Chapter 117: The Birth of the Green Goblin

After repeated rounds of market manipulation, the average retail investors had either been completely fleeced or had realized that a major player was pulling the strings behind the scenes, leaving them too afraid to re-enter.

Meanwhile, the major corporations, misled by the stock's erratic fluctuations, had poured all the capital they had originally earmarked for the acquisition of Hammer Industries into the void. Because of this volatility, Hammer Industries' stock had lost all market credibility, becoming a "junk stock." While the price appeared high, everyone knew that buying in was a one-way ticket to being harvested.

The large corporations still holding significant amounts of these stocks found themselves in an incredibly awkward position. If they dumped their shares now, they would suffer a catastrophic loss. If they held on, their capital would remain tied up, potentially triggering a liquidity crisis that could lead to bankruptcy. Moreover, since they did not hold the majority stake, even stubbornly holding out would yield no favorable outcome.

Just as these corporations found themselves caught between a rock and a hard place, they all received calls from Wall Street elites.

"Sir, I imagine you must be absolutely furious right now!"

"Who are you?" Norman Osborn asked, veins bulging on his forehead after just finishing an emergency meeting.

"Who I am doesn't matter; after all, I'm just a worker. What I want to ask is, are you willing to give up all your Hammer Industries stock now?"

"Hmph! Don't even dream of it. As for Oscorp, I, Norman Osborn, fear no challenge!" Norman roared.

"Very well, then good luck." As he spoke, another voice came through the other end of the line. "Boss, the other companies are all handled. Now it's just you left!"

"Oh! Damn it. Fine, book the hotel yourselves, I'll foot the bill. But don't go too far—Wang only gets a $100,000 bonus for the month!"

"Don't worry, Boss, we'll cover the excess ourselves!"

Hearing the voices from the receiver, Norman Osborn’s already dark face grew even gloomier, his expression twisting into a menacing grimace.

"Oh, apologies, Mr. Osborn. You may no longer have the chance to sell your shares, as we are about to announce a delisting. However, you are welcome to remain our sole minority shareholder. By the way, your holdings convert to exactly 9% of the equity."

"Also, we are holding our first shareholder meeting in five days. Will you be attending, Mr. Osborn?"

"I will attend. I will certainly attend!" Norman Osborn spat viciously.

Hanging up, Norman Osborn hurried toward the company laboratory.

"Mr. Osborn!" the remaining staff member greeted him, looking surprised as Norman rushed inside.

Ignoring him, Norman headed for the console, loosening his collar. "Start the equipment! We are beginning human trials immediately!"

"But Mr. Osborn, the serum hasn't undergone full biological testing! We can't proceed with human trials yet!" the staff member protested.

Norman Osborn grabbed the man by his collar and snarled, "Either you help me complete the test, or you get out right now!" With that, he let go and began to busy himself with the controls. Under the threat of termination, the staff member stepped forward to assist.

After loading a vial of green serum into the injector, Norman stripped off his shirt and climbed into the containment chamber.

"Begin!" At Norman's command, the staff member pressed the start button.

The lid of the chamber sealed shut, and the green serum, along with other unidentified liquids, was injected into Norman’s body. Almost immediately, Norman let out a piercing scream of agony caused by the injection.

Hearing the screams, the staff member outside panicked and pressed the stop button. A flash of electricity surged, the console exploded in a shower of sparks, and thick white smoke began to pour from the chamber.

The sight terrified the worker, but the turmoil didn't last long. Soon, everything fell silent. Seeing this, the staff member rushed forward, manually opened the chamber lid, and helped the collapsed Norman Osborn out.

"Mr. Osborn, are you alright?" the worker asked anxiously.

Receiving no response, the worker reached for his phone to call for help, but a blood-stained hand suddenly snatched it away and crushed it into pieces with brutal force.

The worker looked down in disbelief at his own chest, only to see that very hand protruding from it.

"I'm fine, Carter. But did you forget? Company policy strictly prohibits mobile phones on the job!" Behind the worker, Norman Osborn chuckled and pulled his blood-soaked arm back.

He then wiped the blood from his arm using the white lab coat of the worker, who had collapsed to the floor, dead. After calmly getting dressed, he disposed of the body. Once finished, Norman Osborn left the laboratory as if nothing had happened.

Just after he left, a slender figure descended into the lab. After retrieving a micro-Transformer the size of a fly, Ada Wong began to search the room.

Ada had originally intended to wait for the university exhibition mentioned by Wang Jing to steal the spiders, but upon learning that it was a week away—and uncertain if the specific spiders she sought would even appear—she decided to target the Oscorp biological laboratory directly. She had previously been unable to find an opening due to tight security, but today, she had caught Norman Osborn in a rush and used his distraction to slip inside, witnessing and recording the entire process.

Glancing at the remains of the poor staff member, Ada picked up the empty serum vial. Although the contents had been injected into Norman, there was enough residue left for analysis.

After securing the vial, Ada plugged a phone into the laboratory computer. Data began streaming rapidly onto the screen, and moments later, it was fully copied to her device. Among the files, Ada located the "Super Spiders" she was looking for, housed deep within the experimental building.

Putting the phone away, she raced toward the location and soon arrived at the spider lab.

As the door swung open, she was met with a sea of dense white webs and countless spiders. For a moment, Ada felt overwhelmed; finding the right ones in this swarm would take forever.

However, she quickly regained her composure. The spiders she needed would certainly not be left here; they would be kept in isolation. As expected, after navigating through the web-filled room, she spotted six glass containers neatly stacked on a workbench.

Ada smiled slightly, pulled six metal canisters from her pocket, opened the glass covers, and began capturing the spiders. The first five were collected without issue, but as she reached for the sixth, it lunged suddenly, leaping onto her.

Ada frantically swatted at the spider, but it was incredibly fast, scurrying onto the back of her neck. Just as she was about to grab it, the spider sank its fangs into her fair, smooth skin.