After sending Lianna back, Meng Ran and Gwen left.
Now that the Crocodile Gang has been annihilated, only the cleanup work remains, and for that, we, of course, need our dear Chief George.
Meng Ran and Gwen once again arrived near Gwen's house, standing on a building not far away.
It was still Meng Ran who knocked on the window and placed the folder, while Gwen stood in place, watching Meng Ran interact with her father.
She didn't know how to explain it, but every time Gwen saw this scene, she felt strangely peculiar.
After placing the items, Meng Ran retreated and stood beside Gwen.
Meng Ran watched George, who was familiar with the routine of retrieving the file, and softly said to Gwen, "After tonight, there will be no more Crocodile Gang."
Gwen no longer paid attention to that strange feeling and nodded, "Yes, we've finally eradicated this major menace."
Inside the room, George had finished reading the file, and after putting the flashlight back, he quietly left the room, got dressed, and went to the garage to drive.
With the roar of the car, George drove towards the police station, making the familiar calls to gather people along the way; after several operations, they had all become quite proficient.
Watching George leave, Meng Ran softly said to Gwen, "You should go back to sleep; you have class tomorrow. I'll wander around a bit more and then head home too."
Gwen also knew she didn't have the same energy as Meng Ran, so she nodded and replied, "Alright, you be careful too."
"Then, see you tomorrow ~"
Meng Ran heard Gwen telling him to be careful and couldn't help but joke, "I'm a ghost, you know; it's those criminals who need to be careful."
Gwen rolled her eyes at Meng Ran, then bid him farewell and returned to her room.
Meng Ran also left there, continuing to roam the city, maintaining the tranquility of the night.
Osborn Group at night was empty except for security personnel.
Compared to the bustling daytime, the research and development department floor was dim and desolate at night, with only a slightly ajar door in the dark environment, and the light peeking through the crack became the only light source on that floor.
A refined and handsome middle-aged man in a white lab coat sat at a desk, holding a pen in his left hand, writing and drawing on paper, while the sleeve on his right side was rolled up, revealing an empty sleeve with no arm.
Connors was currently troubled by the experiment; logically speaking, he should have been happy, not troubled, because significant breakthroughs had already been made regarding this experiment.
However, due to time constraints, this result could no longer be slowly experimented with step by step; he had to quickly devise a method that would allow this result to be rapidly verified and improved.
Connors irritably put down his pen; he really didn't know what to do. Recalling what Neo (couldn't find his name, so I made one up) had said to him during the day, Connors couldn't help but feel a surge of powerlessness.
"Doctor, Norman Osborn can't wait any longer; he's running out of time and human trials must proceed as soon as possible."
"I'll go to the Veterans Hospital tomorrow; I imagine there will be many people missing limbs there. Good luck to us both, Doctor."
Connors recalled these words, and his only left hand clenched into a fist. Then, with a complex expression, he unclenched his fist and covered the empty sleeve of his right arm with his left hand.
A moment later, Dr. Connors seemed to have made up his mind. He stood up from his desk and walked to an instrument, where he entered a long string of complex passwords to unlock a sealed door, from which he retrieved a test-tube-like container holding a green reagent.
After taking out the reagent, Connors placed it into a syringe. He held the syringe with one hand, preparing to inject it into his right arm.
As the syringe slowly approached his right arm, Dr. Connors's expression gradually became complex and hesitant.
After a pause, Dr. Connors finally made up his mind and injected the syringe into his right arm. The green reagent quickly entered his body under the action of the syringe.
The moment the reagent entered Dr. Connors's body, a strange sensation came from all over his body. He staggered back to his desk and sat down in his chair.
A moment later, intense pain once again assaulted Dr. Connors. After enduring for a minute, he was finally plunged into unconsciousness by the excruciating pain.
In the early morning, sunlight shone into Dr. Connors's office. The sliver of sunlight, like a door crack, slowly moved with time, eventually reaching his face.
Feeling the sunlight, Dr. Connors twitched his eyelids and opened his eyes. Hearing the gradually increasing sounds of people outside, he knew it was morning.
He subconsciously raised his right hand to block the sunlight, then climbed up from the desk and leaned back in his chair.
"Right hand? How do I have a right hand?" Dr. Connors only then realized he had used his right hand to block the sunlight.
He quickly raised his right hand and examined it closely.
Dr. Connors saw that a thick, jade-like white arm had grown where his right arm used to be, with the fingers also encased within it.
He poked the "arm" of his right hand with his left hand; the jade-like white arm was originally covered in a thick layer of "protective film."
Dr. Connors quickly unwrapped his right hand, and a moment later, a slightly thick arm appeared before him.
He looked at his arm excitedly, somewhat disbelieving, this was a scene he had only ever seen in dreams.
Connors quickly picked up the phone on the desk, wanting to call Neo.
The call connected, but it was Neo's secretary who answered. She told Connors that Neo was on his way to the Veterans Hospital and should be on the Brooklyn Bridge by now.
Dr. Connors immediately hung up the phone, grabbed his coat, and walked out. He needed to find Neo quickly and tell him about this breakthrough so they wouldn't need to go to the Veterans Hospital.
Dr. Connors arrived downstairs, hailed a taxi, and got in. He anxiously said, "Quick, to the Brooklyn Bridge."
The driver ignored Dr. Connors's anxiety and instead slowly said, "You have to tell me where you're going, sir. On the Brooklyn Bridge? How can I park there?"
Listening to the driver's unhurried words, Dr. Connors couldn't help but become enraged. He suddenly let out an abnormal roar, then shouted, "I said! The Brooklyn Bridge!"
The driver was startled by Dr. Connors's roar and quickly stepped on the gas, driving towards the Brooklyn Bridge. He now just wanted to get rid of this madman as quickly as possible.
The driver kept accelerating, cursing inwardly, "I'm really unlucky today. I woke up this morning and ran into this kind of thing. If you're sick, why don't you go to the hospital instead of a bridge? What, are you thinking of ending it all?"
Finally, they reached the bridge, which was completely jammed. The driver helplessly shook his head and looked in the rearview mirror at Dr. Connors in the back, saying, "Hey! The bridge is right ahead. Where exactly do you want to get off?"
Seeing that no one was responding, the driver turned his head and called out a few more times.
He saw a person lying sideways in the back seat, their coat covering their upper body, including their head.
Seeing that he couldn't rouse him, the driver reached out to pull Dr. Connors's coat.
However, when the coat was pulled down, it wasn't the handsome middle-aged man from before, but a green monster with a tail.
Upon seeing this, the driver immediately screamed uncontrollably, then quickly unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the car door, and ran out.
Connors, now Dr. Lizard, in the back seat, was startled awake by the driver's scream.
After waking, Dr. Lizard's mind was a mess. He didn't know where he was, nor what he was supposed to do, only vaguely remembering that he needed to find Neo.
Dr. Lizard stood up from the back seat, tore through the taxi's roof with his sharp claws, and then climbed out.
His eyes were now devoid of reason, filled only with wild madness and an instinctive desire for destruction.
He had to find the man named Neo and tear him apart.