Chapter 704: The Infinite Event (Part 20) (Patreon)

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Otto Octavius, a truly dedicated researcher, specialized in nuclear physics. While he might not be the world’s top in his field, he was undoubtedly among the elite. Yet, by middle age, even though he hadn't married or had children, the pressures on him were significant.

Born and raised far from New York City, Otto hailed from New York State. His family was far from wealthy; in fact, they were impoverished. Only his father worked, but he was a chronic alcoholic and occasionally abusive, painting a grim picture of their financial status.

Otto had an innate talent for studies. Through hard work and dedication, he got into one of the best schools for physics. Upon graduation, his research career soared. With the publication of several papers, he gained rapid renown, establishing himself as a top nuclear physicist.

However, real-world challenges remained. To work in New York City, he either had to rent or buy a place. For years, Otto rented. But the intimidating rent of the city drained his savings. He realized that most of his savings went to the landlord, and this couldn't continue. As he grew older, the need to marry and settle down became more pressing. If he married and continued to rent, a single-bedroom apartment wouldn't suffice. But renting a family-sized apartment was prohibitively expensive. It seemed more prudent to save and buy a smaller apartment, then eventually upgrade.

After working for years and saving a decent amount, along with networking with many friends, Otto managed to buy an apartment in a decent part of New York City, and even added a car to his assets that year. Still, even with his savings, outright purchasing a New York apartment was beyond his means. Both his new home and car were bought on mortgages.

Now burdened with car and house loans, his once decent income felt inadequate. Other researchers might take part-time jobs at private institutions to earn extra money. But Otto's specialization in nuclear research, particularly fusion, limited such opportunities in the city.

Just when financial worries began to overwhelm Otto, a representative from a group claiming to be in charge of a "Solar System Construction Plan" approached him. Although the project's name sounded dubious, the high salary they offered was tempting. After thorough investigations and consultations with colleagues, Otto found out the project was legitimate. Humanity was venturing into solar system development, and he had been oblivious to it.

Wanting to be at the forefront of this new era and to relieve himself from the weight of his debts, Otto gladly joined the project.

Once on board, Otto realized he was in the right place. The team boasted notable researchers like Dr. Reed and the equally accomplished Dr. Yinsen in the field of physics. Together, they formed a stellar lineup. Their main research focus? Harvesting energy from the Sun as a clean power source for humanity.

Top-notch colleagues, state-of-the-art laboratories, and industry-leading salaries—could there be a better job? Otto felt incredibly fortunate.

However, he soon discovered the reasons behind the generous pay. Dr. Reed wasn't fully dedicated to the project as he was also responsible for near-Earth exploration and Mercury development. Similarly, Dr. Yinsen divided his time with assignments at Stark Tower, working on the Mercury Base and robotics. This left Otto as the only full-time researcher. And to make matters worse, once he joined, the other two practically vanished, rarely making an appearance. Otto bore the brunt of the experiments.

The sheer volume of work was overwhelming. In just a month, Otto was exhausted. To compound matters, laboratory assistants were being reassigned to other projects, leaving Otto virtually alone.

He wondered if he was being singled out, but after inquiring with peers, he found out this shortage of manpower was a universal problem. Every project team faced similar challenges.

With the burden of advancing human civilization on his shoulders, and driven by the allure of his handsome paycheck, Otto persevered. He was meticulous in his research, never compromising the quality of his experiments. However, the workload was too much for one person.

Otto realized that human constraints—having only two hands—were a limiting factor. It prompted him to think of a solution: why not have more hands? Mechanical appendages seemed like a feasible solution. Even if they simply assisted with menial tasks like washing test tubes, it would be beneficial.

With this in mind, Otto began developing mechanical tentacles. He initially envisioned attaching them to a suit, similar to Iron Man's armor. The first phase of experimentation went smoothly; he succeeded in creating the tentacles. However, they lacked the flexibility he desired.

The external bone-like arms, no matter how they were controlled, couldn't achieve the precision of a real arm. Whether controlled by brainwaves or by a remote, there was always some delay, and the movement wasn't accurate. Such tentacle-like external arms couldn't meet Otto's requirements.

