"What's wrong?"
"Well, you know I went to the lab yesterday morning, right?"
"Mm-hmm."
Hawk nodded.
That was before he went to the library yesterday.
He had originally thought Gwen was going to Dr. Connors to report back to work yesterday morning.
Now?
"Did something go wrong with the experiment?"
"The experiment didn't go wrong, but I heard the investors did. You know Dr. Connors's experiment is a joint venture between Osborn and the Military, right?"
"You mentioned it last time."
"The Military withdrew their funding."
Gwen lowered her voice and leaned forward, saying, "And Dr. Connors's experiment has been going on for almost two years now without any results, so the higher-ups at Osborn are starting to get a bit impatient with Dr. Connors's experiment."
Capital is realistic.
They will fund you and even provide you with a venue and fulfill your requests based on the promises you make at the start.
But if you don't deliver the expected results to capital, then capital will abandon you without hesitation.
Because cutting losses in time is a compulsory course for capital.
Dr. Connors's regeneration experiment was exactly like that.
Not to mention that the Military withdrew funding from Dr. Connors's lab last month due to a need to reallocate funds.
Although the Military said it was temporary and that they would reinvest once funds were available, asking Osborn Biological Industry to hold on.
But...
Osborn Biological Industry itself isn't peaceful.
Rumors say that since last year, Norman Osborn, who has been recuperating at his estate due to a strange illness, is critically ill and nearing his end.
This news was not unfounded.
Harry Osborn, who had been studying in Britain, returned to New York City this summer and, with the help of Norman Osborn's private secretary, Felicia Hardy, began to get involved in company affairs. This was a very clear signal.
Although the Osborn family controls the majority of Osborn Biological Industry's shares.
But in this era where the old king is dying and a new king is about to ascend, there are always people who want to take advantage of this change of dynasty to gain some benefits for themselves.
And a new official always brings three fires.
So, at this juncture, someone proposed streamlining the laboratories and shutting down those that had not yet yielded capital results.
And Dr. Connors's lab, whose investment was suspended by the Military due to a funding gap, was the first to be targeted.
Although the Military said they would resume investment once the next batch of funds from the Pentagon arrived, who can guarantee that?
After all, the Federal Military's credibility is well-known.
However, Osborn Biological Industry did not make a final decision to withdraw funding from Dr. Connors; although the Military's funding was interrupted, there was still some of the previous funding left.
So...
"The Dr.'s lab staff has been streamlined."
"Five researchers were dismissed."
"Of course, I was supposed to be one of them."
"I only heard about it yesterday, but since I'm working part-time to pay for my studies, the cost isn't high."
"And when I went to the lab yesterday, Dr. Connors wasn't as happy as you said, which is why I was a bit surprised when you just brought this up."
Gwen was recounting the recent situation at Dr. Connors's lab.
Hawk didn't actually care whether Dr. Connors's experiment would succeed, so he just listened casually. After Gwen finished, he shrugged: "Well, that's what Dr. Connors said on the phone anyway. Who knows if it'll actually succeed?"
Gwen also nodded: "I also hope Dr. Connors's experiment succeeds."
The two just chatted casually like that.
But after the conversation, it was over. Once Hawk finished his burger, they stood up and left with their trays.
The topic concerning Dr. Connors's lab thus concluded.
But...
They could end it, but Dr. Connors, the person involved in their conversation, couldn't just say the topic was over and move on to the next one for now.
Because at this moment, Dr. Connors was facing the scenario of being abandoned by capital.
Dr. Connors looked at the middle-aged elite White man standing in his office, who had brought the latest resolution from the board of directors.
"Dr., have you thought about it?"
"I don't understand."
"Dr., you should understand."
The middle-aged elite White man, who represented the board of directors, said with a warm smile, "The Military has withdrawn funding. Although they used the word 'temporary,' we all know what that means. Originally, the board's opinion was to also suspend funding for the lab, but Dr., your latest achievement successfully saved your lab's funding, but it was only a salvage."
Because Dr. Connors's latest achievement, the regenerated White mouse, gave the board a glimmer of hope.
But only a glimmer.
Dr. Connors frowned.
"So what's the board's opinion?"
"Human trials!"
"What?"
Dr. Connors's eyes widened upon hearing this, and he looked at the middle-aged man: "I've just extracted a seemingly viable serum from that single mutated White mouse, and I haven't even had time to verify it. To go straight to human trials now is too hasty. And where would we find willing test subjects?"
The middle-aged man shrugged: "There are plenty of test subjects in Military hospitals. Just use the name of a new vaccine."
He spoke very casually.
After all, everyone does it this way.
Going to Balat for human trials requires paying the locals, but if you use people from the lower class for experiments in your own country, you don't even need to pay them.
In a word.
Are people from the lower class human?
No!
Capital is profit-driven, emphasizing maximizing profits while also pursuing minimizing costs.
But Dr. Connors found it unacceptable after hearing this.
"What? I don't agree."
"Time waits for no one, Dr. You don't have much time left, and neither do we."
"...We?"
"You don't need to know that. You just need to know that the board is doing this for your own good. Someone will be assigned to do this. If it fails, Dr., you can pretend you knew nothing."
"I'm not here to discuss this with you, Dr."
"This is a notification."
After saying this, the middle-aged man turned and left Dr. Connors's lab directly.
Currently, there are rumors among the higher-ups that Norman Osborn's life is nearing its end, and Dr. Connors's regeneration lab was actually established to research a cure for Norman Osborn's strange illness.
So...
The middle-aged man was not wrong; by pushing for human trials to be implemented as soon as possible, they were helping Dr. Connors while also helping themselves.
After all, with a new emperor comes new ministers.
Who knows what Harry Osborn will do if Norman Osborn truly dies.
It is well known.
Capital also likes stability, because only with stability can capital consistently earn money.
But Dr. Connors was not capital.
After the middle-aged man left, he sat in his office chair.
Motionless!
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