"Harry, you didn't call me when the guests arrived," Norman said, sounding a little reproachful toward Harry.
Then he turned to Meng Ran and the others, smiling. "Hello there. Harry is very lucky to have such excellent friends."
Harry had mentioned Meng Ran and the others to Norman before, so Norman knew who they were. The three most outstanding students from Midtown High. Norman was indeed very pleased with them; having such connections would be of great benefit to Harry.
Meng Ran and the others quickly greeted Norman.
Norman looked at them and ushered them into the dining room, where many snacks and drinks had been prepared.
As they chatted, Meng Ran and the others also kept an eye on Norman, looking for anything unusual. So far, Norman seemed perfectly normal to them, both amiable and humorous. They couldn't detect anything amiss.
Just then, the television in the kitchen interrupted with breaking news. The news showed footage of a green-masked figure blowing up the gate of Osborn Tower.
Seeing the news, the few people who had been chatting stopped.
Harry looked at the television, surprised, and said to Norman, "Dad, how... how could this suddenly happen? It's a good thing you didn't go today."
Norman was also shocked and said, "It's terrible. Many people must be hurt. You guys play for a bit, I'll go make some calls and arrange things."
Norman then left the kitchen with the phone.
Meng Ran also watched the television, listening to the conversation between Harry and his father, and observing Norman's expression out of the corner of his eye. He felt that this matter was definitely related to Norman.
But Norman also looked equally shocked, appearing to be completely unaware. Meng Ran couldn't discern his true thoughts from his reaction.
After Norman left, Meng Ran and the others didn't feel like staying any longer. After saying goodbye to Harry, they quickly left.
Meng Ran and the others left Harry's house and got into Meng Ran's car. They finally began to talk once they were inside.
They were particularly caught off guard and puzzled by this sudden event.
They all had a vague feeling that Norman was involved, but they couldn't find anything amiss. Norman seemed perfectly normal.
If they weren't extraordinary individuals with their own unique sixth sense, they probably would have doubted their suspicions, seeing how normal Norman appeared.
"Little White, how's the investigation with Mary Jane going?" Meng Ran asked, driving towards their base. Peter and Gwen were listening in, wearing their headsets.
Little White reported, "Based on the information gathered from Osborn Corporation and matching it with the current situation, there are a few useful pieces of information."
"One, Norman Osborn, who had retreated behind the scenes due to illness, has suddenly cured himself and returned to the forefront."
"Two, although Norman Osborn has returned to the forefront, his power has been hollowed out over the years. There was supposed to be a shareholders' meeting today, and it was expected that Norman would be stripped of his power after the meeting. However, due to the explosion, some shareholders died, and the meeting couldn't be held."
"Three, there were twelve shareholders who opposed Norman Osborn. Seven of them were killed today."
"Four, a key scientist at Osborn Corporation, Ibe, died unexpectedly in the last few days. He was a longtime friend of Norman Osborn and had been in charge of Norman Osborn's treatment plan after he fell ill. Osborn Corporation's official explanation for Ibe's death was that an explosion in the laboratory led to his death."
Meng Ran listened to Little White's report as he quickly headed towards the base.
Once they arrived, Meng Ran, Peter, Mary Jane, and Gwen sat around a table, looking at the projected data in the center and analyzing the events of the day.
Meng Ran spoke first, "Based on this information, Norman Osborn is highly suspect. Both the death of the scientist named Ibe and the attack and explosion at the Osborn Corporation's entrance point to him."
Peter nodded, "And based on what Meng Ran saw at school the other day, Norman possesses incredibly powerful strength, along with a menacing glint in his eyes and a green glow."
Mary Jane added, "According to the investigation Little White and I conducted today, Osborn Corporation has no potions or related development plans that could increase strength or enhance physical attributes."
Gwen listened to the three of them and summarized, "So, all the clues currently suggest that Norman is acting abnormally and is highly suspicious."
"The scientist's bizarre death was likely an attempt to conceal something, and today's explosion was his method of eliminating competitors, as he could no longer regain his power through legal means, so he was forced to resort to this."
Meng Ran continued, "There were twelve people opposing him in total. Excluding the seven who were killed in today's explosion, there are five remaining."
"Based on their shareholdings, if Norman wants to regain control, he needs to eliminate three out of the remaining five. Once he takes out the ones with the larger shares, Norman can achieve his goal."
