News about Matthew Lawrence's injury was causing a stir throughout the company.
Everyone in the company was terrified that something might have truly happened to Matthew Lawrence, looking with concern at the figure being carried in on a stretcher.
The concern hidden in everyone's eyes could not be faked.
It had nothing to do with money; it was simply because, since Matthew Lawrence took office, he had been very considerate of everyone in the company, making people truly feel like they were a part of it, rather than just tools for making money.
As the saying goes, "He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world," and this was exactly the principle at play.
Inside a private office.
Upon hearing that Matthew Lawrence was seriously injured and unconscious, Ada set aside her work and rushed toward the medical department.
Although she and Matthew Lawrence had some unpleasantness when they first met, through the days of getting along and building mutual trust, their relationship had gradually become harmonious; calling them close friends now would not be an exaggeration.
Tap, tap, tap—the sound of high heels echoed through the corridor.
Before long, Ada arrived at the medical department in a rush.
"Where is the boss?" she asked the Nurse at the nearby Nurses' station.
The Nurse looked at the anxious Ada, her expression becoming somewhat strange: "Mr. Lawrence is in the innermost high-end ward."
Upon hearing this, Ada was about to head over, but she was quickly stopped by the Nurse's next words...
"Sir said that after you arrive, don't go see him yet; he wants you to go downstairs and buy him a pineapple and ham pizza first. He said he was hungry."
Ada: "..."
"He's fine?"
Recovering her senses, Ada turned to look at the Nurse.
Facing the boss's personal assistant, the Nurse did not hold anything back and told the truth: "After examination, all of Mr. Lawrence's vitals are normal, and what's more..."
"And what's more?"
"And he jumped off the stretcher as soon as he entered the medical department; there isn't a single trace of injury on him."
"...Fuck! I got played by him again... that bastard!"
Although she said that, Ada let out a sigh of relief.
...
Knock, knock, knock— "Come in."
Matthew Lawrence, who was sitting on the sofa watching TV, looked toward the door.
Outside the door, Ada, carrying a pineapple and ham pizza, stepped into the ward.
Of course, while it was called a ward, it was actually more like a private residence designed for company executives.
In addition to spaces like a kitchen and study, it also had dedicated areas for playing billiards, singing, gaming, and swimming, though it was also equipped with plenty of medical apparatus to provide timely treatment should the occupant encounter danger.
"Ada, you're here."
"Do you want to eat some together?" Matthew Lawrence stood up, took the pizza from Ada's hands, and said to her with a grin.
Seeing that Matthew Lawrence was still wearing that grinning, cheeky expression, Ada's mouth twitched, but she still took the pizza Matthew Lawrence handed her.
The two sat on the sofa together, watching the news being reported on the television.
Among them was a news report about 'Umbrella Corporation executive 'Matthew Lawrence' being seriously injured and dying.'
In the live broadcast, Ada also saw Tony Stark piloting the Iron Man Suit, circling constantly over the city, attempting to find the culprit behind it all.
Unfortunately, by this time, the Green Goblin had already vanished without a trace; finding him was impossible.
Ada watched the report on TV, then glanced at Matthew Lawrence beside her, who was eating and drinking like nothing had happened, and teased him: "Boss, I heard you were in an accident. Is that true?"
Facing Ada's teasing, Matthew Lawrence, who was eating, swallowed the pizza in his mouth and nodded as if nothing had happened.
"That is true, but your boss here has an overly excellent physique; I recovered almost immediately after arriving at the company."
"By the way, Ada, I won't be making any public appearances for the next few days. Just announce to the outside world that I've just finished surgery and am still recuperating."
"Also, if anyone wants to come see me, just say it's not convenient."
He estimated that after Tony Stark failed to find the Green Goblin, he would think of coming to the hospital to see him.
In order not to expose himself, he had to completely cut off that possibility.
As for the reason... that wasn't something Matthew Lawrence needed to worry about; he believed Ada would handle this matter properly.
Seeing that Matthew Lawrence had dumped another troublesome task on her, Ada sighed helplessly: "Since that's the case, then you can just stay here and 'recuperate' in peace. I won't disturb you, 'patient'."
After saying this, Ada didn't linger any longer; she took a slice of pizza and walked out, leaving Matthew Lawrence alone in the ward.
After Ada left, Matthew Lawrence stood up and hung a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door, then his form turned into a mist of blood, returning to his bedroom through the interconnected ventilation ducts.
After triple verification of voiceprint, iris, and fingerprint, he successfully entered the secret room.
Inside the secret room, the cold light was ghastly white and the temperature was extremely low; even his exhaled breath would condense into white frost in mid-air.
On the left and right sides were rows of standardized safes embedded in the walls.
He took the G-Virus out of one of the safes.
Matthew Lawrence raised his eyes to look at the system.
[Remaining system points: 13440]
The current amount of system points was unprecedentedly rich!
As such, it was time to optimize the G-Virus he had been longing for.
He skipped the system's introduction to the G-Virus. Matthew Lawrence looked at the series of flaws available for optimization.
[Flaws that can be optimized: Uncontrollable Evolution, Consciousness Dissolution, Killing the Virus Carrier.]
[Uncontrollable Evolution: Uses the virus to accelerate and shorten the evolutionary process that should take thousands to tens of thousands of years. Every time one suffers major injury, it leads to evolution in an uncontrollable direction, eventually turning into an indescribable creature. Can be optimized for 5000 system points.]
[Consciousness Dissolution: After injecting the virus, the consciousness of the virus carrier itself will gradually dissolve, leaving only the instinct for the virus to spread and reproduce. Can be optimized for 2000 system points.]
[Killing the Virus Carrier: After the G-Virus matures, the virus will completely kill the virus's carrier, allowing the virus to control the shell. Can be optimized for 4000 system points.]
"As expected, the cost of optimizing the G-Virus is still too high. Even now, I could barely afford it," Matthew Lawrence muttered.
If he hadn't put on a show in front of Tony Stark, he probably would have had to go without eating or drinking for a while to save up enough for this expense.
"Optimize all."
[Optimizing—][Optimization complete.]
[Current remaining system points: 2440 (Orphanage project is continuing to grow)]
"Open the fusion project."
As the system page flickered, the fusion panel was revealed before his eyes.
He looked at the fusion panel, which was not much different from a Minecraft crafting table. Matthew Lawrence moved his consciousness.
The G-Virus and Matthew Lawrence's avatar fell into the fusion panel simultaneously.
[G-Virus + Matthew Lawrence (T + v-virus) — Compatibility: 80%. Note: There is a 20% chance of rejection, resulting in death by explosion.]
[Can spend 2000 system points to perform fusion.]
"A twenty percent chance of death by explosion..." Matthew Lawrence's mouth twitched.
"Good thing I checked beforehand, otherwise I would have definitely exploded on the spot."
Thinking back to when he fused with the v-virus, there was only a two percent chance of death, and he hadn't been willing to take that risk, let alone now with the mortality rate as high as twenty percent.
"So—I choose to spend the money to fuse!"