At this moment, Harry's private laboratory.
An alarm suddenly rang from Harry's laptop. All four looked up at the screen. The surveillance feed showed that the access controls to the top-floor laboratory of Osborn Tower had been forcibly breached.
"Someone broke into the restricted area." Harry quickly pulled up more camera angles. "Wait... that's my father's security code!"
On-screen, a figure in a tattered lab coat was rummaging through the laboratory. The person moved unbelievably fast.
"He injected himself already." Lin Hai's voice was grave. "And the dosage was far beyond safe limits."
Gwen sucked in a breath. "He's moving faster than a national-level sprinter!"
Peter stared intently at the screen. "His pupils are visibly dilated, and his irises have turned an unnatural green. The Enhancement Serum has affected his nervous system."
The surveillance footage suddenly shook violently before dissolving into static. In the final frame, Norman Osborn turned toward the camera, revealing a chilling smile.
"He found the cameras." Harry's face went pale. "My father never smiles like that..."
Lin Hai immediately shut down every terminal. "We need to prepare for the worst. If Mr. Osborn has already changed, the first thing he'll investigate is who has been looking into his genetic disease."
"You mean my father is coming for us?" Harry asked in disbelief.
"Not us." Lin Hai conducted one last experiment on the Healing Potion. "Everyone who knows his secret. The Enhancement Serum amplifies aggression and paranoia."
The four had barely rushed out of the laboratory when an explosion sounded from above. Thick smoke rose, and firelight stained the evening sky red.
"We're out of time. Harry, call your father and make up any excuse to stall him," Lin Hai said.
Harry dialed with trembling hands, but unexpectedly, Norman's voice sounded unusually calm.
"Harry, my child, did you hear the explosion? Don't worry. It was merely a controllable accident." Norman's tone was unnervingly gentle. "By the way, how is that project of yours progressing?"
Harry glanced at Lin Hai, who made a silencing gesture. "It... it's still underway, Father. It's all just basic research."
"Good, good." Norman chuckled softly. "Bring your friends over for dinner tomorrow. I mean at home, not the company. I'd like to talk about what you've all been researching lately."
After the call ended, the temperature around the four of them seemed to drop by ten degrees.
"He's probing us," Gwen said quietly.
"Worse." Lin Hai's expression was grim. "He's hunting."
Lin Hai immediately made arrangements. "Gwen and Peter, stay here and finish the final stage of the Healing Potion. At the same time, connect the surveillance from the top floor of Osborn Tower to Harry's computer and watch for anything unusual. Peter, give me the earpiece I used during the last operation. Keep the radio and report to me at all times.
Harry, does Osborn Tower have a backup security elevator? The two of us will go up and check the top floor. But once you're up there, find somewhere to hide and stay in contact through the radio. If I don't call for you, do not come out."
After Lin Hai checked the seeds he carried, the backup elevator carrying him and Harry arrived at the top floor.
Suddenly, Peter's voice came through the earpiece.
"Lin, the surveillance feed here shows a figure in green metal armor landing on the roof of Osborn Tower. But the armor looks like it was hastily put together, not a finished product. The lenses on its helmet are glowing yellow."
"The worst has happened." Lin Hai quickly checked his seed pouch. He told Harry to hide on the top floor as he ran toward the roof. He could not wait for the Green Goblin to enter Norman's private office on the top floor and check the surveillance records.
Lin Hai violently forced open the stairwell door leading to the roof. The sound of clashing metal and strange humming came from one side.
"Liiin~ Harry~ Is that you? I heard both of your voices~" Norman's voice, altered by a voice modulator, had become inhumanly shrill.
The moment Lin Hai stepped onto the rooftop of Osborn Tower, he darted aside. A second later, a spinning metal disc embedded itself in the wall where he had been standing, cutting deep into the concrete.
"Nice reflexes, boy." Norman—or rather, the Green Goblin—stood on his glider near the edge of the roof, overlooking New York. His armor gleamed beneath the surrounding lights and the starlight above the city. "Looks like you know what happened."
Lin Hai stepped forward. "Mr. Osborn, we can help you. Your illness can be cured."
The Green Goblin tilted his helmet. "Oh? Do I look sick?" He suddenly burst into manic laughter, the sound like nails scraping across glass. "I'm not sick! I feel fantastic! Better than ever before!"
