Ch: 69-79
Chapter 69: How Is He So Good at This?!
Gwen was completely stunned by Peter's grand vision.
As Peter spoke, she could clearly feel that from his vision to his perspective and then to his abilities, he was completely above her.
Furthermore, another point that greatly comforted her was that despite Peter's grand perspective, he wasn't cold-blooded.
She had previously thought that "The Punisher" had taken supervillains like Shocker and Green Goblinaway to quietly execute them and dispose of their bodies.
But looking at it now, Peter hadn't killed them—at least not the ones who could still be saved.
As for Electro... although Gwen still didn't want to take lives, she absolutely supported Peter's action of killing Electro with both hands and feet.
At the thought of Peter being so powerful, kind, and intelligent, Gwen's gaze toward him couldn't help but add a few hints of admiration on top of her affection.
At the same time, she couldn't help but want to share Peter's burdens:
"By the way, speaking of the Fist of Shadow, I thought of a member who would be very suitable for this organization."
"Oh?" Peter already had a guess in his heart, but he specifically put on a curious expression: "Who is it?"
"The Prowler," Gwen said seriously.
"I've fought him a few times, and following your example, I took him to a deserted place to have a detailed talk with him.
That guy although he is a villain, his heart isn't bad. All the money he steals is distributed to the orphans and elderly in the same neighborhood.
If the Fist of Shadow is to be established, I think he would be a good candidate."
As expected, it was him!
Peter understood in his heart, but on the surface, he spoke with a feigned air of gravity:
"That sounds like a good candidate indeed. I'll have William secretly monitor him for a few days to see if he's as kind as you say.
If he really is a good person, then he should indeed be recruited into the Fist of Shadow."
Of course, Peter's real thought was to see if this guy had a nephew named Miles.
If he really had such a nephew, and he was around the same age as Gwen, then this guy could forget about joining the Fist of Shadow for the rest of his life.
Although Peter was confident he could crush a certain individual in every aspect, he still didn't intend to let a certain Black Spider have any contact with Gwen.
After indicating he would investigate The Prowler, Peter suddenly thought of something. When he looked at Gwen, a mischievous smirk couldn't help but appear on his face:
"Speaking of which, besides establishing a superhero organization, I think we have something more important to do."
"What is it?" Gwen asked subconsciously.
Peter leaned in close to Gwen's ear and whispered:
"Of course, it's revealing our true identities to my dear father-in-law... You wouldn't want to be chased all over the place by your father while being a hero in the future, would you?"
"Ah~"
Seeing Peter attack her sensitive ears again and say such embarrassing things, Gwen couldn't help but feel both shy and flustered. She reached out to cover Peter's mouth:
"Who's your father-in-law? Don't talk nonsense!"
"What?" Peter put on a surprised and hurt expression, looking at Gwen like she was a heartbreaker:
"Gwen, did you only want to play around with me? And here I thought you..."
The innocent Gwen was startled by Peter's sudden change of face and hurriedly tried to explain:
"Peter, I didn't mean that. I'm absolutely serious about you. I just feel like we're still..."
"I'm not listening, I'm not listening, I'm not listening!"
Peter's strategy was to beat her at her own game:
"I'm hurt. The kind that needs a hundred kisses to get better."
Gwen:...Mwah~
Although she realized Peter was teasing her on purpose, Gwen still blushed and gave Peter a soft kiss on the cheek:
"The, the rest will be paid in installments! You can't go too far!"
"And... restrain yourself in front of my father from now on. He hates people who speak and act flippantly the most."
"Aha~" Peter suddenly let out a long, triumphant sound:
"You're already teaching me how to please my father-in-law, and yet you still say you didn't mean it?"
Gwen:... After some joking, Gwen subconsciously leaned on Peter's shoulder again and asked a bit worriedly:
"If we reveal our identities to Dad now, will he just outright forbid me from continuing to be Ghost-Spider?"
"If it weren't for me, he most likely would."
Peter first agreed with Gwen's statement, but then, waiting for her to show a distressed expression, he reached out and grabbed her small hand. While playing with that soft, supple hand, he spoke seriously and solemnly:
"But with me, it's different."
"What Uncle George is worried about is nothing more than you getting hurt while fighting criminals."
"But I will prove to Uncle George that his worries are completely unnecessary. No matter the situation, my top priority will always be to protect my Little Spider."
Oh my god!
Gwen subconsciously clutched her chest.
She felt like she was about to lose control of herself. She really wanted to share an upside-down kisswith Peter right now.
This guy Peter, hasn't he never been in a relationship before?
Clearly, we are each other's first love, so why is he so good at this!
After taking deep breaths for a while, Gwen finally made up her mind:
"In that case, let's do as you say!
Ummm... how about this weekend? I'll invite you to my house for a dinner party this weekend, and then we'll lay our cards on the table with my dad together!"
... After agreeing to reveal everything to George this weekend, the time had already reached 11:00 PM.
Seeing that it was getting late, Peter decided to take Gwen home.
However, this time he didn't let Gwen swing on her webs; instead, he chose for both of them to ride the flying skateboard together.
Carrying Gwen in a princess carry, they rode through the streets of New York.
This feeling was making Gwen a bit addicted.
Although her webs weren't troublesome to use, they ultimately consumed physical strength.
And there were terrain restrictions; if the distance between buildings exceeded the range of the webs, she would have to go on foot.
It wasn't nearly as comfortable as riding a flying skateboard.
Noticing Gwen's envious expression, Peter couldn't help but smile, then leaned close to her ear and said:
"Don't worry, in a while, I'll give you a little gift. I guarantee it'll be even more convenient than this flying skateboard!"
"Really?" Gwen's eyes couldn't help but light up; no woman can refuse a gift.
"When have I ever lied to you?"
Peter indeed hadn't lied to Gwen. According to his estimation, with Tony's scientific research level, it wouldn't be long before he could create the Mark II and Mark III.
When that time came, Peter could naturally go and ask Tony to customize a set of battle armor for both himself and Gwen.
Hmm, maybe he could prepare a set of battle armor for Felicia as well.
Her abilities were still too dependent on Water. Preparing a set of armor with a built-in water-spraying device would likely make her increasingly composed in battle... While he was thinking this, Gwen's house was already in sight.
After lingering with Gwen for a while longer, Peter watched as Gwen returned to her bedroom, then turned and left on his flying skateboard.
He didn't go straight home but instead chose to head directly to Parker Tech.
Peter planned to preserve Electro's flesh and blood first, and incidentally study this guy's genes.
To see if he could directly obtain the ability to charge and discharge electricity through cell consumption..."
Chapter 70: Transplanting the Electro Gene
Before long, Peter arrived at the headquarters of Parker Tech.
This was actually a property of the Osborn family. To support Peter and his own son, Norman had grandly gifted this entire office building to Peter and Harry.
Herman and Connors were currently conducting their respective research here.
The former was currently in charge of optimizing the mobile phone system.
It had to be said that Herman was indeed an overlooked genius.
After joining Parker Tech, with ample time and money and no longer forced by life's necessities, Herman began to frantically absorb all kinds of knowledge related to mobile phones like a dry sponge.
In less than a week, he taught himself knowledge in various fields, including programming, software engineering, and system architecture.
Looking at Herman, who had two large dark circles under his eyes, Peter was worried that this guy might drop dead from overwork.
So he quickly used the horse talisman to give him a deep physical conditioning treatment, which moved Herman immensely and made him respect Peter, his boss, even more.
Where else could he find such a good boss if he left Peter!
After advising Herman to take care of his health, Peter took the elevator to the top floor of the company.
This place was completely allocated to Connors for the development of the "healing serum."
Peter and Norman's plan was for Connors to continue researching the healing serum.
Once the serum was officially released, they would gradually dilute its potency into specifications like 1%, 5%, 20%, and 30%.
The first two would mainly address various daily illnesses and cardiovascular diseases in the elderly.
The latter two would handle complex cases and difficult conditions like limb regeneration.
As long as the universal healing serum could be developed, Parker Tech and Oscorp could become the number one commercial giants, surpassing Stark Industries in no time.
He had a brief chat with Connors about the development of the "healing serum."
After confirming that the experiments were progressing steadily and the results of the animal testing were becoming increasingly stable, Peter stopped bothering Connors.
