Chapter 706: U: The Infinite Event (22)

Outside the lab window, the moon shone bright and the stars were sparse; inside, the room was in chaos. Otto stood amid the shattered debris, his two tentacles propping him up as he lifted himself, the four limbs moving like legs forward until he reached Zhang Pak's side.

"You're also Spider-Man?" Otto looked down at the four tentacles behind Zhang Pak—unlike Octavius's tentacles, these resembled arthropod legs, sharper at the tips, more like weapons than tools.

"I'm not Spider-Man." Zhang Pak admitted his identity for the first time. "I'm you from a parallel universe."

Otto let out a scoff and said nothing, controlling his tentacles to turn, anchoring them to the ceiling before beginning to clean up the fragments.

But Zhang Pak seemed enraged, speaking angrily: "Don't you believe me? I did better than you—I replaced Spider-Man and became the only hero in that world."

"Is that so? You're impressive. Go back to your universe. Why are you here? Don't you think I'm busy enough?" Otto bent to pick up fragments from the lab table, a hint of regret on his face.

All materials in this lab were top-grade—but Otto's mechanical tentacles used even better ones: a luxurious alloy of molten steel and vibranium, granting them unparalleled hardness. Even a light strike against the lab table shattered it.

"Where did you take them?" Zhang Pak asked.

"Who?"

"Those Spider-Men."

Otto shook his head. "They left with the agents. S. . . . . . is investigating interdimensional travel. If you chase their vehicle now, you might still catch up."

As he spoke, he put on his glasses, picked up the documents beside him, and began reading. Though weary, after venting his frustrations, he seemed calmer.

"Are you just going to stay here?" Zhang Pak took two steps forward, looking at Otto. "Live this failed life, forever defeated by Spider-Man? Don't you want to beat him?"

"Why should I beat him?" Otto asked without turning.

"He destroyed everything you had! Even if not yet, he will someday! That's who he is! His indecisiveness and cowardice will destroy this world!" The tentacles behind Zhang Pak trembled, his voice laced with fury.

Otto set down the documents, paused. His four mechanical tentacles supported him as he turned his body. His lenses reflected the moonlight outside, obscuring his gaze—but Otto was clearly not angry.

"Are you jealous of him?" Otto asked.

"I told you—I've already defeated him! I did better!" Zhang Pak insisted. "I wiped out every criminal at once. Now, New York is safe forever."

Suddenly, Zhang Pak noticed Otto removing his glasses again—his eyes felt strangely familiar. Zhang Pak remembered: at times, he himself had looked at Spider-Man with that same gaze.

"You're not me," Otto said, gazing at Zhang Pak under the moonlight. "Otto Octavius doesn't spend hours every day hovering over New York like Spider-Man. He knows it's useless."

Before Zhang Pak could reply, Otto stepped closer, locking eyes with him: "New York is safe. What about the East Coast? The entire eastern region? The West? The Americas? The whole world?"

"You're not me. You're still Spider-Man," Otto repeated. "Only immature boys think defeating every criminal with their fists will bring peace to the world."

"But Otto—that's me—I know criminals can't be eradicated. Humanity is simply like this." Otto put his glasses back on, but as he stood with his back to the light, Zhang Pak saw in his eyes a more mature thought.

"So much evil, war, bloodshed, death—this is because resources are finite. Humanity must fight over scarce resources in this tiny space."

"This leads to endless pointless conflict. But if we had infinite resources, allowing every human to live their best life, we couldn't eliminate all criminals—but we'd do far better than now."

Otto stepped even closer, his tentacles lifting him up as he looked down at Zhang Pak.

"From the beginning, I've been an energy scientist. The only way I can save this world is by securing humanity limitless clean energy—so no one fights over it anymore. That's what I'm meant to do."

"And you—if you believe defeating all criminals saves the world, then you're not me. I never considered that method."

After speaking, Otto turned back to clean the lab. Zhang Pak stood silent.

Since swapping bodies with Peter Parker, he'd been constantly rushing—setting up his own lab, building stronger gear, fighting more criminals, inventing surveillance systems to monitor the whole city, always wary of Spider-Man's retaliation.

He'd unraveled countless conspiracies, traveled to the future, then chased the Heir family, leading the Spider Legion in direct assaults—and suffered severe injuries. Zhang Pak asked himself: even if Peter Parker from his own world came, he couldn't have done better.

Had he done better than Peter Parker?

Perhaps. He'd provided armor to many, eliminated criminals, crushed the Heir family threatening Spider-Man. That immature kid had never been this strong.

But was he still Otto Octavius?

The days of being a researcher felt distant now—commuting daily, facing dull experimental data, getting angry at his lab assistant's sloppy work—like the moonlight tonight, gone the instant the sun rose.

So too vanished were Otto's own ambitions and dreams.

When he first ignited the reactor as a young man, he'd dreamed of becoming a great scientist who changed humanity's fate—like all history's greats, leaving a bold mark on humanity's path to ultimate happiness.

But that thought didn't last long. He met Spider-Man—a destined opponent.

He abandoned his ideals as an energy scientist—repairing tentacles, upgrading gear, even creating a device to swap bodies with Peter Parker.

What a magnificent invention. Yet as Zhang Pak stood here, he slowly remembered the joy he felt when he realized the body swap had truly succeeded.

Was he rejoicing in his new life?

Or was he rejoicing in becoming his enemy—the foolish boy he once looked down upon?

