Chapter 98: Kindness Must Be Repaid, Grudges Must Be Avenged!

Sticky pipe walls.

Frigid air.

And the stench radiating from rust, sludge, and unidentified fermented matter caused Hawk, who was walking through it, to shut off his sense of smell directly.

He was not afraid of heat, nor was he afraid of cold; he was only afraid of stenches.

He could endure heat and cold, but not the stench, especially this kind of pervasive odor.

Hawk looked at the spider-man leading the way, feeling quite curious.

"How did you find this place?"

"I found it by tracking the lizards."

Walking in front, perhaps because he also felt the stench was too thick, Peter’s voice sounded a bit muffled even through his spider mask: "It’s just ahead, turn the corner and we’ll be there."

The day before yesterday, when he was battling the Lizard-man at school, he had discovered some lizards crawling out of the sewer pipes.

So yesterday, on Saturday, Peter woke up and remembered this; thinking that being idle was just being idle, he simply plunged into the sewers to search.

As it turned out, after searching for a day, he really found Dr. Connors’ temporary base, which could be called a labyrinth of underground pipes, this morning.

And so.

After finding it, he thought of Hawk, feeling that Hawk might also be interested, so he simply ran over to Hawk’s place and invited Hawk to join him for a weekend underground labyrinth exploration in Niuyuecheng.

Very soon.

After Hawk followed Peter around a corner ahead, he saw a platform not far away.

On the platform, wires were haphazardly connected from who knows where; the wires were stuck to the wall with some unknown liquid and connected to a few light bulbs, illuminating the platform where two laptops and some laboratory equipment were strewn about.

After Hawk stepped onto the platform, he scanned the area.

"Where is that video you mentioned?"

"Here."

Peter, who had already walked up to a laptop, tapped on the keyboard a few times, and immediately a video appeared on the screen.

"That blood is Hawk's."

"I should make a call to Hawk..."

"Screech... no, he definitely won't give it to me."

"Screech!"

"Right, Gwen."

"I can kidnap Gwen, then force Hawk to give me the blood."

"Screech..."

"That's right, that's it, kidnap Gwen, make Hawk give me the blood."

"Capture..."

In the video, Dr. Connors, whose clothes were filthy and whose hair hung limp on his head from sweat, was talking to himself as if possessed, accompanied by the occasional flickering of static on the screen.

At the end of the video, Dr. Connors, looking like a demon, grabbed the last three regeneration serums without hesitation and injected them into his body; immediately after, amidst a series of distorted roars, the Lizard Doctor made a flashy entrance.

The video ended there.

Hawk’s expression, however, became strange.

So the reason the Lizard Doctor was targeting Gwen was here—the goal was to capture Gwen to force him to hand over his own blood?

This...

Hawk expressed that he found it difficult to understand Dr. Connors’ train of thought.

He thought for a moment, and for Dr. Connors’ behavior, he could only use one reason to explain it.

"The lizard serum has ruined his brain."

"Then would you give it?"

"What?"

Hawk looked at Peter.

Peter asked curiously: "If Connors called you, seeking your blood, would you give it to him?"

Hawk frowned slightly as he listened to Peter’s question.

Would he give it?

He thought about it in his mind, then nodded and looked at Peter.

"If it’s not much, I would."

"Why."

Hearing this answer from Hawk, Peter couldn't help but widen his eyes: "Although I don't know what the situation is with your blood, it is highly likely the key that caused Connors to become the Lizard Doctor. Knowing the result, you would still give your blood away?"

Hawk looked at Peter, his tone calm: "He used my blood to become the Lizard Doctor, that is his business, but he asked me for it, and whether I give it or not, that is my business."

Peter frowned and shook his head.

"I don't understand."

"You and I are the same in that we don't have parents, but your parents at least existed, and you still have your Uncle Ben and Aunt May. I am different; I am an orphan, always have been, so you can become a superhero, but I cannot, never."

"Why."

"I am not as kind as you."

Hawk smiled slightly.

"Of course, I am not that evil either, but I have always followed one saying: kindness must be repaid, and grudges must be avenged!"

"When I was fired from Oscorp, although it had nothing to do with Dr. Connors, Dr. Connors still wrote me a letter of recommendation."

"Even though this letter of recommendation is useless now, when he gave it to me, Dr. Connors wanted nothing from me, so..."

Hawk smiled again as he said this, looking at Peter: "It’s just a vial of blood; it’s no loss to me, so I gave it. As for what he does with this vial of blood, whether he does good or evil, that is his business. I just need to have a clear conscience."

Peter nodded thoughtfully as he listened to Hawk’s explanation.

Hawk seemed to think of something then and looked at Peter: "What, are you interested in my blood too? If you want it, I can give you a vial as well."

Peter came back to his senses and shook his head like a rattle.

"No, no, I don't want it."

"Alright then."

Hawk smiled and stopped talking, just scanning the platform one more time and shaking his head: "That’s why I said Dr. Connors’ brain was ruined by the lizard serum; he could have just asked me for it, but he had to make it like this. Let’s go."

Since he already knew Dr. Connors’ motive, even if this motive sounded somewhat incomprehensible.

But if one considered Dr. Connors’ mental state in the video, then it was understandable.

Mentally ill people have more fun, after all.

Just as you can never know what a cat is thinking, you can never peer into the thoughts of a madman.

So...

Hawk intended to leave.

He was still thinking about taking advantage of today to see if he could process those five trophies and exchange them for money, but he ended up being forced to come here.

Peter looked at Hawk, who was preparing to leave: "What about this place?"

Hawk thought for a moment.

"Burn it."

"Burn it?"