Melting Pot Concept in Marvel

"Boss, these materials come from Pioneer Tech—it's a project about enhancing human physical abilities. The core idea is to replace human cells using the properties of certain viruses, thus granting strong regenerative abilities…"

Norman was introducing other project proposals he'd collected, but Aaron cut him off mid-sentence.

"Could Pioneer Tech possibly collaborate with us? Besides, we don't need to partner with them."

Aaron knew full well about Pioneer Tech's projects—this "virus-based enhancement" was basically the Extremis virus, a human enhancement serum fraught with massive flaws. While it did have unique features, he saw no need to spend time on it now. When the time came, he could just casually acquire a sample.

"Any documents about other companies' core projects—there's no need to walk me through them."

Norman nodded and pulled out a few more files from the pile.

"In that case, how about this one from Dr. Helen Cho, something called the 'Regeneration Cradle' technology? Boss, perhaps you'll find it interesting."

"Regeneration Cradle technology? Helen Cho?"

Aaron's eyes lit up at the mention of a familiar name.

"Dr. Helen Cho is a renowned geneticist—still fairly young but already with significant achievements in her field. Her 'Regeneration Cradle' tech is a special method for 'giving machines life,' so to speak, stemming from deep genetic research."

"That sounds insane. Nobody supported her idea. Especially in her 'male-preferred' country, she's not taken seriously at all," Norman explained, noticing Aaron's interest. Even Norman himself thought the plan sounded crazy—it dealt with the forbidden realm of creating life, something well beyond modern science's capabilities. In his own days of leadership, he wouldn't even have spared such a proposal a second glance. But after seeing Helen's background, he guessed this might catch Aaron's eye.

Aaron focused on Helen Cho's details and photo in the file—she was young, with a certain charm. His gaze drifted down to a deeper summary of the "Regeneration Cradle" concept. Skipping all the incomprehensible technical jargon, Aaron reached the conclusion:

"'Creating life'? Interesting!"

Norman could see Aaron was intrigued by both the project and Helen Cho herself. Nonetheless, he felt obliged to caution him. "While the Regeneration Cradle technology looks promising, I must remind you it's incredibly difficult to realize. First off, we'd need to solve AI—artificial intelligence—problems. Among the major players, only Stark Industries seems to have that capability right now.

"Even if we do solve AI, this so-called 'life-creating cradle' might not have nearly as large a market as predicted. Not to mention, Helen Cho's concepts are just…" He didn't finish the sentence, but his meaning was clear.

Norman knew Tony Stark had once developed an AI called JARVIS, which the media hailed as a miracle. In fact, it was remarkable—no one doubted Stark's genius. That single AI alone put Stark Industries leagues ahead. Also, the Regeneration Cradle technology had another potential function—if a breakthrough were made, it might literally create living beings. But that was far too horrifying and would never be approved for sale. Even within the project proposals, you couldn't spell that out, or public outcry would kill it.

Aaron, however, was unfazed. "I trust Helen Cho's abilities. She… is very good!"

He cared not so much about the machine. The events of the "Age of Ultron" proved that the Regeneration Cradle did indeed succeed—Vision would never have been born otherwise. But for Aaron personally, this technology carried even greater significance. Even if it had no market potential, he'd fund Helen Cho's work himself, for both her sake and the cradle's. "Creating life"—what abilities would he gain if he smelted that?

Norman noticed how certain Aaron was, then gave Helen Cho's photo a long look. "So, Boss, shall I arrange a meeting with her? The company truly needs experts like Dr. Helen—she's extremely capable!"

"Go ahead. Arrange the time."

Aaron nodded in satisfaction. Norman was growing ever more attuned to his desires—definitely a good sign.

"She's here in New York right now, searching for sponsors to help her finish her project but hitting walls everywhere. If she learns that you value her so highly and plan to invest… I'm sure she'll follow her own country's custom of showing special gratitude to you, Boss," Norman said, concluding with some clumsy words in Chinese: "Nà shénme…yǐ shēn xiāng xù? (Um… 'offer herself in marriage'?)"

Though his pronunciation was poor, Norman must have practiced just to say it. This showed how determined he was.

"You've done well, Norman. Have Harry come see me sometime," Aaron added.

Overjoyed, Norman nodded vigorously. "I'll get right on it!" He bustled away, brimming with energy. Watching him leave, Aaron couldn't help worrying he might be pushing this forty-something-year-old man too hard. Good, high-level "workhorses" in America weren't easy to find…

Suddenly, Aaron sensed something, and a grin tugged at his lips.

"Ah, look what we have here—a little rat?"

At his mental command, Oscorp's cybersecurity system activated at full power. With Aaron leading it, the firewall clashed with an incoming data intrusion. The blaring alarm rang throughout the building. Possibly realizing the fierce defense, the attacking data cut its losses, severed part of its connection, and fled. "Trying to run, huh? Not so easy!"

Aaron wasn't exactly an expert hacker, but thanks to his abilities, he was far beyond average. Probably among the best below AI-level geniuses. Plus, he had Oscorp's entire firewall on his side. So he was like a tiger with wings. He chased relentlessly, pretending not to swallow the intruder in one gulp but instead tailing it discreetly as it wound through the network, crossing overseas, then re-entering from the south, until finally…

It ended up back at Oscorp.

Aaron realized what was happening. He strode to the floor-to-ceiling window and glanced downward. More than a hundred meters below, he scanned the parked cars, eventually locking onto a certain van. Switching to X-ray vision, he effortlessly penetrated the obstacles, seeing who was inside.

Aaron's expression grew odd. "Skye?!"

~~~

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