Chapter 604: Peter Parker (Please Refresh)

Encompassing heaven and earth, like a miniature world model, upon a sandtable forged from the embryo of a multiverse.

"This matter involves my entanglements with the Cycle Space and the Abyss. If any of you have reservations or difficulties, you may take the Infinite Origin Stone and prepare to return."

Su Lin wore a silver battle armor shimmering like rippling waves, legs crossed atop a divine throne shaped like twin serpents entwined into a ring, with dimensions as wings, distributing several fragments of the azure sky, each dyed pure white and placed within separate boxes.

"If you are willing to bear this karmic debt, please carry this item with you, so that you may collect for me the fleeting glimmers of days long past."

Su Lin did not mention any reward, for the importance of this matter differed from past affairs; few among the group members would truly participate, and even those who did faced risks far exceeding any potential reward.

Therefore, you must choose for yourselves.

This principle should be clear to all.

"I understand the logic," Xiao Yan's eyelids twitched twice: "Brother… are you under a lot of pressure?"

Ye Fan, Shi Hao, and others stared at Su Lin, their dazed eyes as if witnessing something inconceivable.

"Why do you say that, Brother Xiao?" Su Lin smiled faintly: "It is merely the weight of all living beings—I am already accustomed to it."

Huiye of Penglai Mountain partially concealed her face with her sleeve: "This is an anomaly."

"Aren't we always like this?" Xing also crossed her legs, speaking in a graceful, gentle tone:

"This journey has not yet reached the time for parting; even across the veils between stars, I remain with you."

She reached out, first picking up the fragment that illuminated the dust in the dim chamber, then sat quietly in place, gazing steadily at Su Lin with a smile.

Su Lin's lips curled in a faint smile: "Heaven and earth are but an inn on a journey; all beings share the same ancient dust—my Dao is not solitary."

An ancient, weathered atmosphere permeated the air, as if even time itself quietly recounted the battles and stories of those present.

Meng Qi covered his mouth with his hand, turning his head aside; everyone could clearly hear his rapid breathing.

Zhong Li remained expressionless. He glanced at Fa La and Luo Xiaoying on Su Lin's left, then at Su Lin's natural, unforced expression—no hint of pretense—and after a moment of silent thought, he too picked up the fragment.

"Friend, you flatter me—I am willing to offer my humble strength."

His words ended.

The chat group immediately popped up within Zhong Li's field of vision.

"Old man, don't play along with him!!! @Zhong Li"

Lu Mingfei's face was blank as he typed furiously: "I was wrong before, Big Brother—can you please snap out of it?!"

Yang Jian: "Isn't this serious enough?"

Fang Zheng: "Brother Lao has boundless compassion."

Hong Zhong: "They believed it—they actually believed it hahaha~~~"

Li Huowang: "Just now Hong Zhong awakened inside me—I pushed him back down. Don't mind him, everyone."

Su Lin: "Miss Lu, haven't I always been like this?"

Lu Mingfei: "I've got goosebumps all over."

Meng Qi: "I comprehend the Cause of All Results, yet I cannot fathom how beauty and revulsion can coexist in one person?"

"Friend Su, could you please explain this to me???"

Su Lin: "It's probably due to a weak foundation—I suggest you retrain. But this isn't about me, is it?"

What do you think?

As someone trained in the psychology of "manifesting divinity before mortals," Meng Qi sensed this wasn't pretense—it was a form of persona disguise.

Come to think of it, back in school, I'd seen this before.

At the time, he and Su Tianfu were top students, ranked among the school's most handsome.

Whenever girls from other classes invited him to the playground after class, or when facing teachers or the principal, that guy would put on this exact serious, aloof act.

You can fool yourself, but don't fool everyone else.

Aren't the two girls tied to you by fate well aware of how bizarre you are?

"So handsome…" Luo Xiaoying murmured: "Even more handsome than that weird cousin of Grandma's."

Meng Qi: "?"

Li Changshou, sensing the atmosphere had turned odd, rose and bowed: "Taibai accepts the command—obedient to the Heavenly Emperor's decree."

Luo Xiaoying stared in shock: "Big Brother, you're the Heavenly Emperor?!"

"Just a position."

Su Lin nodded, turning his head slightly: "I suggest you return home and wait for them to come back. As you've seen, this place is dangerous."

"Grandma sent word before she went to steal a man that you like Su-Luo, so she told me to stay here to repay you and wait for her return," Luo Xiaoying said.

