Kamen Rider ZZZ, the American comic book spiritual mentor

"Lin, you..."

“Ever since you came back, I’ve been quietly observing you. The faint smell of disinfectant on you, your ability to sense electricity, and that Osborn experimental machine skeleton—the things your father did to you weren’t conventional medical treatments, were they?!”

"Genetic modification? Or something else?!"

Harry was struck by a series of blows, and even temporarily forgot the pain. He stared wide-eyed at Lin Nan.

But I found that in this friend's eyes there was no trace of judgment or inquiry, only concern.

Like a piece of driftwood in the sea, it gave Harry a glimmer of hope amidst his despair and anxiety.

Harry coughed up blood, his voice hoarse: "My illness is the Osborn family curse, a genetic defect that's incurable. As I age, my nervous and metabolic systems slowly break down..."

"My grandfather and great-grandfather both died in this way..."

"My...my father...dedicated his entire life to solving this problem. He founded Project Green Blood, which combined genes extracted from a special spider and other creatures to temporarily stabilize the genes..."

After saying a few words, Harry seemed very tired, taking a few deep breaths before continuing, "The first price... is emotional instability. I often feel like a different person..."

"The other... cost... is this rejection reaction. I don't know when I'll turn into a monster... or die easily..."

Project Green Blood? Extracted from mutated spiders?

Although their effects differ from Lin Nan's, they serve the same purpose: to combat the Osborn family's genetic disease.

This confirmed Lin Nan's suspicions: the Osborn family had long begun researching the Green Blood Potion, which meant that the birth of the Green Goblin was probably not far off.

But to Lin Nan's relief, Harry seemed to have a high level of trust in him.

"Harry, is there any way to deal with this rejection reaction?" If I were to use my physics and engineering skills, Lin Nan might have some solutions.

But biology and genetics... Lin Nan wouldn't say he knew nothing about them, but at the very least, in such advanced fields, he was practically a complete novice.

Harry closed his eyes in anguish: "There's no other way but to tough it out, or increase the dosage, but increasing the dosage will only make the next backlash even more severe..."

Lin Nan fell silent. He touched the driver on his chest. In the dream world, he had tried to use impact energy to perform very precise operations.

The power of the Dream Capsule is itself a form of energy, and it doesn't necessarily have to be used for fighting. Perhaps gentle guidance can calm the energy within Harry's body.

It's 80% effective, but the remaining 20%... could lead to even greater loss of control.

Harry cannot die. Putting aside the power of the Green Goblin and the Osborn family themselves, Lin Nan also couldn't bear to see a good friend meet his end after spending so much time together.

It seems we have no choice but to give it a try!

"Harry, listen, I have an idea, but it's very risky. Would you let me try it?"

Try? Harry hesitated, glancing at his usually quiet but always reliable Asian friend. He thought of Peter and Gwen's trust in him, and then of himself...

Harry didn't ask any more questions. He closed his eyes and forced out a few words through gritted teeth: "Try it, Lynn. There's no other way. I don't want to go to my father. I'm afraid I'll become a monster one day..."

"Give it a try, Lin..." Harry kept repeating the words "give it a try" as if trying to convince himself.

Lin Nan didn't hesitate any longer; he couldn't delay. He quickly got up, closed the doors and windows tightly, and drew the curtains to block out the moonlight.

He extracted the physical impact dream capsule from his consciousness space and held it in his hand, trying to organize the raging power into fine threads. His consciousness was constantly communicating with the dream capsule, soothing the chibi-style figure inside.

Afterward, he held the dream capsule close to Harry's body, guiding the shockwave energy, as thin as a hair, into Harry's body.

Upon entering, the hair-like energy had little effect on Harry's chaotic and violent power.

But as more and more fine threads appeared, they slowly wove into a net, trapping those violent forces and bringing them back on track.

"Ugh..."

Harry jolted violently, curled up, and his convulsions worsened.

Lin Nan's heart sank, and she was about to withdraw the energy when she discovered that although Harry was in more pain, his consciousness was clearer, and his eyes were no longer as unfocused as before.

It works! This route is useful!

Lin Nan was overjoyed. He focused his attention and, as if operating a precision instrument in surgery, carefully captured as much energy as possible.

This was a huge undertaking. Half an hour later, Lin Nan was drenched in sweat, his black hair plastered to his forehead, and his face was somewhat pale.

Finally, the energy within Harry's body gradually subsided under the guidance of the crimson energy, and his body stabilized.

Harry's body suddenly relaxed, and he slumped into the chair. His breathing had become steady, and his eyes were no longer unfocused.

Although he couldn't see the driver and the dream capsule, he could see that the energy didn't belong to any route he was familiar with, and this suppression and sorting had no hidden dangers or side effects.

“Lin, you…” Harry opened his mouth, but hesitated, unsure whether he should ask.

Lin Nan also found a chair and sat down. He looked at his wrist and saw that the compatibility had actually improved by a few points. He wiped his sweat and said with a wry smile, "It's temporarily suppressed, but this is only a temporary solution. As long as your father continues to give you the potion, it will never be resolved, Harry."

Chapter 22 The Starry Sky

Harry tried to sit up, seemingly instinctively trying to maintain the dignity of the Osborn family, but failed.

