Melting Pot Concept in Marvel

Aaron's ability to mimic voices stemmed from the special powers he gained after smelting his phone.

When he played music just now, it was a spur-of-the-moment idea—he realized he could quickly convert sound signals in his mind to mimic other voices.

And as it turned out, he really could.

He was able to easily record external audio, convert it into signals, and then reproduce it perfectly in his own voice.

The signals themselves were almost identical, though there was a slight margin of error in the conversion and transmission process. However, that negligible bit of difference could essentially be ignored.

That said, certain special individuals wouldn't be fooled.

Daredevil, for instance, might be able to tell. The sound may be identical, but the emotion behind it is different; someone with extreme sensitivity could discern the difference.

"We're here!"

Aaron stopped at a corner of the street.

Kate looked up at the sign, her voice suddenly growing louder: "An insect shop? You like insects?!"

Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Looks like you're scared of that sort of thing? I'm going inside for a while—you can wait out here."

Kate hesitated, looking conflicted. "I'd rather go in with you. Hold my hand, okay? I'm a little scared of those creatures, and especially snakes…"

Compared to insects, she was more afraid of random creeps who might pop up out of nowhere.

Aaron chuckled and waved to someone in the distance.

A tall, imposing woman walked over. She nodded curtly to Aaron.

"The person you're supposed to protect will be waiting outside for a bit. Take her to that café we passed just now."

Hearing this, the woman, wearing sunglasses, nodded seriously. She looked stern and cool-headed, but she couldn't help asking, "Mr. Aaron, how did you spot me?"

As a professional, she'd kept a distance of at least a hundred meters while standing guard.

"You think you look cool like that?" Aaron rolled his eyes. Even from several hundred meters away, he'd seen her clear as day.

Of course, what truly gave her away was the signals passing through the air. Not only had he tracked her movements, he had also "heard" her communications with Eleanor. This was how he'd confirmed her identity.

Eleanor suspected the earlier attack had been orchestrated by a rival security company hoping to damage her own firm's reputation. In their line of work, competition could be cutthroat. After all, what's more detrimental to a security firm's image than failing to protect the owner's own daughter?

Aaron couldn't have cared less about these corporate rivalries; they were nothing compared to what he planned to do next.

He cast an eager look at the insect shop, waved goodbye to Kate, and went inside.

"Hello, sir. Is there anything I can help you with?"

A middle-aged man with disheveled hair brightened up when he saw Aaron. Clearly, business wasn't great at this shop, and he might have been a bit too enthusiastic.

Aaron didn't mind his over-the-top friendliness. Scanning the surroundings, he spoke plainly:

"Do you have green tiger beetles, bats, rotifers, leaf sheep sea slugs, sea urchins, hercules beetles, ironclad beetles, bull ants, mantis shrimp, planarians…"

"Hang on a second!"

The man's face showed both delight and worry—he was starting to wonder if this guy was making fun of him.

"Buddy, this is just an insect shop, not some entomology research lab. Even a museum wouldn't have everything you just listed.

"Take something like green beetles—they're native to EU. Bull ants come from Australia…

"And a lot of those are restricted species that are a pain to get through customs."

Aaron pulled out a stack of US bills from his pocket.

"So, do you have them now?"

The man stared unblinkingly at the money. "I just remembered, I do have some of these—my private collection…"

Aaron pulled out two more stacks. "And now?"

"Bro! Even if I didn't have them, I'd still find a way to get them for you!"

Gritting his teeth, the shopkeeper continued, "I've got plenty of channels—whatever you want, I can get it. Even the restricted stuff is no problem!"

Aaron nodded and snapped his fingers. The man's phone chimed.

"I've sent you a list by email. Bring out whatever you can supply right away. As for the rest… get it for me as soon as you can."

"Money isn't an issue."

With that, Aaron casually sat down on a nearby chair, producing a few more bundles of cash from his pocket.

"How much you earn here depends on your own abilities."

The man's eyes grew red with excitement. A big spender had come at last! He'd spent years collecting insects, lost his wife (who'd been scared off by his hobby), and never saw his kids. Even this tiny shop was on the verge of closing down. Finally, his passion might pay off.

"Just wait one moment!"

Practically groveling, he hurried to pour Aaron a glass of water, then ducked into the back room. After some clattering, he brought out several glass containers and placed them before Aaron.

He looked torn. "These are the ones you asked for. A couple of them aren't actually for sale, but you seem genuinely interested in insects, so…I'll let you have them all."

Aaron glanced over the contents: two large ironclad beetles, three hercules beetles, two longhorn beetles, plus several other beetles. There were also a few spiders of different species—one of them the black sun spider, famous in the fighting-insects scene.

There were also a few scorpions.

"Sir, I spent…"

"Ten thousand dollars—will that do?"

Aaron slid a stack of bills across the table.

"That's more than enough! You're extremely generous!"

"And…"

"I want the rest of those items as quickly as possible—dead or alive, though alive is preferred. If possible, get at least three of each. The same rule applies: money isn't a problem. I'm in a rush, understand?"

Aaron kept his face impassive, though he was brimming with excitement inside as he casually observed the "treasures."

"Of course, sir! The customer is always right. I'll get on it right away!"

Aaron nodded and pushed a few more bundles of cash over.

"That's your deposit. If you need more, just tell me. You've got my contact info in the email."

"Remember—make it fast!"

Aaron didn't bother explaining why he wanted all this. In a money-worshipping world, no explanation is more persuasive than cold, hard cash.

The shopkeeper nodded eagerly, looking at Aaron as though he were a walking ATM. The email listed an enormous variety of insects; collecting them all would be expensive. But as long as there was money, anything was possible! This was a chance to strike it rich—he could easily make tens of thousands of dollars if he pulled it off.

As for what Aaron intended to do with them? Not his problem. Even if Aaron planned to release them into the wild or start an ecological invasion, that would be the government's headache. Maybe it was for some sort of biotech experiment? Either way, he was contributing to "medical research," right?

Smiling to himself, the man thought so optimistically.

Carrying a large haul covered with cloth, Aaron left the shop with ease. Glancing around, he hacked into a nearby public security camera and then opened the black hole in his right palm to absorb the loot.

Seeing this, he couldn't help muttering, "You talk a big game, but I still can't use you unless you're in my hand. Kinda low-class, don't you think?"

[ …Because you're too weak! ]

"Wow, what nice weather we're having!"

Aaron looked up at the sky. At some point, dark clouds had gathered, giving the air a heavy, oppressive feel.

In that moment of distraction, a few crows cawed as they flew overhead.