Chapter 420-427
Four Hundred and Twenty, Spider Silk Cindy Moon
Locke sneezed.
"Alright, old man, don't be so angry."
"Next time you use me as a shield, can you at least tell me in advance?"
"Okay, I have something to do, I'll definitely tell you in advance next time."
With that said.
Locke hung up the phone with Chester, then handed his ticket to the ticket taker at the Columbia Science and Technology Center. After passing through security, he walked inside the center.
Chester had called to demand an explanation.
But... Locke was already used to it.
And, tell him in advance?
If he could have told him in advance, would he have needed to drag Chester out in an emergency?
Locke felt like laughing. Thinking of the bloodstains on his trousers, he couldn't help but shake his head. There was nothing he could do; working overtime at night was already difficult, and the workload was quite heavy. Even Locke found it hard to guarantee that no mistakes would occur.
Actually, last night he could have just done his business from a distance without getting any bloodstains, but who told Locke to be so kind? While working last night, he happened to come across a kidnapped girl, so he untied her after he was done.
It was then that the bloodstains accidentally got on him.
But it was fine, he had bluffed his way through it.
Locke thought to himself as he followed a group of high school students, seemingly from another New York high school visiting the tech center, into the spacious hall.
Upon entering.
Locke's gaze instantly fell on the exhibition stand not far away, cordoned off with police tape.
Just then.
Ahead, a few female students from an unknown high school, seeing Locke, gathered together, glanced in his direction, whispered something, and then, one high school girl was pushed forward.
"Hello."
"...Hello."
Locke snapped back to reality and looked at the female student standing in front of him, who was about 170cm tall, with brown eyes and long black hair. He offered his refined, gentle, and gentlemanly smile: "Can I help you?"
"You are..."
Cindy Moon turned her head to look at her three classmates not far away, then looked back at Locke: "You're Locke Broughton, Locke Broughton from Midtown High, right?"
Locke nodded: "That's right."
Cindy Moon turned her head again, nodded to her three classmates, then extended her right hand to Locke: "Hello, my name is Moon, Cindy Moon, from Long Island High School."
The three female classmates behind her also came over, introduced themselves, and then declared that they were all Locke's fans. They had bought five copies of his photobook alone and pressed Locke about when he would release the second one, or if he could privately show them his amazing physique.
Damn Cindy.
After hearing the words "photobook," Locke once again thought of Cindy, who had tricked him into taking the photobook to gain popularity. He inwardly grumbled twice, maintaining a calm expression as he shook hands with Cindy Moon and the three other female classmates from Long Island High School. He chuckled and said that the second photobook was in the works, but it wouldn't be out so soon.
There was nothing he could do.
The customer is always right, after all.
As everyone knows, a certain Mr. Locke deeply respects God, almost mentioning God daily. And, in a way, Locke's ability to achieve financial freedom was also thanks to Cindy Moon and her three classmates.
At the very least, five hundred US dollars of Locke's two hundred million dollars came from Cindy Moon and her three classmates.
"Oh, by the way."
Cindy Moon asked curiously, "Locke, wasn't Midtown High's visit yesterday? Why are you only coming today?"
Locke smiled and said, "I had something yesterday afternoon. I happen to be free today, so I came to take a look."
"Together?"
"Thanks, but I need to go to the security office in a bit. You know, our school seemed to have a little incident here yesterday."
"We heard about it."
Through any three high school students in New York City, you could inquire about almost anything happening in high schools across New York City and its surrounding areas. Moreover, Midtown High was currently very popular in New York City, and it even had the presence of Locke Broughton, implicitly considered the number one male heartthrob of New York City high schools. Naturally, any gossip within Midtown High would quickly spread to other high schools.
The incident that occurred at Columbia involving Midtown High yesterday was no exception.
Cindy Moon said, "Oh," realizing that Locke was not only the number one heartthrob but also the student body president of Midtown High. She then looked at her three classmates, flashed a brilliant smile at Locke, and said, "Alright, Locke, we won't bother you then. Text you?"
As she spoke.
Cindy Moon smiled and made a phone gesture.
Just now, Cindy Moon and her three fair-skinned female classmates, thanks to their excellent looks and figures, successfully exchanged contact information with Locke, and even passed the friend verification on the chat app.
