"Kain, what are you doing?"
"Gwen? You're calling this early in the morning? What's the matter?"
"Early in the morning? It's ten minutes before the school bus leaves! Are you planning to give up the internship at the Osborne Group?"
Hearing Gwen's words over the phone, Kain suddenly remembered what was written in the diary. Kain Pent had earned the internship opportunity at Osborne thanks to his excellent grades. He had already been there for two days and was supposed to go again today.
He was about to make up an excuse to skip it, but something else came to mind. After thinking for a moment, he said to Gwen,
"You go ahead first. I'll take a taxi to the Osborne Group later. Just help me explain things to the teacher."
"What? Why would I— Hello? Kain?"
Before Gwen could finish speaking, she heard the beeping tone from the phone. Kain had abruptly hung up on her after throwing the responsibility onto her, making her blood pressure spike in frustration.
Peter Parker, who was nearby, overheard Gwen's call and asked,
"Is Pent late for the school bus?"
Gwen replied helplessly,
"He said he has something to take care of and will go directly to the Osborne Group later."
Peter lowered his voice like he was sharing a secret,
"Do you think Jim and his gang gave Kain trouble yesterday? I heard the teacher already found out about it."
"They didn't show up at school today, but once they do, I'm sure there'll be an investigation."
After all, it had been a fight in the cafeteria. The principal likely already knew. Their High School wasn't elite, but it wasn't bad either—it still took school rules and discipline seriously.
But Kain didn't care about high school. He intended to take over the body he now inhabited and build influence in this world. Whether or not he attended school was irrelevant. Making money would be easy for him—he already possessed vast knowledge.
Academic certificates were like scrap paper in his eyes. Time was his most valuable resource, and he didn't want to waste it on anything other than food and sex.
The Osborne Group was like a smaller version of Stark Industries in this world, though it lacked a genius like Tony Stark and was still somewhat controlled by the U.S. military.
The pent's had left early and didn't concern themselves with Kain's studies, so they hadn't asked much.
After tidying up and leaving the house, Kain sighed slightly,
"Even the simplest flight spell in black magic requires borrowing power from Chthon.
Unfortunately, my magical energy can't be transmitted into this universe, and using my soul's power would be wasteful.
Let's focus on completing the nanotech flight armor first. I'll check what kind of equipment Osborne has today."
Kain hailed a taxi and sped off toward Osborne Tower.
"You're just in time. If you're late to your internship, Osborne won't give you a second chance," Gwen warned.
Kain waved dismissively,
"I know, Gwen. Osborne's people are waiting for you—go on ahead."
Seeing Kain's indifferent attitude annoyed Gwen. She had valued this opportunity so much, and now he was acting so casual about it. Still, the Osborne staff had arrived, so she had no choice but to hold back her frustration.
After a brief discussion with the Osborne Group representatives, each intern was issued an ID badge before being allowed entry.
The Osborne Group, hoping to expand its influence, had selected top-performing students from various New York high schools. Most of them had promising futures, and if they remembered their experience here fondly, they might choose to work for Osborne after graduating.
All Osborne had to do was offer them an internship—an investment that cost them next to nothing. Kain was one of those interns, with grades placing him among the top students at Midtown High School.
According to the application form filled out in advance, Kain was assigned to the Genetic Engineering Department on the 15th floor—which, in a way, had something to do with his "family inheritance." Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy were also placed in the same department.
Kain had originally planned to ask someone at the Osborne Group about selling equipment, but when he saw the spider logo at the door, he couldn't help glancing at Peter Parker.
"Spider-Man? If I get the chance to catch that super spider, it might be useful in the future."
The equipment could wait—but the super spider was right in front of him. Casually, Kain asked a nearby staff member for a petri dish. With a bit of hypnosis, he managed to get it without much trouble.
Today was a special opportunity for the students of Midtown High School. They got a glimpse into how a powerful corporation operated and gained hands-on work experience. A good evaluation from Osborne would even help boost their college applications.
However, Peter Parker felt awkward. Kain Pent—who had made a huge scene in the cafeteria just yesterday—was constantly by his side. Several times, Peter caught Kain staring at him with unusually sharp eyes.
Did I offend him somehow?
Peter thought it over carefully. Although he hadn't been bullied as much as Kain in the past, he still wasn't popular. As someone generally kind and quiet, he didn't think he had done anything to provoke Kain.
"Pent, is something wrong? Are you looking at me for a reason?"
"No," Kain replied casually. "I'm just looking around. If I want a job in the future, Osborne seems like a decent choice."
He offered a vague excuse, then actually began to scan the surroundings again. He waited for a long time, but the super spider still hadn't appeared. Even without magic or superpowers, Kain's observational skills were sharp.
