"So you're treating me as a guinea pig..." Pace said with a sullen expression.
Norman smiled. "No, this is called cooperation, mutually achieving success for each other."
"I haven't heard anything that sounds like cooperation from start to finish!" Pace clearly didn't buy Norman's rhetoric.
Norman didn't argue. He asked, "How do you feel right now?"
"Feel? I feel absolutely great!" Pace hammered his fists against the glass.
Norman wasn't worried about the glass being broken by Pace. It was specially made; only someone with over ten tons of strength could break it.
"We can talk..." Norman suggested.
A long time later...
"You mean, I help you eliminate all the board members who oppose you, and you pay me a reward?" Pace asked.
Norman nodded. "Exactly. And you can help me with anything else in the future, and I will give you a generous fee."
"But I only have this strength. Someone could kill me with one shot," Pace was not blinded by money.
Clap! Clap!
Norman clapped his hands. An armored suit appeared in front of Pace. The entire suit was mainly green, the helmet looked like a hellish demon, and it came with a bat-shaped glider.
"This armor will escort you, and when you take it off, you're just an ordinary person again," Norman continuously tempted Pace.
Pace's eyes darted around, then he spoke with determination. "I accept!"
"I wish us a pleasant cooperation." Norman glanced at his subordinate, who then opened the glass door.
Pace slowly walked out and approached Norman.
The subordinate next to Norman immediately pulled out the gun from his holster.
"Calm down. Put it away," Norman said.
The subordinate obeyed and holstered his weapon, but he would still kill Pace without hesitation if he made any move.
Pace extended his right hand. "Pleasant cooperation."
"Pleasant cooperation~" Norman reached out and shook his hand.
"Can I try it on?" Pace looked at the Green Goblin suit behind Norman.
"Of course, and I have a task for you right now," Norman couldn't wait for Pace to start working for him.
"But don't worry, you'll go after one day of training," Norman was very confident that his test subject could master the knowledge given to him in a single day.
School Dismissal Time
"I haven't been to school in ages. Why does class time feel so long all of a sudden?" Misty stretched, exposing her midriff.
Silas instinctively pulled her shirt down, leaving Misty staring at him in confusion.
"I helped you... pull it down," Silas explained.
"Hmm~" Misty stared at Silas with a playful glint in her eyes.
Misty rested her hands on the table, supporting her chin, and said, "Are you sure, Silas?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Be careful on your way home." Silas quickly put on his backpack and hurried out of the classroom.
He truly didn't know how to respond to Misty. Both he and Misty were underage, and especially if her father found out...
The Other Side
"I'm sorry, I have a boyfriend." Liz rejected Peter's confession.
Peter had finally confessed to Liz, encouraged by Ned and fueled by the confidence from gaining his powers, only to be cruelly rejected.
"Hey~ isn't this Peter?" Flash Thompson arrived and smoothly pulled Liz over to his side.
Peter looked at Flash and asked Liz, "Is this your boyfriend?"
"Yes," Liz replied, comparing Peter's height. "I'm sorry, I like guys taller than me."
Liz was about 5'10". Normally it wasn't an issue, but when she wore high heels, she appeared taller than Peter.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk~ Too bad," Flash said, feigning sympathy.
Peter immediately shot back at Flash, "If you tsk again, I'll kick your teeth out."
"You..." Flash was about to say something harsh but remembered the kick Peter had given him before, so he could only glare at Peter wordlessly.
Peter turned and left, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. He hadn't succeeded.
Ned, who was hiding around the corner, quickly ran up to comfort him. "It's nothing, Peter. She just has bad eyesight and didn't notice your shining qualities, my brother."
"Yeah," Peter knew Ned was just comforting him.
"Peter! Ned!" Silas called out, running over to them.
Silas noticed Peter's expression and asked him, confused, "What's wrong, Peter?"
"Uh... he..." Ned wasn't sure how to explain.
"It's nothing, Silas," Peter quickly said.
This left Silas bewildered. When did Peter start keeping things from him? The two of them had practically grown up together.
They only kept the secret of their respective powers from each other, but nothing else.
After getting home, Silas kept a close watch on Peter, hoping to find some clues.
This made Peter rush through dinner and retreat to his room.
"Something's wrong~" Silas thought, staring at Peter's retreating back.
"What's wrong with Peter?" Ben Parker also noticed Peter was preoccupied, and especially why Silas was staring at Peter all the time.
Silas shook his head. "I don't know either."
"Then why do you keep looking at Peter?" Ben Parker was exasperated.
Silas had no choice but to tell Ben Parker what had happened that day.
"So that's what it is." Ben Parker also became interested.
Peter's Room
Peter sat in his chair, looking at a photo of Liz on the wall. He reached out and stroked it, thinking: Goodbye.
RIP!
Peter tore the photo off. He initially thought about throwing it into the trash can but couldn't bring himself to do it and instead put it in a drawer.
Silas, having finished dinner, returned to his own room. He decided not to go to Peter's room. If Peter truly didn't want to talk about it, then so be it.
As soon as he returned to his room, two black figures appeared.
They were, of course, Little Black and Big Black, who had been rematerialized from the black mist.
The moment they appeared, Little Black glared at Big Black, causing Big Black to slowly sink back into the Shadow Realm.
"You're back, Little Black!" Silas greeted him.
Little Black signed: Master, I strongly urge you to learn dark magic to modify Big Black's brain, or he is simply too stupid.
"Don't be like that. You're Shadowkhan; you should be united~" Silas said.
Little Black raised his head haughtily: I truly don't want to admit that Big Black is a Shadowkhan.
"It's a fact," Silas said, lying on his bed.
At this moment, Big Black poked his head out from under the bed and nodded in agreement.
When Little Black saw Big Black daring to show his face, he threatened: Do you want me to blockade your respawn point?
Little Black planned to build a machine to place at Big Black's resurrection spot. As soon as he revived, the machine would open fire, ensuring he would never have a chance to emerge.
Big Black was so scared by Little Black that he quickly retreated back into the Shadow Realm.
"You two are really..." Silas said, unable to stop laughing.
🗒️NOTE:
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
Explore up to 20 chapters in advance!