Locke nodded: "Okay."
Adding friends was merely out of politeness.
As for anything else?
It had been almost half a year since Wanda transferred, and Locke had spoken to Wanda no more than five thousand times. If he could remain unfazed by Wanda, how much more so with these three rural high school girls who, while good-looking, lacked some of Wanda's charisma?
Cindy Moon was actually quite nice.
Locke watched as Cindy Moon and the others followed their main group, turning towards another exhibition hall. He withdrew his gaze, letting it fall back on the cordoned-off exhibition stand, thinking to himself.
He wouldn't be a scumbag, but it's human nature to appreciate all beautiful things.
Locke was no exception.
However, a mere appreciation was enough; there would certainly be no further action. After all, compared to his appreciation for Cindy Moon's beauty, Locke was more curious about whether a little spider had crawled out here yesterday and bitten Peter Parker.
Transer!
Witch form!
In Locke's eyes, endless energy surged forth. He put on his sunglasses, concealing his eyes that were beginning to bloom like a kaleidoscope, and looked towards the sealed exhibition stand.
Instantly.
The flow of time at the exhibition stand seemed to halt, then began to rewind rapidly like a tape being rewound.
Immediately after.
With a thud, the scene froze.
Peter Parker, leaning against a pillar at the exhibition stand, holding his camera, and Flash and Eddie behind Peter Parker, who seemed to have noticed him and were talking, all appeared in Locke's vision.
The next second.
The scene played at double speed.
Flash and Eddie walked up to Peter Parker, who was secretly taking pictures of Mary Jane, and tried to snatch Peter Parker's camera, which provoked Peter Parker's resistance and also attracted the attention of other nearby classmates.
As Cindy had said, upon seeing the surrounding classmates gather, Peter Parker, seeing his camera about to be snatched by Flash and Eddie, became agitated. Then, with a wave of his hand.
Bang!
The camera flew up, arced gracefully through the air, and then smashed the glass cover of a device on the exhibition stand. Immediately after, the device inside rolled out, instantly triggering the alarm.
"Stop."
Locke raised an eyebrow and thought to himself, the screen instantly zoomed in, and then a colorful, clearly not-so-normal spider appeared in Locke's line of sight: "Well, well."
Continue.
The paused scene instantly resumed playing at double speed until, in the chaos, the spider, which seemed to have been illuminated by the device and fallen into a state of confusion, quickly fled. Then, it accidentally bumped into Peter Parker, who had been pushed to the ground, deftly dodged, and after biting Peter Parker on the neck, it paused again.
Locke rubbed his chin: "Interesting."
This should be what happens in the first movie of the ordinary Spider-Man.
But... why is this spider a bit strange?
Let's put it this way.
The life aura emanating from this spider seemed somewhat similar to Peter Parker's life aura. If it were a bit similar after being bitten, it would be understandable, as there was a material exchange between them.
But when Locke first saw the little spider, its life aura seemed very close to Peter Parker's.
And... Locke quickly rewound again, freezing the scene at the little spider's first appearance. Then, his gaze tracked the little spider, following its origin, and then Locke's gaze fell on the floor.
This little spider seemed to have struggled out from under the floor just as Peter Parker walked over.
Coincidence?
Locke never believed in that.
And... Locke stared at the floor for a while, then looked up, closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, a faint line of life aura appeared in his vision.
The life aura line of that colorful, not-so-normal spider, after biting Peter Parker, didn't die on the spot. Instead, it quickly fled towards the back of the hall.
Locke walked with his hands in his pockets, like other high school students casually strolling through the exhibition hall, stopping and starting. He then followed the life aura of the not-so-normal spider all the way to the restroom on the first floor of the exhibition hall.
He looked up.
Locke's mouth twitched as he saw the life aura, coincidentally, extending directly into the women's restroom.
Well, well.
It really was as they said, colorful and clearly not a normal spider. It didn't go to the men's restroom, but insisted on running into the women's restroom. If this isn't called abnormal, then what is? Sleeping in the toilet bowl of the women's restroom?
Locke shook his head, saw there was no surveillance here, and prepared to just grab that abnormal spider.
