At Oscorp, Norman Osborn suddenly jumped to his feet—
The Scorpion had been captured!
And not just captured in an ordinary way!
The original plan was for the Scorpion to launch a swift attack from the sewers, cleanly eliminate the target, and then escape.
Even if the escape failed, the armor's self-lock mechanism would activate, leaving no clues for anyone to follow.
Afterward, his partner would send someone to retrieve the armor!
But now—the server he used to monitor the Scorpion had burned out! Someone had hacked into Oscorp's server in an instant!
Fortunately, he had used an isolated computer; otherwise, Oscorp's entire internal network could have been compromised by now!
The person on the other end of the video call asked,
"Something happened?"
"A major problem! That damned Spider-Woman was at the scene, and someone hacked my armor! The security mechanisms didn't work!"
Norman paced back and forth in frustration, saying frantically,
"If they dismantle the armor, they'll see traces of human modification, along with the bio-link chips from Oscorp!
They'll trace it back to me!"
The person on the other end also fell silent—this was more unexpected than he had anticipated.
However, he wasn't as panicked as Norman. He was more focused on the evaluation of Leo from the Insight Project.
It seemed that the seemingly outlandish surveillance program really had some merits.
"Don't worry, the situation isn't over yet, is it? Keep testing, and produce the remaining products."
"More tests? I'm already in deep trouble! Don't you understand?!"
"I understand, Mr. Osborn," the voice on the other end remained calm. "Listen to me, keep testing. You're working for the nation now, don't forget that.
This is just a minor accident, and we'll handle it when the time is right.
By the way, I just got word—the witness isn't dead. He's in the hospital on the 23rd floor at New York State University. It's a good opportunity to test your aerial combat suit."
Norman was still pacing.
"Mr. Osborn."
Norman stopped.
He looked at the large screen, which had switched to a news broadcast.
"The high-profile case involving Lab No. 3 is set to go to trial soon in New York City."
"But during the transport of witnesses and evidence, an attack occurred, carried out by an unknown individual wearing green armor."
"The attacker was subdued by concerned citizens and the NYPD. Several officers and federal agents were injured and are currently receiving treatment at the hospital."
"International Gene Cooperation Inc. has provided our brave officers with free plasma supplements and has promised to cover all medical expenses."
"As for the attack, terrorism has not yet been ruled out. We'll have more from the NYPD soon—what are you doing? We're the media!"
The live broadcast was cut off.
The screen returned to the man on the other side of the video, who spread his hands.
"See? When you work for America, America will protect you. So, you know what to do now, right?"
Norman nodded deeply, and the doubts that had just arisen in his mind were instantly dispelled.
In this world, the organization at the pinnacle of power is the state.
And the most powerful state is the United States.
However, while the U.S. is strong externally, it is internally divided—the government, private businesses, and the public have very delicate and complex relationships, where pulling one string can affect everything.
If someone could truly ignore those noisy civilians and act with impunity…
Then clinging to that power would feel immensely satisfying.
This "Military-Industrial Club" seemed to be speeding down the road toward becoming such a colossal force. If there was a way to get onboard, why think of anything else?
"I'll go prepare now."
"Oh, by the way, your network seems a bit insecure. I can reinforce it for you—with the technology we offer our club members."
"The witness isn't dead, but it's pretty much the same. Tests show he was hit with a rare blend of toxins.
It hasn't been long, but most of his nerves are already dead. There's no telling when he might wake up."
Martin's voice was heavy on the phone.
Not dead, but as good as dead.
The good news was that the NYPD had recorded some verbal testimony, but such evidence had limited value.
Leo wasn't in the best mood, but capturing the Scorpion might provide more leverage than Ethan defecting from Oscorp.
"Keep an eye on the witness. The tech on the attacker's armor is closely tied to Oscorp. I can find something out from that test subject."
"Understood. This is important for me—for us," Martin paused. "If Oscorp falls, it will leave a gap in the medical and pharmaceutical sectors."
"I get it, I get it. Watch the witness."
"I will."
Martin's voice was low as he hung up the phone, his entire figure suddenly turning black and white, like an undeveloped photo.
"Mind Demon Gang, watch the area near New York State University."
After hanging up, Leo looked at the chaotic scene outside the NYPD station, reporters swarming the entrance, and cops sweating profusely—
George had issued a statement, but everyone wanted to snap a few photos, ask a few questions, and then inquire about the next steps.
If they let them in, the NYPD wouldn't get anything else done all day.
"Leo, can you figure out who's behind this?"
"I'm working on it—" Leo frowned, as the knife in his hand couldn't cut through the Scorpion's armor.
Unlike the tail, which could be dismantled using pre-set system programs, the armor was welded to the body.
And it was even tougher than he had imagined.
"I want to take it to the lab. I can prepare some cutting tools there."
"Go ahead."
