[Ding. Congratulations, Host. You have perfectly exceeded the mission requirements within one week. Total crimes stopped: 25!]
[Ding. Rewarding Host with 50 Skin Points.]
[Rewarding Host with 2 Level 1 Treasure Chests.]
[Ding. Detected that Host has developed a personal combat style. System has automatically assigned a class to Host: Antihero! All physical functions increased by 10%. While your class remains undisclosed, supervillains and superheroes will naturally feel goodwill toward you. Criminals punished by you will tremble in fear because of it!]
The system notification snapped Peter out of his daze as he stared out the window.
In just one week, the news that another Spider-Man had appeared in New York had spread like wildfire. And thanks to his iron-fisted methods, he had gained a huge wave of supporters. Now everyone knew that New York had two Spider-Men protecting the city.
But what Peter had never expected was that the system would actually be this considerate and give him bonus rewards for going above and beyond.
Not bad.
Another fifty Skin Points, and he would be able to draw a random Spider-Hero skin.
As for the two Level 1 Treasure Chests, Peter had no intention of saving them. Their level was too low, so he might as well open them now.
Not that he had especially high hopes...
"Open the two Level 1 Treasure Chests..."
[Ding. Opening Level 1 Treasure Chests...]
[Ding. Congratulations, Host. You have obtained two Nano Camera Spiders, one pair of Hulk's shorts, one scalpel from Doctor Strange before his debut, and one Multiverse Travel Pass!]
At that exact moment, somewhere in Earth-65, Hulk had just stepped out of the shower and was looking down for his shorts. After searching for a while with no result, he began raging uselessly...
Meanwhile, Doctor Strange, now the Sorcerer Supreme, suddenly sensed something strange. Then he discovered that the scalpel he had carefully preserved in his storage cabinet had vanished. After a long round of frantic deduction, his brain practically overheated...
Peter was speechless.
System, do you even have basic manners?!
The scalpel was one thing. At least that could still be used to cut stuff. But what was he supposed to do with Hulk's shorts?!
They were so huge that even using them as clothes would be absurd. If he wore them out, the wind would probably turn them into a parachute.
Or was the system expecting him to pull out Hulk's shorts in the middle of a fight, throw them over an enemy's head, and then beat them senseless?
So loot boxes really were a scam after all...
Still, the Nano Camera Spiders were actually pretty good.
Peter remembered seeing this kind of gadget back in his previous life when he watched the 1997 animated Spider-Man series. It had been genuinely useful there too. He could definitely modify them later and add tracking components to them. That way, they could both track targets and transmit live images.
Perfect.
As for the Multiverse Travel Pass, Peter did not know what it was at first. He opened the item description in his mind and finally found out.
It was basically a one-time multiverse travel card.
[Multiverse Travel Pass: With this card, you may freely travel through the Marvel Multiverse. However, it will disappear after one use! P.S.: You're not crazy enough to use it on some dangerous parallel universe, right?! Right?!]
Exiting the system, Peter sighed.
The road to getting stronger was still a long one...
"Hey, Peter, you've been spacing out the whole ride. We're almost at school."
"Sorry, Gwen. I didn't sleep very well last night. There are only six months left before college applications, and I still have no idea which school I should aim for."
Gwen looked at Peter the way one looked at a complete idiot and said nothing.
This guy seriously had something wrong with his brain.
There were still six months left, so what exactly was he panicking for?
That excuse was even worse than the lies her dad told her mom.
The radio in George's car was broadcasting the news, and Peter immediately recognized the voice.
It was J. Jonah Jameson.
"In recent days, after Ghost-Spider, another Spider-Man has appeared. He calls himself Wraith Spider! Since appearing, he has used decisive methods to resolve one violent crime after another. According to statistics, he has handled a total of twenty-five incidents. Compared with that Spider-Girl's frustrating vigilante behavior, this more executor-like, punisher-style method seems to resonate much more strongly with young people!"
"I'll admit it, I've always looked at mutants with prejudice. But Wraith Spider's appearance has changed my mind! New York needs mutants like this. That is not a bad thing. The only unfortunate thing is that he seems to have a rather close relationship with that Spider-Girl. Hopefully he can stick to his methods and not be influenced by her!"
"At the same time, I hope the NYPD acts quickly. The safety of this city cannot depend solely on two masked figures. Crime is everywhere!"
Peter blinked.
Was this really the Jameson he knew?
Hadn't this guy always looked at Spider-Man with bias?
So why was he giving Peter such absurdly high praise?
That sudden change in attitude left Peter struggling to process it.
...
"What a garbage host. He has no idea what kind of mess that Wraith Spider has caused. The criminals in prison now are either missing arms and legs or mentally broken. The lucky ones only ended up scared so badly they lost control of themselves..."
George turned off the radio and sighed.
Crime really had gone down, and it had reduced a lot of trouble for the police, but now they had a new problem.
The psychological condition of the criminals.
Prison space had already been tight enough, yet now these people did not even want to leave prison anymore.
What kind of mindset was that?
What kind of mental state was that?
Were they really going to have to build more prisons?
The worst part was that they had already applied for funding, but the government still refused to approve it.
"Dad..." Gwen looked at George worriedly.
At first, hearing the broadcast mention her had made her feel pretty pleased.
But once it shifted to talking about Wraith Spider and the fact that he had dealt with twenty-five crimes in one week, even she started to crack a little.
And plenty of those times, the two of them had worked together.
So why did Jameson only praise him and say nothing about her?
That old fossil was obviously biased.
One day she was going to smack him right on top of his bald head.
Still, the idea that one person had driven New York's criminals into mental collapse and total terror really was shocking.
That was way beyond what she, a rookie little spider, could do.
But based on all their previous encounters, that guy seemed like he had actually gotten spider powers later than she did.
Didn't that mean he was just far more outstanding than her?
Gwen had only just firmed up her heroic resolve, and now her emotions were all over the place. In fact, a small part of her was beginning to think that maybe Wraith Spider's way really was the correct one.
Of course, as complicated as her feelings were, they were nothing compared to George's.
After all, Jameson had directly called out the NYPD at the end.
No wonder George had angrily shut the radio off. The fact that he had not smashed it already showed remarkable restraint.
At the same time, Flash Thompson was walking out of a burger place, one hand playing with his phone and the other holding a burger, heading toward school at an unhurried pace.
But the moment he stepped out of the alley, his vision suddenly went dark, and he found himself unable to breathe.
"Who?! Who the hell just threw a bag over my head?!"
"Boss, this one's built well. I've had my eye on him for a while. Flash Thompson's background is clean and simple. He'd make a perfect test subject for the experiment."
"Mm. The earlier test subjects were too weak physically, which is why they died. This one should do just fine. Looks like my genetic engineering is finally about to take a great step forward!"
Through the bag, Flash could only hear two muffled voices.
He struggled desperately and shouted in panic, "No, you can't do this! This is a crime! You... ahhh...!"
Before he could finish, a stun gun dropped him unconscious.
Then the older voice said, "You'll thank me. I'm going to turn you into a superhuman. You'll become my greatest work. We'll be fulfilling each other."
"Marlon, if the experiment succeeds, use that device to erase his recent memories, then send him back and continue observing the later changes."
"Got it, boss!"
(End of Chapter)
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