The night wind hit his face, but it couldn't put out the anger burning inside Peter Parker.
At this moment, he was chasing that figure above his head, weaving through one dark alley after another, and between buildings of different heights, scattered in an orderly mess.
Peter Parker ran and climbed in turns. After passing through an alley crisscrossed with ropes and hanging laundry, he saw an abandoned warehouse.
At that moment, Alex lowered his altitude and came to his side.
"The person you're looking for is in that warehouse."
Peter Parker, wearing his mask, glanced at the man beside him, then immediately broke into a sprint.
He leapt off the rooftop, crossed the street, and slipped silently into a window on the second floor of the warehouse.
Alex's eyes lit up as he scanned the interior and located Peter Parker.
At this moment, Peter Parker clung to a thick iron chain like a spider.
At the end of the chain was a hook, hanging close to the ground.
To the left of that hook, a shipping container was lit from inside.
The container had been modified and was being used as a room.
The room was simple, with a bed and a cabinet.
Daily necessities were piled carelessly on the floor. A blond man with shoulder-length hair was curled up on the bed, opening a can of instant food and eating noisily.
On his wrist was a black star tattoo.
He was the man who failed to steal money from a convenience store, then turned around and shot Uncle Ben on the street.
Peter Parker slid down the chain. When he saw the man inside the container clearly, his eyes seemed ready to spit fire.
He began to shake the chain, making it clatter loudly.
Hearing the noise outside, the man in the container thought it was a stray cat or dog.
So he grabbed a flashlight and came out.
When he raised the flashlight and the beam hit the chain, Peter Parker was already gone from it.
Only the chain swayed back and forth.
The man looked confused. Suddenly, a voice sounded behind him.
"Why did you kill him?"
"Shit!", The man jumped in fright, turned around, and saw a suspicious figure crouching on top of the container.
"Who the fack are you man?"
The man kept backing away.
Peter Parker jumped down from the container and walked toward him, shouting emotionally, "Why did you kill that old man!"
"The old man…"
The man hurriedly said, "Listen to me, buddy."
"That was an accident."
"I never meant to kill him."
"If he hadn't tried to grab my gun, it wouldn't have gone off."
Peter Parker shouted, "That was a life!"
"Do you think calling it an accident makes it go away?"
"If it really was an accident, why didn't you turn yourself in!"
The man frowned, "Buddy, what does this have to do with you?"
"Just leave. I don't want trouble."
Peter Parker let out a long breath.
"You didn't take it to heart at all, did you?"
Suddenly, he rushed forward and slammed into the man.
Bang!
The man was sent flying, crashing into a pillar before sliding down.
Only then did he let out a scream.
He clutched the spot where he'd been hit, "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Go to hell!"
He suddenly pulled out a pistol and fired at Peter Parker repeatedly.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
But Peter seemed able to predict the bullets' paths. Swaying left and right, he dodged every shot.
Then he lunged forward and kicked the gun.
The pistol flew out of the man's hand.
Peter Parker grabbed the man's gun hand, "You killed someone."
"A good person."
"You can't just walk away without any punishment."
"That's not fair."
"It's too unfair to the one who died!"
With a shout, Peter pushed forward on the man's elbow.
"Ah!"
The man screamed. His arm had been broken by Peter, the bone piercing through the flesh, a section exposed to the air.
"Oh God!"
"My God!"
"Why are you doing this to me?"
The man was in so much pain that tears streamed down his face.
It was Peter Parker's first time doing something this extreme. He panted and stepped back a few paces.
The man stood up, intending to run.
But after only a few steps, Peter Parker caught up from behind and kicked, shattering his knee.
"Ah!"
The man fell to the ground. His remaining hand didn't know whether to clutch his arm or hold his leg.
As he groaned on the ground, Peter Parker leapt over.
He pinned him down and raised his hand.
Clenching his fist, Peter said in a low voice, "You have to apologize to him."
"I'll apologize!"
The man cried out, "I'll apologize to him!"
"Really."
"Sir, please don't kill me!"
"I'm willing to turn myself in, willing to apologize to his family."
"Please take me to the police station."
Peter Parker looked at him, suddenly shouted, and brought his fist down.
The man screamed in terror.
But the punch landed beside him, smashing a shallow pit into the concrete floor.
Only then did the man let out a breath of relief, a foul smell rising from his pants.
———
[New York Police Department]
Chief George Stacy was looking at documents when he suddenly heard a commotion outside.
Chief George frowned, straightened his clothes, and walked out of his office.
"What's going on?"
He saw the officers all rushing toward the entrance.
Then someone pushed through the crowd, "Chief, you need to see this."
George walked out of the station and saw a man lying outside the entrance.
Blond, shoulder-length hair, injuries on his hands and feet.
A sign hung on his body.
It read: [I am the murderer who killed Ben Parker.]
