In Brooklyn's industrial district, inside Parker Industries.
"Mr. Parker, after we sent out samples of your newly invented material, our clients showed a lot of interest. We've received a total of fourteen orders."
After leaving Osborn Manor, Batman returned to Parker Industries. He was now sitting in his CEO's office, listening to the report from his assistant, Alice.
"How much longer until the equipment I ordered arrives?" Batman asked.
"Two days at most, Mr. Parker," Alice replied.
"Name this material 'Shape Memory Fabric,' and its commercial name will be the more common 'Memory Fiber,'" Batman said. "We can start production now using the equipment we have here at the factory. This afternoon, I'll submit the patent for Memory Fiber through the university."
"University?" Assistant Alice seemed momentarily stunned.
She had only been working with Batman for two or three days, and her impression of him was limited to labels like "young," "efficiency-driven," and "business elite."
Alice had assumed Batman was at least in his thirties—an elite honed by society—but now she was hearing the word "university" from him.
Alice couldn't help but ask:
"Mr. Parker, are you... still in school?"
Batman maintained his Peter Parker persona, not constantly frowning, but instead responding with a touch of humor:
"Yes, you must be wondering why a student could invent a new material and even have the funds to buy this factory."
Alice nodded, looking curiously at the young man who seemed two years younger than herself. Batman continued:
"But if you knew I was a science student who frequently communicates with physicist Dr. Otto and the richest man, Stark, you'd realize my achievements are hardly worth mentioning."
The invention of the new material was a downgraded version of the Batsuit's cape technology, but Batman used two names that were almost universally known to cover his tracks.
Indeed, Alice's mouth fell open after hearing this. In her mind, she had already pictured the scene of young Peter Parker chatting and laughing with the world's top nuclear physicist and the world's richest man, as the new material came into being.
Most people admire the strong—not necessarily in terms of physical power, but also wisdom, money, and authority.
Alice was no exception; she looked at Batman with a touch of admiration:
"That's truly remarkable, Mr. Parker."
Batman, however, didn't continue the conversation. He hadn't fully elaborated on the lie, leaving the rest to Alice's imagination, and instead asked another question he was relatively concerned about:
"When will the batch of materials and equipment I ordered arrive?"
This time, he wasn't asking about Memory Fiber, but about the materials and equipment genuinely used to make the Bat cape.
Batman's current cape was made from subpar materials and had already been torn by Norman Osborn's long blade.
He had no intention of repairing it, but rather planned to wait for the materials to arrive to create the true Bat cape, which would combine bulletproof capabilities, heat signal and radar wave shielding, high-temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, insulation, and breathability—far exceeding the capabilities of the so-called Memory Fiber.
The order for these materials and equipment was overt, with the stated reason for purchase being technical research.
Covertly, Batman had purchased more than just these, including high-performance textile fibers, special metals and alloys, electronic components, and some chemical materials from all over the world.
These orders, intended for the creation of the true Batsuit, were hidden among hundreds of ordinary industrial orders. No one could deduce Batman's intentions from the massive number of scattered orders and materials.
Even if a commercial competitor specifically intercepted and analyzed the orders, they would only conclude that "Parker Industries is attempting to invent newer materials, but without a clear direction, like a headless chicken buying a bit of everything."
"Since the sellers are from all over the world, the delivery times will vary, but everything is expected to arrive within a week," Assistant Alice said.
"Once they arrive, leave everything at the entrance of my warehouse. I'll handle it myself," Batman continued to mislead Alice. "Like Dr. Otto, I also prefer to conduct my research alone."
Alice nodded, somewhat confused. She vaguely remembered hearing that Dr. Otto always conducted his experiments alone, never allowing anyone else to interfere.
It seemed this young Mr. Parker was the same.
Batman didn't linger long at Parker Industries. This time, he didn't ride his as-yet-unmodified motorcycle, but instead took a taxi to the famous Wall Street in Lower Manhattan.
Batman did not directly interact with Wall Street's financial elites. Instead, he bought a new car for daily use nearby, parked it in a nearby parking lot, and sat in the back seat, beginning to operate the miniature computer he had specially brought with him.