Instead, he began researching the Electro gene by himself.
After placing the pieces of Electro's flesh into a specific petri dish to prevent the tissue from becoming inactive, Peter took out a small portion of Electro's flesh and blood tissue to begin basic research.
Since he had helped Connors complete the Decay Rate Algorithm and the basic development of the lizard serum, Peter handled this research quite skillfully.
Before long, his research yielded some results.
What was certain was that the part of the Electro gene related to absorbing and releasing electrical energy could be copied and transferred.
There was a similar plot in the original comics.
The villain Jackal created a clone of Electro's girlfriend, Francine.
Because this clone already possessed the shared genes of Francine and Electro, she accidentally absorbed all the electrical energy from the suit while Jackal was trying to help Electro regain his powers.
This caused Electro to die on the spot, and the clone Francine became the second-generation Electro.
So, theoretically, Peter only needed to extract the fragments capable of absorbing electricity from Electro's gene and transplant them into his own gene to succeed.
Under normal circumstances, since the lizard serum transplant had already been completed, performing a second transplant would be suicidal.
The conflict generated during the fusion of a third gene would immediately cause his genetic structure to collapse.
He would either become a deformed monster or die on the spot.
But!
With the protection of the horse talisman, Peter was undoubtedly different.
Genetic collapse? Mutational deformity?
Go tell that to my noble horse!
After spending the entire night, Peter successfully extracted the relevant gene fragments from Electro's body tissue using the Gene Extractor developed by Dr. Connors himself.
After some fancy maneuvers, Peter successfully turned it into an Electro Serum.
No animal testing was needed, nor were any special safety measures.
Peter directly stabbed this tube of brand-new serum into his neck.
The process was so simple and crude that it made Dr. Connors' brow twitch wildly as he watched from the side.
One could only say that being able to use magic allowed one to be willful... As the Electro Serumentered his body, Peter immediately felt a violent change.
However, because he already possessed a Superman-like constitution, this level of pain wasn't enough to make him lose his composure like when he was injected with the lizard serum before.
During the process, Peter noticed lizard-like features clearly appearing on his body, with blinding flashes of electricity visibly entwining them, turning the originally dark green scales into a brilliant blue.
Just as Dr. Connors was looking at Peter in shock and uncertainty, wondering if he should run away immediately.
The horse talisman inside Peter's body took effect, enveloping him in a hazy white light, and the changes on his body began to recede at an even faster rate.
About a minute later, the white light on Peter disappeared, and he completely returned to his normal appearance.
However, at the same time the white light vanished, a stream of information surged into Peter's mind.
It was the horse talisman telling him that his genetic modification had reached its limit.
The Tiger Talisman was necessary to help balance the conflicting forces within his body to break through this limit of gene editing.
Without the Tiger Talisman's assistance, even if Peter continued to inject new genes, the horse talisman could only help him retain at most two different genes.
For example, if Peter transplanted gene fragments from a genetically modified cat on top of his current foundation.
Then the horse talisman could only help him keep electricity + cat, electricity + lizard, or lizard + cat.
The abilities of the genes excluded by Peter would then be lost, and he would never be able to use those related abilities again.
"It's reasonable. Being able to maintain two different abilities is already the result of the horse talisman's forced cheating. I really shouldn't ask for more."
"I just don't know when I'll be able to get the Tiger Talisman... If only there were a 'Talisman Selector' option; I'd be willing to pay double or triple the ten-thousand-point price!"
After complaining like this in his heart, Peter shook his head slightly and decided not to think about these distant matters for the time being.
"I should figure out the ability to absorb and release electricity first, and develop Lightning Release: Rasengan and Lightning Release Chakra Mode!"
Thinking this, Peter stood up and opened the window on the top floor.
With a whistle of strong wind, the flying skateboard immediately hovered in front of Peter.
As Peter pressed his hand against the Electronic Pulse Cannon of the flying skateboard, before long, Peter's body was quickly entwined with blinding flashes of electricity.
"Alright, I'm fully charged now!"
Chapter 71 – Lightning Release Chakra Mode
After the wheel of destiny finished charging, Peter could clearly feel a wild energy flooding every corner of his body.
Surging electricity raced freely within him, yet it brought no burning pain—only an indescribable, exhilarating comfort.
It was as if every cell in his body was cheering, electrified by the lightning.
"Peter, you…'
Dr. Connors, watching the fine arcs of electricity dancing around Peter, felt his eyelids twitch and instinctively stepped back.
The scene before him had completely surpassed the bounds of his knowledge.
"Just a new ability. Don't worry, I can control this power perfectly; it won't cause any side effects."
Peter gave Connors a brief explanation, then activated his Byakugan to observe the miraculous changes inside his body.
He discovered that, in this fully-charged state, every cell was hyper-activated, markedly boosting his physical capabilities.
It felt exactly like the cell-activation from Lightning Release Chakra that Sasuke described when practicing Chidori in Naruto.
Except his current sensation was far more intense.
In this state, his strength, speed, reflexes—everything—were skyrocketing at a rate visible to the naked eye.
"Dr., time me."
As he spoke, Peter casually snatched a stopwatch from the lab bench and tossed it to Dr. Connors.
Connors caught it reflexively, looking bewildered.
The next second.
Peter's figure vanished from where he stood without warning.
Connors' vision blurred; a pale-blue after-image of electricity completed a round-trip sprint across the vast laboratory.
It happened so fast he thought he was hallucinating.
"How was it?" Peter's voice sounded beside him.
Connors snapped back to reality, glanced at the stopwatch, and his mouth fell open in an "O."
The display showed a number he couldn't believe.
"Two point six two seconds?!"
Dr. Connors' voice trembled.
The top-floor lab was easily over fifty meters long.
A round trip was roughly a hundred meters.
Under three seconds for a hundred meters?
Was that humanly possible? Faster than a Ferrari speeding down a highway.
"So my physical speed's increased by about fifty percent…"
Hearing the result, Peter couldn't keep the corner of his mouth from lifting.
Even this basic charged-up speed was already outrageous.
And this was merely the most fundamental mode after a full charge.
His true trump card hadn't even been deployed yet.
So… next!
Guided by his will, Peter began extracting Chakra from his cells.
Because his body was now almost entirely composed of electric current, the Chakra he produced was naturally Lightning-natured, no conversion needed.
Feeling the abundant Lightning Release Chakra within, he didn't hesitate, immediately channeling it evenly out through every acupuncture point.
Crackle-crackle-crackle!!!
A terrifying burst of electricity roared to life.
Brilliant blue light erupted from his body, coalescing around him like a Super Saiyan aura, forming a complete lightning armor.
Success!
The forbidden technique of the Fourth Raikage—Lightning Release Chakra Mode—had been effortlessly recreated by Peter in an entirely different way.
Blinding electric light shot upward, nearly searing Dr. Connors' eyes.
Connors instinctively retreated to a corner, squinting at the dazzling Peter, his mind reeling.
If the lightning was this fierce while Peter stood still, what catastrophic devastation would it unleash in battle?
"Dr., please test me one more time."
Peter wanted Connors to clock his speed in Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
He had only just lifted his foot—boom, boom, boom!
The floor tiles shattered like tofu under the slight movement, and Peter, caught off guard, crashed through.
That "gentle" step had pulverized three layers of floor tiles.
After Moonwalking back to the top lab and using the horse talisman to repair the floor, Peter gave an apologetic look.
"Should be fine now, Dr."
Connors sighed and started the stopwatch.
"Three, two, one."
The instant he pressed the button, Peter shot out like an arrow and returned in the blink of an eye.
Only after he was back did the terrifying sonic boom reach Connors' ears with a delayed roar.
Connors hit the stopwatch: 0.5 seconds—but that reading was meaningless, since he'd reacted long after Peter had returned.
Judging from what he'd just seen, Peter had unquestionably broken the sound barrier.
"F***!" Even the usually mild-mannered Dr. Connors couldn't help cursing.
"Peter, you just ran faster than sound?"
Connors felt the worldview built over decades of scholarship crumbling.
Ignoring Connors' monster-staring gaze, Peter turned to the corner fire-hydrant.
Now came the crucial test.
Water was Electro's fatal weakness—could the Lightning armor eradicate that vulnerability?
Without hesitation, Peter wrenched open the hydrant.
