Chapter 46: Negotiations with Harry Osborn
After Zhang Xuan hung up the phone with Garfield-Spider, he called Gwen.
"Gwen, have you thought it over? Do you want to come help me out? Dr. Connors is really short-handed right now."
"I'm currently preparing for the MIT entrance exams, so I might not have time to help in the lab." There was the sound of a pen scratching against paper on Gwen's end; she seemed to be studying very hard.
Zhang Xuan asked, "What are you going to MIT for?"
Gwen answered without hesitation, "MIT is a gathering place for geniuses from all over the World. Of course I want to go."
Zhang Xuan asked again, "Are you going there to become famous or to continue your research?"
Gwen paused for a moment before emphasizing again, "MIT is the gathering place for geniuses from all over the World, so I have to go there."
Zhang Xuan slapped his forehead in exasperation. "I have the genius among geniuses from MIT right here, Tony Stark."
"I also have Bruce Banner, who has seven doctorates."
"There's also Helen Zhao, a researcher in nano-repair technology, and you're already familiar with Dr. Connors' research."
"Then there's Erik Selvig and Jane Foster, who are currently researching spatial portals."
"There are many more... so tell me now, where is the real gathering place for the most geniuses in the World?"
Gwen said uncertainly, "Maybe... it's your place?"
Zhang Xuan said proudly, "Of course. Wouldn't it be better to spend the time you'd use for exam prep learning here with me instead?"
Zhang Xuan was riding on the coattails of these people; otherwise, he wouldn't have the courage to say his place was better than MIT.
Gwen was silent for a long time. As she looked up at the massive stack of review materials, she determined what she ultimately wanted.
"You're right. However, I need to resign from Osborn Industries, so it might take a few days before I can arrive."
Hearing this, Zhang Xuan said nonchalantly, "That doesn't matter. Just come over directly. Don't worry about resigning or not; if there's a problem, I'll help you solve it."
"Isn't the currently wanted Dr. Connors still doing fine with his research in my lab? So there won't be any issues."
Gwen thought about it and agreed. "I'll head over tomorrow. Where is the location?"
Zhang Xuan thought about the location of his lab and said, "I have things to do tomorrow. I'll pick you up the day after. My lab's location is a bit remote; you might not be able to find it, as it's not even marked on the maps."
Gwen: "Alright, I'll wait for you the day after tomorrow."
...Zhang Xuan continued his villain statistics work, but he only remembered their nicknames and couldn't remember their names at all.
Zhang Xuan wanted to find villains, but aside from the HYDRA people, there weren't many. Mainly, not many villains had debuted yet; many people hadn't turned bad, and some hadn't appeared at all, so Zhang Xuan didn't know their names.
Zhang Xuan first wrote down Kingpin's name, then Sandman's. Kingpin definitely existed in this Universe; Zhang Xuan had even seen news about him donating money.
But it wasn't certain if Sandman existed in this Universeyet. Zhang Xuan gave the keywords to Jarvis and asked him to search for Sandman.
Flint, living in New York, with a sick daughter—with this information, Zhang Xuan felt that if Sandman existed, Jarvis would find him.
"Venom, Rhino, Vulture, Mysterio, Electro, Ned?"
"Ned should be little Peter's friend, and most likely a little chubby kid; he probably won't be a villain."
"Right, Doctor Octopus, I can search for him. My Archbishop Otto, My Lord, lead us to charge the tree once more."
Jarvis searched very quickly and soon found information on Otto.
Although there was only the name Otto, there weren't many Ottos researching an artificial Sun.
"It's a project invested in by the Osborn Group?"
"Pity, I'm afraid your experiment is about to be cut. Let me come save you."
Looking at the information provided by Jarvis, Zhang Xuan could already see that the Osborn Group clearly didn't have high hopes for this experiment, as the funding was getting smaller and smaller.
At that moment, Jarvis also sent him information regarding Sandman. Looking at the info and comparing it with the face in his memory, Zhang Xuan confirmed this was the Sandman from the Tobey-Spider Universe.
Other villains included but were not limited to Killian and Whiplash. Zhang Xuan already had location information for both; someone like Whiplash was useless to keep around.
Zhang Xuan still needed to investigate Killian. If he hadn't turned too bad yet, he would deal with him a bit later; killing him too early might result in losing a Summoning Card.
As for Extremis, Zhang Xuan felt it was very necessary to study it. After Tony's modifications, this Extremis could perhaps achieve many things.
Setting aside medical treatment, if the high temperatures capable of melting steel armor were used in the welding industry, it would definitely become the industry leader.
Zhang Xuan's idea was for Tony to be injected with Extremis to repair his body, and then consider whether to keep or purge the virus.
"It's still a bit early; many villains aren't even villains yet, and I've forgotten their names."
...The next day, Zhang Xuan took Garfield-Spider to the Osborn Group and successfully met Harry.
As the heir to the Osborn Group, Harry had no time to grieve for his father; he had to step forward to stabilize the falling stock price.
After Zhang Xuan shook hands with Harry, he prepared to leave. "You two are good friends, catch up for a while. I can wait here for a bit; don't mind me."
A person familiar with the company took Zhang Xuan to tour the Oscorp Tower, leaving Peter and Harry alone. Initially, the atmosphere was quite heavy.
Eventually, Peter and Harry broke the heavy atmosphere and went for a walk by the river. With Peter, his childhood friend, present, Harry had someone to speak his heart to.
However, on the opposite bank where they were skipping stones, an old man was listening in while holding Max's files, already prepared to make Harry the scapegoat.
Harry brought Peter back to the Oscorp Tower, where Zhang Xuan was already waiting in his office.
"Welcome back. Now we can talk about the ownership of the Osborn Group."
Harry and Peter, who had entered happily, saw their smiles vanish upon hearing Zhang Xuan's words.
Harry looked at Zhang Xuan, who was sitting in the seat that belonged to him and his father, and narrowed his eyes. His gaze became dangerous.
