"Don't rush to ugh, Otto."
Reid waved his hand with a smile. "Maybe I really do know what your dream is. After all, I am a genius."
"Is that so? Luthor?"
Otto smiled as well. He was fident that he had never revealed his true ambitions. Even Norman only thought his goal was to help the disabled people of the world.
"Well the's make a bet. If you accurately guess my dream, I will sider your proposal."
Upon hearing this, Reid stood up, walked around Otto, and then slowly spoke.
"Let me take a guess. A genital neurological disorder. Faced with a future of losing all motor fun, I'm sure your mind is very flicted, Otto."
The moment Reid mentiohe genital neurological disorder, Otto's expression ged.
He stared at the man before him, someone he had known for less than a year and with whom he had a rather distaionship.
"Where did you find out about this?!"
Otto had never po reveal his dition to anyone. He khe immense value his intelligence could bring. If this informatioo be exposed, many people would use it to manipute him uhe guise of "support."
He had old anyone about it, and current medical teology could not detect his genital defect. So how oh did this person know?
"Does it really matter how I know?" Reid's voice was calm. "What matters, Otto, is what you think of my proposal."
Otto fell silent. His secret had been exposed, and with it, his greatest weakness was now in someone else’s hands.
He needed resources—massive funding to plete his research. Only then could he plete his self-rescue.
This was also the reason he had colborated with Norman to found Oscorp Industries.
At the same time, Otto uood himself. If he wao fight for painst Luthor, teaming up with Norman at the start might have been possible. But now, Norman had been severely weakened. Even if the two of them worked together, they wouldn't be able to oppose the powerful Luthor.
Ohained full trol, Norman, with his 50% shares, might still mao protect himself. But with only 20% shares, Otto knew he'd be pushed out by all kinds of means. He would bee a wandering stist, and under Luthor's influeno corporation would want to i in his research.
In fact, had Reid not appeared, when Norman took full trol of Oscorp and their retionship soured, this was the very method that would have slowly turto into the vilinous Doctor Octopus.
"Research takes time," Otto finally said. "Even if you are willing to support me, you guarahat Norman won't overthrow you? You take Norman's power, but you 't take his shares. With 50% of the shares, Norman will always be one of the rgest shareholders of Oscorp Industries."
With 50% of the shares, Norman could wait. He didn't o defeat Luthor ht. As long as Luthor made one mistake and caused the pany to suffer losses, Norman could use his influence as a major shareholder to stage a eback.
Otto needed assurance. If he sided with Luthor and Luthor lost, he would lose everything.
As for this , Reid was well prepared. He simply mentioned a name, pletely dispelling Otto's doubts.
"Emily..."
Otto's eyes widened in disbelief when he heard Emily's name.
He stared at Luthor, but upon recalling that this man had known about his neurological disorder, it was not surprising that he also knew about Emily's hereditary family disease.
"You've made a move on Emily? What do you pn to do?"
Reid naturally wouldn't reveal his pn. He simply spread his hands and casually replied.
"You may imagine every despicable sario to predict my future as, but what matters now is your decision, isn't it, Otto?"
"Yes... you're right... it's time for me to make a decision."
Luthor's words sto back to reality.
Indeed, here he was, ed about what others were doing, while his ows were in the hands of the man in front of him.
He wao fix his own fws, and now, he could only pce his hopes on Luthor.
"I agree. I'll sell the shares to you at market value, but I o remain a researcher at Oscorp Industries, and you ot cut my research funding."
Reid smiled. "Don’t worry, Unlike Norman, I have no reason to be wary of your intelligence. You are brilliant, Otto. But pared to me—Lex Luthor—you fall short."
With that, he extended a hand.
Otto hesitated for only a moment before shaking it.
Unbeknownst to the rest of Oscorp, the pany's three major shareholders had just bee two.
......
The day arrived.
Under Reid's arras, rumors spread within the pany about Norman Osborn iing a new serum that had failed animal trials into a child for human experiment. This resulted in the death of the child and his parents.
There was no proof, but everyone khis was the truth.
And now, with Otto’s shares in his hands, Reid held 50% of Osatg Norman’s stake.
Realizing he had lost, Norman did not resist. At the paing, he preemptively resigned as chairman before Reid could move against him. He relinquished all authority within Oscorp and walked out of the meeting room, being just an ordinary shareholder.
From then on, the focus of the discussion shifted. It became the meeting where Reid was officially appointed as the chairman of Oscorp Industries.
Everyone believed that the neointed chairman Luthor would make sweeping ges to Oscorp.
Especially those employees who had stood by Norman until the end. They braced themselves, certain they would be fired from the pany.
However, they soon realized that while Luthor had indeed made bold reforms, he did not resort to yoffs. Instead, he formuted new pns for the pany's development.
Reid had no i in cutting ties with Norman’s old supporters.
Because this was no lohe feudal society of the past, where people would remain loyal to a fallen figure forever.
Norman had lost his power ahe pany.
In such a situation, if Reid alloowerless shareholder to still cultivate their own fa within the pany, then he wouldn't be pying the role of Lex Luthor anymore.
His goal is to accelerate Oscorp's growth, with the aim of surpassing Von Doom Industries by the year 2000.
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