Everyone nodded upon hearing this, the information they had allowed them to roughly figure things out.
The most important thing was that through their analysis, they knew the potential targets of this Green Goblin, also known as Norman.
The media outside had already started calling the bomb-wielding monster "Green Goblin."
"Three people left. The three of us will each take one. Let's see which one Norman goes after first. We can't let him get away."
"Besides those shareholders, many others were also killed today, and even more were injured," Meng Ran said slowly.
The others nodded in agreement with the plan.
Peter pondered for a moment before speaking, "So, what do we do about this Green Goblin? He's also Harry's father. How do we explain this to Harry?"
Hearing Peter's words, everyone fell into silence. This was a problem that couldn't be avoided, and Meng Ran and the others were very conflicted.
Facing this terrifying Green Goblin, they showed no mercy or restraint. They would deal with such a person as they saw fit, regardless of who he was.
But the problem was how to explain things to Harry after they dealt with the Green Goblin.
In their eyes, Norman was a terrifying criminal, but in Harry's eyes, Norman was his beloved father.
From childhood, Harry had only known paternal love. His father was the person he respected most in his life.
After Norman fell ill, he stopped coddling Harry and began to train him rigorously. He constantly made Harry learn many things, such as how to manage the company, financial knowledge, and so on.
Norman knew he would leave one day, so he wanted to train Harry to be independent before he left, because he knew what kind of storms Harry would face if he died.
So the biggest problem now wasn't how to deal with the Green Goblin, but how to explain things to Harry after they dealt with him.
Meng Ran looked at everyone, who were still frowning, and said in a low voice, "No matter what, we have to get rid of the Green Goblin."
"I know everyone is wondering how to explain this to Harry, and I'm struggling with it too. But no matter how conflicted we are, we have to do it."
"First, we take care of the Green Goblin. Once that's done, we investigate how he became this way. Then, I'll go to Harry and tell him everything from the beginning."
"Whether Harry forgives me or not, we'll deal with that later." Meng Ran said, thinking of Harry, a bitter smile appearing on his face.
This is really difficult. Meng Ran never thought he'd be in this situation.
His best friend's father was a criminal, and he was the one who had to judge him. Gwen and Peter were just as torn as Meng Ran.
Hearing Meng Ran's words, everyone sighed deeply, but then steeled themselves. Faced with this situation, there was no other choice. They could only deal with the Green Goblin and then confess to Harry, asking for his forgiveness.
Meng Ran looked at the others, who had regained their spirits, and suddenly thought of something. "By the way, we still don't have a team name."
Gwen and the others were immediately drawn in. That was true, even though they had formed a team, they didn't have an official name.
Everyone started to consider the proposal after hearing it.
Peter thought for a moment and said, "Hmm~, as for the team name, how about Dark Slayers? It means we are all people who eliminate darkness, so we're called Dark Slayers."
Meng Ran nodded in agreement and said, "Hmm, that's interesting, I can consider it."
Mary Jane also said, "We could also call ourselves Shadow Hunters, hunters in the darkness, or simply hunters, either works."
Meng Ran nodded as well, hearing this. "Not bad either, you two are really a pair, the names have a similar vibe."
Mary Jane blushed slightly at Meng Ran's words and quickly said, "Hmph! What are you talking about? Who's a pair with him? I'm not a nerd."
Peter just chuckled, scratching his head.
Meng Ran then looked at Gwen and softly said, "Gwen, what do you think?"
Gwen pondered for a moment before speaking, "I think we should call it the Four-Star Alliance. The four points represent the four of us, and we'll form an alliance to uphold justice and punish criminals."
Meng Ran thought about it, then said, "That's not bad, actually. It sounds very team-oriented."
Peter also nodded, "The name is pretty good. It gives a sense of teamwork, even if it's not that flashy."
Mary Jane also nodded in agreement.
Seeing that everyone approved of the name, Meng Ran said, "Then we are the Four-Star Alliance."
"We can design a logo later."
The discussion about the team name ended there. Meng Ran's original intention was to divert everyone's attention, but it turned out to be a win-win.
"From now on, the Four-Star Alliance is established!" Meng Ran said to the others.
The four of them stood up and put their hands together, shouting in unison.
"Four-Star Alliance! Established!"
-----------------------
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(End of Chapter)