He then looked at Peter beside him, his eyes full of disappointment and a sense of betrayal.
Zhang Xuan tapped his fingers on the desk. "Harry, Peterknows nothing. He came today purely to comfort you."
Hearing this, Harry stepped forward and hugged Peter, feeling ashamed for doubting him.
"Your father, from your perspective, might have been a very good man. He was willing to pay any price to cure your family's genetic disease."
Zhang Xuan pointed his finger at Peter. "One of those prices was Peter's parents."
Harry, who was still hugging Peter, froze. He grabbed Peter's shoulders and asked, "Peter, is what he's saying true?"
Peter pursed his lips and nodded, trying his best not to cry.
"It's true, but Harry, this isn't your fault. You didn't know."
Zhang Xuan stabbed at Harry's heart, saying, "Your father colluded with foreign powers to research biochemical weapons. After Peter's father discovered this, Richarddied in a plane crash while trying to escape, as your father had ordered a hit on both of them."
"And after that, your father's spider research to treat the genetic disease slowed down. Until Dr. Connors turned into a giant lizard, the medicine still hadn't been fully developed. Your father's hands before he died were a side effect of the experiments; you should have a deep impression of those claws, right?"
Harry's brain couldn't process so much information at once. He lowered his head, found a sofa, and sat down to digest what Zhang Xuan had said.
He really wanted to refute Zhang Xuan, but based on his understanding of his father, his father was definitely capable of doing such things.
"Peter, I'm only asking once. Tell me, is this true?" Harrylooked at Peter with pleading eyes, hoping his good brother would tell him it was all fake. He knew Peterwouldn't lie to him.
But what he got was still an answer he couldn't accept. Harry sat on the sofa in agony and slapped himself hard twice.
Then he slid off the sofa, knelt on the floor, and apologized to Peter: "Peter, I am so sorry. I didn't know my father had done so many terrible things. I've failed you!"
"I even tried to comfort you before. This is just..."
Peter pulled Harry up. The two sat on the sofa, foreheads pressed together, hugging each other and crying, sharing their pain.
A few minutes later, Harry patted Peter's shoulder. He needed to talk to Zhang Xuan.
"After this, I will do everything I can to compensate you. But first, I need to speak with this gentleman. Even though my father might have been a bastard to the outside World, this is the company he left me. I can't let it just disappear."
"Thank you for helping Peter find the truth." Harry first thanked Zhang Xuan for helping Peter, then stared at him. "Next, let's talk about what you mentioned. What is your goal?"
Zhang Xuan said straightforwardly, as Harry wished, "I'm here for Osborn Industries."
Harry sneered and didn't respond, instead walking over to sit across from Zhang Xuan's desk. Since Zhang Xuanwas sitting in Harry's original spot, Harry could only sit opposite him.
"Mr. Zhang Xuan, why do you think you can take away the Osborn Group my father left me?"
Zhang Xuan tapped the desk. "Now, put that little cube your father left you on here."
Harry took out the cube his father had left him and placed it on the table.
Instantly, various pop-up windows appeared on the desk—not advertisement pop-ups.
Seeing this, Harry looked at the files on the desktop in shock, then at the smiling Zhang Xuan.
Zhang Xuan casually pointed at the desktop. Harry did as Zhang Xuan suggested and began swiping through the pile of files, which contained various research results from Osborn Industries.
While Harry was browsing the files, Zhang Xuan was also looking at the various items in them.
This included Doctor Octopus's mechanical tentacles, Rhino's armor, Vulture's wings, and Green Goblin's equipment. These were quite good pieces of gear.
Zhang Xuan remembered there was also Norman Osborn's head and a symbiote suspected to be Venom, but he didn't see those in these records; they should be at that psychiatric research institute.
While flipping through, Harry found the video of Norman Osborn and Peter's father, and also learned the method to cure himself.
Zhang Xuan tapped the desk. Harry looked at him, and Zhang Xuan said, "Now you know the way to cure yourself?"
Harry looked at Peter, who was resting on the sofa with his eyes closed, and then said to Zhang Xuan, "Now that I know the way to cure myself, how could my friend not help me?"
Hearing this, Zhang Xuan wagged his finger. "Peter can help you, but it's not as simple as you think. These spiders are already different."
"These spiders were modified by Peter's father, so having those spiders is useless. Besides, all of your spiders should have been bought by me. They were just delivered to my lab this morning."
Harry slammed the table in anger upon hearing this.
"Damn it! Those people didn't even report to me and took it upon themselves to handle this. They even lied to me this morning, saying all the spiders had been destroyed."
Zhang Xuan stood up and pressed the furious Harry back into his seat.
"Look, you're angry again. Let me tell you something that will make you even angrier."
"Your subordinates have likely already prepared a massive scapegoat for you. This is a recording I intercepted today."
Zhang Xuan began playing an audio clip recorded by Jarvis using a miniature drone. It was a recording of the old man who betrayed Harry and one of his subordinates.
"Those guys on Wall Street are panicking now that this kid Harry has taken over, so we need to kick him out early to regain the shareholders' trust."
"Are we going to use the man who died?"
"It's indeed a good reason. Let him serve one last purpose. He really was a good employee; not only did he design the power grid for us for free, but even after death, he can help us get rid of this green kid Harry."
"However, we can't let those reporters find out about this, otherwise our stock price will plummet again."
Zhang Xuan paused the recording there. These dialogues should be enough.
Harry was so angry he almost turned into the Hulk. Though, at most, he could only become the Green Goblin.
Zhang Xuan waited for Harry to calm down before asking, "Now you can choose to leave with half of the Osborn Group's cash flow, or wait to be kicked out by them before leaving."
Harry laughed in frustration, scratching his head. "I really am a failure. I lost everything my father built for me just after taking office."
Zhang Xuan wagged his finger again. "No, everything your father did was to cure your family's genetic disease. Now, I can help you cure that disease."
