Under Gwen's expectant gaze, Merlin nodded and agreed.
"You are indeed my best friend. I knew you would agree." Gwen excitedly patted Merlin's chest.
"Ahem... be gentle, your hand is too strong." The moment her palm came up, Merlin almost gasped. Although his body had been trained and he had learned fighting and gun shooting for a period of time, he was still only a little stronger than ordinary people.
"Sorry, sorry..." Gwen waved her hand apologetically upon seeing this. During this time, she had often chased the two Lizardmen in the sewers. Although her power control had improved a lot, she would still subconsciously release some power whenever she got excited.
"It's okay, it's okay. I haven't eaten yet, so I'll leave my dinner to you." Merlin rubbed his chest and said nonchalantly.
"No problem!" Gwen patted her chest, causing a ripple of movement.
Gwen ordered some takeout as a treat. After the two of them finished eating, it was almost evening.
By this time, everyone at Osborn Industries had left work, so Merlin took Gwen out of the apartment on his motorcycle and headed towards Times Square in Manhattan. Osborn and Stark Industries were both located in downtown Manhattan, but one was close to the stadium and the other was near Times Square.
After passing through Times Square, Merlin parked the motorcycle in the underground parking lot next to the company. He was relatively familiar with Osborn Industries, having participated in Professor Connors' cross-species genetic exhibition with Gwen and Peter. That was when Gwen began to act abnormally.
Looking up, most of the lights inside the Osborn Industrial Building were extinguished, with only scattered areas still on. Usually, the sales or electrical maintenance departments were working overtime.
Follow me!" Gwen led Merlin into the company through the main entrance confidently. The lights in the hall were still on, but there were no people, and it was completely empty.
They took the elevator and soon reached the thirty-sixth floor. After passing through the quiet corridor, Gwen and Merlin quickly arrived at the employee entrance. She took out her employee card and swiped it; the green light turned on, and the alloy door slowly rose.
"Bah!" The lights flashed, quickly illuminating the vast laboratory inside. Gwen and Merlin stood at the door for a moment, their eyes shining brightly.
"Let's get started!" Gwen walked to the cabinet next to her calmly, took out two sets of dustproof white coats, and threw one to Merlin. After both of them changed their clothes, the first step was to turn on the computer and tally up the progress and information of Connors' experiments.
"Lizards themselves have genes that control the regeneration mechanism, so they are the most suitable candidates for cross-species gene fusion," Gwen explained. "But in the case of cross-species fusion, although it is theoretically possible, it is very difficult. During the process of gene transfer to the human genome, the vector will have significant defects."
"Professor Connors wants to use the regeneration mechanism in lizard bodies and apply stem cell technology to accelerate cell regeneration and repair, achieving the effect of regenerating broken limbs."
"The experiment has actually been successful, but the side effects of gene fusion are also obvious—losing human nature."
Stem cells are mother cells with proliferation and differentiation potential that can self-renew and produce other types of highly differentiated daughter cells. They have the functions of repair, metabolism regulation, and self-renewal. In the biological and medical fields, stem cells are also the uncrowned king. Many people usually use stem cells to remove facial wrinkles and delay aging.
In Connors' cross-species genetic experiment, lizard regeneration genes were fused with stem cell growth factors to achieve the ability to regenerate severed limbs. However, the fusion led to severe side effects, causing a loss of human traits and the emergence of aggressive, reptilian characteristics.
n other words, Professor Connors lost his mind probably because the brain stem cells affected the nervous system," Gwen guessed, opening her hand to project and enlarge a string of cell data.
"That's probably the case," Merlin nodded. "This can be left to the end. The main thing now is to find a way to develop an antidote serum."
"Right," Gwen shook her head. "We don't have much time to perfect the regeneration potion now."
Merlin pondered for a moment. "If we want to develop a serum, we have to destroy the regeneration mechanism of the lizard gene."
Gwen's eyes lit up. "That's a good direction." She quickly retrieved the data on the lizard's regeneration mechanism from the experiment.
Merlin grabbed a pen and paper and started drawing and calculating beside her.
After a night without any progress on the serum, Gwen and Merlin decided to leave the company in the early hours of the morning. Sneaking around was risky, and they didn't want to get caught. Despite the lack of breakthroughs, they felt optimistic about the direction of their research.
In the early morning, Gwen and Merlin exited the building. Neither felt particularly tired—Merlin had slept during the day, and Gwen's good health kept her going strong. After having breakfast together, Merlin rode his motorcycle to Brooklyn.
Previously, he had asked Stark to keep an eye on aerospace military factories, and today, Stark had found one with an address in Brooklyn. Stark Industries, with its close ties to national defense, had no trouble locating an aerospace arms factory.
The factory was located in a suburban area, surrounded by lush greenery and somewhat secluded. As Merlin rode his conspicuous red motorcycle up to the site, he saw the chubby figure of Happy waving from a distance.
"Hi! Here!" Happy called out.
Merlin parked the motorcycle next to the factory and shook hands with Happy. "Hi! Isn't Mr. Stark here?" he asked, looking behind Happy in confusion.
"He had to leave temporarily because of an urgent order in Afghanistan," Happy explained. "He originally planned to come see you, but his friend pressed him hard, so he had to leave first. He asked me to apologize on his behalf."
"He doesn't seem like someone who would apologize," Merlin shrugged, then walked around Happy and into the factory. He pondered for a moment, thinking about Afghanistan and whether Stark's involvement there would lead to any complications.
"This was originally an aircraft manufacturing plant built in cooperation between Lockheed and Aston Martin. However, due to some reasons, the negotiations fell apart, so it was temporarily shelved here," Happy continued. "Although the most advanced fighter jets can't be built here, there's still no problem producing some civilian helicopters and ordinary fighter jet engines."
As they walked into the factory area, the interior was empty, with some decommissioned fighter jets placed in the square. The space didn't look cluttered, and many devices were covered with dustproof cloths.
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