After leaving the hospital, Harry immediately returned to the secret laboratory at home.
The Green Goblin glider, Green Goblin Enhancer, and Green Goblin armor had once been stored here.
Those three items had originally been meant to work together, with the Green Goblin Enhancer as the key. An ordinary physique could not handle the other two pieces of equipment.
Now, however, the Green Goblin armor had a better replacement, and the Green Goblin glider had been improved. Only the Green Goblin Enhancer still needed an upgrade.
Unfortunately, the Osborn Group in this world did not have that many good things. Harry remembered that in The Amazing Spider-Man movies, the Osborn Group had possessed plenty of impressive equipment, such as Rhino armor and Vulture wings.
Fortunately, Harry had cheats. He would only get something better.
After passing those collections, Harry arrived at the secret storage room within the secret laboratory.
Harry had Leining scan the place, forcibly opened the storage room door, and found the secret safe inside the secret storage room of the secret laboratory.
Well, well. A villain's standard treasure vault, was it?
Fortunately, there were no more hidden compartments inside the secret safe. Harry finally saw the fossil Norman had mentioned.
There seemed to be some kind of ant within the fossil, but its appearance felt utterly unfamiliar to Harry. It did not look like a creature from the current era—it was far too large.
Norman's research notes lay beside the fossil.
"...The insect within the fossil is far larger than modern insects. Clearly, this is an undocumented ancient insect."
"According to my research, the insect in the fossil has not completely died—or rather, some of its cells have remained active. This is practically a miracle!"
"...Within the insect cells, I discovered a peculiar RNA virus. I suspect that this RNA virus is what gave these cells their extraordinarily long lifespan and vitality."
"I injected this virus into animals. The test subjects' physical abilities were greatly enhanced, but they became extremely violent, and their responses to external stimuli sharply declined..."
"Just like they had become... living dead..."
"So I began to consider whether this RNA virus could serve as a blueprint for creating an entirely new Human Augmentation Technology..."
"In the end, I decided to name this virus the Progenitor Virus and began my research."
What the hell!
[An anomalous item has been discovered: Progenitor Virus (from the Resident Evil series)] [Destroy the virus sample to obtain a biological technology reward!]
Harry was stunned.
This was a situation he had never anticipated. He knew he might have encountered a Green Goblin origin story he had never seen before.
But he had never expected it to be connected to Resident Evil's Progenitor Virus—those were things separated by several dimensions.
However, judging by the system's description, it seemed the system also thought this thing's appearance did not fit the setting...
Harry did not hesitate. He immediately ordered Leining to breach the container holding the fossil.
Violent currents flooded the storage cabinet. The intense, continuous electric shock even caused plasma to form inside it.
No virus could survive in such an environment.
[The Progenitor Virus has been eliminated.] [Reward: Active Enhancer]
Harry quickly looked into the drug. It could be injected directly, extending the maximum lifespan of the first person injected, or used as a cellular catalyst in biological modification to enhance alterations to an organism's traits.
Simply put, it had a wide range of applications, and its ability to extend the recipient's maximum lifespan was incredibly tempting...
Harry found it somewhat surreal, as though a pie had fallen from the sky.
But since he had found something like the "Progenitor Virus," which did not quite fit this world's setting, he would probably have opportunities to encounter other things in the future.
And since this thing was the Progenitor Virus, Norman's illness was even more likely to be genetic.
It looked as though this might offer some help with Norman's condition, but Harry did not hold out much hope.
He needed to make other preparations.
Doctor Connors's research might not be effective. Even in The Amazing Spider-Man movies, judging from Peter's attitude, this method did not seem absolutely reliable.
If the reliability of that technology was thirty percent, then there was one thing that Harry considered more than ninety percent reliable.
That was the Hand and Harmony Society's Dragon Bone.
Just as Harry walked out of the secret laboratory, his phone rang.
"Mr. Osborn, it seems your father has run into some trouble." The caller was a woman who sounded rather old.
"Who are you?" Harry frowned.
"Who we are is not important. What matters is that we have a way to cure your father."
Harry understood immediately.
He had only just mentioned the Hand and Harmony Society, and they had called at once.
And the method they claimed could cure Norman truly did exist.
The Hand and Harmony Society possessed another peculiar resource: the Dragon Bone. With it, they could grant people immortality—a far more outrageous effect than the Active Enhancer Harry had just obtained.
Most importantly, the Active Enhancer was a scientific technology, but the Dragon Bone could resurrect the dead. That belonged to the realm of mysticism.
Their so-called method of curing Norman was to let Norman die once first, then resurrect him with Secret Medicine.
The Hand and Harmony Society had used this method to control many powerful people and make them work for them. It seemed they had set their sights on the Osborn Group this time.
But Harry did not want to be threatened. To save his father, he was willing to do many things.
But submission was not one of them, and he had no need to submit.
"Alexandra? You used the same method to control Harold of Rand Corporation, then had him control Rand Corporation and use it as cover for your pharmaceutical trade."
Harry would not let this become leverage against him.
He had many cards to play. He had even sent Kingpin to prison already. All the Hand and Harmony Society needed to do was obediently hand over the Secret Medicine. Then Harry would not mind giving them a way out.
Just like Madam Gao, who had left New York.
There was silence on the other end of the line for a while before she said:
"It seems you know us well. So what is your answer?"
"Yeah. I also know that your headquarters in New York is the Midtown Circle Financial Building. The rest of your people are called Sowanda, Murakami, and Borto, and your goal is the Dragon Bone buried beneath Manhattan."
"I also know that you currently do not have the Black Hole. If I wanted, a Powered Armor Company would storm your headquarters tomorrow."
"You worship old-fashioned duels, while I prefer modern warfare. Send over the goods, then get lost, or we go to war. It's that simple."
Harry could clearly hear the woman on the other end breathing heavily, but he did not care.
He preferred to handle matters through legal means because this world was filled with superheroes. In a sense, they would all become Harry's employees in the future, and he needed to consider their feelings.
But organizations like the Hand and Harmony Society would be better off knowing their place.
"...You wet-behind-the-ears brat, do you think there's nothing we can do to you?" The leader of the Hand and Harmony Society spoke coldly.
"I know the Dragon Bone gave you miraculous abilities, but I also know you can't withstand bullets and explosives."
"War, or leave your things behind and get lost. You choose."
Harry's words seemed to carry magic. Alexandra's mind was filled with only one voice:
War!
"You want war? Boy, then you have it."
Boom!
Before you continue