This new body gave him boundless vitality—and he used that vitality to do exactly what Spider-Man did: upgrade gear, fight criminals, and go even further.

Perhaps this was indeed worthy of pride. But the middle-aged, ordinary, unlucky energy scientist had vanished entirely from his universe.

Which did the world need more: Otto, or Spider-Man?

As Zhang Pak pondered this, he looked down at the scattered papers on the lab floor.

He stepped forward, picked up a sheet. It contained data he couldn't fully understand—apparently conclusions from solar observations.

"If you want to see more, the archive is next door," Otto's voice came from beside him. Zhang Pak felt his arm tremble. He walked along the wall toward the door.

He opened it. Neatly lined against the wall were several filing cabinets. Zhang Pak hurried forward, as if desperate to find an answer.

He began flipping through the files, pulling out every document—data, blueprints, conclusions, including energy devices ready for production and already in use—everything he could or couldn't comprehend.

Numbers and diagrams surrounded him. The distant memory of being a scientist surged back.

When Zhang Pak fully understood these materials, he realized: in this universe, the genius scientist Otto had saved the world—in his own way.

His stellar energy extraction device had been in practical use for less than three months. The energy harvested already equaled 30% of global coal-fired power. Within three years, it would replace most coal-generated energy on Earth—clean, pollution-free, sustainable.

Zhang Pak set down the documents, stepped out of the archive, and opened the door to the adjacent lab—the very place where the other Spider-Men had worked. There, he found more project files.

The Lizard Serum project for perfect limb regeneration with no side effects. The Mercury Base mechanical equipment project. The cryogenic chamber project to freeze terminal patients for future treatment…

Every file here represented a step toward humanity's ultimate happiness.

Minutes later, Otto looked up. The same tentacled figure reappeared at the door. Zhang Pak spoke in a hoarse voice: "The Lizard Man… I mean, Dr. Connors—where is he?"

"His lab is in Stark Tower. If I'm not mistaken, he's still working. Call Tony Stark—he always lets anyone named Peter Parker off easy."

Otto's words faded into the moonlight. The tentacled figure at the door was gone.

In Stark Tower's lab, Connors rubbed his wrist, set down his pen, finished recording the final data set. He was about to leave when he turned toward the door. Bathed in moonlight stood a figure with four tentacles.

"Otto? Oh, you're not Otto. Peter?? You had mechanical tentacle surgery too?" Connors stared, surprised, at Zhang Pak at the door.

"I…" Zhang Pak opened his mouth. He looked at Connors—the once cruel, bloodthirsty Lizard Doctor—quieter than he'd imagined. For some reason, everyone in this universe seemed more focused, self-contained, balanced—radiating an inner calm.

Connors studied Zhang Pak, sensing he wasn't the Peter he knew. But his gaze settled on Zhang Pak's waist. "You're injured. And badly."

He turned, opened a cabinet, retrieved two syringes, walked over, and handed them to Zhang Pak. "Tested, mature version. One shot fully heals wounds. Regenerates severed limbs."

Zhang Pak silently took the syringes. After a pause, he asked: "Can I take them with me?"

"Where are you going?"

Zhang Pak turned to the window. The extra-bright moonlight. He spoke slowly, with nostalgia: "Home."

"You're going home?" Peter looked him up and down. "Now?"

"Yes. How you brought me here, bring me back."

"The problem is—I don't even know how I brought you here," Peter said, holding a thick stack of documents, his face twisted in distress.

"The secret of magic is manifesting your will," Zhang Pak repeated the phrase Peter had muttered before sending them over. "If you know magic, use it to send me back."

"... 'll try. No guarantees." Peter sighed, placed his hand on Zhang Pak's shoulder, focused hard, muttering: "Manifest your will, manifest your will…"

A flash of light. Zhang Pak appeared in silent space. He gripped the transporter, used his spider-sense to connect with the spider totem, and pinpointed his universe.

Instantly, he stood in a familiar room. Outside the window, surveillance drones flew past. Police and security on the streets wore armor he'd designed himself.

Zhang Pak looked down at the Lizard Serum in his hand. He took a deep breath—as if making a decision requiring immense courage.

In a corner he'd nearly forgotten, Otto Octavius's broken body lay preserved. Zhang Pak walked to it, placed the syringes in its hand, and activated the body-swap device.

As the machine activated, he heard Peter Parker's soul fragment whisper inside him: "No! Don't do this! Your body's dying—you'll die—"

"Fool."

The words ended. Octavius opened his eyes again.

Otto felt the immense pain of this dying body—broken, aged, aching—far worse than the young, healthy one he'd left.

Yet he smiled. He clenched the Lizard Serum and drove it hard into his shoulder.

Moments later, four massive mechanical tentacles erupted from the ground along New York's skyline.

A middle-aged man in a trench coat and sunglasses stood again in the sunlight. He inhaled deeply, turned toward the bustling city center and the sun hanging high above.

The Spider-Man who had reclaimed his body leapt from the ceiling hole, extended his tentacles, and said: "Doctor Octopus, calm down. I don't think you're evil. We can talk!"

Otto looked at him, took a deep breath—and a roar of fury, aimed at Spider-Man, aimed at himself, shattered through the city's clouds, echoing over New York:

"Spider-Man!

You'd rather spend three hours every day flying over New York than spend a moment worrying about humanity's future!

!

!"