Chapter 2: Materials and Experiments
"Roar!"
Almost instinctively alert, the large white man's body began to transform the moment he saw those eyes.
Beneath his jacket, body hair grew wildly, his limbs deformed and grew fur, and his fingernails turned into sharp wolf claws.
"Rip!"
His rapidly expanding physique instantly tore his clothes to shreds.
"Good physique! Excellent material!"
The Umbrella Holder looked at the transforming Werewolf before him, showing no fear, but rather a satisfied exclamation.
"Roar!"
Standing two and a half to two point six meters tall, the Werewolf swung its sharp claws, striking towards the Umbrella Holder.
Facing the Werewolf's claws, which were sharp enough to tear steel, the Umbrella Holder showed no fear, not even moving a single step.
Beneath the black umbrella, a greenish-black light appeared. This green stream of light was incredibly fast, almost instantaneous from the moment the Werewolf saw it.
With a piercing sound, the stream of light fiercely pierced into its chest.
"Roar!"
Almost instantly, the Werewolf, transformed from the large white man, felt a wave of soreness, weakness, and aching throughout its body.
Its body seemed to have completely lost control, as if in an instant, it had fallen into a vegetative state.
"Thud!"
The Werewolf fell backward onto the ground. In its chest, right where its heart was, was a simple, ancient Bronze Nail.
Its style seemed to be that of a Coffin Nail used in an ancient Eastern Country.
On the wedge of the nail, four or five small Bird-seal Script Runes were carved, flickering with a dark, eerie light.
Only then did the Werewolf, lying on the ground, clearly see the Umbrella Holder's face.
A slender Asian youth with a cold expression, looking at him with eyes full of amusement.
Like a scientist in a lab looking at a white mouse about to be dissected.
"Kane!"
The Asian youth waved his hand. Around the corner of the Alley, a burly Germanic man walked out.
"Boss!"
The strong man named Kane had a face like Rambo, carved by knives and axes. With a towering height of one point nine meters, just standing there, he was like a small, imposing mountain, giving off a strong sense of pressure.
"Take this big dog back!"
The Asian youth rubbed the bamboo handle of his umbrella and instructed.
The strong man Kane skillfully took out a bundle of thumb-thick Carbon Fiber Special Rope and quickly tied the Werewolf lying on the ground securely.
After finishing, he stood up, put his thumb and index finger in his mouth, and blew a whistle towards the distance.
In less than ten seconds, a Ford Pickup backed into the Alley.
Driving was a lean, capable Black man with dreadlocks.
The young Black man jumped out of the car and bowed to the Asian youth.
"Boss!"
The Asian youth nodded at him.
"Kane, lock this big dog in the dog cage first. Don't remove the Coffin Nail from its body!"
"Yes, Boss!"
Kane grabbed the Werewolf by the back of its neck with one hand, lifting it up as if it were a little chick, and threw it into the back of the Pickup truck.
The Pickup truck quickly disappeared into the rain curtain of New York.
The Asian youth, holding his umbrella, walked out of the Alley unhurriedly and merged into the bustling crowd of New York.
At this moment, accompanied by the piercing sound of sirens, several FBI Police cars finally arrived at the scene.
...
"Tang, you're late!"
Oscorp Tower, once the tallest building in New York. Although the title of the tallest building was later replaced by Stark Tower, it is undeniable that it is still one of New York City's landmarks.
As one of the world's best biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, Oscorp Tower is a dream workplace for all biological researchers. It has the best equipment, the strongest biological research team, and the most generous salaries.
However, the entry requirements here are equally strict. Ordinary researchers must at least be graduates of Ivy League schools.
The Asian referred to as Tang was precisely the Umbrella Holder from the Alley. At this moment, he wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses and a plaid shirt, appearing somewhat shy.
The fat white man who greeted him, Bob, graduated from Harvard with two bachelor's degrees. He was Tang Song's schoolmate and also his colleague.
"Hey, Bob, don't even mention it. Today was really unlucky. There was a shooting at the Brooklyn Subway Station, and the FBI sealed off the station, which delayed me for a while!"
Tang Song changed into his White Coat, complaining as he put on his Identity Card.
His name and position were on the Identity Card.
Tang Song, an ordinary Researcher at Oscorp.
"Shooting, that broken place in Brooklyn," the fat white man Bob shrugged, a look of resignation on his face.
His weight of nearly three hundred pounds caused the flesh on his cheeks to tremble constantly as he shrugged.
"Tang, if you ask me, you should leave that hellhole. Brooklyn is too chaotic. You know, that's Hell's Kitchen."
The two changed into their work clothes, and Bob kept muttering in Tang Song's ear:
"That place is full of Black people and junkies. Who knows what crazy things they'll do! Tang, with your salary, why not rent a place near the company!"
