bioinnovel Chapter 490 [3 Chapters Combined] Green Goblin: This is called fair cooperation, baby.
Chapter 490 [3 Chapters Combined] Green Goblin: This is called fair cooperation, baby.
"...You should have noticed by now that my glider is broken."
Green Goblin's Adam's apple bobbed; he desperately wanted to continue threatening and intimidating Norman. But knowing himself well, he knew that if this dragged on, Spider-Man might recover and arrive before he even achieved his goal.
So, after a brief silence, he finally spoke those words.
The confident composure in his tone had largely faded.
Then, Green Goblin turned slightly to the side and pointed with his chin at the dark-colored aircraft behind him.
"This equipment is from Osborn Industries. You know it best, so you can fix it."
He spoke the last few words very softly.
Light as a request.
Norman looked at the glider.
He looked very carefully.
The curve of the wing—that was the design he personally approved last year.
The burn marks at the exhaust nozzle—damage that would only be left after more than four minutes of overload operation.
The landing gear sank into the carpet to a depth that suggests the glider is 17 percent heavier than the standard model, indicating modifications to the armor plating and power bay.
Then he looked away.
It landed back on the Green Goblin's face.
"So, you've come to me seeking help."
Green Goblin's lips twitched, and he stubbornly argued, trying to save face.
"...It's cooperation."
Norman did not refute this.
But he didn't respond.
He just kept watching the Green Goblin.
That look in his eyes seemed to say: Whether you want help or cooperation, you know the answer in your heart.
This made Green Goblin even more irritable and annoyed.
But in order to repair the glider as soon as possible so that he could continue to travel to other parallel universes and hunt down Spider-Men there.
After taking a deep breath, Green Goblin reached for the equipment pouch at his waist.
"I can pay you."
As he spoke, Green Goblin took out a palm-sized silver protective case. The case was tightly closed, and an indicator light showed that the interior was in a low-temperature, constant-pressure storage state.
He held it in his palm and handed it forward.
"This is the complete Green Goblin serum formula, and it's the thing that made me look like this. With it, you can tear apart those annoying wall-climbing bugs with your own hands, just like I did."
His voice was low, as if he were sharing a secret that belonged only to him "alone".
"I think this is enough to cover the 'repair costs,' isn't it?"
Norman lowered his head.
He looked at the silver box.
Looking inside the syringe, which lay quietly, was a liquid that shimmered with an eerie green light, a liquid that had rewritten the fate of the "self" before them.
Clearly, this self-proclaimed madman from a parallel universe mistakenly believes that he, like him, still sees "Spider-Man" as a thorn in his side, and is unaware that the Spider-Man he almost killed was actually Harry.
This information gap was enough to give Norman more initiative in subsequent negotiations.
So after a moment of silence, Norman raised an eyebrow, feigning interest, and responded to the Green Goblin.
"Interesting... But how do I know you're not just using a fake to fool me?"
He looked directly into Green Goblin's eyes, a mocking smile playing on his lips.
"After all, you are 'Norman Osborn,' aren't you?"
Upon hearing this, the smile that had disappeared from Green Goblin's face reappeared.
Clearly, he was not offended or upset by Norman's questioning of the serum's authenticity.
Because of that phrase, "You are also 'Norman Osborn'."
He knew what that meant.
Norman Osborn never easily trusted anyone.
They especially wouldn't easily trust another "Norman Osborn," because only Norman Osborn truly understood "Norman Osborn's" methods.
Lies, disguises, bait, traps—these are not used against enemies, but against everyone. This is an instinct etched into their bones through countless business battles, negotiations, and life-or-death struggles.
If the older version of yourself in front of me, after hearing such absurd talk as "parallel universes" and "another you," immediately lowered your guard and excitedly accepted the serum—
That's the real anomaly.
That's the signal that should raise alarm.
But now, Norman doesn't.
He raised an eyebrow, questioning, and with a cautious, condescending look as if he were looking at a dubious offer, he left the Green Goblin's offer hanging in mid-air.
This is so normal.
It was so normal that it made the Green Goblin feel...friendly.
"Of course you'll be skeptical. If it were me, I wouldn't believe in something as good as a free lunch either."
Green Goblin spoke with a hint of admiration in his voice.
He held the silver box steady and tapped the lid twice gently with the index finger of his other hand.
"Just like you know about Norman Osborn... I bet you did a lot of research on the Super Soldier Serum in secret to deal with that wall-climbing bug."
He tilted his head, his yellow eyes gleaming with a knowing, smug light.
