American Comics: Tales of Cultivator

Chapter 94: Funeral, Experiment, The Lizard

Two days later, in The Bronx, New York City, at Woodlawn Cemetery.

Inside the park, lush trees and green grass created a particularly beautiful environment.

This is the resting place for many world-renowned figures. Jazz master Duke Ellington, composer Irving Berlin, writer Damon Runyon, and other celebrities are buried here.

However, becoming their neighbor might require tens of millions of US Dollars to purchase a private burial plot.

At this time, the area around the cemetery was filled with News Vans, and many Photographers aimed their Cameras towards the cemetery Entrance.

Because today was the funeral for Obadiah, the Vice President of Stark Industries.

"Quick, get a shot! It's Norman Osborn, the Chairman of Oscorp!"

A stout Photographer quickly turned his Camera at the beautiful Reporter's call.

Oscorp had also experienced frequent Accidents recently, causing the public to lose confidence in this long-standing Biotech Company.

There were rumors that even Oscorp's Directors wanted to remove Norman Osborn from his position as Chairman.

Looking at Norman Osborn's weary face, surrounded by Bodyguards, the female Reporter mentally drafted her article.

Shocking: Norman Osborn Attends Stark Vice President's Funeral, Face Gaunt, Suspected of Incurable Illness. "Military vehicle, it's someone from the Military..."

"Quick, shoot!"

A Humvee with Federal Military license plates stopped, and three soldiers got out. Leading them was a Middle-aged white man with the rank of Major General on his Shoulder.

Beside him were a Colonel and a Lieutenant Colonel.

There had always been rumors that the Federal Military held Shares in Stark Industries.

*Click, click, click* Seeing someone from the Military attend Obadiah's funeral, the sound of camera shutters was incessant all around.

As an excellent Photographer, one needed sufficient physical stamina. Amidst the beautiful Reporter's Scream, the stout Photographer aimed his Camera at one Important Figure after another.

The rise of Stark Industries was established alongside the Federation's dominant position during World War II. Howard Stark, relying on his outstanding intellect and Connections, developed Stark Industries into the Federation's top military-industrial enterprise.

Although Tony Stark was unrestrained, his innate talent was undeniable, especially in Weapons manufacturing. Half of the new Weapons equipped by the Federal Military came from Tony Stark's hand, including the most advanced Jericho Missile.

The split missile structure and saturation strike capability gave the Military a significant advantage in medium and long-range missile strikes.

This also meant Stark Industries had always been a military-industrial enterprise registered with the Federal Department of Defense, consistently enjoying 'favorite son' treatment in terms of resource allocation and procurement Orders.

Although this 'favorite son' suddenly announced he wanted to be weaned, it was clear that the Military's attitude towards Stark Industries remained ambiguous.

This relationship might continue until Tony Stark reveals his 'big toy'.

Cross-shareholding is something many large enterprises and financial groups love to do. Having a piece of each other helps prevent the Federation's anti-monopoly laws.

It also serves to increase their foundation.

Just like the Osborn Family, they had always held 2.5% of the Shares in Stark Industries.

Even though Tang Song had always wanted to purchase these Shares at a high price, Norman Osborn had no intention of selling them.

Tony Stark's announcement of withdrawing from the firearms manufacturing industry caused a significant shock in the financial market.

Converted into the shares held by some magnates, their losses were also calculated in the hundreds of millions of US Dollars.

However, when Tony Stark invited them to Obadiah's funeral under the guise of bidding farewell to him, most people still came.

"Vroom, vroom!"

A white new concept Mercedes-Benz sports car stopped at the cemetery Entrance.

*Click, click, click*, Reporters surrounded it, taking a flurry of photos.

No matter what Important Figure arrived, this one Mercedes concept sports car alone, valued at several million US Dollars, was enough to warrant a picture.

The gull-wing doors opened, and a handsome Asian young man in a black suit stepped out, carrying a cane in his hand.

His handsomeness carried an air of gentle elegance.