Beep! Tang Song reached out and swiped his card at the entrance of the experimental center. The Bulletproof Isolation Door automatically slid open to the sides.
"Renting a place isn't urgent, Bob. You know, I still have Student Loans to pay off. Once I've paid off the loans, I'll consider changing my living environment!"
In the clean, sterile laboratory, Tang Song organized the experimental equipment and checked the condition of the experimental subjects.
"Student Loans, that's indeed a hassle!" Bob shrugged.
Student Loans are an unavoidable issue for college students in the Federation.
About half of all college graduates in the Federation are burdened with Student Loans, with the average debt amount exceeding 10,000 US dollars.
Even a certain unnamed Black president took nearly 20 years just to pay off his Student Loans.
Ding! Tang Song opened the Culture Device in the laboratory. Inside the transparent culture chamber was a Miniature Rainforest Symbiotic System covering an area of thirty to forty square meters.
Miniature streams flowed gently, and miniature shrubs and jungles were lush and green.
From vegetation, temperature, to humidity, the environment here perfectly mimicked the Amazon Rainforest.
One of the advantages of a large company is equipment that is no less than that of a top-tier laboratory.
This environmental simulation system alone cost Oscorp several million US dollars.
Of course, the experiments conducted using this system were not solely Tang Song's responsibility; currently, he only had usage rights for two weeks.
"Where are those guys? Those few insects? Why are they gone!"
Bob leaned against the bulletproof glass, peering in and looking for the experimental subjects, tapping the bulletproof glass with his finger, somewhat confused.
"Don't worry," Tang Song adjusted his glasses and opened the control system for this device on the computer.
"Splash, splash..."
As Tang Song typed on the keyboard, heavy rain instantly poured down inside the simulation chamber.
The torrential rain instantly submerged the small shrubs halfway.
In the shrubs, a Black and Red Striped Centipede floated up. With a body length of nearly a foot, densely packed sharp curved legs, and ferocious mouthparts, it would be a terrifying venomous insect anywhere else.
Unfortunately, this centipede floating on the water surface only had half its body left. The remaining corpse was covered in wounds, and the missing parts seemed to have been gnawed away piece by piece by something.
"This centipede is dead. I even bet it would survive until the end!"
Bob leaned closer to the observation window in surprise, sighing, "I bet Professor Connors fifty dollars!"
"Looks like your fifty dollars are gone. I'm curious, what did Professor Connors bet on?"
Tang Song looked up, somewhat curious.
According to what Tang Song's predecessor knew, Connors was always a stubborn and obsessive person, completely devoted to research on cross-species genetic recombination, known as a research fanatic.
How could such a rigid person bet with Bob?
Bob used two fingers as thick as carrots to pick up potato chips from the bag. Clearly, for a seasoned veteran like him, the rule against eating snacks in the lab was meaningless.
"Crunch, crunch, it was that spider," Bob said somewhat indistinctly while eating chips, "Professor Connors is clearly very confident in that Mutant Spider!"
Spider. Tang Song's gaze shifted to the side of the centipede. The rising rainwater had washed out another Insect Corpse.
Black back with red markings, several hairy legs – it was precisely the spider that Professor Connors had kindly provided.
However, this spider was in a sorry state now. Its originally plump abdomen had burst open, and of its eight spider legs, only three remained.
"Bob, looks like your money is safe!"
Tang Song casually turned off the rain system and walked to the observation window.
The falling rain seemed to completely break the tranquility in this jungle. As Tang Song turned off the rain system,
In the shrubs, a Black Snake as thick as a chopstick with a swollen head stuck out its tongue and raised its upper body, happily swaying its body, basking in the rain that made it feel incredibly pleased.
"Goo goo gwa, goo goo gwa gwa..."
From the puddle behind the Black Snake came a strange frog croak. The Black Snake's upper body turned back like lightning, its snake pupils coldly fixed on what was behind it, its tongue flicking out, as if it would pounce in the next second.
Under the Black Snake's gaze, a strange Toad the size of a baby's fist slowly surfaced and climbed onto the top of a nearby shrub.
Its snowy white belly sucked in and out, and the frog croaks sounded repeatedly, like short bursts of thunder.
A golden pattern on its back appeared as its belly rose and fell. Around the pattern were dense, dark green bumps, each one bulging.
Facing the Black Snake, the dark green bumps on the Toad's back subtly showed signs of mucus surging.
Hiss, hiss, the Black Snake tentatively extended its upper body, assuming a pouncing posture. Sharp venomous fangs in its mouth subtly dripped transparent mucus.
Tang Song came to the observation window of the culture chamber, looking down from above at the simulated jungle spanning over ten square meters.
On Tang Song's handsome, resolute face, a pair of deep eyes hidden behind his black-rimmed glasses shone brightly.
(End of Chapter)