With cancer treatments capable of upending the entire medical industry and even rewriting human history, Harry Osborn's name skyrocketed to fame around the world.
The Osborn Group's reputation and market value rose with it, reaching unprecedented heights.
Propelled by this tremendous wave of prestige, and with Norman Osborn's deliberate guidance and full support, Harry Osborn naturally entered the Osborn Group's highest decision-making circle.
Not long after, at a carefully arranged internal meeting, Norman Osborn announced a decision that surprised everyone but also seemed entirely reasonable: he would step down as chairman, and his son, the seventeen-year-old genius Harry Osborn, would take his place.
The decision caused a few minor ripples, but in the face of Harry's almost miraculous achievements, any doubts seemed feeble.
What was more, Norman remained the largest shareholder and had made it clear that he would continue to support Harry behind the scenes.
And so, in an almost legendary fashion, Harry Osborn became the man at the helm of this vast commercial empire.
"How does the chairman's office feel?"
Norman stood by the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, looking down at the traffic that resembled streams of toy cars. A pleased smile played across his face.
Harry sat behind the broad desk that symbolized power, lightly tapping his fingers on its surface, his expression calm.
"Not bad. The view's nice."
Harry answered casually. To him, the power and wealth that came with the position were merely tools.
Tools existed only to help people achieve their goals...
"By the way, Dad, about the hereditary disease in the Osborn family..."
Harry looked at Norman.
"I know. With the technology you have now, it's only a matter of time before you solve it."
A trace of worry flashed through Norman's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by pride.
"Mm."
Harry nodded.
That was right. In theory, the gene-editing technology from the Kryonaut world could already cure his genetic disease.
It would just take a little more time. At last, the burden he had carried for so many years could be lifted.
But this was only the first step.
Harry narrowed his eyes slightly, his thoughts drifting to more distant matters.
Before long, the city would become an alien battlefield.
According to the timeline he remembered, the catastrophe of the alien invasion was only a few years away.
Before then, he still needed enough strength to protect himself...
The wealth and prestige he had gained from curing cancer were only the beginning.
Just as Harry was lost in thought, someone knocked on the office door.
"Mr. Osborn, Mr. Norman, you have a visitor."
Norman's secretary poked her head in.
"Send him in."
Norman said.
Harry looked up, puzzled. He had only just taken over, so it was too soon for an important visitor to show up—and for Norman to receive him personally.
Soon, a middle-aged man in a crisp military uniform walked in. His features were resolute, and his eyes were sharp.
His stride was steady, and he carried the steely air unique to a soldier.
"Harry, let me introduce you.
This is Colonel William Stryker, who's in charge of an important military project."
Norman walked forward with a smile, then turned to Stryker. "Colonel, this is my son, Harry Osborn, now chairman of the Osborn Group."
"Colonel Stryker."
Harry rose and extended his hand, wearing a polite smile.
He was puzzled, though. The name sounded familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.
Was Stryker a military contractor? Or had they crossed paths on some past project?
"Mr. Osborn, I've heard a great deal about you."
William Stryker took Harry's hand. His grip was firm, but his gaze was appraising.
"Colonel Stryker, what sort of partnership are you hoping to discuss with the Osborn Group?"
Harry released his hand and asked calmly.
The Osborn Group had long worked with the military in biotechnology and weapons development. For instance, there had been the physical enhancement serum project that had nearly created the Green Goblin.
Now that Harry had developed something as powerful as gene editing, it wasn't strange for the military to approach him about working together.
Stryker's answer, however, took him by surprise.
"Mr. Osborn, do you believe that... superpowers exist in this world?"
Stryker didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked a question of his own.
"Hm?"
Harry paused.
Superpowers?
He glanced at Norman and saw that his dad looked as if he'd known this question was coming.
It seemed Dad had already known what the colonel was here for.
"Do you mean the sort of thing you see in science fiction? People with extraordinary strength, who can fly or control energy?"
Harry thought for a moment before asking.
"Exactly. Powers that defy reason. And they're real."
William Stryker looked utterly serious. He didn't seem to be joking at all.
As he spoke, Stryker pulled a tablet out of his briefcase and handed it to Harry.
The screen lit up, playing a series of astonishing videos.
One person bent steel bars with his bare hands. Another vanished from the spot in an instant. Someone else conjured a wall of ice out of thin air, while another underwent a bizarre physical transformation and displayed inhuman strength and speed.
There were no signs of editing in any of the footage. It looked terrifyingly real.
Harry took the tablet, his initial confusion giving way to intense focus.
He swiped through the clips, his brows knitting together.
This...
Harry's pupils contracted, and his heart pounded despite himself, but he soon regained his composure.
This was the Marvel World. There were beings like Iron Man and the Hulk, whose abilities defied common sense.
If something existed, then there was a reason for it. It only seemed impossible because he didn't understand it yet. Before the microscope was invented, humanity hadn't understood the existence of the microscopic world either.
As a scientist, his job was to find the patterns behind phenomena like these...
"What are these...?"
He handed the tablet back to Stryker and asked curiously.
"They're anomalies born among us.
They... are Mutants."
William Stryker took back the tablet. His gaze was sharp, and he emphasized the last word, speaking each syllable deliberately.
"Mutants?"
Harry stared at him in disbelief.
That word...
Wolverine, Professor X, Magneto... flashed through his mind.
Mutants!
Not ordinary superpowered people, but Mutants?!
Wait. Tony Stark, the Avengers... He had always thought he'd been transported to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But Mutants... That was clearly a setting from the X-Men universe!
Had the two universes merged?
Or had Mutants always existed in the MCU, just never appeared openly?
Harry's heart beat a little faster as countless thoughts raced through his mind.
If that was the case, then the William Stryker standing before him was none other than the notorious villain from the X-Men series?!
The lunatic obsessed with wiping out Mutants, building Sentinel robots, and running the Weapon X project!
So he really was destined to keep running into villains, huh?
But...
Mutants...
Thinking of the X-Men's wide variety of incredible superpowers, Harry couldn't help feeling excited.
Healing factors, telepathy, metal manipulation, weather control, teleportation...
These abilities all came from a super-factor in Mutants known as the X-Gene...
If he could fully understand it...
"So, Colonel Stryker, the project you want to work with me on is about... Mutants?"
"Exactly..."
Before you continue