Feeling Peter's gaze grow increasingly resentful, Gwen shook the newspaper, raised an eyebrow, and smiled, "Alright, alright, when has this newspaper ever said anything good about you? From the first time you swung webs in the streets, they haven't stopped slandering you. A great Spider-Man My Lord doesn't need to get angry over such things, does he?"
After listening, Peter wanted to say something, but in the end, he just sighed helplessly.
Watching Peter's expression, Gwen had a sudden idea and leaned in, her eyes sparkling with cunning.
"Do you want to get back at the Daily Bugle?"
Hearing this, Peter, remembering her methods in Afghanistan, immediately widened his eyes and quickly shook his head, "No, no! They just said a few bad things! How can we retaliate against them like that?"
Seeing Peter's excited reaction, Gwen quickly waved her hands, laughing heartily, "Stop, stop! What are you thinking? Am I that kind of person?"
She reached out and flicked Peter's forehead, "I'm not telling you to cause destruction; I have a fun idea."
Peter blinked, leaning in with a confused expression.
Gwen spread out the Daily Bugle, her fingertip on the blurry photo.
"Look, this photo, although it shows you and the Police, is taken so casually, and the angle isn't good." She looked up at Peter, her eyes full of cunning, "Think about it, every time they report on Spider-Man, don't they lack high-quality photos?"
Peter nodded thoughtfully.
Gwen struck while the iron was hot, leaning in and lowering her voice, "You're also short on money right now, right?"
Seeing Peter nod again, she continued, "The Daily Bugle needs photos to criticize Spider-Man, right? What if you fix a camera in a hidden spot, specifically to photograph your heroic attitude as Spider-Man, and then sell them to them..."
Peter scratched his head, his earlobes turning red, "W-wouldn't that be too embarrassing? Taking photos of myself and selling them to a newspaper that criticizes me..."
His voice grew softer as he spoke, his fingers unconsciously tugging at the corner of his clothes.
This version of Peter Parker wasn't as nerdy. Although like other versions of Peter Parker, he was enthusiastic about experiments, enjoyed thinking, and was exceptionally talented, he also had other hobbies.
Leaving aside skateboarding and basketball, photography was one of his biggest hobbies.
After a moment of thought, Peter looked up, his eyes filled with doubt, "Will they really buy the photos I take?"
Gwen raised an eyebrow, a confident smile playing on her lips, and patted Peter's shoulder, "Open your mind. When you take photos of yourself, pose well, make yourself look handsome, and the more newsworthy, the better. What kind of photos won't those newspapers buy for sales?"
Peter nodded thoughtfully, and just as he was about to turn and leave, he heard Gwen call out to him, "Peter, don't go yet!"
He turned back in confusion, tilting his head and asking, "What's wrong?"
Gwen's expression became serious, "I know you want to go out and take a photo to experiment right now, but it's not the right time."
"What's wrong?" Peter blinked, asking curiously.
Without a word, Gwen grabbed Peter's wrist and pulled him out of the office in a hurry.
Turning a small corner, they arrived at Ethan's office door. Gwen pushed the door open forcefully, bringing in a gust of wind.
Inside, Ethan was slumped in his swivel chair, his tie askew, his hair messy, looking utterly disheveled.
His fingers flew across the keyboard, his eyes fixed on the computer screen, constantly switching windows. He had many accounts prepared on the computer, and a virtual positioning program was running continuously in the background, used to contact different people.
He had two computers in front of him, performing dual-line operations.
Hearing the door open, Ethan looked up, saw Gwen and Peter, and his eyes instantly reddened, as if he had seen his saviors: "You're finally here! Hurry, come help, I'm getting overwhelmed!"
His voice was filled with exhaustion and urgency.
A gentle smile played on Gwen's lips as she suddenly pushed Peter forward.
Peter, caught off guard, stumbled forward a few steps, standing in front of the computer with a bewildered expression, his eyes wide, and he quickly asked, "What do I need to do?"
Ethan pointed to the computer running next to him, his voice rising an octave, "Buy stocks! Just follow what I'm doing now."
