After checking into the hotel, the three of them first went to buy some daily necessities. After all, theoretically, they were still part of the tour group; although the Peter Parker back there was an LMD, Peter hadn't told anyone about this except for Gwen.
As for why he told Gwen, it was mainly out of concern that she would see through it immediately and worry about him. Peter was quite certain that Gwen could distinguish the difference between himself and an LMD.
Then, Peter paid a visit to a local exotic pet shop to inquire about news regarding his father. In truth, Peter estimated that searching this way wouldn't yield much result. Throughout the entire process, the strangest point was actually this: why did Richard Parker specifically come to Italy to find the Tarantola wolf spider?
Did he know something, or learn of something, that made him certain this was what the Savage Strength Project needed most? If that partner wasn't someone Richard Parker met in Taranto but someone he had encountered back in the United States, then going on like this would just be looking for a needle in a haystack.
But to his surprise, Peter actually managed to get news about his father at the pet shop.
"Professor Richard's son? I remember him. He bought Tarantola wolf spiders from us, said he was going to do experiments. Not only did he buy quite a few at the start, but we also shipped them to the U.S. several times afterward. However, he stopped ordering a few years ago."
As the owner spoke, he pointed to several boxes on the side. They contained some Tarantola wolf spiders, which were already considerably different from the modified spiders Jonathan was currently tending to. As Peter looked at the spiders, he asked, "Did he ever say why it had to be wolf spiders native to Taranto, rather than ones bred in America?"
The owner shook his head. He wasn't some inquisitive child who had to ask about everything; if a customer said they needed local wolf spiders, he sold them. What else was he supposed to do?
Peter thought for a moment and asked the next question.
"Was there anyone else with him?"
"No, besides your mother, no one else came along." The owner thought for a moment after speaking: "Maybe a driver? I saw that neither of them were the ones driving. Of course, I didn't see what the driver looked like."
"..."
Peter furrowed his brow. Who exactly was this so-called partner, and why were they so mysterious?
"If you're looking for traces of your father, maybe you could check out the Ancient Greek or Roman ruins in the old town or along the coastline. He asked us if the spiders were caught from those places; perhaps he went there."
Peter nodded somewhat confusedly and then left the pet shop.
"How was it?"
"Same as expected, almost no useful information. If clues could be found this easily, S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't have ended up with nothing."
Felicia was a bit disappointed to hear this answer, but she didn't say anything. Cindy, however, looked at Peter: "No clues at all?"
"It's not exactly a clue, but let's head to the old town and visit the Ancient Greek ruins there."
Peter sighed and shook his head helplessly. Felicia just shrugged. The three of them arrived in the city center with nothing better to do. In the old town, there were some Ancient Greek-style buildings, but in reality, true Ancient Greek ruins should be buried deep underground. Peter walked around with a sense of helplessness and disappointment, but suddenly, he froze.
Peter looked toward Cindy.
Felicia noticed the two of them dazing off and looked at them with slight dissatisfaction: "What's wrong? Did you think of something again?"
Peter hadn't thought of anything; his Spider-Sense was tingling. So he looked at Cindy, and Cindy looked at Felicia: "We might... have sensed something. Peter, could your father be..."
"No, it's unlikely. It's improbable that he was a Spider-Totem; I don't believe S.H.I.E.L.D. would fail at something like a blood test." Peter shook his head and then confirmed one thing: "But if that's the case... then my father's so-called partner might have been a Spider-Totem."
Felicia was temporarily bewildered. After Peter and Cindy exchanged a glance, they reached a decision.
"We'll come back tonight. We'll change into our suits and find out exactly what is triggering the Spider-Sense when no one is around."
Peter was almost impatient; he wanted to know exactly what his father had discovered here. He waited with barely contained anticipation until nightfall, then donned his black suit under the cover of darkness. He then moved across the buildings to determine exactly where his Spider-Sense was being agitated. After he and Cindy confirmed the intensity of the Spider-Sense, they immediately located the target, pried open a nearby manhole cover, and jumped down.
Felicia followed closely behind. They moved hunched over through the sewers until they reached a corner. Peter punched the sewer wall, then kicked away the bricks and crawled inside. Ahead was a tunnel with obvious signs of excavation. The moment he touched the tunnel, he understood why S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't find this place.
"There's actually a magical barrier here..."
Peter muttered as he led the way in. They moved hunched through the tunnel until it finally opened up at the end, and the Spider-Sense of the two Spider-Totems went silent at that moment. Light appeared inexplicably in the surrounding dark space, illuminating these Ancient Roman ruins that had been buried underground for over a thousand years.
Felicia felt a shiver of dread because there were dense clusters of spiders everywhere. These Tarantola wolf spiders, about ten centimeters in length, didn't spin webs but were huddled together in massive numbers, retreating like a tide upon the appearance of light.
"Even though I'm Spider-Man, I have to say, this is pretty creepy..."
As Peter spoke, he looked deep into the space. Two statues stood there. One was a young woman in Ancient Egyptian attire; Peter had seen her while studying magic. This was Neith, the Goddess of Weaving. He looked at a line of words glowing beneath the divine statue and involuntarily read out the script he didn't recognize: "The weaver of the Web of Destiny; her mother misappropriated her name and became the Mother of the Nile Gods."
It meant that the Mother of Gods, Neith, in Egyptian mythology was actually Gaea? That made sense; the Gaea of the Marvel Universe was basically the Mother of Gods in all mythologies, possessing a vast number of aliases.
The other divine statue was a burly man in West African attire. Coincidentally, Peter had seen him too—and had even given him a beating.
"The first Spider-Totem, the God of Lies and Stories; he spread the knowledge of the Spider-Totem across the entire Web of Destiny."
Peter took a step back. He understood what this place was.
"This is a temple where Spider-Totems worship Neith and Anansi."