"What's your plan?"
Harry, rarely escaping from his boarding school, chose a time to meet with Ben.
At that moment, the two of them sat in a Slush Shop. Harry lowered his head and took a sip of the Snow Slush, immediately gagging as if he were about to spit out his tongue.
"What is this stuff? It's awful!"
"I don't like it much either." Ben drank the Snow Slush in his hand clean, his expressionless.
It was his first time trying Snow Slush, and he hadn't expected it to taste so bad. Sticking to the principle of not wasting anything, he still finished it.
"So, what's this plan you mentioned?"
Harry had confirmed Peter wasn't here from the moment he walked in.
He, Peter, and Ben had known each other since they were kids. The three of them had a great relationship, especially Harry and Peter. They had grown up playing together. Before Peter went to live with Uncle Ben, they were already friends.
Later, after Peter was fostered, Harry often visited. That was when Ben and Harry became familiar with each other.
Because Ben was more mature psychologically, he had always acted like an older brother, coaxing them when they were kids. Therefore, Harry believed almost everything Ben said.
So, when Ben mentioned a plan to him, Harry came without much hesitation.
He believed Ben wouldn't act without a reason.
Moreover, just as Ben had said, Harry desperately wanted to gain the appreciation of his father, Norman Osborn. Harry was already excellent by most standards – good grades, a rich young man, but not one to mess around. Yet, to Norman, these were insignificant.
Harry was excellent, but like Ben not too long ago, he was just ordinarily excellent.
In a world filled with geniuses, that amounted to nothing.
Norman either contemptuously dismissed his son or harshly criticized him.
Of course, Norman's coldness towards his son wasn't solely because Harry hadn't met his expectations. It was also because Harry's birth had severely weakened Norman's wife's health, ultimately leading to her death.
Harry was unaware of this. He thought he was simply not good enough, which was why his father always rejected him.
It was hard to imagine that the future inheritor of Osborn Enterprise's greatest wish wasn't anything else, but merely to gain his father's approval.
"I plan to start a company," Ben said.
"Start a company?"
To be honest, Harry was a little disappointed upon hearing this answer.
He had initially thought Ben had a brilliant way for him to gain his father's approval, but it turned out to be just this.
It wasn't that starting a company was bad. The problem was, even if he impulsively started a small company, what would that achieve?
Without the resources of Osborn Corporation, the funds he could access were very limited. Starting a small company might be more than enough, but using it to gain his father's appreciation was absolutely impossible.
Not to mention, whether this company could even be profitable, or what its business would be, were big questions.
Norman Osborn wasn't just a businessman; he was also a scientist. If it wasn't a business that could truly develop technology and achieve "leading the field" in some area, it probably wouldn't catch his eye.
"If you want to start a company, I'll naturally support you."
After a brief moment of disappointment, Harry quickly suppressed his emotions.
Regardless, Ben's idea was good. And from Harry's understanding of Ben, he wouldn't take risks without confidence. Since he was proposing it now, it meant the plan was entirely feasible and profitable.
It's just that Ben didn't understand his father well enough to know that a small achievement wouldn't catch the eye of the renowned Norman Osborn.
Even Harry himself felt that even if they made money, it would only be a trivial amount, not worth caring about. But since his good brother was asking for his help, he had no reason to refuse.
If this was a way for Ben and Peter's family to live a less struggling life, Harry would be very happy to help.
Harry said, "Can you tell me your specific ideas?"
Ben naturally knew what Harry was thinking at that moment.
Let alone Harry, anyone hearing a kid talk about starting a company and achieving great things would find it absurd and laughable. However, what Ben said next startled Harry.
"Nano Technology!"
"Nano Technology? You're quite bold," Harry chuckled dumbly, pushing the Snow Slush in front of him away with the back of his hand. "Alright, stop joking. If you're asking me for investment, you can't keep the business a secret, can you?"
To Harry's disbelief, Ben merely curled his lips and retorted, "Why would you think I'd go to such lengths to call you out if I was joking?"
"Wait, you're serious?"
Hearing Ben say that, Harry finally realized he wasn't joking.
While the concept of "nanotechnology" had been proposed as early as the last century, and to some extent realized today, these were all protected by patents.
If Ben wanted to start a company developing nanotechnology, he would have to achieve a breakthrough in technology.
