Plans had changed, but Batman wasn't surprised.
He had already prepared for the next step in case Professor Connors didn't cooperate or refused to leave the Osborn Group.
Although Connors was staying behind to produce the stabilizer, Batman still needed to advance his plan.
While appearing idle and pretending to be busy as "Clark" on various floors of the Osborn Group, he had already planted special Bat-daggers in numerous vents.
Unlike regular Bat-daggers, these contained a potent biological sedative that would continuously spread throughout the entire Osborn Group.
Batman had only used these Bat-daggers before to calm Harry Osborn's emotions, but that didn't mean they were limited to that purpose.
Once a monster truly emerged within the Osborn Group, its aggressive impulses would be significantly dampened under the influence of this sedative.
At the same time, Batman had installed monitoring software on nearly every computer, monitor, and even experimental device he could access, all of which were then analyzed and monitored by the Oracle AI in the Batmobile parked not far from the Osborn Group.
If any abnormal situation or crisis arose, the Oracle AI would immediately relay the information to the miniature earpiece Batman was already wearing.
This two-pronged approach still wasn't the entirety of Batman's plan.
After tossing the pizza box containing the hard drive into the garbage chute, Batman climbed the stairs to the fifty-eighth floor.
This was the highest floor that regular Osborn Group employees could access; the areas above were occupied by heavily armed soldiers.
Based on various details he'd overheard from General Ross's conversations with other officers, the fifty-ninth and sixtieth floors, plus the rooftop, might be housing over two hundred soldiers.
This was also why Batman hadn't chosen to use the ventilation shafts and instead needed to disguise his identity to enter the building.
"So many people gathered here—besides General Ross being overly cautious, there might be other reasons I'm not aware of."
Batman remained motionless, concealed in a shadow on the fifty-eighth floor. He'd already shed his white lab coat, revealing the black stealth suit underneath.
Only an hour had passed since he'd installed the eavesdropping device on General Ross. During that time, besides calls from the Capitol, the White House, and the military separately demanding that General Ross end the continued military oversight of the Osborn Group...
General Ross had also held a press conference to counter Batman's offensive.
Beyond that, no other valuable information had been intercepted.
Facts proved Batman's deduction was correct; about ten minutes later, General Ross, in Norman Osborn's office, received a call.
"The target is expected to arrive at the Osborn Building in an hour." The voice on the phone was steady and authoritative. "General Ross, I've temporarily held off the pressure from the Capitol and the White House for you. You'd better not disappoint me."
General Ross's voice carried a hint of excitement:
"Don't worry, sir. My team of scientific consultants has analyzed all the biotechnology within the Osborn Group."
"Banner's mutation is essentially gamma energy-induced—uncontrolled and limitless cell regeneration and mutation—while Professor Connors's limb regeneration research is essentially controlled and directional cell regeneration."
"By combining the two, I might be able to mass-produce Hulks, forming an unprecedented super army."
"Don't make any mistakes," the voice on the phone warned.
"Understood, sir," General Ross replied.
On the fifty-eighth floor, Batman's brow furrowed.
General Ross was after Professor Connors's limb regeneration experiment, but fortunately, Batman had already arranged for Professor Connors to transfer all the core experimental data beforehand.
It was just that Professor Connors needed to stay here to produce stabilizers for the patients at Metropolitan Hospital, and "Peter Parker" was clearly no longer a suitable identity for transferring the professor.
He would need to don the Batsuit again and take Professor Connors away once he finished making the stabilizer.
"Who is the target General Ross mentioned on the phone?"
With this question in mind, Batman retrieved the hard drive containing the core data from the garbage chute and left the Osborn Building.
Gamma rays, limb regeneration, Hulk... General Ross had mentioned on the phone that "the target will arrive at the Osborn Building in an hour," but there was no further information about this target.
Neither who the target was nor how they would arrive was specified.
"Barbara, search S.H.I.E.L.D. files for the keyword 'Hulk' and report the latest information to me."
Sitting in the Batmobile, with its currently silent "stealth mode" activated, Batman drove toward the City Hall subway station.
"Keyword searched. Latest information: S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury dispatched S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Hawkeye, Clint Barton, and Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff, to Dharavi, Mumbai, India, to find Hulk."
The Oracle AI in the Batmobile quickly scanned S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal files and relayed the most crucial details.
"Search for their mode of travel to Dharavi."
The Oracle AI dove back into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files and swiftly provided Batman with the information it found.
This included the model of the fighter jet that Hawkeye and Black Widow had flown, their takeoff time, landing time, and return time.
"Hack into that fighter jet and retrieve all communication records from it."
Everything from the abandoned shipyard had been relocated to the City Hall subway station, and Batman was rapidly preparing the web-fluid concentrate.
Along with dozens of Bat-daggers, gel bombs, electrical discharge devices, sedatives, anesthetics... he inspected nearly all his tools and equipment one by one and stored them in his utility belt.
He was preparing for a battle that might be imminent.
"Fighter jet hacked. Communication records are as follows. Play?" the Oracle AI asked.
"Convert to text," Batman said, "and check for the keyword 'Hulk' within it."
"Converted. 'Hulk' confirmed mentioned," the Oracle AI reported. "S.H.I.E.L.D. attempted to apprehend Hulk and bring him to the Helicarrier at sea, but midway, they received a coded directive to transfer Hulk to the location indicated by the code."
"Bruce, should I try to decipher the code and find Hulk's location?"
Click!
Batman embedded three sharp blades into the armor on the outside of his forearm. He slowly clenched his fist, feeling the powerful physical strength of Peter Parker, which he had continuously trained since his transmigration.
"No need, Barbara. The target General Ross mentioned is Hulk; he's about to arrive at the Osborn Group." Batman said. "It's not yet certain in what state Hulk will be brought..."
"But I need to prepare for the worst."
--
Support me & read more advance & fast update chapter on my pa-treon:
pat reon .c-om/windkaze