"Let me guess, you currently have a super-soldier serum in your lab, still in the experimental stage. Based on Kurt Connors' lizard serum, it has been reverse-engineered to retain the user's self-regeneration and physical enhancement properties while removing the risk of species transformation and loss of sanity."
He paused, then added.
"Of course, that's just a theoretical result. You probably haven't had time to conduct human experiments yet. Otherwise, that wall-climbing worm wouldn't be living so comfortably, would it?"
Norman did not answer.
His expression remained calm and composed.
But his pupils, deep within that blue depth, contracted slightly.
The Green Goblin laughed.
There was no malice or mockery in that smile.
Only a certain... "As expected" was clear.
"I can give you the complete serum formula right now. You just need to input it into the computer and run a simple simulation, and you'll know I'm not lying."
As Green Goblin spoke, he carefully put the box back inside him. He then walked to his desk, effortlessly unlocking his laptop and inserting a USB drive. He then openly displayed the complete Green Goblin serum formula stored inside to Norman.
"Of course, even with a ready-made formula, it would still take a considerable amount of time to produce the finished product. So, once you've repaired the glider, I'll hand you this ready-made serum before leaving this universe."
"You'd be that kind?"
"Yes, because we have a common enemy..."
"...Spider-Man."
"That's right, so I hope that after you get the serum, you can help me delay that wretched wall-climbing worm's actions. At least, don't give it the chance to keep chasing me."
"……make a deal."
After a brief conversation, Norman nodded slightly, giving an affirmative answer.
This allowed Green Goblin's tense shoulders to relax.
He grinned again, revealing a confident smile that said everything was under control.
"Where do you plan to start work? In your office?"
"You know the answer already... We lack the necessary tools here. Come with me, I'll take you to my laboratory."
Norman turned and walked toward the door on the other side of the office.
Green Goblin stopped talking and followed Norman.
The glider, under Green Goblin's remote control, hovered beside him in low-speed cruising mode. The humming sound emitted when the thrusters were damaged was particularly jarring in the empty corridor.
Norman walked ahead.
His back was straight, his steps were steady, and his breathing rate remained unchanged.
Only he himself knows...
His right hand, seemingly casually tucked into his pocket, was tapping its index finger at an extremely light frequency.
Three long. Three short. Three long.
Before long, Green Goblin and Norman took the elevator together and arrived at Norman's private laboratory.
Incidentally, the 40th floor is Osborne's core research area, housing a wide variety of laboratories.
But now, the researchers who should have been busy here had already evacuated quickly in advance due to the silent alarm of the security system the moment the Green Goblin invaded.
So when Norman and the Green Goblin arrived, all they could see were empty laboratories on both sides of the corridor, and the standby indicator lights of the instruments flickering in the darkness, like the ruins of a city sunk to the bottom of the sea.
Of course, this doesn't mean that Norman, as a capitalist, cared much about the safety of his employees—if that were the case, Max wouldn't have fallen into the breeding pool of mutated electric eels and become the "Flash" he is today—it's just that in Norman's eyes, these idiots' brains still had some value. Dying needlessly at the hands of intruders would be a waste of resources, which is why he specifically set up this emergency evacuation plan.
As Norman Osborn of a parallel universe, the Green Goblin was naturally aware of the existence of this plan.
Therefore, he deliberately forced his way in so that he could use this plan to get rid of all the outsiders who would get in the way, so as not to affect the glider repair work.
And so, Green Goblin and Norman, without exchanging a single unnecessary word, walked silently down the empty corridor.
Norman finally managed to open the heavy, closed iron door using a dual scan of his fingerprint and iris.
The incandescent bulbs lit up one by one.
The cold white light cut through the darkness and illuminated the entire laboratory.
Central laboratory bench, high-precision analyzer, nanomaterial synthesis chamber, biosafety cabinet, constant temperature incubator...
It has all kinds of equipment.
It's more than enough to repair Green Goblin's glider.
"The glider is parked in the center. I need to conduct a full-scale scan and do a damage assessment first."
Norman walked toward the central lab bench, and as he began adjusting the equipment, he spoke to Green Goblin without turning his head.
Green Goblin did as instructed.
The glider landed next to the central experimental platform, and a slight metallic scraping sound was heard as the landing gear touched the stainless steel surface.
Norman picked up a handheld scanner, walked over to the glider, and began to examine it inch by inch.
His movements were slow.
Very slow.
He repeatedly checked each sensor reading.
He scanned each suspected injury at least three times.
On the data record table, the parameters are added row by row, densely packed.
It looked as if they were diligently troubleshooting the glider.
