Ben Graeme's big thick hands tugged at Reed's tie and fiddled with his crumpled collar.

After tossing and turning for a while, Ben finally gave up the idea of making the old suit look a little bigger, slapped Reed on the shoulder, and slapped the latter and staggered two steps.

The two of them finally took the elevator to the 87th floor of the Horlite Group's science and technology project department, and after a while, when the door of the conference room opened, Reed Richards saw a person he knew and was very surprised.

"Victor? Victor von Doom!" Reed exclaimed in surprise.

The ceiling of the Ministry of Science and Technology was very high, and Victor Doom, wearing a sophisticated black handmade slim suit, walked slowly down the spiral staircase with steady steps, and came to Reed and raised his chin lightly.

"Hahaha, my genius old classmate! You don't look a little old in this suit, and I'll introduce you to a top tailor who is said to have served Mr. Howlett for generations of his teacher's family. Hi Ben, nice haircut."

Reed pressed the hem of his crumpled suit uncomfortably, looking at his old classmate's tall and handsome appearance like a powerful chaebol son, and his loose and fat coat became more and more inappropriate.

"Why are you here?"

Ben hugged his strong arms and said angrily, and he didn't bother to pay attention to the other party's teasing, he and Doom didn't deal with each other when they were in college, biting his cheeks and twisting his brows, even his shiny bald head was wrinkled.

"Unexpected?"

Victor Durm opened the wine cabinet with familiarity, took out three crystal glasses, poured a little whiskey on each of them, and sat down on the dark gold conference table and continued leisurely:

"Accident will I be in the Howlett Group, or will we be so lucky to meet?" Hehehe... Taste this wine, it's all good things that you can't necessarily buy outside."

Doom generously waved his hand to invite Reed and the others to sit down, sipping the mellow tawny liquid to himself, and grinning freely in the high-backed chair.

"Yes, all Victor. Your character was so impressive in school, but it never looked like a subservient character."

Unlike Ben, who was beside him, he drank all the wine in the glass in one gulp, and poured most of the glass himself with a smack.

Reed Richards' thin cheeks tucked his chin slightly, and his slender ten fingers turned the cup little by little, and he said slowly.

Seeing Reed gently shaking his head with a look of incomprehension and even a little disappointment, Doom smiled indifferently, showing a mouthful of perfect white teeth and said loudly:

"You're right, Reed, if it weren't for the colossus of the Howlett Group pressing on the heads of the super conglomerates in the United States and even the world, with my temper and ability... Of course! I will definitely build a business empire with my own hands! But—"

Doom stood up, walked over to Reed and sat down on the table, his hand on his shoulder and his face closer, his voice calming down.

"——There is an old saying in the East, 'Those who know the times are Junjie', Reed, I suggest you learn to learn Chinese, English translation is always less flavorful, in the group to understand more Oriental culture, the road can go more smoothly....

"You probably don't know what being the head of technology projects at Howlett means on the outside, but frankly, no matter how confident I am, hehe. I don't dare to hope that one day I will be able to show myself to the federal legislators and those veteran tycoons by my own efforts, okay, let's talk about your research project, it's time to get down to business."

As soon as the words fell, Doom seemed to change his face, and strode back to sit upright, staring at Reed Richards with a pair of eyes shrewdly and prudently, and the warm and funny appearance just now was swept away.

"Hmm... yes, I gave it to you before, ahem, of course I didn't know it was going to be you who received the experiment plan...... 'Cosmic storms, of course, there are also super-strong cosmic ray energy clusters called solar wind and so on, which are rare in hundreds of millions of years and are close to outer space not far from the Earth!"

When it comes to his research project, Reed talks again and finally finds a bit of a super scientific genius, and confidently continues:

「…… I know a lot of agencies and organizations are trying to seize this opportunity, right

Celestial Storm, carry out research, but only the special isolation chamber and energy analysis device I designed can enter the center of the storm group, analyze it in depth and obtain the most intuitive research materials!"

