Chapter 133: The Experiment Succeeds
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A heavy sequence of footsteps approached, and the figure gradually came into Oris's view. It was entirely grey, with a sharp, cold-looking horn growing from its forehead, and its limbs possessed muscles as hard as rock.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Dr. Wounds stood up and applauded. "Perfect~ Absolutely perfect!"
"It worked?" Oris stood up and asked.
"I feel... a boundless amount of strength in my whole body," Aleksei said, clenching his fists and punching the table next to him.
Bang! The iron table was easily punched through by Aleksei. The table collapsed, turning into a pile of scrap metal.
"Excellent, Aleksei. Are you feeling well otherwise?" Dr. Wounds excitedly approached Aleksei.
Aleksei tried jumping in place, which produced a thump-thump-thump sound. He said, "I feel great, especially this power."
"Congratulations, we succeeded," Dr. Wounds said, extending his hand for a shake.
Aleksei reciprocated, giving a light grip. Crack!
"Agh!" Dr. Wounds fell to his knees in agony. Aleksei's light grip just now had crushed his palm.
"Sorry, I couldn't control my strength," Aleksei said, scratching the rhino horn on his head awkwardly.
Dr. Wounds' face was flushed with pain, and sweat began to stream down. He shook his head. "It's... it's alright. It's the first time you've had this power, so you naturally... can't control it."
"Thanks," Aleksei said, helping Dr. Wounds into a chair.
Dr. Wounds leaned back, closed his eyes, and the lab assistants immediately rushed forward to bandage him up.
"This is really good, pal," Oris said, stroking Aleksei's muscular form.
Aleksei gave a slight smile, swinging a few punches in the air. "It is, it's amazing."
"Right, where's my one million US dollars?" Aleksei suddenly remembered and turned to look at Oris.
Oris laughed. "We already prepared it for you. It's in the warehouse. Let's go."
"Haha! My baby, here I come!" Aleksei excitedly followed Oris toward the warehouse.
Ring-ring-ring~ Ring-ring-ring~ Oris's phone rang.
Oris took his phone out of his pocket and answered. "What is it?"
"What?! The warehouse was burned down!"
"I see. I'm hanging up then."
Beep~
Oris hung up, his expression grim, staring forward with hostility.
"You said the warehouse was burned?" Aleksei caught that crucial phrase. His heart immediately sank. His one million dollars was in that warehouse, too!
"I apologize, Aleksei, it was my oversight. I never imagined that person would burn down the warehouse," Oris said, angrily punching the wall to vent his rage.
Aleksei gritted his teeth. Bang! He punched a hole right through the wall. His strength was far more terrifying than Oris's.
"Tell me! Which bastard burned it down?" Aleksei wanted to dismember that person, pull out their tendons, and strip off their skin.
"It was Spider-Man," Oris said, squatting helplessly on the ground. "Unfortunately, we are no match for him."
"Spider-Man?!" Aleksei suddenly remembered a red figure—the one who had put him in jail.
"Fine, that's perfect. I'll settle the old scores and the new ones all at once. Don't worry, Oris, I'll make him cough up that one million," Aleksei said, cracking his knuckles by placing his left hand on his right.
Oris looked up with gratitude in his eyes, grabbing Aleksei's arm. "Thank you so much, Aleksei! Don't worry! Even though Spider-Man burned the warehouse, I'll put together fifty thousand as compensation for you."
"Don't worry, leave it to me," Aleksei said. Hearing fifty thousand made him even more energized. He hadn't expected to get fifty thousand even after losing the full million.
Aleksei turned to leave, ready to go after Spider-Man. After a few steps, he paused and asked, confused, "But why would Spider-Man burn down the warehouse?"
"I'm not sure, either. Maybe it's because the warehouse contained our illicit money, and he was so angry he burned it down," Oris offered his speculation.
"Is that so?" Aleksei laughed cruelly. "Then let me tear that little bug to shreds as a memorial for my one million dollars!"
With that, Aleksei left without looking back.
After Aleksei was completely gone, Oris adjusted his collar and sneered dismissively. "What an idiot." From the beginning, Spider-Man hadn't burned down their warehouse. The reason they framed Spider-Man was because he had foiled so many of their plans. Since Aleksei had also been dealt with by Spider-Man and sent to jail, Oris decided to go along with the plan and pit Aleksei against Spider-Man. The reward had already shrunk from the initial one million to fifty thousand.
Oris stopped watching Aleksei's retreating figure and walked back into the lab. Looking at the injured Dr. Wounds, he asked, "How do you feel?"
"Very strong, very perfect." Dr. Wounds completely disregarded his injuries, continuously praising his test subject, Aleksei.
"Perfect? Heh heh," Oris scoffed. "Too bad he's so dim-witted."
"But weren't you the one who chose the subject?" Dr. Wounds countered. His experiment was perfect; it was just that the subject himself was simple-minded.
"But simple ones are easy to control. I don't particularly like smart people," Oris said, sitting next to Dr. Wounds. "You know, smart guys are hard to control."
"But there's no need to pick someone that simple," Dr. Wounds said, holding up his bandaged hand.
"In the face of absolute power, you don't need much else to dress it up," Oris said, patting Dr. Wounds' shoulder. "Get some good rest."
Oris strode out of the lab, leaving Dr. Wounds staring blankly at his arm.
Parker Home
The time was now 11:00 PM. Silas was lying in bed, preparing to sleep, when a voice came from near his window.
"Silas~ help me."
"Hmm?" Silas instantly opened his eyes, pushed himself up with his legs, performed a quick sit-up maneuver, and turned to look out the window.
"Teacher?!" Silas couldn't believe it.
By the window, Klein, who had transformed into a large insect-like creature, was clinging to the window pane, staring at Silas.
"Where have you been these past few days?" The first thing Silas did upon seeing Klein was ask about his whereabouts.
"I went to see a friend," Klein lowered his head, his tone sounding a little downcast.
"What happened?" Silas asked.
"You finally showed up, Teacher Klein." Peter, the Spider-Kid, woke up in the next room and came into Silas's room.
Klein forced a smile. "Yes, Peter. How have you been lately?"
"Oh... um, are you talking about Hell's Kitchen?" Peter asked after thinking for a moment.
"Well... anything, really," Klein replied.
Peter immediately said, "Teacher, without your cooperation these past few days, the crime rate there has increased quite a bit. But it's okay, I have my own Spider Squad now."
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