But only Norman himself knew the truth...
He's just stalling for time.
He didn't know how long he could hold out.
But every second counts.
Green Goblin was very patient at first.
He paced around the lab bench with his hands behind his back, occasionally glancing at the data on the scanner screen.
Five minutes later, when he noticed Norman still repeatedly checking the data on the same part of the glider, he stopped.
Are you trying to stall for time?
"What?"
"I'm telling you, you're deliberately stalling for time."
Norman's fingers paused for a moment upon hearing Green Goblin's resolute words.
Only 0.3 seconds.
Then, he continued scanning the glider, retorting without even looking up.
"Do you want me to fix it properly, or do you want me to just do a sloppy job and let it fall apart halfway through?"
Green Goblin's lips twitched.
He had to admit that Norman's answer was reasonable.
Moreover, he himself understood the relevant technology and could tell that Norman had simply been more thorough in his inspection, but had not been trying to fool him.
So, after a brief silence, Green Goblin took a step back and responded in a muffled voice.
"...Fine, you're the boss here, you call the shots."
Norman breathed a quiet sigh of relief and continued to inspect the glider in front of him.
At the same time, he also felt something was strange.
District 13 had already received the signal that Osborn had been invaded, as well as the distress signal he had secretly sent before taking the elevator.
Logically speaking, even if the black Spider-Man hadn't arrived, he should have used his magical abilities to send other superheroes over immediately.
unless……
What? A threat even more serious than the Green Goblin has emerged, forcing all those superheroes to...
He then scanned another thirty-two locations.
Forty-seven sets of data were recorded.
"Wait! Don't be impulsive! We can go through the ventilation duct...!"
"Open it—!"
But just as Green Goblin's patience was wearing thin and he was about to question Norman again about how much longer the investigation would take,
The laboratory doors, which were originally tightly closed and resembled those of a bank vault, were forcibly torn down by terrifying brute force at this moment.
Then, amidst the piercing alarms, a dark green figure, ignoring the warnings in his ears, shot through the debris and dust, bracing himself against the ceiling with his feet, and like a cannonball, charged straight at the Green Demon.
That was Harry, who had guessed the Green Goblin's intentions and rushed back to save his father!
Incidentally, after personally witnessing the Green Goblin's power, Harry wasn't so reckless as to run straight up to the Green Goblin in a weakened state and offer himself up for death.
Instead, after returning to Osborn with Ultimate Spider-Man, he prioritized going back to his own laboratory. He replenished the damaged nanobots and the spider fluid that had been used up during the battle to intercept missiles, and injected himself with a healing serum.
This is the version Riley developed, based on the life potion produced by the system. It's an improved version that Norman currently keeps in his safe; it works faster, but also comes with strong side effects.
Twenty minutes after the injection, the heart rate will soar to over 140, and the user's emotions will become uncontrollably impulsive and irritable.
Riley's original intention was to bypass the system and directly concoct a life potion to further improve the survival rate of District 13 agents during missions.
However, judging from the side effects and effects, this is clearly a low-end, inferior version of the life potion, and in Riley's eyes, it is undoubtedly a failure.
So when Harry asked curiously, Riley explained its function and generously gave it to him. His intention was that, when Norman's research on the healing serum hit a roadblock, it could serve as leverage to give Harry more influence within Osborne.
Unexpectedly, due to a series of unforeseen circumstances, this potion with significant side effects was used on Harry himself before any further improvements could be made.
After resting and confirming his father's location through the security system, Harry, who had recovered to about 70-80%, led Ultimate Spider-Man directly into the laboratory! Due to the side effects of the potion, Harry, who was already worried about his father's safety, suddenly lost his temper and recklessly broke down the laboratory door, launching a second round of challenges against Green Goblin!
"Get away from him! You monster—!!!"
Knowing full well how powerful the Green Goblin was, Harry immediately unleashed a full-force killing move!
Spider silk shot out simultaneously from the twin wrist launchers, the two white trails intersecting in the air to form an X shape, aiming straight for Green Goblin's throat and right wrist.
The throat attack was a feint to force him to defend; Harry's true intention was to entangle his right wrist and disarm him!
This is a standard two-stage suppression tactic.
Under the tutelage of Peter and Riley, he practiced this combo countless times in the simulation training grounds of District 13.
As expected from countless practice sessions, Green Goblin's first reaction was to dodge the spider silk aimed at his throat.
The first spider silk grazed the edge of his neck and stuck to the wall behind him.
But as a result, the second spider silk successfully wrapped around his right wrist.
