Chapter 59
The hunter becomes the prey?
"What are you hesitating about? You'd better think this through, my old friend... If I can't get through this, you can't expect anything good from me either!"
Unfortunately, the first half of Dr. Connors's unconscious remark was enough to make Norman Osborn realize that even in the seemingly hopeless present, there was still a chance to bounce back.
Therefore, Norman Osborn merely rolled his eyes, then reached out and hooked his arm around Dr. Connors' shoulder, pretending to offer a kind reminder, and continued speaking softly.
"Think about your wife and kids, Connors... You wouldn't want them to live in poverty after losing you, their breadwinner, would you? Oh, wait, once the truth comes out, as the family of the serum's developers, they'll definitely face scorn, abuse, and retaliation. Do you think that's fair to them?"
"So, I believe you will make the right choice, old friend..."
A short while later.
Despite clinging to his last shred of conscience, Dr. Connors refused to implicate Peter in order to atone for his mistakes, no matter how much Norman Osborn threatened or tempted him.
But the fact that Norman Osborn was able to run the company so successfully is enough to show that he was by no means a fool who could be easily fooled.
Therefore, seeing that he couldn't get any useful information from Dr. Connors, Norman Osborn didn't bother wasting any more time on him.
They directly accessed the video recording of the day the experiment on the mice was successful, using their own privileges.
By comparing the footage with previous experimental videos, Norman Osborn quickly identified two key individuals who could potentially drive Dr. Connors's experiments to a breakthrough.
One is Gwen Stacy.
The other one is Peter Parker.
Based on this, further investigation of the two men's files revealed that on the very day the lizardmen appeared, Dr. Connors arranged a long leave for Peter, temporarily taking him away from Osborn.
This action was originally intended to protect Peter.
But in Norman Osborn's eyes now, this move was tantamount to admitting guilt without being asked!
The only problem is that Peter Parker is one of the few friends who truly care about him and have no ulterior motives. If Peter is involved in this and Harry finds out, Harry will definitely be furious.
So Norman Osborn hesitated...
Then, a second later, he called his trusted subordinates, instructing them to keep Harry under house arrest until he had weathered this crisis, lest Harry come and cause trouble for the sake of so-called friendship.
He took out his phone, quickly searched for a number, and dialed Peter's number.
Meanwhile, the camera shifts back to the New York Sanctuary.
Having already discussed their plan of action, Riley and the others, who should have set off long ago, were standing beside Peter.
After exchanging a glance, they both simultaneously gave each other strange looks and stared at the phone Peter was holding.
The caller ID on the screen clearly showed Norman Osborn's name.
This really stumped Riley.
Could it be that Norman Osborn discovered his misappropriation of nanomaterials, thus realizing Riley was Spider-Man and calling to threaten him?
That doesn't make sense either. If that's the case, shouldn't you call yourself directly if you want to confront them directly?
After much thought, Riley couldn't guess what Norman was thinking, leaving him with no choice but to take it one step at a time.
Then he nodded slightly to Peter, who was also puzzled. After taking several deep breaths to calm himself down, Peter pressed the call button.
"Uh... hello, Mr. Osborn...?"
[Note: Riley was in a coma for 24 hours due to side effects, so it is now evening of the second day.]
"Good evening, Peter. I'm sorry to call you so late."
After the call connected, Norman Osborn, adept at disguise, completely suppressed his aloof personality and, adopting the tone of an elder who was troubled by a problem, spoke to Peter with a slightly embarrassed expression.
"I know Dr. Connors is considerate of your hard work and has just arranged a vacation for you. But, as you know, Dr. Connors is actually very proud. He is unwilling to admit that without your help—or more accurately, your father's—the research would have progressed very slowly."
"But right now, we've encountered a very thorny problem, related to the help you provided to Dr. Connors a few days ago. So I was wondering if you have time to come to Osborn now?"
"Of course, I'll put in a good word with Ben and Mei for you, and I'll prepare a generous reward so you won't have made a wasted trip... If you'd like, just give me an address, and I'll arrange a car to pick you up right now, okay?"
After he finished speaking, Norman Osborne remained silent, seemingly showing his sincerity and waiting for Peter to make his own choice.
But in reality, Norman Osborn was already using the computer in front of him to try every means to track Peter's signal source and determine Peter's exact location.
In this way, even if Peter chooses to refuse...
Norman Osborn could also have his men use less-than-gentle methods to "invite" Peter to the secret laboratory.
"Oh, I see... No problem, Mr. Osborne, I'd be happy to help. But right now, I'm out playing with Riley, so you probably won't be able to find me at my house. How about this, I'll go to Times Square in a bit and wait for you to send someone to pick me up, is that alright?"
After Norman Osborn finished speaking, Riley, who had been on edge, finally breathed a sigh of relief, as he was now certain that his identity had not been exposed.
He then nodded slightly to Peter, took the phone from Peter's hand, and patted his chest to activate his suit. Using the voice changer he had added after Uncle Long exposed the loophole that made his identity easily exposed due to his unchanging voice, he imitated Peter's voice and answered naturally.
After all, Riley's initial idea was for Peter to use the guise of an intern to try to get close to Dr. Connors and see if he could find the secret laboratory that was mass-producing lizardmen.
Now, Norman Osborn, who thinks he has everything under control, has invited Peter to let the wolf into the house. Riley, who was worried that the plan was not safe enough and would easily arouse Dr. Connors' suspicion, would not refuse.
So when both the big and small foxes agreed that the other was hopelessly stupid, practically offering itself up for free...
Each harboring their own thoughts and fearing the other might change their mind, the two exchanged a few insincere pleasantries before happily hanging up the phone.
This is...
Both sides have won this round to the point of exhaustion!