Whoosh!
A cold, high-pressure jet burst out.
Connors' heart leapt to his throat.
He feared Peter would short-circuit and be badly injured.
Yet the expected blackout and power failure never came.
Wrapped in Lightning Release Chakra Mode, the water was repelled by an invisible membrane before ever touching him.
Though the high-pressure stream struck head-on, not a drop wet Peter's body.
In Lightning Release Chakra Mode, he was completely immune to water.
Electro's greatest weakness had been overcome.
Add high speed, high attack, high defense, and water immunity to the Lightning armor.
Coupled with his mastered Finger Pistol… a technique name flashed through Peter's mind.
Hell Stab: One-Finger Pierce!
Now there was no holding back!
Chapter 72 – Madam Gao and the Silver Samurai
Just thinking about the so-called "strongest spear" of the Hokage World made Peter itch for a fight.
Peter's fists were twitching; he flat-out craved a brawl.
He glanced at Dr. Connors… hesitated, then dropped the idea of asking the good doctor to jab him with a serum and serve as a sparring partner.
The man was already working overtime voluntarily; subjecting him to "corporal punishment" on top of that would be a bit much.
With that in mind, Peter simply reminded Dr. Connors to get more rest, then stepped onto his flying skateboard and left Parker Tech.
Destination… Hells Kitchen!
As everyone knows, if you're looking for punching bags—er, for justice—the best place in the Marvel Universe is Hells Kitchen.
A blue bolt of lightning slashed across the New York night sky, streaking straight toward Hells Kitchen.
It was four-thirty in the morning; dawn was still hours away, and most people were lost in dreamland.
On top of that, the NYPD had launched a major sweep only hours earlier.
Consequently, Hells Kitchen—usually a cacophony of noise—was eerily quiet.
Apart from alley cats rifling through trash and a few junkies zonked out doing zombie cosplay, no living soul walked the streets.
"Tch, did I come all this way for nothing?"
Peter grumbled inwardly as he activated his Byakugan.
In Byakugan mode, all of Hells Kitchen turned crystal-clear.
Buildings shed their outer shells, revealing interior layouts and the silhouettes of slumbering occupants.
Peter circled the district once at speed, then let out a soft exclamation.
He'd spotted something interesting.
Inside a large warehouse on the west side, two figures sat facing each other.
Two people awake at this hour wasn't odd in itself.
What was odd—what his Byakugan told him—was that both of them had… Chakra?
Curious, he drifted a little closer and studied the energy inside them.
It wasn't Chakra.
Chakra appeared pale-blue under Byakugan and coursed restlessly through every limb.
The energy in these two was a hazy white mist, perfectly still, coalesced in their dantian.
"Some kind of qigong or internal force, maybe?"
The realization perked Peter right up.
He tweaked the Byakugan's view, and the underground warehouse blossomed into vivid color.
Partly to avoid awkwardness, partly to spare his own eyes.
Full-color peeking at beauties like Gwen or Felicia was pure eye-candy.
But grandpas, grandmas, and America's trademark gender-benders? That was retina-scarring.
Normally he stuck to the black-and-white "manga mode" when peeping.
With the switch, a wizened old woman with triangular eyes and a towering man in Silver Samuraiarmor came into focus.
"Madam Gao and… the Silver Samurai?"
Recognition flashed across Peter's face.
Madam Gao was The Hand's mouthpiece in Hells Kitchen, a monster centuries old.
The Silver Samurai, he recalled, was one of Wolverine's nemeses; in The Wolverine the guy had been some Japanese kid Logan saved,
only to steal Logan's healing factor years later to stay young.
But this Universe's Silver Samurai clearly wasn't that version.
No X-gene, and he looked barely thirty.
"Alternate-World variant, I guess," Peter mused.
Come to think of it, in eighteen years here he'd never heard a whisper about Mutants.
Probably because this World only blended Gwen-spider stuff with the MCU, so Mutants simply didn't exist.
A relief in some ways, a pity in others.
No Magneto or Professor X to deal with, but also fewer worthy opponents.
"Fate brought us together. Since you're both canon big-shots… be my sacrifice points!"
Without hesitation Peter leapt from the flying skateboard in a glorious swan-dive.
BOOM!
Lightning-wreathed in Lightning Release Chakra Mode, he smashed clean through the warehouse roof.
The sudden crash made Madam Gao and the Silver Samurai jolt upright, faces twisted in alarm.
They sprang to their feet, eyes locked on the uninvited guest.
The blinding blue arcs around Peter drew gasps of disbelief.
"What kind of monster?!" the Silver Samurai muttered in rapid Japanese, pupils shrinking.
He could feel the youth's power—wilder than any fighter he'd met back home.
Unlike the samurai, Madam Gao recognized the costume.
Her face darkened, triangular eyes glinting like a viper's.
"The Punisher?!" she rasped, voice heavy with long-bred authority:
"This is no place for you."
She'd read newspaper snippets about The Punisher,
but dismissed them as American media puffery.
Beating the Green Goblin and the Lizard Monster? Pure exaggeration.
To her, this "Punisher" was just another Daredevil or Iron Fist—mortal flesh.
His daring intrusion merely youthful ignorance.
Then—BOOM!
Before she could finish, her vision blurred and a titanic force slammed into her.
Peter seized the old crone by the throat and plowed her ten-odd meters across the floor,
tearing a deep furrow through the concrete.
Looking down at the ashen Madam Gao, he grinned nastily and switched to flawless Mandarin:
"Where I go is none of your damn business, hag."
Chapter 73: Impressive, old hag?
Hearing Peter speak fluent Chinese, Madam Gao and the Silver Samurai's expressions both changed slightly.
"You're Chinese?!"
"Who sent you? K'un-Lun? Or S.P.E.A.R.?
Madam Gao subconsciously wanted to establish a connection with Peter. Even if she couldn't, she could at least confirm which enemy faction was seeking revenge on her.
But Peter's answer left them utterly disappointed.
"No one sent me. It's just that your luck isn't good enough."
Luck isn't good enough?
Hearing such an answer, three black lines couldn't help but appear on Madam Gao and the Silver Samurai's foreheads.
What kind of outrageous excuse is this?
The two subconsciously thought Peter was deliberately hiding something, and a look of anger appeared on their faces.
"You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit! When we catch you, I'd like to see how tough your mouth can be!"
As she spoke, Madam Gao, who was pinned to the ground by Peter, suddenly underwent a transformation.
Her old and hunched body expanded several times out of thin air, and her height increased by a few inches.
Her hands, glowing faintly, grabbed Peter's forearm, completely ignoring the Lightning Release armor wrapped around it.
The power she unleashed was not to be underestimated, at least close to a ton.
Interesting.
Peter's eyes lit up, curious to see how powerful the Qigong of the Marvel Universe truly was.
He subconsciously tilted his head to dodge the katana swung by the Silver Samurai from behind, then raised his foot in a scorpion kick, sending the Silver Samurai flying.
To Peter's surprise, as the Silver Samurai retreated, an Impact wave burst from his samurai armor.
Although this Impact wave didn't even break through the Lightning Release armor's defense on Peter's body,
The cracks on the cement floor beneath his feet showed that its power was not simple, and it would likely be life-threatening if it hit an ordinary person.
"Is this armor... mixed with Vibranium?!"
Peter's eyes lit up, looking at the Silver Samurai as if he were a walking mountain of gold.
At this point, he couldn't even bother with Madam Gao, turning around and rushing directly in front of the Silver Samurai.
"Very good, your armor and your sword, they're both mine!"
Under the amplification of the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, Peter's speed was truly extreme. Even a martial arts master like the Silver Samurai, who had cultivated for many years, felt his eyelids twitch wildly upon seeing Peter's speed.
He stared intently at Peter's charging movement, simultaneously channeling all the 'Qi' in his body into the katana in his hand.
The Silver Samurai's own Qi, combined with the special mechanism within the katana, immediately caused the blade to be enveloped in a high-frequency thermal energy.
This was the Silver Samurai's special ability; with this high-frequency thermal energy blade, he could cut through almost anything in this World.
In the movie, he even cut off Wolverine's Adamantium claws with one slash.
Swish!
The Silver Samurai concentrated, and the katana in his hand sliced through the air, producing a sharp whooshing sound, aiming directly for Peter's head.
