Vibranium Delivered

"The trouble isn’t them. The people behind them can be dealt with using the conglomerate’s power. The real problem is that word got out. I only just hung up on an inquiry call from the Pentagon."

Manken’s voice came through the other end of the phone.

George set down a cup of coffee in front of Shimizu as well.

"The military? Are they still thinking about making Super Soldier Serum?"

"I think so. They do believe that, especially General Ross."

"Didn’t that old man have a heart attack while swinging his club during a golf game some time ago? He’s not dead yet?"

"His family brought in Doctor Strange. He performed a triple bypass and forcibly pulled him back from the hands of Shinigami."

"What a pity."

Shimizu snarked, then took another sip of coffee.

In theory, it was feasible to use Regeneration Serum to create Super Soldier Serum, but it would differ enormously from the first-generation Super Soldier Serum created by Erskine.

Norman Osborn had once been invited to lead Osborn’s technical team in a joint project with the military to restore Super Soldier Serum.

General Ross had led the project at the time, but the actual work had largely been handled by Norman Osborn and Bruce Banner, who was also part of the project.

Norman had attempted to replicate it through genetic methods, while Banner had also believed that the key lay in genetics. But Norman’s approach had not worked. Controlled gamma energy should have been used to guide genes in the intended direction of change and provide energy for genetic modification.

The two had developed some disagreements and pursued two separate lines of research.

Everyone naturally knew Banner’s outcome. As for Norman, aside from gaining some technical experience during the process, he had achieved no useful results.

Most of the relevant materials were classified, but Norman had preserved some of the technology and experimental data, which Shimizu had now inherited.

From those materials, it could be determined that the Super Soldier Serum Captain America had received did indeed alter genes.

But Captain America could never have been created through genetic modification alone. Otherwise, they could have simply used the blood Captain America had left behind to build an army of clones.

Beyond genetics, there had to have been other forms of physical modification involved.

Therefore, relying solely on the gene-splicing method in Regeneration Serum to combine a test subject’s genes with Captain America’s genes was not very feasible.

It might have some effect, but it would be nowhere near Captain America’s level.

Still, this stuff could create quite a few powerful extraordinary creatures. Take Connors’s Regeneration Serum, for instance. By modifying the expression nodes of certain key genes according to the decay algorithm, one could create a Lizardman.

And if it could create Lizardmen, it could naturally create things like Rhinomen or Dogmen as well.

But in that case, the modified subjects would also be influenced by animal instincts, and disaster would inevitably follow.

If this technology fell into the hands of the military or certain villainous organizations, the world’s future would head toward unpredictable consequences—and certainly in a worse direction.

However, as long as the decay formula remained in their hands, no one else could replicate it even if they obtained samples of Regeneration Serum.

Only three people knew the decay formula.

Himself, Tony Stark, and Connors.

"How is Doctor Connors doing now?" Shimizu asked again.

"I moved him and his family to the company headquarters and assigned trustworthy personnel to protect them."

"Good. I’ll head over later and upgrade the company’s network defenses and surveillance systems."

"You can handle that yourself. After Norman, you’re the only one at Osborn who truly understands technology. I wanted to ask for your opinion: if we want to suppress those monsters and demons, cooperating with the military—the most powerful force—is the most suitable option. What I mean is limited cooperation.

"Like Boeing, we can sell them finished products. What they care about most is whether the power is in their hands, not how that power is acquired."

"We can’t directly sell finished products, Manken. Every dose of Regeneration Serum has to be formulated based on the patient’s genes before it can be produced."

"Yes, yes, I know. Doctor Connors said the same thing. But we can sell slots. Every year, we can limit the number of slots sold to the military. Any more than that will cost extra.

"We can also have internal slots, while opening a certain number of slots to the public. As for the price… Wade, you understand. We’re businessmen, not philanthropists. Regeneration Serum isn’t easy to make either, so…"

Shimizu frowned slightly.

But he also knew that this was the reality of the world.

He lacked the power to change it. He could only do what he could.

"The price of each dose of Regeneration Serum for military slots should not exceed the average compensation mandated by the military for disabled soldiers by too much. Otherwise, you know how they are. If they think paying compensation is more cost-effective, they’ll definitely choose to settle it with compensation instead of serum."

"Also, we can periodically open some free and discounted slots to the public. Draw them at random from all registered patients. The slots must not be bought, sold, or transferred."

Manken fell silent for two seconds on the other end of the line, then gave a bitter laugh.

"Wade, you really are different from your Teacher Norman. But I support it. This will also help improve Osborn’s public image, won’t it?"

Manken knew that all he could do was support him.

When Norman Osborn had died, Osborn had immediately been thrown into turmoil.

The old Osborn could not do without Norman, while the current Osborn could not do without Wade.

Yet Manken, the chief executive, was not irreplaceable.

As long as what Shimizu did did not harm Osborn’s interests, the board would only stand with the more important Shimizu.

Besides, compared to the tremendous benefits Shimizu had already created—or might create in the future—a momentary whim was utterly insignificant.

Manken did not want his relationship with Wade to become like that between Obadiah and Tony Stark.

Obadiah and Tony had been as close as uncle and nephew, yet their relationship had still turned out that way. Let alone him and Wade.

All he could do was maximize the benefits brought to Osborn and himself within the permitted boundaries.

Several years ago, when Norman had poured all of Osborn’s funds into genetic therapy, that was how Manken had positioned himself as well.

"Thanks, Manken."

"You don’t need to thank me. As long as you don’t harm the company’s interests and can create greater value for Osborn, all of Osborn will stand on your side. Oh, and when you come over, remember to take back those things we ordered last time."

"Those things are…?"

"Vibranium. Three ounces of Vibranium bought from that Vibranium dealer, Ulysses Claw."