Chief George was shocked, "What is this about?"
An officer said, "He claims he was brought here by a masked man."
"That masked man demanded he turn himself in, or he would hurt him."
The officer glanced at the man, "Although… he's already been hurt."
Chief George said unhappily, "Even if he's the murderer, he must be punished by the law, not by private means."
"Where is that masked man?"
The officer shook his head, "He doesn't know either."
"He said the guy disappeared in the blink of an eye."
Only then did Chief George say, "Send him to the hospital, then take his statement."
Watching the killer being taken away by the police, on a nearby rooftop, Peter Parker, who had already taken off his mask, finally let out a breath.
He looked around. After not seeing the blond, blue-eyed man, he said softly, "I need to thank him."
"But I don't even know his name."
"Don't know if I'll ever get the chance to meet him again."
As he spoke, Peter Parker leapt off the rooftop.
———
All of this was seen by Alex.
Alex smiled slightly and turned to leave.
He returned to the hotel.
He dismissed Harley Quinn's summon.
Then he found Caitlin.
"Mr. John, what have you been busy with these past couple of days?", Caitlin held a bucket of popcorn, eating while listening to the radio.
Standing by the window, Alex looked toward Peter Parker's home, "Running an interesting experiment."
"Oh?"
"What kind of experiment?", Caitlin grabbed a handful of popcorn and held it out to him, "Want some?"
"No, thanks," Alex continued, "Nothing that impressive."
Caitlin didn't think much of it. The girl munched on popcorn and said, "I used to be really scared when I 'sleepwalked,' but now that you're with me, Mr. John, I'm not scared at all."
"And now, 'sleepwalking' feels like a vacation to me."
"Anyway, when I go back, almost no time has passed, and I don't have to worry about losing my job, haha!"
Alex smiled, "Same here. It really is an interesting experience."
"If I hadn't met you, Caitlin, I wouldn't have had the chance to enjoy something like this."
———
After chatting for a while, seeing it was getting late, Alex returned to his room.
He took a shower, then sat on the windowsill, drinking beer and looking at the city at night.
"Next, let's see how much Peter Parker changes."
"In a few days, Dr. Lizard should appear."
"That should be interesting."
He took another sip of beer.
Right then, a line of information suddenly popped up on his retina.
[Warning, you are being invaded!]
'Invasion?'
'What invasion?'
Alex froze for a moment.
Then lines of information kept appearing on his retina.
[Warning, you are being invaded!]
[Warning, you are being invaded!]
[The invader has entered this universe.]
[You have encountered a multiverse invasion event.]
[Description: The multiverse, infinite worlds. Just as there is more than one Spider-Man in the multiverse, the same goes for you. Yes, in other universes, there are other Homelander figures. Some of them have mastered the ability to invade the universes of their "kind." Now, an invader has already appeared right under your nose.]
[Randomly selecting confrontation mode.]
[Confrontation mode determined.]
[The confrontation mode for this invasion event is: Iron Cage Blood Fight!]
[Event requirement: Kill the invader.]
[Due to the confrontation mode, the "Amazing Spider-Man" universe has been sealed. No entry or exit is possible until the invasion event ends.]
[Due to the confrontation mode, after killing the invader, you will obtain everything in the invader's inventory.]
[Note: The invader will suffer the following penalties.]
[1. The invader's overall strength is reduced by 25%, including innate ability, items, runes, artifact effects, etc., until the invasion event ends.]
[2. Due to the "Iron Cage Blood Fight" mode, for the next 72 hours, the invader's overall strength is reduced by 50%, including innate ability, items, runes, artifact effects, etc. This condition overrides the first penalty. After it ends, the first penalty resumes.]
[3. The invader cannot use "insight" type abilities or item effects on you, and cannot directly obtain your detailed information through abilities or items.]
[Invasion event.]
[Begin!]
After reading all this, Alex found it hard to believe.
There were actually "Homelanders" from other universes.
And now, one of them had already invaded this universe.
As the invading side, they would suffer various penalties.
Like now, for 72 hours, their strength would be only half of its original level.
And even after those 72 hours, there would still be a negative effect of "25% reduced strength."
Looking at it this way, if the invader didn't understand the penalty system, that was one thing.
But if they knew they'd be penalized for invading other "Homelanders" and still dared to do it, then the invader must be very strong, at least confident in themselves.
Alex narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Killing the invader lets you take all their items."
"For the invader, the same condition should apply."
"In other words, invading one's 'own kind' carries huge risks, but also huge rewards."
———
While Alex received the invasion warning, on the other side of New York, a night fishing enthusiast noticed a faint blue glow lighting up beneath the water at a pier.
The light rose from underwater, but only lasted a moment. Before he could take out his phone to record it, it vanished.
