Marvel: A Lazy-Ass Superman

Chapter 756: Chapter 756: The Lizard Professor’s Whereabouts

Because one of the people who escaped from the Siberian Alien Research Institute had joined Oscorp, Henry had naturally looked into Oscorp after learning where that person had ended up.

Oscorp was a publicly traded company and was therefore required to disclose a certain amount of corporate information. Combined with some non-public personnel information, this gave Henry a fairly good understanding of the people throughout the massive corporation.

Curtis "Curt" Connors was a Vietnam War medic. During the war, he was attacked by the enemy and caught in an explosion, resulting in the amputation of his right arm. After being sent back to the United States, he was discharged from the military.

After leaving the army, Curt Connors returned to university and devoted himself to studying the regenerative systems of reptiles. He hoped to use cross-species gene therapy to regenerate his missing limb and, ultimately, benefit everyone who had lost a limb for one reason or another.

The research also received support from Oscorp, which established a laboratory and provided funding and personnel. But like most pharmaceutical research, it was a long-term battle measured in decades.

For a high school girl like Gwen Stacy, someone like this—with his knowledge and abilities, his research goals, and the environment in which he worked—was almost irresistibly attractive. No wonder Gwen wanted to bet her future on Professor Connors.

But...

In Spider-Man’s world, this was the infamous Professor Lizard.

In other words, his research ultimately went horribly wrong.

Gwen had made a huge gamble with her life, only to place the wrong bet and lose. Fortunately, she died young, so she never had to face the tragedy of a middle-aged life falling apart.

...Maybe things would develop differently in this world.

Why did this Kryptonian have so little confidence?

"Henry, is something wrong? Why do you look so grim?" Catherine Hepburn, who was extremely perceptive, noticed Henry’s mood and asked.

Even Gwen turned to look at him, blinking her large eyes in confusion and concern.

Henry relaxed his brow and answered with a smile, "No, nothing’s wrong. I was just trying to remember what kind of research Professor Connors has conducted.

"If I remember correctly, it’s Oscorp’s cross-species gene therapy project. I remember Professor Connors published several papers in Current Biology. Their contents were quite thought-provoking."

As if she had finally found someone who understood her, Gwen excitedly nodded.

"Yes, yes, that’s Professor Curt Connors. I found him because of those papers in Current Biology. I was really surprised to discover that someone like him was right here in New York."

"I just don’t know when his research will produce results. Biomedical research like this takes a long time, right?"

"Because of confidentiality, I can’t say too much about the details. But it’s precisely because I have confidence in the prospects of this research that I chose to join Professor Connors’ team. If we really achieve our goal, I don’t think there’ll be any problem with the professor winning a Nobel Prize."

Looking at the young girl’s shining eyes and flushed cheeks, Henry knew this wasn’t the time to pour cold water on her enthusiasm.

First, he wasn’t certain that this world’s Curt Connors would inevitably ruin his research.

Second, Gwen had already made her decision and obtained the result she wanted. She wasn’t lost and asking for advice about which path to take.

Pouring cold water on her and predicting that Curt Connors’ research would fail would only increase Gwen’s psychological burden. It wasn’t necessarily going to make her change her mind. Besides, their relationship wasn’t close enough for Henry to interfere with her life choices. Why offend her for no reason?

Moreover, Gwen was still very young. She was only eighteen, which meant she could afford to make mistakes.

Even if Curt Connors failed, her little boat on the river of life would still have time to change course and sail somewhere else.

And most importantly, if Henry advised her to change direction, did he actually have a Plan B to support her?

No.

For a Kryptonian who had never attended university himself, Henry didn’t have the resources to help her in that regard.

Catherine Hepburn’s Bryn Mawr College wasn’t a particularly good alternative either. The women’s college, founded in the nineteenth century, specialized in the social sciences and humanities, which didn’t align well with Gwen’s strengths in science and engineering.

Since he couldn’t offer a Plan B, there was little point in simply telling her that her decision was a terrible one. That kind of purely destructive advice was better left unsaid.

So Henry simply based their conversation around several of Professor Connors’ published papers and chatted with the goal-oriented young woman.

He also recommended several related papers. In fact, these were papers Professor Connors himself had privately recommended to Gwen. Since she had already read them, the girl became increasingly interested and began discussing the papers’ theories and research findings with Henry.

To the people listening in, their discussion sounded like an incomprehensible foreign language. There wasn’t even room for them to interject.

Like a caterpillar, Skye wriggled from beside the dining table into the living room, buried her head against Katie’s body, and began "absorbing" the tabby cat.

The old lady scratched the back of the little girl’s head.

"Skye, have you thought about what you want to do with your future?"

Skye turned around and sprawled bonelessly against Katie.

"I’m only fourteen. Do I really have to think about that already?"

Catherine Hepburn smiled.

"When I was your age, I was already putting on plays with my friends and siblings for our neighbors.

"We charged fifty cents per performance. Then we’d use the money to buy movie tickets and watch a movie once a week. Around that time, I became certain that I loved acting.

"After graduating from college, I went into theater. I still remember the first time I played the female lead onstage. It was an absolute disaster. I forgot my lines, tripped, and spoke far too quickly. Good heavens, I’m glad I stuck with it."

After hearing the old lady’s example, Skye turned to the Kryptonian, who had stopped talking with Gwen.

"Henry, what about you? What do you want to do with your future?"

"Eat, drink, and wait to die," the Kryptonian honestly replied.

The old lady immediately cut in.

"Don’t listen to this guy. He’s a terrible role model. And don’t believe a word he says.

"He’s always talking about wanting to muddle through life, doing nothing but eating and waiting to die. Yet no matter what he does, he does it quickly and does it well. There’s hardly anything that can stump him.

"Just listen to what he and Gwen were discussing a moment ago. Is that something an ordinary person could understand? If you ask me, he could teach at a university without any trouble.

"Tony has called him a bastard countless times, but not once has he called him stupid.

"A person like this says one thing while meaning another. He’s a complete fraud. If I’d met someone like him when I was young, and I hadn’t already landed a few punches on his face, I wouldn’t be Catherine Hepburn."

The Kryptonian looked aggrieved.

Wasn’t everyone’s goal when they were young to enjoy a comfortable retirement?

So what was wrong with him taking that dream one step further and enjoying his entire life?

With the old lady leading the charge, the two girls laughed heartily without the slightest sympathy for him.

Even Katie the tabby cat let out a roar, joining in for effect.

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