"Boss, are you interested in Professor Connors' and Dr. Octavius' experiments?"
Norman had an inkling of what might be going on. He still recalled that when Aaron first painted a rosy vision for him, he had mentioned a beauty serum, an anti-aging serum, a limb-regeneration serum, and an anti-cancer serum.
Any one of these would surely drive the entire world mad with desire. No woman could refuse eternal youth, no billionaire could reject the hope of a longer life, no disabled person could ignore the gift of new limbs, and no cancer patient wouldn't want a miracle cure.
Those four target groups were all about money—each one represented a market in the hundreds of billions or even trillions. If Oscorp were the one to bring such products to market, overshadowing Stark Industries would be no problem. Sure, Tony Stark had made major breakthroughs in energy, but humans also chased longevity and health. People could live without going to outer space, but most of them wouldn't want to pass up a chance to extend their lifespan. That's just human nature!
Moreover, while Tony Stark had reversed his company's downturn by shutting down the weapons division and achieving rapid growth through his reactor and other tech, he wasn't openly sharing his Iron Man suits or reactor technology. His progress was significant but still limited to certain areas.
So Norman was convinced that if they could develop a "healing serum," Oscorp would once more be able to go head-to-head with Stark Industries.
Aaron didn't deny it. "Felicia, please set up an appointment with Professor Connors and Dr. Octavius, at a time that works for me. Tell them the new chairman and president of Oscorp is very interested in their research."
Felicia nodded and jotted it down, fully focused on her secretarial duties—listening when she needed to, staying silent when she should. She couldn't help but notice that Aaron's schedule looked oddly empty. By comparison, Norman Osborn's schedule for the next week was packed from dawn until the wee hours. Seeing Norman doing everything he could for Aaron—like a tireless workhorse—Felicia found it all very fascinating.
Originally chairman of Oscorp, Norman had lost all his shares and was now CEO under Aaron's authority. He had less money but more work—running around until he hardly touched the ground. Yet he didn't seem frustrated. In fact, he was more energized than ever, throwing himself into his tasks. Truly, he was a "natural workhorse."
Norman said, "In that case, I'll have my secretary coordinate with Ms. Felicia. She can lend some assistance."
As they spoke, Aaron followed Norman into Oscorp's biological research department. A group of lab-coated researchers led them to see the so-called thirteen 'super spiders.'
"Boss, this spider is from the funnel-web family. It can weave a funnel-shaped web that's as tough as steel cables, and it's one of our main research directions. If we can replicate its super-strong web-silk and apply it in textiles, construction, aviation, shipbuilding, etc., we'll make a huge profit!"
One of the researchers enthusiastically explained all this, hoping to impress both the new and the old boss in order to secure more funding.
Aaron didn't pay much attention to the spiel. He glanced at the summary report. Indeed, the spider's web outperformed other known spider silks in every aspect and even possessed heightened perception. Based on previous tests, Aaron knew that smelting additional creatures with stronger versions of abilities he already had would enhance those abilities further. Essentially, his smelting power had no real upper limit—only the creatures' abilities did. The strength of the abilities he gained depended on how potent each organism's traits were.
Currently, he already had Spider Sense, albeit a somewhat standard version. Some versions of Spider-Man's spider-sense bordered on prescience, incredibly powerful. Skimming through the report, Aaron's gaze flicked over to an electron microscope in the lab. He could smelt that too, theoretically. After all, he could smelt optical microscopes, electron microscopes, telescopes, observatory scopes…even special metals like vibranium, Uru metal, adamantium…
Aaron found himself deep in thought. He'd already imagined lots of ways to leverage the Primordial Furnace, but he realized again just how much potential remained untapped. Once these traits accumulated in one person…well, it made him shiver just thinking about it. Maybe he wouldn't be truly omniscient and omnipotent, but at least a toned-down version of it.
Sensing Aaron's contemplative silence, Norman signaled the researcher to stop talking. Everyone fell silent, waiting for Aaron's instructions. After a few moments, Aaron's eyes lit up as he scanned the room.
"Felicia, coordinate with the finance and procurement departments to increase the budget. Let these diligent researchers keep developing new organisms. As for these things here…"
Aaron gestured grandly. "Take them all!"
The lead researcher's face brightened. A bigger budget meant higher pay, and they could further pursue their ideas! As for the thirteen spiders, he didn't mind; they were just subjects for study.
"You heard the boss—pack up all the spiders!"
"Wait, I meant everything in this lab, including the electron microscopes and scientific instruments. Move them out too!" Aaron clarified.
"Huh?!"
Without the instruments, how could they continue their research? Were they being told to clear out?
"Is this the only research lab in the entire company?" Aaron asked, turning to Norman. Snapping out of his confusion, Norman replied, "Of course not. You all can switch to the lab next door to continue your experiments. Everything in here is being moved out."
The scientists were dumbfounded. What was going on?! Norman didn't understand it either, but one thing he did know was that when Aaron gave an order, he obeyed—no matter if the machines cost tens of millions of dollars. He'd just have to grit his teeth, pack them up, and start considering who else he might approach for new funding…which meant more meetings and more work ahead.
~~~
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