Kamen Rider ZZZ, the American comic book spiritual mentor

When the school bell rang, Harry extended a friendly invitation to Peter Gwen and Lin Nan to have dinner together. He had some food delivered by his family car, and the group ate and chatted on the school rooftop.

The rooftop was quiet, and the dinner Harry brought was quite exquisite and plentiful.

Harry opened the lunchbox and said, "Everyone, please eat as you please, consider this a picnic."

He then gazed into the distance and remarked, "New York has changed so much in ten years..."

Lin Nan tilted her head slightly, following Harry's gaze.

At the horizon, the towering Stark Tower's rooftop gleamed.

Gwen, equally perceptive, took a bite of her sandwich and asked, "Harry, do you mean Stark Tower?"

Harry's eyes were somewhat complicated: "Yes, Stark Industries is a long-time rival of the Osborn Group, and my father is paying close attention to Tony Stark's recent moves."

Lin Nan smiled and said, "Is it because of the rumors about the golden-red armored men?"

Harry's eyes flashed with surprise, and he nodded: "Not only that, there's also Stark's civilian reactors. After Stark Industries closed its military division, it didn't suffer a disaster; instead, it became even stronger."

He paused, his tone becoming somewhat heavy: "My father, he has always been unwilling to lag behind, especially Stark Industries, his old rival, which is ahead in certain areas where Osborn Industries excels."

Lin Nan's heart skipped a beat. The Osborn Corporation leaned towards biotechnology and gene enhancement, while Iron Man...

Although Tony hasn't officially revealed that he is Iron Man, it's probably not an undisclosed secret to some powerful forces with extensive intelligence networks.

In Osborn's view, could Tony Stark's exoskeleton and controllable energy technologies have become a formidable competitor to the Osborn Corporation?

Perhaps at this point, Osborne's animosity towards Stark stemmed from more than just business competition...

Peter took a bite of his sandwich and asked, "Will you be involved in company matters this time you're back?"

Harry, head down, rummaged through his food with his fork, somewhat lost in thought: "Not yet. Father said it's not my time yet. Anyway, Peter, tell me about what's been going on with you lately!"

"I remember you loved insects when you were little. How are you now?"

"Cough cough cough." Peter choked instinctively when he heard Harry mention insects: "Insects? They're alright. Lately, I've been more interested in materials science and biofields."

As Peter spoke, his eyes met Lin Nan's.

Lin Nan shook her head slightly, signaling him to be careful with his words.

Chapter 19 New Discovery

Harry's eyes lit up upon hearing this: "Biofields, a very interesting field. The Osborn Group also conducts research on bionics. I can take you on a tour sometime; it might provide some inspiration."

These words immediately ignited Peter's tech-geek genes. His eyes lit up, and he excitedly asked, "Really? Is that possible?"

“Of course, Gwen? What are you interested in?” Harry asked again.

Gwen was very candid: "I love chemistry and neuroscience. My father was a policeman, and I've always thought about how to apply all of that to his work."

“Officer George… my father says he’s a good cop, but I’ve heard there’s been a lot of commotion in Hell’s Kitchen lately, he must be under a lot of pressure,” Harry said with a smile.

Lin Nan had been observing. Although Harry said he had just returned and was not familiar with the new New York, it was clear from his language that this young master had a very good understanding of the situation in New York.

During dinner, Harry displayed the manners expected of the only son of a business tycoon, speaking wittily and treating people with gentleness, behaving perfectly.

After dinner, Harry received a phone call, apologized to the group, and left in a hurry.

Only Lin Nan and the other two remained on the rooftop. Peter let out a long sigh of relief: "Harry is still the same Harry. He hasn't changed at all. That's great."

Lin Nan didn't offer any opinion, but Gwen's gaze seemed thoughtful: "He looks perfect, but I sensed a lot of complicated emotions when he talked about his father..."

Peter paused, his expression hardening. "Gwen...you mean..."

Gwen maintained the sharpness and composure of a police officer's family member, took a sip of water, and said, "Peter, I know he's your best friend, but I hope you can be more rational."

“Harry is Harry, but he is also part of the Osborne Group. My father often said that top-tier groups like this are often not as simple as they seem.”

Gwen's words cooled Peter down considerably. He looked somewhat bewildered and turned to Lin Nan, hoping his wise friend could offer him some advice.

Lin Nan nodded: "Gwen's words make a lot of sense. Harry's identity itself represents complexity. His return and his recovery from his illness often foreshadow the next move of the Osborne Group."

Lin Nan patted Peter on the shoulder and comforted him, "But Peter, people are complicated. Just cherish this friendship. The rest is about protecting yourself. There's no use in overthinking it."

Peter lowered his head and nodded slowly: "I understand. I'm just happy for his return."

Lin Nan added, "We're happy too, Peter."

He looked into the distance. The appearance of Harry Osborn meant the start of the Green Goblin storyline, which was also a significant opportunity for him.

In the days that followed, it seemed that Harry's return had not brought about any major changes.

Lin Nan's life returned to normal. During the day, he was a quiet, ordinary high school student, and his group of three had grown to four. In the evenings, he worked part-time at the old bookstore in Hell's Kitchen, a job with little work.

In his work, he discreetly gathered information about the Osborne Group and Hell's Kitchen.

The lucid dream training at night has been ongoing, with the synchronization rate and compatibility steadily improving, constantly simulating powerful opponents in the dream space.

