Chapter 2596

Shiler turned into a mist, and Venom instantly armed himself. The two of them sprinted through the streets of Brooklyn, but when they finally saw that familiar figure, he was the only one on the street.

Shiler landed, and Eddie also slammed heavily onto the ground. Peter turned his head, saw them, and said, "Oh, you're here."

"What's going on?" Shiler asked.

This was actually very wrong, Shiler thought. Currently, there were very few people on Earth who could beat Peter, and even fewer who could outrun Barry. Since that was the case, when they encountered an enemy, shouldn't Peter be the one to knock them down first, and then Barry would bring them back together? Why did Barry have to come back alone to call them?

"I ran into an invisible guy," Peter said. "I can't see him, but he can attack me. It's a bit too weird, so I called you guys to come and see what's going on."

Eddie frowned slightly, but Shiler walked to Peter's side, looked him up and down, and asked, "Did you wear your suit's goggles? Is thermal imaging useless too?"

Peter shook his head and said, "All the visual methods I have mastered cannot see him."

"Have you tried spirit-realm vision?"

Peter was stunned and said, "No, I didn't remember that I could still use magic."

This Peter in Shiler's universe could use magic. To be precise, he had energy in his body, the result of stealing electricity some time ago. Although he had never learned to cast magic, he could still activate spirit-realm vision.

"Give me your goggles," Shiler said, reaching out.

Peter took out his mask and handed it to Shiler. This was originally Stark Industries technology, and later Peter added some functions himself. Although it looked like a thin superhero mask on the surface, it was actually an all-around, multi-functional monitoring and analysis instrument.

After Shiler took the mask, he channeled a bit of magic energy into it, letting it attach to the eye area. This allowed Peter to possess spirit-realm vision to observe the flow of magic energy.

"He got away," Barry said. "I couldn't see him either, and there was no sign of him in the Speed Force. I just searched this entire district, and I really didn't find any traces."

"He targeted you, which is no accident," Shiler speculated. "Since that's the case, he will definitely come looking for you again. Have you fought him yet?"

"No, it was basically me getting beaten one-sidedly just now. However, I did show off my ability to run faster and jump higher. Will that make him wary?"

"No, a smart person wouldn't choose to make a move here. And if he's an idiot, he could never guess that you are Spider-Man. Let's go back first and come out for a stroll again tonight."

Shiler and the others carried the barbecue and beer they had bought and walked back. When they turned the corner, Shiler saw the name on the street sign. It read Witt Street, the very street he had seen in the newspaper earlier where gang members were active.

"Invisible gang members?" Shiler muttered to himself.

In reality, he was searching his mind for possible names. Such a unique attribute shouldn't belong to a nobody. As long as the character had appeared in the comics, Shiler could find their information in his memory.

Before he finished searching, the group had already returned to the newspaper base. It was getting dark. Eddie pulled down the rolling shutter, turned on the lights in the room, placed the fragrant meat skewers on the table, put the beer on the edge of the coffee table, and went to the fridge to get a bottle of orange juice for Barry.

The cups clinked together, and the splashing water shimmered with a bright luster under the lights. A ball game was playing on the television nearby, and the group began to feast.

American barbecue is less about roasting and more about grilling meat. Except for some bell pepper skewers, there was no room for vegetables here. Each iron skewer was threaded with fist-sized chunks of meat, rich in juices and creamy in flavor.

In addition, there was roasted chicken on two iron wires, a large pile of roasted chicken wings and legs. The heat was just right, the golden, crispy skin dripping with clear oil, and it was coated with a layer of the shop's secret chili sauce.

The shop's specialty was black pepper roasted beef short ribs. The bone part of the short ribs was punched with holes, and they were densely threaded onto the skewers in a flat shape, making the skewer look like a club from a distance.

Peter took a big bite; the entrance was exceptionally tender, followed by the rich aroma of meat, and finally the black pepper aroma that made one's nose run. At this time, paired with a sip of refreshing home-brewed beer, the meeting of the golden wind and dew was better than countless encounters in the human world.

"You look a bit angry," Eddie said with a smile. "Getting beaten one-sidedly really doesn't feel good, right?"

"I'm not angry that I didn't beat him, but that I didn't even remember I could use magic." Peter's voice was muffled, and he bit into the meat skewer as if venting, saying, "Other Spider-Men seem to be very good at fighting, their brains are very sharp when they start fighting, but I'm always a bit off. I don't have any talent for fighting."

"This isn't a talent issue. You don't think about how much time other Spider-Men spent fighting on the streets before they came, and how much time you spent." Shiler comforted him, "You haven't fought many fights since you were a child, so how could you have combat intuition that surpasses ordinary people?"

Peter nodded and said, "When I was training with Batman before, I discovered that I don't like to adapt to changing circumstances. I prefer things that have rules and logic, deducing the next step from the previous one. This is the way this world operates."

"Just like a spider weaving a web."

Peter's eyes lit up, and he looked at Shiler and said, "Do you think so? Doctor, even if I can't fight, I can still be called Spider-Man, right?"

