Lockheed was an aerospace company, one of the higher-ranked aircraft manufacturing companies in Eagle Country.
Aston Martin, on the other hand, was far more famous. Almost everyone had heard the name; it was a luxury car manufacturer.
"Looks like I got a bargain, then." Merlin looked around and found that the equipment was still very new, barely used.
He nodded in satisfaction, then transferred the money.
Naturally, he had bought the Aircraft Factory to develop helicopters and fighter jets. Aircraft were different from vehicles and weapons; besides requiring a large amount of space during development, they also needed somewhat different equipment.
If it was only engines, that would have been fine.
"It really is quite a bargain, but I didn't expect you to actually rent this factory." Happy looked at the payment notification on his phone, somewhat surprised.
He remembered that Merlin was still a high school student. Merlin had developed an Electromagnetic Pulse Emitter some time ago and earned ten million dollars from it. Happy knew about it, since it had involved cooperation with his boss's company.
What surprised him was that Merlin actually had the nerve to rent an aircraft factory on his own.
Happy remembered that at Merlin's age, he had spent every day drooling over the cheerleading goddesses.
"I want to study this field."
"Do you need manpower? I can help you find some people."
"No, not for now."
After completing the paperwork, Happy left the Aircraft Manufacturing Company. Although Stark had been urged by Captain Rhode to head to Afghanistan, Pepper still needed his protection at the company.
Meanwhile, Merlin stayed behind to start up the equipment, replan the production lines, and install Smart Robotic Arms.
Merlin remained in the workshop until nightfall. He dozed off for a while in the middle and refreshed himself.
Remembering that he still had to go to Osborn Tower to research the Serum with Gwen, he could only close the factory gates for now and speed away on his motorcycle.
He was not in the habit of standing people up.
Because the Brooklyn District had so many different ethnic groups, gang conflicts almost never ceased after dark. Merlin rode through the streets at high speed without stopping, leaving only a red blur flashing past.
However, as he passed through a quiet suburban area, a Ford Mustang suddenly came racing straight toward him from the opposite side of the street, accelerating in his direction.
Inside the car, a pale, arrogant-looking young man in a black vest, a cigarette hanging from his mouth, stared at him excitedly. He floored the accelerator, and the black Ford Mustang charged at Merlin like a rampaging beast, its roar echoing through the street.
Several thug-looking youths in the passenger seats laughed at Merlin on his motorcycle, as if they could already see him being sent flying.
"Beep, beep, beep..." The Fire Control Radar's warning alarm immediately sounded.
"I didn't expect the first one to come so quickly." Facing the roaring muscle car charging straight at him, Merlin chuckled and decisively pressed the button.
"Pfft!" Under the dim streetlights, a missile roared out with its tail fins trailing behind it.
"Boom!" The next moment, a brilliant fireball shot into the sky on the dark, silent street.
At the instant of the explosion, Merlin could even see the terrified expressions of the people inside the car, illuminated by the firelight.
Guys, who the hell went out carrying missiles?
Merlin stopped his motorcycle, the blazing flames casting a crimson glow over him.
He was already used to such things. In this free country, if you were slow, you got nothing. There was no room for even the slightest luck.
After admiring the art of the explosion for a moment, he restarted his motorcycle and left the scene.
But before he had gone very far, he seemed to notice something and stopped beside a narrow path.
Looking down the path, he saw a villa at its end. The distinctive tire tracks of a Ford Mustang stretched out from the lawn.
As if realizing something, he quickly took out his phone and looked it up.
"Tsk... what a coincidence." After confirming the identity of the villa's owner, he clicked his tongue and turned his motorcycle around.
Following the quiet path to the villa, he found the front door violently broken open and the interior in complete disarray.
Cold moonlight streamed through the windows and doorway into the hall. A man and a dog lay on the floor, their fates unknown, blood flowing across the smooth floorboards.
Merlin walked over and looked at the man lying unconscious on the ground, his forehead covered in blood.
He had long black hair and an attractive beard. His eyes were tightly shut, and his face carried an air of melancholy and coldness.
The Assassin, John Wick—a ruthless man who had killed three people with nothing but a pencil.
"Oh, poor little dog." Merlin crouched down, looked at the Beagle's weak breathing, and picked it up.
Since they happened to be lacking an Experimental Subject, he decided to take the Beagle with him.
After glancing at the still-unconscious John, he left an app on John's phone before carrying the Beagle away.
Osborn Industries, Interspecies Gene Laboratory.
"Oh my God, Merlin, why did you bring a dog in here?" Gwen cried out, pointing at the Beagle in Merlin's arms.
"I found it on the road. Didn't we lack an Experimental Subject? We can use this dog." Merlin placed the Beagle on the test bench. After racing all the way here, it was still barely clinging to life.
"Using a dog for experiments..." Gwen could not bear the thought.
"Come on, it's about to die. If we can save it, there's nothing wrong with having it help with the experiment." Merlin urged her quickly. If they did not make the Regeneration Potion soon, the poor thing truly would be beyond saving.
"It's dying?" Gwen seemed to notice the Beagle's condition only then. She had originally thought Merlin had caught it somewhere.
Coming back to her senses, she immediately turned on the equipment and began making the Regeneration Potion according to the experimental records Professor Connors had left behind.
Merlin, meanwhile, kept watching the Beagle's condition. However, he was not a veterinarian, so there was not much he could do.
Fortunately, Gwen worked quickly, and with the materials Connors had left behind, she produced a vial of green Regeneration Potion in half an hour.
The Beagle was tenacious enough to hold on until the potion was finished.
Once the potion was ready, Merlin did not hesitate. He took it from Gwen and injected it into the Beagle's body.
"It's almost dead. Will the Regeneration Potion still work?" Gwen looked at the dog with blood staining the corner of its mouth, pity rising in her heart.
"Who could have hurt it so badly?"
"It depends. As long as it doesn't die before its stem cells divide and produce new cells, it'll be fine."
Under their watchful eyes, the damaged cells inside the Beagle's body began dividing at an extremely rapid rate, producing new cells to fill the injured areas.
As the new cells formed, its weak breathing gradually steadied.
"Have you ever neutered an animal?"
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