Chapter 68: Witness the Birth of Spider-Man
"Harry, so your father is Mr. Norman Osborn? I remember seeing him on the cover of Time magazine last year—March issue, I think."
This classmate—whose name Harry couldn't quite remember—was clearly trying to cozy up to him. Harry responded politely and appropriately.
In the past, Harry had avoided mentioning his father. The strict and demanding Norman had made it difficult for Harry to ever feel what people called "fatherly love."
But since reconciling with his father, Harry had truly come to feel Norman's affection and was proud of having a father who had single-handedly built the Osborn Group with tireless dedication.
"Harry, you're being too flashy today! I don't want to draw so much attention," Peter whispered to Harry.
"Hey, bro, do you realize how smart you are? You just lack confidence! You can't keep waiting around for Gwen to notice you. You've got to be brave and take the first step!"
Harry understood Peter's concerns, but from his point of view, Peter's problem was simply low self-confidence.
"This is Osborn Group's newly established Cross-Species Biogenetics Lab. The research is mainly focused on arthropods. For example, here's a genetically modified spider we've developed that can produce incredibly tough silk—five times stronger than Kevlar."
"But we're currently facing some challenges in increasing its production output."
"What about these ones?" Peter pointed to a few spiders in the corner of the lab, clearly not part of the current mainstream research.
"Those are failed prototypes—useless for now. The researcher originally in charge of the project died in a plane crash, and since the project hadn't made much progress anyway, it was scrapped," Harry explained.
"Peter?"
"Aunt May? What are you doing here?" Peter was surprised. He remembered May telling him she worked at a medical center.
"I'm technically an employee of Osborn Group. Didn't you say your school had a field trip to Osborn today?"
Only now did Peter and Aunt May realize they'd both overlooked the connection—leading to this unexpected encounter.
"Aren't you going to introduce me, May?"
Peter then noticed a tall man beside May. He looked young but carried the air of someone in authority—probably May's superior.
"I'm Peter's guardian. Peter, this is my boss, Uchiha Akira. He's also one of Osborn Group's major shareholders."
"Nice to meet you, Peter Parker, right? I've heard a lot about you from May. She says you're a very bright young man. You've made a good first impression on me too. If you ever consider a career in biological research, I'd be happy to welcome you to my team someday."
Uchiha Akira was getting used to his new role. As a capitalist, giving ambitious young people a big dream to chase was part of the job description.
Start feeding them the dream while they're young.
And Peter Parker, by all accounts, was not lacking in scientific potential.
"Mr. Uchiha, Peter is my friend." Harry suddenly cut in, his tone subtly defensive.
"Harry, the more friends, the better, right? We're friends too," Uchiha Akira smiled and patted Harry on the shoulder, but inside, he took note of Harry's micro-expressions.
Clearly, Harry was instinctively wary of him. Could this be Norman's influence?
Akira considered this silently. Harry was no longer the confused boy he had first met. Perhaps Harry hadn't realized it himself, but during the conversation, he unconsciously showed signs of guardedness.
Just then, Peter suddenly let out a loud cry.
"Ah!"
"What's wrong, Peter?"
"I think something bit me!"
With sharp eyes, Uchiha Akira immediately spotted the little spider trying to scurry away after the "crime." Calmly, he channeled chakra into his hand, casually grabbed the spider, and slipped it into his pocket.
The move was smooth and subtle—like brushing away dust. While everyone was focused on Peter, Akira took out a test tube and successfully captured the spider.
But something strange happened—he noticed another small spider crawling onto Gwen Stacy's hand. Gwen, who had been helping check on Peter, didn't even notice it had landed on her.
System Notification:You have witnessed the birth of Spider-Man. Title unlocked: Observer. As an otherworldly traveler, your journey will continuously intersect with major events. You may observe or participate in the secrets of the universe.
Reward: Basic Swordsmanship Mastery
System:Perhaps the birth of Spider-Man isn't such a legend after all. His morality, even his future path, may rest entirely in your hands. Train him well—he might just become your most loyal follower.
Uchiha Akira was stunned by the sudden system reward. What kind of mission was this? Witnessing Spider-Man's birth? Could simply being present during a major event also trigger system rewards?
Had he just unlocked some hidden mechanic?
Since this was his first time encountering something like this, Akira wasn't entirely sure what it meant. But from now on, he'd be more observant. For instance, witnessing the birth of Iron Man might be another easy reward.
In fact, Akira had never paid much attention to Spider-Man's importance. Truth be told, Spider-Man was usually just a side character in New York.
When it came to cosmic-level events, Spider-Man's contributions were relatively minor. At most, he was just a "friendly neighborhood Spider-Man."
In terms of raw combat strength, at his peak he was roughly equivalent to a Kage-level shinobi. That's thanks to his danger-sense and super strength. But in terms of lethality, he was definitely weaker than an elite jonin. Of course, that's not factoring in Spider-Man's high intelligence.
Ninjas, after all, excelled at completing missions by any means necessary. Spider-Man? Not so much.
"Alright, everyone, no need to crowd around. I think we should take Peter to the hospital just to be safe. This is Osborn Group's fault, and I'll take full responsibility," said Uchiha Akira.
His candid acknowledgment of Osborn's negligence and willingness to shoulder responsibility earned him praise from the group.
"May, take Peter to the Uchiha Medical Center. It's one of my companies. Just get him checked out—it'll give everyone peace of mind. Don't underestimate these insects. Even if they're not poisonous, they can cause severe allergic reactions."
May nodded in agreement, grateful for her boss's generosity.
The small commotion quickly died down. The lab supervisor was given a harsh lecture by Harry—after all, even failed spider specimens needed to be properly managed. Incidents like this pointed to weak lab management.
If a gossip outlet got wind of this, it could turn into a full-blown PR disaster.
Aunt May accompanied Peter to the Uchiha Medical Center, where they were greeted by a newly hired, very voluptuous nurse. May entrusted Peter to her care.
"Hi, I'm XXX. You're May's kid, right?"
"Uh-huh," Peter replied shyly, partly because the nurse was quite... stunning. Standing so close, Peter could practically see the veins in her neck and collarbone.
While Peter was distracted, the nurse swiftly drew six full tubes of blood. Why so many? Even she wasn't sure. In her hazy memory, someone had told her to do it, but she couldn't remember who.
Peter, head lowered in embarrassment, didn't notice the nurse filling tube after tube. By the time she finished, his head was starting to feel dizzy.
Poor innocent Peter had no idea—his dizziness wasn't from the bite. It was just because she drew too much blood
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