The Hand and Harmony Society Declares War

Leaving the hospital, Harry immediately returned to the secret laboratory at home.

Here had once housed the Green Goblin glider, the Green Goblin Enhancer, and the Green Goblin armor.

These three items were originally a set, with the Green Goblin Enhancer being the key—an ordinary physique couldn't handle the other two pieces of equipment.

Now, the Green Goblin armor had a better replacement, and the Green Goblin glider had been improved; only the Green Goblin Enhancer remained unupgraded.

Unfortunately, the Osborn Group in this world didn't have too many good things. Harry clearly remembered that in The Amazing Spider-Man movie, the Osborn Group had plenty of great gear, like the Rhino armor and the Vulture's wings.

Luckily, Harry had cheats; he would only get better stuff.

Passing by these collectibles, Harry walked to the secret warehouse within the secret laboratory.

Harry had Leining scan the place, forcibly opened the warehouse door, and found the secret safe inside the secret warehouse of the secret laboratory.

Good grief, a villain's standard treasure trove, huh?

Fortunately, there were no more secret hidden compartments in the secret safe, and Harry saw the fossil Norman had mentioned.

The fossil seemed to contain some kind of ant, but its appearance felt very unfamiliar to Harry—it didn't look like any creature from the current era; it was too large.

Beside the fossil lay Norman's research notes.

"...The insect in the fossil is far larger than modern insects. Clearly, this is an unrecorded ancient insect."

"According to my research, the insect in the fossil hasn't completely died—or rather, some cells still retain vitality. This is nothing short of a miracle!"

"...Inside the insect's cells, I discovered a peculiar RNA virus. I speculate that this RNA virus is what grants these cells their extraordinary longevity and vitality."

"I injected this virus into animals, and the subjects' physical abilities were greatly enhanced, but they became extremely ferocious and their responses to external stimuli sharply declined..."

"It was as if they had turned into... the living dead..."

"So I began to think, perhaps I could use this RNA virus as a blueprint to create a brand-new Human Augmentation Technology..."

"Ultimately, I decided to name this virus the Progenitor Virus and start my research."

What the hell!

[Anomalous item detected: Progenitor Virus (from the Resident Evil series)]

[Destroy the virus sample to receive a biology technology reward!]

Harry was dumbfounded.

This was a situation he had never imagined. He knew he might have encountered a Green Goblin origin he'd never seen before.

But he never thought it would involve the Progenitor Virus from Resident Evil—after all, that was something from a completely different dimension.

Still, from the system's description, it seemed even the system felt this thing's appearance disrupted the vibe...

Harry didn't hesitate. He immediately instructed Leining to break into the container sealing the fossil.

Intense electric current flooded the storage cabinet. This powerful, sustained electrical discharge even caused plasma to form within the cabinet.

No virus could survive in such an environment.

[Progenitor Virus eliminated.]

[Reward: Active Enhancer]

Harry quickly looked into this agent. It could be injected directly, extending the maximum lifespan of the first recipient, or used as a cell catalyst in biological modifications to enhance an organism's trait changes.

Simply put, it had a wide range of applications, and the effect of extending the recipient's maximum lifespan was especially tempting...

Harry felt a bit surreal, like a pie had fallen from the sky.

But since he could find the "Progenitor Virus," something whose style clashed with this world, he'd probably have a chance to see other things later.

And since this thing was the Progenitor Virus, Norman's illness was more likely still a genetic disease.

This stuff might help Norman's condition somewhat, but Harry didn't hold out much hope.

He needed to prepare for other things.

Doctor Connors' research might not necessarily work. Even in The Amazing Spider-Man movie, judging from Peter's attitude, this method didn't seem absolutely effective.

If that technology had a 30% reliability rate, then in Harry's view, one thing had a reliability rate of over 90%.

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," said a woman on the phone, sounding middle-aged.

"Who are you?" Harry frowned.

"Who we are isn't important. What matters is that we have a way to cure your father."

Harry understood immediately.

Speak of the Hand and Harmony Society, and the Hand and Harmony Society calls right away.

And their claimed method to cure Norman was indeed real.

The Hand and Harmony Society possessed a peculiar resource, the Dragon Bone. Using it, they could grant immortality—an effect far more absurd than the Active Enhancer Harry had just obtained.

The key point was that the Active Enhancer was a scientific technology, but the Dragon Bone could resurrect people—that was in the realm of the supernatural.

The so-called cure for Norman was to let him die first, then revive him with the Secret Medicine.

Through this method, the Hand and Harmony Society had controlled many powerful figures to do their bidding. It seemed this time they had set their sights on the Osborn Group.

But Harry refused to be blackmailed. To save his father, he was willing to do many things.

Yet submission was not among them, nor did he need to submit.

"Alexandra? You used the same tactic to control Harold of the Rand Corporation, then had him run the company as a front for your drug trade."

Harry wouldn't let this become leverage against him.

He had plenty of cards to play. He had even sent Kingpin to prison. All the Hand and Harmony Society needed to do was hand over the Secret Medicine obediently, and Harry wouldn't mind giving them an escape route.

Just like Madam Gao, who had left Manhattan.

There was a silence on the other end of the line, then a voice spoke:

"It seems you know quite a bit about us. So what's your answer?"

"Yeah, I also know your base in New York is the Midtown Circle Financial Building. The rest of you are called Sowanda, Murakami, and Borto. Your goal is the Dragon Bone buried beneath Manhattan."

"I also know you don't have Black Hole right now. If I wanted, a Powered Armor Company could storm your headquarters tomorrow."

"You favor ancient, ritualistic duels. Me? I like modern warfare. You send the stuff over and get lost, or we go to war. It's that simple."

Harry clearly heard the woman on the phone's breathing grow heavy, but he didn't care.

He preferred to operate through legal means because this world was crawling with superheroes. In a sense, they would all become Harry's employees someday, and he needed to consider their morale.

But organizations like the Hand and Harmony Society had better know their place.

"...An arrogant brat. You think we have no way to deal with you?" The leader of the Hand and Harmony Society's tone turned cold.

"I know you have the supernatural abilities granted by the Dragon Bone. But I also know you can't withstand bullets and explosives."

"War, or leave your things and scram. Your choice."

Harry's words seemed to carry a spell. On the other end of the line, Alexandra's mind was filled with a single voice:

War!

"You want war, boy? Then you've got it."

Boom!