"Sir, an artificial sun has gone out of control in New York!"
At a Malibu mansion in Los Angeles, JARVIS reported to Tony, who was synthesizing secondary adamantium, and projected footage from the scene.
"What? An artificial sun? Controlled nuclear fusion?"
Tony's expression changed drastically as he watched the enormous golden-red fireball devour every piece of metal around it.
He wanted to deal with it, but the artificial sun had already swollen to an enormous size, more than ten meters, nearly twenty, in diameter. He had no idea where to start!
He could only notify the military and tell them to quickly gather and deliver enormous quantities of low-temperature inert substances, such as solid helium and liquid nitrogen, into the artificial sun.
The military quickly mobilized, feeding a constant stream of solid helium and liquid nitrogen into the artificial sun's core.
An hour later, the temperature instantly dropped to the critical point, the gravitational field plunged, and the artificial sun broke apart and dissipated in an instant.
By the time everything calmed down, the entire block lay in ruins, and more than a thousand people were dead!
Ten Rings headquarters.
"My lord, word has come from New York. The artificial sun experiment Dr. Otto and Norman conducted together went out of control, and an entire block was destroyed!"
Ching-Lin came to report while Wenwu was absorbed in a frantic study session online, taking in knowledge.
At the news, a thought occurred to Wenwu. He immediately operated his computer, and a video of the scene appeared on the screen.
He stared at the enormous fireball devouring metal in the footage, his eyes full of shock.
"What happened to Dr. Otto?" Wenwu asked.
"I heard he was swallowed by his sun, along with his wife," Ching-Lin answered truthfully.
"What about Norman?" A thought occurred to Wenwu.
"He's missing! Osborn's stock price has plummeted."
"Missing? I expect the Green Goblin is about to make his debut."
Wenwu ordered in a low voice, "Have our people prepare to acquire Osborn. Whatever you do, don't expose the connection between Star Ring and the Ten Rings!"
"Yes, my lord!"
After Ching-Lin left, Wenwu stared at the artificial sun in the video, his eyes flickering.
"An artificial sun... If one can be built, it would indeed cost less than an Arc Reactor, and its energy output would be practically limitless."
"If we could build one, it could power the entire town where the Ten Rings are based, including a large number of air defense weapons!"
As good as Arc Reactors were, palladium was virtually impossible to buy at any price, and the Ten Rings didn't have much in reserve. The amount of New Element they could synthesize was minuscule, nowhere near enough.
So the artificial sun he had once looked down on had now become a prized treasure in his eyes!
Wenwu set aside his studies in biology for the time being and turned his full attention to nuclear physics.
His computer science expertise had already reached the highest level in the world. His original next target had been biological genetics, but now that he wanted to build an artificial sun, he could only put that aside and devote himself to mastering nuclear physics!
Two days later.
Ching-Lin came to report that a flying green demon had appeared in New York, killing people everywhere for amusement. He had fought Spider-Man several times and escaped unscathed each time!
At the same time, several military generals had been assassinated, and more than half the directors of Oscorp Industries had been killed along with their entire families!
"Ruthless!"
Wenwu leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingertips lightly on the desk, marveling at Norman's madness and cruelty after turning dark.
"My lord, our people also captured ironclad proof that the Green Goblin is Osborn."
Ching-Lin picked up a tablet and respectfully handed it to Wenwu.
In the first video, Norman used a human enhancement drug and brutally killed the scientist who had assisted him in researching it.
The second showed Norman in his apartment, wearing the Green Goblin Armor, his expression deranged.
"Good."
Wenwu glanced at the screen and nodded in satisfaction. "Release it to the public. After that, acquire Oscorp Industries and expand Star Ring."
"My lord, how are Star Ring's Regeneration Agents selling?" Wenwu asked casually.
The so-called Regeneration Agent was essentially an injection of origin substance.
The cheapest injection cost a hundred thousand US dollars, an astronomical price, but it was nothing to the wealthy!
The Regeneration Agent was never sold directly as a finished product to outsiders. Instead, it had to be administered on the spot.
After all, there were too many freaks in the Marvel Universe. If the finished product got out and someone reverse-engineered it, wouldn't he be handing it away for free?
Regeneration Agents came in low, mid, and high grades.
The Low-Grade Regeneration Agent was only for cosmetic treatment of specific areas. The Mid-Grade Regeneration Agent worked on the entire body, not only making a person several years younger but also repairing hidden ailments and restoring their health.
The High-Grade Regeneration Agent had an even more remarkable rejuvenating effect. For people over forty, it could make them around ten years younger, both inside and out, effectively adding ten years to their lifespan.
The low grade cost a hundred thousand US dollars, the mid grade one million, and the high grade ten million!
"Reporting to you, my lord, we've only been promoting it for ten days. We paid several wealthy people a great deal to appear in our promotions, and by now word has spread throughout the wealthy circles of the United States."
As Ching-Lin spoke, he couldn't help showing his astonishment. "In just eight days, we've made a net profit of six billion US dollars!"
"Haha, good!"
Wenwu laughed heartily. This thing was even more powerful than a money printer!
"My lord, Star Ring has sent a request for instructions. Some clients want to obtain the finished Regeneration Agent privately to assist with surgical procedures. They want to know whether we should agree."
Ching-Lin continued his report.
"Yes, but we must have our own people deliver it with a security escort, and our people must administer the injections on-site."
After a moment's thought, Wenwu spoke in a low voice.
The mid- and high-grade versions were miracle drugs for treating internal and external injuries, and could also assist with internal and external surgery and accelerate postoperative healing. But to prevent others from taking them for research, it was safer to have his own security personnel escort them.
"Ordinary security might not be safe enough. Use our low-grade super soldiers as escorts," Wenwu decided.
"Yes, my lord!" Ching-Lin nodded.
"By the way, how is Dr. Connors's research into regeneration technology going?" Wenwu suddenly remembered Dr. Connors.
"He's finished the animal experiments, but he's somewhat opposed to illegal human experimentation. He actually wanted to experiment on himself, but our people stopped him in time."
Ching-Lin was somewhat speechless as he spoke. Fortunately, their people had stopped him, because the animals in the later experiments had all become extremely aggressive to varying degrees. If Dr. Connors had injected himself, who knew what would have happened?
"That man is just as impatient as Dr. Otto, and he also has a moral fastidiousness."
Wenwu shook his head gently, a meaningful smile curling his lips. "Show him more files on criminals guilty of heinous crimes. Sooner or later, he'll be able to accept it. Otherwise, just recruit volunteers."
The core of Dr. Connors's regeneration experiments lay in fusing human and reptilian genes.
In theory, if properly applied, this technology could become a top-tier method of human mutation and enhancement, and could even create terrifying biological weapons.
But Dr. Connors naturally would not allow his life's work to be reduced to technology for human mutation and biological weapons.
Both paths would cause people to mutate completely into another species, and the moral fastidiousness ingrained in him would never allow him to do that!
Therefore, once Dr. Connors's research succeeded, Star Ring Company would only sell a straightforward "limb regeneration" service to the public, and it would have to include an antidote.
As soon as someone's limb had fully regenerated, they would have to be injected with the antidote, ensuring they would not retain the ability to regenerate for life and thereby eliminating the possibility of mutation.
As for human mutation and biological weapons technology, those could only be left for the Ten Rings to research, develop, and use in secret in the future.