Transformed into the DC World

When Thea staggered over to find Felicity, the girl was manipulating three keyboards at the same time, sitting on a swivel chair and spinning back and forth like the wind.

Thea took her by the shoulders, leaned against the doorframe, and watched for a while. She realized that Felicity was truly focused, making her feel embarrassed to interrupt her for something trivial.

"Hey, go get some coffee," Thea suggested.

Without even looking back, Felicity replied, "No, I'm busy. Go play somewhere else."

No matter how heartless she might be, Thea couldn't just let Felicity work while she did nothing… She grabbed a chair, sat beside her, and casually wrapped an arm around Felicity's shoulders. "I'm here to take a break with you."

Felicity stopped typing and looked at her with concern. "You're not being forced into more physical labor, are you?"

Truly a capitalist's servant—just a few days of work had already left a lasting impression. Thea thought to herself that even Zhuge Liang had worked in the fields before leaving the mountains, and he hadn't complained. Felicity, on the other hand, still had a long way to go.

Despite mentally criticizing the quality of MIT's education, Thea kept her expression neutral. "It's about something else." She pointed toward the empty building of the old factory and the current office area of the software department.

"Should we find something to do? As an heir, I haven't accomplished anything yet," Thea said regretfully.

"And what exactly can we do?" Felicity's words implied that their family's company was essentially being transformed into a black-market operation. Was there even anything that required software control? Hadn't they already reinforced the hardware to maintain their so-called advanced status? Buying more processors didn't automatically mean better performance, right?

Thea whispered, "You're not exactly helpful… so, how about this? Do you have any half-finished software projects? Sell me one, and I'll use it to keep our people occupied. And hey, we can even turn it into a business deal."

Felicity tapped her left hand with her right, her small nose scrunching up. "I have an idea! Just wait!" She quickly searched her computer, clicking away until the printer beside her whirred to life.

A moment later, she handed Thea three freshly printed sheets. "Here are some projects I worked on in college. See if any of them are useful… but, honestly, I doubt they are." Her voice started strong but gradually faded as she spoke.

Thea carefully examined the papers and immediately encountered a harsh reality. She recognized every letter on the page, but when they were put together, they formed sentences she couldn't understand at all. What in the world was this? Was Felicity really a genius?

"Computational Formula for Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry""Trend Monitoring and Framework Agreement for the Color and Flavor Supply Chain""String Algorithm and Wavelength Identification Method"

…

It was no wonder Oliver and Felicity had drifted apart later on. A guy who had dropped out of elementary school living with someone who had a master's degree—how could they possibly communicate? Other than their shared love for sports, they had nothing in common. There was no intellectual connection, and Thea was convinced that this must have been the real reason for their breakup.

This brutal truth served as a reminder: reading and education were crucial. Otherwise, not even being the protagonist of the story would be enough to keep a girl like Felicity interested.

As Thea mulled over a specific detail of the plot, she suddenly remembered a piece of software that could be useful. She quickly scanned through the documents again.

"Ah-ha!" She clapped her hands in excitement. "This is it—the facial recognition algorithm!"

Startled, Felicity turned to look at Thea as if she had lost her mind. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Thea reassured her. Then she pointed at the algorithm. "How far did you develop this?"

"This is hacker-grade software, little Thea. You can't just use it carelessly—it could cause serious problems if it gets out," Felicity warned.

"My plan is simple. I don't intend to use it for commercial purposes. I want to develop it, sell it, or even hand it over to the police to help fight crime. How accurate is it? Can it correctly identify suspects?"

Facial recognition software was one of Felicity Smoak's most well-known achievements in the show.

Both Arrow and The Flash featured it multiple times. In reality, it worked best when paired with cellphone tracking, but Thea wasn't ready to release such technology yet. Besides, phone tracking raised major privacy concerns, and she had no intention of stepping into that legal minefield for now.

While this software was dangerous for commercial use, it could be valuable to law enforcement or the military, helping to rebuild the Quinn Group's reputation—which, frankly, wasn't great.

Thea had even bigger ambitions. If she managed to take over Queen Consolidated, her mother, Moira, might consider running for senator or even mayor. Their political foundation was still weak, but Moira had the necessary skills. Thea recalled a certain former First Lady who later became Secretary of State—someone Moira strongly resembled in her ability to navigate politics. If Thea played her cards right, this could be a stepping stone for their future.

It was still too early to say for sure, but reputation-building required careful planning. Perhaps this would be useful in the long run.

At this point, Felicity also began to see the merit in Thea's suggestion. Deep down, she was a kind-hearted person who couldn't turn a blind eye to injustice. It was no surprise that she had eventually gravitated toward Green Arrow—Oliver's actions had inspired her, drawing her into his cause for five years.

Now, hearing that the software she had originally developed for hacking could be used to fight crime, she was thrilled.

After some discussion, the two agreed: Felicity would provide the initial version of the facial recognition algorithm, and Thea, on behalf of the company, would purchase it and hand it over to the software department for further development. They also agreed that it would not be used for commercial purposes.

The specific price still needed to be evaluated by the company. Initially, Felicity didn't want any money for it, but Thea mercilessly pointed out her extravagant habits—changing outfits three times a day and wearing a different pair of earrings every single day. This made Felicity realize just how important money really was.

Most importantly, the money could be used to help build their secret base.

"Wait—this money isn't for me?!" Felicity's eyes widened. She had assumed Thea was just trying to negotiate a higher payment for herself. She had been mentally planning how to spend it!

"Ahem… well, most of it is for you," Thea admitted. Truthfully, Moira kept a tight grip on her finances, leaving her with little personal money. She didn't even have the chance to skim any funds on the side. The Red Arrow skateboard project seemed simple, but it was costing a lot. Now, a rare financial opportunity had presented itself, and as the saying goes, if you don't take it, you're the one to blame.

With Felicity now on board, Thea wasted no time. She marched straight to the president's office, passionately pitching the idea to Moira. She highlighted the advanced nature of the facial recognition software and subtly suggested how handing it over to the police could improve their public image.

Moira was no fool. She immediately understood Thea's intentions. There was no need for a lengthy discussion—who would refuse an opportunity to boost their reputation? She approved a hefty budget of one million dollars for the project.

As for how much of that Thea would give Felicity… Moira didn't ask. She knew her daughter had been spending a lot of time with a new friend lately, and in her mind, this was a good thing. It meant Thea was becoming more socially engaged.

And perhaps, if things continued this way, she and Walter could finally move forward with their own plans…