Peter's life, however, is filled with energy. Under Lin Nan's guidance, he begins his nighttime patrols as Spider-Man, stopping small-scale crimes at night.

He also consciously gathered intelligence, recording clues from street thugs and criminals, and discussing them with Lin Nan regularly.

Harry's performance, on the surface, was almost impeccable.

During a science group assignment, Lin Nan made a new discovery.

The assignment was about an "energy conversion efficiency model," and the final setup and debugging of the device was carried out in Peter's small bedroom.

Uncle Ben and Aunt May warmly welcomed Harry, once again bringing out their prized apple pie.

Harry was very eloquent and made the two elders laugh heartily.

Aunt May poured Harry a glass of water and said with a sigh, "Harry, Peter is so lucky to have friends like you. He's been so much happier since you came back."

Harry smiled, glanced at Peter who was busy at work, and said with a gentle look, "I'm lucky too, Mrs. Parker."

The device was not debugged smoothly. Peter's designed circuit kept malfunctioning, making their crude generator model very unstable.

Peter frowned, looking troubled, his two blue eyes scrutinizing him: "Damn it, what's wrong with us?"

Lin Nan remained silent, checked the algorithm and circuit diagrams, and found no problems.

The problem lies in the device itself; there may be a loose connection somewhere.

Harry watched quietly for a while, then walked to the workbench: "May I take a look, Peter?"

"Of course, look, I think it's right here..."

Harry's blue-green eyes scanned intently over the complex circuitry and components. A few seconds later, he extended a finger, hovering it above the circuit board and moving it slowly.

Lin Nan's heart skipped a beat. This action... was too precise. This wasn't observation at all, but perception. What was Harry perceiving?

Harry finally pointed to a capacitor that looked perfectly fine: "There's an impedance anomaly here. It's not a problem with the solder joint; it's just that the component itself is aging. Replacing it will fix the problem."

Peter tried a different one with some skepticism, and after turning on the power again, the small generator actually started operating smoothly, with a fairly stable and smooth output curve.

"My God, how did you do that without using any instruments?" Peter exclaimed in amazement.

Harry shrugged, his tone relaxed: "When I was in Switzerland, I lay around all day and didn't read any books on electrical engineering or materials science. Plus, I was probably lucky."

Peter laughed heartily, without giving it much thought.

At dinner, Harry was still perfect, but Lin Nan felt a shadow fall over her heart.

Harry's performance just now was definitely not something that could be achieved by simply reading more books. Only a keen sense of electric current could make that possible. Considering Harry's distinctive scent and his impeccable social skills...

Lin Nan made a reasonable conjecture: Harry's "cure" from his genetic disease might represent some kind of biological enhancement.

Norman Osborn, the future Green Goblin, may have used the results of his experiments on his own son.

On the bright side, Harry's expression of tenderness and affection when facing the warmth of Peter's family didn't seem like an act.

After dinner, Harry said goodbye, hugged Peter at the door, and said, "It's my birthday next week, and I'm having a small party at home. You have to come, and Lin too, and invite Gwen too."

Peter nodded vigorously: "Definitely!"

Watching Harry leave, Peter said happily, "Harry is getting better and better. He's really good. I can feel it. He hasn't changed at all."

Lin Nan nodded without objecting: "Yes, he is indeed very good."

The peaceful and warm time was short-lived. A few days later, while Lin Nan was on duty at the old bookstore in Hell's Kitchen, he was flipping through some books about the early New York gangsters, trying to find some information about "Jazz" and Kingpin.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated. Spider-Man had sent me a message: "Hell's Kitchen, 44 West Street, back alley of Angel Bar, suspicious transaction detected."

Before Lin Nan could reply, another message came through: "Heavy weapons have been observed, and there are many people. Can we intervene?"

This is Spider-Man's distress message. During his night patrol, he discovered an area beyond his capabilities. Instead of acting rashly, he sent a message to "Knight" for advice.

Lin Nan tapped his fingers and replied, "Describe the target, number of people, type of weapon, and whether there are civilians nearby."

A few seconds later, Spider-Man replied again: "There are at least six people. Three of them are arms dealers, carrying large boxes that are suspected to contain heavy weapons. The other three are in a van, and the details of their transaction are unknown. There is a homeless shack nearby, so there might be some people there."

Lin Nan thought for a moment and realized that she couldn't act directly right now, so she picked up the bookstore phone and called George Stacy.

This phone number was Gwen's father's private number, which Gwen gave to Lin Nan and Peter out of concern and trust.

The phone was answered after only one ring.

Officer George's voice came from the other end of the phone, slightly serious and impatient: "Who is this? This is a private number, not for handling security matters."

Lin Nan's voice was low: "Hello, officer, anonymous tip. There's a crime going on in Hell's Kitchen, in the alley behind Angel Bar. There are six people involved, possibly with heavy weapons. There are homeless people nearby. We hope the police can take immediate action."

Before George could ask any questions, Lin Nan immediately hung up the phone and wiped the microphone and dial with a damp cloth.

Chapter 20 Harry's Birthday Party

After doing all this, he calculated the time and sent a message to Spider-Man:

"I have anonymously notified the police, and they will arrive soon. Listen to my messages. Remember, the priority is to protect civilians and disrupt transactions. Be careful to protect yourself."

After sending the message, he sank his consciousness into the energy sac at the center of his chest driver, mobilizing power to enhance his senses.

This was inspired by Daredevil: by sensing vibrations, he could form images in his mind—efficient, precise, and covering a very large area.

"Let's do it!"