He needed to communicate through layers of encrypted channels with a financial intermediary on Wall Street to set up several trusts for him and register dozens of shell companies in the BVI, Cayman Islands, and Bermuda.
Relying on the layered structure of shell companies and trusts, Batman's ultimate goal was to buy up the land around the abandoned City Hall subway station in batches, large and small.
With Parker Industries and Dr. Otto's nuclear fusion energy providing two rapid channels for establishing a business empire, Batman needed to prepare in advance for the construction of the Batcave.
Not only the land around the City Hall subway station, but Batman also purchased land in Westchester County, New York, for an upper-middle-class community whose residents were primarily retired professors, doctors, lawyers, and other middle-class individuals.
The purchase of the City Hall land was for creating the Batcave, while the purchase of the Westchester County community was to relocate Aunt May.
He intended to protect this elderly woman who, even after discovering that the soul within Peter Parker was not her nephew, still affectionately called him "good boy."
By the time Batman completed the payment to the Wall Street financial intermediary through sixteen financial transactions, night had fallen once again.
Batman returned to the driver's seat, abandoned the car by the roadside as he passed City Hall Station, then switched to the Batmobile parked in the abandoned subway station, donned the Batsuit, and headed straight for the Osborn Group.
Unlike Dr. Otto, who was controlled by tentacles, Batman had clarified before Norman Osborn was sent to the police station that his madness and his suit were unrelated.
The problem either stemmed from psychological issues or even a new personality arising after receiving the Super Soldier Serum modification, or it was inherent in the serum itself.
As night fell, the business genius Bruce Wayne disappeared, replaced by the detective Batman.
This time, Batman didn't swiftly sweep through all sixty floors of the Osborn Group from top to bottom, but instead went directly to the twenty-fifth floor.
Before the underground third-floor tragedy erupted at the Osborn Group, Batman had twice seen a group of scientists on the twenty-fifth floor late at night, either intensely discussing something or conducting simulated experiments on computers.
The area was empty now. Batman temporarily didn't use his portable computer but instead used the existing computers there to query serum-related information.
"All content regarding the serum has been deleted."
A few minutes later, Batman frowned slightly, looking at the lab computer that had lost all useful information.
This didn't deter him. Batman didn't even need to use the portable computer on his Batsuit; he simply wrote a data recovery program using the lab computer.
"Experiment Log:"
"General Ross contacted Osborn Group... The U.S. needs a new generation of 'strategic assets,' the legend of Captain America can no longer just be a legend."
"We have obtained fragmented data of Dr. Erskine's original formula, but we know nothing about the most crucial 'Vita-Ray.' We need a ray that can replace it."
"This is the key for Osborn Group to reach the pinnacle of the national defense industry. We must succeed."
"Experiment failed."
"Experiment failed." * N.
The information flashing on the computer didn't stay for more than a second. Peter Parker's astonishing senses combined with Batman's calm analysis allowed Batman to quickly browse through hundreds of pages of experimental information.
"Received the latest information: Hulk, who was once arrested by General Ross, mutated from Gamma radiation. We can try to use Gamma radiation to replace the 'Vita-Ray' used sixty years ago."
"Experiment failed." * N.
The page mentioning Gamma radiation stayed in front of Batman for a few seconds before he continued to examine the content below.
"One successful white mouse experiment."
"Experiment failed." * N.
"Attempted human experimentation using homeless people."
"Experiment failed. The subjects' bodies underwent deformation, accompanied by personality splitting." * 50.
The records abruptly stopped there; Norman Osborn's human experimentation was not documented.
"Personality splitting, Gamma radiation, replicating Captain America's Super Soldier Serum..."
Batman committed these words to memory. Naturally, a figure he had seen on the wall of Otto's lab on his first day of transmigration, and whose true identity he later learned, appeared before his eyes:
Nuclear physicist Dr. Bruce Banner, who was also Hulk.
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files contained information on Hulk, explicitly stating that he was a being born under the influence of Gamma radiation.
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