"What's your plan?"
Harry, who had rare time off from boarding school, arranged to meet with Bren at a convenient time.
Now, the two of them sat in a snow-mud shop. Harry took a sip of the snow-mud and immediately gagged, as if he were about to spit out his tongue.
"What is this? It tastes awful!"
"I'm not a fan either," Bren replied, expressionless, as he drank his own cup of snow-mud to the last drop.
It was his first time trying it as well, and honestly, the taste was far from pleasant, but true to his principle of not wasting anything, he finished it off.
"So, what's this plan of yours?"
From the moment Harry entered, he had already deduced that Peter wasn't there.
Harry, Peter, and Bren had been friends since childhood. The bond between the three of them was strong, especially between Harry and Peter, who had been close friends even before Peter came to live with Uncle Ben. After Peter moved in, Harry often visited, and that's when he grew close to Bren.
Because Bren was more mature mentally, he had always acted like an older brother, taking care of them. As a result, Harry had always trusted whatever Bren said.
So when Bren mentioned he had a plan, Harry didn't hesitate to come over, believing that Bren wouldn't bring it up without reason.
And, as Bren had said, Harry was eager to earn his father Norman Osborn's recognition. In truth, Harry was already quite excellent, good grades, a rich family background, and no reckless behavior. Yet, in Norman's eyes, none of it mattered.
Harry was great, but like Bren not long ago, his excellence felt ordinary.
In a world full of geniuses, he seemed insignificant.
For Norman, his son was either dismissed with disdain or harshly criticized.
Of course, Norman's coldness toward Harry wasn't just because he hadn't lived up to expectations; it stemmed from the fact that Harry's birth had caused his mother's health to deteriorate, ultimately leading to her death.
Harry, however, was unaware of this. He believed that he was constantly being rejected by his father simply because he wasn't good enough.
It's hard to imagine, but the heir to Oscorp Enterprises, the future leader of such a massive company, harbored a simple wish: just to earn his father's approval.
"I plan to start a company," Bren said.
"Start a company?"
Honestly, hearing this answer, Harry felt a bit disappointed.
At first, he thought Bren had a great idea to finally earn his father's recognition, but it turned out to be something so simple.
It wasn't that starting a company was a bad idea, but what would it achieve?
Even if Bren were to jump into setting up a small company, what would that really do? Without the resources of Oscorp Enterprises, the funding he could raise would be limited. While starting a small company might be manageable, using it as a way to gain his father's approval was out of the question.
Not to mention, there were serious questions about whether the company could even turn a profit or what its business model would be.
Norman Osborn wasn't just a businessman; he was a scientist as well. Without a business that truly developed technology or had a field that was "far ahead" of its competitors, it was unlikely to catch his attention.
"You want to start a company? Of course, I'll support you," Harry said, quickly gathering himself after his brief disappointment.
Regardless of his initial letdown, Harry understood that Bren's heart was in the right place. Moreover, based on his understanding of Bren, he knew that Bren wouldn't take risks unless he was confident that the plan was viable and profitable.
But Bren didn't quite understand his father. He didn't know that a small success wouldn't impress the great Norman Osborn.
Harry himself, even if the company were profitable, felt that any success would be insignificant to Norman. Still, as a good friend, he had no reason not to help out.
If this plan could help Bren and Peter live a less financially strained life, Harry would be happy to pitch in.
"Could you tell me more about your specific ideas?" Harry asked.
Bren could tell exactly what Harry was thinking.
It was understandable. If anyone heard a young kid talking about starting a company and making a career out of it, they would probably think it was ridiculous. But what Bren said next caught Harry off guard.
"Nanotechnology!"
"Nanotechnology? You're really daring," Harry chuckled, pushing the snow-mud aside with the back of his hand. "Alright, enough with the jokes. You're asking me to invest and yet keep the business a secret?"
Seeing Harry's doubt, Bren just smiled and asked, "Why would you think I called you all the way here just to joke around?"
"Wait, are you serious?"
When Harry heard Bren say this, he finally realized that he wasn't joking.
Though the concept of "nanotechnology" had been proposed as early as the last century and, to some extent, had already been realized, much of it was protected by patents.
If Bren wanted to start a company focused on developing nanotechnology, he would have to make some kind of breakthrough.