"An Asian? Who is he?"

Many Reporters from outside New York State were confused after taking photos. A Director of a major financial group? Never heard of him.

New York Reporters, however, subconsciously turned their camera lenses away. What if taking a photo displeased this Boss Tang?

It was true that Reporters were the uncrowned kings, unafraid of politicians, officials, or wealthy businessmen, but Gangs...

Many Reporters also noticed the actions of their New York counterparts. Reporters are perceptive and quick-witted individuals.

"Hey, mate, who is this?"

A Reporter from the French Sun newspaper nudged the arm of a New York Times Reporter beside him, asking quietly.

The stout Reporter looked around, then leaned in close to his ear: "The King of New York, the new Crime Boss!"

The French Reporter's hand trembled, and he subconsciously lowered his camera.

The atmosphere seemed contagious. The lively shooting atmosphere, watching Tang Song get out of the car and walk towards the cemetery, actually fell silent.

Even the sound of cameras clicking was sparse.

"Tony Stark is here!"

With a scream, many Reporters aimed their cameras at the road leading to the cemetery.

A black commercial vehicle stopped, and Tony Stark, wearing sunglasses, got out with a somewhat heavy expression.

Pepper Potts was holding his shoulder.

The two paid no attention to the Reporters and walked quickly towards the cemetery, surrounded by several Bodyguards.

......

Obadiah's funeral was held inside the Woodlawn Cemetery grounds, and Reporters were naturally blocked outside by Bodyguards.

Tony Stark attended the funeral with Pepper Potts. The grief in his eyes was evident.

Even though Obadiah had tried to kill him, Tony Stark still had some feelings for this Godfather.

After all, after Howard Stark passed away, it was Obadiah who took care of his childhood and worked hard to maintain Stark Industries.

To some extent, Obadiah was more like his adoptive father. Unfortunately, the two eventually became mortal opponents due to conflicting interests. However, Tony Stark still chose to give his Godfather a dignified send-off.

He had Stark Industries' public relations department suppress all rumors about Obadiah and used J.A.R.V.I.S. to eliminate all negative online public opinion about Obadiah.

Obadiah ultimately passed away tragically due to health reasons, suffering a heart attack. This was the obituary provided by Stark Industries.

Those invited to Obadiah's funeral were prominent figures from all walks of life in New York.

The crowd, dressed in black suits and formal wear, looked solemn as Father Declerck, the new Bishop of the Diocese of New York, personally performed the final prayers for Obadiah.

At the solemn and dignified funeral, Tang Song, as a shareholder of Stark Industries, rarely attended in a black suit.

...…

"Boss!"

The funeral ended. As soon as Tang Song got back into his car, Lane called.

"Professor Connors' experiment project has yielded results!"

Professor Connors' experimental results. Tang Song's gaze flickered with brilliance. He instructed the driver:

"To Oscorp Tower!"

......

In a pristine sterile Laboratory, through the large one-way bulletproof glass, a Middle-aged Man with a missing right leg could be seen lying naked on the operating table.

"The Test Subject is a Federal veteran who participated in the Afghanistan war. Due to his physical disability, he became a homeless person and has signed a voluntary agreement!"

Outside the observation room, Professor Connors, wearing a white coat, explained to Tang Song.

He had no choice but to explain. Not long ago, Oscorp's stock price plummeted due to issues involving human experimentation and human rights issues.

Tang Song was a Director of Oscorp, as well as the funder and Boss behind this Experiment Project.

If this Project were shut down for this reason, Professor Connors would probably feel like committing suicide.

"Begin!"

Tang Song didn't care if the Test Subject was voluntary. If he really wanted to, he could easily have a batch of Gang thugs tied up and brought in as consumables. He waved his hand, and Bob, standing nearby, pressed the switch on the injector.

The metal arm suspended above the Test Subject directly injected a spiral liquid injector into his left arm.

As the green liquid was pushed inside the body of the disabled Middle-aged Man.

