Chapter 107 Animal Totems
Many people think that Kingpin is the king of the underground underworld in New York City.
He believes that he controls most of the dark side of New York and is the undisputed uncrowned king.
But in fact it is not the case.
The headquarters of Kingpin's criminal empire are concentrated on the East Coast, and in New York, the dark forces here are so complicated that even in Hell's Kitchen, he can only occupy a part of the territory.
His competitors include the famous Hand and even Hydra.
However, one thing is certain, in the underworld, Jin Bing is very famous and influential. His businesses cover many industries, and he can be seen in both the underworld and the white world and even in official circles.
Naturally, the New York Police Department had been infiltrated by him long ago, and many police officers were his people. Therefore, every time the informants sent by Sheriff Stacy finally found some evidence and wanted to take action, Kingpin could always make preparations in advance.
Either clear yourself or simply counterattack the police and teach them a lesson.
But at this moment, Kingpin cannot immediately ask the police to release the Green Goblin.
Because this time Spider-Man obviously learned his lesson. He made the news of the Green Goblin's defeat known to the whole city, and the whole of New York was staring at the Green Goblin.
It would have been fine if it were just that, but Norman Osborn immediately launched an attack, accusing the Green Goblin, Mendel Storm, of stealing the property of Osborn Enterprises.
"Storm, that idiot!"
Kingpin sat on a black chair, his body as broad as a mountain.
As a very cautious person, Kingpin found it hard to imagine how Storm was able to be found with so much evidence of his crimes by Norman Osborn.
Kingpin already knew that shortly after the Green Goblin was arrested, Norman came with a large stack of files, at least dozens of pages.
The speed was so fast and the content was so complete that it was as if Stallman had delivered the evidence to him personally.
Moreover, the Green Goblin can be said to be the first mutant villain with superpowers to be captured so far, so there are many people targeting him.
It is impossible to rescue people directly.
"Mr. Fisk, do you need to arrange for someone to break into the prison?"
Bullseye asked tentatively.
Kingpin was silent for a moment. He certainly couldn't risk his life for a worthless person. But according to his intelligence, Storm should still have a few unused modified lizard serums, also known as Green Goblin serums.
The serum was valuable enough for him to take the risk.
However, he didn't think that just because he saved the Green Goblin, the other party would obediently hand over the serum.
Kingpin leaned back in his chair, the leather sinking deeply into it.
He took a puff of his cigar and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke: "Not now."
Kingpin believed that in order to prevent the Green Goblin from escaping the trial, the prison guards must be the most strict at this moment. Breaking the prison now would not only be very troublesome, but the Green Goblin might not necessarily remember his kindness.
The gangster leader showed a ferocious smile, holding the people's hearts tightly in his hands, and said: "We have to let him know his situation first, so that we can better control him."
When Kingpin was twelve years old, he had already begun to use all factors to intimidate and dominate others.
His obesity, which was once laughed at by others, has since become his power to dominate others.
Today, there is not much fat left under this white suit.
Bullseye understood what he meant.
Meanwhile, in the NYPD, Storm is restrained and still wearing his shattered Green Goblin armor, his green skin and scarlet eyes intimidating anyone who stands in front of him.
Norman and Matt stood outside the one-way glass, looking at the monster.
"I'm surprised you would ask me to be your lawyer, Mr. Osborne." Matt was wearing sunglasses and holding a guide cane, and he didn't look very reassuring.
"Someone recommended you to me."
In fact, Norman was also very surprised after getting Matt's information.
It was hard for him to imagine that a blind lawyer like Matt could handle a case so well and even win the case.
However, since it was Bant's recommendation, he gave up the professional team hired by the Osborne Group and spent some money to ask Matt to do it.
"Then I have to thank him for bringing me a big business." Matt smiled and did not continue asking questions. Instead, he talked about the case.
"Your evidence is very complete," he said, his voice breaking.
Apparently, it has been discovered that some things in the evidence do not quite match up.
But he didn't expose it.
Some things are never black and white. The Green Goblin attacked Norman Osborn and his son not long ago, so it is normal for Norman to want to make him suffer more.
"The rest of the demands may be achieved, but it is almost impossible to get back the remaining serum," said Matt.
Far more people were eyeing those tubes of reagents than they imagined.
The underworld, the military, and many other special organizations...
For the past seventy years, the entire United States has been trying to replicate the Super Soldier Serum and recreate the myth of Captain America, but with little success.
Although things like lizard serum have side effects, many people don't care.
Norman had anticipated this.
After all, he studied lizard serum or other human enhancers because of the support of the military. Now the results are in front of them. Even if it is a semi-finished product, it was funded by the military. How could they give up?
So Norman nodded, curled his lips, and said, "The serum is not important. To be honest, the Osborne Group is not interested in failed products."
This statement is somewhat pretentious.
But in fact, Norman is also trying to give up the serum path.
It’s not that this path is doomed to fail, but that the cost of investment is too high and the benefits obtained are very small.
There was military investment before, with tens of billions or even hundreds of billions of funds poured into this bottomless pit. Plus, he himself needed the medicine to change his fate, so he jumped into this pit without hesitation.
Anyway, he doesn't feel bad about selling his father's land, and he doesn't feel any burden about spending the military's money.
But it is different now.
His and Harry's genetic defects have been cured, and the fate of the Osborn family has been completely rewritten, so he is naturally not in a hurry.
On the other hand, there’s still that problem.
Insufficient funds.
He is not Bant, who can turn into a small warrior to conduct research, thereby reducing the R&D costs to near zero.
If he develops the serum on his own, it might be difficult to succeed even if Osborn is dragged down.