Harry looked at his good friend behind him, but Petergave him a helpless shrug.
"Harry, no need to look at Peter. Aside from knowing your father was the killer who murdered his parents, he knows nothing else."
Before coming, Zhang Xuan had instructed Peter that he was not allowed to say his blood was the key to curing Harry's genetic disease. This time, Peter was very obedient and didn't let Harry know about it at all.
Peter: 'If I'm not obedient, you'll crush Harry's head. Can I afford not to be?'
Harry looked at the desert eagle that had appeared in Zhang Xuan's hand at some point. He kicked the desk, and his chair slid backward.
Raising his hands, he said with a bitter smile, "Fine, I guess I don't have a choice."
Zhang Xuan brandished the desert eagle and said, "This isn't to threaten you; it's to help the Osborn Group get rid of its tumors."
Chapter 47: Heading to the Experimental Park
"You can take a close look at the information on Ravencroft Institute. If I leak the evidence of human experimentation here and more news, the Osborn Groupwill be disbanded just the same."
Harry returned to the desk and began to carefully examine the documents. The more he looked, the more alarmed he became; the photos and the facts were undeniable, and all the information was true.
"Harry, you don't have to sacrifice yourself for a company like this. This is the opportunity I'm giving you."
Harry hesitated for only two and a half seconds before standing up and reaching out his hand to Zhang Xuan.
Zhang Xuan also stood up, shook Harry's hand, and then sat back down.
"Pleasure doing business. Come to my laboratory tomorrow; that's where you'll be treated. Peter will be coming along too; he's one of the researchers, so you should be able to trust him."
Harry smiled with relief. "Now, he's all I have left."
Zhang Xuan glanced at the two of them without any disdain; it was just a deep friendship like that of Captain America and Bucky, nothing to be ashamed of.
Aside from offering silent blessings, the only thing he could do was stand a bit further away—lest he be 'caught in the crossfire' of this sentimentality.
Zhang Xuan began using Norman Osborn's highest clearance to search for unsavory content within the group's internal database.
Of course, it was actually Jarvis who executed the task. He couldn't possibly process it all on his own; there was simply too much scandalous information, and the darkness hidden by Osborn was far too extensive. He directly granted clearance, allowing Jarvis to perform a full scan of the Osborn database.
"What are you doing?" Harry asked, watching the various pieces of information rapidly changing on the desk.
"Just collecting some of the evil you've hidden away. With this evidence, my actions will be justified," Zhang Xuanexplained calmly. "When we Easterners do things, we emphasize 'having a legitimate reason'—or as we say,'starting with an army division'."
Having received an elite education, Harry was also familiar with the mysterious Eastern archives.
He understood the explanation; while many foreigners might interpret'Shi' as a teacher, having specifically consulted an Eastern Professor, he knew this'Shi' referred to a military division.
Harry knew Zhang Xuan was about to conduct a massive purge. Because he had been away for years and hadn't been involved in these dirty dealings, he was excluded from the fallout.
Peter might have been part of the reason for this, so he was very grateful to his good brother.
Understanding what Zhang Xuan intended to do, although he was reluctant to lose the Osborn Group his father had built from scratch, it was nothing compared to his own life.
Moreover, these things were indeed too filthy—sending people for human experimentation did not align with his methods or values.
If he didn't cooperate with Zhang Xuan, the Osborn Group would be crushed anyway as soon as Zhang Xuanreleased this information.
Now, being allowed to take half the cash flow—which amounted to several billion—was enough for him to build a smaller version of the Osborn empire.
Harry pulled Peter away and left. Judging from the words he heard, Harry was likely going to apologize to Ben and Mei.
But that was no longer his concern. Regardless, he had given the opportunity and Harry had taken it; otherwise, he would have had to wait until Harry transformed to crush his head.
Zhang Xuan also left after obtaining sufficient data. He would let those Osborn shareholders enjoy themselves for a couple of days; when they were celebrating halfway through with champagne, he would take them all out, leaving nothing behind.
Finally, amidst the public panic, he would take over the Osborn Group... While holding Wanda and watching TV, Zhang Xuan saw a live broadcast from Manhattan while flipping channels.
Spider-Man was fighting Electro, Max. However, without becoming a friendly neighborhood Garfield-Spider, Electro was clearly not going to be temporarily persuaded by Garfield-Spider's 'Talk-no-jutsu'; the two were locked in a fierce battle as soon as they met.
Zhang Xuan put down his Bugles and asked Wanda, "dear, can you brainwash ordinary people now? Or do something like changing certain perceptions?"
Wanda put the Bugles that Zhang Xuan wasn't eating back into the bag, opened another bag of strawberry-flavored soft candy, and began eating them herself.
"I can't change perceptions yet, and I can't do brainwashing either."
Zhang Xuan: (◞ˊ～ˋ)? "Isn't that the same thing? You're so useless."
He snatched the soft candy Wanda was eating and stuffed it into his own mouth.
Wanda gave Zhang Xuan an angry elbow strike and opened another bag of cherry-flavored soft candy.
Wanda thought for a moment and said, "If deleting someone's entire memory counts as brainwashing, then I suppose I can do it."
Zhang Xuan was stunned for a moment. He returned the soft candy in his mouth to Wanda and flashed a flattering smile:
"Dearest wife, you definitely won't delete my memories, right?"
Wanda stood with her hands on her hips triumphantly, mouth full of two flavors of soft candy as she said indistinctly, "Depends on your performance. If I'm not happy, I'll turn you into Baby Zhang Xuan."
Both knew Wanda couldn't actually delete Zhang Xuan's memories, but life was about these playful moments. Now that Wanda was happy, Zhang Xuan's life would naturally be much easier.
While the two were talking, the winner between Garfield-Spider and Electro on TV had been decided.
Garfield-Spider used a powerful stream of water from a fire hydrant to dissipate the limited electricity in Electro's body. He then went over and subdued him.
