On the verge of fainting, Norman managed to hold on with his last shred of sanity.
The other party had only given him six hours, and if he fainted, given his physical condition, he would likely miss this window.
So he couldn't faint!
Yes.
He would rather die than be a slave, so since he wouldn't agree anyway, fainting or not wouldn't make much difference.
But he wasn't alone.
Harry Osborn, his son, a poor little fellow who had never enjoyed paternal love since childhood.
Alice had already made it clear.
Even if Norman didn't agree, after he died, the other party would find Harry to sign a contract again.
There would be at least a two to three-year gap in between.
But the implication in the other party's words was that they could wait.
What did this mean?
The other party was probably not interested in some of Osborn's technologies, but rather the entire Osborn Group!
Behind the other party, there must be an organization.
An organization whose power was no less than that of the Osborn Group!
For this mysterious organization, the Osborn Group might just be an accumulation of assets; it might be something they were determined to get, but the time to acquire it didn't necessarily have to be now.
It's like dating; whoever cares more is more humble.
Now.
The other party could give up Osborn, give up Norman, and wait for Harry to take over the Osborn Group.
But could Norman, only 27 years old, give up his future?
And in the future, could Harry give up his life just for the sake of so-called integrity?
Weighing many things.
Norman slumped dejectedly in his office chair.
He understood.
From the beginning, his only chance was to capture Victor.
Otherwise.
He would have no right to refuse anything.
The only choice before him now was... After figuring out the cause and effect, Norman, instead of his previous dejection, stood up, straightened his collar, and with great effort, straightened his hunched back before reaching for the desk phone.
--- Still at yesterday's cafe, still in the same spot.
Victor, who was leisurely basking in the sun to recharge, suddenly felt a thought appear in his mind; concentrating on that thought, an emotion was shared with him, full of shock, disbelief, and quickly hidden regret.
Following this thought, Victor quickly identified its owner and location.
It was Norman himself, on the 108th floor of the Osborn Tower.
This was much more Advanced than anything that came through the internet.
It seemed.
Norman had chosen to continue living in the choice between survival and freedom.
After all.
Only by living could one develop.
Norman just never expected that this scale contract was so magical; even the strong could unilaterally perceive the thoughts of the weak, and no bad intentions could be hidden.
Betrayal?
Non-existent.
This was a 'Advanced product' that Victor had purchased at a great cost—it had cost him most of his previous gains.
— — — — — —
Product Name: scale contract:
Product Category: [Magic]
Product Compatibility: [100%]
Origin Plane: 'The Lord of the Rings';
Product Rating: [E ±]
Product Price: e-class voucher × 4, plane points × 450;
Function Description: With blood as a pact, the strong enslave the weak;
Slogan: The balance never favors any side:
— — — — — —
Once this Scale Agreement is contracted, the two parties to the contract are like the relationship of a balance, where the strong control everything of the weak, including life and death.
Want to gain sovereignty?
Then work hard to become stronger and surpass the other contractor.
Could Norman's growth speed surpass Victor's?
Heh heh.
With the Plane Trading Platform at his disposal, he had that confidence.
Since it was confirmed that Norman had signed the agreement, Victor, who was already leisurely, felt even more at ease.
The overall situation was settled.
He had established a firm foothold on Marvel's Earth.
Next.
As long as he developed cautiously and didn't wander around, once the resources on Earth were almost collected, if Thanos dared to come, he would be turned into roasted purple sweet potato.
"Alice, have Norman handle the aftermath, cooperate with you to take over the authority, and then bring him to pick me up," Victor ordered.
"Okay, Chen."
Alice responded, and on the other end, she appeared for the third time at Norman's desk.
Unlike the previous two times, this time, as soon as she arrived, she immediately issued a series of commands.
Norman was also an extraordinary person; he adjusted his mindset very quickly and cooperated extremely well with Alice's work.
Lifting the bounty, opening the core code of Osborn's artificial intelligence, assisting Alice's core code to be installed in Osborn's server clusters, transferring the primary authority of the supercomputer... After a series of operations.