Norman also had no intention of accepting military investment again.
The military is like a greedy wolf.
Once their funds are invested in the Osborne Group, they will definitely want more than just the serum.
It would be fine if Norman had nothing in his hands, but the self-healing potion was nominally developed by him and Primus, but no one would believe that the real potion came from Primus.
In the eyes of most people, Primos was just a shell of the Osborne Group. Norman used this shell company to deceive Stallman and regained all the shares of the Osborne Group, which was the best proof.
For the military, since the superhuman serum won't produce results in a short time, it would be a good idea to use the self-healing potion to quench their thirst first.
In addition, there was one last reason that made Norman temporarily give up the path of continuing to study lizard serum.
That is, Bant does not intend to conduct research on animal enhancement serum.
For Bant, with the lizard serum as a blueprint, it is not difficult to optimize the side effects.
But there are some things in the Marvel Universe that cannot be explained simply by science, and they also involve some elements of mysticism.
Just like the lizard serum, in theory he could fully optimize it, but whether he could actually do it was not certain.
Because the power of animal totems is likely involved here.
The so-called animal totem is actually a mysterious power that comes from the belief in supernatural gods in the multiverse.
The most famous totem is naturally the spider totem. Its power comes from the ancient goddess Ness and the "web of life and destiny". Those chosen by the spider totem will gain the power of the spider or become a spider monster.
Once chosen by the totem, one becomes a link in the supernatural food chain.
This is true for Spider-Man, and it is true for most of his enemies, which is why Spider-Man's enemies are often based on animals.
And once you get this stuff on you, it's very difficult to get rid of it.
Just like Spider-Man has debugged the antidote for the serum for Connors more than once, but without exception, Connors turned back into the Lizard Man every time.
Connors seems to be fine now, but Bant can hardly guarantee that he will not suddenly go crazy again one day in the future.
In fact, the first submission disk that Bant used after returning from Sakaar was not in the Green Goblin's body, but in Connors' body.
No matter what.
Bant didn't want to get involved in these mysterious things until he became strong enough.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have to go through so much trouble. He could just copy a dozen lizards or some other super power serum and inject them into Uncle Ben and Aunt May. Then he wouldn't have to worry about their safety.
"Since you don't care about the serum, I think others will give in too," Matt said.
Negotiation is a process of mutual compromise. He certainly couldn't tell those people right away that he didn't want the serum. Instead, he had to insist that everything Storm stole was Osborn's property.
Then, after a period of tug-of-war, it would be much easier to give up the serum on the condition of other requirements.
Matt and Norman leave the police station together.
Not long after they left, a police officer walked to the Green Goblin's cell.
"Storm, you have greatly disappointed that gentleman."
These words immediately made the Green Goblin raise his head, and the ferocious expression on his face became urgent. He growled in a hoarse voice: "Are you Kingpin's man? Then why don't you let me out!"
His gaze seemed to penetrate the police officer's body, but the other party was obviously disguised. Although he was wearing a police uniform, his body was completely impenetrable.
When the police officer heard Stolman say Kingpin's name, he showed no emotion.
He said calmly:
“You have to prove your worth.”
"He wants the serum? That's impossible!" Storm grinned and said angrily.
"You have plenty of time to think about it slowly."
The policeman didn't say much about Storm's refusal. He turned and left, locking the door again, leaving the Green Goblin baring his terrible fangs in the darkness.
Bant didn't care about what happened in the police station.
What concerned him more was the upcoming Stark Technology Expo.
The specific date is two months later.
This was the news Felicia told him.
“The school is almost finished, but since summer vacation is just a few days away, we might as well not start this semester.” Felicia sat on a chair with a drink in her hand, swaying from side to side.
After Bant returned to Queens yesterday, he did not forget to say hello to Felicia.
So the two of them made an appointment to meet today.
She was also very curious about Bant's whereabouts in the past month, so Bant had to use the excuse that he was doing research.
Fortunately, Felicia is easy to fool.
In other words, when a girl's mind is full of you, she will subconsciously believe everything you say.
"It's incredible."
She said excitedly, looking at Bant with her beautiful eyes.
"Not long ago, your grades were about the same as mine, but now, you have founded your own company, which has been very successful, and you have also learned how to invent things!"
Bant noticed that her eyes were the same emerald green as Mary Jane's, like a deep spring.
"how did you do it?"
"Maybe it just suddenly dawned on me."
Bant would have a hard time explaining the watch thing to her, though she might be willing to try the Four-Hand Overlord for size…
Fortunately, Felicia did not delve into it further. She felt that Bant must have been a genius, but his genius was not obvious before and only came to the fore recently.
"I wish I could be like you." Felicia sighed. As a rich girl, she was stronger than most people.
But reality is always cruel.
Then she shook her head, put aside this unrealistic fantasy, regained her vitality, and looked at Bant: "How is it? Are you planning to visit the Stark World Expo?"
She blinked her big watery eyes, her golden eyelashes trembling in the sunlight, as if saying, "Invite me to go with you."
"I am planning to attend, but as a company, not as a spectator, but as a presenter."
"You got an invitation?"
Felicia said in surprise.
"If Primus, who invented the self-healing serum, isn't on the invitation list, then this exhibition doesn't deserve to be called a World Expo."
Hearing this, Felicia immediately showed an admiring look.
You know, although the Hardy Foundation is considered rich, it can't be compared with real rich people.
Just like this expo, Hardy couldn't hold it even if he emptied the foundation's assets, but he was still qualified to participate in the exhibition.
In this way, Bant and Felicia made an appointment to attend the expo together.
However, before that, Bant first needs to determine his own works for the exhibition.
(End of this chapter)