Just then.
"Ah!"
"Help!!!"
421. Spider Army
"Bang!"
"Hiss!"
Hearing the screams from the women's restroom, Locke raised an eyebrow, walked straight up, and kicked the door open with force.
Good heavens, it was indeed a mischievous spider.
But… "Hiss!"
After kicking open the women's restroom door, Locke gasped, a chill running directly from his tailbone to the top of his head as he took in the sight before him: "Good heavens."
Before his eyes.
At this very moment, the floor of the women's restroom was covered in spiders, densely packed, countless spiders the size of sesame seeds emerging from the cracks along the edges of the floor.
It was like a fountain!
If someone with trypophobia had been there, they might not have fainted directly, but they would probably have died on the spot.
"God!"
"…"
Locke snapped back to reality, following his gaze to the woman crouched on the sink like a rock climber, and raised an eyebrow: "Muen?"
The woman squatting on the sink turned her head to look at Locke, and then a hint of surprise, mixed with a little astonishment, appeared on her terrified face: "Locke?"
The next second.
Cindy Muen's face was instantly filled with a plea for help: "Help!"
Just then.
The security personnel of the Columbia Technology Center also rushed over upon hearing the screams. At first, a few of them saw Locke standing in the women's restroom and thought he was a hooligan. Then, they heard Cindy Muen's voice from inside, and upon seeing the dense, crawling spiders that had already covered the entire floor and were threatening to spill out, their scalps instantly prickled.
"Holy shit!"
"Oh my God!"
"Oh my goodness."
"Did someone poke a spider's nest?"
"Ugh!"
The crowd, always eager for a spectacle, and students from Long Island High School also ran over. Seeing the scene, they all jumped in fright. Some girls, looking at the scalp-prickling swarm of spiders, even changed color, then turned their heads and started to retch.
"Help!"
Cindy Muen, still crouched on the sink in the restroom, was on the verge of tears. Seeing the countless creatures densely crawling up the corners, she took off her jacket, endured the nausea, and waved away the advancing spider swarm: "Ah!"
Cindy Muen couldn't help but cry out in pain, instinctively swatting at her neck with her right hand. Then, seeing a colorful spider, clearly not an ordinary one, dangling from her hand, her eyes narrowed instantly.
The next second.
Cindy immediately rolled her eyes and was about to faint.
"Get out of the way!"
"Poof!"
"Thud!"
Locke, holding a fire extinguisher, raised his eyebrows, shouted, pushed aside the security guards who clearly lacked professional training, and then directly activated the fire extinguisher, spraying it at the spider swarm on the ground.
Instantly.
The spiders scattered in all directions, clearing a spot where he could land.
"Thud!"
Locke threw the fire extinguisher aside, then quickly picked up Cindy Muen, who had fainted on the sink. He glanced at the colorful spider, which had disappeared with a whoosh into the cracks like a pangolin, his eyes narrowing. Then, seeing the spiders once again surging out of the floor cracks, he immediately turned around, carrying Cindy Muen, and rushed out of the restroom just before the spiders could make a comeback.
The next second.
A massive army of spiders began to spread out of the restroom.
Before long.
The entire exhibition hall of the Columbia Technology Center instantly descended into chaos. By the time Locke carried Cindy Muen and ran out of the exhibition hall with the crowd, almost everyone had evacuated.
Some people had expressions of fear and terror on their faces.
Others had faces full of confusion, not knowing why there had been a sudden emergency evacuation.
Had someone planted a bomb inside?
However, thoughts were just thoughts; this did not affect the orderly, even skilled, and somewhat heart-wrenching evacuation movements of the crowd.
"Here."
Locke handed Cindy Muen to the three girls who had been talking to her and him earlier.
The three girls quickly took Cindy Muen, then frantically called out her name, trying to wake her up.
"It's nothing."
Seeing the three girls on the verge of tears, Locke said, "She just fainted. She'll be fine after a good sleep."
"Really?"
"Mm."
And she'll even level up.
Locke thought to himself, then looked at the bustling technology center, where people were enthusiastically spraying fire extinguishers at the dense spiders, and a tiny bit of curiosity arose in his heart.
These spiders… they were coming for him.