The Silver Samurai was very confident in this strike. He believed that if this strike connected, no matter how hard Peter's lightning armor was, he would be cut in half, person and armor alike!
However!
Facing the Silver Samurai's blade, Peter merely sneered.
He clearly detected the Silver Samurai's attack trajectory but did not dodge.
Instead, he allowed the Silver Samurai's katana to strike his head.
The moment the Silver Samurai's blade was about to touch his body, an incredible scene occurred.
"Sizzle—!"
Wherever the blade passed, the Lightning Release armor around Peter rippled like water!
The Silver Samurai only felt as if his blade had cut through emptiness.
The sharp blade met no resistance, passing directly through the middle of Peter's body!
"Hmm?" The Silver Samurai's movements froze, his pupils suddenly dilating.
He clearly saw his blade penetrate Peter's body, yet he felt no sensation of hitting a solid object.
This... how is this possible?!
On the other side, after 'taking' a blow from the Silver Samurai, Peter immediately counterattacked.
He punched the armor, and the terrifying force instantly sent the Silver Samurai flying, his massive body crashing through more than a dozen walls before finally stopping.
Looking at his masterpiece, Peter couldn't help but reveal a satisfied smile.
The power of this punch was secondary; what truly satisfied him was the way he had successfully dodged that strike!
Peter's dodge of the Silver Samurai's strike wasn't as simple as mere semi-elementalization.
While semi-elementalization can grant immunity to physical attacks, it cannot evade energy attacks!
The high-frequency thermal energy blade the Silver Samurai just swung already fell into the category of energy attacks.
If the useless Electro had taken that strike, he would have been instantly cleaved to death!
As for Peter, the reason he was completely unharmed wasn't because he used the horse talisman's divine power.
Instead, he replicated an advanced elementalization technique used by Logia-type ability users in One Piece when facing Armament Haki — pre-emptive hole creation!
Simply put, it means predicting the enemy's attack point and then preemptively creating a hole in one's elementalized body, allowing the opponent's attack to pass directly through.
When the Silver Samurai's blade fell, Peter actively tore his body, and then quickly healed it after the blade passed through.
This is why the Silver Samurai clearly saw himself hitting Peter, yet felt no sensation of striking a solid object!
Although this dodging method severely tests one's reaction speed, it is undoubtedly a super divine skill.
With this skill, unless an enemy can instantly unleash a large-scale energy attack that completely engulfs Peter's body,
Otherwise, even if they were to exhaust themselves to death, they wouldn't be able to harm a single hair on Peter's head!
Just as Peter was secretly pleased with the development of this divine dodging skill, a cane with an extremely sharp tip pierced into Peter's brain!
Madam Gao appeared behind Peter, triumphantly stirring Peter's 'brain tissue'.
"I've warned you, this is not where you should be."
"If you don't listen to the elders, you'll suffer in your eyes qqqq~~~~"
Before Madam Gao could finish her 'victory declaration', her aged body suddenly trembled violently.
Electricity!
An incredibly violent current instantly spread throughout her body, rendering her completely paralyzed.
This was only because this old hag had cultivated Qigong for hundreds of years; otherwise, this single electric shock would have instantly turned her into charcoal.
Boom!
A stylish size 43 foot kicked Madam Gao, instantly giving her the same treatment as the Silver Samurai.
Madam Gao, embedded in the wall, looked at Peter as if she had seen a ghost.
Watching him slowly 'pull out' the cane stuck in his face, he asked in a relaxed and teasing voice,
"Impressive, old hag?"
Chapter 74: If He Isn't Nerfed, How Can We Even Play?
Madam Gao thought her sneak attack was completely undetectable.
Little did she know, Peter's Byakugan provided a 360° field of vision with no blind spots, capturing her small movements long ago.
As her strike hit nothing but air, she gritted her teeth viciously, feeling a profound sense of frustration and indignation in her heart.
She had lived for hundreds of years, mastering and integrating almost every fighting technique from around the World.
Yet, even with all that, she could do nothing against this fellow known as "The Punisher"!
Clearly, this guy's "Qi" was so young, yet he easily commanded a level of power she could hardly reach even after centuries of bitter cultivation. How could she accept this?
At that thought, killing intent overflowed from Madam Gao's eyes.
Kill him, and find every possible way to study this young man's body!
This might be the key to allowing her to take that next step!
She had already accumulated massive wealth and connections; if she could achieve a breakthrough in her personal strength as well...
Leading The Hand... no, that's too small! Her vision was too limited!
By then, she might truly be able to rule a nation, or even... the entire World!
With this thought, Madam Gao's eyes were filled with fanaticism as she looked at Peter!
She once again surged the "Qi" within her body, and the high walls around them collapsed with a boom:
"Silver Samurai, if you join forces with me to kill him, I'm willing to pay you double the commission! Not only that, I'm willing to share the secrets on his body with you!"
Hearing the lucrative conditions offered by Madam Gao, the Silver Samurai, who had originally intended to retreat, hesitated for a moment before charging at Peter once again.
Watching Madam Gao and the Silver Samurai launch a joint attack against him.
Peter felt neither fear nor tension; instead, he nodded with satisfaction.
"That's more like it! Only by the two of you coming at me together can you truly entertain me!"
As he spoke, Peter's figure blurred as he took the initiative to charge toward the Silver Samurai.
Facing the blade wrapped in high-frequency thermal energy, capable of cutting through Adamantium, he didn't dodge. Instead, he adopted an "injury-for-injury" fighting style.
Swoosh!
The katana let out a shrill whistle as it sliced accurately toward Peter's neck.
However, as the blade passed through, there was still no sense of physical contact.
As before, he opened a hole in advance, and as before, he remained unscathed.
"My turn!"
Peter swung a backhanded palm strike wrapped in lightning, accurately chopping at the Silver Samurai's neck.
Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chiyo Dance!
Boom!
In that instant, the Silver Samurai felt as if he had been struck by a speeding train.
Even though his silver armor, laced with Vibranium, helped absorb the vast majority of the impact,
Being laced with Vibranium didn't mean it was as omnipotent as pure Vibranium.
The Silver Samurai's body was sent flying once again, his feet plowing two deep furrows into the concrete ground.
A large section of the silver armor on his right shoulder and neck area was directly caved in.
If he hadn't had "Qi" protecting his body, that one move would likely have snapped his neck.
Silver Samurai: Every time I swing at him, it's a miss, but every time he hits me, it's a critical strike?
He's so broken; if he isn't nerfed, how can we even play?
While the Silver Samurai was complaining in his mind, Madam Gao appeared behind Peter like a ghost.
Her five fingers formed a claw, with a visible hazy white mist wrapping around her fingertips, as she lunged straight for Peter's heart.
This strike actually managed to break through the defense of the Lightning Release Armor, coming just a hair's breadth away from piercing Peter's chest muscle.
Unfortunately, before she could exert more force, Peter's right leg swept around like a steel whip.
Facing Peter's heavy kick, Madam Gao chose neither to dodge nor to take it head-on.
Instead, she used a technique similar to the "Golden Snake Silken Hand," wrapping herself around Peter's leg like a boneless serpent while her hands accurately pressed onto the acupoints on Peter's thigh.
Buzz!
A strange force actually penetrated the Lightning Release Armor and, even while Peter was in a semi-elementalized state, struck directly into his body!
In that instant, it felt as if countless tiny steel needles were simultaneously piercing his nerve endings, causing the Lightning Release Armor on his surface to flicker with instability for a moment.
Even his elementalized body experienced a moment of stagnation.
"Do it!" Madam Gao shouted sharply.
As she spoke, she used Peter's body as a fulcrum to launch herself, spinning in the air and kicking toward Peter's neck.
At the same time, the Silver Samurai behind Peter roared and thrust his over-clocked heated blade straight toward Peter's back.
Both of them believed that this joint effort would allow them to slay Peter on the spot.
But unfortunately, their plan was destined to fail.
The power of the horse talisman flowed through his body, instantly dispelling that strange numbness.
Opening a hole in his chest in advance to dodge the Silver Samurai's blade, Peter simultaneously applied the effect of Iron Body to his neck.
Clang!