And the funding for that wouldn't be a few million or tens of millions of dollars.
"Don't be silly, Benny. Even Osborn Corporation would have to think twice before venturing into the field of nanotechnology with all its financial might. My pocket money isn't enough for you to squander!" Harry said, shaking his head.
He had completely lost hope in Ben's proposal, even thinking Ben must be crazy to be so delusional.
Looking at Ben, who had a face full of confidence, Harry suddenly felt he was a bit of a stranger, completely different from the mature and steady Ben he knew as a child.
But then he thought, people change. After so many years apart, perhaps Ben wasn't the Ben he knew anymore, but had completely become an arrogant know-it-all.
Out of consideration for their past friendship, Harry didn't turn and leave.
Fortunately, he didn't turn and leave immediately.
Because Ben took out a document directly from his backpack and handed it to Harry.
"You might think I'm talking in my sleep, but I've actually made some progress."
This document was written by Ben when he transformed into Grey Matter.
Although he couldn't research the Omnitrix while transformed into Grey Matter at the moment, the inherent physics knowledge in the Galvan's mind was enough for him.
You have to understand, Little Broken Watch's technology level is 20, while in Ben 10's world, Earth is only allowed to have technology within level 2.
He only needed to demonstrate the knowledge level of a Galvan elementary schooler or even a kindergartener to establish himself.
Harry dazedly picked up the document and flipped it open.
"How is it?"
Ben dared to venture into the nanotechnology industry, naturally, he had his confidence.
Although nanotechnology already existed in this world, its development progress was very slow, and compared to the technology Ben presented, the existing nanotechnology was worlds apart.
The concept Ben was currently presenting to Harry was technology on the level of a Nano Battle Suit that wouldn't appear for another decade or more.
Of course, the content in the document was still just a concept; it would take some time to realize it. Even with a Galvan's brain, Ben needed time to brush up on his knowledge. Moreover, even if he understood the technology, the current technological level wouldn't allow him to implement it.
It was like a modern person suddenly transported to ancient times; no matter how much knowledge he had in his head, he couldn't instantly forge an atomic bomb.
Materials and experimental environments are crucial.
Even Tony Stark, who could build the Mark 1, only managed it because terrorists provided him with the raw materials to make missiles; otherwise, unarmed, he wouldn't even have had the chance to forge iron.
However, even with only part of the theory, Ben believed it could convince Harry.
He watched as Harry first frowned, then sighed, and finally closed the document, putting it aside. Harry then looked at him with a complicated expression.
This reaction was somewhat beyond Ben's expectations; he thought Harry would have agreed immediately.
"Is there a problem?"
"There are problems everywhere," Harry said, "but the biggest problem is, I don't understand any of it."
With his current knowledge, reading this document was like a group of toddlers who couldn't even spell "physics" trying to understand the most difficult physics concepts.
He still didn't have much hope. Ben had written too obscurely in the document. He couldn't understand the hardcore knowledge, and the simple descriptions of the effects sounded as absurd as science fiction in an era before this kind of technological explosion.
To realize these concepts, nanotechnology alone wouldn't be enough; at least highly intelligent nanobots would be needed.
But whether nanobots could even be realized was another question.
Harry could imagine that if he showed this document from Ben to his father, Norman Osborn would scold him severely, accusing him of neglecting his proper duties and focusing on useless science fiction, which would be a disgrace to the Osborn name.
In the end, Harry still shook his head at Ben: "This is too unreliable, Benny. I really want to support you, but you can't bring things from science fiction into reality."
Ben's first reaction to Harry's response was surprise, and then he slapped his forehead, realizing the crux of the problem.
"I forgot, when I transform into alien heroes, I'm also influenced by their personalities and ways of thinking. What Grey Matter doesn't find difficult to understand is different for an Earthling."
Earthlings are not Galvans. Not everyone has such high intelligence—even the dumbest Galvans, Driba and Blukic, are top scientists in the universe—the kind who can work for the Galactic Plumbers.
But on Earth?
Let alone Harry, there definitely wouldn't be many people in this world who could understand this document, and even fewer who could implement it.
His mistake was bringing out such advanced science and technology.
Thanks to Chang Qing for the 500-point reward, thank you, boss.
-----------
Translation by: randomtranslator.com
Read 2500+ original & fanfic translations and Translate for Free at: randomtranslator.com