Chapter 325: We Unite (Friends, the month-end vote request is about to expire)

"This morning, a gun shop reported a robbery to the police, claiming someone had stolen firearms from the store. The Central City Police Department immediately dispatched officers and arrived at the scene at once."

"Elizabeth, there's nothing interesting about these news reports." Denton suddenly said, "Let me change the channel for you."

"Huh? But I actually want to watch the news."

Elizabeth protested while secretly shoving the remote control into her blanket.

Denton's mouth twitched; at this moment, he was amused by Elizabeth and wanted to laugh, but looking at the television, he also felt like crying.

The news anchor couldn't see the couple's interaction; he continued reading the script calmly.

"After the investigation, the owner finally admitted the issue was his own. Due to a customer's overly fierce appearance, he mistook that customer for a robber. This alarm was a false alarm, and the police indeed found no traces of a shootout or brawl in the store."

"Currently, the shop owner has been fined five thousand dollars. The Central City Police Department reminds everyone here that calling the police is a serious matter. Please do not make false reports due to pranks or curiosity. If the situation is severe, the caller will face huge fines; those with serious circumstances will face criminal penalties."

"Let's look at the next news item."

Elizabeth glanced at Denton beside her; he stared at the TV screen, his face showing confusion, shock, and surprise.

"Mr. Denton, don't get too absorbed." She couldn't help but laugh, "Just now you said it was boring."

Denton didn't know how to answer; his heart was now filled with heavy doubts.

"Why didn't that shop owner tell the police the truth? Instead, he accepted a five-thousand-dollar fine. Didn't he want to recover his losses?"

"Afraid of retaliation? Or did someone silence him?"

He couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he thought, but at the same time, he breathed a sigh of relief; at least Elizabeth wouldn't find out about his crime.

The feeling of confusion lingered, but Denton couldn't think of an answer. He decided to ask the gun shop owner after finishing what he needed to do.

"Elizabeth," he said, "I have to leave in a while."

"That's right." Elizabeth extended her hand, "Give me a hug before you go."

"Wait a bit before leaving."

"Can't I hug you now?"

"Sure, sure."

After the embrace, Denton's gaze lingered on his wife's face for a moment; he noticed something strange.

"Elizabeth, has your complexion improved?"

"Huh? Has it?"

"Sigh, what a sickeningly sweet couple."

Ma Ma Zhaodi closed his phone and rubbed the goosebumps on his arm, "I shouldn't have watched their interaction. If I watched a bit longer, these two would start kissing."

"Boss, where are we going now, meow?" the Dumb Cat asked.

"Let's sort things out first." Ma Ma Zhaodi answered, "I already checked upstairs. Using wine can only greatly alleviate Elizabeth's condition; she won't die for now—but items that remove abnormal status effects and system life recovery cannot permanently cure her root cause. 'Such congenital, innate diseases caused by genes seem to be treated as part of their original life form—like the former Mr. Freeze, Killer Croc, and Solomon. They can only be treated temporarily, not cured completely.'"

"Boss, then what do we do, meow?"

"We have to replace her heart."

Speaking of this, Ma Ma Zhaodi patted the motorcycle, "San San Bengzi, tell me about Denton's research."

"Denton Black, a genius in biology and medicine. After finishing his doctorate early, he met his wife, then entered the medical department of Steg Industries to begin his research work."

"His lead project was cell cloning and organ transplantation. The prospects were vast, and the project progressed relatively smoothly. Basically, all difficulties were overcome by him working day and night in the lab, leading his team step by step."

"The answer lies on the surface." Ma Ma Zhaodi sighed, "So his mental state was so unstable before, so he said 'Only I can save Elizabeth,' and so he said I could see him on TV or in newspapers."

He picked up his phone and opened the link he saw this morning; the big headline of the news article he saw earlier stood out so prominently.

"Simon Steg's Central City Annual Best Contribution Award Ceremony is about to be held."

"Now, everyone knows that Simon Steg, this 'genius scientist' and 'genius entrepreneur,' completed this research. No one knows the name of the little researcher, Denton Black."

"Denton Black was fired by Steg Industries last month. The patents and intellectual property rights regarding human cell cloning and organ transplantation have been registered. Now, they belong entirely to Simon Steg."

"So the situation is simple here." Ma Ma Zhaodi summarized, "Denton originally wanted to use the completed research to save his wife, but Simon Steg usurped his achievements and kicked him directly out of the company."

"The only thing I'm curious about is, does he really not understand how much help a genius provides to an enterprise? Or is it simply short-sightedness and greed?"

San San Bengzi immediately responded, "Searching—Search complete. Simon Steg, owner of Steg Industries. According to his personal electronic file, to date, this big boss has been involved in over two hundred lawsuits, most of which are regarding property rights and patent copyrights. The plaintiffs have almost all worked for Steg Industries."

"My goodness, looks like he's simply stupid and evil—how did this thing survive until today?"

"Due to Steg Industries' complete legal team and ample funds, most of these cases ended in defeat for the plaintiffs. The patents brought Steg Industries profits in the billions. Simon's most recent case had Denton Black as the plaintiff."

"According to surveillance footage, the desperate Black's final test subject before leaving the job was himself."

"Classic." Ma Ma Zhaodi commented, "Man-Bat too, Mr. Freeze too. Scientist experiment—accident—mutation—becomes a villain; I suspect the comic editorial department has now formed some kind of path dependency."

"Old Ma, you need to make a decision quickly. We don't have much time."

"I know what you mean. By afternoon, Denton will likely go to settle the score with Steg." Ma Ma Zhaodi thought for a moment, "Steg deserves to die, but Denton can't be the one to do it, otherwise Elizabeth will be left a widow in spirit."

"Do you want to do it yourself?"

"Let's talk about that later—can you find evidence regarding Denton's case online?"

"Evidence is easy to find, but Denton probably won't win this lawsuit."

"Who said he has to fight alone?" Ma Ma Zhaodi said, "Look for loopholes and evidence in Steg's past infringement cases."

"We unite."

(End of this chapter)