The weather seemed awful today.
Maybe it was because early autumn had arrived, but the entire city felt gloomy, as if a violent storm could break out at any moment.
Of course, it was not only the weather that felt dark.
For the gangs of Hell's Kitchen, and for their ultimate boss Kingpin, yesterday had brought the greatest disaster they had faced since getting into organized crime.
Even worse than last time.
The survivors who had hidden themselves during the fighting and managed not to get cut down by the Spider Duo were still shaken to the core.
They would never forget the one calling himself Wraith Spider, cutting down their companions one by one with a blade, and then, at the end, picking up one of their dead men's machine guns and spraying the rest of them down. The madness in the way he fought had left them terrified all night, afraid that the butcher might come back.
And Ghost-Spider was no easier to deal with either. Another head had grown out of her shoulder, full of fangs like some kind of monster, and it had bitten one of their companions' heads clean off.
Compared with those two, the survivors of Hell's Kitchen suddenly felt like they themselves were the law-abiding citizens.
The losses in Hell's Kitchen had made several big names in the underworld lose face completely. For a while, they all turned their anger toward Kingpin, because everyone knew that it was his bounty on the dark web that had provoked the Spider Duo into slaughtering Hell's Kitchen.
Of course, those same old bastards conveniently washed their hands of the matter, as if they had forgotten that they had all supported the bounty at the time, and some had even suggested raising the price.
In a single night, three underground casinos had been wiped out, two pleasure dens had been destroyed, and countless smaller gangs had been uprooted entirely.
Several major players had even been found stuck to walls with webbing, their throats cut open. The expressions on their faces before death were horribly twisted, their eyes wide open as though still refusing to accept what had happened.
It did not help them.
That fat bastard Kingpin did not remove the bounty from the dark web in response to the pressure from the outside world.
Instead, he raised it again and again.
The combined bounty for the Spider Duo had now reached a terrifying two hundred million dollars.
But those who had previously contributed to increasing the price had quietly pulled their money back. After all, being targeted by those two was not worth any amount of money.
Compared with the panic spreading through Hell's Kitchen, Peter was living quite comfortably.
Yesterday, under the name of Wraith Spider, he had quietly distributed some money to the old neighbors around his home. It was not a fortune, but it was enough for them to live decently for quite a while.
Of course, he still kept half of the money for himself.
After all, he had risked his life to get it. No matter how kind he was, he was not kind enough to empty out his own pockets completely.
"Hey, Peter, I want to buy a brand-new drum set. Help me see if there's anything good."
Inside the burger shop, Gwen handed her phone to Peter. The moment he took it, he felt his head start to ache.
The drum set on the screen looked fancy. He did not really understand any of the details, but it was clearly high-end.
The price, though, was outrageous.
A hundred thousand dollars.
With that kind of money, would it not be better just to eat burgers forever?
His own lousy secondhand guitar had only cost three hundred dollars, and after buying it, he had not played it once. Peter had discovered that he really had no artistic talent whatsoever.
At first, he had wanted to learn guitar just so he would have something in common with Gwen, but in the end, he gave it up.
He could work out. He could dance.
Music theory, though, was absolutely not for him.
"You're already dealing with so much every day. Do you even have time to practice drums? And didn't you already hand the band stuff over to MJ? Are you planning to go back to work now?"
Peter took a sip of hot cocoa and handed the phone back, looking suspicious.
"I can't just throw away my hobbies. It's the same as you. After you became Spider-Man, did you stop working out?"
"Actually... I kind of did. I've been so busy and exhausted that the second I get home and hit the bed, I just want to sleep. Yeah, I really haven't worked out in a long time..."
"Then here's a small piece of advice. If you don't want to turn into that greasy, overweight middle-aged Peter, start cutting back on burgers now. And do not quit exercising."
Gwen said it very seriously.
If Peter really turned into that version of himself one day, how was she supposed to face him?
"Fine. From now on, no more burgers. Pizza is okay though, right?"
"Is there a difference?"
"Isn't there?"
"You tell me."
Peter: "..."
"All right then, what about Mexican tacos?"
Only high calories and high protein could keep his brain functioning at full speed. Maybe that was just the downside of being a genius.
If he could not take in enough calories and protein, Peter swore his brain would stop working properly.
And those things alone were not enough.
You needed something sugary to wash it down too. That was the real joy of life.
Inside the burger shop, the television was airing the day's news.
And it happened to be the Daily Bugle's time slot again.
Which meant they saw that familiar face once more.
J. Jonah Jameson.
"Yesterday, a major incident took place in Hell's Kitchen! The Spider Duo once again dealt a heavy blow to these criminals! Spider-Woman, under Wraith Spider's guidance, appears to have finally found the right path! New York's safety is more secure, and the city may finally see a better tomorrow!"
Hearing Jameson praise her on television, the corners of Gwen's mouth lifted.
Ever since returning from that parallel universe, the way she handled incidents had become more and more natural, and her reputation had started to turn around as well.
At first, she had been attacked from every side.
Now, people were starting to praise her as a vigilante hero.
It definitely made her feel a little proud.
Jameson had finally started talking like a normal person lately.
"Hey, see that, Peter? We're getting praised again."
Peter answered calmly, "Honestly, praise and criticism don't matter that much to me. Let people say whatever they want. Becoming some kind of enhanced human was always going to be controversial. Just do what you want to do."
He did not care about other people's opinions.
He was not a superhero adored by everyone.
And he was not a supervillain feared by everyone either.
As an antihero, he had his own rules.
If he only acted because other people praised him, then wouldn't that mean he was being controlled by those pretty words?
He served himself, not the public.
Of course, if in the process of serving himself he could also help the public, then that was even better. There was no need to become selfish to the extreme. That would only mean losing himself.
"That's true."
"Hurry up and eat. We're almost late..."
Gwen checked the time on her phone and spoke anxiously.
Peter, on the other hand, slowly finished the last bite of his burger before finally stepping out of the burger shop.
And the moment he stepped outside, a strange circle appeared beneath his feet.
It looked like a ring of sparks, covered in complex markings.
Then the circle expanded, and Peter fell straight into it.
"Peter!"
When Gwen saw him drop through the circle, she immediately tried to jump after him, but standing on it did nothing. Instead, she could only watch as the ring beneath her feet shrank smaller and smaller until it disappeared completely, as though it had never existed.
"Damn it! What the hell was that?!"
Gwen quickly pulled out her phone and called Peter, but the number came back as out of service, which made her panic.
What in the world had just happened?
(End of Chapter)
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