When Peter first heard Leo's proposal, he really didn't want to leave the laboratory where he had been staying for a long time.
Moreover, he still subconsciously dislikes the blind lawyer in the office next to the El Building.
Therefore, Peter refused Leo's suggestion at first, and even had thoughts like "How could Mr. Erwin be so deliberately difficult?"
But when he thought about it carefully and tried to look at this issue from Leo's perspective, he suddenly realized that Leo was really generous!
Peter felt that if Leo really wanted to make things difficult for others, he could actually ignore him and Otto's life and death.
Leo can definitely independently develop mechanical prosthetics and then sell them directly for money, without paying him and Otto's wages and dividends.
After such an analysis, Peter firmly believed that Leo was definitely not the kind of person who would forget all about profit.
In an instant, Leo's personality became even bigger in Peter's heart.
But how did Peter know that without Peter's mission as an absolute inspiration, Leo would never have been able to tinker with any mechanical prosthetics on his own.
There are so many ways to make money in his mind, and he can even make a lot of money selling "miniature high-compression batteries" alone, so there is no need to make money from mechanical prosthetics.
Leo worked hard to contribute both money and effort, isn't it just to get both people and money naturally?!
Peter thought he had figured out the whole truth of the matter, but he voluntarily fell into Leo's trap.
"Mr. Erwin, I have just thought about it carefully and am willing to support your proposal to work at Erwin Technology Company."
Peter turned to look at Otto again and said,
"I think that with such a good opportunity, Dr. Octavius, you will definitely be willing to go to El Technology Company with me.
Doctor, we can continue our research work together again. And this time, the progress of the research will be much faster and smoother than before."
In Peter's understanding, Otto has always had the same goal as him, which is to successfully produce mechanical prostheses to benefit disabled people around the world.
Now that there is hope of achieving their goals, Otto has no reason to refuse to work at El Technology Company.
However, to Peter's surprise, Otto actually refused.
"Peter, go to El Technology Company yourself. Your goal is there. Moreover, you will have a much better future there than with me.
I have been at NYU for decades. The campus area and laboratories are like home to me, and there are some old friends here who are like my relatives.
I'm getting older and don't want to leave here.
Now I have another $2.5 million from selling the 'micro-nuclear reactor' technology, and I don't need to continue investing in the failed 'neural arm' project.
This money is enough for me to live comfortably and even luxuriously for the rest of my life.
I just want to teach quietly at New York University and spend the rest of my life.
So, Peter, go ahead and don't worry about me."
Otto smiled kindly, and his eyes were full of longing for the future.
"Dr. Octavius, I really envy your future life.
In fact, I have always longed for this kind of life. I wake up every morning and have a meal with my family. At night, I drink some wine and chat with my friends. Isn’t life beautiful?
Hey, but life is often unpredictable. For example, I lost even a relative and an old friend!"
Bucky, the outsider next to him, didn't understand the truth of the matter at all. At this time, he actually yearned for and envied Otto's better life in the future.
But Leo doesn't believe that Otto will have any good days in the future. There is only one reason, and that is "Doctor Octopus will definitely blacken the law"!
Not only Leo, but also Peter didn't believe Otto's words.
"Dr. Octavius, there is no way you would say such a thing. This is not you."
Peter shook his head repeatedly, stared at Otto with doubtful eyes, seriousness and scrutiny, and said,
"Do you still remember half a year ago, when the 'neural arm' successfully moved for the first time, you drank happily until you were extremely drunk, and what you said after you were drunk?
You may not remember it, but I remember it clearly.
Yes, you really like NYU's open campus, but you don't like this lab at all.
You said when you were drunk that when your project is successful and you apply for funding, you must change to a bigger and brighter laboratory.
Moreover, you also said at the time that many teachers at New York University are chasing fame and fortune, which makes you very unhappy."
Because Peter was worried about Otto, he became more and more excited as he spoke. He stood up and said loudly:
"Family? Relatives? Doctor, what are you talking about?!
Dr. Octavius, what happened to you? Why did you make up a reason to refuse to go to El Technology Company? What on earth are you hiding from me???"
The laboratory suddenly fell into silence, and the atmosphere was a little tense.
The outsider Bucky finally said something, but then he realized that he had made a mistake and quickly lowered his head and played poker quietly.
Although Leo could guess that Otto was not telling the truth, he did not expect that Otto would be exposed by Peter on the spot.
He actually also wanted to know why Otto refused to work at El Technology Company and why he lied, so Leo did not come forward to smooth things over, but chose to sit quietly beside him and eat.
After a long time, Otto let out a long sigh and said:
"Peter, I don't want to go to El Technology Company or leave the laboratory, just because I want to stay here and continue to study the 'intracranial nerve signal' sensing technology."
Otto paused for a moment and wanted to raise his hands to rub his face, but after trying several times without success, he put them down helplessly.
Otto sighed again and continued:
"Peter, I'm sorry, I lied to you. My original intention of studying the 'neural arm' was not as high-sounding as I told you.
In fact, my ultimate goal in researching the ‘neural arm’ is for myself.”
Peter didn't understand what Otto said very much, and asked in confusion:
"Dr. Octavius, what do you mean? Your hands and feet are fine, why do you need a 'neural arm'?!"
"Hmph! Well..."
Otto raised his hands with his palms facing up, stared at his hands and said,
"They are no longer good, or almost dying, haven't you noticed? I couldn't even rub my face just now."
Peter became even more confused and asked:
"Doctor, what happened? Why am I getting more and more confused the more I listen?"
"There is something wrong with my body, and the doctor said it is called 'degenerative neurological disorder syndrome.' He said there is currently no cure for this disease.
One of the main reasons for my illness may be that I was exposed to slight nuclear radiation when I was solving the radiation problem of the micro-nuclear reactor. Another main reason may be that I was exposed to toxic substances for too long when I was doing research in the past.
It was because I was too careless when I was young and did things too recklessly."
Otto shook his head and said helplessly,
"But the strange thing is that this symptom only affects the muscles. My mind is still working normally, but I cannot control my body freely, and it will become more and more serious in the future.
That’s why I invented this ‘intracranial nerve signal sensing technology’, hoping that I can still rely on it to live independently after my muscles fail.
Sorry, Peter, I lied to you.
You go, you don’t need to worry about me anymore, start your own new life, there is no need for your future to be affected by me, otherwise I will feel guilty!"