Seeing the atmosphere sufficiently built, Dute took the wine glass from the female secretary and gestured to everyone, saying, "I think we should trust each other and get rid of that obstacle to our making money, Norman Osborn. Then, we'll all make money together, and Umbrella Corporation will not treat you unfairly."
As Dute's staunch supporter, Wenger followed suit, picking up his wine glass and standing up to declare his stance.
Seeing that the two major shareholders had declared their positions, the remaining shareholders dared not delay. They quickly raised their wine glasses and stood up to express their allegiances, lest they be kicked off the ship by being a step late.
"Exactly, exactly, Mr. Dute is right. With the support of Umbrella Corporation, what do we have to fear? Down with Norman Osborn."
"Support! Down with Norman Osborn."
"I support it too."
Boom!
Just as the enthusiasm in the conference room reached its peak, a violent explosion resounded, shaking the entire room.
Soon, the screams of guests and the sound of breaking objects echoed from downstairs.
"Hee hee hee, you want to deal with Norman Osborn? Think about how you're going to survive first."
A sharp voice emanated from the direction of the window. Bruce, alerted, quickly moved closer to Dute and looked towards the window.
Unfortunately, the curtains obscured the view, making it impossible to see what was behind them.
The two bodyguards in the conference room were men of action. They immediately pulled out their pistols from their waists with one hand and drew back the curtains with the other.
The moment the curtains were pulled back, two beams of laser light pierced the bodyguards' hearts.
Everything happened too fast. The high temperature instantly seared the flesh and tissue around the wounds, and the two bodyguards died peacefully, without feeling the slightest pain.
"Who are you!?"
Dute shouted at the window.
"Who am I?"
The voice echoed again.
A gust of eerie wind blew the curtains open, and in the moonlight, a slender figure appeared before everyone.
"You can call me the Green Goblin!"
The grating voice continued to assail the nerves of everyone in the conference room.
"Green Goblin? What is that?"
"Is it a new criminal? Let me tell you, we are all shareholders of Osborn Group. If you dare to attack us, both the underworld and the authorities will be after you."
"If you know what's good for you, get lost quickly. We are magnanimous, and we'll pretend nothing happened today."
Bruce, having made his way through life with his fists, was well aware of the madness of someone like the Green Goblin. He knew that trying to scare such a person away with words was impossible.
While everyone was verbally threatening the Green Goblin, Bruce quietly moved to Dute's side.
As expected, after a lengthy attempt at dissuasion, the Green Goblin burst into laughter again, its voice as grating as the friction of metal.
Then, two activated pumpkin bombs were thrown into the conference room.
Bruce, with his quick reflexes, metalized his arm and batted away a flying pumpkin bomb. He then grabbed Dute and fled through the door.
After leaving the conference room, the scene before him indicated that the Green Goblin had already caused havoc on the first floor before attacking the second. There were traces of explosions everywhere, and the guests who had been invited had long since vanished.
Bruce did not dare to hesitate. Although he was not afraid of the Green Goblin, Dute was not. A mortal body could not withstand an explosion. Considering Dute's crucial role in the plan, he could only take him away first and deal with the Green Goblin later.
What Bruce couldn't understand was whether these rich people were simply bored, why they had built such a long staircase. To avoid being a burden to Dute, Bruce directly hoisted him onto his shoulder and ran. However, the villa's staircase was indeed too long and spiraled.
After dealing with the shareholders on the second floor, the Green Goblin immediately flew out of the conference room on its glider. Seeing Bruce and Dute below, it unleashed two pumpkin bombs.
To ensure Dute's safety, Bruce had no choice but to endure the explosions. His back was mangled, with several fragments embedded in it, causing Bruce to gasp in pain.
As for the bodyguards in the conference room, forget about them. In the face of the Green Goblin, these bodyguards were as vulnerable as chickens and dogs, and were dealt with in a few moves.
If the former Norman always thought of the worst-case scenario when considering matters, making various contingency plans and complicating things, then the current Norman, as the Green Goblin, considered matters much more simply.
The shareholders were united in their attempt to kick him out, so he would kill them all. If the people were gone, their plan could naturally not be carried out. Furthermore, in terms of stock inheritance, half of their shares were transferred to their children, and the remaining half would be evenly distributed among other shareholders.
As long as he killed everyone, most of the shares would return to his hands.
Thinking of his plan, the Green Goblin couldn't help but feel like a genius.
Now that the minor shareholders in the conference room were almost dealt with, only Dute, the big fish, remained. As long as he captured this fellow, his objective for the day would be accomplished.
"Go and kill that freak standing on the glider for me."
Enduring the piercing pain in his back, Bruce glanced back at the pursuing Green Goblin and said through gritted teeth.
As soon as the words fell, dark figures emerged from Bruce's shadow and lunged at the Green Goblin in unison.
If Bruce was to act as Umbrella's representative in negotiations with the Osborn Group's shareholders, Bai Qi would certainly not fail to provide protection.
The shadowy ninjas that emerged from Bruce's shadow were the personal bodyguards Bai Qi had assigned to Bruce.
The Green Goblin, who was enthusiastically in pursuit, suddenly saw several ninjas dressed in black, like those from Japan, emerge from the shadows ahead. One of them, closest to him, leaped out of the shadow, his ninjatō aimed directly at his neck.
Fortunately, the Green Goblin's reaction was swift. At the last moment, he controlled his glider and narrowly dodged the incoming ninjatō. Then, he waved his hand and unleashed two pumpkin bombs.
The pumpkin bombs exploded in front of the shadow ninjas.
Amidst the smoke, the Green Goblin laughed maniacally, thinking that these ninjas would now be torn to shreds.
As the smoke dissipated, the Green Goblin's laughter abruptly ceased.
The ninjas were not only alive but still standing as if nothing had happened.
Then, two more ninjas, wielding their ninjatō, attacked the Green Goblin from both sides.
Although the Green Goblin was a madman, thanks to his genetic enhancements, his strength was not weak at all. Combined with the reinforcement of his armor, he dodged the thrusting ninjatō, suddenly reached out, grabbed one of the ninjas by the neck, and with a forceful twist.
With a strength capable of crushing iron, the Green Goblin heard no sound of breaking bones. Instead, the ninja he had captured in his hand turned into a puff of black smoke and vanished.
"What kind of monsters are these?"
The Green Goblin cursed inwardly.
Soon, the ninja who had turned into black smoke reappeared not far away, and there was no sign of injury on his body.