Chapter 37: The Genetic Serum in Hand

Jimmy stood completely still, gradually increasing the force in his grip. The two thugs began crying and wailing like dogs, begging for mercy without any dignity. Seeing them like that, Jimmy suddenly felt a moment of clarity.

He let go, then swiftly struck each of their necks. They collapsed to the ground without a sound.

Jimmy looked at his own hands in silence. He realized he only had two paths ahead of him. The first was to become a cold, arrogant demon, manipulating everything in each movie world and growing stronger through sheer calculation. The second was to form bonds in each world — letting himself be bound by trust, love, and friendship — and grow stronger through those connections.

Either way, it would not be easy.

After a moment of silence, Jimmy took out his phone and called Karen, inviting her out for dinner.

In Room 909 of Downtown Hospital, Irene looked at Karen, who had just hung up the phone, and asked quickly, "Was that Jimmy inviting you out?"

"Mm!" Karen nodded shyly.

Irene immediately grinned, "Hehe, then you'd better act fast. A good guy like Jimmy is in high demand! If someone else snatches him away, you'll be left crying!"

"But…" Karen lowered her head, at a loss for words.

"Mm-hmm! You're not thinking of waiting for Jimmy to confess first, are you? Don't be silly! You have to know, whoever confesses first gains the initiative. Otherwise, you'll regret it!" Irene advised earnestly.

"Ah! I don't even know what to do…" Karen said helplessly.

"Ugh, let me teach you!" Irene sighed.

In a fancy restaurant in Manhattan, Jimmy sat alone, waiting quietly. He had come to lay everything on the table — he felt it was better to be honest early on.

Soon, Karen walked in timidly. Jimmy quickly waved her over. Under the curious gazes of the waitstaff, Karen hurried to sit across from Jimmy.

"Wow… Why did you choose this place?" Karen asked nervously.

Jimmy smiled faintly, shook his head, and after ordering a couple's meal from the waiter, he said, "There's something I need to tell you." Looking at Jimmy in his black suit, so serious, Karen's heart pounded wildly as she asked with a hint of anticipation, "What is it?"

Jimmy sighed, looked at her seriously, and said, "I'm preparing to leave."

Karen froze, then frantically asked, "Leave? To where?"

"Back to my country," Jimmy said softly.

"…" Fighting back tears, Karen asked again, "You don't plan to come back?"

Jimmy shook his head. "I don't know when I'll return, but in seventeen days… I have to leave."

Hearing this, Karen's eyes welled up. She lowered her head, silent for a long time, before finally asking, "You called me here just to tell me this? Can't you stay?"

"…I can't. Even though I really… want to stay, I have my own mission," Jimmy murmured, staring down at his glass.

"Uu…" Karen began to sob.

"I'm sorry…" All the words Jimmy had prepared vanished; in the end, only this apology came out.

"…Will you forget me?" Karen asked through her tears.

"I won't…" Jimmy lifted his head, looking at her tear-filled eyes.

"…" Faced with Karen's silence, Jimmy could only sigh deeply in his heart.

At that moment, the waiter arrived with the food.

"Come on, eat a little," Jimmy urged softly.

"I don't want to eat…" Karen stood up and walked out without looking back.

Jimmy sat there in silence for a long time.

Back at the hotel, Jimmy collapsed onto the bed and immediately fell asleep… He even forgot about stealing the serum.

Early the next morning, loud knocking woke Jimmy up. He opened the door reluctantly to find a worried Peter.

"It's you… Why are you here?" Jimmy asked in confusion.

Peter frowned and asked, "What's wrong? Weren't we supposed to train together?"

Jimmy froze for a second, then sighed heavily.

"What happened? Did you fight with Karen?" Peter asked curiously, noticing Jimmy's strange demeanor.

"No," Jimmy shook his head. "You should get ready. Today is the day Gwen invited you to her house for dinner."

Peter froze, then quickly asked, "How do you know?!"

"Hehe, I have good ears," Jimmy said with a forced smile.

"We're not training today. Take those boxes back with you," Jimmy pointed to three boxes near his bed.

"Huh? What's this?" Peter asked curiously.

"Web fluid! One box should last you a long time," Jimmy shrugged.

"Wow! Did you rob Oscorp?!" Peter asked excitedly.

"I bought them!" Jimmy replied helplessly.

Excited, Peter carried a box of web fluid and left. Jimmy then went into the bathroom and looked at his reflection.

"Am I doing the right thing or not?" he asked himself softly. In the end, he could only shake his head and begin pondering. Tonight, he had to steal the genetic serum.

If his guess was correct, tonight would be Dr. Connors' first transformation into the Lizard, because tonight was also the night Gwen invited Peter over for dinner.

Jimmy changed into his black Spider suit, then climbed onto a building across from Oscorp to start his stakeout. By dusk, he saw a Black employee leave Oscorp carrying a box, and soon after, Dr. Connors also left, still in his human form.

Sensing his chance, Jimmy quickly swung to Oscorp's rooftop with his webs. After changing into an Oscorp maintenance uniform in a corner, he opened the rooftop door and slipped inside.

He walked straight to Lab 3, head down, and filled a container with 1000 milliliters of the serum. Once he had it, he left Oscorp immediately.

On a rooftop, Jimmy stared at the serum in his hand, thinking about what to do next. Inject it? Would he turn into a Lizard? Hesitating, he decided to wait until after leaving the Amazing Spider-Man world to make that choice.

At that moment, he saw several police cars speeding past below. Jimmy looked up at the bright full moon and realized: Dr. Connors had transformed into the Lizard! Jimmy's eyes narrowed — he decided to join the chaos and steal the genetic serum from the Black employee too. If he weren't worried about raising suspicion, he'd have stolen all the ready-made serum in Oscorp.

Jimmy swiftly headed toward the Brooklyn Bridge. Soon, he saw the entire bridge in chaos. Just then, Peter swung down from above.

"Master, you're here?" Peter asked, surprised.

"Mm. Go handle that monster!" Jimmy pointed at the green Lizard.

"Yes, sir!" Peter quickly took off his clothes, put on his mask and gloves, and leaped toward Dr. Connors.