"Mr. Hawking, I'll be frank with you, I am determined to win this project.
Rather than us competing viciously like this and letting Dr. Reed benefit, why don't you name your price? I can compensate you.
This way, you don't have to take any risks and can still gain something."
In another office, Victor said to Hawking with a smile.
If anyone else dared to compete with him so viciously, he had plenty of ways to deal with them. Having reached his position, it was natural that not all his business tactics were entirely above board.
However, the person in front of him was an existence specifically dedicated to fighting crime, and he had two equally formidable subordinates. Just today, the news reported that they stopped Terrorists from hijacking a plane.
His usual methods probably wouldn't even be enough to fill their Kiba.
So, he could only sacrifice more profits to settle the matter.
Hawking scrutinized Victor from head to toe, then smiled and said:
"Since Mr. Victor has put it that way, if I, Hawking, were to refuse, it would be quite rude.
How about this, then—"
"Alright, alright, I agree."
Upon hearing Hawking's conditions, Victor pondered for a moment before agreeing.
In his opinion, Hawking's conditions were not harsh; they merely requested Victor's technology company to cooperate with the current Hero Alliance International Company on some business ventures.
However, the Hero Alliance International Company would take the lion's share of the profits from these collaborations, essentially leaving his company to work for White.
But when compared to the profits from Dr. Reed's project, it was a mere drop in the ocean, hardly worth mentioning.
"There's one more thing: I need Dr. Reed to help me complete the research on the Gravity Chamber in the future. Him going up to the space station is too dangerous. He should just stay at your company Base and direct remotely."
"My space station is very safe, how could— Alright, that's certainly not a problem."
Victor initially wanted to object, but seeing Hawking glare, he immediately softened.
To secure this project, none of these were issues. Remote direction it was. The main goal was to collect data on the Solar Storm's effect on life evolution, and the focus was still on the research after obtaining the data.
So, whether Dr. Reed went to the space station or not didn't have too much impact.
"Then let's sign the contract!"
Half an hour later, the two returned to the previous office.
"My old classmate, Mr. Hawking has withdrawn from this competition. As per the conditions he just proposed, fifty percent, with shared patent rights.
You don't pay a single cent, I provide both money and the space station, and in the end, everything is split equally. You've really hit the jackpot this time."
Victor laughed heartily as he extended his right hand to Dr. Reed.
The Ben on the side couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. What did he mean, not a single cent? The most crucial technology originated from Dr. Reed. For this project, Dr. Reed had spent all his funds and three or four years of his time; he was the one losing the most.
He was truly taking advantage and acting innocent.
However, just as he was about to speak, Dr. Reed nudged him with his arm.
"Ben, I'm not doing this project for money; I'm doing it to help all of humanity. Let's just leave it at that."
After quietly persuading Ben, Dr. Reed grasped Victor's hand:
"Deal!"
If Hawking hadn't appeared and brought the situation to this point, he would have agreed to Victor's initial conditions.
Now it was already quite good; at least the patent rights for his research project hadn't been completely stripped away.
"Although there was a small hiccup, the outcome is good, isn't it?"
Releasing his hand, Victor proudly put his arm around Invisible Woman's waist.
"Although Dr. Reed's way of thinking is different from normal people, often getting his teammates into terrible trouble, to be honest, his heart isn't bad at all," Hawking thought to himself, having overheard their conversation.
After everything was settled, Invisible Woman was responsible for escorting Hawking and the other two out of the building. The three then drove back to the Baxter Building.
"Mr. Hawking, thank you for your help just now."
As soon as the car started, Dr. Reed expressed his gratitude to Hawking.
Hawking, however, said with some surprise:
"Why do you say that, Dr. Reed?"
"When I was explaining the project just now, Victor listened very carefully, but you, Mr. Hawking, barely listened at all. Your company also doesn't get involved in technology-related projects.
So…"
Dr. Reed didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood his meaning.
He believed that Hawking, disliking Victor's style, had deliberately used vicious competition to help him.
"You saw through it, but everyone gets what they need. I also gained a lot, so it can't be considered entirely helping you. As long as you, Dr., are willing to help me research a Gravity device that can assist my training after the project is over, that would be great."
Hawking smiled.
The situation was naturally not as Dr. Reed imagined. He simply couldn't understand the technical jargon Dr. Reed was using, and knowing that this experiment was bound to fail, he naturally didn't pay much attention to the project content.
But since Dr. Reed misunderstood, he certainly wouldn't expose it.
"Mr. Hawking, rest assured. According to my calculations, the Solar Storm will appear in space in six weeks, and I will be able to spare time to help you research the Gravity device in two months."
Dr. Reed roughly calculated the time and promised.
"Then many thanks, Dr."
Hawking nodded in satisfaction.
Two months it was. With Dr. Reed's brain, capable of inventing even space teleportation devices, he would surely bring about a leapfrog advancement in Gravity Chamber technology. Waiting a bit longer was worth it.
Returning to the Baxter Building, after bidding farewell to Dr. Reed and Ben, Hawking checked the time and rode his motorcycle to the Mutant School.
He still lived at the Mutant School, spending a good amount of time each day researching magic and having Wanda assist his cultivation. Now, Pietro was also called upon.
As he grew older, Pietro's speed was becoming faster and faster, and he could also have some effect on his training.
Half a month later, at midnight.
Hawking, as usual, was fighting criminals in New York with Peter and Jessica.
Recently, many power users had applied to join the company. Among them were those like Jessica, who gained powers by accident, as well as alleged Inhumans with superpowers, and Mutants with various abilities.
However, their abilities were generally not strong enough to catch Hawking's eye; they simply couldn't become Superheroes and join the trio he had formed.
So, he sent them to other positions within the company.
In any case, the treatment was definitely better than their original jobs, and there was no danger.
Actually, it was understandable. Aside from Mutants, at this point in time, there really weren't many powerful ability users appearing. If there were, S.H.I.E.L.D. would have already noticed them.
As for the Mutants who met his conditions, they were either not yet born or had already been divided between Professor X and Magneto.
However, because the company was developing well recently, he was also considering finding a time to talk with Professor X about having the Mutants from the school join the company.
First, a few would join. Once they gained fame and had a fan Base, then their identities would be announced. This way, the public would find it easier to accept them, gradually changing the general public's prejudice against Mutants.
"Captain, there's a big problem here! An unknown force carrying a large amount of weapons is chasing a… a black humanoid monster! Oh my god, that monster is eating human heads!"
Peter's startled cry suddenly came through the headset.
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