Chapter 71: The Banquet of Stellar Technology
One evening a few days later.
After a period of preparation, the new company covertly controlled by Peter was finally going to be officially established.
However, since the company was set up rather hastily, they didn't have time to construct an independent office building that belonged to them yet.
They could only rent a building in New York's bustling downtown district for now, to serve as the company's office building for the time being.
With Tony's "friendly" sponsorship, money was easy to solve.
What's more, Dr. Octavius was "rumored" to have mysterious ties with Superman. Now that he's establishing a company, even the government didn't dare obstruct him.
And this was precisely the real reason the company could be set up so quickly.
With the establishment of the company, Dr. Octavius also displayed his own outstanding business talents.
Shortly after the company was founded, he prepared to host a luxurious banquet, inviting elites from all circles, some famous tycoons, and numerous media outlets.
The goal was to thoroughly establish the company's reputation right from its inception.
As the behind-the-scenes person in charge of the company, Peter naturally also received an invitation to the banquet.
However, the reason he was invited was because of Gwen Stacy, Dr. Octavius' intern student.
"Well, regarding me as the secret boss attending my own company's banquet, needing to be invited by a classmate..."
"This can be considered a special joke on par with a chairman being stopped at the door by his company's security guard..."
Dressed in a somewhat retro suit, Peter slowly got out of Uncle Ben's vintage car.
And as Peter alighted from the car, Gwen not far away, dressed beautifully in an evening gown, instantly noticed him. She smiled and quickly walked over.
"Go get 'em, Peter."
Seeing the pretty girl approaching, Uncle Ben shot Peter an encouraging look. Then, showing no intention of being a third wheel, he directly drove off.
"Peter, you finally came. Was that your Uncle Ben just now?"
Very quickly, Gwen arrived before Peter, watching the departing vintage car somewhat curiously.
"Yes, Uncle Ben drove me here."
"I see. Remember to bring my regards when you go back. For now, let's head inside first."
As she spoke, Gwen led Peter through the bustling crowd outside and into the banquet hall.
Unlike in Chinese novels, there was no harrassment by security guards.
"There seems to be quite a lot of people..."
Only after entering the hall did Peter realize there were nearly as many people inside as outside.
But outside was mostly small-time media reporters without invitations, squatting there hoping to catch some big news.
Whereas everyone inside the hall were elites from all fields - high-ranking politicians, mainstream media, and executives of renowned enterprises.
"Of course, our newly established company isn't some small fry..."
Gwen seemed to know some inside information and whispered to Peter while leading him in.
"I heard that the big boss behind our company is actually Superman himself..."
"How do you know that?"
Peter was very curious. Could Octavius have told even his intern this?
"Of course, it's...a guess!"
Gwen looked nervous, putting on an expression like she was about to reveal some huge secret. But then suddenly beamed radiantly.
"Haha, just kidding. I asked my mentor and he scolded me for listening to such rumors."
"But I feel like it's probably not a rumor..."
Gwen spoke as she brought Peter towards the center of the hall.
...
As a matter of fact, this "rumor" had already spread among the upper class across all circles.
Otherwise, they really couldn't figure out how Dr. Octavius, originally an obscure scientist of moderate ability, could suddenly transform and not only gain massive financial backing, but establish this company so swiftly.
At the banquet, Peter also saw many familiar faces.
Such as Tony's personal secretary Pepper Potts, and those scientists who chose to stay at the company and continue down the research path after being "kidnapped" by him, as well as their friends.
Notably, after Peter's inquiry last time, out of over ten people, only five chose to let Peter send them back to their hometowns, as those places were very far from New York.
The remaining scientists, including Reed Richards, Helen Cho, Curtis Connors etc, all chose to join the company.
After all, it's beneficial to take shelter under a large tree. What other company could have more potential than the one established by Superman?
Soon, as the time reached 7 pm, the banquet officially began.
Peter sat in front of a seat in a remote corner, watching with great interest as Dr. Octavius slowly walked onto the stage and began his pre-banquet speech.
Of course, sitting here wasn't because he was discriminated against for being a "poor nobody".
It was because Peter had specifically requested it. After all, the other tables had elites from all fields. And their true purpose in coming naturally wasn't for the food and drinks.
Rather, it was to probe into the company's background, while also looking for tycoons from other industries to see if there were opportunities for cooperation.
"Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. I sincerely thank you all for gracing our banquet hosted by Stellar Technologies."
"Stellar Tech, just as our name suggests - our development direction is to explore the truths of the universe. Our journey is towards the stars and cosmos."
Dressed in an expensive suit, Dr. Octavius slowly walked onto the stage, his four metal tentacles swaying gently behind him like nimble octopus legs.
Notably, Dr. Octavius' original simple suppression chip had long been replaced. He now had almost no chance of the tentacle AI seizing control due to chip damage.
"Excuse me, Dr. Octavius, what exactly are the main businesses your company engages in?"
Following Dr. Octavius' ardent speech, a reporter suddenly stood up and asked.
"Our businesses encompass a wide range. From large-scale energy grids, to basic materials and nanotechnology, we will explore them in the future."
"Of course, our current main direction is medicine..."
"Medicine? Isn't that too big a leap across industries?"
Hearing Octavius' words, everyone present felt somewhat incredulous.
If they went into the energy industry, that would seem perfectly normal to everyone. After all, they still remembered that artificial star illuminating New York's night sky some days ago.
Yet now, they'd made a sudden shift, saying they would mainly operate in medicine.
"Pardon me, Dr. Octavius, this medicine you speak of is..."
The reporter followed up astutely.
"As we all know, there are countless disabled people in the world, and countless more plagued by illnesses."
"Soon, we will launch an advanced nano biomedical chamber, as well as a special medicine capable of regenerating lost limbs. We've named it Regeneration Serum!"
If it was said by Octavius with no background previously, he would certainly be found dead in the streets the next day, not even knowing how he died.
But with the mighty Superman as his backer now, Dr. Octavius had great confidence.
"A medicine that can regrow limbs? Impossible!"
In an instant, everyone present was shocked beyond measure by Octavius' words. The previously quiet banquet instantly grew noisy.
Most couldn't believe someone could really accomplish limb regeneration.
If this technology was real, it would undoubtedly win the highest scientific honors.
"Excuse me, Dr. Octavius, does your company plan to cooperate with our military?"
Suddenly, a general with a chest full of medals stood up, face flushed with excitement as he asked Octavius.
"I'm afraid we can't..."
"Look everyone, what's that thing?"
"It looks like a green-masked demon!"
Just as Octavius was about to reject cooperating with the military, a commotion erupted outside.
Boom!
The next moment, a tremendous explosive blast suddenly sounded.
"This is bad, we're under attack! Quick, evacuate everyone!"
A figure riding a bizarrely-shaped flyer, with a demon mask on his face, had suddenly appeared in the sky above!
...
(End of Chapter)