Chapter Eighteen: Release

After finishing everything, Peter reprogrammed the mixing time and optimized the mixing protocol by his own methods. He anticipated being able to complete the antidote mixture faster, allowing it to spread throughout Manhattan. Only after completing all this did he look back.

"Connors?"

Obviously, Connors was not there; only white spider silk covered a large hole. Connors had not stopped Peter from dispersing the antidote—he seemed to have remembered something more important.

"I can’t let my work just stay with Osborn. To destroy them, I won’t leave anything behind for Osborn."

Connors knew the mixing would take over ten minutes—enough time for him to destroy the data and leave Manhattan. Naturally, the antidote would no longer affect him.

Connors had spent some effort breaking through the concrete ceiling. Now, he was swiftly moving through the stairwell of the Osborn building. Every step caused violent tremors in the nearby stairs.

Within minutes, he found the laboratory he once worked in at Osborn Industries. It was also at this moment that he spotted one of the people he most wanted to see.

“Modic Connors, you bastard…”

“Connors?”

The Osborn Industries executive clearly hadn’t expected Connors, who had been tangled up with Spider-Man, to show up here. At that moment, he was holding a briefcase in one hand and a USB drive in the other, apparently preparing to leave.

“Looks like your luck isn’t so good this time.”

Before he finished speaking, Connors charged forward. The executive quickly ran back and pressed the lab’s lockdown button.

The high-security measures of the Osborn lab saved his life. Although Connors could easily shatter concrete, he only left a small crack in the tempered glass of Osborn Industries. It seemed it could still hold off Connors for a while.

At the same time, the executive took out his phone and started calling.

“Send the security team! I’m on the 21st floor—hurry, bring heavy weapons. Connors is here. Kill him! Kill him!”

After hanging up, the Osborn security guards waiting downstairs exchanged glances.

“Should we go up?”

“Forget it. Didn’t you see the news? Connors isn’t like those little lizards downstairs. He can punch through concrete. I don’t want to die.”

“But what if he dies?”

“The security office is on this floor. Go delete the security data first. We’ll wait ten minutes before going up. If he dies, we take his body down. No one can find fault with that.”

The two leading security captains decided Connors’s fate in just a few words—and Connors probably didn’t even know it. Now, he was like a terrified woman, curled up in a corner of the lab, waiting for Connors to break through the glass and come in to kill him.

With Connors’s strength, tearing through the defenses didn’t take much time. Removing the thin barrier in the lab was no harder than breaking a cookie.

With a crisp sound, Connors appeared before the executive, his massive body blocking the light. In the shadows, Connors’s reptilian form looked especially menacing.

“Never again.”

He raised his claw to send this Osborn Industries executive to hell.

Just as Connors lifted his arm, the sound of shattering glass rang out. Peter broke through the thick glass wall, delivering a kick to Connors’s body. Even with the glass buffering it, the immense force sent Connors flying away from the executive, knocking over a large number of lab instruments in the process.

Peter had repelled Connors and had no intention of letting him escape. The antidote was already mixing and would activate in just a few minutes. Peter only needed to stall him during this time.

“Peter, get out of the way!”

Connors charged again without hesitation. Killing Connors seemed crucial to him—such deep hatred made it hard to imagine what had happened between them.

But considering Connors’s current mental state was far from normal, this wasn’t surprising.

“Damn it, damn it! Don’t let it get close! Yeah, yeah, tie him up!”

The executive cowered behind a lab bench, yelling wildly, while Peter fought Connors to protect him. However, the executive’s words clearly annoyed Peter.

“I’m risking my life to save you. Can’t you say thank you?”

The executive had no time to consider such things; Connors terrified him. He could only mutter behind the bench. Fortunately, time passed quickly. The atomizer on top of the Osborn building had already started, and a large amount of blue mist began to spread.

Centered on the entire Osborn Industries building, the thick, mist-like blue antidote fog reached the lab where Peter and Connors were within seconds.

