Chapter 139: The Deduction Expert
"Isn't Peter here?" Ben Parker asked, entering the room and seeing Silas playing an arcade game by the table.
Silas stopped the game, put down the controller, and shook his head. "No, Peter should be next door."
"Next door? But I just heard his voice," Ben Parker said, looking slightly confused. He clearly heard Peter and Silas talking before opening the door. Could he have been mistaken?
"Uncle Ben, are you looking for me for something?" Silas turned around, his hands behind his back giving a slight wave (a signal to Peter).
Ben Parker didn't notice Silas's small gesture. He just walked over and sat on Silas's bed. "Nothing in particular, I just came to chat with you two."
"Chat? Did something unpleasant happen today?" Silas asked.
Ben Parker rested his hands on his knees. "Today was fine, nothing unpleasant happened."
"Then what is it?" Silas knew Uncle Ben wouldn't come to chat without a reason.
"Oh, right, Silas, has Peter told you any secrets?" Ben Parker looked up, staring into Silas's eyes.
"Secrets?" Silas frowned, then immediately relaxed his expression. He said decisively, "Uncle Ben, Peter likes a girl, but it looks like the girl didn't say yes to him."
"Rejected by a girl?" Ben Parker was about to stand up and go next door to share his experience with Peter. But just as he started to stand up, he suddenly remembered something, and slowly sat back down. "No, Silas, the secret I meant is... well..."
"Uh... Uncle Ben, what exactly are you trying to say?" Silas had already guessed what Ben Parker was going to say, judging by his conflicted facial expression.
"Alright," Ben Parker said, seemingly having made up his mind. "Silas, can you honestly tell me, is Peter Spider-Man?"
"Spider-Man?!" Silas burst out laughing. "Don't be silly, Uncle Ben. How could Peter be Spider-Man? That's the funniest joke of the year, haha~"
But Ben Parker didn't laugh at all. He said seriously, "You really don't know?"
"Haha, well..." Silas's laughter abruptly stopped. He said guiltily, "Maybe?"
"It seems he hasn't mentioned it to you," Ben Parker said. By observing Silas's expression, he could roughly guess that Peter probably hadn't told Silas.
Silas quickly interjected, "Uncle Ben, is Peter really Spider-Man?"
"Well, I'm not entirely sure either, it's just a guess," Ben Parker said, shaking his head uncertainly.
"Do you remember that time we went to the amusement park?" Ben Parker asked. Silas nodded. Ben Parker continued, "I remember Peter said he had to go to the bathroom and didn't come back for a long time, so I asked you to go look for him."
"It turns out that when Peter came back later, I noticed sweat stains on him, and there were scorch marks on his back."
"Then, when we got home and turned on the TV, I saw a news report about a fire, where it said Spider-Man rescued a little girl."
"And the time with the Lizard Man, Peter said he was going out, and then Spider-Man appeared in the subsequent news broadcast."
Ben Parker then laid out all his guesses, with all the evidence pointing towards Peter being Spider-Man.
"Could Peter really be Spider-Man?" Silas mused, stroking his chin. It was time to test his acting skills.
Silas's acting was clearly convincing. Ben Parker nodded in agreement. "That's why I suspect Peter is Spider-Man."
"I only came to you to confirm it further. I didn't expect Peter wouldn't have told you. I thought you two brothers had a great relationship," Ben Parker said, suddenly realizing he might have said something wrong.
Silas's mouth twitched. Didn't Ben Parker's comment indirectly imply that his relationship with Peter wasn't good?
"No, Silas, what I meant was, I thought you two brothers would definitely share everything with each other," Ben Parker was getting more flustered the more he spoke.
Silas quickly changed the subject. "But Uncle Ben, you are so amazing! To be able to guess Peter is Spider-Man just from those details."
"Hmph~ Of course. Your Uncle Ben was a deduction expert when he was younger," Ben Parker said, raising his head proudly. He felt like all he needed now was a pipe and a detective outfit.
"Perfect, Uncle Ben. Peter should be next door now. You can go confront him," Silas redirected the focus back to Peter next door.
Rewind Five Minutes
The moment Ben Parker opened the door, Peter had a flash of inspiration and hid in the closet. Silas, taking advantage of Ben Parker's distraction, waved to Peter, signaling that the Shadow Realm was open, and he should quickly go next door. Peter turned around, saw the dark Shadow Realm, quickly slipped inside, went to the room next door, and changed into his normal clothes.
"No~ Silas, since Peter hasn't chosen to tell us yet, let's pretend we don't know," Ben Parker refused. In his view, if Peter hadn't said anything, he must have a reason to keep it secret, and they, as his family, shouldn't expose him.
"Wow, I can't believe Peter is Spider-Man, the superhero of New York! That is so cool!" Silas said with feigned excitement.
Ben Parker immediately put his index finger to his lips. "Shh~ Quietly, Peter is still next door."
"Right," Silas quickly covered his mouth.
"Haha~ Yes!" Ben Parker happily squatted slightly, clenched his fists, and held his arms at right angles. Then, he walked out of Silas's room with soft footsteps.
After seeing Ben Parker leave, Silas slumped into his chair. "Peter~ it seems you are still too young." As their closest relative, Ben Parker naturally noticed the changes in these children. Silas was better, always being more cautious, but Peter was not. The timing of his appearances and Spider-Man's appearances was simply too coincidental. Furthermore, ever since his mutation, he only wore glasses once in front of Aunt May and never again afterward.
"Master, is the battlesuit working well?" Little Black appeared behind Silas.
"It's not bad, especially how much it increased my strength," Silas praised. While Peter and Aleksei were fighting, Little Black was in the Shadow Realm, teaching Silas how to use the battlesuit.
The battlesuit's name is Blacklight. It absorbs all light and is the embodiment of ultimate darkness. It is also Little Black's ultimate dream. Blacklight is currently equipped with a basic artificial intelligence. Silas named this AI Alpha. Alpha cannot speak yet and only assists the user in mastering the battlesuit through their movements. Little Black is now developing Alpha's communication function, striving toward Jarvis and eventually surpassing it. Materials are the last thing they are short of right now. They use whatever materials Tony uses. As the saying goes, only by progressing together can development be fostered.
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