What is this countermeasure against the "Protagonist Canon: Su Lin" directory?

Could it be that some useless traitor from the inner clan has been fully consumed?

"." Su Lin ignored a certain gaze and continued: "When will she return?"

Fa La spoke: "Based on my memories as reference, it'll be when you're caught between them, beaten until you can't resist, then they suddenly feel sorry for you."

"Pfft—!"

If you weren't helping me repair the sandtable, I'd have sent you packing long ago.

Su Lin seemed to hear stifled laughter and the sound of tea being spit out—but it must have been an illusion, since everyone knew the difference between him and Su Su Su Tuoni.

As a Sigma man, Su Su Su Tuoni was a complete failure.

And I…

Thud!

The table shook.

"Too forceful," Su Lin messaged Yi Leina, who had just stepped on his foot.

She merely smiled, eyes half-lidded, gazing at him.

After a moment, Su Lin arranged for Luo Xiaoying to check into the Continent Hotel, assigning her the same room as Fa La for mutual support.

"You can voice any needs you have."

Su Lin wasn't worried about the safety of these two; Luo Shengying had likely left some backup for Xiao Ying, and as for Su Su Tuoni's so-called super-rich woman, her wealth and depth were evident even from today's low-magic Marvel.

Give them a player identity, and the Marvel Online experience would be quite high.

After the two left, Su Lin turned to the side and asked, "Do you have anything else?"

"Help me take this off," Yi Leina pointed to the Tianhe Battle Suit on her body.

Su Lin raised an eyebrow: "Jealous?"

"Are you an idiot?"

Yi Leina sighed and said, "The situation has changed. Under these circumstances, it would be more effective if you took it back and used it."

Su Lin no longer relied on the Tianhe Battle Suit's defensive effects; instead, he valued its internal function, similar to the Akashic Records, which could reproduce many abilities—even in the current environment.

"Fine. After all, you're a player now too."

After removing the armor, Su Lin put it on himself and could still smell a faint lingering fragrance.

"Even if you weren't a player, you wouldn't need to care about me."

Yi Leina sighed and said, "Even if my magical proficiency isn't as high as that witch's, I won't hold you back."

Strange.

"How unusual—you actually care about this?"

Su Lin smiled: "I only borrowed it from you because this universe is too dangerous."

Hearing Su Lin's reply, Yi Leina placed her hands on her hips and half-lidded her eyes, staring at him.

"You, you've got this one problem," she sighed, pressing her palm to her forehead:

"You're the kind of man who, without even noticing, turns girls into someone who habitually depends on and fixates on you."

By that logic, it's Su Su Tuoni's fault those two turned into yandere and jiraiya.

Only on this point did Su Lin feel it necessary to defend the other:

"You might as well blame Shi Chen."

Xing Bao wasn't normal?

Su Lin glanced at Xing, who was gripping his belt tightly, staring at him with a blank expression.

"Take it."

"Yay—!"

Peter Parker, eleven years old, is a student.

He lives at 20 Ingram Street, Queens, New York City, with an uncle and an aunt.

Recently, he had a small problem—not the usual adolescent troubles of a boy, but a mental one.

This might sound strange, but

he thought he was sick.

Psychosis.

【New York Times: Last night through this morning, citizens reported seeing numerous armed individuals wielding firearms and melee weapons performing an unknown ritual from Manhattan to Queens, with blood and corpses scattered across the streets.

Investigation confirmed it was a hallucination caused by food poisoning; all reporting individuals had consumed the same type of mushroom called Nao Mushroom. Please advise all citizens】

The television outside the door broadcast the noon news.

Uncle Ben and Aunt May were discussing whether recent similar incidents were too frequent; from community management to social construction departments, all of New York City seemed to be wasting American taxpayers' money.

Natural gas explosions, gas leaks, food poisoning—every day was the same.

It seemed the staff had forgotten their responsibilities.

"."

Peter Parker released his hand from the doorknob and silently returned to his bed, pulling the blanket over himself, staring out the window with anxious unease.

Several nights ago, he woke suddenly from a dream, as if hearing someone whispering beside his ear.

He followed the sound to the windowsill and saw a figure clad in a black bodysuit, like a leopard, in the yard—he was missing half his skull, his entire body covered in rotting wounds.

'Oh~ Looks like I didn't get the wrong place.'

