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Chapter 499 - Chapter 499: The Hero Never Returns

["That's absolutely correct! Peter Parker! This 17-year-old ruthless high school delinquent! He's the dangerous villain masquerading as Spider-Man who systematically abuses vigilante justice and terrorizes innocent people!"]

[Spider-Man turned around to look down at MJ below. She was feeling increasingly uneasy and vulnerable at that moment because all the passersby who had witnessed Spider-Man carrying her down from the sky were now staring at her with intense curiosity and suspicion.]

[A hostile stranger roughly grabbed her shoulders and demanded aggressively, "Are you Spider-Man's girlfriend? Are you his accomplice?"]

[Spider-Man witnessed MJ being surrounded by the growing hostile crowd and immediately recognized the dangerous situation developing. He instantly leaped down from the street lamp and commanded firmly, "Don't touch her! Leave her alone!"]

["There he is!"]

["You're just a pathetic little brat?"]

["Did you really murder Mysterio in cold blood?"]

["Are you his criminal accomplice? Show your real face, you cowardly little bastard!!!"]

[An angry mob surrounded both Spider-Man and MJ, hurling accusations and threats at them. There was even an overweight woman who aggressively attempted to tear off Spider-Man's protective mask.]

[MJ helped Spider-Man push the woman's grasping hands away from his face, and she immediately raised both hands and screamed dramatically, "He hit me! Spider-Man just assaulted me!"]

[Spider-Man realized that remaining in this location was extremely dangerous, so he protectively embraced MJ and pushed through the hostile crowd, holding her securely while firing web-lines to escape the threatening situation.]

[Several enraged passersby rushed forward and attempted to grab his legs to prevent his departure, but they failed to stop his escape.]

["Everyone has always admired him and foolishly regarded him as a hero! But I have always seen through his deception and considered him public enemy number one!" With J. Jonah Jameson's passionate condemnation echoing from nearby screens, Spider-Man swung away while carefully carrying MJ to safety.]

"Oh boy! I think you're going to be in serious trouble again, Jonah!" Robbie Robertson glanced sympathetically at Jameson with obvious concern.

Jameson had never anticipated that there was also a version of himself existing in the 3rd gen Spider-Man's world. He covered his forehead with his hand and felt genuinely hopeless about the situation.

But when he thought about it more carefully, there had also been a version of himself in 2nd Gen Spider-Man's world. 2nd Gen Peter Parker had also sold photographs to the Daily Bugle, and that version of Jameson had also devalued those photos to practically nothing.

However, that particular Jameson hadn't appeared prominently in the broadcasts at the time, and many viewers had overlooked this important detail.

But now he had not only appeared prominently, but had also used a maliciously modified and edited video to systematically discredit 3rd Gen Peter Parker and expose his secret identity to the world. That represented a catastrophic situation, and Jameson had an increasingly strong feeling that his newspaper's sales were going to plummet dramatically once again.

Observing Jameson's obvious distress and growing headache, Betty Brant couldn't help but laugh at his predicament, but she was afraid of being discovered by her boss so she could only cover her mouth to muffle her amusement.

1st Gen Spider-Man couldn't suppress his laughter when he saw this version of Jameson, who looked slightly different but was more than 90% similar to his own universe's version.

Although this particular elderly man had been extremely mean-spirited toward him in the sky curtain broadcasts, in his actual reality, influenced by those same broadcasts, Jameson had become a staunch supporter and fan of Spider-Man. But seeing him facing such terrible luck and consequences, 1st Gen Spider-Man still found the situation amusing.

At the same time, the overweight woman who had attempted to frame Spider-Man found herself in serious trouble. Not to mention that she had immediately believed the maliciously edited video created by Quentin Beck, the mere fact that she had tried to falsely accuse Spider-Man of assault was sufficient to cause enormous problems for everyone around her.

She was terminated from her employment that very afternoon. Also facing unfortunate consequences was Mr. Dell, who was considered by Midtown High School administration to have demonstrated complete lack of professional ethics due to his inaction shown in the sky curtain broadcasts, and he was also immediately fired.

