Chapter 130: Aleksei
"The shop is closed for tonight, sir, how about a trip to the police station?" Peter shot a web, tying up the five men, and handed them over to the Spider Squad.
The blind man turned towards the sound of Peter's voice. "Who are you?"
"Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. No need to thank me, it's what I should do," Peter replied, thinking the blind man was about to express gratitude.
The blind man smiled. "Well, thank you then."
"I said no need to thank me. By the way, where are you going? I can give you a ride," Peter said. He didn't feel comfortable leaving the blind man alone, as the area was too chaotic.
The blind man picked up his cane. "No need. I have this."
"But you know, it's a bit messy around here. What if you run into danger? I really should take you," Peter insisted, feeling it was better to escort the blind man since it was so late.
"Heh~" The blind man adjusted his glasses. "I appreciate that greatly, then." He knew he couldn't argue with Spider-Man and conceded to letting Spider-Man take him back.
"Where are you headed?" Peter asked.
"23rd Street," the blind man said after thinking for a moment.
"Um... where is 23rd Street?" Peter asked, scratching his head awkwardly. He hadn't been here long and didn't know what 23rd Street was.
The blind man couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Haha~ If you don't even know 23rd Street, how are you going to take me there?"
"Hey! Do you guys know?" Peter asked the Spider Squad beside him.
The Spider Squad nodded. They had traveled everywhere to expand the map and hadn't been idle. They could now be called walking GPS navigators; they could take him anywhere in the whole of America.
The Spider Squad stepped back and opened a portal to the Shadow Realm. Peter helped the blind man step through, and the other side was 23rd Street.
"Huh?" The blind man twitched his ears. He could feel that he had instantly arrived at 23rd Street, which startled him. He felt like he had briefly entered a mysterious space, but the feeling only lasted an instant.
"Alright, we're at 23rd Street. Where's your house?" Peter asked, turning to him.
The blind man shook his head, holding out his hand. "No need to bother, it's just a short walk ahead. By the way, my name is Matthew Michael Murdock. It's nice to meet you, Spider-Man."
"Nice to meet you, Matthew," Peter said, shaking hands with Matthew.
Matthew then walked the short distance to a house nearby, leaned on his cane, opened the door, smiled at Peter, and walked inside.
Inside the House
"Who are you?" The owner of the house asked, confused. Also, how did this blind man open the door?
"Sorry, I opened the wrong door," Matthew apologized. This wasn't his home; he had done it just to fool Peter into leaving. When he reached the door, Matthew took a wire out of his sleeve and easily picked the lock. From Peter's perspective, it looked like Matthew used a key because the lock opened so easily, and since Matthew hid the wire with his hand, he successfully tricked Peter.
"I don't care why you're here. Get out now," the house owner demanded.
"I'm truly sorry, but I can't leave just yet," Matthew said, bending over slightly. Peter was certainly still outside and hadn't gone far. It would be safer to wait five minutes before leaving. However, the house owner wasn't having it. He angrily picked up a stool, threatened the blind man, "If you don't get out, I swear I'll use this stool to beat your brains out."
Matthew quietly took out his wallet, pulled out two hundred-dollar bills, and said, "This is payment for the inconvenience."
Thud~
Seeing the money, the house owner immediately dropped the stool on the floor, took the money with a wide smile, and said, "Don't worry, you can stay the whole night if you want."
"No need, I just need five minutes," Matthew said, righting the stool and sitting down.
The house owner tucked the money into his chest pocket, went to the dining table, and smiled. "Would you like a piece of barbecue?"
"No, thank you," Matthew politely declined with a smile. Money really could drastically change a person's attitude.
"Mmm~" The house owner picked up a platter, pulled up a stool, and sat next to Matthew. "Why did you come to my house?"
"Perhaps it's the fate God arranged for us," Matthew replied.
Outside
Peter cocked his head, staring at the house Matthew had entered. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed something. Matthew, being a blind man... Although he couldn't see, he should have at least a general idea of where his house was. How could he instantly arrive at his house without asking for directions or showing surprise? A normal person would be surprised and say, "What? I'm here? How did that happen so fast?"
Feeling suspicious, Peter stayed there for a while. Seeing that Matthew didn't come out, Peter muttered, "Guess I've been too paranoid lately." With that, he shot a web and left.
What Peter didn't realize was that Matthew opened the door and walked out barely a minute after Peter left.
Another Location
"Aleksei Mikhailovich Sytsevich." A man in black sat opposite Aleksei, toying with a handgun in his hand.
"Mmm~" Aleksei looked up. He was handcuffed and his legs were tied to the stool, leaving him completely helpless.
"The truth is, we would have killed you for betraying us, but we're going to give you another chance now. It's up to you if you want to take it," the man in black said, smiling, seemingly not angry at all about Aleksei's betrayal.
"A chance?" Aleksei sneered, looking up. "I know I'm not the smartest guy, but are you really going to give me a chance?" Although Aleksei was clumsy, he wasn't stupid. Would a criminal organization really give him a chance like this?
"Heh heh~" The man in black stopped playing with the gun, aimed the barrel at Aleksei, and said, "Chances are what a person earns for himself."
"What do you want me to do?" Aleksei conceded. Being alive, even if it meant being used, was better than dying.
"We have an experiment that requires you to be the test subject," the man in black paused briefly, observing Aleksei's expression. Aleksei's eyes flashed with fear upon hearing the word "test subject."
"Don't worry. This experiment is already well-refined. We just need the first brave person to step up," the man in black said, noticing Aleksei's fear.
Aleksei asked, puzzled, "Why choose me?"
"I told you, this is an opportunity the organization is giving you. It's up to you," the man in black said, resting his arm on the back of his chair. "We will give you one million US dollars, but you must agree that if the experiment is successful, we will hire you to work for us."
"That sounds really good." Going from an easily manipulated nobody to an employee in a working relationship—Aleksei was tempted.
"If the experiment fails, the organization will not hold you responsible for anything and will still give you one million US dollars so you can live the rest of your life wealthy," the man in black knew Aleksei wouldn't be able to resist the temptation.
Aleksei excitedly tried to stand up but was restrained by the chains on his limbs. "Could you untie me first?"
"Of course. From now on, we are partners," the man in black waved his hand.
Two members of the organization came forward and unlocked Aleksei's handcuffs and leg chains.
"Freedom feels good," Aleksei said, stretching his neck.
"Let's go," the man in black said, standing up.
"I can't wait~" Aleksei was eager to get that one million dollars.
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