However, the increasing pressure from above and the mounting demands on the progress of the experiment cornered Otto. He pondered that human limbs are controlled by nerves. If the external tentacle arms could be controlled directly by nerves like limbs, perhaps the issue of lack of flexibility wouldn't exist.

With this in mind, Otto began to upgrade the tentacle arms. But he wasn't a neuroscientist and didn't know how to connect the tentacles to his body. The project stalled until he saw a name among the researchers from other project groups: Stephen Strange.

As the world's most renowned neurosurgeon, Strange definitely had the capability to attach the tentacles to Otto's body. Otto, through the head of the laboratory, contacted Strange. Hearing Otto's idea, Strange was astounded.

On a bright afternoon, Otto, Connors, Pym, and Strange gathered. They planned to test if mechanical tentacles could truly be controlled by human nerves. If they could, wouldn't this be an excellent solution to the current shortage of hands?

As expected, the surgery was a success. With Pym's involvement and the use of Pym particles, the mechanical tentacles Otto developed could enlarge or shrink on demand. When not in use, they could become like tattoos on his back; when needed, they would enlarge into mechanical tentacles.

The flexibility issue was fully resolved. The tentacles controlled directly by nerves were as nimble as human fingers. They could extend and bend freely, reaching anything in the laboratory, making them incredibly convenient. Now, they were considering mass production.

However, even with four additional hands, the workload of Otto's project team was overwhelming. Since everyone found out about his new arms, the experimental progress expectations became even more unreasonable.

"It's inhumane! They even want me to park the cars delivering experimental materials! Just this morning, the raw material warehouse called, saying their car broke down, and they wanted me to fetch the materials. With two machines running, I can't leave!"

"Look at him!" Otto pointed at Spider-Man supporting him, "This damned kid! He said he's going to Stark Tower to help. Can you believe that? He thinks Tony Stark needs help?"

Otto wore an incredulous expression, "He doesn't think I need assistance, but believes Tony Stark, with his hundreds of thousands of armors and robots, does?"

"After he left, the warehouse kept urging me to get the materials. Otherwise, they'd give this batch to another project team. I drove to New York streets, only to find the traffic jam longer than a radio show host's intro!"

"I shouldn't wave my tentacles and run through New York streets, huh? Then tell me, how do I get from Richie Field to East New York?"

Otto was clearly on edge. He walked up and poked Iron Man's shoulder, "And you! You and these brats are the same. You'd rather fly around New York for hours and not worry about humanity's future!"

"Screw humanity's future! Am I the only one responsible for it? What are you all doing? Attending college? Dating? Or hiding at home reading those damned adult comics?"

"Dr. Otto, calm down. I just had some business with Mr. Stark today. I swear, I won't leave early again. You need materials from East New York? I'll go get them now!" Spider-Man said, backing away. The other two Spider-Men exchanged glances, confused about the situation.

Otto's gaze then settled on them, "You two are also Spider-Man?"

"Um... yes and no... sort of," Peter hesitated.

He realized that the Spider-Man defending Dr. Otto was the Spider-Man of this timeline, the future Peter, while the other two were Spider-Men from the past and another dimension.

"I don't care who you are. If you can contribute to the research, get to the laboratory now. If not, vanish from my sight!" Otto was on the verge of shouting. The two Spider-Men exchanged glances but didn't retort.

"Hold on, what's going on?" Stark scanned the three Spider-Men, "You're not imitators? You're all Spider-Man?"

Just then, Otto received a phone call. Peter was explaining the concept of the Multiverse to Stark, so he didn't hear Otto's conversation. However, Otto soon returned, saying:

"If you're all Spider-Man, you must have scientific research abilities. The experiment is at its most crucial phase. Come with me now. I need assistants!"

"No... wait, we can go, but not like this. No!"

Iron Man stood on the rooftop, watching Otto waving his tentacles. One tentacle wrapped around each Spider-Man, with one resembling a spider web, latching onto a glass wall. Then they all swung away.

"Oh no!"

Three almost identical screams echoed in the distance, startling Otto Parker in the hospital room.

He turned his head to the window and saw Spider-Men, wrapped in tentacles, swinging between New York's skyscrapers.

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 705: The Grand Infinite Event (Part 21)