Chapter 40

"Of course, I didn't do it for the award," Dr. Otto stood up from his workbench, putting down the experiment in his hands. Without the help of the metal claws, he really felt very unaccustomed.

Metal claws? They should still be in the lab, why did he suddenly think of them?

Dr. Otto touched the back of his neck with his hand, finding it empty. He felt like he had forgotten something very important! He couldn't remember what it was, but he knew that everything shouldn't be like this.

"Yes, but I think you need the funding from our Osborn Corporation, don't you? Only with our investment can you complete your experiments."

"Who is this?" Dr. Otto noticed the young man Harry had brought in, someone he had never seen before.

Harry moved a bit to the side, letting the young man behind him step forward, and introduced him: "The super genius I mentioned, he helped me complete my high school science and engineering courses."

"A college student?" Dr. Otto looked at the young man who was bowing his head in front of him, not saying a word. A voice inside him roared: "Make him look up, make him look up!"

"YES! A college student!" Just as Dr. Otto had hoped, the young man Harry brought in finally revealed his face.

But Dr. Otto couldn't feel any joy at all. He saw two emerald green flames in the young man's eyes, and a wave of fear like a mountain collapsing and a sea surging hit him, making the usually arrogant Dr. Otto unable to resist.

"I am Peter Parker, and I am writing your report," the young man extended his hand, speaking with friendliness and a bit of reverence.

"Peter Parker..."

Dr. Otto muttered this name, trembling and stepping back. He had no explanation for his body's instinctive reaction. For no reason, why was he afraid of an ordinary young man, and even his own student?

He carefully examined Peter, finding no signs of any flames burning in his eyes. It seemed that the hallucination was likely due to the intense experiments he had been conducting for days.

The human eye is a very delicate part; being burned by flames would be unbearable.

Moreover, he still had some impression of Peter Parker: "I know why you're here, but I don't have time to chat with college students." The blunt rejection made Harry, the introducer, look a bit disappointed. He sighed slightly.

But Dr. Otto added, "However, Osborn Corporation is my major funder, and sometimes we should adjust the rules appropriately, right?" Harry nodded in agreement: "Exactly, before Dr. Otto's public demonstration, I still have some preparations to make. You two geniuses should have a lot to talk about..."

He put on his sunglasses and walked to the door: "Wish you luck with the demonstration. If this succeeds, the Nobel Prize will definitely be in your pocket, Dr. Otto. I think I should book a flight to Sweden now!"

"You're interesting..." Dr. Otto put his hands in his pockets. Perhaps because the real demonstration hadn't started yet, his attire was rather casual.

Peter hadn't reacted yet: "Are you talking about Harry?"

"No, I'm talking about you!" Dr. Otto looked at Peter with interest. Irritation and calmness flashed in his eyes, and a voice in the back of his mind urged him: "Kill this young man, kill this young man!"

Peter didn't understand what Dr. Otto meant, but he was already surprised that his friend Harry had managed to arrange this meeting with the doctor. He quickly said, "Doctor, I won't take up too much of your time."

"I remember you are Dr. Connors' student. He said you have a good mind. But he also mentioned that you are lazy..."

The Dr. Connors Dr. Otto referred to was Peter's mentor, Dr. Curt Connors. To gather information on New York University's preparations for the Tompkins Foundation scholarship, Ymir and Mjolnir had secretly attended one of Dr. Connors' lectures at NYU.

"I will improve!"

Peter's face showed a bit of shame. He spent his free time being Spider-Man, swinging through the skies of New York to fight crime, which made him always look sleep-deprived in class.

The spider powers gave Peter superhuman strength, but they also deprived him of normal rest time. However, this was the path Peter had chosen, and outsiders had no right to comment.

"Having a good mind is not enough; you must strive to improve. Intelligence is not a privilege; it's a gift. You should use it well to serve you." Dr. Otto hadn't been this mentally clear for a long time, not since he was controlled by those damned metal claws...

Hey, wait, how was he controlled by the metal claws?

Dr. Otto remembered that when he designed them, he had already arranged chips to suppress the artificial intelligence of the metal claws. He didn't know what was wrong with him today; strange thoughts kept popping up in his mind.

"Otto, your lunch is ready. You should rest before the demonstration."

A kind-looking lady walked in, holding a vase of flowers.

Dr. Otto shook his head. It seemed that the importance of this demonstration, which would affect his standing in the scientific community, was making him nervous. He adjusted his emotions and introduced Peter: "This is my wife, Rose."

"Hello." Mrs. Rose held the vase in her left hand and extended her right hand to shake Peter's. Dr. Otto added with a bit of teasing: "This is Peter Parker, Dr. Connors' student, the one who always dozes off in class."

Seeing Peter's embarrassment, Mrs. Rose kindly defused the situation: "I used to fall asleep in my biology classes too. My mentor said it was a circadian rhythm habit. Nice to meet you, Peter."

Peter looked at the lady with gratitude and nodded with a smile: "Nice to meet you too!"

Mrs. Rose, holding the flowers, walked to Dr. Otto's side and said, "I'll take my leave now. I'll come back to notify you when the demonstration starts."

Watching her leave, Peter brought the conversation back. He pointed to a few black machines that looked like information processors and asked, "Is this it? The equipment you're preparing for the public science demonstration?"

Dr. Otto looked at Mrs. Rose's departing figure with a gloomy expression. He had a premonition that he would soon lose this kind and understanding wife. He consoled himself: "No, this is just a hallucination caused by the stress. That's all." (Even the most hateful people have their pitiable sides. Should I subdue Doctor Octopus, or should I subdue Doctor Octopus?)