Zhang Xuan was eating Squeezable Jelly, sucking down two bags in one breath.
"Wife, don't go to Hells Kitchen to practice tonight. Tomorrow I'll take you to my lab; I might need your help."
Wanda was also drinking Squeezable Jelly, though she drank much slower than Zhang Xuan.
"I haven't even finished high school, I probably won't be able to help."
Zhang Xuan snatched Wanda's Squeezable Jelly; seeing how slowly she was drinking, he helped her speed up.
"It's a matter of magic; I might only be able to rely on you."
Wanda nodded in agreement. To ensure a smooth outing tomorrow, Zhang Xuan didn't make things too difficult for Wanda, keeping it to just one simple session.
The next day.
Zhang Xuan took Wanda to pick up Gwen.
"Sister Wanda? Are you going to the lab too?" Gwen was surprised that Wanda was coming along.
Wanda leaned against the car door with a sweet smile. "Someone might need a magic assistant, so I'm going to help out."
Gwen got into the car, sat in the middle of the back seat, and leaned her head close to Wanda.
Zhang Xuan thought: If I go to the back seat now, it seems I could still 'drive'.
"Sister Wanda, can you really not teach me magic?" Gwen asked pitifully, wanting to learn magic.
Wanda said with a look of difficulty, "I don't know how to teach you. Using magic is very simple for me; it feels like an extension of my body."
"Ahem."
Zhang Xuan coughed lightly to attract Gwen's attention.
Gwen didn't fall for it at all; she had heard from Wandathat Zhang Xuan didn't know magic at all.
"Aren't you going to ask me? What if I can teach you magic?" Seeing that Gwen wasn't taking the bait, Zhang Xuan had to take the initiative.
Wanda glanced at Zhang Xuan but didn't expose him.
Gwen helplessly followed Zhang Xuan's lead and asked, "Do you know magic?"
Zhang Xuan: (°¯᷄◡¯᷅°) "Nope."
Wanda and Gwen: (￢д￢.) Whatever~
They chatted idly along the way and soon arrived at Peter's house. Peter and Harry were inside, eating the breakfast left by Ben and Mei.
"Boss, do you want some more to eat?" Peter asked, pointing to the hearty breakfast on the table when he saw Zhang Xuan enter.
Zhang Xuan sat down and accepted Peter's invitation to eat.
"Take your time eating, we're not in a rush," Zhang Xuansaid, but Peter and Harry actually sped up their eating instead.
Zhang Xuan picked up a piece of bread with meat that wasn't a burger and tried it.
"Hmm, it seems your Aunt May's cooking is quite good."
Harry caught the detail in Zhang Xuan's words.
"Zhang Xuan, you have an Aunt May too?"
Zhang Xuan looked at Peter after hearing this. Harrydidn't know what Zhang Xuan was doing, so he asked Peter, "Peter, is there something about you in this?"
Garfield-Spider really didn't want to say it, but if he didn't, Zhang Xuan would certainly tell Harry anyway, so it was better if he said it himself.
"He has a wife also named Mei, and that young Aunt Mayalso has a child named Peter Parker."
Harry almost spat out his food upon hearing this, but he managed to control himself.
"Peter, no wonder he looks younger than you but often looks at you with the expression of an elder."
Peter just wanted to eat and didn't want to pay any attention to Harry.
After breakfast, Harry saw the two beauties sitting in Zhang Xuan's car and wanted to greet them very gentlemanly, but he was pulled away by Peter.
"Peter, what are you doing? We should say hello; we kept two ladies waiting outside for so long."
Peter advised in a low voice, "Better not. The boss might get unhappy."
Hearing what Peter said, Zhang Xuan said dissatisfiedly, "Peter, am I such a chauvinistic person in your heart? Would I stop my wife from greeting someone else?"
Harry patted Peter. "See? It's just a greeting, no one will mind."
Peter apologized guiltily, "I'm very sorry, Boss. I might have had a slight misunderstanding about you."
"It's fine, just get to know me better in the future. I'll forgive you this time."
Harry introduced himself very gentlemanly, "Ladies, I am Harry Osborn, very..."
Harry reached out his hand to lightly shake hands with the two ladies, which in his understanding was a sign of politeness.
*Click—*
The sound of a pistol cocking rang out. Harry's extended hand stopped upon hearing the sound, then withdrew as he turned and went back into the Rolls-Royce he had driven over.
Since he was about to leave Osborn, he naturally chose an expensive car to drive.
As the car started and followed Zhang Xuan's car, Harryfinally said, "Peter, it seems you know your boss very well."
Peter shrugged. "It's okay, just a tiny bit. He's very generous in other areas." Peter even made a 'tiny bit' gesture with his fingers, almost getting his car hit by a Korean guy with a bat on the street.
"Like what?" Harry asked, thinking of the half of the cash flow Zhang Xuan had promised him.
Peter flipped the middle finger at the guy, then made the 'tiny bit' gesture again.
Peter thought for a bit before answering Harry's question, "Like my boss paying me ten thousand dollars a month?"
Harry wiped his face with his hand and then gave a bitter smile. "Peter, if you could help Dr. Connors with his research as you say, I would have paid you thirty thousand dollars a month at Osborn Industries."
Peter was shocked—shocked by the thirty thousand dollars, shocked by Zhang Xuan's black heart, and shocked by the evils of capitalism.
Thirty thousand dollars; he had never seen that much money in one place since he was a child.
Harry coughed and said, "You said he promised me half of Osborn's cash flow. How much do you think I'll actually get?"
Peter thought for a moment and said, "I think you'll get a third."
"Why do you say that?" Harry asked.
Peter laughed. "Because I only got a third."
Harry, who was driving, also laughed and gave Peter a playful punch.
Wanda sat in the passenger seat. Although it was only one session last night, it had left her very tired, and she drowzily fell asleep.
