Chapter 126 R: Big Bat Incident (Part 8) _1

After about 20 minutes, Stark carefully read the report, tossed the stack of papers onto the table, and said, "It's all bullshit."

"Anyone who has received biology education at the university level or above can tell this is complete nonsense."

"Well, I am a psychologist after all, without much background in biology, and this is just an outline. What needs to be filled in depends on you genius scientists..."

Stark hesitated for a moment, picked up the report again, and said, "This might seem very reasonable to lay people, but in reality it is absurd. However, I have been thinking, it does make some sense..."

With a conflicted expression, Stark held the report and asked, "Human beings can utilize eternal life factors contained in vampire blood? This is way too ridiculous. Never mind... Can you explain this part in detail?"

"Hasn't Doctor Connors already said? Their blood contains a magic factor that science cannot decipher. So I gave it a name, 'Eternal Life Factor.' Is that going too far?"

"Alright, I suppose that makes sense. After all, only you understand magic in this group. Also..." Stark hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Are you sure this factor can truly grant eternal life?"

"Whether it can actually grant eternal life is not important. What matters is, did you feel any impulse when you saw this conclusion?"

"Or more precisely, what were you thinking when you asked this question?"

Stark pursed his lips, lowered his eyes, and casually put down the stack of papers, admitting, "Alright, I admit it. Everyone would have this thought. How great it would be if I could live forever..."

"I am not greedy, but I do feel that if I could live for 500 years... No, just 300 years. If I could live for 300 years, I could really change the world..."

He swallowed hard, then turned to look out the window, saying, "You really are a devil. When I read this, I had a moment where I wanted to use some uncontrollable power to capture and study these monsters..."

"No one can resist such a temptation," Shiller said. "Even if he is a saint, he would feel melancholic when faced with a lifespan of less than 100 years."

"This is the human race - we tend to live short yet splendid lives, and we often take pride in this."

"But if we could live longer, would you be unaffected?"

Stark shrugged and said, "Alright, you want to use this method to convince Congress and the UN Security Council? Get them to want eternal life and then go after the vampires?"

"No, I want to use this method to convince you."

"Convince me? Convince me to do what? Am I not determined enough to deal with the vampires? Even without this temptation, I would still want to eliminate them all."

"The issue lies in the method of elimination. Your Mecha may not be very effective against them, and once large-scale armed forces are deployed, it will arouse too many cautious parties. But, actually, there's a better way you could take."

"What are you referring to?"

Shiller pulled out a pair of headphones from his coat pocket and passed them on to Stark, then said, "I have a guest scheduled. He should be in the conference room by now."

"Thank you for giving me the highest level of security access, allowing me to invite guests on your behalf."

"Wait, who did you invite?" Stark put on the headphones. As Shiller pushed him out of the lab, he had a very bad feeling. Stark said, "Don't tell me you invited some important Congress member here. My God! I can't deal with them! No! Wait… I am not going…"

"Don't worry, it's not the politicians."

Stark eyed Shiller suspiciously, but Shiller remained silent. After staring at each other for a while, Stark snapped, "Damn it, you sly doctor! You did this on purpose, didn't you? You tricked me out of giving you the highest level of security access!"

"Don't be so harsh, it was you who offered it to me."

10 minutes later, when Stark saw Norman Osborn in the conference room, he held his forehead and whispered into his earpiece, "I'm going to dock your wages! I'm not joking!! Why did you invite this old fellow here?"

"Alright, he's seen you now, and there's no use in not wanting to talk. Listen, I want you to make a deal with him."

"Make a deal? Why should I deal with Osborn? Their technology is complete trash..."

"That's not important, now go up to him and shake his hand, then I'll tell you what to do."

Stark had a grim look on his face, as if he was walking to the gallows. He reluctantly shook hands with Norman, who didn't seem to mind. Norman was the epitome of an American businessman, both sides of his temples were greying, but he looked energetic.

Norman was the first to speak, "Mr. Stark, this is my first time visiting the Stark Building. This place is far more advanced than I imagined. It has opened my eyes..."

Stark lifted his head and let out a "hmm" sound from his nose. Shiller said through the earpiece, "Look at his conversational skills. If you could be half as eloquent as him, I wouldn't have to make such a huge effort."