The moment her kick landed on his neck, Madam Gao didn't see Peter's neck break. Instead, she gasped in pain—her foot had suffered a bone fracture from hitting Peter's neck!
Damn, is he even human?
Looking at Madam Gao and the Silver Samurai, who were now staring at him like he was a monster after putting some distance between them.
Peter simply beckoned them with his finger calmly:
"Again?"
He certainly had more efficient ways to fight.
Whether it was immediately conjuring a Rasengan or using an instantaneous burst of speed to quickly finish one of them off with a Finger Pistol, he could end the battle in the blink of an eye.
But that would be too much of a waste.
Who knows how hard it is for the current Peter to find two sparring partners with decent skills who can actually threaten him.
Especially Madam Gao; this old hag was practically a treasure trove!
With every move she made, Peter could see the shadows of many different martial arts styles.
The soft overcoming the hard from Tai Chi, the fierce dominance of Xingyi Quan, the knife-like elbows of Muay Thai, and that kick to his neck just now even had a bit of the flavor of Capoeira.
Clearly, this old hag had managed to integrate almost every fighting art in the World over the past few centuries and used "Qi" to multiply the destructive power of these moves.
In comparison, the Silver Samurai was far inferior.
His Japanese swordsmanship seemed grand and sweeping, but in reality, it was full of openings.
If not for the over-clocked heated katana in his hand, Peter could have completely dominated him with pure fighting skills even if he suppressed his speed and strength to the level of an ordinary person.
But as it happened, these two people formed a curious synergy.
Madam Gao had exquisite martial skills but couldn't deal a fatal blow to Peter.
The Silver Samurai's skills were trash, but he had the potential to kill Peter outright with his ability.
This kind of two-on-one fight was a very rare experience for Peter.
Because of this, Peter intended to exchange a few more moves with them to accumulate more experience.
It wasn't for the sake of showing off, but to be able to more calmly deal with various Asgardians, Chitauri, and Kree who would descend from the sky in the future.
The elites among these aliens all possessed speed and strength far exceeding the ordinary heroes of Earth. If he didn't take advantage of the current conditions to gain experience in fighting multiple opponents,
He would lose face if he had to scramble for a solution when facing those aliens in the future!
Thinking this, Peter completely settled his mind and devoted himself to enjoying this unequal battle...
Chapter 75: How many divisions does The Hand have?
She noticed that Peter's movements seemed to have slowed down considerably.
Madam Gao didn't think Peter was intentionally taking it easy.
On the contrary, she felt it was a sign that Peter was on the verge of exhaustion.
After all... anyone seeing Peter constantly enveloped in those blinding special effects would think he couldn't possibly last much longer.
Little did she know... under the protection of the horse talisman, Peter was a literal human Tailed Beast.
Never mind maintaining the Lightning Release Chakra Mode for this long; even if he kept it up for three days and three nights, it would be a piece of cake for Peter.
Thinking that Peter was about to give out, Madam Gao perked up and began spewing trash talk at him, trying to mess with his head:
"Young man, you have nothing but brute strength, yet you have no idea how to use it!"
As she spoke, she first used a Tai Chi-like method to deflect the force of Peter's strike, guiding his fist to the side, then followed up with a low kick aimed straight for his groin.
"The essence of martial arts lies in restraint, not release! In my eyes, your current fighting style is no different from a Beast!"
"Oh? Is that so?"
Peter let out a light chuckle. Then, his arm suddenly transformed into pure electricity, wrapping around Madam Gao's leg.
He hadn't yet learned fighting styles like Tai Chi or the Golden Snake Silken Hand... but his energy-based body allowed him to accomplish it all with ease.
Immediately after... Boom!
A terrifying force suddenly erupted. Madam Gao was swung around by Peter and slammed into the ground, leaving her dazed and disoriented.
This was... her own Silken Hand!
Realizing that Peter had used her own offensive style to deal her a heavy blow, Madam Gao, who had just been lecturing him, felt her face flush with embarrassment.
She circulated her energy to suppress the damage and tightly pursed her lips, forcing down the mouthful of blood that had almost escaped.
At first, Madam Gao thought Peter's counterattack was because her words had hit a sore spot.
But as time passed, the smug look on her face gradually vanished, replaced by deep shock and disbelief.
She finally realized something was wrong.
This young man was stealing her combat experience!
At first, he seemed a bit flustered dealing with the pincer attack from her and the Silver Samurai, relying entirely on his incredible speed and bizarre Elementalization abilities to hold his ground.
Most of the moves he used for offense were Karate techniques.
But now, every dodge and every counterattack he made was becoming increasingly sophisticated.
There were no wasted movements, and every strike left room for defense.
The most obvious sign was... he was using that Elementalization less and less!
Initially, when facing the Silver Samurai's attacks, he could only rely on Elementalization to block.
But now, every time the Silver Samurai swung his blade, Peter could perfectly free up a hand and use various subtle techniques to make the strike miss!
The various arts she had spent four hundred years mastering were being replicated by Peter in just over ten minutes.
Although many techniques were forcibly replicated through Elementalization...
...if he could just elementalize, why would he bother putting in the effort to learn something like her Bone Shrinking Art, which required practice from childhood?
Realizing this, Madam Gao, who had originally wanted to provoke Peter, ended up breaking down herself.
"You damned thief!"
Madam Gao tried to get up from the ground to attack Peter again.
But as she rose, she felt waves of dizziness.
Only then did she suddenly realize that the 'Qi' in her body had already been completely depleted by the previous high-intensity combat!
The moment she realized this, Madam Gao's expression changed drastically.
She instinctively looked toward the Silver Samurai, hoping he still had enough strength to take her away from this little monster.
But as she looked, she found the Silver Samurai's condition was even worse than hers.
Although the Silver Samurai was barely managing to stay standing, his hands holding the blade were trembling incessantly, and the overclocked thermal energy on the blade had long since vanished!
Of course! His control over 'Qi' was inferior to hers, and he was wearing that silver armor weighing over fifty pounds; how could he possibly last longer than her?
In that moment, Madam Gao, who had lived for hundreds of years, finally felt a long-forgotten fear.
Just then, she heard Peter's cold voice:
"It seems you've outlived your usefulness."
Usefulness!
Only upon hearing those words did Madam Gao show a look of realization and regret.
It turned out that from the very beginning, he had truly just been using them as sparring partners!
Madam Gao noticed that Peter's speed suddenly increased several times over.
In the blink of an eye, he flashed in front of her and hoisted her entire body up.
This monster... had been suppressing his speed this whole time!
Crack! Crack!
The sounds of ribs snapping rang out one after another.
Amidst the agonizing pain, Madam Gao made another discovery: he had also been suppressing his strength by an unknown number of times!
What the hell kind of monster is this?
"No... you can't kill me!"
Feeling that undisguised, piercing killing intent, Madam Gao suddenly shrieked with false bravado:
"I am one of the Five Fingers of The Hand! If you kill me, The Hand will never let you get away with it!"
"The Hand?"
Peter tilted his head instinctively, but the next moment, the words he spoke made Madam Gao feel as if she had fallen into an ice cellar:
"How many divisions does The Hand have?"
The moment the words fell, Peter slammed Madam Gao head-first into the ground.
Liger Bomb!
Boom!
A terrifying tremor, like an earthquake, rippled through the ground. The earth cracked inch by inch, and a crater several meters deep and a hundred meters wide suddenly appeared.
Madam Gao's upper body, along with her centuries of 'Qi' cultivation, vanished completely in that instant... Not far away, the Silver Samurai, who had witnessed this bloody scene, was scared out of his wits.
He fell to his knees with a thud, completely forgetting his so-called Bushido spirit.
He even took off his helmet voluntarily, revealing a terrified Japanese face with a toothbrush mustache:
"Don't kill me, I'm just a mercenary. There's no hatred between us. If you spare me, I'm willing to serve you for the rest of my life!"
Looking at the wretched face under the Silver Samurai's helmet, Peter felt the killing intent in his heart surge even more:
"We indeed had no grudge before, but the moment you showed that face, we did!"
As he spoke, Peter held up a single finger toward the Silver Samurai:
"Tell you what, I'll give you a chance. If you can withstand this one finger of mine, I'll spare your life."
Hearing this, the Silver Samurai's eyes immediately lit up.
"Just one finger!"
