A Love Rivalry? Not Happening!

Octavius?

When Ben heard the name, he paused for a moment, then immediately realized that the middle-aged man in front of him, whose figure had changed beyond recognition, was none other than Otto Octavius, also known as Doctor Octopus.

Today, Otto is just an ordinary person.

He wasn't wearing his octopus tentacles, nor did he turn to crime because of financial difficulties. At this moment, he was receiving funding from the Hardy Foundation and was peacefully conducting his research.

Otto is currently quite satisfied with his life.

His past was very impoverished. Although he was a native of New York, he was from the lower class. His father was a factory worker who was somewhat violent and an alcoholic who often beat him and his mother for no reason.

After reaching adulthood, he relied on loans to attend university. He had already achieved considerable success while in school, writing numerous theoretical papers that made him famous in the field of Atomic Energy Physics.

However, the Fusion Reactor that Tony Stark built in a garbage dump in a Middle East cave actually realized the dream he had been pursuing for so many years, and even made it more perfect!

This caused Otto to lose heart for a long time, but he eventually recovered.

The Arc Reactor is perfect, but something else is not.

He wants to use science to make the world a better place, and there's more than one way to do that.

Of course, he didn't completely abandon his Arc Reactor; its technology wasn't entirely the same as the Arc Reactor, and it still had value.

"Doctor Otto."

Ben didn't dislike Doctor Octopus; on the contrary, he admired his abilities and aspirations.

How bad can someone be who dedicates their intelligence to benefiting humanity?

He became Spider-Man's enemy simply because of a twist of fate.

In fact, many of Spider-Man's enemies are like this: before turning to the dark side, they were both mentors and friends to Peter Parker, but ultimately ended up on opposing sides.

Totem...

"Now I understand why Miss Hardy asked me where to buy cheap experimental materials," Otto said with a smile, glancing back at Felicia, who was standing next to Mrs. Hardy but whose eyes kept darting over, and sighed.

"It's so good to be young, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Ben agreed.

Then Otto said, "Many people believe that Norman Osborn invented the Self-Healing Serum, but I know that's not the case."

He glanced at Osborn, who was chatting happily with other businessmen, and then said, "He's a brilliant scientist, but he's been focusing his attention elsewhere these past few years."

Otto seemed to be expressing regret.

In his view, becoming capital does not lead to social progress, nor does it allow others to live a better life.

In this country, vampires are everywhere, and it is because of their existence that the lives of the poor are even more difficult.

Norman Osborn was a genius, but being a genius alone is far from enough. In this world, genius is merely an entry ticket; there are geniuses above geniuses.

Like himself, he was already very famous when he was still in college, but compared to Tony Stark, he was still far behind.

Therefore, being a genius is not enough; one must work even harder.

Norman, however, gradually gave up on his talent, which is why Otto couldn't like him.

"Actually, isn't it your achievement?" Otto's eyes were full of admiration.

"It was indeed my invention."

Ben nodded. This wasn't a secret to many people; S.H.I.E.L.D.. had known about it for a long time.

He could, of course, continue to hide, but for someone like Doctor Otto, Ben was more willing to be honest.

I knew it.

He looked as if he hadn't expected it, then his face showed a hint of emotion.

"You know what? Connors and I are actually good friends," he said. "He's been dedicated to researching Cross-Species Genetic Inheritance, not just to heal his own arm, but also for many others like him."

"The news said he volunteered to be a test subject so that Green Goblin wouldn't use innocent patients for experiments. I'm not surprised at all, because that's the kind of person he is."

Ben nodded, agreeing with Otto's statement.

"That's why my Uncle Norman and I went to great lengths to find him after he disappeared and to heal him, because he was a man worthy of respect."

Uncle Norman...

When Otto heard this address, he was taken aback for a moment before realizing that Ben in front of him was still just a child.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel that Connors and he were in the same boat.

They are all geniuses, but there are geniuses above geniuses. What they pursued their whole lives could be easily achieved by others.

Did you know?

"Faced with geniuses like you, I always feel a mix of envy, regret, and pride," Otto said. "But I guess Connors will be very happy, because there's hope for his left hand, and hope for millions of other disabled people too."

As the two were talking, a commotion arose in the distance.

The two looked over at the sound and saw Justin Hammer, surrounded by a large group of reporters, walking in.

He never stopped walking, seemingly annoyed by the reporters around him, but anyone with eyes could see that he was enjoying himself, reveling in the spotlight and being the center of attention.

