Applying for Osborn

The application for the Oscorp talent development program proceeded smoothly; after all, Lee Stein's grades across the board spoke for themselves.

Furthermore, this was merely the school's unilateral approval. To actually intern at Oscorp, one still had to pass an interview, and that interview was the true threshold.

With the application approved, canceling his elective courses became a logical next step. Theoretically, these courses could not be dropped, and absences would result in a deduction of credits, but because this was an application for an early internship, special arrangements were made to waive them.

The interview was scheduled for tomorrow, and since his electives were canceled, he no longer needed to attend class. After finalizing everything, Lee Stein turned and walked out of the school, returning home to collapse into bed and make up for the energy lost during his all-nighter.

The following afternoon, inside the headquarters of Oscorp, the Oscorp Tower.

"Hello, how may I help you?"

As Lee Stein walked up to the reception desk on the first floor, a pleasant-looking white woman immediately asked with a smile.

"Hello, I am here for an internship interview."

Lee Stein nodded in acknowledgment.

"Mr. Lee Stein?"

The receptionist glanced at a solitary nameplate on the desk beside her to confirm.

"Yes, Lee Stein, from Midtown School of Science and Technology. I am interviewing for the position of Dr. Connors' intern," Lee Stein nodded.

"Very well, here is your badge. You are quite lucky; you are the only intern candidate today. I trust Dr. Connors will have a bit more patience. I wish you success in your application!"

"Thank you for your well wishes, miss."

Lee Stein took the badge from the receptionist, thanked her politely, and then took the escalator straight up to the third floor.

Perhaps because he was only here for an internship interview, or perhaps because he was the only candidate today, there was no guide as he had expected. He had to ask for directions himself while making his way toward the laboratory led by Dr. Connors.

However, to his surprise, even after finding the laboratory, he was met with a closed door. The glass door at the entrance was locked tight and required an employee identification card to open.

Forced by circumstance, Lee Stein had no choice but to knock on the glass.

"Young man, is there something you need?"

A middle-aged white man with blonde hair and glasses walked over and used his left hand to open the glass door.

What was striking was that the middle-aged man's right arm was missing; the entire forearm from the elbow joint down was gone.

Curt Connors, Oscorp's chief geneticist and the future Lizard.

Through that iconic missing arm, Lee Stein easily identified the person who had opened the door.

"Hello, Dr. Connors. I am here for the internship interview. My name is Lee Stein."

Lee Stein spoke with composure.

"You're from Midtown School of Science and Technology, right? I am terribly sorry, I thought you would be arriving a bit later!"

Connors immediately recalled that someone was interviewing today and offered an apology.

"Doctor, there is no need to apologize. I arrived early myself; I couldn't sleep all night just thinking about today's interview."

Lee Stein followed Connors into the laboratory, curiously surveying the various pieces of equipment inside.

"Lee? Why are you here?"

A sudden, surprised voice rang out.

"Good afternoon, Gwen!"

Lee Stein nodded with a beaming smile.

"Why are you here? Don't tell me you followed me here in secret?"

Gwen Stacy walked over with a bright smile, then teased him playfully.

"I'm here for an interview."

Lee Stein gestured slowly toward the badge on Gwen's chest and said, "In fact, if your badge didn't say 'Assistant,' I would have suspected you of following me!"

"Interview? Dr. Connors?"

Gwen looked Lee Stein up and down with suspicion and said, "I'm not surprised you chose an early internship, but are you sure you didn't fill out the wrong form? I thought you would go to Stark Industries or Hammer Industries. You should know that Oscorp specializes in biomedicine and chemistry."

"Gwen, do you two know each other?"

Connors turned his head and interrupted.

"Yes, Doctor!"

Gwen said with a smile, "He is my classmate, the top academic genius at Midtown School of Science and Technology. He's the one who snatched the top spot in the class from me."

"Is that so?"

Connors raised an eyebrow, showing a look of interest.

"Of course. Within a month of transferring, he swept all the rankings in the monthly exams. However, as far as I know, he seemed more interested in mechanical knowledge. I don't know why he came here."

After saying this, a look of helplessness appeared on Gwen's face; after all, the glory of the top spot usually belonged to her.

"Perhaps a beautiful lady is more attractive to him than machinery."

Curt Connors teased Gwen before turning his gaze toward Lee Stein, smiling, "Lee, pursuing a girl is no bad thing, but if you want to stay in my laboratory, you must have real talent."

"Doctor, you are truly the perfect wingman!"

Lee Stein smiled and gave Curt Connors a thumbs-up, only to be met with a roll of the eyes from a blushing Gwen.

However, possessing a hide as thick as a city wall, he didn't care in the slightest. He acted as if he hadn't seen it and said to Curt Connors, "Of course, my knowledge will also satisfy you; I am an all-around talent."

"So confident?"

Curt Connors was now thoroughly intrigued.

"Of course. Although Gwen only praised my knowledge of mechanics, in reality, my knowledge regarding biology is just as formidable!"

Lee Stein answered with calm composure.

Curt Connors chuckled, patted Lee Stein on the shoulder, and said, "Alright, confident young man. One question: if your answer can satisfy me, you will pass the interview, and perhaps you can even try inviting Gwen to a celebratory dinner!"

Lee Stein made a gesture of invitation.

Curt Connors said, "This is my arm. Regrettably, it is severed. How do you think we can make it grow back?"

"Doctor!"

Lee Stein stared at Curt Connors, speechless, and rolled his eyes, saying, "Doctor, although I would love to use this answer to prove my intelligence, the fact is that the answer is plastered all over this place..."

As he spoke, Lee Stein pointed to the nameplate on Curt Connors' chest indicating his position, then pointed to the large characters hanging by the door that read "Cross-Species Genetics Laboratory":

"Cross-species genetics. Lizards, salamanders, and many other reptiles possess astonishing regenerative abilities. If one were to fuse such biological regenerative genes into a human, regrowing a severed arm would be a trivial matter."

"Uh... well, good observation."

Curt Connors followed Lee Stein's gaze around the room and was momentarily stunned, then laughed freely, "Since you think that question was too simple, I will give you another chance to show your worth. How do you think one could create the kind of regenerative gene serum you mentioned?"

"Impossible!" Lee Stein stated definitively.