For a professional risk consultant, a fire that has already ignited always takes precedence over a potential fire hazard.
The Shadow can wait.
But Dr. Lizard absolutely cannot be allowed to lose control.
He grabbed his car keys and walked quickly to the parking lot below the apartment building.
A sleek black Audi, sensing the key, lit up its daytime running lights.
Half an hour later, the Audi stopped outside an industrial park in Queens.
William found a discreet-looking laboratory building.
When he pushed open the heavy alloy door, the hinges turned silently, as if lubricated with the smoothest grease in the World.
Soft, shadowless lighting illuminated the entire space.
Instruments and equipment were neatly arranged on the mirror-smooth laboratory benches, gleaming with the cold light of technology.
All wiring was cleverly hidden within the floor and walls, making the entire environment orderly and spotless.
Curtis Connors was standing with his back to the door, in front of a central laboratory bench, intently operating a precise instrument.
His White lab coat had become yellow and wrinkled, as if soaked countless times in sweat, and his entire being exuded a contradictory and dangerous aura, a mix of fanaticism and exhaustion.
Hearing the door open, he spun around.
Dr. Connors's face was a sickly waxy yellow, his eyeballs riddled with spiderweb-like blood vessels, as if he hadn't slept for days and nights.
William's gaze narrowed slightly.
What made his heart skip a beat even more was that the skin texture on Connors's only remaining right hand seemed somewhat rough, and the edges of his fingernails had an abnormal, unsettling bluish-gray tint.
"Mr. Rodriguez! You're here!"
Connors's voice was hoarse, tinged with unsuppressible excitement.
He almost stumbled over, grabbing William's arm with astonishing strength and dragging him forcefully to the laboratory bench.
"Look! Look at this!"
On the laboratory bench, a small White mouse was scurrying around in a glass incubator.
Its hind limb, which had been severed, was now completely healed, with the new limb covered in a fine layer of pink skin.
"I succeeded!"
"Based on reptilian gene regeneration factors, I really succeeded!"
Dr. Connors's breathing became heavy; he pointed to his right arm, the empty sleeve now rolled up to his shoulder.
"But, it's unstable! Very unstable!"
He pulled up his sleeve, revealing a small patch of skin below his shoulder.
The skin there no longer had the texture of human skin, but instead showed fine, scale-like keratinization.
"I just... just did a skin test with a trace amount of diluted serum."
"Then, I felt like there was a Fire burning inside my body. I could feel my cells craving, screaming! They wanted more!"
Connors clutched the stump of his severed arm with his remaining right hand, his knuckles White from the effort, as if wrestling with an invisible devil from the depths of his genes.
"I dare not sleep, Mr. Rodriguez."
A hint of a wail entered his voice.
"I'm afraid that if I fall asleep, I'll wake up as... something else!"
William's expression remained unchanged; he calmly withdrew his arm and then walked around the laboratory bench.
"Dr., in Article 17, Paragraph 3 of the supplementary terms of the 'Experimental Accident Liability Insurance' you signed, it is clearly stipulated: before conducting any high-risk human experiments, you must provide written notification to us twenty-four hours in advance, and be equipped with at least two safety observers and an emergency medical intervention plan."
"I..."
Connors opened his mouth but couldn't say a word.
"You breached the contract, Dr."
William stopped and met his gaze.
"From a legal and contractual perspective, I can now unilaterally terminate all our agreements, freeze your research funds, and reserve all rights to pursue any immeasurable potential losses that your reckless behavior may cause."
Connors's face instantly turned pale.
He had just climbed out of the hell of unemployment and despair; was he about to be mercilessly kicked back in?
"No! Please, Mr. Rodriguez!"
He pleaded, the genius's dignity completely gone in the face of uncontrolled fear.
"I was just... just momentarily carried away by success! I need help! I can feel it... that thing is changing me!"
Looking at the genius on the verge of collapse, William sighed inwardly.
Enough pressure had been applied; now it was time for the carrot.
"Of course, I will certainly help you."
William's tone softened without warning, as if the cold legal professional from moments ago was just an illusion.
"My job is to manage risk, not to abandon my clients after a risk erupts. This is my professional integrity, Dr."
He took out a syringe and a small metal bottle from his briefcase.
"This is a powerful sedative from Stark Industries, which can inhibit overactivity of the nervous system and cells. It will calm you down first."
Connors looked at the syringe, his eyes filled with hesitation and fear.
"Don't worry, the only side effect of this is that it will give you a good night's sleep."
William handed him the sedative.
"Your insurance, Dr., is not just a piece of paper. It represents a complete solution."
He patted Connors's shoulder.
"I have already prepared a brand new laboratory for you, right in the affiliated research center of the Stark Tower."
"There you'll find the top-tier security system, the most advanced medical facilities, and a twenty-four-hour on-call emergency medical team. You can safely and undisturbed complete your great research there."
"You... you're serious?"
Connors's voice trembled.
"The bill will be sent directly to me."
William added.
Connors's last psychological defense completely collapsed.
He took the sedative and unhesitatingly plunged the needle into his thigh.
The drug quickly took effect; the fanaticism and fear in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by an irresistible fatigue.
He staggered a few steps, collapsed onto a nearby cot, and fell into a deep sleep.
The moment Connors completely fell unconscious, William's mind heard a long-awaited prompt.
"Ding! Successfully performed initial intervention on the out-of-control risk of client 'Curtis Connors'."
"Extracting client ability based on this risk intervention..."
"Congratulations, Host, you have gained the ability — 'Accelerated Healing (Basic)'!"
"Accelerated Healing (Basic): Your cell activity and regenerative capacity have been enhanced. Effect: Minor cuts and bruises will heal within hours, and there is a small bonus to the recovery speed of severe injuries such as fractures. Warning: This ability cannot regenerate severed limbs."
Another life-saving skill!
William flexed his wrist, feeling a faint but resilient vitality deep within his body.
Although it couldn't regenerate severed limbs, this recovery speed was already far beyond ordinary people.
In the future, when "communicating" with Jessica, at least he wouldn't have to worry about showing up to clients with bruises the next day.
He took out his phone.
"contract, have someone send an action team over to take control of the site, and safely transfer Dr. Connors and all his research data to the laboratory I designated. Activate Level A confidentiality protocol, and clear all surveillance records along the route."
After dealing with all this, William walked out of the dangerous warehouse.
The sun outside was just right; he squinted, feeling that he had just completed a brilliant crisis public relations.
Dr. Lizard's crisis was temporarily paused.
Now, it was time to deal with the more challenging and more tempting target.
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