Bonus Chapter!
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After a full week of observation, Peter finally made up his decision. Tonight, he would formally step into Hell's Kitchen.
He had no connections and no idea where the underground boxing venues were.
But that did not matter. He might lack connections, but he had a mouth.
And more importantly, he had strength and speed far beyond that of an ordinary person.
That allowed him to move through Hell's Kitchen with ease. At least so far, he had not encountered anyone stronger than himself.
What Peter did not know was that from the moment he set foot in Hell's Kitchen, the entire area had been stirred up.
Word spread quickly that another oddball in tight-fitting clothes had appeared.
The previous oddball, Daredevil, had no comment.
Daredevil had originally intended to track down the red-and-blue suited figure and test him, just as he had once tested Lance.
But before he could act, he received news.
The kid had already entered an underground boxing ring and was fighting in illegal matches.
That only made Daredevil more frustrated at having missed his chance.
He had never forgotten how his father died. In his eyes, there was no justification for the existence of underground boxing rings.
They existed only to profit from the filth of gambling. Human lives meant nothing to them.
His father had been beaten to death by the mob because he refused to throw a fight, choosing instead to win for his son and costing the bookies money.
That was how Daredevil was born.
Whether as Daredevil or as Matt, he would never let any underground boxing ring go unpunished. Especially not when this one belonged to Kingpin.
In truth, the underground boxing rings of Hell's Kitchen had already begun to decline under Daredevil's pressure. That was why Kingpin had been willing to pay a high price to hire ninjas to eliminate him.
Kingpin believed that only by completely removing Daredevil could the casinos and underground boxing rings return to their former prosperity.
He never imagined that his plan would soon be disrupted by Daredevil and a newly emerged brat.
By this time, Peter had already started to make a name for himself in the underground boxing ring.
He called himself Human Spider.. Um.. Spider-Boy? Or.. Ah, right, he called himself Spider-Man.
Since stepping into the ring, everything had gone smoothly.
After a storm of wild punches, almost no opponent could stand against him.
Spider-Man's mutated strength was simply too powerful and too unusual. In just a few days, Peter had earned tens of thousands of dollars, something he had never experienced before.
But despite the money, he had no way to explain where it came from.
Whether it was scholarships or anything else, the amount was far too large.
So he hid the cash under his bed, planning to give it to his uncle and aunt once he came up with a convincing explanation.
Now that he had earned a decent sum, Peter had no intention of staying in Hell's Kitchen for long. He planned to finish today's match and then take a break.
Coincidentally, the owner of the underground boxing ring approached him that same day.
They wanted him to throw the match.
Anyone with even a basic understanding of the business knew that as an undefeated fighter, Peter's odds had become extremely low. Everyone bet on him to win, and almost no one bet on him to lose.
If he lost on purpose, all those who bet on him would lose everything. The ring would only need to pay out the few who bet against him, and the rest would go straight into their pockets.
In the underground boxing ring, the audience cared about excitement, the fighters cared about winning and losing, but the management and the boss only cared about business and profit.
Although the boss offered Peter a high price, Peter refused.
First, he felt he had already earned enough money for the time being to ease his family's situation. He did not need more that badly.
Second, as a poor high school student who had long been bullied by Thompson, he had finally used his newfound abilities to make a name for himself here and earn respect and cheers. And now the boss wanted him to lose?
No high school student with any pride would accept that.
Faced with Peter's refusal, the boss said nothing. Peter naturally assumed it had only been a casual suggestion.
After all, with his current strength, who could possibly defeat him? Let alone dare to offend him.
All of this was observed by Lance and Daredevil.
That was right. Daredevil had followed Spider-Man here, while Lance had simply heard the rumors and came to make some money.
Hey! Don't judge him! After all, there was no such thing as having too many dollars!
Although Lance and Daredevil did not meet, they both understood one thing.
This naïve Spider-Man was about to learn a harsh lesson about the real world.
Over the past few days, Lance had consistently bet on Spider-Man to lose.
The kid was about to face the darker side of society.
Lance's response was simple. He placed a heavy bet on Spider-Man losing.
When Peter stepped into the ring this time, he was once again greeted by a wave of cheers.
"Spider-Man! Let's go!"
"Beat him into the ground!"
Someone in the crowd, barely dressed, waved cash and shouted wildly.
A strange flush spread across his face as he shrieked in a high-pitched voice.
"Oh, Spider-Man, baby, I love you! I'll give you money! Hit me! Hit me harder!"
Spider-Man's opponent this time was a large man.
When Peter saw the sly smile on the man's face, he did not sense anything wrong.
At first, everything went smoothly. Peter landed several punches, leaving his opponent unable to fight back. Yet the man did not counterattack. He only kept dodging, as if waiting for something.
Soon, Peter realized something was wrong.
His stomach cramped violently. His legs felt hot. Darkness flickered at the edges of his vision.
As his consciousness began to blur, the Black boxer landed a punch on his cheek. The impact left Peter dizzy, forcing him to stagger back.
The opponent pressed forward. Just as another punch was about to land, Peter's Spider-Sense flared.
He understood immediately that if he did not dodge, the weighted glove would smash his skull.
Forget leaving the ring safely. He might die on the spot.
Peter bent down and barely avoided the blow.
But a wave of boos erupted from the crowd.
In his previous matches, Spider-Man never dodged.
But this time, not only did he dodge, he did so clumsily.
The crowd that had just been cheering for him turned in an instant.
A torrent of filthy insults crashed over him, words Peter had never even heard before.
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