Direction

After Norman Osborn left, Wei Xiuming pulled open a drawer of his desk and took out his ID card, swiping it on the identity verification device inside. Once verified, a wall not far away opened, revealing a passage to a secret laboratory.

The passage contained multiple sterilization procedures, which were highly effective. Walking through to the other end without stopping ensured the surface of the body was sterile. After exiting the passage, with the assistance of security personnel guarding the other end, Wei Xiuming changed into a protective suit before finally being allowed into the Human Enhancement Laboratory.

The laboratory was brightly lit, with multiple light sources creating a shadowless effect, leaving almost no shadows within the lab.

Countless researchers in protective suits bustled around a transparent life-support capsule. Some monitored various instruments connected to the capsule, constantly collecting and analyzing data; others, based on the compiled data, prepared various potions and injected them into the life-support capsule.

A person was submerged in the culture medium within the life-support capsule. Their eyes were tightly shut, a respirator mask was placed over their face, and dozens of cables of various sizes were attached to their body. Their muscles were constantly trembling. It was clear from their appearance that they were undergoing experiments related to human enhancement.

The project conducted in this laboratory was what Wei Xiuming truly poured his heart into; it was the key to his becoming stronger.

Anything from the mechanical laboratory outside could be a groundbreaking product if taken out, but that was merely a place for him to relax and tinker with small toys during his downtime, a bit of childlike fun. Those things were basically useless to him.

Wei Xiuming had a hunch that the Infinite Flow Male Protagonist would not let him off so easily. Protagonists like that were generally vengeful. Apart from young and beautiful female characters, everyone else was just a tool. If he lost face in front of Wei Xiuming, he would definitely come back for revenge.

If he were a character, his role would surely be the protagonist's nemesis. Killing him would allow the protagonist to soar to new heights and have a smooth future.

Unlike himself, who was trapped in this world, the other person, who could travel through worlds at will, possessed infinite possibilities. By the time they met again, who knew how strong the other person would have become.

To face the impending threat, Wei Xiuming had to be fully prepared. As for the innocent people implicated by his plan—they could blame the Infinite Flow Male Protagonist. If he had shown mercy and let Wei Xiuming go back then, this series of events would not have occurred.

Perhaps due to copyright issues, the longer Wei Xiuming stayed in this world, the weaker his abilities became. When he first entered this world, he easily captured a Skrull spaceship. After a long voyage and landing on Earth, the ability he could exert was only at the level of Weapon X. He could still enjoy the benefits, but only the civilization's technology recorded on the spaceship and the research on the X Gene from the USB Drive he "borrowed" from the Infinite Flow Male Protagonist.

Even without using his abilities, Wei Xiuming's various functions were at the peak of human potential. However, in the world of American comics, being at the pinnacle of humanity was not enough, unless you were Batman.

The genetic gap prevented Wei Xiuming from benefiting from the common enhancement methods in this world. So, he started from his own abilities and forged his own path—the reference direction being Magnetic Field Rotation from the Hong Kong comic Sea Tiger.

Magnetic Field Rotation was not a martial art but a superpower, a superpower that could be strengthened through training.

In the X-Men comics, Magneto also used a method similar to Magnetic Field Rotation to enhance himself, magnetizing his body to increase strength and endurance, even boosting his neural reaction speed to fifteen times that of an ordinary person.

Wei Xiuming, possessing some of Magneto's genes, found this enhancement method quite suitable.

Cautious and careful, he did not possess the courage and boldness of classic web novel protagonists who used themselves as test subjects, researching and modifying techniques before testing them on themselves, or turning themselves into a hodgepodge of various power systems.

Having lived a second life, Wei Xiuming cherished his life greatly. Even with a weakened version of self-healing ability, it wouldn't suffice. He only had one life; what if he failed?

After roping Osborn in, he had plenty of "volunteers" to act as test subjects, along with professional personnel and equipment for assistance. Only after a reasonable plan was devised would Wei Xiuming begin to enhance himself.

"Dr. Clark, the experimental subject's condition has been adjusted to the optimal state and is ready for the second phase of the experiment at any time." Upon seeing Wei Xiuming return, the experimental deputy immediately stepped forward to report.

Wei Xiuming took the tablet recording the experiment from his deputy. The data for the person in the capsule was already very close to the limit achievable by humans. He nodded and said, "Very good. Once the technology matures, it will only cost eighteen thousand dollars to enhance a homeless person to this extent, with a success rate as high as eighty percent. The human enhancement technology can already be promoted as a product."

"It's just..." The deputy hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Dr. Parker has been complaining. We used his technology in our second phase of experiments without permission..."

Dr. Parker's full name was Richard Parker. He was hired by the Osborn Group and, along with his team, conducted research on organisms represented by spiders, aiming to cure various diseases caused by human genetic defects. When he was close to success, he worried that the technology would be used as a weapon and deliberately delayed the project's progress.

Before Wei Xiuming, Richard Parker's project and the Human Enhancement Potion were Norman Osborn's only two hopes. Even without results, he continued to pour vast sums of money into these two projects. But then Wei Xiuming arrived, and Richard's good days came to an end.

With resources being diverted, many project R&D teams were split up. The researchers either couldn't keep up with Wei Xiuming's R&D progress and were eliminated, or they assisted Wei Xiuming, supplementing the experimental data provided and reducing costs for mass production.

As for Richard Parker, because he had a son named Peter Parker, his team and project were preserved, but the funding was significantly reduced. Even Wei Xiuming directly took over his unfinished experimental successes. The word "miserable" couldn't even begin to describe it.

"We don't need to worry about their matters for now. How is the preparation for the second phase of the experiment?" Wei Xiuming asked, looking at the experimental subject's data. "Xenomorphs have already infiltrated our R&D base. If this continues, we will eventually face the threat of Xenomorphs. We can't have our boss fighting while wearing the Knight System; he might as well quit being the boss and take up a security captain position. The experiment on Subject Two must be completed as soon as possible; we need the strength to protect ourselves."

The deputy said, "But the organism is still in cultivation and needs a certain amount of time to mature before its bodily fluids can be extracted—the organism needs to be cultivated with specific genes implanted, which consumes significantly more cost than enhancing a homeless person. We need some time."

The so-called second phase enhancement experiment was to replicate the process of Peter Parker becoming Spider-Man.

First, Richard Parker's cross-species gene fusion technology was used to combine the genes of the subject to be enhanced with a specific organism. An artificial organism containing a specific gene sequence was cultivated. After several generations of reproduction and optimization, its bodily fluids would be extracted and injected into the gene provider. After a change similar to an immune response, the recipient of the extract would undergo a mutation that surpassed human limits.

Richard's chosen subject was a spider. After spending a large amount of Osborn's funds, this technology was perfected. However, he secretly incorporated genes from his Parker family into the cultivated spiders. Years later, after his accidental death, his son Peter, during a visit to Osborn Industries, was bitten by one of these spiders, granting him superhuman strength. He then sacrificed Uncle Ben to become Spider-Man.

However, Wei Xiuming was indifferent to creating superheroes. His methods were simple and brutal. According to the information on the USB Drive, he replicated a less mature spatial teleportation device from The Fly. He placed the experimental subject and the organism cultivated from the subject's genes into it together. With the press of a button, the teleportation was completed. Gene fusion and everything else were handled by the computer. By the time the subject emerged from the other end, the enhancement was complete.

As for the experimental subject's genes mutating from human to monster—first, the organism used as fusion material itself carried some of the experimental subject's genes, so this change would not be so rapid. Second, this was the result Wei Xiuming wanted.

If it's not a tragedy, can it still be called Kamen Rider?