New Abilities and First Meeting with Norman Osborn

On Sunday morning, since Harry had granted Lin Hai access, Lin Hai was now conducting an experiment alone in the laboratory.

Six potted plants stood arranged on the workbench: two pothos plants, two cacti, and two cosmos flowers. As for why he had chosen these three species—

Pothos could purify indoor air and absorb harmful substances. It had low requirements for light and soil, strong adaptability, and was a common indoor plant.

A cactus's leaves had degenerated into spines to reduce water evaporation, while its stem stored large amounts of water. It could survive for months without rain in an arid desert and was a classic example of survival under harsh conditions.

Cosmos had extremely strong adaptability. It could grow in mountains, plains, and barren soil, with highly viable seeds and remarkable reproductive ability, often forming vast seas of flowers.

"Alright, let me try out this new ability!" Lin Hai took a deep breath and began with the pothos.

Ever since he had absorbed the energy of "Red Moon" yesterday, he had discovered that not only could he sense plants, but he also seemed able to actively alter their traits. Like a game designer writing code, he could input specific "commands" into a plant through energy.

That was why he had come to the laboratory early this morning to test his theory.

Under his guidance, the leaves of the first pothos gradually developed sharp edges, while the density of the fibers in its stems tripled. It was somewhat like Razor Leaf.

The vines of the second pothos became thicker and stronger, and the force with which they coiled around Lin Hai's palm increased as well.

"The traits of Razor Leaf and Vine Whip, Grass-type moves from Pokémon." Lin Hai murmured softly. He felt both excited and uneasy about the change in his ability. This targeted modification far surpassed his previous ability to simply accelerate growth and replenish vitality.

Next came the two cacti—

Under his guidance, the first cactus became rounder, but also tougher. The small spines on its body became thinner, some even nearly invisible.

The second cactus was different. Though its body became tougher, its shape did not change. The biggest transformation was in its spines: some became thicker and sharper, while others gradually vanished, as if to make room for more.

"The traits of the Wall-nut and cactus from Plants vs. Zombies." Lin Hai muttered again.

The different changes in these plants fully proved that his idea was correct: by infusing plants with Life Energy, he could guide them into altering their own traits to a certain extent.

Just as Lin Hai was about to continue his experiments on the two cosmos flowers, a wave of dizziness suddenly struck him.

Lin Hai staggered and braced himself against the workbench, his vision darkening. The cost of overusing his new ability had come sooner than expected. His body had yet to fully adapt to the intense energy consumption involved in modifying plants.

At that moment, Harry was already standing outside the laboratory. When he opened the door and saw Lin Hai stumbling, he rushed over.

"Lin! Are you okay? Were you poisoned? Or something else? Do you need a doctor!?" Harry sounded anxious. It was clear that he was genuinely worried.

Lin Hai waved a hand. "I'm fine. I'm just a little drained. I overused my ability. Let me rest for a while and I'll be okay."

"That's good. If anything comes up, tell me immediately. I'll call the medical team right away." Seeing that Lin Hai showed no other abnormal reactions and was still conscious, Harry finally let out a breath.

"Oh, right. I invited Peter over too. Since we won't be dealing with those dangerous plants today, I asked him to help out. He has the mind of a scientist, after all—he's much smarter than us."

Lin Hai nodded to show that he understood. He had no objection to Harry saying Peter was smarter than them. It was true, even though Lin Hai's own brain had been enhanced.

As Lin Hai drank water, he observed his physical condition. Though weak, he could feel the energy in his body had regained its balance. More remarkably, when he looked at the ornamental plant in the corner of the medical room, he could not only sense its condition, but, when he focused, he could also perceive the path along which energy flowed through it.

Not long afterward, while Lin Hai rested with his eyes closed and Harry studied the plants Lin Hai had just altered, Peter knocked on the laboratory's glass door.

After thanking the staff member who had led him there, Peter was greeted inside by Harry, who went to open the door.

"Whoa! Harry, this lab is incredible! Just what you'd expect from Osborn Enterprises! Oh my God, look at this—the most advanced analyzer. Oh, and this! The latest ultra-high-power microscope. Huh? What's that? A new variety of... cactus?"

Peter was still just a poor kid, and this was his first time seeing such an advanced laboratory. His excitement had awakened his chatterbox side.

"That was just altered by Lin..." Harry stopped mid-sentence and looked at Lin Hai. He did not know whether he should reveal Lin Hai's ability to Peter.

Lin Hai nodded to signal that it was fine, but Peter could no longer hold himself back. "Lin did that?! I knew his ability couldn't be that simple! How did he do it this time? Before, he couldn't alter plant traits at all!"

Harry and Lin Hai exchanged a look. Had inviting Peter over been another mistake? Uh, why say another?

"Peter, do me a favor," Lin Hai suddenly said.

"What?"

"Give me your hand."

"Oh." Peter was a little confused, but he still held out his right hand. Lin Hai grasped it and tried to send a thread of gentle Life Energy into him.

"Holy—!" Peter jerked his hand back. "Was that static electricity? No, that's not right. It felt more like a warm current?"