Gwen sat in the back, replaying the image of Zhang Xuanhandsomely pulling out the desert eagle to 'protect' her in her mind. She felt Zhang Xuan was incredibly cool at that moment, protecting her like an overbearing CEO and not letting other men touch her.
What girl wouldn't like being exclusively doted on by a protective overbearing CEO who forbids other men from touching her? However, she had to pretend to be unwilling, otherwise it would make her look like a female lead who only exists to please men.
Zhang Xuan: Who are you calling an overbearing CEO? Who would want to be a CEO who works for someone else? Don't come here and embarrass yourself if you only have a single family company.
Soft Rice Fragrance: You only have a small company.
Zhang Xuan (With an 'unreasonable but confident' expression): It's the startup phase, don't you understand? Aren't I about to take over Osborn? Go back to eating your soft rice; you've been at it for so many years and still haven't found a rich woman.
Arriving at the laboratory, Harry was quite surprised. He hadn't expected a lab to be built in such a remote place; it was over 100 kilometers away from New York.
Under Zhang Xuan's lead, the group went straight to Connors' lab.
Harry smiled upon seeing Dr. Connors, but that smile made everyone present vaguely feel a hint of something off.
"Dr. Connors, I didn't expect to meet you here. It's really been a long time."
Looking at Harry's smile, Connors felt a slight chill down his spine, but he still politely reached out to shake Harry's hand.
"It really has been a long time. The last time we met was before you went abroad; you were just starting middle school then."
Zhang Xuan had no intention of leaving them much time for reminiscing and interrupted, "Dr. Connors, draw more of Harry's blood to keep for subsequent research."
Harry's smile also faded as he returned to normal, completely unaware of how off his smile had just been.
Dr. Connors took a blood bag and began to draw blood from Harry.
The blood in the bag continued to increase. When it reached 100 milliliters, Connors was about to stop, but he was halted by Zhang Xuan.
"Draw a bit more to save having to draw it again next time."
And so the blood draw continued until 400 milliliters. Zhang Xuan blocked him again, and finally, 500 milliliters were drawn.
However, Harry was relatively healthy, so it wasn't a major issue.
Afterward, Harry and Peter talked with Dr. Connorsabout their conditions. Peter also mentioned the fact that the spider genes were bound to his family's DNA.
Then came Harry's 'kabedon' questioning of Peter. However, the two soon reconciled; no one knew exactly what happened.
Gwen eventually joined the discussion and had a bit of blood drawn as well to see if it would help the research.
Believe it or not, Gwen's blood actually was useful, and Dr. Connors began to conduct research on it.
Zhang Xuan appeared at this moment and called Gwen, Peter, and Harry away.
"Everyone come here for a moment. I'm going to take you for some treatment; I have a treatment method of my own over here."
Zhang Xuan took Wanda along, and they went out on the park's sightseeing car.
Harry looked at the surrounding ten-meter-high walls and marveled, "The cost is quite high; these walls are certainly built tall enough."
"Of course. Even with this, I still feel like some Steel Fibershould have been added."
Zhang Xuan drove the car to the edge of a large iron pit. Peter saw that there was another pit in the middle of the iron pit and asked:
"Boss, what is this pit for?"
"It's obviously for someone to lie in. Isn't that human-shaped hole obvious?" Harry said with a smile as he looked at the large pit below.
Chapter 48: The Harry-Brand Toilet
Peter looked at Zhang Xuan, who was holding steel pipes again, and asked, "Boss, what are you going to do with those steel pipes?"
Holding two steel pipes about two centimeters thick, Zhang Xuan smiled at Harry.
"Harry, why don't you take another guess?"
Harry felt a chill down his spine from Zhang Xuan's gaze and felt a bit afraid. He said in a joking tone, "Mr. Zhang Xuan, you're not... wanting me to go in there, are you? Ahaha..."
Hearing this, Zhang Xuan showed a 'kind' smile. "As expected of the successor to the Osborn Group, you guessed it right away."
Hearing that, Harry's feet began to exert force, ready to leave at any moment.
"Don't worry, it's just for treatment and to test my research along the way. Peter, come help."
Garfield-Spider was called upon, but he didn't know what Zhang Xuan wanted him to do. He asked in confusion, "Boss, what do I need to do?"
Zhang Xuan pointed to the hollowed-out iron block behind Harry. "See that human-shaped depression?"
Peter nodded, and Zhang Xuan continued, "Now go catch your good brother and put him in. I'm going to start the treatment."
Watching Harry back away in fear, Peter tried to persuade him, "Harry, the Boss won't kill you, so it's fine."
Although Harry also felt Zhang Xuan wouldn't kill him, he instinctively wanted to get away. A voice deep inside told him to leave quickly, as it was very dangerous.
Seeing that the two of them weren't moving, Zhang Xuanhad to do it himself.
Zhang Xuan moved behind Harry with extreme speed and kicked him down in one go.
The depth of the pit was only about half a meter, and the human-shaped depression at the bottom was about 30 centimeters deep.
Harry wanted to resist, but his strength was far inferior to Zhang Xuan's. He was pressed into the human-shaped depression by Zhang Xuan in just a few moves.
"Zhang Xuan, what are you doing? The Osborn Group has already been given to you, what more do you want?" Harry was panicking now, and he began to struggle and call for help. "Peter, save me!"
Peter stood by the edge watching and said to Harry, "Harry, you can trust the Boss. We won't harm you."
Soon, Zhang Xuan fitted the steel pipes over Harry's limbs. With the heavy steel pipes on his arms, Harrycouldn't lift them at all.
Soon, Harry's hands and feet were encased in heavy and sturdy steel pipes.
Lying in the human-shaped depression, he gave up struggling and could only ask Peter for help. "Peter, help me out, I'm so scared."
Hearing Harry's near-crying tone, Peter asked Zhang Xuan again, "Boss, is there no other way? And this method of yours doesn't seem very reliable."
Hearing Peter speak up for him, Harry said touched, "Peter, I knew you loved me. Quickly save me."
