Harry, the guests are already here. Why didn't you call me?" Norman said to Harry with a hint of blame.
Then he looked at Meng Ran and the others, smiling, "Hello, everyone. It's Harry's honor to have such excellent friends as you."
Harry had mentioned Meng Ran and the others to Norman before, and Norman knew them well: the three most outstanding students at Midtown High School. Norman was indeed very pleased with them, as having such connections would greatly benefit Harry.
Meng Ran and the others quickly greeted Norman.
Norman looked at them and led them to the dining room, where many snacks and drinks had already been prepared.
While chatting, Meng Ran and the others also observed Norman for any abnormalities. So far, the Norman they saw was perfectly normal, both affable and humorous, showing no signs of anything unusual.
Just then, a breaking news report interrupted the TV in the kitchen, showing a green-masked wack blowing up the entrance of the Osborn Building.
Seeing the news, the group, who had been chatting, all fell silent.
Harry looked at the TV, somewhat surprised, and said to Norman, "Dad, this... how could something like this suddenly happen? It's a good thing you didn't go today."
Norman also said, shocked, "That's terrible. Many people must be injured. You all continue playing; I'm going to make a call to arrange some things."
Then Norman left the kitchen with his phone.
Meng Ran also watched the TV, listening to Harry and his father's conversation, while observing Norman's expression out of the corner of his eye. He felt that this incident must be related to Norman.
However, Norman also had a shocked expression, appearing completely unaware, and Meng Ran couldn't discern his true thoughts from his reaction.
After Norman left, Meng Ran and the others no longer felt like staying. After saying goodbye to Harry, they left in a hurry.
Meng Ran and the others left Harry's house and got into Meng Ran's car. Once inside, they finally began to talk.
They were all caught off guard by this sudden incident and were very confused.
They all had a vague feeling that this matter was related to Norman, but they couldn't find anything unusual; Norman's behavior was perfectly normal.
If they weren't all extraordinary individuals with their unique sixth sense, seeing Norman's normal demeanor would likely make them doubt if they had guessed wrong.
"Xiao Bai, how's your investigation with Mary Jane going?" Meng Ran asked Xiao Bai about the results of the investigation while driving to the base. Peter and Gwen, sitting next to him, also put on their headphones to listen.
Xiao Bai reported, "Based on the information obtained from Osborn Corporation and matching it with the current situation, there are approximately the following useful pieces of information."
"One, Norman Osborn, who had retired behind the scenes due to illness, suddenly recovered from his illness and returned to the forefront."
"Two, although Norman Osborn returned to the forefront, his power had been usurped by some people over the years. There was supposed to be a board meeting today, and it was expected that Norman would be stripped of his power after this meeting. However, due to the explosion, some shareholders died, and the board meeting could not be held as scheduled."
"Three, out of the twelve shareholders who opposed Norman Osborn, seven were killed in today's explosion."
"Four, a key scientist at Osborn Group, Ibe, unexpectedly passed away a few days ago. This person was a long-time friend of Norman Osborn and had been in charge of Norman Osborn's treatment plan after he fell ill. The official explanation given by Osborn Group for Ibe's death was a laboratory explosion, which resulted in Ibe's demise."
Meng Ran listened to Xiao Bai's report while quickly driving to the base.
Upon arriving at the base, Meng Ran and the three others sat at a table, looking at the projected information in the middle of the table, analyzing today's incident.
Meng Ran spoke first, "Based on this information, Norman Osborn is highly suspicious, whether it's the death of the scientist named Ibe or the wack attack and explosion at the entrance of Osborn Group today."
Peter also nodded, "And according to what Meng Ran saw at school last time, Norman possesses immensely powerful strength, along with fierce and green light in his eyes."
Mary Jane also spoke, "According to my and Xiao Bai's investigation today, Osborn Corporation does not have any potions or related development plans that could increase a person's strength or enhance their physical qualities."
Gwen listened to the three's statements, then summarized, "So, all the clues currently indicate that Norman is abnormal and highly suspicious."
"The mysterious death of that scientist is likely him wanting to conceal something, and today's explosion is his means of eliminating competitors, because he can no longer reclaim his power through legal means, so he has no choice but to do this."
Meng Ran continued, "There were twelve people who opposed him. After the seven who were killed in today's explosion, five remain."
"Based on their shareholdings, if Norman wants to regain power, he still needs to eliminate three of the remaining five. As long as he eliminates these three with larger stakes, Norman can achieve his goal."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Based on the current information, these things could be analyzed.
