Bro, Need a Hand?

Inside an old house.

The surroundings were somewhat desolate, and it was already the middle of the night.

Yet no light shone from the house.

It was filthy and messy inside, with rats constantly scurrying about. There were even traces of congealed blood in the house.

Inside, a huge figure lay on the ground. Connors looked at his arm, which had begun turning green again, and growled, "Damn pest! I'm human. I'm Connors, not a Lizard!"

But his will was being steadily eroded. Soon, one of his eyes suddenly turned into a lizard's vertical pupil.

"Get out of my body!"

Connors looked at the green spreading up from his neck and couldn't help clutching his throat. Because of that damned lizard, he had not been home for quite some time.

His wife had begun to wonder whether he had really been sent away for work—or whether he was having an affair.

And now he had been fired from the company. He was nearly unable to survive.

"Destroy this human world. Let every reptile become your servant, and you shall be the king of reptiles!"

"Go to hell!"

Connors fell to the ground and roared, only to discover that his hand had turned into a claw again.

"Hey, brother, need a hand?"

Suddenly, a voice came from outside. Shen Fei stood by the window in specially made clothes, a Vibranium Shield in hand, looking at Connors on the floor.

After arriving at the location Klaw had sent him, he had heard someone howling in pain through his earpiece.

There was no need to guess. It had to be Connors.

Osborn was still at a stalemate and needed more time, but the Lizard could be dealt with. After turning into the Lizard, this guy had always wanted to turn all of New York into a reptile kingdom.

But from the looks of it, the lizard personality inside him had not yet truly put that plan into action.

He had probably only just injected the Lizard Serum.

Connors could still be saved at this point. He had not completely accepted his identity as the Lizard and still wanted to return to being a true human. He had even tried to reverse the transformation.

But after reversing it, his missing arm reappeared.

That dealt him a heavy blow, which was why he eventually accepted his identity as the Lizard.

But Shen Fei could solve that problem.

With the Lizard Serum, the Phoenix Potion, and Connors himself, he could develop a more perfect Phoenix 2 in a very short time.

"If you don't want to die, get lost!"

When Connors saw Shen Fei by the window, he hurriedly raised a hand to cover his face.

He was afraid of becoming an outcast. Back when he had relentlessly researched the Lizard Serum, it was because he was disabled and hated the way others looked at him as if he were different.

That feeling drove him to devote all his wisdom to the Lizard Serum.

He had thought that once he succeeded, he would escape those looks that treated him as an outcast.

But instead, he had become the Lizard.

Compared to being disabled, becoming the Lizard made him a true outcast.

How could he accept that?

"I can help you solve the problem with your body, Connors!"

At that moment, the green on Connors's neck could no longer be suppressed. His body rapidly swelled, transforming into a figure over two meters tall, covered in a layer of dark green scales.

The massive figure appeared before Shen Fei.

The lizard head stared at Shen Fei. "You can help me? What can you use to help me, disgusting human!"

A tail suddenly whipped toward Shen Fei. Shen Fei raised his shield to block it, and Connors realized that the tail powerful enough to fling cars aside had been stopped by a single shield.

"Are you Captain America?"

With that iconic shield, anyone would think of Captain America.

"No. You can call me Shen."

Shen Fei jumped down from the windowsill and stared at Connors. "I can help you solve the problem with your body and turn you back into a human!"

"Get lost! You want to fool me? Even I can't solve it!"

The transformed Lizard Doctor was incredibly violent and arrogant. Shen Fei's words only made him more furious, and he slashed at Shen Fei with a pair of sharp claws.

His strength was terrifying. After all, he could fight Spider-Man for a long time.

But Shen Fei now possessed Super Hearing and carried the Vibranium Shield. Faced with Connors's assault, he merely kept blocking.

Connors's serum was not yet stable, and deep down, he resisted becoming the Lizard.

Shen Fei only needed to hold out for a while, and Connors would revert.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Continuous impacts exploded through the room. Shen Fei kept blocking with his shield. With his current fighting skills, there was no way Connors could hurt him.

Connors was merely a researcher who only knew how to rely on brute strength.

Shen Fei felt the force of the strikes weakening. He even abandoned defense entirely and repeatedly smashed his shield into Connors's body.

"This is my proof!"

Shen Fei neither dodged nor evaded Connors's claws. The sharp claws tore through Shen Fei's clothes, leaving a huge wound across his chest.

But it healed at an insanely fast rate.

In the end, his muscular chest reappeared, completely restored.

"How did you do that?"

The dark green on Connors's body began to fade. Connors, who had returned to human form, froze and couldn't help asking.

"My research—the Phoenix Potion. This potion can accelerate the recovery of injuries. Even severed limbs can be restored.

I already helped a blind man who had been blind for years see again!"

Shen Fei spoke calmly. He had always been tolerant toward research talents like Connors, because they could help him rapidly develop his own power.

As for the other Super Heroes, they only knew how to fight and kill.

They were better used as his experimental materials.

Connors, who had reverted to human form, panted heavily. "How can I trust you?"

"I can give you another job. I now hold 30% of Osborn's shares. When the time comes, it'll be easy to hold a shareholders' meeting and reinstate you as head of the research team."

"Osborn? You're an Osborn shareholder?"

"Yes. I have always been tolerant toward research talents. You only need to work for me. I can give you anything you want."

Shen Fei took out his phone and showed Connors the share transfer agreement.

Connors glanced over it and knew it was real.

"Why?"

"Because I value your intelligence. I don't like seeing smart people end up like this, forced to keep company with gloomy, filthy pests in the end!

Come join me. Whether it's your work or your life, I can help you."

"Then what do you want?"

Connors seemed to have caught his breath. He stared at Shen Fei as he asked.

"Your Lizard Serum research techniques, and for you to work for me. Of course, I'll pay you."

"If you've made up your mind, follow me. If you give up, then keep being the Lizard and endure the looks people give to an outcast."

Shen Fei carried his shield out of the house. He believed Connors would follow.

Because he had no other choice.