"One week after the Blue Mist incident, Oscorp Industries' internal investigation report still hasn't been made public. We believe you owe everyone an explanation. What do you think, Mr. Norman Osborn?"
"To be honest, Ms. Betty, Oscorp is doing everything possible to help those unfortunate victims of this tragedy that affected everyone. Our compensation is in place, and our post-incident medical support is ahead of most hospitals in New York. According to our investigation, most people weren't catastrophically affected. In fact, our research shows that the vast majority of them now have stronger, healthier bodies."
Norman Osborn spoke confidently during the television interview, seemingly unaffected by the disaster that had struck Manhattan. On the contrary, he maintained control throughout the entire interview.
Almost all of Betty Ross's questions were deflected by him in different ways. For instance, right now Norman Osborn was playing a video file on her show that she hadn't even known about. It showed interviews with many victims who not only claimed to have recovered from chronic illnesses due to the leak but also felt significant physical improvements.
"I've never felt so good in my life. My God, it's like I'm seventeen again!"
Lynn watched Norman Osborn on television, marveling at how Oscorp Industries could still maintain control despite such a large-scale incident. They had not only quickly silenced the media but also rapidly contained the spread on social networks.
Combined with SHIELD's deliberate large-scale manipulation of public opinion regarding the initial Lizard crisis, only those who were directly involved and a small minority were willing to believe in the Lizard crisis. Add to that the deliberately spread low-quality imitation videos, and this crisis that should have attracted widespread attention was thus hidden in the shadows.
"Impressive. An incident affecting one-tenth of Manhattan just ends quietly like this."
Lynn switched channels, and soon JJJ's voice reached his ears. Today, as always, that penetrating voice was verbally eviscerating Spider-Man, attempting to change the impression of Spider-Man in the minds of New York citizens.
But it clearly wasn't working. Peter Parker was already a well-known neighborhood hero in New York. Everyone knew there was a swinging figure who might kick away those bad guys committing robberies on street corners when danger was at its peak.
Switching channels again, Lynn saw something interesting.
"Tony Stark returns with fanfare, announcing a grand press conference to be held in two weeks. Word has it that the entire Stark Industries will embrace a completely new direction."
Lynn wanted to see where Tony's press conference would be held, but a voice came from behind him.
"Lynn, you wanted toast, right? Blueberry jam or strawberry jam?"
"No jam, just give it to me plain."
Taking the toast from Jessica's hand, Lynn put it to his mouth and took a bite. It was cheap food, but the taste wasn't bad—the perfect degree of toasty aroma really brought out the flavor.
Before Lynn could finish eating, Jessica bounded over and sat down beside him, her shoulder leaning against his as she watched the news about Tony Stark that Lynn was watching. In her hand was a toast roll with jam—half-eaten already.
"Lynn, are you sure you don't want any?"
Lynn patted her head and said, "Get ready to leave. We're going to school."
A week was enough for Midtown High to clear away most of the debris. A school normally shouldn't resume classes so early, but evidently, as part of Oscorp's public relations offensive, Midtown High's reconstruction efficiency was unexpectedly high. It quickly recovered from the disaster without any delays or buck-passing. The reconstruction funding arrived surprisingly fast.
Plus, there was direct aid from Oscorp Industries.
Walking out the front door, the house behind Lynn had already undergone renovation. It didn't look as gloomy and terrifying anymore—those faint bullet holes, outdated appliances, and all those compartments in the walls that various people had used as temporary storage spaces were gone.
Lynn even thought he could negotiate an even lower price for this house. Considering the original inhabitants found in the walls, Lynn felt this house could feature in a horror film without seeming out of place.
Walking to the garage, he got into his plain-looking old car, started the engine, drove out of his small yard, and ignored the gang members eyeing him menacingly along the way as he drove away from his new house.
Lynn naturally wouldn't take those ordinary gang members seriously. Honestly, if a few vampires appeared in front of Lynn right now, he might be willing to intimidate them, but these ordinary people...
"Lynn, I beat up a few of them the other day. Is that going to be a problem? They seemed pretty angry."
"Oh? Didn't I tell you not to get into conflicts with them unnecessarily?"
"Well, I just felt uncomfortable with them staring at me..."
"So you were provoked by these guys, and you hit back by beating them up. How badly were they injured?"
Lynn asked Jessica very calmly about the situation.
The girl lifted her head slightly, her eyes turning upward as if recalling something. Soon after finishing the toast in her mouth, she continued.
"I punched him two or three times. I think they were just ordinary flesh wounds. I held back."
"Well done. Losing to a little girl isn't something they'd broadcast around—it's embarrassing for them."
"What would you have done, Lynn?"
"Just do what you think is right, Jessica. My way of handling things doesn't have any reference value for you. Just do what you want to do, and don't try to learn from me."
Lynn drove the car slowly out of the Ebony Wood district. The number of patrol officers and traffic police on the street began to increase, and car horns started sounding from around them.
New York had returned to its normal state, as if yesterday's events had never happened. Besides providing some conversation material for residents, it didn't seem to have brought much more impact.
Jessica sat in the passenger seat, eating a lollipop, watching the busy pedestrians in the surrounding neighborhoods. Soon she began to feel drowsy, as it was still early.
Sitting in Lynn's old car, she started to feel sleepy, so she tilted her head slightly in the passenger seat and dozed off.
"Honk!"