Most importantly, through their analysis, they learned of the Green Goblin's, which is Norman's, likely next targets.
Outside, the media had already begun to refer to the bomb-wielding wack as the "Green Goblin."
"There are still three people left. We three will each be responsible for one, to see which one Norman will target first. We absolutely cannot let him escape."
"Besides those shareholders today, many other people were also killed in the explosion, and even more were injured," Meng Ran said slowly.
The others nodded upon hearing the plan, expressing their agreement.
Peter pondered for a moment and then said, "Then what should we do about this Green Goblin? He's also Harry's father. How should we explain this to Harry?"
Listening to Peter's words, everyone immediately fell into deep thought. This problem was unavoidable, and Meng Ran and the others were also very conflicted.
Facing this terrifying Green Goblin, they had no mercy or leniency. Such a person, they would deal with him however they needed to, no matter who he was.
But the problem was, how would they explain it to Harry after dealing with the Green Goblin?
In their eyes, Norman was a terrible criminal, but in Harry's eyes, Norman was his beloved father.
From childhood, Harry had only known his father's love; his father was the most respected person in his life.
After Norman fell ill, he no longer doted on Harry but began to rigorously train him. For this, he constantly made Harry learn many things: company management, financial knowledge, and so on.
Norman knew that he would leave one day, so he wanted to train Harry to be independent before he left, because he knew what kind of storm Harry would face if he died.
So, the biggest problem now was not how to deal with the Green Goblin, but how to explain it to Harry after dealing with the Green Goblin.
Meng Ran looked at the frowning group and said in a deep voice, "No matter what, we must deal with the Green Goblin."
"I know everyone is thinking about how to explain it to Harry, and I'm also very conflicted, but no matter how conflicted we are, we still have to do it."
"First, deal with the Green Goblin. After that, investigate how he became like this, and then I will confess to Harry, explaining everything to him from the beginning."
"As for whether Harry will forgive me, we'll talk about that later," Meng Ran said, thinking of Harry, and a bitter smile involuntarily appeared on his face.
It was truly difficult. Meng Ran hadn't expected to have to do something like this one day.
His good friend's father turned out to be a criminal, and he even had to be the one to personally judge him. Gwen and Peter were also as conflicted as Meng Ran.
After hearing Meng Ran's words, everyone sighed deeply, then firmed up their resolve. Faced with such a situation, there was no other choice but to deal with the Green Goblin and then confess to Harry, asking for his forgiveness.
Meng Ran looked at the re-energized group and suddenly said, as if remembering something, "Oh, by the way, we don't have a team name yet."
Gwen and the others' attention was immediately drawn. Yes, although they had formed a team, they didn't have an official team name yet.
Upon hearing this suggestion, everyone began to ponder.
Peter thought for a moment and said, "Emmm~, for a team name, how about 'Slayers of Darkness'? It means we are all people who eliminate darkness, so 'Slayers of Darkness'."
Meng Ran nodded in agreement, "Emmm, interesting, worth considering."
Mary Jane also said, "It could also be called 'Shadow Hunters', hunters in the dark, or simply 'Hunters', either works."
Meng Ran also nodded upon hearing this, "Not bad either. You two really are a pair, aren't you? The names you come up with have a similar vibe."
Mary Jane blushed slightly after hearing Meng Ran's words, then quickly said, "Hmph! What nonsense are you spouting? Who's a pair with him? I'm not a bookworm!"
Peter just chuckled, scratching his head.
Meng Ran then looked at Gwen and softly said, "Gwen, what are your thoughts?"
Gwen pondered for a moment and then said, "My idea is, why not call it the Four-Star Alliance? Four corners also represents the four of us, forming an alliance to uphold justice and punish crime together."
Meng Ran pondered upon hearing this and said, "That's good, actually. It sounds very much like a team."
Peter also nodded, "This name is indeed good; it has a team feel, even if it's not super cool."
Mary Jane also nodded in agreement.
Meng Ran, seeing that everyone approved of the name, said, "Then we are the Four-Star Alliance."
"Later, we can also design a logo."
The discussion about the team name ended there. Meng Ran's original intention was to divert everyone's attention, but now it seemed to have killed two birds with one stone.
"So, from now on, the Four-Star Alliance is established!" Meng Ran said to the others.
The four stood up, put their hands together, and shouted in unison.
"Four-Star Alliance! Established!"
(Thanks to readers "Liu Mou Ren Bu Xiang Shang Ban," "Vino Cross," and "Zha Tian Bang - Xian Yu" for providing team name suggestions. Thank you all for your support~)