Otto Parker's broad insult immediately silenced all the Little Spiders present, except for Peter and Gwen.
It was extremely damaging and highly insulting.
Someone instinctively wanted to retort, but after opening their mouth, they found they couldn't say a single word.
After all, not long ago, they were still smug about being able to join the Spider Alliance, even feeling like they were doing something great to save the World.
But the result?
The result was that they finally realized they were complete idiots who were being used as pawns the entire time!
Besides, looking at their boss, who could treat the mighty Thor like a dog, and then looking at themselves...
If the predator that feeds on Spider-Men mentioned by Otto Parker really existed, then calling them cannon fodder didn't seem wrong at all...
For a moment, the atmosphere in the entire office became somewhat oppressive and awkward.
Just as the Little Spiders were all feeling as listless as frost-bitten eggplants and unable to talk back, Peter finally spoke up for them:
"Enough, stop with the psychological manipulation here."
"Having a group of obedient helpers is much better than fighting a lone battle."
Hearing that their boss didn't look down on them, the Little Spiders perked up one by one, baring their teeth at Otto Parker again.
Otto Parker was utterly disgusted by these fools.
But just as he wanted to say a few more biting words, Peter interrupted him directly:
"Cut the nonsense and get straight to the point. What exactly did you go through, and why did you treat Miguel like that... This will directly determine what position I place you in."
Otto Parker glanced at Peter, his expression somewhat displeased, but he also understood that the situation was out of his control.
So, after taking a deep breath, he spoke:
"All of this started with an experimental accident a year ago."
"At that time, to surpass Peter Par... ahem, to surpass the stupid original owner of this body and completely solve the crime problem in New York City, I designed a satellite detection system."
"In theory, it could immediately lock onto impending criminal activities and, combined with nanobots spread throughout the city, stifle them the moment before they occurred."
Saying this, he paused, a self-deprecating curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"However, the moment the experiment started, the high-dimensional energy field that erupted merged with some energy I hadn't yet fully researched and tore through time and space."
"When I opened my eyes again, I had traveled to the year 2099."
A Spider-Horse couldn't help but interject:
"2099? Isn't that Miguel's era?"
"No, in fact, the Miguel you know is a variant from another parallel Universe, just like the countless Peters."
At this, a chill flashed through Otto Parker's eyes:
"Through talking with Miguel's brother, I discovered that the Miguel of 2099 had mysteriously disappeared before I traveled there. In other words..."
"...because this Universe lacked a Spider-Man, I was forced to become his replacement!"
Having heard this, Peter finally understood how the grudge between these two had formed.
If he were mysteriously separated from Gwen and Felicia just to clean up after another Peter, he would probably also give that person a severe beating to vent his anger upon meeting them.
Noticing the look of realization on Peter's face, Otto Parker continued on his own, regardless of whether the other Little Spiders understood or not:
"To return to my own Universe, I used 2099 technology to build a custom travel device, but what happened next made my skin crawl."
His voice unconsciously lowered a bit, and a sense of heartfelt fear emanated from his eyes.
"Every time I traveled, I would arrive with incredible precision right next to the corpse of another Spider-Man."
"One different Universe after another: a Universe where Spider-Man became part of the Fantastic Five, a Universe where Spider-Man became a villain, a Universe where Iron Man became the big villain and Spider-Man was the Resistance..."
"Those Spider-Men, regardless of identity, strength, or technological level..."
"...were all dead!"
"And their deaths were extremely gruesome, as if their life force had been sucked dry by something."
Listening to Otto Parker's narrative, the group of Little Spiders instinctively rubbed their arms, feeling covered in goosebumps.
Meanwhile, Peter showed a thoughtful expression.
This opening seemed a bit familiar.
It seemed to be the setting of that Spider-Verse thing, right?
And the ones killing these people seemed to be a different kind of Vampire Family?
While he was thinking this, Otto Parker continued:
"It was then that I realized I wasn't traveling randomly, but was being pulled by some mysterious force. It was guiding me to see these things, allowing me to realize the coming danger in advance."
"Something is feeding on us Spider-Men!"
"It's hunting us!"
After enjoying the panicked looks of the Little Spiders, Otto Parker looked at Peter and continued to explain:
"To verify my conjecture and for self-preservation, I realized I needed to figure out two things."
"The first thing is how to deal with them, and the other is how to escape if I can't."
Hearing this, the Little Spiders couldn't help but complain:
"Spider-Man never runs away!"
"That's right, with great power comes great responsibility!"
Listening to the Little Spiders' muttering, an 'anger' vein popped up on Otto Parker's forehead:
"That's why I'm different from you idiots! If you want to die and become their food, then suit yourselves!"
"Keep talking," Peter interrupted Otto Parker somewhat roughly.
"Miguel was the test subject you used to see if escape was possible, wasn't he?"
"Exactly!" Otto Parker looked at Peter with appreciation and spoke:
"You've probably already guessed my plan."
"To determine whether I could flee to another Universe to live if I couldn't deal with those guys."
"So, I traveled to the year 2099 of another Universe and found another living Miguel OHara."
"I sent him to a Universe where Miguel had already been killed by those hunters and observed what happened to that Universe afterward."
"And you know the result—that Universe collapsed."
"I think you should also realize what this means!"
As soon as he said this, the Little Spiders instinctively fell into silence. After a long while, Spider-Punk spoke in his signature black reggae voice:
"This is a war with no retreat that no one can escape!"
"Correct!" Otto Parker snapped his fingers and gave an affirmative answer:
"This is indeed a war with no retreat. We must strike first. Otherwise, we'll either be eaten by them or live ignobly until we watch one Universe after another collapse!"