Chapter 173: Because Hacker Spider-Man's Battle Suit is Black
Ben had always wanted the Super Soldier Serum.
Not for himself, nor for the superpowers it granted, but because the serum could enhance a person's physique and slow down the aging process.
Uncle Ben and Aunt May were getting old, and they had worked too hard in the first half of their lives, so their health wasn't great.
The Self-Healing Serum was for injuries, but it wasn't very effective against diseases.
However, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s legacy didn't even contain a single incomplete serum, which made Ben feel a bit down.
Now, Hardy had the serum formula left by Dr. Erskine in his mind, and he also had a photographic memory. He could completely replicate the original Super Soldier Serum one-to-one.
But Ben didn't plan to replicate it perfectly.
Erskine's serum wasn't perfect.
It amplified a person's original personality, making the good better and the bad worse.
That wasn't a problem; with the sample, modifications would be quite easy.
However, Hardy wanted to go home first.
Ben naturally respected his decision.
He had originally planned to accompany Hardy, but at that moment, Norman sent him a message, saying he had obtained some Vibranium for him and was asking for the design plans for four satellites and a space station.
Ben wasn't in a hurry for Vibranium, but the satellites and space station were more urgent.
There was only a year left until the Chitauri arrived, and he needed to get the four satellites into orbit and prepare a powerful weapon on the space station to welcome his enemies.
Hardy naturally could tell that Ben's identity was not simple, so he didn't try to persuade him to stay.
Before they parted, Ben gave him an address.
"Primus Technology. This is my company. When you're ready to make the serum, come find me."
Then Ben left in a hurry.
John Hardesky, with a nervous heart, was sent to New York by an agent.
After lingering at the door of the Hardy residence for a long time, he finally mustered the courage to knock.
"Excuse me, who are you..."
Felicia opened the door and was about to ask who it was when Hardesky's white-haired face overlapped with the face of her father in her memory.
"Dad?"
Felicia thought she was dreaming, but Hardesky was already crying, calling out her name with great emotion.
"Felicia! You've grown up!"
"Dad, is it really you?"
The two embraced and wept uncontrollably.
After a while, Felicia dared to believe it wasn't a dream.
"Dad, where have you been all these years?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"That... we'll talk about that later." Hardesky wiped away his tears, grabbed Felicia's arm, and said, "What about you, Felicia? Don't you have anything to tell your dad?"
"What?"
"About your boyfriend?"
Felicia's face instantly turned red, feeling like she was about to combust.
Meanwhile, Ben returned to H.A.M.M.E.R.
Norman handed him the mining agreement.
"The Security Council unanimously approved it."
The Security Council was similar to the five major powers. Since it was unanimously approved, it meant that the Galactic Plumbers' mining operations in Antarctica would not be restricted.
However, officially, it was still H.A.M.M.E.R. that was mining in Antarctica.
Ben was a little surprised, "I didn't expect it to go so smoothly?"
"Compared to an interstellar war, the permission to develop Antarctica is nothing," Norman said.
"That's true."
"What's in Antarctica?"
"A special metal, another type of Vibranium, you could say." Ben briefly explained the concept of Vibranium B, or rather, Anti-Vibranium, to Norman.
"I didn't expect there to be such a thing," Norman nodded. "Are you planning to use Vibranium and Anti-Vibranium to build the satellites?"
"No, the satellites don't need such advanced materials. With the protection of the energy shield, unless it's destroyed from the inside, there's no need to worry."
The real need for Vibranium was for the Galactic Plumbers' space station.
Ben planned to concentrate Earth's firepower on the space station as a turret. If it was just hiding behind the shield, it wouldn't be effective.
In this situation, a sturdy outer shell is indispensable.
"Antarctic Vibranium isn't suitable for building structures; it's better suited for making weapons, as it can destroy almost all metals, including Adamantium."
"If that's the case, the amount of Vibranium we have is likely far from enough," Norman said, his brows furrowed.
He had already done his best to help Ben search for Vibranium, but the amount found so far was limited. It was barely enough for a battle suit, let alone a space station capable of housing thousands of people.
"See if you can find someone named Ulysses Klaue."
"Ulysses Klaue?"
Norman gave Hill a look. The former deputy director of S.H.I.E.L.D. immediately began a global search. Soon, countless people with the same name appeared before Ben.
"There are quite a few people with that name," Hill said. "Any other distinguishing features? Nationality, education?"
"I remember he has a prosthetic arm," Ben recalled the appearance of Ulysses Klaue from Black Panther, though he wasn't sure if the current Klaw had lost an arm.
With this detail, Hill quickly pinpointed the information of one individual.
A face familiar to Ben was displayed on the large screen.
"That's him."
Norman nodded and gave instructions: "Find this person immediately."
A simple task like finding someone naturally didn't require Ben's personal involvement. Otherwise, what would have been the point of him painstakingly taking over S.H.I.E.L.D. and establishing H.A.M.M.E.R. with Norman?