His exposed body instantly tensed, and veins began to surface on his skin. The bulging blood vessels quickly spread throughout the Middle-aged Man's body, looking like a net of veins covering him.

The Middle-aged Man's mouth was bound with a restraint mouth gag, but judging by his facial expression, which looked like he was about to bite through the ball gag, injecting this reagent was indeed very painful.

"Can't you administer anesthesia?"

Tang Song frowned, looking at the Middle-aged Man who was almost fainting from the pain.

"Because this is the first human experiment, to avoid affecting the results and for more accurate data measurement, we canceled the anesthesia injection."

Professor Connors explained: "We have communicated with the Test Subject in advance and obtained his consent on this point."

Tang Song said nothing more, just quietly observing the Test Subject's reaction after the injection.

Inside the green injector was the gene of the special lizard cultivated by Professor Connors, adjusted based on the gene formula and gene sample obtained from Peter Parker's blood.

Five minutes after injecting the gene reagent, the Test Subject Middle-aged Man's skin turned green, as if he had fallen into a bucket of green paint.

Ten minutes later, his green skin began to wrinkle, some parts becoming like the mottled skin of a reptile, and his pupils also began to change towards those of a reptile.

Fifteen minutes later, his fingernails began to grow rapidly, and his missing right leg slowly grew back under Professor Connors' mixed gaze of surprise and joy.

Half an hour later, in addition to the regrown right leg, the Test Subject, now with all four limbs, also had a thick Lizard tail growing behind him.

Not only that, the Middle-aged Man's physique also increased from his initial height of 1.9 meters to nearly 2.5 meters, significantly larger than the operating table in the Laboratory.

His entire physical mutation also changed. Lying on the operating table, he looked like a giant lizard lying on its back.

"Professor, Tang, did we succeed or fail!"

Bob blinked his small eyes, looking at the situation in the Laboratory, somewhat unsure of what was happening.

As the saying goes, when one person attains the Dao, their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. After Boss Tang became a Director of Oscorp, Bob, his former colleague, also rose from being an Ordinary Researcher to a Project Supervisor.

This time, when Professor Connors conducted the human experiment for the Project, he specifically called Bob.

"Mr. Tang, this... this kind of physical mutation clearly didn't happen in the mice! I've done many experiments!"

After waiting for a full ten minutes, seeing the Test Subject still maintaining his lizard appearance, Connors explained to Tang Song somewhat incoherently.

"Collect blood, perform blood analysis, and compare the changes in the Test Subject's gene?"

Hearing Tang Song's words, Professor Connors quickly went to the control panel and used the mechanical arm to collect the Lizard Man's blood sample, placing it under a microscope for observation.

Because there were existing control parameters, the results of the data analysis were quick.

However, the experimental results left Professor Connors somewhat frustrated.

The Test Subject's gene had undergone an irreversible change. In other words, from the perspective of human genetics, the Test Subject had transformed from a human into the Lizard Man.

"Can his appearance be reversed back to human?"

Tang Song raised an eyebrow, looking at the Lizard Man lying on the operating table.

His divine sense could feel the powerful blood qi on this Lizard Man. Even the Mountain Demon he encountered back then was slightly inferior to this Lizard Man in terms of blood qi intensity.

One must know that before injecting the gene serum, the Test Subject was merely a physically disabled homeless person.

One injection saved decades of arduous cultivation effort. If this were in the Jambudvīpa World, how many ordinary humans practicing external martial arts would regard this as divine medicine? This effect is comparable to the Immortal Pills and Spirit Medicine in the hands of Cultivators, especially since the cost of this agent is not high. It only requires the blood gene of a lizard.

"Further research is needed to reach a conclusion!" Professor Connors looked conflicted.

His lifelong dream was to restore his disabled arm. Now, his dream could be realized with just one injection.

But between being disabled and transforming into a lizard monster, Professor Connors felt his arm could wait a bit longer.

(end of chapter)