Gwen, standing outside the pit watching the show, had a look of disgust. She originally thought it was one of Zhang Xuan's pranks, but it turned out to be a dramatic 'love-hate' opera.
Inside the pit, Zhang Xuan rolled his eyes at Peter and lied, "This is a treatment prop. Later, Quantum Beams will be released through these steel pipes, and the power of the Sea of Quanta will fill this pit. Finally, the latest Biological Microwaves will eliminate his family's genetic disease through oscillation."
"Do you understand now? If not, hurry up and help. Don't waste my time."
Garfield-Spider didn't understand, but thinking of Wanda's mysterious power, he felt what Zhang Xuan said wasn't impossible. Besides, Zhang Xuan had no reason to kill Harry. If things followed their normal course, Harrywould be collectively impeached by the board today, framed by those people in the Osborn Group, and finally 'fired'.
He shouted loudly at Peter, hoping to wake his conscience. "Peter, save me! This sounds completely unreliable! You can't believe this guy's nonsense!"
Peter shook his head. "Harry, I know Mr. Zhang Xuan. He won't harm you, otherwise, neither of us would ever see each other again."
Seeing Peter like this, Harry also gave up struggling, as if accepting his fate of death.
Zhang Xuan clapped his hands and walked out of the big pit to the large iron block by the edge.
Before, Garfield-Spider hadn't thought about the purpose of this large iron block that had been machined smooth. Now, seeing Zhang Xuan push the iron block weighing over ten tons, he gradually realized something was wrong.
"No, no, no, Boss, you can't do this. Harry is innocent, you can't just crush him to death like this." Garfield-Spidertried to push the iron block back from the other side, but Zhang Xuan's strength was too great; he couldn't form any effective resistance. His efforts were like a mantis trying to stop a carriage, easily crushed over.
Finally, the large iron block was pushed over Harry. There was a groove running through the top and bottom of the iron block, 20 centimeters wide, through which Harrycould be seen in the human-shaped depression, though only the middle part of his body was visible.
The rest of his body was blocked by this iron block weighing over 20 tons, blocking any possibility of Harrycoming out from below.
Peter and Gwen, who grew up in the big city, didn't understand what this thing was.
Wanda, who had been on the phone in the distance, hung up and walked over. Seeing the iron block that had been pushed over and the gap under Zhang Xuan's feet, she looked around and asked in confusion:
"Hubby, why did you use an iron block to make a toilet? And it doesn't even have a door."
As soon as these words came out, Gwen and Peter: Σ (ﾟДﾟ;)
Lying in the pit, Harry opened his eyes: `(›ʘ̆mouthʘ̥̆‹)´
Harry's body, which had previously given up struggling, began to fight back vigorously at this moment. The steel pipes that had pinned his arms down were rattled by his movements, clanging violently against the walls of the human-shaped depression, even producing stinging sparks.
Seeing this, Peter stepped forward, wanting to plead for Harry.
"Step aside. I said this is treatment. What are you overthinking?" Zhang Xuan interrupted him, then glanced at Wanda beside him. "Wanda, you shouldn't talk nonsense either. Look at how scared Harry is, his face has turned green."
At this time, although Harry's face hadn't turned green yet, a green light faintly appeared in his eyes, though it was extremely hard to notice without looking closely.
Hearing Zhang Xuan's words, Peter looked down into the pit with worry and indeed saw that fierce glint of green light in Harry's eyes.
Zhang Xuan pulled away Wanda, whom he had criticized, and called Gwen. The three of them left first, saying they were going back to prepare for the treatment.
Only Garfield-Spider was left by the pit to accompany Harry. He tried for a while to move the massive iron block pressing over the pit but failed. This iron block weighed over twenty tons, and Garfield-Spider, who had not yet tapped into his potential, simply couldn't budge it—which was exactly why Zhang Xuan felt safe leaving.
Zhang Xuan left with Wanda and Gwen, leaving Peterand Harry behind.
Under Harry's persuasion, Peter agreed to let him out, but unfortunately, Peter lacked the strength. Still a weakling, he couldn't push the 20-ton iron block at all.
This was also because Harry wasn't in mortal danger; otherwise, in a moment of desperation, Garfield-Spidermight have thrown the massive iron block into the sky.
Chapter 49: Untitled Draft
Half an hour later, Zhang Xuan returned with the two of them, though all three were wearing helmets on their heads.
Zhang Xuan carried two buckets on a shoulder pole; an unidentified liquid slopped over the edges, emitting an indescribable stench that made Peter take three steps back.
One step back was instinct, two steps back was disgust, and three steps back was for Harry! He couldn't retreat any further.
Seeing this, Peter hurriedly stepped forward to block him. "Boss, you can't do this! Even if Harry really has to die, he should be given proper respect. This way of dying is more cruel than a forced confession!"
His words suddenly reminded Zhang Xuan of ObadiahStane; he wondered if the man was still in the Underground Room.
"Move aside, I'm treating him," Zhang Xuan said, gesturing to Gwen. "Gwen, hold Peter back." At the same time, he quietly winked at Peter.
Although Gwen didn't know Zhang Xuan's goal, she complied and held Peter back.
Zhang Xuan lifted the bucket lid, dipped his finger into some brown paste, and reached toward Peter.
"No, no, no, no! Boss! Calm down!" Peter screamed repeatedly; three "Nos" were far from enough to express his current terror.
If Gwen hadn't known what it was beforehand, she probably would have dodged even faster than Garfield-Spider.
He was held tightly by Gwen as Zhang Xuan roughly smeared the slimy stuff around his mouth and face.
Peter was too scared to speak, let alone breathe. But even with his constitution, holding his breath for five minutes was his current limit.
His face turned purple; unable to hold it any longer, he opened his mouth. Seizing the moment he took a breath, Zhang Xuan quickly shoved his finger into his mouth.
Peter was about to gag, but he suddenly froze, carefully savoring the taste in his mouth, and his eyes lit up.