His samurai armor was infused with Vibranium; it could withstand a direct hit from a missile without a problem.
If it were three or four fingers, he might need to think twice, but just one finger would surely... Pfft!
Before the Silver Samurai could even show an expression of relief...
...Peter's Hell Stab: One-Finger Spear pierced through the Silver Samurai's chest in the blink of an eye.
The armor infused with Vibranium was as fragile as paper in that moment... "Na...ni?!"
The Silver Samurai looked down in disbelief at the gaping hole through his chest, the last spark of life in his eyes quickly fading away.
Until the moment he completely lost consciousness, he couldn't figure out why he couldn't even withstand a single finger...
Chapter 76: Harvest
"Satisfying~"
Looking at the little Japanese bastard on the ground who died with his eyes open, Peter's mood was very pleasant.
The harvest from this night far exceeded his expectations.
Not only had he completely mastered the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, achieving fine-tuned control while his Lightning Armor was active (meaning he wouldn't accidentally punch Madam Gao to death).
He had also developed the "pre-emptive hole" evasion technique and, along the way, stolen the essence of martial arts that Madam Gao had painstakingly practiced for four hundred years.
"Besides that..."
Peter turned his gaze toward the corpses of the Silver Samurai and Madam Gao.
He reached out and pressed his hand against the silver armor with the large hole in it, and a system prompt immediately appeared before his eyes.
[Sacrificeable Dark Green Item detected: Silver Samurai Great Armor]
[A rare set of armor crafted by the Silver Samurai at great expense. A small amount of Vibranium is integrated into the armor, allowing it to absorb and release a certain level of kinetic energy and withstand Rocket launcher attacks without injury. It is a very practical piece of combat equipment.]
[Sacrifice to obtain: 800 Points]
[Sacrifice?]
Without any hesitation, Peter chose to sacrifice it directly.
After all, a piece of armor with a hole in it no longer had any utility value to him.
As for that small amount of Vibranium... although it was rare, it wasn't as if there were no other ways to obtain it.
In the future, he would just need to take a trip to Wakanda to get a large batch of Vibranium.
Even if he couldn't go to Wakanda for the time being, wasn't there a ready-made Vibranium katana right here!
He casually picked up the katana from the ground.
Hum!
As Lightning Release Chakra was injected, a blinding electric light immediately appeared on the blade.
For a moment, it reminded Peter of that "Sword of the Thunder God" from Naruto.
He gripped the katana and gave it a couple of casual slashes.
Peter found that although he didn't know how to use "Qi" to create overclocked high heat, the special mechanical structure of the blade itself could still perfectly amplify his Lightning Release Chakra.
In terms of cutting power, the current lightning sword form was not inferior to the previous overclocked high-heat version at all.
"Not bad, it can be used as a special countermeasure weapon."
"When I go to Wakanda in the future, I can even have Black Panther help modify it. Changing it to a straight Tang Hengdao style would be more aesthetically pleasing."
Thinking this, Peter sheathed the sword with satisfaction and hung it at his waist... Well, he originally wanted to try carrying it on his back, but he found that just like those cosplayers playing Zhang Qiling, he couldn't pull it out at all and could only perform the 'New Year's Bow' sword technique on the spot... "Speaking of which, I don't know when the system will refresh a space ring. Storing things like this is indeed quite inconvenient."
After grumbling like that, Peter turned his attention back to Madam Gao.
At this moment, Madam Gao was left with only two bare legs.
To prevent her from being able to resurrect using something like Dragon Bone.
Peter pressed his hand on those two legs, and the terrifying electric light directly charred them completely.
This time, even Dragon Bone wouldn't be able to resurrect her!
Activating the Byakugan, he searched the area around the human-shaped charcoal, and before long, Peter found two items.
One was Madam Gao's cane, and the other was a ring.
Since he couldn't judge which was more valuable, Peter simply let the system act as an appraiser:
[Sacrificeable Green Item detected: Madam Gao's Dragon Head Cane]
[A cane Madam Gao carried for many years, and one of her most proficient weapons. The tip of the cane is made of a special alloy that can easily pierce steel. The dragon head can spray lasers and toxic smoke. Madam Gao used this to kill many rivals in the dark forces.]
[Sacrifice to obtain: 500 Points]
[Sacrifice?]
[Sacrificeable Dark Green Item detected: kunlun thimble ring]
[A token of Madam Gao's Qigong training in Kunlun during her youth. Wearing this ring allows one to feel the existence of "Qi" faster and slightly increases the speed of cultivation. Therefore, even after defecting from Kunlun, Madam Gao never took it off.]
[Sacrifice to obtain: 800 Points]
[Sacrifice?]
It turned out to be an item that helps with the cultivation of "Qi"?
Peter's eyes lit up. He decisively chose to sacrifice the former and then wore the kunlun thimble ring on his left thumb.
It was quite magical; after putting it on his thumb, the ring actually disappeared immediately, leaving only a small cloud pattern mark on his thumb knuckle.
This seemed to involve the application of some kind of spatial rule.
After all, Kunlun in the Marvel Universe was a magical city hidden in a rift dimension.
Peter intended to see if he could feel the existence of Qi with this ring, so he simply stepped onto his flying skateboard and returned to Parker Tech.
In the empty room, after Peter set out the cold jade bed, he sat cross-legged on it and began to close his eyes to sense that ethereal "Qi."
At first, he gained nothing.
It wasn't until Peter tried to extract Chakra while multitasking during meditation that he discovered his Chakra and some kind of strange energy had a peculiar resonance effect.
This discovery couldn't help but make Peter's expression turn a bit odd.
Thinking about it this way, isn't the natural energy in Naruto just a variant of Qi?
The only difference is that the natural energy in Naruto is relatively low-level and cannot be stored at all, while Qi can be stored in the dantian for a long time... In that case, if I absorb a bit more Qi to store in my dantian and then fuse Qi and Chakra one-to-one, wouldn't I be able to enter an alternative Sage Mode?
Peter really wanted to try it, but the process was honestly a bit too slow to be touching... Just like when Naruto first began training in Senjutsu in the Naruto World, it was difficult to sense natural energy even with Mount Myōboku's toad oil.
Peter found that perhaps because there was no accompanying internal cultivation method, even with the boost from the cold jade bed, it was not an easy task to absorb the Qi between heaven and earth into his dantian.
He sat on the cold jade bed for two full hours, but the "Qi" absorbed into his body was pitifully small.
According to this trend, without a few months, he estimated it would be very hard to save up enough Chakra to enter Sage Mode.
"Sigh~ Since things have come to this, let's eat first!"
Seeing that it was already seven in the morning, Peter simply went downstairs to buy breakfast and picked up a copy of the Daily Bugle along the way.
As expected, the newspaper's headline was about their battle with Electro yesterday.
The secondary page, however, used a large spread to report the news of Tony announcing the closure of the weapons division.
Looking at the report, Peter knew in his heart that a new round of ATM opportunities was about to come.
Previously, because Tony hadn't even been rescued by him yet, the Military, under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s instigation, had released a statement about Tony's rescue in advance.
Stark Industries' stock had skyrocketed, and Peter had made a huge profit, causing his assets to multiply several times over.
And now, Tony's decision would inevitably cause Stark's stock price to plummet to rock bottom again in the coming period.
He could take this opportunity to buy in heavily and then wait quietly.
Wait until half a month later when Tony kills iron monger and announces to the World, "I am Iron Man." That moment would be when he sells his stock and cashes out.
With this money, plus the income from the upcoming release of the unicorn generation 1... by then, Peter will have completely finished his primitive accumulation of capital and become one of the wealthiest small group of people in the World in one fell swoop!
Chapter 77: Uncle Ben, You Seem a Bit Too Extreme
After breakfast, Peter decisively gave his tool-man best friend, Harry Osborn, a call, telling him to prepare for a second massive wave of bottom-fishing in a couple of days.
Because the previous operation had successfully earned Harry a fortune,
he didn't hesitate at all this time, patting his chest and guaranteeing that he would handle everything perfectly.
With Harry's assurance, Peter hung up the phone and, stepping onto his flying skateboard, headed straight back to his home in Queens.
The main reason he hadn't gone home last night was for fear of scaring Uncle Ben and Aunt May; now, pretending to have just gotten off a plane made his appearance much more reasonable.