"Through this energy storm, we can glimpse and discover more properties of high-energy particles, as well as various effects on human genes, can—"

"—Crack the secrets of human genetic inheritance! Further improve the research on the X gene to solve more genetic diseases that cannot be treated, and benefit... All mankind?"

Doom abruptly picked up, interrupting the climax of Reed's impassioned speech, and concluding with what he had already known.

"It's... Yes, that's it."

Reed and Ben looked at each other, and the two looked at Victor Doom with his face hanging down in silence, waiting for the "gold master" to speak a little nervously.

"80% ownership and proceeds of all relevant research results and subsequent technical developments, and no technical information about the research project shall be disclosed to third parties."

Call!

"Damn! Why don't you go and grab it!"

The crystal cup slammed down on the conference table, and Ben Graeme's bull's eyes almost popped out, and his bulging chest seemed to be about to spit out a series of "beautiful" words.

Doom raised his eyebrows and glanced at it, and he didn't care about swinging the gold cufflinks at his wrists a few times, and his expression became more calm.

"Ben, if you're still in this temper, I'm going to have to consider whether or not to add you to the research team... Listen to Reed! You only have a lab design and related technical ideas that have not been experimentally proven, and how long is the cosmic storm coming? Ten months or eight months?"

"Six months and sixteen days"

Reed crossed his fingers and twisted unconsciously, speaking softly.

"Ho! Half a year, Reed, you need to build or transform a complete set of cosmic storm-resistant space stations within half a year, which can send it to space smoothly and intact, capture and study storm energy, and continue to invest massive resources to break through and develop follow-up scientific research difficulties."

Doom knocked on the table, as if he were playing cards to the dealer and the next house, and finally said without question:

"The resources required for this plan can no longer be measured in money, except for the strength of the Orient Group, even the American government does not dare to start such a project at will, and the 20% revenue share will be calculated in hundreds of millions of dollars! With this money, you can open up to do your favorite research in the future and let another five percent, this is my greatest authority, old classmate."

After a while, Reed Richards slowly stood up, looked at Victor Doom who came closer, and finally, stretched out his right hand.

"You should make another counteroffer... Dum, this kid didn't look like anyone was convinced back then, hmph, in the end, he still worked as a wage earner!"

After coming out of the conference hall, he was constantly babbling foul words, more about complaining about Victor Doom's trash talk.

One of them walked in front with his head bowed and said nothing, and the other danced and talked about the scandal about Doom in college.

I didn't notice a sweet-looking blonde beauty in a women's suit who couldn't hide her bumpy figure, standing on the side of the hallway, staring at Reid without blinking.

"Ben, Reed!"

Finally, Susan Stone took the initiative to stop the two of them, crossed her arms and glared at Reed vaguely.

"Hey! Sue... Well, what are you doing, no, what are you doing here...... Long time no see..."

Ben on the side couldn't help but close his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose, and after saying hello to Susan, he completely ignored this uncompetitive friend.

"I am in charge of the project review and follow-up research of the group's science and technology department, and I should go to the outer space observation module with you to participate in the cosmic storm in the future.

Susan, who had her blond hair, said generously, without facing the embarrassment of her ex-boyfriend, raised her hand sideways, and motioned to send the two out of the building together.

"You are... Howlett Group has been preparing this plan for a long time? And you're, um... When did you come to work here?"

"The group has been eyeing it since you were looking for investment everywhere, and if it weren't for some of the recent major projects that were hidden, and a large number of scientists, engineers, and fellows in the group were all pulled out, it is likely that even Mr. McCoy would have been involved in this project himself."

Susan paused suddenly, her fawn-like eyes were a little sharp, and her words were a little stiff when she stared at Reed.

"I joined the Howlite Group less than a month after I ended up with you, thank you Mr. Richards for your concern!"