“What did you do? Atomizer mixing takes at least ten minutes! It can’t be this fast.”

Connors instinctively covered his nose, but the mutagen antidote clearly didn’t act through respiration.

“I made a few small tweaks. After all, I don’t need it to spread throughout New York. The dosage is stronger, Connors.”

There was still some time before the mutagen would take effect. At this moment, Connors seemed to regain some of his former clarity. His eyes softened, and he looked at Peter with an apologetic gaze.

“Peter, I…”

He seemed about to say something.

“Target acquired, prepare to fire!”

“No, what are you doing? Stop, I’m still inside.”

---

“Connors, what are you doing?”

Ignoring the executive’s shouting, Osborn’s special forces outside pulled their triggers without hesitation. Bullets ruthlessly pierced through the mutating Connors.

Connors did not dodge; he stood directly in front of Peter, his unfinished transformation body shielding him from the bullets.

Obviously, he didn’t know about Peter’s spider-like reflexes.

Connors collapsed in a pool of blood, spitting fresh blood. As the antidote continued to act on his body, his original healing ability gradually vanished.

“Peter, don’t let Osborn get the mutagen…”

Connors managed to say only this last sentence before losing all vital signs. His pupils dilated slowly.

Finally, he stopped breathing, his chest no longer rising or falling.

Peter glanced at the increasing Osborn security forces gathering. He shot out webs, grabbed the data and the small USB drive from the executive’s hand, then quickly fled through the broken glass opening in the building.

With the webs extending, he leapt out.

“Open fire! Open fire! Don’t just stand there—he’s taking company property!”

But when the Osborn security guards reached the opening and aimed, Peter was nowhere to be seen. Spider-Man had already vanished without a trace.

As the blue antidote spread outward from the Osborn building, those citizens and ordinary officers affected by Connors’s mutagen returned to normal, bearing no wounds.

However, some still had faint, nearly imperceptible patches of soft skin, seemingly residual effects akin to aftershocks.

“Someone dispersed the antidote? Was this mentioned by headquarters?”

A S.H.I.E.L.D. tactical squad member asked his colleague.

“At first, we were told to expect strong resistance, but these lizard men don’t seem very aggressive.”

“Did something just flash past?”

“What thing?”

The two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents looked up toward the sky, but beyond the thick blue mist, they saw nothing.

---

Time was near sunset. The sun gradually dipped into the waters near Manhattan. Peter sat on a coastal scaffolding, opening the files.

Connors had taken his research seriously. Both the paper documents and the electronic archives were well organized.

“Connors planned to recruit a batch of uninformed volunteers for direct human experimentation. I can’t let them do that, but I also can’t give up on the work here… To get results before them, I must complete it alone. This matter…”

Connors’s notes revealed that he had experimented on himself to develop a complete mutagen before Osborn could.

Obviously, he hadn’t expected the mutagen to not only alter his body but also distort his consciousness and thought patterns.

“Osborn actually intended to conduct human experiments directly, even though ordinary live testing still has so many flaws.”

Peter closed the file box and placed the USB drive inside. With a wave of his hand, the box spun under the sunset, tracing an arc.

It landed steadily in the waters near Manhattan.

Peter said nothing more. The sunlight shone on his mask, hiding his expression. Yet most could guess the look he wore.

The situation in Manhattan was gradually coming under control. Victims were being moved, and journalists entered the scene.

---

At this moment, Lynn was watching television in the Deacon building, with Kara standing behind him.

“According to field reporters, a severe chemical reagent leak centered at Osborn Industries caused intense mass hallucinations and loss of consciousness.

The area remains sealed off. Citizens are advised to avoid the Manhattan lockdown zone when traveling.”

Following the reporter’s camera, the damage in Manhattan slowly appeared on screen—damaged vehicles, grieving pedestrians.

The incident hadn’t caused severe casualties but left a deep mark in many minds.

