"Alright, news time's over, time to get down to business."
Luca put down his coffee and casually wiped his mouth.
He then glanced at the two women, his eyes becoming playful.
" Assistant Natalie, could you wait outside for a moment? While you're at it, could you mop the hallway outside? I have some personal matters to discuss with Assistant Jones."
Natasha was slightly taken aback.
Leaving Jessica alone?
This is very unusual.
Natasha's intuition told her that there was definitely something going on between Luca and Jessica.
But she couldn't disobey, so she could only nod respectfully.
"Okay, boss."
Natasha turned and walked out of the office, the door slowly closing behind her.
But instead of mopping the floor, she stood outside the door, quietly activated a miniature listening device on her uniform, and pressed her ear against the door.
Only Luca and Jessica remained in the office.
Luca's carefree smile vanished, replaced by a serious expression and a hint of weakness.
He then got up and walked to Jessica, standing less than half a meter away from her.
His tall stature gave Jessica a strong sense of intimidation.
Jones.
Luca lowered his voice and spoke as if entrusting his life to someone.
"You've done an excellent job lately. I know you're different from Natalie; after all, you're the assistant I personally chose, and I only trust you."
Hearing the words "I only trust you," Jessica's heart skipped a beat.
Her eyes widened, and she outwardly displayed an expression of being flattered.
"Boss... thank you for your trust. It's what I should do," Jessica replied in a low voice.
Luca took a deep breath, seemingly making a difficult decision.
"What I'm about to say must not be known to a third person."
Luca turned his back to Jessica, looked out the window at the sky, and his tone became weary.
"At the expo, I absorbed the energy of that alien monster and fused it with an extremely violent magic. This gave me a qualitative leap in strength, but I also paid a price."
At this point, Luca turned his head and stared intently at Jessica.
"The fusion has serious side effects."
My cells need to enter a deep dormancy state to convert energy.
"At midnight tonight, I will experience a one-hour period of extreme weakness. During this hour, I will lose all my superpowers and become weaker than an ordinary person. Even lifting a glass of water will be extremely difficult."
boom!
What?!
What did he say?!
A period of weakness?! Losing all superpowers?!
Jessica was horrified and her fingers were trembling slightly with excitement.
My God! This is a golden opportunity!
Hydra had always been deeply terrified of Luca Stark's monstrous power and had issued an order to cease all probing and lay in wait.
But what if tonight he becomes a helpless cripple...?
If Hydra could seize this one-hour window of opportunity, they could easily eliminate this greatest threat or kidnap him back to their base for research!
Jessica suppressed her inner elation and tried her best to make her expression look full of worry.
"Boss... this is too dangerous. What if the enemy hiding in the shadows finds out..."
That's why I only told you.
Luca reached out and patted Jessica's shoulder heavily, his eyes filled with such sincerity that no one could doubt him.
"Tonight, come to the apartment with Happy. You'll stay close to me, never leaving my side. If we can just get through this hour, we'll be safe. Understand?"
"Understood! I will protect your safety with my life, boss!"
Jessica immediately straightened her back and made a solemn promise.
"Very good. Go out and prepare."
Luca waved.
Jessica bowed and walked quickly toward the door.
The moment she turned around, a murderous intent flashed in her eyes.
She decided to find an opportunity to report this information to Secretary Pierce.
Tonight is Luca Stark's crucifixion.
Outside the door, Natasha heard footsteps coming from inside. She immediately put away the listening device and pretended to pick up a mop from the side.
The office door opened, and Jessica came out.
The two women exchanged a glance, and a battle instantly erupted between them.
"It seems the boss has assigned you an important personal task," Natasha said tentatively with a smile.
"Just focus on your job as a cleaner, Natalie. Don't pry into the boss's business."
Jessica replied coldly, then walked away proudly in her high heels.
Inside the office.
Seeing Jessica's departing figure in the surveillance footage, Luca picked up his coffee and took a leisurely sip.
At this moment, there was no trace of weakness on his face.
Loss of superpowers? Period of weakness?
What kind of cosmic joke is this?
With the suit's enhancement, his strength is increasing exponentially every second, making him strong enough to dismantle Stark Tower for fun.
"The bait has been cast," Luca chuckled to himself.
" Pierce, I hope you send more valuable assassins tonight. If you only send a few weaklings, it would be a waste of my superb acting skills."
This was a complete entrapment operation.
Luca wants to use this false information to see if he can lure out Hydra's elite forces!
Half an hour later.
The underground parking garage of the Stark Tower.
A stretched Rolls-Royce was parked in the parking space.
Jessica and Natasha sat on either side of the back seat of the car.
The two women couldn't stand each other.
Luca assigned them their second task for the morning.
Representing Stark Industries, he traveled to the recently acquired Osborn Group building to conduct a formal handover of assets and personnel.