"As I've already stated, Hammer Industries has reached a cooperation agreement with the military and will next develop the most advanced and sophisticated weapons..."

"Regarding Iron Armor, all I can say is that it's absolutely not Tony Stark's exclusive domain. He's just a selfish, arrogant man who thinks no one else can develop the technology for armor, but he's wrong..."

"Today's exhibition?"

"This is a surprise!" Justin Hammer said confidently. "I welcome you all to witness it for yourselves. Believe me, everything you want to see, I have it!"

"Alright, I know you still have a lot of questions to ask, but that's enough for now." Justin Hammer gestured dramatically towards the entrepreneurs at the exhibition, then said, "I still have many people to greet."

"It really looks like a peacock."

Otto said sarcastically.

"Yes, that's why I don't really like him."

At that moment, Mrs. Hardy, in the distance, waved to Otto, signaling him to come over.

Unlike other large corporations, the Hardy Foundation was not powerful. Mrs. Hardy wanted to attract investment from others through scientific research, but she herself did not actually understand science and relied on Otto's explanations for related matters.

But Justin Hammer walked towards him.

However, his target was not Ben, but Norman Osborn.

"Norman, Norman, it's been a long time! I thought you'd given up on life!" He opened his arms to Norman from afar, as enthusiastically as if they were old friends who hadn't seen each other for years.

In reality, Osborn and Hammer had almost no prior connection.

Norman understood without a second thought why Hammer was so enthusiastic— the Self-Healing Serum.

Hammer wasn't exactly a bright man, and like everyone else, he assumed Osborn was the real mastermind behind Primus.

Although the Self-Healing Serum has absolutely no connection with Hammer Industries —the two are neither competitors nor partners—no one would be indifferent to having such a potion available.

After all, anything can happen to anyone.

Moreover, since Osborn was able to develop Self-Healing Serum, who knows if he might come up with a life-extending drug in a few years?

Therefore, there's no harm in maintaining a good relationship with the Osborn Corporation.

Looking at Hammer's enthusiasm, and thinking that he would soon have nothing left, Norman couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

But it's just a sigh of regret.

He turned his head and glanced at Ben. Their eyes met in mid-air, and then Norman walked toward Hammer with the same enthusiasm.

For businessmen, it's all just a facade.

Ben sat there bored for a while, when Felicia secretly slipped away from Mrs. Hardy and ran towards him. The two of them immediately disappeared from the backstage of the exhibition as if they had greased their feet.

"Are you going on stage tonight?" Felicia asked.

Ben shook his head:

"I don't like being in the spotlight, so let Harry sit here."

Upon hearing this, Felicia originally wanted to take Ben to browse around the exhibition, but Ben, knowing what would happen tonight, had no intention of wandering around.

"Let's go straight to Primus's clubhouse."

Given the potential danger, Ben was concerned that tonight's event could escalate into Spider-Web Incident, so he had Energy Shield erected outside the venue in advance to ensure the safety of everyone at the Primus venue.

The Energy Shield technology wasn't invented by him; it was something that already existed on Sakaar.

Sakaar possesses a wealth of advanced technology, but unfortunately, it is too far from Earth, and those wormholes are unstable. Even with the Tetramand engines, frankly, Earth's coordinates are not easy to find.

I was able to return to Earth so quickly this time thanks to Asgard.

It's a pity the Bifrost isn't his mode of transportation, otherwise it would be much more convenient.

Ben brought Felicia back to the venue in Primus. At the very front row, Mary Jane, Aunt May, and Uncle Ben were sitting together, chatting and laughing.

Clearly, Aunt May liked Mary Jane very much.

Mary Jane's aunt and she were already very close, so Aunt May treated Mary Jane like her own daughter.

However, the thought of another girl coming to her door during the month Ben was away on vacation gave Aunt May a bit of a headache.

Dating two girls at the same time is clearly not in line with Aunt May's values.

"I wonder how the Benny will handle this..."

Just then, she looked up and saw Ben and Felicia walking side by side toward her.

Aunt May's expression changed immediately.

She glanced at Mary Jane, her face instantly contorting with panic.

Aunt May thought to herself, "Benny Ban is too careless. He let the two girls bump into each other before he even made a decision."

"These two girls, won't they start fighting?"

Fortunately, things didn't turn out the way she had imagined.

Mary Jane was not surprised at all when she saw Felicia; on the contrary, she was happy to greet her.

Felicia jogged over and sat down next to her.

A battleground?

It doesn't exist!