When he opened the door with his key, Peter happened to lock eyes with Uncle Ben, who was just about to head out.
"Peter?" Uncle Ben froze for a moment, then couldn't help but complain,
"You're back! Why didn't you tell us in advance, child!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Aunt May gave the old man an annoyed shove, squeezing him aside and taking Peter's hand with all sorts of warm concerns:
"Are you tired?"
"Are you hungry?"
"Do you want me to help you ask the school for leave so you can have a good rest at home today?"
Hearing this made Peter's heart feel warm.
"I just wanted to give you guys a surprise!"
As Peter spoke, he began pulling various exquisite souvenirs out of the backpack he had prepared long ago.
Seeing Peter pull out these souvenirs that clearly looked expensive, the gratification on Uncle Ben and Aunt May's faces was gradually replaced by a subtle solemnity.
The old couple was naturally very gratified that the child thought to bring them gifts.
However, these gifts were too valuable—they were simply not something a family like theirs could afford!
To what extent was Peter's family struggling in the original story?
The answer is that after Uncle Ben's death, Aunt May and Peter could go back and forth for ages over a mere 20 dollars; in the end, Aunt May tearfully forced Peter to take it, and only then did Peter have to put the money in his pocket.
For a family in such poor economic condition, the child bringing back so many expensive gifts after a long trip—
it was hard for them not to worry if Peter had done something he shouldn't have, like taking out a high-interest loan out of vanity.
At the thought of this possibility, Uncle Ben didn't even care about going to work and immediately exerted the authority of the head of the household:
"Peter, tell us the truth, did you take out a loan?"
Noticing the nervous expressions of the old couple, Peter felt both amused and helpless:
"Uncle Ben, do I look like the kind of ignorant fool who would do that?"
"I earned all this money myself. I co-founded a company called 'Parker Tech' with Harry a while ago, and a few days ago, we made another fortune by investing in Stark Industries stock."
As Peter spoke, he took out his phone and showed the old couple his account balance.
The six-digit figure made the old couple's eyes nearly glaze over.
"Besides this money, I have a monthly salary of tens of thousands of dollars, and there will be sales commissions once we develop our first mobile phone.
To put it simply... with me around, you'll never have to worry about money again. You two can retire in peace and do the things you love."
These words left Uncle Ben and Aunt May staring at each other, their minds completely blank.
While the old couple was still processing, Peter dropped another bombshell:
"Furthermore... I actually awakened a special healing ability not long ago."
He said this while grabbing the old couple's hands, beginning to channel the power of the horse talisman to help them dispel various geriatric ailments from their bodies.
"With this ability, I am now Ghost-Spider's secret partner."
Peter hesitated for a moment but still didn't mention his "The Punisher" persona.
Mainly because he knew Uncle Ben too well.
This old man, bursting with a sense of justice, would definitely nag him every day with that classic line "with great power comes great responsibility" if he knew Peter was The Punisher.
Then he'd be urged not to kill anyone and pressured to be like Gwen, spending every day on the streets helping old ladies cross the road... Just thinking about that scene gave Peter a headache.
Therefore, he chose to forge a more "gentle" identity for himself.
"I'm currently Ghost-Spider's logistics helper, specifically providing healing and technical support for her and her partners."
He said this while waving the Daily Bugle newspaper he had bought during breakfast:
"Do you see this? Ghost-Spider, The Punisher, and that unknown new hero—her name is 'Nightingale'—I'm friends with all of them.
I even came up with the name Nightingale for her while I was on the plane."
Listening to Peter's narration, the old couple, whose hearts weren't very good, subconsciously pressed their hands to their chests.
As a result, after clutching them for a while, they found that nothing had happened.
Not only was there no problem with their hearts, but their entire bodies also felt a warm sensation.
This direct physical change served as side evidence that what Peter said was true.
The old couple looked at each other, and once they snapped out of it, their actions left Peter between laughter and tears.
Uncle Ben slammed the door shut with a bang.
Aunt May ran to the window like a secret agent, observing for a long time before drawing the curtains shut with a swish.
After completing all this, the old couple finally breathed a sigh of relief. Flanking Peter on the sofa, they asked in a low voice with unprecedentedly serious expressions:
"Peter, does anyone else know about this special ability of yours besides us and those three superheroes?"
Peter thought to himself that quite a few people knew, but on the surface, he just gently shook his head:
"No one else."
"That's good!" The old couple let out a long sigh of relief, but then Uncle Ben spoke up with a serious face again:
"Child, I know you might want to use your power to help others, but you must act within your capabilities in everything."
At this moment, Uncle Ben didn't mention a word about "with great power comes great responsibility," only speaking with a solemn face:
"Your Aunt May is right! This kind of ability must never be revealed unless absolutely necessary!"
"There are too many bad people in this World. Once this news is grasped by those medical conglomerates... God, they will definitely do everything in their power to get rid of you or capture you for dissection and study!"
Aunt May also added from the side:
"You are secretly helping those three superheroes heal; this has already indirectly saved many families. There's no need to put yourself in danger."
The old couple discussed back and forth, giving Peter no chance to speak at all, until they finally reached a common conclusion:
To avoid arousing suspicion and attracting unnecessary trouble, everything in the Parker household would remain as before!
They would continue going to work, at least until Peter's phone was fully released, and then they would use the reason that Peter had made money to reasonably fade from the public eye.
In short, they would absolutely not allow themselves to become any kind of burden that might threaten Peter!
And Peter's ability became a forbidden topic in the Parker household; the three of them were forbidden from revealing Peter's healing ability to anyone from now on!
Not even Gwen or George!
Looking at the old couple warning him with such serious faces, the expression on Peter's face was quite something.
Uncle Ben, you seem a bit too extreme...
Chapter 78: Gwen—Something's Wrong With Me!
After laying some of his cards on the table with Uncle Ben and Aunt May, Peter felt a lot lighter.
After an entire day of glorious sloth at home, he slung his backpack over his shoulder the next morning and boarded the school bus with Gwen.
While they stood shoulder-to-shoulder, being lovey-dovey as they waited, George sped past in his patrol car, lights blazing.
He was so focused he didn't even notice his daughter and Peter secretly holding hands.
"What's up with my father-in-law?" Peter couldn't help asking out of curiosity.
Gwen either didn't catch the title or pretended she hadn't—she simply thought for a moment and answered,
"I heard a major crime-boss in Hells Kitchen got himself killed. His sudden death has the whole neighborhood in chaos."
"Since last night every gang down there's been shooting it out, trying to grab the biggest slice of the dead man's empire."
"Between that and the police raid the night before, every jail cell in New York is stuffed."
"Right now the entire NYPD is working overtime, and it'll be at least ten days—maybe half a month—before things calm down."
She paused, then added in a complicated tone,
"Peter, because of this mess we probably can't tell Dad about us this weekend. We'll have to wait until he's off this crazy schedule."
Hearing that, Peter's expression turned a little odd.
So his spur-of-the-moment escapade yesterday had indirectly dumped all this on George?
Still… that might not be a bad thing.
If George was going to be buried in work for the next ten days or so,
wouldn't that line up perfectly with Tony's coming-out party?
Talk about perfect timing.
With Tony outing himself as a superhero first, George would have a primer; when he learned Peter and Gwen's secret identities later, he'd take it far better.
Thinking this, Peter edged closer to Gwen.
"That's great news—if your dad's tied up in Hells Kitchen, you can patrol at night without worrying about running into him."
"Also…"
He leaned to her sensitive ear and whispered,
"If your dad's working late every day, we could always—"
"N-no way, absolutely not!" Gwen cut him off, face scarlet, before he could finish his wolfish suggestion.
"Huh? Why can't I take you up to your rooftop for some combat training?" Peter put on an innocent look.
"Oh… just combat training?" Gwen blinked, then blushed crimson.
So Peter only wanted to help her train?
Damn it—she'd misunderstood him again!
She prayed Peter wouldn't notice; the last thing she wanted was to go from "Little Spider" to "Little Pervert-Spider."
But Peter moved even closer, eyes fixed on her.
"What did you think I wanted to do with you?"
"I-I thought you wanted to train my fighting, of course," she stammered.
"I only worried we might make too much noise and wake Grandma…"
Her voice dwindled to a mosquito-whine—because even that sounded like some kind of innuendo.
