The Whereabouts of Harry

Norman Osborn led Luo Xia into the top-floor office of the tower. Rather than an office, it was more akin to a private laboratory.

The space spanned a full five hundred square meters, four hundred of which were packed with various instruments. Only the remaining fifth served as the area where Norman Osborn typically conducted business and received guests.

Although Norman Osborn lagged behind super-geniuses like Tony Stark, he was undoubtedly an exceptional scientist with an IQ far exceeding that of an ordinary person; otherwise, he could never have designed black-tech equipment like the Goblin Glider.

Thinking of this, Luo Xia couldn't help but feel a bit expectant. He wondered if this Goblin Glider could be activated by AllSpark energy to become a robot. If it could, it would likely be even more powerful than Luo Fei and Violet.

But Luo Xia then thought that Harry was only five years old now, and heaven only knew if Oscorp had even begun researching the Goblin Glider yet. If they hadn't, there was nothing to be done; he couldn't exactly say to Norman Osborn, "Put on that mask; it is your destiny."

While he was lost in thought, he saw Norman Osborn press a few buttons on the wall, causing the doors and windows of the entire laboratory to lock, while light- and sound-insulating partitions descended.

"Alright, no one should be able to eavesdrop here now. Luo Xia, please tell me the news about Harry." Norman Osborn said to Luo Xia urgently.

Luo Xia naturally didn't intend to stall, so he simply took the Tactical Goggles off his face and handed them to Norman Osborn: "Put these on."

Norman Osborn was a bit puzzled, but he followed Luo Xia's instructions and put on the seemingly ordinary black-rimmed glasses.

What were originally plain, non-prescription glasses soon displayed different images before his eyes. It was a Mercedes-Benz, the very vehicle he had prepared as a dedicated car for his son.

However, this Mercedes-Benz was driving through dirty, chaotic streets that did not match its expensive value.

The images before him were clearly obtained by hacking into surveillance cameras. When the Mercedes-Benz left the range of a camera, it would take some time before a new image appeared.

It seemed that the number of cameras in this slum-like area was not high, or at least, not many were functional.

The car had entered the area of Hell's Kitchen, arguably the most chaotic place in New York City.

This was one of the reasons Luo Xia had previously told Norman Osborn not to act rashly. Calling the police in this place was useless; if the police were effective, people wouldn't be dying unnatural deaths in Hell's Kitchen every few days.

After another while, Norman Osborn saw the Mercedes-Benz stop in front of the entrance to a dilapidated underground parking garage. The driver, the nanny, and Harry were forced out of the car by a group of men holding guns.

The driver seemed to know these people, kneeling before them and pleading for something. Unfortunately, all he received in the end was a bullet to the center of his forehead.

Although the footage was silent, Norman Osborn still shuddered violently. If that shot had hit his son, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

However, it was clear that these kidnappers had no intention of killing the hostages immediately; they simply moved Harry and the nanny into another vehicle before entering the parking garage.

To Norman Osborn's disappointment, once the car left the range of the cameras, no new footage appeared.

"What's going on?" Norman Osborn asked nervously.

"I'm sorry, the place they went to likely has no cameras, and underground parking garages cannot be observed by satellite." Luo Xia said helplessly.

Violet's abilities were indeed strong, but without cameras, she was powerless.

After taking a few deep breaths, Norman Osborn finally calmed down again and said to Luo Xia: "Luo Xia, since you have been able to track these people, you must have some preparations. I don't know how you need me to cooperate?"

"Even if you want to save someone, knowing the address isn't enough. To ensure the safety of the hostages, the more we know about the kidnappers, the better our chances." Luo Xia explained.

"But they only called me once, and I tried to trace it, but it was clearly a burner phone—thrown away after use. I couldn't find any valuable leads."

"Did they make any demands on the phone?" Luo Xia asked.

"Not only did they not make any demands, but they also gave me time, telling me to find a way to save him, and promised not to kill the hostage." Norman Osborn said, extremely annoyed.

Luo Xia frowned as well. The origins of this group seemed far from simple; they were definitely not ordinary kidnappers.

"So arrogant—it seems they are very confident in themselves. And what they want is definitely not as simple as money. Since they gave you time, we should take this opportunity to find more clues." Luo Xia suggested.

Some might think that knowing the location of a kidnapping would make it easy to rescue the hostages. But Luo Xia knew very well that in his previous life, he had participated in over ten hostage rescue operations, and the success rate of rescuing hostages safely was less than half.

Once, a kidnapper had strapped a bomb to a hostage, ostensibly holding the detonator in his hand. But this was actually a ruse; the switch was hidden in the sole of his shoe.

When Luo Xia and his special operations team breached the door and subdued him, the moment his foot left the ground, the bomb went off.

Who could have guessed such a thing?

Having seen such insidious opponents, Luo Xia would never believe that a frontal assault now had a high probability of saving the boy.

As for investigating the kidnappers' information, it was more about finding their demands and psychological weaknesses to see if they could be rescued through negotiation—that was the safest approach. Otherwise, why would the military and police employ so many psychologists and negotiators? Were they all just relatives of the leadership?

"But, in such a short time, how can we find clues?" Norman Osborn was at a loss.

This wasn't a scientific experiment where results could be found through repeated trials; once there was any mistake, his son's life would be in danger.

"I do have one lead. There is someone involved in this kidnapping case who should still be in the hospital." Luo Xia said confidently.

"The hospital? Who is he?"

"One of your own people at Oscorp—the security guard who took a few bullets from the kidnappers when the kidnapping occurred." Luo Xia said.

"How is that possible? He saved Harry's life." Norman Osborn was very surprised.

He hadn't witnessed the kidnapping in front of the tower with his own eyes, but he had heard the reports from others. If that security guard hadn't stepped forward, Harry would have been shot long ago.

"Why would he save Harry's life? If the kidnappers wanted to kidnap him, why would they shoot at Harry on the spot? Don't you think that's contradictory?"

Faced with Luo Xia's question, Norman Osborn was speechless.

After a long while, Norman Osborn gritted his teeth and said: "Then, let us go and visit this benefactor who saved my son's life."