"This is..."
Zhang Xuan clamped a hand over his mouth and gave him a look. Peter understood immediately and let out an exaggerated retching sound.
"Blergh—"
"Peter?!" Harry's voice cracked with fear from the pit. "What happened? Answer me!"
"Harry... blergh... they're forcing me to eat... ugh... eat po... poop! Good luck to you, blergh—"
Peter was acting with total commitment. Even though he didn't understand Zhang Xuan's intention, he chose to cooperate.
He quietly moved next to Wanda and asked in a low voice, "Sister Wanda, what exactly is the Boss doing? Why is he doing this to Harry?"
Wanda rubbed her forehead helplessly. "He said he wants to force out the latent Demon inside Harry's body; that might be the root of their family's genetic disease."
"A Demon? The kind that can only be dealt with using magic?"
Wanda nodded.
Peter pulled a small white fragment from his mouth and asked, "Then what is this?"
Wanda stepped back two paces in disgust. "That's toilet paper Xuan specifically took from the bathroom to make it look realistic."
Garfield-Spider instantly froze in place, his expression twisting.
(|||꒪ཀ꒪)ﾂ Blergh—
Hearing Garfield-Spider's vomiting, Harry's screams from the pit became even more shrill:
"Zhang Xuan! You bastard! I trusted you so much, and this is how you treat me?! You'll die a horrible death—"
"Ah! You jerk—"
Ignoring Harry's roars, Zhang Xuan took out a small bottle and poured it into Harry's pit.
The escaping foul gas drifted toward Peter; he, who had been fake-vomiting, now truly threw up.
"Blergh—"
As the primary target of attention, the smell in Harry's pit was even more concentrated.
"Ugh... it's crap, it's definitely crap! Just like what I tasted when I was a kid... blergh—"
Zhang Xuan leaned toward Harry with a mischievous air, lifted his visor, and revealed an extremely punchable smile:
"Oh? What happened when you were a kid? You've eaten it before?"
Harry: "I %&...!@&..."
Zhang Xuan ignored him, picked up the bucket of yellow-brown viscous substance, and poured it down toward Harry's feet.
Harry: "I @&#*#@... &, blergh—(꒪ཀ꒪」∠)"
Soon, the large iron block pressing down on Harry made a metallic clanging sound. The steel pipes rubbed and collided against the groove walls, the noise growing louder and louder.
Zhang Xuan picked up a wooden stick over a meter long, dipped it in some of the viscous substance, and slowly extended it toward Harry's face:
"Jie jie jie~ I'll be taking your Osborn Group, and your good brother Peter will be my man from now on."
Watching the stick covered in filth and paper scraps getting closer, Harry finally broke down and begged:
"Please... I beg you... don't... whatever you do, don't smear that on my face..."
Zhang Xuan ignored him completely, smearing the stick on Harry's face with a wicked grin.
"Ah! Ah! Peter—!"
Suddenly, Harry's shouting stopped abruptly. His tightly shut eyes snapped open, a strange and hideous smile appeared on his face, and his neck craned forward.
"Human, stop." The oddly behaving Harry glared at Zhang Xuan, but he quickly broke character: "Blergh~"
The ferocious look vanished instantly, and he began retching again.
"Oh? You finally came out." Zhang Xuan raised an eyebrow. "If you hadn't come out soon, I would have thought this was just a normal genetic disease. I didn't expect a Demon to actually be parasitic inside Harry's body."
"Human! You'd better not let me out, or I will tear your soul apart bit by bit... blergh~"
The Green Goblin spoke too much and accidentally inhaled a mouthful of the foul air; his evil tone was instantly ruined. He nearly choked himself to death while retching.
Zhang Xuan took away the bottle emitting the stench. Since the Demon had revealed itself, it could be handed over to Wanda for practice.
"Wanda, it's your turn to act."
Seeing the source of the stench removed, Wanda took off her helmet and walked to the edge of the pit to look down at Harry.
"dear, this really seems to be a Demon. I can feel his evil, treacherous, and insane power."
Zhang Xuan looked at the Green Goblin glaring up from the pit and asked Wanda, "dear, can you handle it? If you're not sure, we can leave him hanging for a couple of days and wait until he's weak before we move."
The Green Goblin below cursed upon hearing this: "Cunning human! To be so despicable! If you have the guts, defeat me fairly, then I'll accept my defeat!"
Wanda sneered. "You? You're not worthy of my husband's action."
She gathered magic energy in one hand; a red energy palm penetrated Harry's skull and grabbed something inside his brain.
When she withdrew her hand, she held a red sphere condensed from Chaos Magic, with a green Demontrapped inside.
Zhang Xuan had only one evaluation for this green Demon: ugly and disgusting. It was constantly pounding against the sphere's walls, trying to escape.
"Humans, if you release me now, I will give you a way to live."
Seeing that he couldn't break through the red sphere, the ugly Green Goblin began to threaten Zhang Xuan and Wanda. But to his disappointment, the two couldn't hear his voice at all.
Zhang Xuan: "dear, can you just neutralize it directly?"
Wanda nodded. "Yes, now as long as I apply force, he will completely disappear, with no possibility of survival."
Zhang Xuan looked at the Green Goblin inside the sphere, who had been arrogant just moments ago but was now kneeling and begging for mercy, and said in front of it:
"Wanda, make him disappear."
Chapter 50: Harry's After-School Tutoring for Peter
The Green Goblin inside the sphere heard this and was about to hurl the most vicious curse at Zhang Xuan, but Wanda didn't give him time. With a squeeze of her palm, the Green Goblin was instantly annihilated.
When she spread her palm again, it was as clean as new. Zhang Xuan held her hand and examined it closely:
"Don't use this hand for cooking today. I'm afraid it wasn't cleaned thoroughly and might cast a'shortening' curse on me."
Wanda placed a finger to her lips playfully and said, "It's not impossible. Every time Natasha and Yelena say... if there were such a curse, I think Natasha might like it."
