Peter wasn’t Spider-Man, so Martin Li deed it necessary to reconnect and reassess.
In many versions, he was always Spider-Man’s nesis, Kingpin’s rival, and occasionally the enemy of the Osborne Group.
Martin’s rise in the "financial industry" began eight years ago during the last frenzy of the US housing market, around the sa ti United Construction Company was established.
In New York, engaging in "finance" and "real estate" almost invariably ant they were mafia bosses.
Considering he had beco a hot potato himself, Martin still managed to contact him in this way, indicating that this financier’s situation might not be any better.
Martin warmly said, "Given that we share the sa surna, I’ll call you by your first na, if you don’t mind."
"Of course not."
"Your technical capabilities are strong, but you’ve suffered undue hardship because of an intern. I deeply regret that. If it’s convenient, I’d like to know what your plans are moving forward."
"For now, the side effects of the Lizard Serum are irrediable, but that doesn’t an there aren’t other applications. I’ll continue to invest in the research."
"But you need money," Martin found his opening, "Pardon my straightforwardness, today the court only ntioned 2.34 million US dollars, but the final loss amount will likely double."
Lille raised an eyebrow, "Why?"
"You are competitors of the Osborne Group and have outpaced them slightly—a small trip-up is sothing they’d gladly cause, not to ntion that the governnt itself is eager to act."
That seed like nonsense—Lille imdiately realized that Martin was trying to steer him into conflict with the Osborne Group.
Because it didn’t need the Osborne Group to create obstacles; the city governnt would "reimburse" Lille itself.
Lille gave a slight nod, "True enough, for instance, by cleaning up the discrepancies in the accounts."
Martin smiled, "It seems you understand, so I’ll be direct. The environnt isn’t favorable for any of us. Do you think this technology can make money? I can invest."
"It can, and will make a lot of money—I could offer 10% of the company shares, with the condition that the amount needed for compensation from our side is covered."
"That’s too little, not enough."
Lille added, "...then an additional piece of information, the matter with Laboratory No. 3 is under investigation, and we are technical support consultants for the NYPD."
Martin nodded, "A laboratory sponsored by Osborne Group—that’s sothing you can hype up, but the matter is not yet concluded, still not enough."
Not enough?
Lille pondered and said, "Martin, you might not have a concept of what ’a lot of money’ ans to , so how about this? We’ll sign an agreent.
Within the next three weeks, I will provide you with 1000 units of whole blood. If I fail, I will compensate you. Na your price."
Martin was stunned.
The minimum amount for a blood donation is one unit per person, which ans finding 1000 donors within three weeks.
And the current market average price for one unit of blood is 300 US dollars, aning that Lille would provide at least 300,000 US dollars worth of whole blood in the next three weeks!
Blood supplies are not like other dical supplies, managing them slightly can far exceed this price—
The key was, Lille only had a shabby laboratory under his command...
"If this is the case..." halfway through his thought, Martin looked up and saw that Lille remained quite calm.
He had a rare ability to be highly sensitive to people’s emotions and could even manipulate their joy, anger, and moral orientations.
Just as he wanted to test the waters, he instinctively felt that he shouldn’t.
"So... I originally planned to negotiate for more benefits, but since you are so honest, I can’t be seen as taking unfair advantage. But I’m curious, aren’t you planning to negotiate more conditions with ?"
Until that mont, the atmosphere finally relaxed—neither party had truly reached a consensus on the cooperation before.
Seeing that Martin wasn’t pressing his advantage further, Lille currently believed Martin was indeed worth cooperating with.
So he spoke up, "Hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation is already considerable, and it’s not just about money. One must consider your influence in Chinatown.
Since we’ve confird our cooperation, I’ll be straightforward. I believe 10% of the shares is quite generous, equally for the both of us.
If you want more, I’ll refuse outright.
My situation may seem dire, but the developnt prospects are very good. Once I make this public, there will be no shortage of collaborators.
And in finance... Martin, let be blunt, without further industry support, your financial empire has already reached its limit.
As the subpri mortgage crisis recedes, your survival space will only shrink."
This statent sounded contradictory; why would Martin’s industry shrink as the subpri crisis recedes—
It mainly ca down to the issue of industrial layout.
Martin’s industry profits weren’t high, relying instead on sheer scale.
With several Chinatowns and Asian neighborhoods as a base, the order of the base was maintained through sweatshops and the criminal underworld.
Sweatshops could create nurous jobs, offering slight advantages in political maneuvering, but profits were pitifully low, thus necessitating the underworld to enforce order, or rather, the rule over the underworld was essential to maintain the sweatshops.
And this order, in the 150-mber New York Assembly, secured him two tightly-aligned council mbers.
However, as the financial crisis passed and high-tech industries entered a growth period, everyone’s assets grew faster than his, essentially making him lose money.
It was akin to his assets shrinking.
In discussing this with Martin, Lille had already examined all the related annual reports of the relevant enterprises. He believed Martin was feeling the heat now—
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