“Dr. Connors, how are you feeling now?”

Cort Connors sat opposite Lynn, two guards standing behind him. The dim lighting and slightly gloomy atmosphere paired with Lynn’s sinister demeanor.

Connors felt his situation was grim—no, very grim.

“Who are you? Shouldn’t we introduce ourselves first?”

Connors, having seen the world, didn’t panic despite the circumstances, though he knew he was involved in an unspeakable major event.

“Just call me Doctor, Mr. Connors.”

Connors couldn’t clearly see Lynn’s face or hear his voice distinctly. It felt as if an indistinct force numbed his senses—a very unpleasant feeling.

Like staring into the sun on a scorching day, Connors involuntarily closed his eyes and looked away.

---

In stark contrast to the dark surroundings.

“What do you want me to do? As you see, I’m just a down-and-out scholar with nothing left of value.”

“A person’s value isn’t measured by social status, Mr. Connors. You can keep watching the news.”

Connors knew what the news was reporting and felt relieved. When he became the Lizard, his mind was completely abnormal. He had originally planned to attack the Osborn building.

Though he forgot why he was brought here, obviously someone else had done what he intended.

He had ultimately not made a grave mistake.

“You must be thinking someone else attacked Osborn Industries, right?”

Lynn’s words made Connors lift his head. Then, the TV reporter began to broadcast the latest intelligence.

“According to the New York Police investigation, the preliminary cause of the incident is that Cort Connors, a research supervisor at Osborn Industries, used Osborn’s resources without authorization.

Insiders reveal that Connors, due to failures and setbacks in his research, developed severe psychological issues. Three Osborn executives have resigned in response…”

The TV screen showed photos of Connors—one of him in the past, one of him shot dead by Osborn security.

“Fortunately, Cort Connors was killed by Osborn’s security forces, but the accidental leak caused unavoidable losses.”

“I…”

“You are now a theoretical dead man, Dr. Connors.”

Lynn handed Connors a photo—Maria and Nancy Connors together.

“Lovely child, though she inherited her mother’s hereditary illness. She probably won’t live past thirteen.”

Connors said nothing. He didn’t understand what Lynn wanted to imply or why he brought up his daughter. Without the mutagen altering his mind, he wasn’t a man of many words.

“Interestingly, although your mutagen changed your mind, you didn’t inject your daughter with it right away. You know the mutagen’s flaws, don’t you? A father’s love is truly great.”

“No, if I die, the hospital will stop Nancy’s treatment. Damn it, I…”

“Don’t worry. Maria will arrange her continued treatment. Though you know, technology may advance later, but she won’t live to see that.”

Lynn handed Connors a document.

“I’m offering you a job. The key lies in this material I just gave you.”

“I’m not interested in any job.”

Connors thought the man before him was scarier than Osborn Industries and didn’t want to repeat past mistakes.

“Then I will have to cut off your daughter’s medical supply. Believe me, if you walk the streets now, you’ll be wanted, then sent to Ryker’s Island or worse.

Nancy will be kicked out of the hospital and die in some orphanage or wherever.

None of this requires my intervention—it will happen naturally, and if I don’t act, it is already happening.

I’m still half your savior, aren’t I, Cort Connors?”

Lynn once again handed over the materials.

“Take a look. Maybe you’ll change your mind?”

“…”

Connors finally realized he had no choice. For his daughter, he had to take the materials.

But as he flipped through the pages, his expression grew incredulous, then looked at Lynn with surprise.

About two hours later, Connors finally spoke.

“Why me? This technology—whether to Stark, Osborn, or…”

“Good question. What do you think?”

Connors remained silent.

“Think carefully. If you agree, Kara will arrange a new identity for you. Your daughter will be the first patient after the facility is completed.

Just three treatments, and her genetic disease will be completely cured, living better than before.

I look forward to your right choice. Isn’t this the life you’ve dreamed of, Cort Connors?”

With that, Lynn left the room.