Chapter 226: What Uncle Ben Said to Spider-Man
"Ngh~" Peter unzipped the tent, and a beam of piercing sunlight shot directly in. He squinted and turned his head to avoid it.
The sunlight fell right on Silas's face, who was still fast asleep.
"So bright..." Silas instinctively reached out to cover his eyes. He sat up and looked at Peter, saying speechlessly, "Couldn't you let me sleep a little longer?"
"It's already very late, Silas." Peter picked up a nearby alarm clock; it showed exactly nine o'clock.
Last night, even though they had said goodnight, neither of them could fall asleep. Eventually, they simply got up, grabbed the chessboard from their backpack, and started playing. They played until well past midnight before exhaustion finally hit. They had collapsed into sleep while a nearby Shadow Ninja quietly put the chessboard away.
"Time to get up." Now that the sun had woken him, Silas's sleepiness vanished. As he crawled out of the tent, he heard Ben Parker's voice.
"Good morning, Silas! How did you sleep last night?" Uncle Ben looked a bit different today—exceptionally happy and full of energy.
Beside him, Aunt May had already spread out a picnic mat and laid out food. Her face was glowing as she said, "Come and eat, boys."
"Go brush your teeth before eating." Ben Parker had already prepared toothbrushes and cups for them.
After changing inside the tent, Peter crawled out. Seeing the breakfast on the mat, he said, "Perfect, I'm starving."
"No matter how hungry you are, you have to go brush your teeth with Silas before you eat." Ben Parker grabbed Peter and led him over to Silas.
As Silas crouched on the grass brushing his teeth, Peter leaned in and said, "Silas, your sleeping posture was terrible last night. You put your feet on me several times."
Ptu! Silas spat out the toothpaste bubbles. "Impossible. My sleeping posture is excellent. On the other hand, you were mumbling in your sleep all night."
"I don't talk in my sleep." Peter didn't believe it; he hadn't even had a dream last night.
"I say you did, so you did." Without waiting for Peter to argue, Silas finished brushing and stood up. "Keep brushing; I'm going to eat breakfast."
"Hey! Wait for me." Peter hurried his movements, rinsed his mouth quickly, and ran after him.
Ben Parker sat on the mat, wearing his glasses, with a sandwich in one hand and a newspaper in the other.
"How did a newspaper get delivered here?" Peter asked in surprise.
Before Ben could speak, Aunt May explained, "That's a newspaper from a few days ago. Ben is used to reading the news during breakfast, so he specifically brought a few along."
"Breakfast without a newspaper is like a car without gas," Ben said with a smile, putting down the paper to pick up his milk.
Silas was eating cereal soaked in milk. After eating it for so many years, he was quite used to the taste.
"Ever since Spider-Man appeared, there's always a piece of news about him in the papers," Ben said, picking up the newspaper again.
"Spider-Man?" Aunt May asked. "You mean that one who calls himself a 'Friendly Neighbor Superhero'?"
"Yes," Ben said, glancing at Peter intentionally or otherwise. "He's capable of anything when it comes to fighting crime. He's righteous—a rare kind of hero."
Hearing Uncle Ben praise him like that, Peter was thrilled. He almost laughed out loud but managed to hold it in.
"Um... Uncle Ben, do you think what Spider-Man does is right?" Peter asked, changing the subject. This was what he most wanted to know.
While some loved Spider-Man, others hated him, often claiming he lacked discipline or was a meddling nuisance doing thankless work. Silas looked toward Ben, knowing Peter was seeking validation from his family.
"Of course it's right. Without him, this city would be much more chaotic. I'll tell you a secret, Peter: I really like Spider-Man. He's my idol." Ben Parker reached out and squeezed Peter's shoulder.
Peter froze for a moment. He hadn't expected to be his "expert" Uncle Ben's idol.
"He just seems a bit green. He might be a little immature right now, but time will make him a truly qualified hero." Ben's words were directed straight at Peter. No one is perfect at the start; it's a process.
"Yes, Uncle Ben. Spider-Man will definitely mature slowly," Peter replied, responding to Ben even though he didn't realize Ben had already figured out his identity.
Ben Parker withdrew his hand and looked up at the clear sky. "If Spider-Man were here, I would tell him not to work too hard and to make sure he gets enough rest."
"He should also remember to spend more time with his family. And if he encounters something very dangerous, he should remember to..." Ben stopped there, feeling he had said enough.
Peter looked up at his uncle and said, "He definitely will. Because he's Spider-Man, after all."
"Actually, I also wanted to ask: why did he choose the name 'Spider-Man'? If he had come to me, Ben Parker—the naming expert—he would have had a much more resounding name," Ben added, shifting the tone.
Peter's mouth twitched. He hadn't expected Uncle Ben to roast his superhero name. "So, Uncle Ben, what would you have called him?"
Ahem... Ben Parker cleared his throat. "The Invincible Spider!"
"..." Peter was clearly stunned by the cheesiness.
"..." Silas hadn't expected Ben's naming taste to be so... free-spirited.
Peter reminded him, "Um, Uncle Ben, you might not know, but in the Avengers, there's already someone called 'The Incredible Hulk.'"
"That's fine. He's the Incredible Hulk, and Spider-Man is the Invincible Spider. They don't conflict." Ben felt his naming skills were top-tier.
Peter silently thanked the announcer at the underground wrestling match again; that name was much better.
"Alright Ben, you should go pack up so we can get going," Aunt May said, feeling that Ben was getting a bit carried away.
"Right, going now." Ben nodded, then turned to Peter. "If Spider-Man heard that, he'd definitely love it, right Peter?"
"Maybe..." Peter thought: I decline.
Soon, they finished packing, confirmed the campfire was extinguished, and got back in the car to continue their journey.
"So Uncle Ben, since we talked about Spider-Man, what do you think of Destiny?" Peter asked, winking at Silas.
Silas found Peter a bit annoying, but he pricked up his ears. He also wanted to know what kind of person Destiny was in Ben Parker's eyes.
"Destiny?" Ben Parker thought for a moment. Unlike Spider-Man, Destiny wasn't in the news every single day. Compared to Spider-Man, Destiny was much more low-key, and Ben had to sift through his memories of Destiny's incidents.
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