Barren Latveria

[New Researcher Added: Otto Gunther Octavius]

[Description: Outstanding achievements in nuclear physics, materials science, computing, and more.]

[New Researcher Added: Adrian Toomes]

[Description: Master of electronic engineering, mechanical engineering, and fluid dynamics, with remarkable accomplishments.]

[New Laboratory Established: Electronics and Mechanical Engineering Lab]

[Description: Conducts research on prosthetic technology, electronic engineering, and mechanical engineering.]

This incident successfully convinced two scientists and engineers to join Leo's company and project team.

These two are truly heavyweights. Dr. Otto hardly needs an introduction, but the key figure is Adrian.

Leo didn't initially have much concept of the "world-renowned engineer" until Adrian pulled out several safes' worth of patent documents.

It's no exaggeration to say that if Adrian had focused just a bit more on commercial ventures instead of flight suits, he could have built a general engineering and high-tech mechanical company on par with Oscorp.

However, the old man had just recently returned to normal, with the help of the biology lab, and was unlikely to dive into work anytime soon.

Meanwhile, in the lab, Dr. Otto was studying Leo's discarded octopus exoskeleton.

"Incredible."

Dr. Otto glanced between the exoskeleton and Leo, looking as if he'd seen a ghost.

This version of the exoskeleton was essentially a "castrated" version compared to the various octopus arms in Marvel works.

To accommodate human brain limitations, they reduced the built-in joints, lightened the weight, shortened the length, and significantly reduced the machine's potential movement range and computational load.

This also meant that the exoskeleton wasn't as sturdy as one might expect, resulting in severe damage during landing.

But that wasn't the main issue. The key problem was that the neural interface and the processor equipped with auxiliary AI had burned out.

After a long look, Otto finally said slowly, "It seems like you injected yourself with a serum, but that must have hurt, right?"

Otto wasn't foolish.

No human could normally endure such burns. Leo had definitely injected himself with the lizard serum.

But the lizard serum only grants regenerative abilities, and extreme heat is still lethal to carbon-based life forms.

The sensation was indeed painful—though for Leo, with his enhanced condition, the pain of stubbing his pinky toe on a table felt worse than the burning of nerves.

"It was a bit painful, but I'm naturally not very sensitive—Doctor, I wanted to confirm something with you about the AI inside."

"That day, I should have blacked out momentarily during a rapid ascent, but the octopus arms didn't let go."

Otto immediately understood what Leo was implying. "You mean the AI acted autonomously in that moment? That shouldn't have happened."

But nothing is impossible.

No matter the version, Dr. Otto always believed the AI in his octopus arms wouldn't develop autonomous consciousness, yet in every version, the AI did gain a high level of self-awareness—sometimes even capable of altering human brains via neural links.

In the world of cyberpunk, this functionality has a famous name: relic.

Although this version of the octopus arms was smaller, weaker, and less sophisticated, that didn't mean it couldn't have issues.

"I can try to recover the data inside, but from what I see now, whatever happened to the original AI, it's likely burned out."

"One more thing—I want to modify the design of my data blade, and I might need to use some materials from the lab's equipment."

"Oh, feel free to use whatever you want. After all, I'm essentially your employee now, in a sense."

[Biology Lab Project Progress:]

[Some large biomolecule cultivation techniques have matured.]

[Researchers Involved: Professor Connors, Dr. Otto]

[Description: Large molecules, such as genetically modified bilirubin used for immune suppression, have been screened from the hematopoietic system using molecular sieves.]

[Professor Connors is moving to the next stage of research: overcoming the effects of the lizard serum to cultivate tissues and organs using cell adaptation techniques.]

That's right, Dr. Otto had begun working for Leo as well.

There had been new developments with the lizard serum experiment. Using his own equipment, Dr. Otto had successfully replicated molecular sieves and cell adaptation devices from the world of 2077.

Immunosuppressants, for instance, are widely sold in 2077. Almost every prosthetic surgery requires such drugs to combat immune reactions.

Chemical agents are far weaker than the bilirubin produced by the lizard serum, and they have significant side effects.