He suddenly hurled a pumpkin-shaped grenade. Lin Hai quickly clenched an Ironwall Fruit seed in his hand, and an oval, dark-green shield as tall as a person instantly appeared before him, blocking the explosion.
When the smoke cleared, the Green Goblin was shocked to find Lin Hai standing unharmed behind a barrier that had appeared out of nowhere.
"Interesting... very interesting. It seems your abilities hold many things I don't know about. Then let me get to know you properly today!" The Green Goblin's helmet lenses narrowed as if focusing.
The Green Goblin let out an enraged roar and charged at Lin Hai.
Lin Hai grabbed a handful of Heartbind Vine seeds and threw them out. Then he pressed his palms together, and countless vines instantly grew from the ground and walls, wrapping around the green-armored figure.
But it could only buy time. Lin Hai could see the Green Goblin and his glider tearing through those tough vines together. The enhancement had undoubtedly succeeded. In terms of physical ability, the Green Goblin was now an excellent super-soldier.
"Oh, Lin, another new trick. How many more of these tricks do you have?!" The Green Goblin's voice was crazed.
Lin Hai did not answer. His attention remained fixed on the Green Goblin's body as he broke free, searching for any possible opening.
"Not talking? No matter." The Green Goblin drew an alloy longsword from his armor. "I'll slice you up and study you."
Lin Hai knew the coming battle would decide the fate of even more people. This was not only to protect his friends, but also to save Norman Osborn—Harry's father, who had been consumed by the Green Goblin persona.
He assumed a fighting stance. Emerald energy gathered in his hands, and two half-meter wooden spikes instantly formed in his grip. "Come on, green tin can. Let me see how much strength that Enhancement Serum gave you."
Clang!
A crisp metallic collision rang out from the rooftop of Osborn Tower into the night sky.
Lin Hai's feet carved two deep grooves across the rooftop. The Green Goblin's strike was heavier than expected. Even with Life Force strengthening him, both of Lin Hai's hands had gone numb from the impact.
"That's all you've got?" The Green Goblin stood atop his makeshift glider, his metal armor reflecting moonlight. "I thought we'd have a little more fun."
Lin Hai tightened his grip on the wooden spikes as emerald energy spun rapidly in his Lower Dantian.
The Green Goblin's glider emitted a piercing buzz as it rushed toward him. Lin Hai swung his right hand, firing the wooden spike marked by the sword strike, while his other hand swiftly reached for the Azure-Edge Leaf seeds in his pouch.
After the Green Goblin dodged the wooden spike, three incomparably sharp Azure-Edge Leaves followed. He avoided the first. The second sliced across the helmet lens. The third struck the glider's right engine with perfect accuracy.
"Cheap tricks!" the Green Goblin roared, dropping a string of miniature bombs.
Lin Hai slapped his left hand against the ground, and another Ironwall Fruit seed instantly grew. The shockwave from the explosions sent him flying, but the bomb fragments and shattered stones were blocked by the plant barrier, hard as iron.
As Lin Hai adjusted his posture in midair, he hurled another wooden spike at the Green Goblin's head.
Disrupted by the attack, the Green Goblin's pursuit path veered off, and his glider skimmed past Lin Hai.
Now! Lin Hai flicked a Heartbind Vine seed toward the glider. Vines instantly erupted across it, winding like living snakes and shredding the left stabilizer in seconds. The Green Goblin lost his balance and spun toward the ground.
With a thunderous crash, the armored figure slammed into the rooftop barrier. Lin Hai did not pause. He continued throwing seeds toward the Green Goblin, and green vines quickly formed a cage around him.
"You think this can hold me?" The Green Goblin's roar mixed with the sound of tearing metal. His alloy blade easily cut through the vines, and the armored figure leaped free.
Lin Hai panted as he backed away. Repeatedly using his abilities had consumed a great deal of Life Force, while the Green Goblin seemed to grow fiercer with every battle. He needed a large-scale crowd-control technique—the move he had not yet fully mastered.
"Lin Hai, the Healing Potion is complete! I'm taking the elevator up to deliver it!" Peter's voice came through the earpiece. "But it has to be injected directly into the central nervous system!"
Which meant he had to subdue the Green Goblin and restrain him for long enough. Lin Hai took a deep breath and slowly traced the opening stance of Tai Chi with his hands. His master's teachings echoed in his ears: "Sink your qi into the dantian, keep your intent centered and upright, use softness to overcome hardness..."