Why had he chosen Peter rather than Harry? The answer was simple. Peter was currently a frail bookworm who barely exercised, so any reaction would surely be more obvious in him than in Harry.

Lin Hai leaned back against his chair with satisfaction. Another aspect of his new ability had been confirmed: he could also infuse humans with Life Energy.

Although he did not yet know exactly what it could accomplish, it clearly held the potential to heal others with Life Energy. If he could achieve that, many of Lin Hai's future plans would become much easier to carry out.

As the saying went, a warrior who did not want to be a healer was not a good controller. More skills never hurt.

"Lin?" Peter interrupted his thoughts. "What are you grinning foolishly about?"

"Nothing." Lin Hai wiped the smile from his face. "I was just thinking that science and magic can sometimes be really hard to tell apart."

Peter nodded in deep agreement. "Like your 'Special Botany'? I looked at those plants you modified. It's completely unbelievable."

Just then, the door suddenly opened, and a man in a tailored suit walked in.

The moment Lin Hai saw the man's face, his breathing caught—Norman Osborn. After the incident with Kingpin, he had already prepared himself mentally for these "villain" characters. But when a living prototype of the Green Goblin was scrutinizing him with sharp eyes, his heart still skipped a beat.

"Lin Hai, correct? Our 'plant expert.' Harry told me that you possess some... extraordinary talents." Norman's voice was gentler than Lin Hai had expected, though it carried the authority of someone who had long stood in a position of power.

Lin Hai was not surprised. Harry telling Norman Osborn about his ability had been part of his plan.

Having knowledge of the story, he knew that Norman Osborn was not inherently evil. It was merely the combined effect of the Osborn family's hereditary illness and the enhancement serum that turned him into the Green Goblin behind a terrifying mask.

In the Marvel Universe, ever since Captain America's enhancement serum had been developed, the enhancement serums of the Marvel Universe seemed to follow a similar subjective rule: "the good become better, and the bad become worse."

After Steve Rogers received the serum, he changed from a kind young man into Captain America, a man with a heart nearly worthy of a saint. After Johann Schmidt was enhanced by the serum, he became Red Skull, Captain America's archenemy. With death looming over him because of his hereditary illness, Norman Osborn used the enhancement drug developed by Osborn Enterprises and became the Green Goblin, Spider-Man's archenemy.

That was why Lin Hai wanted to reach Norman Osborn in a more direct way. Even if he could not completely cure the head of Osborn Enterprises later on, he could not allow this pitiful father to become the terrifying villain known as the Green Goblin.

Norman approached the three of them, took a small projector from his pocket, and displayed a set of DNA charts on the wall.

"These are the analyses we conducted over the past two days," Norman said.

"Although the special compounds contained within Red Moon have not changed, the active substance inside it has vanished. And all of this occurred within forty-eight hours." His gaze turned feverish. "Perhaps even less."

"Mr. Osborn." Lin Hai carefully chose his words. "Red Moon is dangerous. My body could endure it because my constitution is somewhat special. If an ordinary person directly ingested that active substance, I'm afraid the outcome would not be good."

"Oh, yes, right..." Norman waved a hand, clearly not listening. "But imagine it. If we could safely apply this active substance to medicine, then cancer, aging, organ failure, and so on would no longer be problems."

Peter's eyes shone as he listened, completely failing to notice Lin Hai's increasingly grave expression. Only Harry seemed to sense something, looking uneasily at his father.

"Father, Lin still needs to rest," Harry reminded him softly.

Norman seemed to snap back to himself. "Oh, oh, of course. Young man, whenever you have time, we have much to discuss." He glanced at Lin Hai, then turned and left the laboratory.

Silence lasted for several minutes. Finally, Peter could not help asking, "So this is a good thing, right? Mr. Osborn seems to think highly of you."

Lin Hai looked out the window. It was true that the energy within Red Moon had enhanced his ability, but the price was far beyond imagination. If an ordinary person directly introduced that violent Life Energy into their body, it was impossible to say what they might become. But one thing was certain: the result would not be good.

"Peter, if you had the power to save one person but might harm many more because of it, or if you gave up saving one person but indirectly saved many others, what would you choose?" Lin Hai asked.

Peter was stumped by the classic trolley problem. "Uh... that would depend on the specific circumstances? If possible, of course I'd save everyone. What's wrong? Why ask that all of a sudden?"

"Nothing. It just came to mind, and I felt like saying it. Don't worry about it," Lin Hai finally said.

Save everyone. Indeed, if it could be done, that would be the perfect choice. But could reality truly be so perfect?

Lin Hai closed his eyes and felt the new energy flowing through his body. He held out his hand, and a wisp of green radiance swirled across his palm.

Save everyone... was it? That goal did not seem impossible. But before that, he had to fully understand this power and raise it to a level where he could save them all.

Over the next two weeks, while digesting the energy transmitted by Red Moon, Lin Hai also absorbed Osborn Enterprises' research materials on this batch of Red Moon plants like a sponge.

Every day after school, he, Harry, and Peter met in a corner of the library. After reading through the materials Harry brought, the three of them would discuss them for a long time.