Since the Osborn Group is now defunct, going there to take over its assets would be tantamount to becoming a takeover official.
This is a highly powerful and lucrative job.
The two women were vying to steal credit from Luca in order to gain more trust and intelligence.
It could be said that the entire journey was filled with both open and covert struggles.
"When we arrived at the Osborn Tower, the financial audit was handed over to me. I don't want to see some inexperienced people messing up the accounts."
Natasha said coldly as she straightened the collar of her uniform.
"Financial audit? Give me a break." Jessica retorted without mincing words.
"I'm the boss's handpicked assistant, and I'm in charge of personnel transfers and the takeover of the core laboratory. You just need to follow behind and load the waste paper onto the truck."
The Rolls-Royce quickly hit the road.
Soon they arrived at the skyscraper that originally belonged to the Osborn Group.
The Osborn logo in front of the building has been removed and replaced with the Stark Industries logo.
Inside the building, employees stood nervously on both sides of the lobby.
The once-glorious Osborn Group changed hands overnight.
The dramatic changes instilled a fear of unemployment in everyone.
When the Rolls-Royce stopped at the gate.
The door opened automatically, and a middle-aged man with a slightly hunched posture quickly came to greet them.
He walked to the car door, bent down, and opened the door for his two assistants inside.
This man was none other than the once high-ranking billionaire and former chairman of the Osborn Group.
Norman Osborn!
Norman had by then been cured.
But the sharpness and arrogance of a business tycoon were gone from his eyes; only the fawning of someone dependent on others remained.
Faced with Luca's overwhelming force and capital, Norman was well aware of his current position.
A highly skilled worker who narrowly escaped death.
"Welcome, both assistants. I am Norman, the interim head of the biology department."
Norman smiled broadly and bowed slightly.
Upon witnessing this scene, the former Osborn employees all lowered their heads, feeling an indescribable sorrow and shock.
This is the power of Stark Industries!
Even their chairman now has to serve tea and water to the other party's assistant!
Jessica stepped out of the car in her high heels and glanced at the obsequious Norman.
Cool!!
This is the taste of power!
"Director Norman, lead the way. First, hand over all the access codes for your lab. The boss said this place won't be called Osborn Group anymore, it'll be called Stark Industries Third Biological Research Institute."
Jessica spoke haughtily, adopting the demeanor of a queen.
"Yes, yes, Miss Jones, Miss Natalie, this way please. I've already had the ledgers and staff list prepared."
Norman silently led the way.
The huge difference in status made the handover process exceptionally smooth.
Of course, it also fully demonstrates the Stark brothers' ruthless capitalist tactics.
On the other side of New York.
Empire State University, Physics Research Laboratory.
Peter Parker had just finished his morning classes and arrived at the lab with his backpack.
He was in a great mood today; his date with Mary Jane last night went perfectly, and their relationship was rapidly blossoming.
Thinking this way.
He also pushed open the laboratory door, preparing to continue assisting his mentor in nuclear fusion research.
However, when he ventured deeper into the laboratory, the sight before him made him stop in his tracks, and his smile froze on his face.
The display cases in the laboratory have been opened.
His mentor, Dr. Otto Octavius, was standing shirtless in front of an operating table.
At this moment, Otto's eyes were bloodshot, and his gaze was filled with an almost insane obsession.
He was holding a welding machine, welding four thick mechanical tentacles one by one onto the spinal armor!
"Doctor! What are you doing?!"
Peter was terrified and quickly dropped his schoolbag and ran over.
"I told you, directly connecting to the spinal cord is too dangerous! The AI's feedback will destroy your brain!"
"Danger? Scientific progress is always accompanied by danger, Peter!"
Dr. Otto turned to look at Peter, his manic smile growing wider and wider.
Four mechanical tentacles, as if they had come to life, slowly wriggled behind him.
"I can't wait! The final ignition test of the nuclear fusion reactor is this afternoon!"
Otto pointed to a suppression chip about the size of a thumb behind his spine.
"See, Peter? The suppression chips are working perfectly. I'm their master; I have perfect control over them!"
Seeing that fragile chip, Peter felt a strong sense of unease.
The chip is too small; it could short-circuit or burn out at any time under the high temperatures and strong magnetic fields generated by nuclear fusion!
Once the chip malfunctions, the tentacles will take control of Otto's brain, turning him into a complete monster!
"Doctor, please, stop! We need more tests!" Peter pleaded loudly.
"I've made up my mind, Peter. Don't stop me from witnessing the birth of the artificial sun!"
At this point, Otto completely ignored Peter's advice.
He turned around and manipulated the mechanical tentacles to walk towards the glowing reactor core not far away.
A new disaster is brewing.
Peter clenched his fist.
He knew that the real test for Spider-Man was about to begin.