Bab 33: Restart, Spider-Man! [32]
Xia Luo entered the lab, noticing that the lizards in the terrarium had been replaced with a new batch.
Busy as always, Dr. Curt Connors looked up and immediately smiled when he saw Xia Luo.
"Ah, Xia Luo, you're finally here! Come take a look at this data. Oscorp suddenly pulled funding for the project, and I'm running out of time," he said, quickly leading Xia Luo over to a computer.
Xia Luo glanced at the screen, where an array of biological experiment data flashed by. He then looked at the visibly exhausted Professor Connors and began to worry.
This guy was likely nearing the point of desperation.
If things continued like this, Dr. Connors would surely resort to using himself as a test subject, ultimately transforming into a lizard monster and losing his sanity completely.
Xia Luo considered destroying the experimental data to buy some time. But doing so would cause all of Connors' hard work to go down the drain, which might drive him even more insane.
No scientist could tolerate such frustration and despair, especially not in the Marvel universe.
The outcome would only get worse.
Whether it was Norman Osborn or Dr. Connors, the failure of their genetic experiments could largely be attributed to insufficient research funding.
Norman, for example, was forced to use himself as a test subject after his funding was cut.
After becoming the Green Goblin, Norman killed his competition and gained more control over Oscorp, allowing him greater access to its resources.
He had promised to fund Dr. Connors' research, but with Norman's death, Oscorp was practically in shambles, and further funding was out of the question.
This left Dr. Connors with no way to ensure the success of his experiments.
Rather than delaying the project, which could lead to irreversible consequences, perhaps pushing things forward would offer a better chance at success.
With that in mind, Xia Luo turned to Dr. Connors and said, "I think there's something wrong with this data, but it'll take some time to verify."
"We don't have any time left," Dr. Connors said grimly.
"I know. Funding is a problem," Xia Luo acknowledged, thinking for a moment. "Maybe we can try to talk to Oscorp. Harry is a friend of mine—I could talk to him. I think he'd agree to help."
Dr. Connors sighed. "It's no use. I know Harry well. He doesn't have enough influence over Oscorp's decisions, and there's no way he could convince his father."
At this point, news of Norman's death was still being kept secret, and no one knew that Norman Osborn was the Green Goblin.
Thanks to S.H.I.E.L.D., that secret was being well-kept.
It was one of the perks of Harry joining S.H.I.E.L.D.
Xia Luo smiled as he stood up. "Don't worry, Professor. Believe me, I know that Mr. Osborn has been conducting his own genetic experiments. He needs you, and you need him.
There might be some issues at Oscorp lately, so he probably just paused the research funding for now.
Once Mr. Osborn gets things back in order, I'm sure he'll continue funding your research."
"Do you really think that's possible?" Dr. Connors asked, his face showing a glimmer of hope.
"Of course," Xia Luo said confidently.
Connors thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, the Green Goblin did cause quite a bit of trouble for Oscorp recently. He's been stirring up all kinds of rumors about Mr. Osborn. It must be a tough time for him right now."
"Exactly."
Seeing that Dr. Connors had calmed down, Xia Luo added with a smile, "Some people are even suggesting that Mr. Osborn is the Green Goblin himself. That's ridiculous."
"Of course it's ridiculous. If Mr. Osborn were the Green Goblin, why would he almost blow up Harry?" Connors didn't suspect a thing.
When the Green Goblin first appeared, he attacked an Oscorp shareholder meeting with bombs. Although Norman had left early that day due to illness, Harry had been present at the event.
That explosion had nearly killed Harry.
Because of that, Harry found himself struggling to manage the turmoil at Oscorp. Without S.H.I.E.L.D.'s backing, he wouldn't have had any chance of salvaging the company.
Xia Luo's words eased Dr. Connors' sense of urgency. Looking at Xia Luo with a pleading expression, he said, "Xia Luo, I really can't give up on my research. Please, help me."
"Don't worry. I'll get you an answer within a week," Xia Luo promised, looking Connors straight in the eye. "But you have to promise me something: no rash decisions, like human testing. That will ruin any chance of getting the funding."
"Of course. I understand."
Taking a deep breath, Dr. Connors sat back in his chair.
"Thank you, Xia Luo. Since you showed up, I feel much more at ease," he said with a relieved smile.
"Don't mention it."
As they continued talking, Dr. Connors mentioned he would be attending a research conference in the coming days. After giving Xia Luo access to the lab, he left, leaving Xia Luo alone to work.
Now in the adjoining room, Xia Luo began familiarizing himself with the equipment, which was far superior to anything available in his school lab.
He started preparing the materials to synthesize artificial web fluid.
He used his own spider silk proteins as the primary ingredient, which should improve the results.
Then came the various auxiliary materials, all of which were easily available in Connors' well-stocked lab.
Although Peter Parker could synthesize artificial web fluid at home, this was Xia Luo's first time attempting it, so he needed the lab's equipment.
Once he got the hang of it, he wouldn't need the lab anymore.
Before long, the synthesis process went smoothly.
Watching as the artificial web fluid came together in a beaker, Xia Luo tapped his chest, causing nanometal to cover his right wrist.
He removed the web-shooter and began loading the artificial web fluid into its base.
Moving closer to observe the shooter, he activated it, causing the web fluid to surge out with a slight electrical charge. It expanded in the air, forming a sticky and highly durable artificial web.
Splat!
In an instant, the sticky web fluid sprayed all over Xia Luo's face.
Xia Luo stood there, speechless.
Wiping the web off his face, he realized his first attempt at synthesizing artificial web fluid hadn't gone perfectly.
The fluid's plasticity still needed some work.
Back to the drawing board.
Two hours later, Xia Luo finally succeeded in creating a viable batch of artificial web fluid.
Without his own spider silk proteins, it wouldn't have gone so smoothly.
Next up was compressing the web fluid.
If it wasn't compressed, each web-shooter could only hold about 10 milliliters of fluid, which would run out after just a few shots.
Compressing the fluid would allow for much more storage in each shooter.
Fortunately, the compression process was simple and could be handled by the lab's equipment.
Half an hour later, Xia Luo pressed the spider emblem on his chest, retrieving a few backup web-shooters from storage. He loaded the compressed web fluid into each one.
Once the nanometal retracted back into his suit, Xia Luo left the lab, satisfied with his work.
At the school gate, he pulled out his phone and dialed Harry.
"Hey, Harry, I ran into Spider-Man last night, and we became friends! Pretty cool, right?" Xia Luo laughed.
On the other end, Harry sounded relieved.
"Xia Luo, you finally showed up."
"Let's meet at the Oak Restaurant in an hour."
"No problem. Oh, by the way, since you're friends with Spider-Man now, do you think you could get in touch with him? I have something important to tell him."
"I can try, but I can't promise anything. He's a city hero, a crime-fighting legend, the friendly neighborhood hero for every girl in the city, New York's greatest legend, the world's most valuable treasure, the brightest star in the—"
Beep, beep, beep.
The line went dead. Xia Luo rolled his eyes.
"Rude. Couldn't even wait for me to finish."
---
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