As the agents sprang into action, Ben also planned to hand over the satellite blueprints to Norman.
The technological content of the four satellites was quite high, but fortunately, their primary function was an amplified version of an energy shield activator. Therefore, Ben could draw the blueprints even without transforming into Grey Matter.
In addition to that, there were functions for receiving and releasing Tesseract energy.
"Considering the need to receive energy from the Cosmic Cube, the materials do need to be more durable. Let's use Vibranium Alloy."
In fact, Vibranium Alloy was sturdier than Vibranium. Ben intended to melt down the Vibranium Norman had currently collected.
"How do you plan to mine the Antarctic Vibranium?" Hill asked.
There were many Antarctic research teams, but so far, few had discovered large quantities of Anti-Vibranium, indicating that the prospecting and mining of Anti-Vibranium were quite difficult.
"H.A.M.M.E.R. has three aircraft carriers. Lend me one," Ben said.
"Aircraft carriers don't have mining capabilities."
"I have my own methods."
Ben's method was to transform into Upgrade and possess an aircraft carrier, turning it into a Transformer—no, modifying it into a giant Wildebot, like the ones belonging to Sakaar's Red King.
After transmitting the satellite structural diagrams to Norman, it was already night.
Ben had visited several places throughout the day. Since it was so late, he decided not to return and stayed at H.A.M.M.E.R.
Norman was even busier than him. After returning from the Security Council, he plunged back into work. He looked somewhat fatigued lately, but his overall mental state was good.
Indeed, Norman Osborn was suited for hard work.
"Once the Super Soldier Serum is perfected, I need to give him a dose too," Ben thought. He genuinely feared Norman might drop dead from exhaustion otherwise. Not just Norman, but Harry could use a dose as well.
The next day, Ben found out he had to return to New York. Felicia had called him, asking him to come over for dinner at her place.
Yesterday, Hardy had reunited with his family and explained his disappearance. Mrs. Hardy knew her husband was the Cat Burglar but was unaware of where he had been all these years or about the serum formula. Hardesky had kept things vague about the serum; the fewer people who knew, the better, even his wife. He had only told Felicia that he was the Master Thief Cat Burglar and was subsequently arrested by S.H.I.E.L.D. Now that S.H.I.E.L.D. was gone, and H.A.M.M.E.R.'s prison was struggling to contain Hydra, Ben Parker learned about his situation and pleaded with the director of H.A.M.M.E.R. for his release. Felicia and Mrs. Hardy were incredibly grateful to Ben for this. Mrs. Hardy hadn't been particularly fond of Ben at first; she had even looked down on him at the Stark Industries exhibition. However, as Primus Technology's reputation grew, she regretted her initial impression. Now, knowing Ben had such influence with the director of H.A.M.M.E.R., she regretted it even more. Fortunately, her daughter was doing well! Ben returned to New York early, as his arrangement with the Hardy family was for dinner. So, Felicia came out to meet him during the day. As soon as Felicia saw him, she rushed forward and hugged him, tears streaming down her face. "Thank you, Benny. I never thought I'd see my dad again." "Don't be so formal with me," Ben said, reaching out to pat her head. Felicia nestled her head like a kitten. They spent the day together, during which Felicia was unusually secretive, looking at Ben with a gaze that was both triumphant and amused.
"What's wrong?"
Felicia released Ben's arm, clasped her hands behind her back, and spun around in front of him.
She wasn't wearing a skirt, but her long golden hair fanned out like one.
Felicia pursed her lips to keep from laughing, her face clearly holding a mix of surprise and a secret. Then, she tilted her head slightly, a strand of golden hair slipping over her shoulder, and said cheerfully:
"Nothing." Her bright eyes darted to a shop in the distance. "I want ice cream."
Actually, ever since she found out last night that her father was the famous Master Thief Cat Burglar from decades ago, she had been begging him to train her. She hoped to gain his skills and become a Super Hero.
She had even come up with a superhero name for herself: Black Cat.
Her father had asked her why she chose Black Cat, and she had said it was because darkness and the night always made her feel comfortable.
She had lied.
The real reason was that Hacker Spider-Man's Battle Suit was black.
Felicia thought, since Ben wouldn't tell her he was Hacker Spider-Man, she would keep her own secret from him.
When the time came, and she became Black Cat, she would definitely find Hacker Spider-Man and tease him on purpose.
Thinking of that scene, Felicia couldn't help but look forward to it.
Two updates today, and I'll return to 10,000 words per day tomorrow. Last month, the monthly votes exceeded a thousand, so I'll add two more chapters. But first, I need to catch up on the 30 days of 10,000 words I owe. Sob sob, I counted 21 days of 10,000 words last month. Excluding the ten days I said wouldn't count, I still need to do nineteen more days of 10,000 words... I'm deeply in debt. I don't know if I can even get out the bonus chapters from the monthly votes in August.
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