Chapter 215 - 197: Do Your Best

Adrian took flight, his mind filled with different voices.

Some voices told him to kill a person named Ethan, some begged for mercy, and some voices told him to stop, while other voices...

That largest voice told him to fly higher.

He burst through the dark room and broke through the smoke and dust.

The flames were left behind, the howling wind by his ears, soaring over the noisy streets, passing through the heavily polluted air—

Adrian looked at the sun and the clouds, and his mouth curled into a smile.

This moment was like a dream come true.

But soon, tall buildings appeared in front of him, and his brow furrowed.

"I want the vast sky..."

Whoosh!

The wings flapped, shooting straight towards the sky!

Norman was caught in the air, his face twisted by the gale:

"Aaaaahhhh!!!!!"

...

"It’s Adrian!"

In communication, Otto and Conners exclaimed upon seeing the photo taken by Lille!

Lille brought up Adrian’s information and asked, "Do you know him?"

Otto quickly said, "Of course, I used his designed chips before, the old miser, and a pauper too. No one knows what he does with his exorbitant patent and design fees; a conservative estimate— his assets must be worth several million US dollars!"

Conners said, "Now we know—that suit looks deadly; what is that, a personal flight device?"

"Don’t know... but I guess he’s probably not up to any good right now... The thing on his feet looks like Norman Osborn?"

Peter asserted, "That’s Mr. Osborn!"

"Then he’s in big trouble," Lille clicked his tongue, "Adrian’s actions will 100% kill him."

"We can’t let him kill!" In the communication, the trio from the lab once again unanimously said.

Everyone had their opinions, but the logic was simple.

Dr. Otto quickly spoke:

"...Adrian is a stingy miser, but he’s definitely not an irresponsible engineer, he wouldn’t set out to kill someone!

His current state is very abnormal... Please, Lille, we have to save him!"

Lille looked at the Vulture, circling and dancing in the sky, with a flood of thoughts in his heart.

The appearance of the Vulture Battle Suit must be connected to the recent movements of the Osborne Group.

Thinking from a darker perspective, he wouldn’t mind seeing Norman Osborn get his just desserts—it wasn’t an excessive thought.

But what about the deranged engineer?

The most common, the most criticized moral choice in the Marvel World appeared before him:

Let events take their course, the bad guy gets what’s coming, dies, and everyone’s happy.

But an innocent good person who never thought of doing evil or killing anyone would forever be branded a murderer, forced to become a criminal.

In the comics, the Vulture was like that, framed and imprisoned, killing in rage, the world-renowned electronic engineer ruined, with nowhere to go, forever indulging in the violent pleasure the suit provided.

And to stop the Vulture... no need to say more, the worst person would live to face legal judgment.

And to count on the law is to count on other people, on society—

Many people sneer at this, maybe everyone has an inner vigilante.

In his previous life, Lille would have decisively chosen the former, watching his enemies and adversaries lose their vitality and rot in the mud...

That was the best ending.

And the engineer—who cares?

"Huh?" Lille suddenly snapped back to reality, unsure why he thought of this scene.

The system also didn’t pop up any instructions.

Gwen landed beside him, "Hey, genius, that Birdman doesn’t seem to be in the right mind, we need to stop him from killing."

Lille shook his head, clearing the thoughts he had just now.

Right, he now had to save Adrian—that also involved the subsequent developments and struggles.

More friends of like-mind, with talent and capability, were key to long-term development.

If one looked at everything he had done and his goals as a struggle.

Then friends were essential.

"...I’ll handle it, you go to the Osborne Group, I’ve shut down all their network security protocols. They’ve overstepped their boundaries. You go and secure the evidence, and remember to bring Chief Stacy."

Of course, there should be fewer enemies—in every sense of the word.

"You’re going to deal with that birdman alone? Are you sure?"

"I’m sure. Adrian’s condition is complex, and someone needs to deal with it on the spot, but Osborne Group is wide open now. Peter will help you technically to secure the evidence."