Peter immediately plunged into work, his eyes glued to the screen, his fingers rapidly tapping on the keyboard.
Private chat windows popped up one after another. He constantly inquired about prices, drove down prices, and had to constantly remind himself not to confuse different trading partners.
Before long, sweat dripped down his forehead, soaking the collar of his shirt, and the dense text and numbers in front of him made him dizzy.
In a chaotic work interval, Peter took a moment to look up and loudly asked, "Where is Dr. Contradiction? Is he not working with us?"
Ethan didn't even lift his head, typing quickly on the keyboard as he replied, "No, he said a few days ago that a friend invited him to visit, so he left."
...In Greenwich Village, New York City, there is a three-story Victorian brownstone townhouse.
Or, as it's more commonly known... the Sanctum Sanctorum.
Dr. Contradiction, now sitting by the fireplace, couldn't help but marvel at the wonder of magic when he arrived.
The internal space of this building is much larger than it appears from the outside.
Let's just talk about the library on the first floor.
Huge bookshelves stretched from the floor to the ceiling, filled with various ancient books. Some of the book covers were already worn out, the pages yellowed, exuding the scent of time.
If it weren't for the recommendation of the Master of this building, he might not have found the books he wanted at all.
However, now, Dr. Contradiction had already finished copying all the books that needed to be copied.
He was now purely a guest, chatting with Sorcerer Ancient One.
Dr. Contradiction's gaze inadvertently swept across the corner, falling on a yellowed newspaper.
He strolled over and curiously took it down.
Upon closer inspection, Contradiction felt it was just an ordinary newspaper, what really caught his attention was the name of the newspaper.
The Daily Bugle, the newspaper Gwen noticed as soon as she arrived in this World.
"Do magicians also read newspapers?" Dr. Contradiction raised the newspaper in his hand, a teasing smile playing on his lips.
Sorcerer Ancient One stood behind him, her hands clasped, and smiled gently, "Of course I do, but this newspaper is a bit different."
"How is it different?"
Sorcerer Ancient One pointed to the time column on the newspaper, "This newspaper is from the future."
"A newspaper from the future?" Dr. Contradiction looked at the date on the newspaper—a date a few days later—and chuckled, "The information on it doesn't seem quite right."
He spread out the newspaper, the front-page photo occupying most of the space.
In the photo, a red and blue metal armor gleamed with a cold luster, its surface covered with dense, spiderweb-like layers, as if Spider-Man's suit and Iron Man's armor were integrated.
The photo was a bit blurry, the photographer clearly quickly took out a camera and snapped it from the ground, not paying much attention to detail, let alone the composition and artistic quality of the photo.
The news headline was written in large, eye-catching letters: "The long-lost pest returns, who put this black sheep in iron armor?"
Hearing this, Sorcerer Ancient One curiously leaned over to take a look and suddenly understood.
"I'm sorry, Contradiction, this newspaper is an old one, it's expired. Shall I get you a new one?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Sorcerer Ancient One quickly formed hand seals, and the Eye of Agamotto on her chest suddenly glowed with a dazzling green light, which spread out like ripples.
The newspaper trembled violently under the green light, water-like patterns appeared on its surface, and the text and images blurred and twisted like mist blown by the wind.
A moment later, everything returned to calm.
The scene on the newspaper was completely new: five figures frozen in the moment of fierce confrontation.
On the left, a muscular green giant with bulging muscles swung his mountain-like fists, a red and gold armor sprayed flames and hovered in mid-air, and Spider-Man, in his classic red and blue suit, swung webs, poised for action. The three formed a battle line with overwhelming momentum.
Opposite them, a gigantic monster with fractured bones and peeling skin roared as it lunged, its deafening roar seemingly reverberating through the air.
The entire photo had a strong visual impact; if it weren't for the news headline above, one might mistake it for a poster for a superhero movie.
Contradiction was about to take a closer look at the newspaper when he noticed the name in the bottom right corner and narrowed his eyes.
"Photographer... Peter Parker?"