"Ah ah ah!"
In the laboratory on the second basement level of the Osborn Group, faint screams and moans added a touch of horror to the bright and clean lab.
The Batman immediately found a computer upon entering the Osborn Group and, by hacking the system, pinpointed the laboratory's location.
Patrolling security personnel and security doors were useless against the Batman; he was currently hidden in a blind spot of the surveillance, observing the scene before him.
In front of him was a transparent tank, containing a ragged man covered in grime. His body was grotesquely deformed, with ribs protruding forward, forming a pigeon chest.
There were over fifty such transparent tanks in the laboratory, each containing a human being.
Most of them were already dead; the few who were still alive were barely clinging to life, disoriented, as if they had endured some extreme torture.
They could only rely on the equipment inside the transparent tanks to maintain their vital signs, making it impossible for the Batman to rescue them.
Besides varying degrees of deformity, the consistent feature of these people was their disheveled appearance, no different from beggars in the alleys.
"Or perhaps they were beggars to begin with, captured by Osborn Enterprise for forced human experimentation."
"Theoretically, I should disclose this matter directly to the Police, for the New York Police Department to investigate and terminate Osborn Enterprise's human experiments."
"But is this matter backed by the Government or the Military? Perhaps exposing it directly to the media is the best option."
The Batman was only wearing a stealth suit, without any of the functions of his previous Batsuit. He had to find the monitoring room corresponding to this laboratory and send the surveillance footage to the Daily Bugle's email.
After sending it, the Batman was not in a hurry to leave. He quickly flipped through various documents in the laboratory.
"Experiment Subject No. 5 showed enhanced physical abilities; tests revealed his strength was eight times that of an ordinary person. The side effect was the growth of eight Squid tentacles on his body, acquiring all the characteristics of a Squid. To date, he is the only successful experiment."
"The experiment provides a new direction for the Super Soldier Serum, but Experiment Subject No. 5 escaped and could not be recaptured."
The experiment subject recorded in the data was clearly the Squid Man.
Other records about experiment subjects were, without exception, marked with a big 'Failure'. The Batman's original purpose was to collect criminal evidence from the Osborn Group, but he didn't expect that at the bottom of numerous documents, there was also an unnumbered record:
"Unnamed experiment subject, suspected to be a more perfect and successful existence than Experiment Subject No. 5, codenamed 'Spider-Man'. The specific identity of the experiment subject is unknown, presumed to be an outsider who stole the Serum, consumed it, and gained powers."
"Estimated abilities: Super strength, super speed, super reflexes, self-healing, web-slinging, danger sense."
This piece of information hit the Batman like a heavy hammer.
"Is Peter Parker an experiment subject of Osborn Enterprise? At the cost of dozens of lives?"
The Batman suddenly felt as if two great mountains were pressing on his back, making it hard for him to breathe.
"No, this isn't right."
His incredibly firm will brought the Batman back to his senses. He clearly remembered Peter Parker's diary explicitly stating how he acquired his abilities.
— While visiting the Osborn Group's biotechnology Base, he was bitten by a genetically mutated Spider and gained his powers.
This completely contradicted what the Osborn Group had recorded; Spider-Man was an accidental product, not an "experiment subject."
"Perhaps it's just wishful thinking on the part of the Osborn Group. It just so happens that they are researching the Super Soldier Serum, and Peter Parker is active in New York as Spider-Man."
"But I must personally visit the Osborn Group's biotechnology Base to verify it."
The Osborn Group's biotechnology Base is located on the twentieth floor and above of the Osborn Building. As the biotechnology that made the company famous, the Osborn Group placed it openly.
Instead of hiding it on the second basement level like the human experiments.
Taking a deep breath, the Batman simply stopped looking through the paper documents. After opening a laboratory computer, he hacked into the Osborn Group's core secrets.
Most of the core secrets were about biotechnology, which was the foundation of Osborn Enterprise's success as a multinational corporation.
Aside from the human experiments, most of this company's business and experiments were legal.
Beep beep beep... The Osborn Group's security system detected an intruder, and the alarm immediately sounded.
The Batman was about to quickly get up and leave when a file named "Spider-Slayer" made him stop.
"The codenamed 'Spider-Man' is highly likely to hold the key to the Super Soldier Serum's success. Compared to the Squid Man, Spider-Man, who is active daily in New York, is easier to lure and capture."
"Spider-Slayer Project: Utilizing the humanoid power armor provided to the Military, and a glidewing as a Base for modification, to target 'Spider-Man'..."
Crash! After hurried footsteps, the security door, which the Batman had opened but not locked, was violently kicked open. Simultaneously, the clatter of firearms being cocked sounded. Based on the sounds he heard, there were a total of fifty-one people.
"The system shows there's an intruder here... Damn it, Norman Osborn didn't tell me he was conducting such cruel human experiments?! Is this what I've been protecting day and night?!"
A pleasant but sharp female voice reached the ears of the hidden Batman.
From his hiding spot, he could only see the back of a figure in a silver-white combat suit and silver-grey short hair. Her slender yet powerful waist and full hips outlined a startling curve.
"Uh... President Silver Sable, this is because Norman only asked us to guard outside the laboratory. With the security door, we couldn't get in here either," someone said in a low voice.
Silver Sable was momentarily speechless; Norman had indeed instructed her this way.
"So... Miss Silver Sable, what should we do?" someone asked hesitantly.
Silver Sable replied without thinking:
"Catch the intruder, first earn Norman's commission, and then send Norman to prison to be preached to by gay missionaries..."
"Remember not to shoot; it looks like there are still a few alive among these poor people."
"You all get to work, I'm going to take pictures here and expose it."
The Batman silently took out a Gel Bomb and sprayed a tiny bit on the floor. This group of people, who suddenly burst in after hearing the alarm, completely disrupted his plan.
But that didn't matter; the more people who knew the Osborn Group was conducting human experiments, the better. Moreover, from what the woman named "Silver Sable" said, they only had an employment relationship with the Osborn Group and deeply detested the human experiments.
"I can't be caught by them; I still have too much to do."
The Batman silently said to himself, stealthily moving to a place far enough from the Gel Bomb, and then, with a click, detonated it.
The amount of gel sprayed was pitifully small; the Batman didn't intend to use it as an attack. All he wanted was to attract the attention of "Silver Sable" and her group.
1 vs 50, the advantage is mine. The Batman actively pounced out from his hiding spot.