Taking the Blame

"Military secrets?" Samuel was stunned.

"Where do you think Mr. Green's blood comes from? Do you even know who Mr. Green is?"

Samuel hesitated for a moment, then said, "At first I thought he was a victim of a failed experiment, but later he gave me a blood sample that was very stable, with absolutely no signs of side effects. You could even say that he is a new human, no, a superman."

"A victim of a gamma-ray experiment becomes a superhero? Doesn't this script sound familiar?"

"He was a test subject in some experiment, the purpose of which was to create super soldiers. I suspect it was some unknown organization, or maybe it was official." Samuel had always had this suspicion, but the bright prospects of Hulk blood made him take a chance and not think too deeply about it.

"It's official, and it's military. Obviously, they won't allow anyone to steal their experimental results. Your best outcome is to be locked up until you die."

"Were you sent to arrest me?" Samuel said, limp and powerless in mid-air, no longer struggling, as if resigned to his fate.

Samuel's guess made sense, after all, Tony was an arms dealer, and from the outside, he was seen as being in cahoots with the military.

"No, I'm here to give you a chance, a chance to conduct research openly and honestly." With that, Tony had Jarvis bring up Samuel's file and highlighted several of his papers.

"Although your paper cannot be published due to human factors, I have read all of its contents. It is very insightful and valuable. Now, on behalf of Umbrella Corporation, I formally invite you to serve as our Chief Scientific Advisor."

"A scientific advisor?" Samuel hesitated for a moment after hearing Tony's words before tentatively asking, "Can I be listed as a second author when publishing papers? Of course, you'll definitely be the first author."

Tony almost couldn't keep his composure. Was he really that humble? He must have been devastated, poor guy.

"No need, you can list it wherever you want, but Umbrella's research is generally not allowed to be published as a paper."

"Really!" Samuel was immediately excited. They had found a sugar daddy. Although he had never heard of Umbrella Corporation, it must be a company that was not short of money, since Tony Stark had invited them.

Scientific research has always been a money-intensive endeavor. What's lacking isn't scientists, but wealthy backers. As for Tony's claim about not producing papers, I understand. After all, it's a company, and its main products are definitely trade secrets. But as the chief scientific advisor, he certainly has the funds to conduct his own research projects. And with Stark's endorsement, who would dare to academically bully me?

"Really, and Umbrella's project is no less impressive than Mr. Green's blood." Seeing that Samuel was no longer agitated, Tony put him down on the ground.

"Shall we leave now? I'll write my resignation letter right away." Samuel, who had been agitated by the blood sample, was now agitated again, wanting to leave.

"Don't get so excited, we still need to clean up this place." Tony pointed to the densely packed blood samples in the room.

"Yes, take all these blood samples with you. The other data is on the computer, and I have a backup at home." Samuel surrendered immediately.

"Jarvis, get the people in here and start moving things. Arrange for a vehicle to take Samuel to Umbrella."

"Yes, sir." Jarvis immediately relayed the order to the Stark Industries security personnel standing guard outside.

Originally, Stark Industries in New York didn't have many employees, but after the Stark Tower project was approved, Tony moved some of the company's operations to New York. Arms production remained in Los Angeles, and the main business was security. After all, as the main location for various major events in the future MCU, more security personnel would allow Tony to sleep more soundly.

Samuel left Greyburn College without looking back, leaving the entire laboratory empty, as if it had been robbed.

Tony looked around and began to worry. It seemed he had gone a bit too far. What would he do when Ross arrived? Suddenly, Tony had a brilliant idea.

"Can Jarvis tamper with surveillance footage?"

"You mean, erase all traces of our presence? But donation records can't be deleted."

Tony also felt that the money had been spent too soon, but he still had a chance to explain.

"Just deleting them isn't enough. Change the clothes of the Stark personnel in the surveillance footage, and modify these computers as well."

-----------------

As soon as Ross's plane landed, he eagerly boarded the special forces vehicle that was ready to go. Bronsky quickly followed, and the group of vehicles headed straight for Greyburn College.

Eric and the other Umbrella team members were left standing there, not knowing what to do. Their employment contracts hadn't been terminated, and the group stared at each other for a while before Eric approached Catherine, who had stayed behind to treat the wounded.

"Major, what should we do? If the mission is considered complete, can we go back now?"

Catherine looked at Eric, unsure of what to do next. Was this the end?

Hulk hasn't been captured yet, and Samuel is also connected to Hulk and is still part of the action team, but it's clear the general doesn't want Umbrella's people to have too much contact with him. After thinking for a while, Catherine made the arrangements:

"The mission isn't over yet. I'll arrange for you to stay at the base for now, until the next operation."

Eric didn't mind, since he was paid by the hour, so he obediently waited at the base.

Ross's convoy basically drove straight to Greyburn Academy, ignoring traffic rules the whole way. It was nighttime, and most of the roads they traveled were in the suburbs. If it had been daytime, there would have been several accidents.

But when the armored vehicle crashed through the gate and rushed into Samuel's laboratory, Ross realized he was too late.

Tony sat at the entrance of the lab, holding a tablet in his hand, with several bodyguards in black standing beside him.

Ross got out of the car, and the soldiers behind him, following the pre-arranged plan, rushed into the laboratory to arrest Samuel and seize all the items in the laboratory.

"Stark, why are you here? Shouldn't you be in Brazil acting with your leading lady?"

Ross emphasized the phrase "acting together".

Tony, with a serious expression, said, "Of course I value our business more. After receiving Jarvis's message, I rushed back immediately, but I was still a step too late."

"A step too late? What does that mean?" Ross didn't understand. His first reaction upon seeing Tony was the same as Samuel's: Tony had come to steal his experimental results.

Ross still has patience. Once he gets what Samuel has, even if Tony is a tycoon, he will lock Tony up for a while and interrogate him to ensure that he is the only one who has the secret to creating the Hulk.

Tony then handed the tablet to Ross and told him to look at it himself.

Ross took the tablet, which was displaying a surveillance video.

The surveillance footage shows that two hours ago, a group of people dressed in black combat suits stormed into Greyburn College, looted Samuel's laboratory, and shortly afterward, Dr. Samuel also got into the car.

Ross watched the video repeatedly, trying to glean something from it, at least to figure out who these people were. Sure enough, his efforts paid off, and Ross made a discovery: these people were wearing a strange symbol.

A strange symbol consisting of multiple tentacles and a skull.