"I heard that your company has mastered a healing serum technology, and you intend to sell it."

Stark could only parrot what Shiller was saying in his earpiece: "Correct, but let's discuss this later. There's a better deal right in front of you now. Are you interested?"

Norman's expression didn't change. He said, "So, there is no healing serum technology, what do you want to discuss with me?"

"The technology does exist, but before the main course, we should talk about the appetizer."

"You must have heard about the incident at the Brooklyn Bridge, hundreds, thousands of vampires launching an attack on the human race."

"Correct, the military has purchased a batch of weapons from the Osborn Group for this."

Stark pulled out a proposal and gave it to Osborn, then he whispered into the earpiece, "You're just going to show him that proposal? It's all nonsense. Norman has a PhD in biology, you can't fool him."

"He's not like you, he's a businessman first and then a scientist."

Unexpectedly, after checking the proposal, Norman did not point out the errors like a meticulous scientist, but his face started to beam with excitement. He said, "Mr. Stark, I didn't realize you also have such talent in business!"

Stark said, "What? Ah, I mean...do you think there is nothing wrong with the proposal?"

"A genius promotional idea!" Norman concluded, "Medicinal value! Yes, that's right... the term is so appealing!"

"This is a great opportunity. If we can package parts of a vampire's body as a nutritional supplement or health product, we will make a fortune."

"Think about it, raw materials are falling from the sky now, and whether it's Congress, the military, or any other powers, they will support us."

But Stark said, "I must remind you, the magic factor in their blood, we haven't actually deciphered yet, and we can't be certain about its eternal-life effect..."

"Does that matter?" Norman stated, staring at Stark, "The fact that it can't be decoded is ideal. If an item can't be completely proven useful because it's undecipherable, then no one can completely prove it's useless."

Norman flipped through the plan once more, saying, "Eternal Life Factor? Indeed, the name might be a bit exaggerated, but it's not a drug, it's just a health product, effectiveness needs to be verified in practice."

"We don't even need to advertise it, vampires are a live example, they all live forever, and heal quickly from injuries."

"What's happening in Brooklyn now is the best advertising."

"The whole world knows there are creatures that live for hundreds or thousands of years, fighting humans with a fast healing rate."

"The aftermath of this event will continue to escalate. The entire world will know about the full-scale invasion of vampires, their characteristics will be written on the front page of every newspaper."

"What is this? It's a worldwide, high-exposure advertising campaign! What kind of publicity could outshine this?"

"At this juncture, both our companies should cooperate. You know, industrial tycoon Stark and pharmaceutical tycoon Osborn, we are a credible proof that there's a mysterious factor in vampire's blood which can prolong human life. It's very likely, isn't it? After all, they are immortal creatures."

"This can even open up a new field, the research on the medicinal value of alien species." Stark repeated Shiller's words, "Not only vampires, there might be other creatures in the future."

"What we should do is use our technological credibility to tell the world that these creatures have considerable medicinal value."

"Correct!" Norman clenched his fist and said, "That's what I was thinking. Once we succeed this time, everyone will believe in our capability to discern the research value of alien species. Indeed, as you said, we can open up a new industry, and that will bring unimaginably huge profits."

In the end, Norman stood up decisively and said, "I will gather a team of experts now to polish your proposal. Mr. Stark, I must say, your idea is brilliant, but your proposal is not very professional."

Seeing Stark's face turning dark, Norman added, "But I understand it's because you want to see the sincerity of Osborn Group, so you did this on purpose. I don't believe that Stark Group can't find some biology experts."

"However, it's only expected. Your idea is worth billions in profits. I didn't think that Stark Industries and Osborn Biological Group would start cooperating under these circumstances."

"But I must say, this must be a good start. You will see, Osborn is one of the rare reliable partners in this world."

After that, Norman shook hands with Stark again, then left hurriedly.

Stark was still a bit stunned, he said, "What did he mean just now? I feel like he misunderstood something."

"It's okay, what he said is not wrong, it's just that the biology experts hired by Stark Group are now busy saving the world... "

"...in a literal sense."