The secretary's spirits lifted the moment he saw there was room for negotiation. He was merely a lowly secretary, yet the big shots in the military had all pressed him to speak up on their behalf, each desperately seeking a chance at "new life."
Meanwhile, over at the country's most advanced private hospital, General Ronald was undergoing a series of tests. The President, various cabinet ministers, regional commanders, and other powerful figures from different factions were all anxiously awaiting the results there. They didn't dare approach Aaron directly—what if there were side effects to his treatments, or if Norman's attitude remained stiff, or if Aaron's origins and powers turned out even more mysterious? Honestly, they were afraid. A wise man doesn't expose himself to danger without enough incentive.
They would all "reveal their methods" only after Ronald's test results were confirmed—doing anything to secure a new chance at life. For now, the secretary was their advance scout. That role weighed heavily on him; he had to be careful not to offend Aaron.
But now that Aaron was showing some willingness to talk, he felt excited. It's not a problem if your "appetite" is large; the real worry would be if you had no needs at all!
"Please, go ahead!"
Aaron took a glance around before speaking calmly:
"You probably know Oscorp originally had a human-enhancement serum in development."
The secretary nodded. "That was under General Sost's supervision; our General Ronald never got involved."
He did indeed know that just yesterday, General Sost was furious about Oscorp unilaterally abandoning that serum, even publicly criticizing them. Yet today, Sost reversed his words, repeatedly praising Oscorp as the finest of companies. The secretary, unsure how Aaron felt about that, had quietly distanced himself from Sost.
Aaron ignored those small maneuvers.
"In fact, we've made decent headway in researching human enhancement," he said, "but we're still missing something."
Here we go—this was it. The secretary's posture straightened; he clasped his hands, ears perked, holding his breath to listen. Helen Cho also looked on seriously.
"May I ask…what's missing?" the secretary inquired.
Aaron didn't give a direct answer but started talking about Norman's research:
"Our serum still causes severe side effects: anyone taking it becomes aggressive, violent."
"Finally, we discovered the serum lacked a special substance to neutralize the drug's effects."
"We're not sure what that substance is just yet, but if we obtain enough specimens to study, maybe we can resolve it and mass-produce super-soldiers without any side effects!"
At the words "no side effects," the secretary's breathing went ragged. Even the Captain America serum was said to have its issues. If anyone else claimed this, he wouldn't have believed it. But if Aaron claimed even a pile of garbage was something good, they'd still carefully weigh it.
Behind them, Norman was the most attentive, occasionally shaking his head or nodding, then slapping his thigh like he'd just had an epiphany:
"So that's it!"
"No wonder I kept feeling something was off—it wasn't the formula, it's that last step that's flawed!"
"I get it now!"
Get it, my foot, Aaron thought. I'm totally making this up on the spot. This old geezer is acting like he's got a revelation! Aaron was speechless. These were just excuses to fool the military and the big shots behind them. He had zero intention of perfecting and rolling out the Goblin Serum. He was just deceiving them.
Yet from the secretary's perspective, it looked promising—especially after seeing Norman's body language, so close to "finishing up."
"And what do you need from us? How can we help?"
Aaron answered gravely:
"I've heard the President oversees a special department called the 'Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.' During WWII, as they fought the Nazis, they gradually gathered many unusual items. If possible, I'd like to collaborate with that department. They might have the element we need."
The secretary felt uneasy. At his rank, he certainly knew that agency existed. With enough military influence, you could acquire an island or manipulate small nations—but that department was trickier. Regarding superhuman affairs, even the military tended to step aside for Director Fury's group. They weren't afraid of S.H.I.E.L.D. exactly, but they couldn't force it to cooperate either. Still, as the saying goes: it's not a problem if you have big demands—it's a problem if you have none at all. This one, though, was a tough nut. Even so, one word from the President might fix anything.
The secretary mulled over it. "I understand your request. By tomorrow at the latest, we'll give you a definitive answer."
Aaron nodded. The military then arranged for some pilots to fly all those "big toys" over to a temporary airfield that Norman had originally built for his private planes. With Oscorp's struggles and R&D slowdown, it had been left to rot. Now, since Oscorp's shares had transferred, it was officially Aaron's private airport.
He dismissed everyone and had Helen Cho get herself a nearby hotel room—on her own dime. Then, Aaron placed his hand on a fighter jet. Although the Primordial Furnace looked small, it eerily "swallowed" the entire plane, like Doraemon's four-dimensional pocket.
A familiar shimmer of light rippled. Aaron felt his power rise even more:
[Invisibility: Similar abilities detected, merged (Mimetic Camouflage, Light Energy Absorption). You can absorb light, radio waves, thermal, kinetic energy, etc., to achieve various forms of invisibility.]
[…]
~~~
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