But… he had never killed a single spider in his life, from childhood to now.
Locke was very righteous about this statement. If he had said he had never killed a person in his life, he would be lying, but about spiders, he was absolutely certain.
Moreover.
Locke looked at the police cars, with their wailing sirens, and the ambulances arriving at the scene nearby. He glanced at Cindy Muen, who was being carried by a teacher towards an ambulance, and frowned.
It was quite amazing, really.
Although Gwen said her pet spider, Jelly, was dead, gone.
But… from a certain perspective, the one that bit Cindy Muen was also Jelly. Yet, that colorful spider was clearly the same spider that shared a life essence with Peter Parker.
Very mysterious.
Locke thought to himself.
Gwen might know something, but she didn't intend to say it, and Locke wouldn't ask. After all, it was still the same old saying: if Gwen told him, should he tell her?
Locke was a good man, very considerate of his woman.
Besides.
Locke lowered his head, gazed at a certain spot on the ground, then turned and looked at the distant location of Grand Central Station, a slight smile playing on his lips. He didn't need to ask Gwen; he could go directly to that mischievous spider and ask it himself.
However, just as Locke was about to leave, someone called out to him.
"Locke?"
"…"
Locke turned around and saw a thin, sharp-looking man in a leather jacket approaching from not far away.
"Locke."
"Detective Hayes."
Locke greeted Detective Bob Hayes, who had stayed at his house the night Gwen had her accident, "Why is Detective Hayes here?"
For a pest like spiders, the biohazard response team should be the ones to come. Having a detective responsible for homicide and murder cases come seemed a bit like overkill.
Detective Hayes said, "George just had me here to arrest some Sea Snake Gang members, and I happened to be nearby. What happened? Why are there so many spiders?"
Locke hummed in understanding.
George was starting to make an example of them, telling all the gangs on the East Coast whose rules were supreme in New York City.
Locke smiled and shook his head: "I don't know. But the spiders seemed to be coming out from under the floor of the women's restroom on the first floor. There were too many, and they looked creepy. I don't know what the situation is inside now."
Detective Hayes nodded, then asked with some curiosity: "I remember Midtown High School was supposed to visit yesterday, wasn't it? Why are you here?"
Locke repeated the reason he had given to Cindy Muen and the others.
Don't ask.
If you ask, it's because Locke is the student council president of Midtown High School. Yesterday, there was a conflict between two students here, and he needed to come here to understand what happened.
What is it called to use public office for private gain?
This is it!
Detective Hayes gave Locke a thumbs up, looking very impressed: "How is it? Did you find out? Is there anything I can help with?"
Locke thanked him, saying it was almost done, and that it wouldn't be good to look for anything more at this point.
After a while.
Locke said goodbye to Detective Hayes, got into the Audi, then shifted gears and drove towards Grand Central Station nearby.
"Boss."
An officer leaned in front of Detective Hayes, somewhat curious: "Who was that? Some rich kid from Wall Street?"
Hayes snapped back to attention and glanced at his subordinate: "Something like that. Senior Superintendent George Stacy's unofficial son-in-law. His net worth, outsiders estimate, is a solid two hundred million in cash. Haven't you heard of him? Locke Broughton, he's quite famous."
The officer suddenly realized: "He's that Locke Broughton who sued several law enforcement agencies and won all of them, the one who said his mother was a Langley spy and got rich by winning lawsuits!"
He wasn't a native New Yorker.
He had just been transferred to New York last month. Before that, he had only heard people around him talk about him, but this was the first time he had seen Locke face to face. However, that he was Senior Superintendent George Stacy's son-in-law was new information.
In that case, was his boss just… trying to curry favor?
The officer glanced out of the corner of his eye at Detective Hayes, who was walking towards his car, and thought to himself. Then, he quickly dismissed the thought from his mind and stopped talking.
After all, he had seen from afar that his boss didn't seem to have succeeded in currying favor.
It was fine to have encountered him, but if he were to bring it up again, the officer felt that he might mysteriously disappear tonight.
His life was more important.
The officer shrank his head, coughed, pretending he hadn't asked or said anything, and turned to run towards Detective Hayes, looking at his nose, and then at his heart.
