"My brother, how dare you say anything? Can you really talk about your 'work' directly?"
Gwen had been saved by Lock in a bloody manner, and after that, she had fallen hopelessly in love with him.
So she naturally knew that when Lock spoke of cleaning up underground "pests," he didn't mean literal insects, but the pests among humanity!
However, Dr. Curt Connors clearly didn't think in that direction, his gaze holding a hint of pity for Lock:
"So it's research on pests, that is indeed quite good..."
"In today's human society, after industrial pollution, pests are indeed becoming harder to clear. If a genius like you were to devote himself to such research, you might truly make a huge contribution to the work of clearing pests for all of humanity..."
"It's just a pity. I always feel that with your talent, it's a bit of a waste to only be involved in pest control research..."
Kingpin's Fisk Enterprises is outwardly a conscientious enterprise primarily focused on charity and public welfare, so Lock saying he's in the field of pest control is actually quite reasonable.
Except for Gwen, who was in the know, no one, including Peter, suspected anything.
Lock replied nonchalantly, "It's not about the scale of the task; with great power comes great responsibility."
"I believe my abilities are better suited for cleaning up pests, so I did it. There's no such thing as a waste."
The three of them were stunned for a moment, each having their own realizations about Lock's words.
Dr. Connors felt ashamed, not expecting that at his age, he hadn't seen things as clearly as a young man in his early twenties.
Peter looked full of admiration, thinking to himself that, as expected of the cousin he had looked up to since childhood, his ideological awareness was much higher than that of ordinary people!
Finally, Gwen's eyes were filled with even more admiration as she looked at Lock!
Truly,y the man she had decided she must win over!
Intelligent, brave, powerful, low-key, indifferent to fame and fortune, existing in the darkness while his heart is in the light—it seemed every beautiful quality in the world could be found in this man!
Even his perfect, model-like face seemed to be the most insignificant trait in front of these noble qualities!
"He's so outstanding, I love him so much!"
Looking at the positive gazes from the three of them, Lock fell silent.
Did he say something incredible?
Didn't he just borrow a famous line from his old man's iconic scene?
Seeing the three of them staring at him, Lock said helplessly, "Aren't we going to visit Dr. Connors' lab? Or do you plan to just stare at me until the interns arrive?"
The three of them snapped back to their senses upon hearing this.
Dr. Connors had completely dropped his elder persona and invited Lock in the tone of an equal:
"Mr. Parker, please follow me. It is an honor to have you visit my laboratory."
Saying this, he led the way to his lab.
The three of them looked at each other and followed.
After disinfection, they entered Dr. Connors' private laboratory.
Although the laboratory wasn't very large, it was fully equipped, and all the scientific research equipment was the latest on the market.
Some were even biological research equipment unique to Oscorp that couldn't even be bought elsewhere.
Dr. Connors first introduced his various past research results to Lock and Peter.
Under Lock and Peter's praise, Dr. Connors introduced the project everyone was most interested in and that he was currently tackling: the cross-species lizard gene regeneration serum project.
Connors looked at the few white mice that had failed and died in the test box, his expression a bit despondent:
"I have completed countless cross-species research experiments in biology, but this lizard regeneration serum research project, which I most hope to succeed in, has stuck with me for a full ten years, leaving me forever at the final step, unable to succeed..."
"The outside world says I'm a modern Darwin in cross-species genetics, but only I know that compared to those true geniuses among humans, I'm always one step short, and this one step is a chasm I can never cross..."
"If anyone can be called the modern Darwin of cross-species genetics, there's probably only one person. If he were still here, perhaps this final algorithm would have been solved long ago..."
Lock's eyes narrowed; he had already guessed who the "he" Dr. Connors was talking about.
And it wasn't just Lock who guessed this; Peter, who was beside him, did too.
The smile on Peter's face slowly disappeared, and his voice became low as he spoke to Dr. Connors: "The person you mentioned is..."
"That's right..." Dr. Connors answered Peter with a hint of guilt in his eyes before Peter could finish: "It's your father, Richard Parker..."
Although Gwen didn't mention Peter's surname when introducing him, she did introduce Lock's surname when she introduced him.
As for Lock, Dr. Connors had some understanding; he had known two years ago that Lock was the nephew of his former genius colleague.
Since Peter called Lock a cousin, his identity naturally didn't need to be explicitly stated; Dr. Connors already knew.
Therefore, upon learning Lock's identity, the look in Dr. Connors' eyes as he looked at the two brothers was so complex.
A thought flashed by, and Dr. Connors continued:
"Peter, actually, this research was originally carried out by me and your father, Richard..."
"And with Richard's wisdom, I believe he would have been fully capable of completing this regeneration research that could benefit countless humans!"
"But unfortunately, in the final stages of this project, the flight your father was on crashed, leaving this algorithm to haunt me for ten years..."
"Sorry, Peter. I was your father's colleague and friend, yet I haven't visited you once in all these years because I hated..."
"I hated that Richard left at the critical moment of the regeneration research; I hated that he made me lose the chance to become whole again..."
"But it wasn't until Lock's words today that I was woken up. With great power comes great responsibility. I didn't have that ability, yet I delusionally tried to complete a responsibility beyond my capacity, and blamed it all on your father. I really feel very ashamed..."
"I'm sorry, Peter..."
With Dr. Connors' final apology, Peter's fists clenched tightly, his whole body trembling slightly.
It seemed to be in anger, yet also in sadness...
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