Before George could finish his sentence, the chaotic scene at the station's entrance suddenly fell silent. Everyone's eyes turned toward the street.
A convoy of five vehicles had stopped in front of the NYPD, two of which were armored.
"New York citizens, please step back. This is the U.S. Army, carrying out official duties."
Without a word, the soldiers began swiftly and aggressively pushing the reporters aside, clearing a path.
"What are you doing?"
A reporter was shoved to the ground, their equipment crashing to the floor, turning the scene into a mess.
Someone tried to film the incident, but when they raised their camera, they saw the soldiers pointing a flashlight-like device at them—
While the person was fine, the camera broke, the screen filled with distorted images.
Bzzzt.
The camera even started emitting black smoke.
"Classified information, unauthorized personnel must step back!"
A security perimeter was quickly established, and the sight of the fully-armed, intimidating soldiers caused the crowd to stop pushing.
George approached the police station entrance just as a man in a black coat stepped out of the lead black sedan—a bald man with an eyepatch.
George folded his arms, expressionless.
"So, the federal government plans to invade the NYPD?"
The man pulled out some ID:
Nick Fury.
"Apologies, Captain Stacy, but I have orders. The unidentified biological weapon at the scene falls under a classified category.
From this moment on, this matter will be handled by the Strategic Science Department."
"Strategic Science Department?" George frowned, "What department is that?"
"An old, classified department, recently reactivated by the federal government and in coordination with the U.N. Security Council.
We'll be assessing and regulating the biological weapon that appeared, and reporting to the international community."
"The international community?" George found it absurd. "That 'biological weapon' just caused chaos in New York City. Where were your people?"
"Our people are right here."
Fury nodded to his men, and the U.S. soldiers marched into the NYPD.
George was about to say something when Fury pulled out several documents—one from the Pentagon, one from the military, and one from the New York City government.
The NYPD was silenced.
Fury walked into the station just in time to see Leo pulling his hand away from the Scorpion's armor.
"Mr. Lee, this biological weapon is now under federal control."
Leo stepped back.
"So you're gathering weapons of war for the nation, huh? Looks like the Pentagon is really feeling the heat after Afghanistan."
"It's our duty." Fury stood in the room, watching his soldiers take the Scorpion away. He then turned back to Leo and said, "But if you join us, you can continue studying this armor. I need people like you."
Leo raised an eyebrow.
"But I don't need a war of aggression to prove my worth. Let me remind you, this guy is also a suspect.
And I noticed you didn't bring any Supreme Court orders with you."
"Indeed, I didn't," Fury looked deeply at Leo, "But he has no right to stop us—no evidence."
"You'd better focus on the Lab No. 3 case. Military secrets aren't your business."
"Go to hell," Leo's tone was calm, but his words were not. "Any evil will be brought to justice."
Fury said nothing more and left.
George folded his arms and sighed.
"Dammit, the damned federal government, and the mayor—has he lost his mind?"
"He's definitely out of his mind—we still have a chance, though. The Supreme Court hasn't granted the military immunity in this case.
I've already copied data from the Scorpion's armor and its internal circuits. It's enough to launch an investigation into those pulling the strings."
"But those pieces of evidence are too..."
"That's why we also kept some physical evidence—"
Leo snapped his fingers, and Gwen swung in from the window, dropping a large bag of parts.
These were all the removable components—the people responsible for retrieving the suit weren't familiar enough with it, and Leo used some sleight of hand to make sure they didn't notice anything missing.
"Hello, Captain, we meet again."
George looked at the evidence, then at Gwen. "Uh, okay, so who should we investigate?"
"Who else? Obviously, the Osborn Corporation. I need to discuss my recent findings with Professor Connors."
Clearly—there was no way Osborn Corporation had enough influence to pull this off.
No single company has that kind of power.
Leo watched the convoy drive away, feeling a weight in his chest. The concentration of power was even deeper than he had imagined.
If he were a masked hero, this would be simple to handle. Just kill them, and it would all be over.
Killing is easy. It's not hard to orchestrate a massacre, either.
But how many people would he have to kill to destroy a corrupt system? How could he ensure it wouldn't rise again, or that the new system wouldn't be even worse?
If he just wanted to live for himself, this would be way too easy. He could become a masked hero, ignore everything, and run away—
Not to mention, if he agreed to join S.H.I.E.L.D., luxury cars, women, and money would be no problem at all. Heck, if he threw a party for a thousand people, Fury would probably be there in a bikini, serving drinks.
But Leo didn't know what the best future looked like.
However, selling out his morals and ideals, sinking into depravity—that kind of future was definitely not what he wanted.
This situation needed to be solved from a different angle.
Fortunately, the power structure in America is quite complicated, which means there's still room for political maneuvering.
Looking on the bright side... maybe this could help them replace the current mayor of New York in the upcoming election.