Harry immediately pulled back, lowered his waist and abdomen, and pulled himself backward in a falling motion, which accelerated his body further. He then delivered a full-force flying kick to the Green Goblin!
However, the Green Goblin did not look down at the wrist tightly bound by spider silk, nor did he change his stance to avoid Harry's gaze.
He simply raised his yellow eyes and met Harry's gaze.
Then he laughed.
"You've come at the perfect time."
He suddenly pulled back his right hand, which was wrapped in spider silk.
There was no skill involved; it was pure, overwhelming counterattack.
The immense force traveled in the opposite direction along the spider silk, pulling Harry from mid-air like a fish harpooned, forcefully towards the Green Goblin!
Immediately afterward, he saw a sharp blade spring out from the Green Goblin's arm armor. Harry, who was just waiting to "come to his doorstep," was pierced right through!
Fortunately, this time, Harry wasn't fighting the Green Goblin alone.
Ultimate Spider-Man was annoyed that his best friend always seemed so reckless and impulsive, no matter which universe he was in. He abandoned his plan to sneak in through the ventilation duct and rushed in with Harry.
After witnessing the Green Goblin's deadly move, Ultimate Spider-Man decisively fired his webs, wrapping them around Harry's waist. This allowed Harry to understand and voluntarily sever the webs binding the Green Goblin's wrists, letting Ultimate Spider-Man pull him back.
Harry then tumbled in the air to dissipate the force, braced himself with one hand, and landed gracefully on the edge of the experimental table three meters away from the Green Goblin.
But, to the surprise of the two Spider-Men...
The Green Goblin did not pursue the enemy.
He simply and slowly, as if tearing off a sticky note, peeled off the remaining spider silk wrapped around his wrist and threw it on the ground.
The white silk threads curled up at his feet, like a dying jellyfish.
"You think you can deal with me just because you've found an accomplice?"
His voice was hoarse and low, carrying an undisguised mockery.
His gaze passed over Harry and landed on Norman, who stood silently by the lab table, holding a scanner.
"Unfortunately, the 'innocent citizen' you came all the way here to save is my new business partner."
He paused, a sinister smile playing on his lips.
"in other words……"
"You've fallen into a trap, Spider-Man!"
Harry's pupils suddenly contracted.
But he didn't look back at Norman even once, nor did he let his gaze leave Green Goblin's yellow eyes even an inch.
Besides guarding against a possible sneak attack from the Green Goblin...
Harry was clearly a little scared...
I'm afraid Green Goblin is telling the truth.
She was afraid that if she turned around, she would see an answer on her father's face that he did not want to accept.
"cooperate?"
So, after taking a deep breath, Harry, trying to appear calm, deliberately repeated the word, his voice filled with undisguised sarcasm.
"That sounds nice. You must have coerced this citizen."
His tone was resolute, without any hesitation.
It's as if this is the real reason why Norman was willing to help the Green Goblin.
Green Goblin paused for a moment.
Then he laughed.
He laughed even louder than before.
"Coercion? You think I need to coerce him? Hahaha! Spider-Man, you really don't understand Norman Osborn!"
He turned to the side, spread his arms, and made an exaggerated, showy gesture.
"Look at this lab, look at this equipment! Everything researched here is to deal with you, you wall-climbing bug! And you actually think he's innocent? A victim of coercion? Hahaha!"
As the Green Goblin revealed his deeply buried dark history with his most arrogant laughter, Norman's hand holding the scanner tightened slightly.
Clearly, this scene was far beyond his expectations. It made him want to rush up and cover Green Goblin's leaky mouth with his tongue.
But he also understood that, as an ordinary person, if he were to reveal any signs of conflict with the Green Goblin at this moment...
Not only would he be of no help to Harry, but he would also become a ready-made puppet, making it even more difficult for Harry to deal with the supervillain in front of him.
Therefore, Norman could sense his son's shock and disbelief from Harry's tense back.
But Norman's expression remained unchanged, and he didn't utter a single word in his defense.
"Now you understand? He's helping me repair the glider, and I'll pay him a satisfactory fee."
As Green Goblin spoke, he also noticed the cold-blooded look on Norman's face.
This made the Green Goblin's laughter even more rampant. With his hands on his hips, he mocked Harry to his face in an extremely irritating tone.
"This is called a mutually beneficial, fair trade. How can you say it's coercion? On the contrary, it's you..."
"Unauthorized trespassing into someone else's private laboratory and suspected damage to their property..."
"So, even if the police come, shouldn't they arrest you first, you uninvited pest?"