; playing golf, only to discover that a hole-in-one means having to tip the whole crowd, so he intentionally missed; going out on a boat to fish, only to hook a shark and get dragged into the sea, where he was rescued by Aquaman and even received a giant tuna as a gift from him..
Colt's every day was incredibly fulfilling.
Call duck shared many photos—little horses, snow mountains, meadows, the ocean, Timothy.
Call Duck Drake also shared many photos, with Colt's nine-grid layout as the foundation; every single one was so perfect they could serve as a screensaver.
Their fanbases were essentially overlapping; whether they were fans of the money, the looks, or the ship, they were all howling and begging for more photos of Cole Duck.
The two of them had a blast playing for over half a month, until Timothy's vacation was running low and the CEO of Little Reed Medical began bombarding Colt with twelve emails a day; only then did they settle their wild hearts and return to Gotham.
The executives at Little Reed are reliable talents who have undergone the trials of 180 rounds of internal testing, the company's systems have also been tempered through countless refinements. Colt only needs to focus on production quality with one hand, research and development with the other, keep an eye on the finances at the same time.
Colt really wanted to ask Timothy why he used the phrase "is enough" to describe such a massive workload.
He almost didn't make it through his first board meeting.
Timothy shared his tips for meetings: "For meetings that don't involve critical topics, you can use a holographic projection to attend in your stead. Just set up the corresponding actions—nodding, shaking your head, smiling, or frowning at the key moments."
“How do you review financial statements?” Colt could understand the numbers on the reports, but checking them one by one, then signing off or sending them back for revisions, was extremely time-consuming.
You can use Ghost to cheat," Timothy said with a wink, taking out his Smart Holographic Glasses and sharing his specialized document-processing mini-program with Colt. "The AI has been upgraded. Once connected to the company's internal network, it will monitor all company activities. It will trigger an alarm if low-level errors appear on the reports, such as an employee using an electric car but claiming fuel expenses. Don't laugh, these are real cases. It's also very common to see a 100,000 budget reported as 1,000,000..
Timothy shared many amazing cases with Colt and was quite proud of himself for having built a Batmobile within the Batarang budget, stating that no fraudulent financial report could escape his eyes.
Modify the corresponding parameters, set your expectations for the company, it will process files and even create plans according to your requirements, which can save a lot of time.
With Timothy's enthusiastic help, Colt quickly established his position as chairman.
Little Reed's headquarters is located right next to the Wayne headquarters, the two buildings looking like twins, Colt's office is located directly across from Timothy's office.
Timothy used to enjoy working in a dark environment, but ever since Colt started working, the curtains in his office have never been closed. Whenever he had nothing to do, Timothy would look up and gaze across the way, even setting up a telescope in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, he even prioritized meeting rooms on the east side with floor-to-ceiling windows for his meetings..
The employees felt that the young bosses' displays of affection were so excessive they didn't care about anyone else's feelings; consuming too much of it would easily lead to diabetes, so the company should provide insulin for free.
Every morning, Colt and Timothy go to work together, invariably sharing affectionate goodbyes beneath the Little Reed building and promising to meet at noon.
By noon, either Colt would go next door to find Timothy for lunch, or Timothy would come to find Colt, the two of them would share their food in an affectionate, clingy manner. Most of the time, they would take turns eating at their respective companies' cafeterias, occasionally, they would also have takeout from Iceberg Restaurant.
Whoever finishes work first waits in the other person's office, the waiting time usually doesn't exceed half an hour.
In short, Colt never works overtime, Timothy's tendency to leave work early is becoming more and more frequent.
The secretaries and assistants of both men had added each other as friends. The first thing they did every day at work was to confirm that the flowers ordered the previous night had already been delivered to their boss's office. They also had to confirm the other boss's schedule—which restaurant they would have lunch at, whether they wanted to have morning and afternoon tea together, handle inquiries about how many cups of coffee had been consumed..
The two companies also maintained a friendly relationship, sharing resources with one another.
Little Reed's holiday benefits included Wayne electronics and supermarket gift cards, while Wayne's holiday benefits also included various beauty creams, blood-replenishing medicines, health supplements like fitness powder. On the company's internal forum, the topic of calling for a skybridge between the two buildings had been trending hot for several days.
Work was back on track, the crafting of Colt's uniform was also proceeding very smoothly.
To be precise, the parents were all showcasing their respective expertise on his uniform, engaging in a new round of competition. Iron Man was testing the integration of his energy core with memory metal nanoparticles, Joseph was working on miniaturizing his Quantum Terminal for portable use, even Batman took time out of his busy schedule to remotely design Batman's Utility Belt. Finally, even Timothy lent a hand by providing Colt with a Weapon Slingshot.
"You know you're not a parent, so you don't have to join their war, right?" Colt, holding the magical slingshot imbued with [Bullseye], used chalk to strike the moving targets in the training room.
"Just tell me if you like the slingshot or not?" Timothy increased the speed of the moving target.
"I like it, but the lethality is too low." Colt thought Ghost should use bigger and cooler weapons, such as the Reaper's Scythe, or perhaps the Avalokitesvara Gatling.
In necessary moments, you can use the Knowledge Explorer; the Leap Mech is big and cool enough. But a scythe can easily wound yourself, firearms can easily cause friendly fire," Timothy said quite democratically. "If you're willing to follow my training schedule from back in the day for a year, it's not impossible to switch weapons.
