Barter System

Norman Osborn was dressed in an obviously expensive, custom-made suit, looking tall, well-groomed, and full of energy. He had the typical appearance of a middle-aged European-American with meticulously styled brown hair.

Norman Osborn wasn't alone; he was accompanied by a man wearing glasses and a black suit. At first glance, this man appeared polite and unremarkable, but a closer look revealed that the right sleeve of his suit was missing.

Dr. Curtis Connors!

Although Russell hadn't interacted with Dr. Connors, when he had instructed corporate spies to investigate the Osborn Corporation, he had also requested a brief investigation into the future Lizard Professor, Dr. Curtis Connors, and Dr. Otto Octavius, the future Doctor Octopus.

"Mr. Osborn, welcome!" Russell stood up and walked toward them when he saw Norman and Dr. Connors enter the office. He greeted them with a smile.

"Mr. Bradley, you're too kind!" Norman Osborn replied with a friendly smile as he extended his right hand to shake Russell's.

After shaking hands with Norman Osborn, Russell turned to Dr. Connors and continued, "Russell Bradley, pleased to meet you!"

He extended his left hand towards Dr. Connors.

"Curtis Kurt Connors!" Dr. Connors introduced himself, shaking Russell's hand with his intact left hand.

After exchanging pleasantries, Russell introduced Betty to Norman Osborn and Dr. Connors. "This is Dr. Ross, formerly a professor of cellular biology at Culver University and now one of the core members of Octopus Monster Lab."

Betty approached Russell and shook hands with Norman and Dr. Connors.

After the introductions, the four of them took their seats.

Russell didn't ask his highly career-oriented blonde secretary, Ellie, to stay, so she left the office.

As Ellie swayed her enticing figure and walked out in high heels, Russell turned to Norman Osborn and said, "I apologize for taking some time to handle personal matters last week. It's only now that I have the opportunity to meet. I hope Mr. Osborn doesn't mind."

"Mr. Bradley, you're too polite. People who want to meet you could line up from here to Fifth Avenue. The fact that you've agreed to meet me is greatly appreciated, so there's no reason for me to mind!" Norman Osborn replied with a smile.

Although Russell was only in his early twenties, Norman Osborn was not one to underestimate someone just because of their age. Not to mention, Russell had the Super-Soldier Serum, and the volume of orders Octopus Monster Industry had taken from the military in the past half-year spoke volumes.

Someone lacking both strength and strategy would find it impossible to secure the lion's share of military orders.

"Mr. Osborn, you're too kind. In terms of reputation, Octopus Monster Industry and I can't compare to Mr. Osborn and the Osborn Corporation."

"By the way, I'm curious to know the purpose of Mr. Osborn's visit this time," Russell said directly.

"Well, since Mr. Bradley has asked, I won't beat around the bush. The Osborn Corporation is interested in purchasing some alien symbiotes from you for scientific research," Norman Osborn replied straightforwardly.

"Symbiotes? I wonder, Mr. Osborn, what kind of compensation you have in mind?" Russell didn't know why the Osborn Corporation wanted symbiotes, but as a giant in the field of biology, it wasn't surprising that they were interested in researching symbiotes.

As for how the Osborn Corporation learned of the existence of symbiotes, it was either through S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra, most likely.

"Symbiotes are extraterrestrial life forms that have never appeared on Earth before. It's challenging to accurately estimate their value."

"Mr. Bradley, you possess the most symbiotes, so I'd like to hear your thoughts on pricing," Norman Osborn threw the question back at Russell.

While this was a common negotiation tactic, Norman Osborn was correct in his statement. Symbiotes indeed had significant scientific research value, but with only one seller in the market, it was challenging to determine their value.

"Currently, I do have some symbiotes, but I've never sold them before," Russell replied. "How about this? If Mr. Osborn doesn't mind, we can use one symbiote unit, which is the amount needed to enhance one person, as a standard unit for pricing."

"As for the price, how about we use a barter system? One unit of symbiote for one project. What do you think?"

Russell didn't have plans to collaborate with S.H.I.E.L.D. on symbiotes, but he didn't mind using symbiotes to acquire things he wanted. For Grendel, splitting a few second-generation symbiotes was as easy as drinking water. As long as it wasn't mass splitting, like into thousands of second-generation symbiotes, Grendel wouldn't have any issues. If necessary, he could just force Grendel to lose weight!

"Barter system?" Norman Osborn was surprised by Russell's suggestion. After thinking for a few seconds, he slowly replied, "All right, Mr. Bradley, what research projects would you like to exchange for these two units?"

"I'm particularly interested in your company's cross-species genetics and nuclear fusion projects. Mr. Osborn, if you don't mind, I'd like to take over these two projects in exchange for two units of symbiotes," Russell proposed.

The Osborn Corporation was currently developing many projects, but Russell was only interested in these two. Moreover, he wasn't aiming for the research results but rather for Dr. Connors and Dr. Octavius. Even if these two projects succeeded, they would only be a nice bonus for Octopus Monster Industry . However, if he could bring Dr. Connors and Dr. Octavius into Octopus Monster Lab, it would be an entirely different story. These two were top talents in their respective fields!

"These two projects are still in the early stages and haven't yielded significant results yet, Mr. Bradley. Would you consider other projects?" Although Norman Osborn didn't know what Russell had in mind, his instincts told him that things weren't as straightforward as they seemed. Passing up on many successful projects to choose two that hadn't yet succeeded raised some suspicions.

"No need, I'm only interested in these two projects for now."

"If Mr. Osborn is willing to hand over these two projects to me, in addition to the two symbiote units as we discussed earlier, Octopus Monster Industry will provide a corresponding refund for all your initial investments. I won't let you incur any losses!"