The Green Goblin snorted disdainfully. "Tai Chi? You're going to use an old man's exercise routine against me?"
The armored figure charged like a cannonball. Lin Hai neither dodged nor retreated, his arms drawing circles like Grasp Sparrow's Tail. The instant the Green Goblin's fist was about to strike his face, Lin Hai shifted aside and redirected it, his right hand lightly resting on the opponent's wrist and his left supporting the elbow—a perfect application of using four ounces to move a thousand pounds.
The Green Goblin discovered in shock that his full-force blow had been guided into empty air, sending his body lunging forward from inertia. Lin Hai seized the opening, hooked his right foot behind the Green Goblin's lower body, and drove with his waist and hips.
Bang! With a deafening crash, the green-armored monster was viciously thrown to the ground.
"This isn't ordinary Tai Chi." Lin Hai panted slightly, fine sweat beading across his forehead. "This is Tai Chi that can knock you down."
The Green Goblin roared as he rolled to his feet, but Lin Hai had already pulled away and swiftly pressed his palms together. It was time to use that skill he had not fully mastered. He had to try!
"Deep Forest Emergence!" Lin Hai unconsciously shouted the name of the technique in Chinese as he unleashed his ultimate move for the first time. It was a little cringe, but as the saying went, youth was wasted without a little chuunibyou.
Emerald energy burst from every pore of Lin Hai's body like blazing green fire. The area within thirty meters shook violently as countless sprouts erupted from every seed he had thrown earlier, as well as the seeds naturally scattered across the rooftop, growing wildly under the catalysis of Life Force.
In the blink of an eye, the rooftop of the Osborn Group had become a miniature forest. Trees and vines twisted together into a natural prison, while the vines slithered like living creatures in search of their target.
"What the hell is this?!" The Green Goblin's armor was caught by suddenly growing trunks as vines quickly wrapped around him.
Lin Hai dropped to one knee, mouth open as he panted continuously. Beads of sweat the size of soybeans streamed down from his head.
Even a miniature version of Deep Forest Emergence had taken everything out of Lin Hai. The move consumed far too much for him at his current level. He felt as though every meridian in his body was burning, but successfully using it at all was already no small feat.
"Lin!" Peter's voice came from behind him. When Lin Hai looked over, he saw Peter's face filled with astonishment.
"This fight is intense! I didn't know you could do that. When did you come up with a new move like this? Even so, I have to say it—this isn't scientific!" Peter's chatterbox mode had activated, but he had not forgotten the important matter.
He hurried over to Lin Hai and handed him the freshly made Healing Potion. "Can you still do it? Should I inject him instead?"
"No, Peter. You're still just an ordinary person. Be careful in everything. I'll go." Holding the syringe Peter handed him, he staggered to his feet and slowly walked toward the trapped Green Goblin.
"Let me go!" The Green Goblin struggled frantically, snapping vines one after another. "I'll kill every last one of you!"
"No, you won't." Lin Hai approached while panting. "Because those aren't the words of the real Norman Osborn."
Seizing his chance, when the Green Goblin roared again, he precisely drove the syringe into a gap in the neck armor. The instant the medicine was injected, the Green Goblin let out an inhuman shriek.
"Now, the final step." Lin Hai pressed his palm against the Green Goblin's shattered chest armor, where flesh was exposed, and emerald energy flowed in like a gentle stream.
A dazzling green light erupted. The figure inside the armor convulsed violently as two forces battled within him.
On one side was the madness born from the Enhancement Serum and the second personality. On the other was the purification of the Healing Potion and Life Force. Lin Hai could feel Norman Osborn's true consciousness struggling beneath the Green Goblin persona.
Harry and Gwen arrived on the rooftop at that moment.
"Harry..." A weak human voice suddenly came from within the green helmet. "I'm sorry... my son..."
"Mr. Osborn, hold on." Lin Hai increased his energy output. "Think of Harry. Think of how much you love him!"
The green light grew brighter and brighter before finally blooming like fireworks. When it faded, the armor lay quietly on the ground, and the eyes behind the helmet lenses had regained their clarity.
"What... what have I done?" Norman Osborn's weak voice was filled with fear and regret.
Lin Hai collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion. "Sir, that isn't what you need to worry about right now. Get some rest."
Before you continue