Colt took a look at Red Robin's Hell training schedule and figured he wouldn't even last a single day.
"The Weapon Slingshot is also not bad," Colt said.
"This is my training schedule from when I was twelve; it's relatively easy, so you should be able to do it," Timothy recommended enthusiastically.
"No, no, no, I can't do it." Colt shook his head like a rattle.
He just loves his Weapon Slingshot!
Ghost is a desk job responsible for information support; he only needs to board the Leap Mech when necessary, without having to fight criminals, so his weakness is his physical strength. Moreover, his Spiritual Power has recovered a bit; although he still cannot hand-craft nanochips or freely adjust molecular structures to reconstruct materials, he can already lift things weighing a ton. If the Weapon Slingshot doesn't knock them out, he'll just smash them with a brick!
Colt's first Night Patrol was set for a Saturday night.
Joseph was not at home, having taken Alisa to France for a fashion show, so everyone gathered in the Batcave to witness Ghost's debut.
Ghost's uniform consisted of a silver trench coat with slits on both sides made of Kevlar Fiber, a deep red Batman's Utility Belt, along with trousers, combat boots, a Black Cape featuring a Silver Bat emblazoned on it.
Colt put on his Domino Mask and pulled up his hood, blending into the Bat Family's group photo without looking out of place at all.
Very Bat-like," Nightwing gave two thumbs up. "Want to join me tonight?
A rookie can't go on night patrol alone.
Birdie abandoned Red Robin and landed on Ghost's shoulder, letting out a chirp toward Batman to indicate that the bird could be responsible for taking the novice.
Batman shook his head solemnly, his gaze sweeping past Red Robin as he assigned Bat Girl to lead Ghost, responsible for the Diamond District and the Financial District where GCPD Headquarters is located.
Alright, Batman is the greatest!
The security in the Diamond District has always been very good.
During the New World Project's closed beta, it referenced the prosperous parallel Earth, which led to the correction of many laws and regulations, the purging of dark forces, the addition of numerous buffs. The Gotham government is currently in a state of clarity and upward progress, making the public security in the Diamond District even better.
Ghost rode the Flying Skateboard, which had transformed into a greatsword, circled around following Bat Girl. He only saw a few lost tourists, unscrupulous street vendors, bankrupt people attempting to jump from buildings, melodramatic scenes of lovers being caught in public, beggars faking disabilities, minors forcing the sale of roses..
The lost tourists were taken back to their hotels by volunteers.
The unscrupulous street vendor was reported to the police.
The person jumping from the building was a member of the Court of Owls before going bankrupt. Timothy had to run through three internal tests before he caused them all to go bankrupt. The flesh and blood they released nourished a massive number of small and medium-sized enterprises, supporting even more Gothamites. The firefighters had already laid out air cushions below the building. Colt watched the spectacle for a while and found that the man hadn't died, but had only broken a leg. Since the man actually had full coverage from Wayne, he left with a sense of profound regret.
When catching a mistress in the street involves the family ethics of Resurrectors, Colt felt it was not his place to interfere.
Finally, Colt aimed at the bowl of the beggar who was feigning disability, pulled back the Weapon Slingshot, attempted to use Spiritual Power to empower the chalk.
Snap!
The chalk broke the sound barrier. The legless beggar scrambled up and ran, moving even faster than Bolt. The underage street vendor selling roses next door didn't dare to grab him anymore, instead slipping into the crowd and vanishing in a few quick steps.
They shouted, "A Robin Bird is coming! The Robin Bird is going to set off fireworks!"
Oh, they were even more afraid of a bird!
Colt patrolled until the last street, finally encountering a truck that ran a red light, scooped a cat from in front of its wheels.
Bat Girl patted Ghost's shoulder: "Wonderful, you saved a life; tonight's Night Patrol was very meaningful."
Colt wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic.
With the Night Patrol over, Ghost hopped onto Red Robin's motorcycle to head home, resting his chin on Red Robin's shoulder as he complained, "I can't believe my debut was so boring; that cat even scratched me before running off."
Boredom like this is the best; I really hope it stays this boring from now on." Red Robin held up his phone. "Come on, give me a smile, to commemorate the peaceful end of Ghost's first Night Patrol.
Alright, Red Robin is always right.
..
July 16th is Colt's birthday.
On the morning of this day, happy birthday arrived along with a good morning kiss.
Colt received countless blessings; everyone who saw him wished him a happy birthday, even the giant screens on the streets were wishing him a happy birthday.
Ugh, the giant street screens in Gotham are one thing, but why are they even playing on the advertising screens in Times Square, New York?
Colt stared at Timothy: Even if you have money to burn, you can't just spend it recklessly; it would be so much better used for charity.
Timothy shook his head. "No, this wasn't my plan. I think it was.."
Iron Man descended from the sky: "Hi, kid, do you like this gift?"
".. It's Mr. Stark," Timothy said with a polite smile toward Iron Man, even adding "Mr." before his name, even though he usually just called Tony Stark or Iron Man directly in private.
"I like it very much." Colt hugged Tony, who had just stowed away his Iron Man armor.
Timothy continued to smile politely.