George came quickly—and left just as quickly.
Even after returning to his office at the NYPD, Ryan's hypnotic words kept echoing in his mind:
Black and white aren't so distinct.
Helen and Gwen can have a better, safer life.
You could become the next Director of the NYPD… maybe even Mayor of New York one day.
Given Ryan's current influence and momentum, George couldn't say those words were impossible.
Leaving aside Ryan's position as head of the Sullivan Family—he was also Chairman of Presbyterian Hospital, a prospective City Council member, and now a Board Director at the Osborn Group.
If Ryan could convince Norman Osborn to lend support, the mayor's seat didn't seem so far-fetched anymore.
Those thoughts swirled in George's mind, half-real, half-hypnotic.
Meanwhile, Ryan, feeling relaxed, once again arrived at the Osborn Group.
Unlike yesterday's simple visit, this time he came with a clear proposal—and a hundred million dollars in cash. That was enough to make even Norman Osborn personally welcome him at the entrance of Osborn Tower.
During the company's golden days, a hundred million would've been nothing.
But since Norman's hereditary disease began to worsen and the company's performance declined, this kind of liquidity could buy him six months—maybe more.
That was crucial.
Even with mounting pressure from the U.S. military and his own Board of Directors, Norman Osborn hadn't abandoned his human enhancement serum research.
But with profits falling and oversight tightening, he had to continue his work in secret.
And for secret projects, even Norman couldn't pull too much from company funds—not without drawing suspicion.
Ryan's money was a godsend.
The price?
Control over one of Osborn's research projects—specifically, Professor Curt Connors' "Lizard Serum" project.
Norman valued the research, but not enough to refuse a deal that could save his company. If the project succeeded, it would still belong to Oscorp anyway. And if Connors objected? Norman could always fire him.
Half a morning later, negotiations concluded.
One hundred million dollars were transferred.
And control over the reptilian gene fusion project was officially handed to Ryan.
As expected, when Norman broke the news, a fierce argument erupted between him and Professor Connors.
Moments later, staff saw Connors storming out of the building, throwing his lab coat aside in fury.
Immediately afterward, Ryan's team moved in and took over the entire lab.
With Norman personally overseeing the handover, everything went smoothly.
Ryan didn't care what the remaining researchers thought. After Norman left, he had his people deliver several of his "little darlings" into the facility—his private collection of experimental specimens.
For Ryan, the Lizard Serum itself wasn't important. What he really wanted was Connors' accumulated research knowledge—and the right to use Osborn's state-of-the-art reptile genetics lab.
Ryan's cultivation had already reached the Foundation Establishment stage through Yin and Yang Creation Qi.
Between his connection with Gwen, his growing number of dual cultivation partners, and his ever-expanding mastery of the Heaven River True Method, his Foundation Realm was steadily evolving toward infinity.
Now, he needed to prepare for the next realm—the Di Sha Realm.
In the Immortal World, Foundation Establishment is only the beginning.
To reach Di Sha, one must refine both Tiangang Qi and Di Sha Qi, harmonizing with Heaven and Earth's spiritual veins to temper essence, Qi, and spirit—eventually forming the Primordial Spirit.
But here on Earth, Di Sha Qi and Tiangang Qi simply didn't exist naturally.
That's why Ryan turned his attention to Osborn's reptile gene lab.
Among the cultivation methods he'd acquired, one ancient Witchcraft technique stood out: Gu Cultivation.
It involved raising countless poisonous creatures—forcing them to devour one another until only the strongest survived—thereby condensing the Origin of Di Sha.
The Immortal witches had used this brutal method for generations.
Now, Ryan planned to merge that ancient savagery with Osborn's cutting-edge genetics technology.
With Gu Cultivation techniques from the Luofu World, Osborn's billion-dollar lab, and Professor Connors' decades of genetic expertise, Ryan could synthesize enough Di Sha essence to break through to the next realm.
"Star Qi Refinement, Yin-Yang Foundation Establishment…" Ryan murmured. "The next step should be refining the Five Elements Qi."
If he could merge Yin-Yang with the Five Elements—and later collect Spacetime Tiangang—he could cultivate a self-contained inner universe, limitless and eternal.
"For the Five Elements, the Di Sha sources are: Golden Centipedes, Green Lizards, Black Snakes, Red Scorpions, and Jade Toads."
He paused, frowning.
"Damn, I was careless. Geckos are technically Green Lizards—they fall under the same category. I should've kept Professor Connors around."
Then, after a brief chuckle, his expression cooled.
"No matter. If Frank's side hasn't failed, the Decay Formula should already be secured."
"Once I have that, bringing Connors back under control won't be a problem."