"In that case, how about the great outdoors? Forest Park, or maybe the roof of the Empire State Building?"
Listening to Peter seriously pick their "sparring spots," Gwen's imagination ran wild,
her face so red it looked ready to drip blood.
Damn it, she never should have opened that "secret site" Gloria the pervert sent yesterday.
"O-on second thought, the balcony's fine… we'll just… keep it down so Grandma won't hear."
Why did every option sound filthy?
Was she really some kind of "Little Pervert-Spider"?
…While Peter teased the flustered Ghost-Spider without mercy, atop Fisk Tower in Hells Kitchen,
Kingpin gazed down at the chaos below.
His faction had claimed the biggest prize—thanks to his earlier alliance with Madam Gao, he'd smoothly swallowed her lucrative enhancer plant.
Yet Kingpin couldn't feel happy.
Madam Gao was dead—silenced forever.
So… who was next?
The answer was obvious.
After a long silence he finally spoke.
"Have we figured out how the old woman died?"
Bullseye, prostrate at his feet, replied in a low voice,
"All we know is the victims were Madam Gao and a Japanese man.
Madam Gao's body was obliterated; the Japanese man had a hole punched clean through his chest and signs of electric burns."
"The scene was a mess—explosions, electricity, blades—too many elements for even the best forensics team to reconstruct."
The moment Bullseye finished, Kingpin stated with certainty,
"It was The Punisher."
"He took out Green Goblin, then got his hands on the flying skateboard. Two nights ago he killed Electro in public; the same night, at the hour of Electro's death, the Gao crime scene showed massive electrical damage."
"That monster seems able to steal other people's powers!"
"We can't sit and wait—if we don't deal with him now, who knows how strong he'll become?"
"If we don't kill him first, he'll show up at my door one day."
By now Kingpin's broad face was twisted; despite sub-ten-percent body-fat, even his facial muscles looked over-developed.
Even brilliant Professors turn hysterical when death stares them in the face,
let alone a crime-lord only recently gone "legit."
Kingpin spun around, eyes blazing with manic cruelty.
"Speed it up! I don't care if you kidnap or bribe—get those scientists here now!"
"And what about Obadiah? We need Stark Industries' weapon systems—yesterday!"
Chapter 79: Felicia's Invitation
Hearing this, Bullseye first nodded and offered a bit of flattery to Kingpin.
"You're wise, Boss. Actually, after seeing the reports of Electro's gruesome death, I also suspected that The Punisher was the dock butcher."
After echoing his boss, Bullseye then turned to the business at hand.
"As for Obadiah, that idiot said he could handle his own business and is unwilling to provide us with a free weapons system."
"However, he also stated that as long as we stop sourcing from Hammer Industries in the future, he's willing to give us a fifteen percent discount on our orders."
Hearing this, Kingpin couldn't help but let out a sneer.
"He certainly has it all calculated!"
Thinking about how he was no longer short of money after swallowing Madam Gao's territory and business, Kingpin said coldly.
"Feign agreement for now and get our hands on this latest batch of weapons first. As for the future..."
At this point, a cold and sharp light flashed in Kingpin's eyes.
"Once we have our own army of supervillains, this small amount of money will be completely insignificant. At that time, I want his entire Stark Industries!"
"Understood, Boss!"
...Another wonderful day of high school life came to an end.
Nowadays, Gwen had practically carved heroism into her DNA.
After hurriedly making an appointment with Peter for a combat practice session on her rooftop tonight, she donned her suit and quickly disappeared into the concrete jungle, swinging on her webs.
After watching Gwen leave, Peter was considering whether to check out Parker Tech or pay a visit to William Baker, when he heard a familiar voice from behind.
"Hey, Peter."
Peter turned around and found that the person speaking was none other than Felicia.
"Is something the matter?"
Felicia crossed her arms, staring straight into Peter's eyes, trying to project an air of being "upfront and honest."
"Thank you for giving me the emerald dragon scale. So, as a reward, would you like to go grab some dessert together?"
Looking at her feigned composure and tsundere-like attitude, Peter couldn't help but find it a bit amusing.
His gaze swept over Felicia inconspicuously, noticing that while she wanted to appear indifferent, she had clearly dressed up for the occasion.
Her silver hair was styled to be smooth and voluminous, and her outfit—a khaki trench coat paired with jeans and tall Dr. Martens—perfectly accentuated her curvaceous figure.
Especially... the curves of her bust highlighted by the turtleneck sweater were clearly not in the same league as Gwen's.
Did Felicia have such a big advantage before? Surely she isn't using padding to deceive the customer?
Peter almost wanted to use his Byakugan to investigate, but he ultimately suppressed his intense curiosity.
"If you want to thank me for giving you the emerald dragon scale, then don't bother."
Before the light in Felicia's eyes could dim, Peter suddenly changed his tone.
"But if it's a treat as a friend, then I won't be polite!"
Hearing Peter's words, Felicia was stunned for a moment, then she broke into a wide smile and lightly punched Peter's shoulder.
"No wonder Gwen is so head over heels for you. It turns out your old nerd image was just a disguise!"
"Let's go, I know a place nearby where the egg tarts and milkshakes are great!"
Noticing Felicia's behavior, Peter also laughed. This was the Felicia he remembered.
In the dessert shop, the atmosphere between the two had clearly become much more harmonious.
Peter then casually asked about the conflict between Felicia and her mother that night.
Felicia had clearly adjusted by now, and she relaxed as she explained her mother's plan to remarry.
"To be honest, I was completely panicked then and had no idea what to do."
At this, Felicia paused, and a hint of daze unconsciously appeared in her eyes as she looked at Peter.
In her perspective, Peter seemed to be wearing a hood and a Hollow mask again, transforming into that powerful and overbearing "The Punisher."
"However, your appearance helped me make up my mind. Now, I've completely figured it out."
At this, Felicia unconsciously clenched her fist.
"If that woman really dares to abandon me and my father, then I'll use the same way my father accumulated that wealth to make her lose everything he ever gave her!"
Felicia's words were a bit cryptic; if Gwen were here, she would definitely be completely confused.
But Peter understood.
He knew who Felicia's father was—the master thief "The Cat," Walter Hardy.
Clearly, Felicia didn't plan to stop her vain mother, but instead intended to punish her in a more ingenious way.
She was going to steal all of her mother's assets, making the woman regret her wrong choice.
Although this method sounded somewhat improper, there was no doubt that Felicia had overcome her inner weakness after obtaining the emerald dragon scale.
She was gradually revealing her true character, becoming more and more like the "Black Cat" from the original story.
However, the current "Nightingale" was no longer morally ambiguous, but more like the current Peter—only doing what she believed was right.
"Do you think I'm being too excessive by doing this?"
After revealing her plan against her mother, Felicia suddenly stared straight into Peter's eyes, as if waiting for a judgment.
She even quietly employed the micro-expression analysis techniques her father had taught her to judge whether Peter was lying to her.
In response, Peter just smiled and raised his glass to Felicia.
"No, I think your approach is just right."
Peter meant this from the bottom of his heart.
Having lived two lives, his way of thinking was completely different from the "Friendly Neighborhood" Peters of other parallel Universes.
Regarding Felicia's actions, he wouldn't think they were excessive; instead, he only felt... that the girl wasn't being ruthless enough.
A gold-digger who runs off with her predecessor's assets would have been drowned in a pig cage in ancient times... After confirming that Peter wasn't lying, Felicia suddenly laughed, her laughter incredibly cheerful.
She cooperatively clinked glasses with Peter and then downed the milkshake in her glass.
"Thank you, I mean it."
"Also, let me tell you a secret: my dad has a cellar full of fine wine. Maybe next time, we can bring Gwen along and try what drinking is like together."
Because of the prohibition laws in America, teenagers have to wait until they are 21 to drink.
Although the vast majority of teenagers try drinking secretly before that age, the previous Peter and Gwen were clearly not among them.
After saying this, Felicia picked up her schoolbag and left with a light step.
Only when she reached the door did she playfully wink at Peter.
"See you tomorrow, Peter."
"See you tomorrow."
After watching Felicia leave, Peter couldn't help but curl his lips slightly.
Thinking to himself, Will you really invite Gwen when the time comes?
I doubt it...