Natasha: That's not what I meant, don't talk nonsense.
After speaking, Wanda pulled her hand back and left, taking Gwen to the laboratory.
She had discovered a very interesting experiment regarding how to burn excess body fat—recently she felt she had put on a bit of weight and wanted to see the research progress.
Along the way, Gwen still hadn't given up on her desire to learn magic, following Wanda the whole way in hopes of becoming a mage.
Wanda also very gently tried things out with Gwen.
[Eliminated Green Goblin, obtained Pumpkin Bombproduction line, obtained Summoning Card *1]
Receiving the system notification, Zhang Xuan was finally certain that the Green Goblin had been completely eliminated. He immediately set about the rescue work for Harry.
Zhang Xuan brought in an electromagnetic suction crane and steadily lifted the massive iron block weighing over twenty tons.
Peter jumped into the pit immediately, carefully removing the steel pipes from Harry's hands and feet.
"Boss, Harry will be okay, right?" Garfield-Spider was full of worry for his dear friend, his movements so gentle he hardly dared to touch the unconscious Harry.
Zhang Xuan bit his finger and shook his head, saying, "It's hard to say right now. This is the first time Wanda and I have tried this method. But since Wanda didn't say there was a problem, it should be fine. If there were real danger, she definitely would have mentioned it beforehand."
A team of medical staff soon arrived at the scene and placed Harry on a stretcher. Peter followed closely behind, never leaving his side.
Only after a comprehensive instrumental examination confirmed Harry was physically fine did Peter finally feel at ease.
By this time, Zhang Xuan had already gone to Helen Zhao's lab to study the nanomolecular repair agent... The next day, Harry finally woke up from a groggy sleep. He jerked awake, quickly looked around, and sighed in relief when he realized he wasn't in a cesspool.
He brought his hand to his nose and sniffed it, finally relaxing after confirming he hadn't "soaked in the smell."
Turning his head, he saw Peter sleeping in another bed fully clothed, clearly having fallen asleep from the exhaustion of keeping watch. At this thought, the corners of Harry's mouth curled up unconsciously.
As if sensing Harry's gaze, Peter suddenly opened his eyes. Seeing Harry looking at him, he immediately showed a look of joy:
Seeing Harry looking at him again, he looked at the awakened Harry happily.
"Harry, you're finally awake. Do you feel unwell anywhere?"
Harry shook his head. "I'm fine. With you by my side, I'm not afraid of anything."
Peter took Harry's hand, and the two looked at each other... At that moment, a young Nurse coming for rounds stopped at the door. Even if it was against the rules, she couldn't help but raise her phone and quietly snap a photo of this scene.
Ten minutes later, Zhang Xuan, having learned of Harry's awakening, brought Wanda to Harry's hospital room.
"Now that you're awake, let Wanda give you an examination," Zhang Xuan said.
Peter had already told him about the demon in his head. Harry lay quietly, cooperating with Wanda's examination.
Before long, Wanda finished the examination and said, "I've cleared the traces left by the demon; it shouldn't appear again. However, I can't solve his genetic disease."
Harry thanked her, saying, "Thank you so much. This is already very good. If it weren't for you all, I really couldn't have imagined a demon would be living in my body."
Zhang Xuan: "It's nothing. We're just doing a job for pay. The money I promised you will be transferred to you in a while."
"Don't go out for a while. You two should stay here; things outside might be chaotic for a few days. Especially you..." Zhang Xuan pointed at Peter. "Stay put. I'll bring Ben and May over, or you can go pick them up."
Peter wanted to say something else, but Zhang Xuaninterrupted him. "Shut up."
Peter still couldn't help but speak up: "Mr. Zhang Xuan, I think your plan... might be a bit too radical."
The hospital room door was closed. Peter didn't dare chase after him and could only watch Zhang Xuan leave.
Harry saw his best friend looking conflicted and asked with concern, "Peter, what exactly is Zhang Xuan's plan?"
Peter sat down on the empty hospital bed next to him and told Harry somewhat dejectedly:
"I accidentally overheard last night... Mr. Zhang Xuanplans to take action against the shareholders of Osborn Industries and Stark Industries..." He made a throat-slitting gesture.
"Then he'll follow that lead to further track down those criminals and purge the top 1% of the World's capital."
At this point, Peter's expression was very complex, both worried and confused.
"He wants to make the World a better place... but is this way too extreme?"
After hearing this, Harry smiled and praised, "He's truly an impressive guy, being able to decide the life and death of those people so easily. And he must have an even bigger plan."
"Peter, take my word for it, don't try to stop him. That wouldn't do any good for you, for me, or for Uncle Benand Aunt May."
Peter sighed. "But how much conflict and chaos will this cause... Many people will get hurt because of it. And from a legal and moral standpoint, it just doesn't make sense."
Harry pondered for a while and said, "Those people control too many resources yet never think of the public. Perhaps Zhang Xuan's approach really can bring about some change."
Peter still couldn't agree. "Maybe... we could make the evidence public and then have the FBI arrest them?"
Harry rubbed his temples. It seemed he had to properly explain the rules of the real World to his naive little friend. "Peter, who do you think the FBI truly serves?"
Peter didn't understand why he was asking such a simple question and answered without thinking, "Of course they serve us—arresting criminals, investigating cases, and maintaining order."
Harry was amused by his little cutie and began to patiently analyze the World's operating rules for Peter.
This informative session directly shattered Peter's perception of the World.
Two and a half hours later, Peter was supporting a weak Harry as they walked in the empty corridor. Harry was still trying to reshape Peter's pure "kindness" values into something closer to the "realistic kindness" understood by himself and Zhang Xuan.
At night, Harry couldn't help but marvel at Peter's kind heart; despite being brainwashed all day with capitalist methods, he still maintained his own views.
So, regardless of his weak body, he gave Peter another night of after-school tutoring.
The result was... Harry became even weaker...