High in the sky, the Vulture circled and flew towards the Osborne Building—the tallest structure in the area.

Cyber-mental illness can bring peculiar obsessions, and their high-tech gear can unwittingly cause harm to anyone in their way while satisfying their stubborn obsessions.

Lille had dealt with cyber-mental illness multiple times, and the only way to properly save Ethan was for him to take care of it.

This would expose him to the forefront—but constantly skulking in the shadows playing small tricks isn’t the main theme of this world.

If the enemy chose darkness, then he would stand in light—covert operations discovered lose much of their meaning.

"Alright... but I guess you might need a ride?"

Gwen pointed to a high-rise not far away.

To catch up with Ethan, who was ascending at high speed, Lille really did need some help.

Gwen seized the spider silk, pulling Lille up at high speed between buildings, getting closer and closer to the Osborne Building—

Citizens of New York, with phones in hand, captured this scene.

Two people swung on spider silk, chasing after the eagle in the sky.

Martin also saw this, and immediately realized what Lille was planning to do, so he promptly made a call:

"Lille—come back, it’s too dangerous! You could..."

"Martin." Over the phone, Lille hesitated, "I know it’s you, the one behind the mask."

"..." Martin was stunned, then spoke softly, "A life for a life. He killed my parents, he must die."

"He will go to prison, we can control him ourselves."

"Fuck the law, I want him dead!!! Right now, I’m just asking you not to go save that piece of scum!"

"I’m asking you too, we’re not trying to save that scumbag but to rescue the old engineer trapped in his suit by malignant technology."

The spider silk was turned into a slingshot, the kinetic energy accumulating in the web, as Gwen pulled Lille back step by step.

Lille discarded the dead spare batteries and threw away the Armor-piercing Ejection Device, taking out the Data Knife, holding it in his hand.

Martin’s voice was full of anger, his urgency evident even over the phone: "No, no, no..."

"Martin—I promise you, Norman will go to prison, we will topple the Osborne Group, unearthing every piece of evidence of their crimes, ensuring society never harbors them again. He will pay for what he has done.

But Adrian, he has worked diligently for decades, designing countless pieces of agricultural and worker-oriented machinery and equipment, charging almost solely large corporations for patents and designs, and even offering free improvement schemes for faulty machines.

He has a son, who’s married, and a granddaughter who just turned one year old.

If every time we punish the wicked we must sacrifice someone good like him, it’s simply a failure."

"You want to make good things happen—but such perfect outcomes may not even exist in this world!"

"But we can try."

The call ended, and the web was filled to its utmost limit with energy, on the verge of snapping.

Gwen, pulling Lille hard, asked: "...ready? Mr. Front Page of Tomorrow?"

Perhaps it was Lille’s tense state that made his body’s internal environment restless, as the arms attached to his limbs flickered with red light.

It seemed as if they too were restless.

"Come on—"

Twang!

The spider silk snapped, and Lille shot into the sky like a rocket!

...

Martin watched Lille flying toward the sky and put down the phone.

His black and white attire had faded away by now, and although his expression was still grim, it wasn’t as angry.

He couldn’t stop Lille—even if he moved quickly, he couldn’t be faster than Lille.

He had just wanted to weaken the Osborne Group, but he hadn’t expected the opportunity to kill Norman to come so quickly.

And yet, it was thwarted by his own partner.

Martin is a truly complex and conflicted character; his good side competes truly earnestly, while his bad side genuinely desires to kill Osborne and anyone else in his way.

But now there was a problem with this logic: if he killed Lille, who would help him take care of Osborne?

Superpowers are great, but Martin alone truly couldn’t overcome those high-tech corporations, gangs, and the connected government groups.

And furthermore... deep down, Martin was actually quite a good person.

"...Damn it!" Martin suppressed the impulse and dialed his subordinate’s number, "Prepare to dismantle the Osborne Group, and also, I want to build a prison!"