Marvel: Master Of Role-Playing

Reed didn't dare continue speaking with Susan, but Victor had no such concerns.

In this world, he had never truly succeeded. There had never been any emotional connection between him and Susan. To him, she was nothing more than a former college classmate. That was all.

So he spoke up naturally.

"Susan, since we were classmates, how about giving me a small hint? For example, does LexCorp have any plans for space research?"

Victor wasn't asking anything overly sensitive. On the surface, it seemed like a question about LexCorp's future plans. But in reality, the topic wasn't as critical as it sounded.

Susan, after a brief moment of thought, and considering her past, fairly decent relationship with Victor, decided to respond.

"Construction of the LexCorp space station has never stopped. You can see that much from newspapers and TV. A lot of media outlets are following us closely now. But as for whether deeper research will happen, I'm sorry, I really don't know. Apart from Lex and Reid, no one truly understands where the company is headed. Everything is arranged between the two of them."

Susan had once felt a bit dissatisfied with Reid's exceptional status within LexCorp. But now, she had fully accepted that he was essential to the company. Though he seemed to be just an assistant, his capabilities were no less than Luthor's own.

As for why someone with his talent chose to stay behind the scenes and support Luthor without asking for anything, that was a mystery shared by everyone at the company's top level. None of them had ever found the answer.

"I see. Got it."

Victor didn't press further. His company had competed with LexCorp for talent in the past, so he understood how things worked internally there.

Luthor was a monster of a man, someone who practically handled all the planning by himself. Everything LexCorp did was decided by him alone. The so-called upper management were more like overseers for the lower-level employees. They had no real say in shaping the future of the company.

Sometimes, Victor envied the man's position. He had often regretted bringing in outside investors too early a few years back.

If he had full control over his own company, he was confident that he could've reached the same level as Luthor. Unfortunately, even though he held the largest share among all the shareholders, the others banded together. In reality, he'd long since lost the power to make final decisions. At any moment, those shareholders could unite and strip him of his position as chairman.

Just as Victor was lost in these bitter reflections, the doors to the conference room opened again.

Luthor walked in carrying a briefcase and casually took the main seat at the table.

"Mr. Luthor, good to see you."

Victor immediately stepped forward and extended his hand. Luthor didn't put on any airs. He reached out and shook the man's hand in return.

But the second Victor sat back down, he got straight to the point.

"Mr. Doom, I heard from Susan that you're proposing a collaboration with LexCorp. However, my schedule is tight."

He glanced at his watch and added, "You have thirty minutes to present your research, your proposal, and convince me."

Hearing that, Victor instantly panicked. He had originally planned to build up the conversation slowly, drawing in Luthor's interest step by step. But now, that approach was no longer an option.

Why had he gone to Reed for help in the first place? Why, even after obtaining the man's research, had he still sought out a partnership with LexCorp?

Because Doom Industries was on the verge of collapse.

Or rather, it was the most dangerous point for Victor himself.

LexCorp's aggressive expansion, especially in fields overlapping heavily with Doom Industries' core technologies, had made the company's shareholders lose faith. They believed Doom Industries had hit its limit, and continuing to invest would no longer bring any real return.

Now, those shareholders were discussing pulling out. And if they did, if the main investors left, the company would be finished.

Victor had no more cards to play. A collaboration with LexCorp was their only shot at survival. That was why just a few words from Luthor had forced him to lay all his cards on the table.

Reed's theoretical research, along with all the project plans Doom Industries had developed around it, were spread across the conference table, one by one, for Luthor to examine at will.

At the same time, Victor began explaining everything.

"According to Reed's research, the upcoming cosmic storm likely carries a power that could trigger biological evolution. If we can harness that power, then cancer, disabilities, and genetic diseases might all become curable."

He didn't mention preventing these conditions at the root, because that kind of thinking didn't align with the interests of people like him—capitalists. Offering hope for a cure to patients suffering from cancer, deformities, and inherited conditions, while still allowing those conditions to exist, was far more profitable. That way, their technologies could be sold over and over again, endlessly.

It was the massive potential for profit, and his belief in Reed's talent, that had made Victor gamble everything. He had brought the man to LexCorp, seeking a last chance at salvation.

But as he continued to explain, Victor's expression slowly turned grim.

Because he realized there was no excitement on Luthor's face. Not even a hint of interest. Even Susan had shown surprise when she saw the experiment and the projected results. But Luthor? He didn't react at all.

Then, he calmly pulled out another set of documents from his briefcase. It was a report compiled from research within LexCorp's own laboratories.

The data described an entirely new line of pharmaceuticals. And these new drugs were specifically designed to treat exactly the same conditions Victor had just mentioned: cancer, disabilities, genetic diseases.

More importantly, these medications didn't rely on any cosmic storm.

"No way!"

The first to speak was Reed. His eyes were lit with excitement. Not a trace of disappointment showed on his face, even though this new technology essentially rendered his research obsolete. As a scientist obsessed with discovery, he was thrilled that someone had managed to solve something he himself couldn't. To him, that made Luthor a man worthy of respect.

But Victor's face was another story entirely.

Now that this alternative already existed, one that was simpler, safer, and fully independent of the cosmic storm, he had no way to convince Luthor to invest in his project.

Everything he had gambled. Everything he had built. The entire Von Doom Industries.

It was over.

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