If the lizard serum were administered to Connors, it would merely turn him into a rampaging lizard-man villain. But with deeper research, who knows what value it could bring to this world?

After handling the blade, Leo met a young Latverian named Kristof in the lab.

Leo realized one thing: this world didn't have Doctor Doom—at least not yet.

Latveria was still under feudal rule, where the feudal lords treated people as assets. The crops they grew barely fed themselves, and taxes were high.

Meanwhile, small-scale wars were frequent.

Aside from tax collection, the people rarely saw their feudal lords or their lackeys, and they didn't encounter the lord's army unless they evaded taxes.

In this land, it was as if people still lived in the Middle Ages, farming with primitive tools, migrating with the seasons, and preparing to starve if the harvest was poor.

The country's theoretical territory was large, but its population was under a million. The feudal system couldn't sustain such a vast land, and it gradually regressed.

Then again, Eastern Europe in the Marvel universe was larger and more fragmented than the Eastern Europe Leo knew. Those empty lands were either being fought over or left barren.

In terms of human settlements, the entire country had only one royal city; the rest were mountain villages. Apart from farming, there were no other industries or resources to develop.

So, when a Latverian arrived in the United States and saw New York, everything seemed surreal.

Kristof stood in a daze, staring at the world outside, overwhelmed by an indescribable emotion.

It wasn't resentment, anger, loss, or jealousy.

It was simply shock—shock at something he couldn't comprehend.

"Back home, the elders would tell us that there are buildings in the world larger than our village, taller than the king's castle, many times over.

When I was young, I believed them. As I grew up, I thought it was just a fairy tale. But now… it's all real!"

For Kristof, America was only a legend, and New York was something he thought existed only in fairy tales.

Even though they had radios, to Kristof, those seemed like magical tools that told stories he couldn't explain.

Leo asked, "Do you not have a permanent home?"

Kristof shook his head. "No, our tribe wanders to avoid the lords—

The nomadic life is hard, but it's better than having the lord take our wives and daughters away."

Indeed, Latveria still had the ancient feudal "droit du seigneur" (the right of the first night), where the lord could take the bride on her wedding night. In Latveria, this right was even more freely exercised.

After speaking, Kristof curiously looked around the office.

Leo saw in this young man the contrast between worlds.

In this world, humanity had landed on the moon, while others were still living in the Middle Ages.

But he noticed something: "You said your elders spoke about the outside world?"

"Yes, we even had classes—math, history, literature. Sadly, I didn't bring any books; otherwise, you'd understand better.

They always said education was important."

"Have you heard of a man named Victor von Doom? Or anyone with the same surname?"

"No," Kristof shook his head. "But I know less than the elders. I can ask them when I go back."

Leo stroked his chin, considering the situation.

He was half Latverian. His mother was a pure-blooded Latverian.

Though his connection to the backward country wasn't particularly strong, helping them was a simple task.

And geographically, Latveria was well-suited for agriculture. Perhaps one day, he could grow some of that special wheat there.

But the change had to start with shifting their mindset.

Leo slowly said, "Kristof, this is the modern world. People here are not someone else's property. They don't worry about food, clothing, or shelter. They don't fear thieves breaking into their homes at night.

Would you like to see Latveria become like this?"

Kristof nodded vigorously.

Why had he participated in that "experiment"?

He didn't even understand what the so-called experiment was—he just thought a wizard was testing a new spell on him.

TN:Lmao what

His only goal in joining was simple: the flu was a deadly disease in their tribe. Even with a doctor's care, two out of ten might die, and some would be left with lasting health issues.

If one day his people could live in such tall buildings—ones that wind couldn't enter, snow couldn't cover, and where they lived together in warmth—

how wonderful that would be.

"Good, then stay here for a while. See what modern society is like."

Leo had sugarcoated modern society, but even the worst American neighborhood was better than Latveria's feudal system.

The first step was changing their beliefs.

And since his mother was Latverian, he might as well look after her fellow countrymen.

[Unstable energy burst imminent]

[Countdown: 48 hours]

TN:You know what that mean everyone favorite part is coming we're going back bois