Norman Osborn stared intently at the computer for a long time, confirming that no one had entered or was monitoring him before finally relaxing into a lounge chair. Gwen looked around, deciding this place didn't look like some terrifying secret base; rather, it seemed like... a rest room.
A rest room where Norman Osborn could freely let down his guard.
He genuinely put on a piece of gentle classical music, poured himself a glass of red wine, and hummed a tune while swirling the wine.
Gwen watched Norman, a little dumbfounded, then simply started walking around on her own. She found a photograph on the desk showing a young Norman Osborn with his wife, Emily, and another young, slightly heavy-set person.
Combining this with what Peter had previously said about the bad blood between Doctor Octopus and Norman, this person was likely a younger version of Otto Octavius.
Unfortunately, news had just broken a few minutes ago: the defenseless Doctor Octopus had met a tragic end, shot in the head by an unknown assassin.
"You are a smart man, Otto, but sadly, you are too idealistic. You focused on so-called science, but you never considered what science can bring us: profit! Money. You looked down on these things. Of course, that's not why I couldn't tolerate you, but when your demands exceeded the scope of profitability, when you had to waste company funds for your own health, I'm sorry, I couldn't tolerate you."
Was he confessing? Or was he saying this for my benefit? Gwen was temporarily unsure of the situation, but she trusted her ability—she shouldn't be discoverable by an ordinary person like Norman.
So why was he saying all this here?
Gwen recorded the monologue on her phone, curious about what Norman Osborn would say next.
"Then you chose revenge. Revenge—what a good word. It can give a person infinite motivation. How long did you plan your revenge, how many people did you eliminate, and how many enemies did you make for yourself? Look, everyone thinks you're purely evil. As for me, I'm just a bad businessman. Compared to you, perhaps I'm still a good person."
"But you were still a threat. You knew that to seek revenge against me, you'd have to destroy Osborn Industries. But that's precisely why you failed, my old friend. If you chose to defeat me commercially, you were destined to be sacrificed by the Pentagon." Norman took a sip of wine, lamenting over his old friend: "But, if you failed to take commercial revenge on me, what would you choose? You would definitely choose to kill me and my family, wouldn't you?"
"So, I truly regret having to send you off, but I heard it was the best assassin. I hope you died without pain, my old friend."
Norman killed Doctor Octopus!
Although, thinking about it, it wasn't surprising, there had been no evidence. Now it was different; now Gwen actually had a recorded confession. While it might be deemed inadmissible as illegal evidence, it was evidence nonetheless, and it wasn't necessary to only hand it over to a court, right?
What else? What other bombshells can you drop?
"Peter. Peter doesn't trust me anymore either. That's a truly sad thing."
Gwen nearly tumbled to the floor when she heard that. She suddenly wanted to scream, What do you mean, 'that's a truly sad thing'?!
"Oh, Richard, you left me the richest legacy. You brought me a project with infinite possibilities and three talented students. But I still don't know why you abandoned that project. Fortunately, your son inherited your DNA; he can still become Spider-Man. Perhaps not as perfect as you, but excellent enough. That tech exhibition prepared for him was quite successful, wasn't it?"
The phone in Gwen's hand nearly slipped and fell. If the phone fell, it wouldn't be immune to her power's effects anymore.
But... that tech exhibition was specifically prepared for Peter? Was it to make Peter become Spider-Man?
Why would he do that?!
"The plan was successful, but Peter won't trust me anymore. It's truly a pity, isn't it?"
Norman said with considerable regret: "It's a shame he's so smart, so outstanding. If only he could focus the effort he puts into being Spider-Man on research or business, he would become my perfect heir... but he won't."
"I wish he were my son, or that I had a daughter."
...Putting aside the "I wish Peter were my son," what would you do if you had a daughter?
Gwen secretly kept recording, waiting for Norman to drop more bombshells, but Norman, who was merely reminiscing, didn't say much else, continuing to lament how disappointing Harry was, how exceptional Peter was, and how he wished he had such a good son.
So, Gwen began to look for useful items on her own. She pulled open drawers, searching for documents, and opened cabinets, looking for things inside wine bottles.
And Norman noticed nothing.
Until Gwen found another item.
A plan document placed right next to Norman's hand. He occasionally picked it up, looked at it, and put it back down. In Gwen's view, this plan must be very important, or Norman wouldn't carry it with him constantly.
Indeed, Norman had brought this plan in from outside, even pulling it out from the inner pocket of his suit jacket.
She leaned in, curiously looking at Norman Osborn's greatest secret.
What could it be? The so-called Green Goblin that Peter mentioned? Or plans to clone Spider-Man and other supervillains? What exactly is Norman Osborn planning?
Gwen walked to the opposite side of Osborn, looking at the title on the plan document.
Unlike the "Savage Force Project" discovered by Harry and the fantastical Counter-Earth, this plan looked very simple, even ordinary.
From the outside, it was just a set of new equipment—a plan for conducting brain adjustments. It was positioned as a medical device intended for treating dissociative identity disorder.
Gwen couldn't help but tilt her head.
What does this mean? Does Osborn have a personality disorder?
Otherwise, Gwen couldn't possibly understand what Osborn meant or why he kept staring at this plan document.
She walked to the other side, behind Osborn's head, and followed Osborn's gaze, finally confirming the passage Osborn had been continuously looking at.
[This device is in the theoretical stage. Any possible therapeutic experiment may have the opposite effect, worsening the state of dissociative identity disorder.]
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