Half an hour later.
Locke drove his car into a roadside parking space, then got out of the car and walked towards Grand Central Station, which always had heavy foot traffic and was also a famous New York City landmark.
Locke knew exactly what Detective Hayes had been trying to do earlier.
After all, that was also called workplace artistry.
Locke didn't mind Detective Hayes's intention to curry favor with George Stacy through him.
But… Locke wasn't a bad kid.
He never did anything to harm others…
422. How I Met Your Mother
The reason is simple.
If George Stacy knew that Detective Hayes was trying to curry favor with him by fawning over Locke, then Detective Hayes wouldn't be looking at a promotion and a raise, but rather being demoted to planting potatoes on Long Island.
Locke and Detective Hayes had no past grievances or recent animosity, so how could Locke possibly do something so detrimental?
It was impossible.
Stepping into Grand Central Station, Locke was immediately greeted by the sight of the massive, crowded hall, with its walls adorned with clocks showing different time zones across the Federation, accompanied by a cacophony of smells and sounds.
Wearing sunglasses, Locke, who had come here tracking the scent of that mischievous spider, caught two familiar scents amidst the multitude of smells—scents he had encountered several times before.
Nameless.
Maria Hill.
Locke snapped back to attention, raised an eyebrow, and then, sensing the colorful spider that was now stationary in one spot, he thought for a moment. After descending the steps, he turned right and walked directly towards the adjacent side hall.
Not long after.
Locke settled into an unoccupied waiting seat, unbuttoned his suit jacket, and let out a comfortable sigh: "What a wonderful weekend."
Sitting next to him, wearing sunglasses and a suit, and holding a newspaper, Nameless subtly looked up upon hearing the voice, then glanced at Locke beside him and chuckled.
The next second.
Nameless rolled up his newspaper: "Indeed, a weekend with lovely weather."
Locke took off his sunglasses and looked at Nameless beside him, raising an eyebrow slightly: "Oh, Mr. Nameless, I didn't expect to run into you here. What a coincidence. Did the agency's finance department catch you fabricating accounts, and now you have to take the train for business trips?"
His expression was so exaggeratedly fake that if a young idol from the East saw it, they would feel a surge of pride, thinking, "I'm a better actor than him."
Nameless looked at Locke's expression: "Yes, there's a nominal official agent who's too much of a troublemaker, and an unofficial agent whose training has been postponed twice this year. Most importantly, wherever this person goes, a story happens. What, are you done causing trouble at the Columbia Science and Technology Center, and now you think it's still early, so you're planning to come and wreak havoc at Grand Central Station?"
Locke smiled: "Are you following me?"
Nameless also took off his sunglasses, smiling, and pointed to his ear: "I heard you over there. So, how did you know I was here? Actually, shouldn't I be asking you that? When did Agent Bourbon start tracking people, and tracking his own superior, no less?"
Locke's lips curved upwards: "Mr. Nameless, if I said it was just a coincidence, would you believe me?"
Nameless also smiled brightly and shrugged: "Of course I believe you, but I don't think ordinary people would just wander around here for no reason, do you?"
"That makes sense."
Locke nodded and looked at Nameless: "However, I think I forgot to tell you that I increased the weight of history classes this year. Grand Central Station has a rich history, and I just happened to drop by to take in the sights."
He pondered for a moment. While getting five PhDs would be easy, it would take a long time if he didn't plan it well.
Locke intended to get a few easy PhDs first.
For example, history, which only required rote memorization.
And... a PhD in history, it sounded very cultured. Most importantly, it was perfectly reasonable for a history PhD to appear all over the world.
After all, it was well-known that the Federation had no history, and he, as a history PhD, would naturally, like the Federation's archaeologists, enjoy helping locals around the world investigate their history and excavate their ancestors.
No one could refuse the enthusiastic and selfless help of the Federation people.
If there was.
The Pacific Fleet would pay a warm visit.
Nameless smiled and shook his head.
After greeting Nameless, Locke crossed his legs and his gaze fell on Maria Hill, who was not far away, seemingly strolling with a few people. She looked like Maria Hill, but also not like her: "What's going on?"
Nameless chuckled: "If I said I also happened to run into her, would you believe me?"