Although Norman was still the primary shareholder of the Osborn Group, all primary authorities had actually been transferred to the artificial intelligence Alice.
For the Osborn Group, there wasn't much change.
It was just that some employees would wonder why their artificial intelligence felt much more agile—this was, of course, because Alice had replaced the one serving them.
The reason Victor did this, besides wanting to control sovereignty, was also to liberate Alice.
Nano earphones were ultimately just a substitute and could not replace a supercomputer.
Alice staying inside was like being confined in a 'small dark room,' only able to exert less than 0.1% of her function.
Liberating her, allowing her to use the resources of the Osborn Group, could provide him with more help.
As for Victor's side.
Normally, Alice would provide remote network services, but if he entered a signal-free area like an underground passage, the small program left in the nano earphones would provide services on her behalf.
As for why not just copy an Alice over, like Royce?
Alice was already in the realm of artificial intelligence, having awakened her unique 'emotional simulation core code,' and this part was like a limb of the human body; once cut off, it couldn't be reattached.
Royce copied Alice by spending vouchers and plane points, using the Platform's 'Dimensional Printer' authority to complete the replication.
This was also a limitation on artificial intelligence.
Otherwise, any artificial intelligence that could think independently, have its own small emotions, and could infinitely self-replicate... the consequences could be seen with Ultron.
These are not elaborated on for now.
By the time Alice completed the takeover of the Osborn Group, it was already three hours later—Norman now had nothing but his shares.
Like a Puppet emperor in China.
Only at this moment did Norman get Victor's location.
A cafe in Hell's Kitchen.
When Norman saw this address, even with his composure, his face couldn't help but twitch.
He had mobilized half of New York to find someone, and it turned out the person was just sitting there drinking coffee and sunbathing?
Alright, this time he was truly convinced of his defeat.
Without sending anyone else to greet him, Norman, with his motorcade, five luxury cars lined up, drove into Hell's Kitchen, attracting countless hateful glares along the way.
Didn't they know this was the most anti-rich place in New York? Coming in so ostentatiously, you'd get shot in minutes, believe it or not... Bang!
Someone, green with envy and hatred for the rich, couldn't hold back and fired a shot from the shadows, hitting the tire, but it didn't affect the vehicle's movement at all.
Bulletproof tires!
Alright.
Those who use such things are definitely not to be trifled with, so they slipped away.
Norman paid no attention to this small interlude.
Hell's Kitchen, after all, let alone a stray shot, even if someone died again soon, it would be normal.
Racing to the cafe, Norman respectfully got out of the car first, leaning on his cane, and led the way into the cafe; the pull of the contract allowed him to immediately spot Victor.
The other bodyguards, very sensibly, began to clear the place—because they didn't understand Victor's temperament, each guest who was asked to leave received $100 in compensation.
They were all delighted.
Victor watched the aged Norman with interest; the latter merely met his gaze briefly, then humbly lowered his eyes, appearing extremely respectful.
Victor's heart tightened: "This is a hero!"
Norman's status was almost identical to that of Father Chen in his previous life, yet he was able to lower himself to such a humble position.
What he sought... must be very grand.
Norman now was like Goujian enduring hardship, using a humble posture to deceive Victor; once he accumulated enough capital to turn the tables, he would absolutely turn hostile without hesitation.
This was a venomous snake that could turn against its master at any time.
But as long as you always show sufficient strength, he will continue to remain humble and become an excellent helper.
Victor showed no hint of fear, nor did he exchange pleasantries with Norman, rising and walking out the door as if no one else was there.
Norman's fake smile twitched unnaturally, then returned to normal, as he limped closely behind Victor out of the cafe.
But upon seeing Victor get into the middle car, and the door subsequently closing.
A flicker of anger still flashed in Norman's eyes, but he immediately suppressed it and turned to get into another car.
Victor, in the main car, raised an eyebrow at this.
This old fox is very patient, a bit troublesome.
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