After a while, beside a small boat in the distance from the pier, a hand suddenly reached out.
Then grabbing the edge of the boat, a figure climbed up onto the small vessel.
It was a man, a little over forty.
His hair was pitch black and stiff, his features sharp, his jaw wide.
He wore a deep blue combat suit, and the stars-and-stripes cape behind him was completely soaked.
The man looked around, then spoke in a low voice.
"The Amazing Spider-Man universe?"
"Good. This universe is relatively simple."
"If it were a DC universe or a Marvel universe, superhumans and monsters would be everywhere. That would make hunting much more troublesome, with far more variables."
"My luck isn't bad."
More information appeared on his retina.
"Iron Cage Blood Fight?"
"So it's this kind of confrontation mode."
"This universe has been sealed. Unless one side dies, neither side can leave."
"And items can't be used to escape. Surrender-type items won't work either."
"The upside is that after killing one's 'kind,' you get everything in their inventory."
"Tch! The penalties are pretty harsh. For 72 hours, my strength is only half."
"And after 72 hours, there's still a 25% reduction."
"Looks like my overall strength should be above the opponent's, and by quite a margin."
"Otherwise, the penalties wouldn't be this severe."
"Damn balance system… but that's what makes it exciting."
"Hm! Aside from hunting my 'kind,' there's also an additional return condition."
"The return condition is…"
After glancing at the information on his retina, the man's lips curled up, "Interesting."
He stood up and looked around.
"In my current state, going to hunt my 'kind' is still too dangerous, even if my original strength is above theirs."
"But right now, I'm only at half strength, and the effects of my items are also halved."
"In that case, for these 72 hours, I need to hide."
"I wonder if the opponent has mental domain abilities."
"Last time, I got found right after invading and almost got killed by that 'kind,' all because they had mental domain abilities."
"Like Professor X, they found me effortlessly."
"I won't be that careless again."
The man quickly took something out of his inventory.
It was a metal helmet.
[Magneto's Helmet: A helmet with an unimpressive design, but it allows you to resist mental domain abilities and maintain your sense of self.]
The man put on the helmet, then flew into the air and disappeared into the night sky.
———
The next day—
[Midtown Science High School]
Even though he had already sent the killer to the police, Peter Parker still couldn't feel happy.
Listlessly, he pulled up the hood of his sports jacket, walked to his locker, and opened it.
At that moment, Flash walked over, "Hey, Peter."
Peter Parker shook his head, thinking the guy had come to mess with him again, "No, leave me alone."
"Listen to me—", Flash was about to say something when Peter suddenly shoved him against the locker and lifted him up.
Looking at Peter Parker's bloodshot eyes, he said, "I'm sorry, Peter."
"About your uncle."
"He was a good man."
"Don't take it too hard."
Only then did Peter Parker realize Flash wasn't there to cause trouble.
He sighed, set the big guy down, lowered his head, and quietly said, "Thanks."
Then he walked forward with his head down.
At that moment, a figure passed in front of him.
Peter looked up. It was Gwen Stacy from his class.
The girl didn't say anything.
She just gave him a warm, silent hug.
At once, Peter felt a cold corner deep inside him warm up a little.
It was like seeing a beam of light in the darkness, pulling him back from the edge.
"It'll get better, Parker," Gwen said softly.
Peter nodded and walked past her.
He put on his headphones and played the message Uncle Ben had left him.
["Peter, I know things haven't been going well for you lately."]
["I'm sorry about that."]
["I understand how you feel."]
["Ever since you were a kid, you've had to face a lot of unresolved things."]
["Take it from someone who's been through it."]
["These things decide the path we take."]
["They shape who we are."]
["If anyone is meant to do great things, it's you, kid."]
["Your gifts were given to you by this world."]
["You just need to know how to use them."]
["No matter what you decide."]
["We'll always support you."]
["Come home, Peter."]
["You're my hero. I love you."]
Peter Parker gently shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Uncle Ben."
"I'm not a hero."
"But I need to do something."
"This city has to become better."
"I… have to do something!"
———
[Osborn Manor]
Norman Osborn, with three parts fear and seven parts respect, looked at the blond man standing with his back to him.
"Mr. John."
"It's an honor to see you again."
Standing by the window, Alex withdrew his mental domain.
Since last night, he had been using it to cover the entire New York.
But up to now, he still couldn't find his 'kind.'
'That shouldn't be the case. There aren't many superhumans in this universe.'
Alex should have been able to locate the other Homelander easily.
'The fact that I haven't means, that Homelander has abilities or items that counters mental probing.'
'As expected, anyone bold enough to play invasion isn't simple.'
Turning around, Alex's lips curled into a smile.
"Mr. Osborn, I need you to help me with something."
Every wrinkle on Norman Osborn's face seemed to light up as he showed a humble smile.
"It would be my honor, sir."
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