Then

the monster lunged at him.

At that moment, he thought he was about to die—when a flash of Lei Ting appeared, and a tall, handsome Eastern man severed the monster's head.

It was sudden; had he not woken the next day to find his pants still wet, he would have believed it was just a dream.

Since that day, his daily life had changed in certain ways.

Every night, he saw—or rather, dreamed—strange things.

For instance, odd people would kidnap him, speaking of "space-time anchor points," "missions," "should we kill him," "Holy Grail War," and such.

He dreamed these almost every night, but the circumstances varied—sometimes his home and room were blown to pieces.

In short, these dreams were vivid and indistinguishable from reality, but in the end, he was always rescued by another group of people.

One of them he recognized.

Iron Man.

Knock knock—!

The sudden knock startled Peter; he spun around to see Uncle Ben standing at the door.

"Sorry..." Ben Parker looked at Peter curled up under the blanket and asked, "Is it okay?"

"Of course."

Peter released the blanket and walked toward the door.

"This can't go on, Peter," Ben Parker said.

"Sorry," Peter knew this was referring to his dreams.

Because these past few nights' dreams were so bizarre, he might be suffering some mental issues, and now he hadn't even gone to school.

"It's not your fault, Peter," Ben Parker comforted him: "Coincidentally, the Stark Group's child psychology fund contacted me about you—they said they can provide free psychological counseling."

"So I discussed it with your aunt."

Ben Parker observed Peter's expression, then continued:

"We've enrolled you."

"Thank you, Uncle Ben."

Peter understood that continuing like this wasn't an option.

"But this counseling lasts a month, and it's not at home," Ben Parker said apologetically: "You'll be leaving us for a month, Peter."

"It's fine," Peter said. "I should go for treatment."

"It's just some counseling, kid," Ben Parker comforted him.

Since his parents weren't around since childhood, he was more mature and sensible than most children when it came to family issues.

But that made him feel even more pained.

Thirty minutes later, Peter stood at the door with his luggage, waiting for the Stark Children's Foundation staff to pick him up.

Fortunately, it was still daytime; otherwise, he wouldn't have dared step outside.

Peter glanced nervously around, then turned to face his uncle and aunt:

"I can handle this alone. You two go back inside."

"Parker?"

Aunt May, holding a tray of cookies, exclaimed in surprise: "I made snacks—don't you want to try some?"

Ben Parker lowered his newspaper and looked at Peter too: "Peter, why are you carrying a suitcase?"

Peter Parker froze. He stared at the suitcase in his hand, then pointed to the street: "Didn't they say to wait…?"

His voice caught in his throat.

Crimson flames and lava erupted from the earth; scorching, hot winds blew against his face, drying his skin instantly. The sky seemed shrouded in a thin black veil, like night yet tinged with a pale, ghastly light.

Steel rebar, cement, abandoned cars, streetlights—the once familiar city had become ruins.

Above the ruins, shadowy figures wandered like beasts; even if unseen, one could sense they were searching for something.

"Peter."

Aunt May's voice jolted Peter awake. He stumbled backward, retreating blindly toward the house—but at that moment, the shadows nearby seemed to sense something, and several turned their gaze toward Peter.

"Door."

Peter scrambled over, trying to shut the door—as if the decades-old security door could block all fear.

But it was too late. As he forced himself to grasp the doorknob, three shadows burst into the house.

"Uncle! Aunt!"

Peter Parker wept, screaming desperately: "Run!!!"

"Peter, don't you want to try my cookies?" Aunt May asked, puzzled.

"Thanks, Aunt, but I'm going to eat his brain first."

A black shadow extended its tongue, licking away the hazy black mist on its face like liquid, revealing the bruised face of a brown-haired man.

"No, he's mine."

A crimson shadow shoved the man aside—his chest bore a white spider emblem.

"Aunt!"

Peter strained to look upward—and saw…

Aunt May's pitch-black eyes, devoid of whites, stared at him. A gentle smile rested on her face as she said: "Peter, come here quickly."

"Aunt?"

Peter stared, transfixed.

"Let me eat first, or I'll eat all of you!" roared the final spider-man with six arms: "Because I have six hands—I can fight all of you!"

"Why not five?" a voice asked.

The six-armed spider-man turned to look.

Swish!

His own arm fell off.

Simultaneously, a brilliant blue longsword pierced his throat.

"Looks like five won't do."