In the Osborne Building, the people in the high-rise offices felt like they were going crazy.

How can it be? The invincible Stark Industries is about to fall!?

In the face of this sudden bombshell news, no one who can understand what it means can calm down. Stark Industries' crumbling situation at this point meant that it simply couldn't retain the market share it currently has. All of a sudden, countless military contracts sprung up on the free market, and they were picked up by companies and consortia that were eyeing the fat at will.

What's even more exciting is Stark Industries itself. With years of support from the U.S. government and its own outstanding performance, Stark Industries has a technological advantage that far exceeds most of its peers in the industry. And in the case of Stark Industries being so badly hit, its countless manufacturers and research laboratories must not be so loyal, and they can be reaped by enough profits.

Properly handled, this will undoubtedly be one of the greatest opportunities ever for the Osborne Group. Although the Osborne Group is already one of the largest pharmaceutical and biological research companies in the United States, they have also been involved in the arms community for a long time. As long as they get enough of the benefits of this collective action, the Osborne Group will become the most powerful private group in the country.

However, this shining mountain of gold will not jump into their hands on its own. Contracts need to be contacted, fought for, and enforced, and the labs and suppliers who are watching the walls need to be interviewed in person by the high-level executives. Everyone in the office has at least doubled their workload, and everyone wants to do enough to prepare for a promotion in the future.

However, theoretically, the person who was most affected by this incident was the CEO and largest controlling person of the Osborne Group, Norman. Osborne's attention was entirely focused on something else. After receiving the latest reports from the GM lab, he locked himself in his office, almost ignoring any contact with the outside world. It wasn't until ten minutes ago that he made a phone call and called Dr. Connor, the head of the GM lab.

On a normal basis, there might be someone who could smell the uneasiness, but everyone who was overwhelmed by the news of Stark's disappearance was busy with their own business. No one noticed that Dr. Connor, who looked like a dead corpse, pushed Norman away. The door to Osborne's office.

And Norman has been waiting for him for a long time.

Sitting in his office, he flipped through the report on his desk a few times, then picked up the potion next to it.

He looked more than a decade older than he had been when he met Peter last year. Not only had the blue-gray spots on his pale and fluffy skin expanded to the size of peanuts, but every corner of his face was also densely covered with wrinkles that did not match his real age at all. At this time, both his appearance and spirit were almost exactly the same as a dying old man.

Kurt. Dr. Connor was standing in front of him, looking nervous, occasionally touching his left arm, which had been amputated from a wound he had sustained in the service. He knew that the results he could give now could not be satisfactory to the people in front of him.

"As mentioned above, now... Of the 400 test subjects, there was still a failure rate of nearly 10%, and in the remaining success stories, the negative effects were too obvious. The potion... It's still not close to human trials, but it's only a few more months..."Dr. Connor ended his report with a bit of a stammer.

"In a few months?" Norman coughed lightly. "In a few months' time, will you find a cure for my current symptoms, Dr. Connor?"

Norman held up his hand, and the spots on his skin were clear in the light.

"No... I'm not sure—" Connor's voice grew lower, and he lowered his gaze, ready for Norman's wrath.

So what you mean is that you've spent almost four years and more than sixty million dollars in research funding to replicate a technology that has been in production for 70 years. And what you're giving me now... But it's something that doesn't match what I want? ”

Glancing at the pale green potion in his hand, Norman's tone gradually became cold.

"Dr. Connor, you are a talented man. I believe in your abilities and still believe in your abilities. I understand that a genius like you has his own pursuits and ideals. But please understand that you are still an employee of the Osborne Group, and you are my subordinate! Even though maybe your research can shock the world, but it has a fart effect on me!? ”

Norman's tone grew more and more intense, and in the midst of that rage, a new surge of strength suddenly surged from his rotten body. He stood up and threw the tube on his desk.

The fragile glass smashed several cracks into the mahogany table, allowing the contents to escape. The pale green elixir suddenly volatilized when it came into contact with the air, turning into a dark green mist.

Dr. Connors subconsciously took a small half step back. Through that thick fog, Norman, who was almost out of human form. Osborne looked like a demon from a myth. Norman didn't pay attention to this small detail, and continued to talk to himself.

"You'll have to forgive me for my faux pas, after all, you know that my time is running out."

Dr. Connor nodded subconsciously. The best doctors in the Osborne Group also said they would only have Norman live for another eight months, which is still the most optimistic prediction. No one in this situation of waiting for death to get closer and closer would probably be calmer than Norman.

"If it were just my life, I probably wouldn't care as much as I do now. My grandfather died at the age of forty-five, and my father took his last breath at the age of forty-six. And I'm a lot luckier than they are, at least I can celebrate my fiftieth birthday in two months. The problem isn't with me, it's with Harry. ”

Norman let out a long sigh, and his whole body seemed to shrink. At this moment, the president of the Osborne Group, who has an aggressive temperament, is just a father who worries about his life and his son's life.

"Harry is young, too young. After I'm gone, the Osborne group will be eaten by the jackals, and not even a single bone will be left for him. Now I still have the ability to give a lot of money to help with the research of this drug. When I'm dead, who else wants to continue to pay for a research project that doesn't benefit them? ”

At this moment, Norman once again stared into Connor's eyes, and his gaze deepened again.

"So Dr. Connor, I don't want to hear any more excuses. I don't want to meet you again in this mood. I'm confident that you will be able to overcome this last technical hurdle, so I hope you will live up to my trust. ”

"But... But—" Dr. Connor hesitated for a moment, then struggled to speak.

After saying that, Norman was silent for a long time. Dr. Connor only felt that he did not dare to move, and did not dare to turn away until the other party signaled him. When the door to the room closed behind him, he realized that his back was soaked in cold sweat.

He walked briskly through the busy hallway, and some acquaintance who greeted him only barely managed to squeeze out a smile in response. It wasn't until he returned to his lab that he let out a long breath and sat down in his seat. After a while, a look of struggle flashed across his face.

Since Norman. Osborne is so dismissive of his results that then he needs to be second-handed.