Teacher Harrington, by contrast, received unanimous praise from parents for his excellent care of students and for refusing to shirk his responsibilities during critical moments. Many parents specifically requested that Harrington become their children's teacher.

For a brief time, Harrington became a unique figure in the educational field. He achieved overnight fame and even received attractive job offers from several prestigious schools.

[MJ clung to Spider-Man in absolute terror, "I specifically told you that I don't want to swing around anymore!"]

["MJ! I can't see where we're going – you're completely blocking my vision!"]

["Oh! Sorry!" MJ immediately pulled her hands back from Spider-Man's face, "Where exactly are we going?"]

["I honestly don't know! Maybe your home?" Spider-Man continued swinging on his web-lines, and a massive digital display on a building ahead showed a split image of half Spider-Man and half Peter Parker.]

["Absolutely not! My father will kill you on sight!"]

["What?!! You specifically told me that your dad likes me!"]

["He won't like you anymore after this disaster!" MJ felt completely exasperated. After such a massive public incident, her father would definitely insist that she stay far away from Spider-Man.]

[Spider-Man carried her to a secure iron framework and retrieved his cell phone, which was ringing with an incoming call from Ned.]

[As soon as the connection was established, Ned shouted with emotional relief, "Bro!"]

["Bro!"]

[The two friends shouted back and forth several times to release their overwhelming emotions, until MJ, who was afraid to move while positioned behind Spider-Man, also called out: "Bro!!!"]

[Spider-Man suddenly remembered that MJ was still there with him, "I'm so sorry! Are you doing okay?"]

["NO! NO! NO! I am definitely not okay!!!"]

["Hey! Peter!" Spider-Man was supporting her when he suddenly heard someone loudly shouting his name.]

[He turned around and spotted a cable car passing nearby. The passengers inside were looking at him and MJ with obvious excitement and recognition! There were also numerous people standing on the balconies of surrounding buildings waving and calling out to him.]

[Several news helicopters were also flying rapidly toward their location.]

[MJ observed that the situation was deteriorating quickly, and immediately urged Spider-Man with growing panic: "We need to leave! Let's go right now!"]

["You're the one who said we shouldn't do this!"]

[But MJ was now too terrified to maintain her previous objections, "Just swing as fast as you can!"]

[Spider-Man immediately formulated an alternative plan, "Okay! We can take the subway system instead!"]

[He leaped downward while holding MJ securely. Ned happened to be walking past that exact location. He had just seen the breaking news that Spider-Man was actually Peter Parker and was feeling completely incredulous about this revelation.]

[Spider-Man fired a web-line behind him to lift the subway grate from the street surface, and after he and MJ descended into the tunnel, he carefully restored the grate to its original position.]

[This entire process was executed so smoothly and quickly that Ned walking directly in front of them didn't even notice someone had passed behind him.]

[Upon reaching the subway tunnel system, Spider-Man continued moving forward on his web-lines, but soon an oncoming train approached their position at high speed.]

["Be careful!!!" MJ was so terrified that she squeezed her eyes shut and didn't dare to look.]

[Spider-Man swung calmly to the opposite side without panicking or losing his composure, successfully avoiding the speeding train.]

[In Queens, at Mr. Delmar's sandwich shop, which had been previously destroyed by criminals, the establishment had been completely repaired and reopened for business.]

[A manhole cover directly in front of the store was carefully lifted. Spider-Man poked his head out cautiously to survey the surrounding area, and after confirming that no one had noticed their presence, he climbed out of the sewer system.]

[MJ glared at Spider-Man with obvious annoyance, "That was actually worse than flying through the air!"]

[Spider-Man helped pull her up to street level, "Are you injured at all?"]

["Yeah! I'm fine!"]

[Before departing, Spider-Man carefully restored the manhole cover to its proper position, then opened his arms and said apologetically, "Jump up! I'm really sorry about all this!"]

[MJ wrapped her legs around his waist for security, and Spider-Man swung on his web-lines toward his apartment building, soon locating his familiar bedroom window.]

[MJ opened the window with Spider-Man's assistance, and they both climbed safely inside.]

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