"Kain, you've been loafing around all morning and staring at Parker. What exactly are you planning?"
Gwen Stacy approached, clearly irritated.
Kain sighed and reluctantly pulled out a list of equipment, stuffing it into Gwen's hands.
"Gwen—team leader—if you have a moment, could you ask someone at Osborne about this equipment?
Whether or not it's for sale doesn't matter. And you really don't have to keep staring at me. I'm not causing any trouble."
"I'm the team leader. That means I have to make sure no one causes trouble for Osborne."
"I haven't caused any trouble. And right now, there's something that requires Student Gwen to step up.
If you don't want to, I'll go ask myself later.
This is a good chance to communicate with the staff—I thought you'd be willing.
Isn't addressing the needs of the intern students part of a team leader's job?"
Gwen took a deep breath and clenched her teeth.
"Fine. I'll ask for you. But you better actually participate today."
"I know, I know. Let's go—looks like the staff member is here."
Kain pointed at the approaching Osborne employee, and Gwen had no choice but to stop lecturing him. She turned and walked toward the staff member.
Osborne had many branches of business, but its two most important fields were arms manufacturing and genetic engineering. Judging by the spider project, it was clear their genetic research focused on creating "super soldiers."
There was no Dr. Erskine in this universe—so no Super Soldier Serum—but there were still people obsessed with ideas of "human evolution" and "super warriors."
One of their preliminary experiments involved transplanting the abilities of several different spiders into a single specimen.
But as for where the super spider actually was, Kain had never been able to find out. Peter Parker still hadn't been bitten, which made Kain wonder—had he somehow ruined Peter's chance to become Spider-Man?
Still, Kain hadn't let himself relax. Gwen had already asked about the equipment on his behalf, and he didn't care about the other aspects of Osborne's operations.
So he simply shifted some of his attention to observing Peter Parker, while also using a basic artificial intelligence program to conduct financial trades.
He had opened a trading account that morning, and within just two hours that afternoon, the funds in Kain's account had tripled. The AI he created could automatically buy and sell, and even monitor the movement of large capital outflows in real time.
Once Kain saw how effective it was, he stopped worrying about fine-tuning the AI's performance. The equipment he wanted to buy was estimated to be worth around $100 million, and he was confident he could earn that in a short time through the financial market.
"Hey Kain, this is the last time I help you with your crap!"
Gwen Stacy marched over and snapped at Kain. But just as she was about to hand him the equipment quotation list, she suddenly winced and reached behind her neck—as though she'd been shocked by static—and then yanked a spider off herself and dropped it to the ground.
The super spider?!
How could Gwen Stacy be the one bitten? Is she going to become Spider-Woman?
Kain's eyes widened as he saw the distinctive black-and-white patterns on the spider. Without hesitation, he pulled out the petri dish and carefully placed the spider inside.
Then, smiling, he looked at Gwen and asked,
"Gwen, are you okay? I just saw that you were bitten by a spider."
"Are you talking to me or the spider? I don't see any actual concern from you, you bastard!"
Gwen was fuming. Seeing Kain so focused on the spider instead of her made her feel both angry and hurt.
She had gone out of her way to help him, and yet even now—when she had just been bitten—he was more interested in the creature than her well-being.
"Don't be like that, Gwen. I believe you'll be fine. Want to go to the hospital? I can ask dad to give you a 20% discount.
By the way, why don't oscorp sell electromagnetic fluid coils? And they don't even stock gold-titanium alloy used in aviation? Osborne's so-called strength seems... disappointing."
Kain glanced down at the quotation list, unimpressed. If this was all Osborne could offer, he'd have to look elsewhere.
Let alone manufacturing a nanosuit—it would be a miracle if he could even produce proper nanoparticles. For an order worth hundreds of millions, Osborne was being ridiculously stingy.
"Forget it. I'll just go to the hospital myself," Gwen muttered, turning and walking off in a hurry.
She really was planning to see a doctor. She'd been bitten by a spider with unusual black and white markings—not something she could just ignore. It gave her an ominous feeling.
Sure, she'd have to take the afternoon off from the internship, and that might affect her final score, but compared to her health, Gwen knew what mattered more.
As for Kain, he quietly left Osborne as well, carrying both the equipment quotation and the super spider. If he didn't leave soon, someone might notice and come asking questions about the spider. But as long as he hadn't been caught in the act, the spider was his now.
Regarding the equipment, he estimated it would take him about a week to earn the necessary funds. He'd also need to renovate the long-abandoned villa he'd acquired, transforming it to include a large underground lab space.
…
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