With a car horn, Jessica suddenly woke up, though she was still bleary-eyed. Clearly, this short nap hadn't done much to improve her energy levels.
"Lynn?"
"Get out. Today's your first day back at school. If you're not comfortable, remember to call me. But don't make stuff up—casual lies won't fool me."
"I don't lie!"
"Oh? Who was it that sneaked into my room at 3 a.m. the other night, saying she was afraid of ghosts in her room, laid out a sleeping mat, and then said she wasn't comfortable in her own room?"
Lynn slightly exposed Jessica's little secret, making the girl blush. Looking at the growing crowd around them, she slipped away like she was escaping.
Lynn shook his head, parked the car in the school parking lot, and prepared to go to his classroom.
"Maggie, long time no see."
"Mr. Sidis, you're here early. Dedicated teachers like you are rare these days."
"I'm just good at using my time efficiently. I live quite far away, so naturally, I have to come earlier."
"Ho ho, your classes aren't until the afternoon. You could come much later. Would you like some cookies?"
"Thank you."
Maggie's cookies tasted good. Lynn quite liked them.
The morning and afternoon teaching activities went without much trouble, with no strange incidents occurring again.
If there was anything noteworthy, it was that Lynn hit a dozing Peter Parker with an eraser for the first time in the afternoon class. After making him stand up, Peter couldn't answer the question, which gave all the students in the class a chance to laugh at him.
After all, in their memory, although Peter Parker had often been called out by teachers for dozing off in class since the beginning of the second semester, he had never failed to answer a question before.
"Uh... I don't know."
Three times in a row, Peter felt like his brain was being affected by something, making his thinking sluggish and making it hard to hear Mr. Sidis's voice clearly.
However, once his classmates started laughing, that feeling disappeared, and he could think about questions he couldn't answer before. It was like coming out of some kind of quagmire.
"Um, can I answer again, Mr. Sidis?"
"No need. Get some rest. Daytime is important too. Some things don't necessarily have to be done at night, do they?"
Lynn's words didn't contain any hints, but Peter somehow felt they sounded strange.
The day passed quickly. When Lynn drove to the school gate, Jessica seemed to have been waiting for a few minutes already.
She was bored, carrying her backpack and kicking stones near a drain.
"Boring, right?"
"Mm-hmm."
Jessica sat in the passenger seat and slowly began talking about the silly things among classmates, like the meaningless grouping of little girls, and what she saw as stupid bullying, or how one girl scurried into the bathroom after she glared at her.
"It is boring. The flower seasons of youth—just hearing about it makes you think of clear and ubiquitous stupidity."
"Yeah, it's all about what to eat in the afternoon, who dyed their hair, what rumors there are about the girl next door, or going to hotels early to do some..."
Lynn's car gradually entered the Ebony Wood district.
The sunset fell on Jessica's face.
Lynn glanced at her profile; she seemed to have fallen asleep again.
Parking the car in the garage, he carried Jessica up to her own room. Lynn changed into another set of clothes and left the Ebony Wood district once more.
—Deacon Tower.
Lynn was once again sitting in that dimly lit room, except this time, Connors had been waiting for him for a long time.
There were no lights, just an illuminated TV showing a very cute little girl.
"So, Curt Connors, ready to become Dr. Goldman Connors, chief physician at Knull Charity Hospital?"
"Nancy gets the first treatment, right? I've been to see her with Ms. Maria. Without treatment, she won't last another three years."
"Just a small condition. You can consider this a gift. So, I take it you agree?"
After speaking, Lynn turned to leave.
"Just a small gesture of goodwill, Dr. Connors. But if you can do well on the task I've arranged for you, that would be even better. Think about it for a while."
Lynn turned around, leaning his body slightly forward.
"Oh, and one last thing—you know the materials are extremely valuable. Knull will protect its property, but if you leak information without authorization, I believe it would make things very difficult between us. Don't challenge our good relationship of mutual trust."
Closing the door to Connors's room, Kara had been waiting there for some time.
"Doctor, the biochemical reaction area is 45% complete. The functions you need can be basically realized now. Although there's only one reactor, it's enough for you to complete the upcoming experiments."
"Mm, how are the preparations for the hospital in the building coming along?"
"The orderlies and labor staff have been arranged properly, but the recruitment of physicians isn't going smoothly. It's difficult for outsiders to break into this industry. However, I'm confident I can transform this building."
After that, Kara reported some daily work to Lynn, and then they went to the basement together.
In the underground laboratory, a biochemical reactor had been built. Kara and Maria had done well; under Lynn's arrangement and direction a few times, this biochemical reactor was now sufficient for use.
Jekyll was now placed inside by Lynn.
"Prepare the materials, Kara. I'm about to start a new round of work."
"I'll arrange it immediately."
Tom had been used by Lynn to simulate Curt Connors and had finally become expendable. As for Jekyll, Lynn had other arrangements. Although he now had many templates, mass-producing ordinary bestial soldiers at this stage didn't make much sense.
These vampires, after Lynn's selection and Kara's control, were enough for Lynn to assign them to carry out missions without needing additional enhancements.
In this world, Lynn didn't believe that ordinary bestial soldiers had any power beyond the times and the world. At most, they were just expendable.
Perhaps later, he could let others complete the production of bestial soldiers.
But now, Lynn wouldn't waste time manufacturing them.
"Tony Stark is back. His disaster-prone press conference—I have other plans for that."