Reed pursed his mouth, followed Susan down to the hall on the first floor, and stood there stupidly, not knowing what to say, but finally Susan sighed and whispered with a bit of reminder:

"I know that the terms of the negotiation with Doom must be very harsh, and it is not for nothing that he has climbed so fast in the group in just a few years, but if you are a scientist within the group, the treatment and terms will be much more generous, and the personal research results will also be well guaranteed... You can try add-"

"No, even if the Orient Group invites me unconditionally, I will definitely not agree! Sue, you should have seen more than I did when you worked here, and remember the vague way professors were at school when they talked about the leap forward in the social structure of nearly a century?"

Reed craned his neck, and out of nowhere, with a look of righteous indignation, finally said in a deep voice:

「…… They're afraid!"

Miss Susan Stone looked sideways at Ben, then at Eye, and reached out to run the hair around her ear, but smiled.

"Well, you're still the same...... Gather here tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, and I'll take you to the experimental base to start work, gentlemen, it's only six months, and we're very short on time."

Watching Susan walk back to the building with the folder in her arms, Ben Graeme slapped Reed on the shoulder again, and Reed couldn't help but grin his teeth.

"Hmph, what did I say wrong? Who knows what dark things that Mr. Howlett is said to have lived for hundreds of years, and what dark things he is doing behind the scenes every day......

"Okay! He will cut off all the heads of disobedient people, sip blood, raise his head to the sky and howl at the full moon, and drink tea with the devil! Howlett lives like this every day, are you satisfied?"

Reed, who was trained to puff his mouth and face full of grievances, bent his neck, hurriedly followed behind the burly and sturdy himself, and quickly disappeared through the bustling crowd of Manhattan's Fifth Avenue.

Young Reed Richards didn't know what kind of person the legendary Mr. Howlett was, and he was only muttering in his heart at the moment how could Ben drive to pick him up tomorrow morning......

And at this moment, thousands of miles away in the Edmond area of Canada, in the old castle mansion of the Howlett family.

James Howlett raised his arms and curled up his cuffs in a matter-of-fact manner, raised his eyebrows and lectured at Eric:

"How could Wanda and Pietro be disobedient? Do you know how to communicate with your child?"

James walked upstairs with his hands behind his back and a face full of displeasure, followed by Lord Magneto, who opened his mouth several times and swallowed back his defense.

Whether it is admired and feared by thousands of people in the outside world, or let the heads of state of various countries sit carefully, as long as they return to this house, the Howlett family has nothing bigger than the family.

A gust of wind swept through, blowing James' half-length black hair.

He grinned, feeling the strange winds blowing between the buildings and the corridors from time to time, and the silvery blue tracks that only he could faintly capture.

Somehow, a handful of oxtail flowers appeared out of thin air in Eric's hand, and he hurriedly touched his body to see if there was anything less or more, and said loudly to James as if he was complaining:

"Daddy, look! How old is this kid who dares to tease his father, what if he can run farther in the future! I kind of realized that Raven had a headache when he brought little Kurt back then......

"What are you yelling, didn't you see that Pietro picked a bouquet of flowers for you, while waiting!"

James stood loosely at the entrance of the building on the third floor, with his eyes slightly closed and his hands hanging down on his sides

The probe grabbed to the side!

With the strange wind blowing the ends of his hair, a little guy with silver hair slipped out of thin air.

He wore a sky-blue sweater and puffed out his cheeks, his feet and hands were blurred, and he looked intently ahead, as if he was still running with his head bored.

"Huh, huh? Not... Hey, grandpa~"

Pietro Lanshell was held in the air by the back of his neck, and when he finally came to his senses, he tilted his head, slowly slowed down, hung down a pair of short hands and legs, and made a well-behaved appearance with red cheeks. Holding the little guy closer to his eyes, James looked at Pietro's big blue-gray eyes like a little kitten~, and scratched his crunch nest with his hand, causing a series of hen-like giggles.

"Hehe, I'm running faster and faster, let's say, you put my sister... Where are you hiding?"