And the funding for that wouldn't be a few million or tens of millions of dollars.
"Don't be foolish, Bren. Even Oscorp Enterprises would think twice about entering the nanotech field with its resources. My pocket money won't be enough for you to waste!" Harry shook his head.
He had completely lost hope in Bren's idea and even thought that Bren had gone mad. Otherwise, why would he be so idealistic?
Looking at Bren's confident face, Harry suddenly felt like he didn't recognize him anymore. He was so different from the calm, mature Bren he knew as a child.
But then Harry thought, people change. After so many years, maybe Bren wasn't the same person anymore, he had turned into an arrogant fool who thought he understood things when he didn't.
However, recalling their past bond, Harry didn't turn and walk away.
And luckily, he didn't.
Because Bren pulled out a file from his bag and handed it to Harry.
"You might think I'm talking nonsense, but the truth is, I've already made some progress."
The document was something Bren had written when he was younger, back when he was still a "Kid Hero."
Though he wasn't able to study the Omnitrix while transformed into a Kid Hero, the physics knowledge embedded in the head of a Galvan (the species of Ben Tennyson's alien brain) was already enough for him to handle.
You see, the technology level of the Omnitrix was at level 20, whereas Earth was only allowed to have technology up to level 2.
He could make do with even the elementary school or kindergarten-level knowledge of the Galvans.
Harry froze as he picked up the file and started flipping through it.
"So, what do you think?"
Bren was confident about entering the nanotech industry, and rightfully so.
Although nanotechnology had already been developed in this world, its progress was slow. The existing technology was far inferior compared to what Bren had presented.
The ideas he was now showing Harry were on the level of nanotech combat suits that wouldn't be seen for another decade or more.
Of course, the content in the file was still just a concept. Turning it into reality would take time. Even with the brainpower of a Galvan, Bren would still need time to fill in the knowledge gaps. Moreover, even if he understood the technical aspects, the current technology level couldn't bring the ideas to life.
It was like a modern-day person who suddenly found themselves in ancient times: no matter how much knowledge they had, they couldn't instantly build an atomic bomb without the proper materials and conditions.
Materials and a proper experimental environment were crucial.
Even Tony Stark, who managed to create the Mark 1, only succeeded because terrorists provided him with the necessary missile-making materials. Without those, he wouldn't have been able to make even a single part.
But even if it was just a fraction of the theory, Bren still believed it could persuade Harry.
He watched Harry as his brow furrowed, then sighed, closing the file and setting it aside. Finally, he looked at Bren with a complex expression.
This reaction took Bren by surprise; he had expected Harry to immediately agree.
"What's the issue?" Bren asked.
"Everything's an issue," Harry said, "But the biggest problem is, I don't understand a word of it."
With his knowledge, reading the document felt like a group of children who didn't even know how to spell "physics" trying to understand the hardest physics concepts.
He still wasn't hopeful. Bren's writing was so abstract, with complex technical content that Harry couldn't grasp, while the simple descriptions of the effects sounded like something out of a science fiction novel in an era where technology wasn't exploding with development.
And to bring these ideas to life, nanotechnology alone wouldn't cut it. It would require highly intelligent nanobots to even be possible.
But whether nanobots could actually be made was another question entirely.
Harry could imagine what would happen if he showed this file to his father, Norman Osborn. Norman would likely berate him, calling him irresponsible and obsessed with useless science fiction ideas, bringing shame to the Oscorp name.
In the end, Harry shook his head at Bren: "This is too unreliable, Bren. I really want to support you, but you can't bring things from a sci-fi novel into the real world."
Bren's first reaction to Harry's response was surprise. Then, he smacked his forehead, realizing where the problem lay.
"I forgot. When I transform into an alien hero, I'm also influenced by their personalities and ways of thinking. What seems simple to a Kid Hero may not be the same for Earthlings."
Earthlings aren't Galvans. Not everyone has the same high intelligence, even the dumbest Galvans, like Gray Matter and Brainstorm, would be top scientists in the universe, able to work for the Galactic Council, for example.
But here on Earth?
Forget about Harry, there probably wouldn't be many people on Earth who could even understand the document, let alone make it a reality.
His mistake was trying to present such advanced technology.