Lin Nan stood up and helped him up, then poured him a glass of water: "Have some water, relax."

Holding the water glass and feeling the warmth, Harry took a sip and even joked, "Why do Easterners always drink hot water?"

After speaking, he raised his head, his deep blue eyes revealing sincerity: "Thank you, Lin. I didn't expect you to actually have a solution, and... you didn't treat me like an outsider, you..."

“Everyone has secrets, Harry, including me. The important thing is what you plan to do next,” Lin Nan interrupted.

"I don't know, Lin. I'm terrified. I don't know when I'll become a monster, and I'm afraid that one day I'll become a perfect creation. I'm also afraid that if I stop treatment and rebel against my father, I'll die soon..."

Lin Nan calmly replied, "Your choice just now was a choice. You chose to trust me, instead of going back to get some stabilizer."

"This shows that in your heart, living and living as Harry are two different things, and you chose the latter, didn't you?"

Harry looked up abruptly and murmured, "As Harry, to survive..."

"Think about Peter, Gwen and I, Uncle Ben and Aunt May. Is it worth it for you to choose another path?"

Harry's eyes reddened slightly. Yes, the warmth he had received made it worthwhile for him to choose a different path: "Of course it was worth it."

"Of course, I'm not telling you to rebel against your father immediately, that's unrealistic, but you need to buy yourself time and look for other possibilities."

Then Lin Nan paused for a moment: "Just like what I did today, doesn't it also prove that there are other paths to take besides your father's method?"

“The road is made by people walking it, Harry. If the backlash comes again before we find a more reliable method, you can contact me. But don’t let your father notice anything unusual.”

Harry nodded and stood up, supporting himself on the chair. "Lin, I have to go back. Going back too late will attract my father's attention."

"Can you go back by yourself?"

"Yes, the driver is nearby. I asked him to let me go for a walk."

Lin Nan watched him tidy up his appearance and walk out the door.

Lin Nan let out a long breath after closing the door. In the original trilogy, the Green Goblin seemed to have mastered the power of the serum later on, so perhaps there really was another path.

On his wrist, the numbers flashed again: [Causality Value +80]

【Causality Value: 421/500】

Unexpectedly, this incident brought Lin Nan so much karmic value—a pleasant surprise!

Perhaps it won't be long before we can draw the next dream capsule.

The next day, night fell.

On the observatory on the hill, Lin Nan, Peter, and Harry lay on stargazing chairs, gazing up at the sky.

Harry looked up at the sky and said softly, "Back in Switzerland, on a clear day, you could see even more spectacular stars than this, but back then I could only lie in my hospital bed..."

"There was hardly any chance to appreciate it. I could only count the drops of the medicine as it fell, one or two drops, imagining them as stars."

Harry's words made Peter turn around, looking at his friend with heartache: "Harry..."

"After using the medication, I felt better, and my father arranged a whole bunch of courses for me: business, etiquette, technology, art..."

“My father told me I could live like a normal person, but only I knew that a bomb was planted inside me…”

Peter Parker's throat tightened, and for a moment he didn't know what to say. He now realized how heavy a burden his good friend was carrying.

After a long silence, Peter finally said, "Harry, we're good friends, and so is Lynn. We'll all be there for you."

Harry gave a wry smile: "Peter, this time is different. This time it's very dangerous, and I'm not a normal person..."

Peter laughed and sat up. "Not normal? Harry, look!"

Harry was somewhat puzzled. He stared at Peter Parker, but sensed that Peter seemed to have a force field that was different from that of ordinary people, and that his eyes reflected a light that was not normal in the dim light.

“Peter, you…”

Peter took a deep breath and made a decision: "Harry, do you know why I'm interested in biomechanics and materials science?"

"Because I was bitten by a spider a few months ago, and my body has changed since then..."

"I could feel that my strength, speed and reaction were many times that of an ordinary person, and I was very confused at the time."

As he spoke, he bent his finger and sprayed out a stream of spider silk.

Harry was stunned: "So... the Spider-Man I've been following who appeared in Hell's Kitchen lately, it's you?!"

"Yes, that's me. I was also confused and scared at first, but luckily I had Lin with me."

"He taught me a lot, how to control my power, how to make plans, and so on..."

As Harry spoke, he looked at Lin Nan, the reliable Asian classmate who lay quietly to one side, composed and mysterious.

"Forest..."

Lin Nan sat up: "None of us are normal people. You are not alone. You will definitely find a way out."

Harry's mood suddenly improved, and he couldn't help but laugh: "Hahaha, none of my friends are normal. One is Spider-Man, and the other is a mysterious guy who seems to be omniscient and omnipotent and has other powers."

"What are we? A monster guild? Where's Gwen? Gwen wouldn't..."

Lin Nan laughed and said, "Gwen is normal. She doesn't know about us yet. As for us, we're allies."

I added to myself, "Things are normal for now."

Harry smiled, relieved of most of the burden, and held out his hand: "Shall we give ourselves names?"

Peter reached out and placed his hand on it: "How about the Spider-Man League?"

Lin Nan responded to their childish behavior with annoyance: "Why not make it even more childish and call it Shadow?"