"Of course you can. If you said you weren't Spider-Man now, it would cause a sensation." Shiler said, "This has nothing to do with the powerful strength you gained after being bitten by a spider, nor does it have anything to do with your outfit being exactly the same as other Spider-Men. You once used practical actions to win such a title for yourself, so it is what you deserve."

"I'm preparing to hold a wedding with Gwen," Peter suddenly changed the subject.

Shiler keenly grasped the relationship between these two topics and said, "Has the identity of Spider-Man affected the progress of your personal life? Or is it the other way around?"

"Nothing can be hidden from you, Doctor." Peter gave a wry smile and said, "If we get married, we must have a stable family life. A responsible husband cannot run out in the middle of the night, and do it every single day."

"George also doesn't want his daughter's husband to be Spider-Man, because we want to get married, have children, and raise them together. The profession of Spider-Man is too unstable and too dangerous for a family."

"Although I think this is no different from professions like firefighters, I know that one cannot force others to form a family with a firefighter or let relatives form a family with a firefighter. Firefighters at least have pensions if they sacrifice themselves, but Spider-Man doesn't. There is already a precedent."

Shiler then remembered that Peter was the third-generation Spider-Man. Although the first two generations were actually himself, from the perspective of public knowledge, the endings of the first two generations were not very good. It was no wonder George still couldn't let go of this knot.

"When do you and Gwen plan to have children? Within a few years?"

"It's too early to consider this now," Peter muttered, "I don't think we are ready."

"I think you should have understood the significance of childbirth to women. George thinks that if you die one day because of this Spider-Man identity, then what Gwen pays and gains during the childbirth process will not only not become good news for this family, but will become a burden for the rest of her life. I think this is what he wants to express."

Peter thought for a while and said, "I have seen many single mothers. Their lives are too difficult, almost like living in hell. I don't want Gwen to live such a life."

"Then besides you not being Spider-Man, there is another way, which is that you can delay having children," Shiler said.

"But in the end, we will still want a child. By that time, I still may not be able to give up my superhero career, but the risks of Gwen giving birth will increase. I can't do that."

Peter lowered his eyes, the gentle look on his face like the wind blowing into the window in spring. Many traces of time could already be seen between his brows and the corners of his eyes. The youthful spirit that was always sharp on him was brewing into the fine wine condensed by a mature man after seeing everything.

"Becoming a superhero is my dream. Except for me, no one should pay the price or bear extra risks for this. I am even less willing for Gwen or George to do this for me."

"Gwen is willing to support you in chasing your dreams."

"That's because she loves me, but one person's love is a gift, not capital. It should be carefully cherished and stored, not spent like money to exchange for something for oneself. This is a very selfish approach, and those who do this are not worthy of love."

Shiler sighed. He originally wanted to talk to Peter and help him resolve his knot, but now he wanted to say how could he talk; he couldn't talk at all.

"You have raised the average mental health of all humans in the world. Come, come, come, this position of psychologist is yours, you sit here."

"I have always been unable to determine whether I really don't have the ability to step forward and maintain public order like other Spider-Men, because I am always thinking about why they can do it but I can't."

"But now it seems that perhaps this is the fact. From the beginning, I didn't choose to take this path. I haven't received sufficient education in this direction, haven't undergone sufficient practice, and haven't achieved any results, so naturally, it's very difficult to do it with ease."

"It's just that the spider mutation gave me such powerful strength, allowing me to be able to do these things, but I didn't do it. If this strength were given to someone else, I could also become a scientist, but that person could take the strength and help others like Spider-Man. Isn't that better for the world?"

"Then you can give it to me, I like Spider-Man's strength the most!" Venom opened his big mouth and leaned over to say, "As long as you let me eat one-third of your brain, then..."

Eddie pressed Venom back down.

"Venom's appearance broke the heavy atmosphere," Peter said irritably. "You just like Spider-Man! There is more than one Spider-Man in the group who has complained that you harassed them! How can you do this?"

"What do you mean by harassment?!!! I just happened to meet them when they were swinging around!!"

"I mean your host now is Eddie. If you do this, Eddie will be very sad. Can't alien life understand what loyalty and fidelity mean?! You fickle person!"

"I..." Venom was choked for a moment, then muttered in a low voice, "I didn't want to leave Eddie, but Spider-Man's brain is really fragrant..."

"I testify," the Gray Mist said, "It's much more fragrant than the barbecue in your hands. The whole person is fragrant. Oh my god, there are thousands of fragrant meat steaks swinging around over New York!"

Shiler had just grasped some key points from Peter's words when he was interrupted by their digression. Now his mind was full of images of meat steaks swinging around over New York.

Shiler cleared his throat, pulled his thoughts back, looked at Peter, and said, "So what do you want to do?"

"I'm thinking about whether I can give the spider mutation ability to someone else," Peter said. "With great power comes great responsibility, but now I have this ability but can't exert it to the greatest extent. Scientific research and family life occupy too much of my time, making me unable to bear the responsibility of Spider-Man. Perhaps changing to someone else would be better?"

"Then you don't want to be a superhero anymore?"

"I don't care if I am a hero, I only care if there will be one more hero in the world."