Locke shrugged: "Believe it, of course I believe it. You, a senior official from Langley, live in Virginia, come to New York on a weekend, and read yesterday's newspaper in Grand Central Station, where the air isn't exactly pleasant. That's perfectly reasonable."
Nameless shook his head and briefly explained the situation.
Nothing else.
Curiosity plus boredom.
A few days ago, Nameless's subordinate told him that while in New York, after finishing work, he went for a couple of drinks with local friends at a bar called MacLaren's. There, he saw a woman who looked strikingly like Maria Hill, but was named Robin Scherbatsky, and was instantly shocked.
However, the relationship between Nameless and S.H.I.E.L.D. had always been a gentleman's agreement—you don't interfere with mine, and I don't interfere with yours. So, the subordinate didn't do anything at the time.
Only after returning to Langley, when he met Nameless, did he mention this as an interesting anecdote.
Locke raised an eyebrow: "And then you got interested and started tracking Maria Hill directly?"
Robin Scherbatsky?
That name... sounded familiar.
Locke tilted his head slightly, and then, information about Robin Scherbatsky was quickly retrieved.
"How I Met Your Mother"?
Interesting.
Locke's eyebrows shot up.
Good heavens.
So, all the former S.H.I.E.L.D. directors had a tradition of role-playing?
Not to mention Ms. Peggy Carter.
Just Maria Hill's predecessor, Nick Fury, whose grave was already overgrown with weeds and no one bothered to clear them—didn't that guy like to use aliases to do shady things?
Now, Maria Hill was doing it too.
Wow.
Locke looked at Maria Hill not far away, recalling the emotional entanglements of Robin Scherbatsky with Ted Mosby and Barney Stinson in "How I Met Your Mother," and couldn't help but sigh again.
After all... Locke didn't know much about Maria Hill's private life. In fact, until today, Locke had always thought Maria Hill was a strong woman with no private life.
Now?
Maria Hill.
Robin Scherbatsky.
When these two names suddenly overlapped, Locke's perception of Maria Hill greatly improved. He didn't even feel a hint of abruptness or unreasonableness.
If Robin Scherbatsky was Maria Hill's alter ego, specifically used to separate her work from her personal life, then it was perfectly reasonable.
It wasn't that Maria Hill had no private life; it was just that people didn't know about it.
Nameless shook his head: "Do you think this director of S.H.I.E.L.D. is easy to track? I'm tracking the man who's embracing Maria Hill. It seems he's dating Maria Hill."
Locke nodded, then tilted his head, looking at a girl who appeared to be thirteen or fourteen years old, not far away, and was calling Maria Hill "sister": "Where did they find her?"
Good heavens.
Did they even hire extras?
Nameless looked at Locke: "You should know."
Locke looked at Nameless.
Nameless chuckled: "You've dealt with people from the same organization as this little girl, and you were even classmates with that person for a while."
Locke raised an eyebrow: "The Prescott Organization?"
That so-called spy academy.
The academy where Morgan Vassi and Victoria both stayed.
Nameless nodded: "Yes."
Locke laughed: "I thought that after that incident came to light, the Prescott Organization had already been disbanded by Maria Hill."
Nameless shook his head: "You could say that. Maria Hill disbanded the Prescott Organization and sent away the girls who wanted to return to a peaceful life, but some people chose not to leave."
Locke hummed.
Then... Locke looked at his watch: "Alright, I'm leaving now. You have fun."
He already understood the situation.
Maria Hill was experiencing her ordinary life, diligently portraying her ordinary character.
Nameless, on the other hand, was bored because the world had been peaceful lately, and had nothing to do but come and snoop.
But I have serious business to attend to.
Locke was about to get up and go find that colorful spider to handle his affairs.
However, just then.
Locke watched as Maria Hill, who had apparently said a few words to Ted and Lily, smiled and turned around. Then, with a whoosh, the smile vanished from her face, giving her the appearance of instantly transforming from a cute rabbit into a lioness, as she fixed her gaze on Nameless and Locke, who was just getting up.
Nameless sighed and looked at Locke: "See, because of you, we've been discovered. So, your tracking skills still need some work."
Locke's mouth twitched as he looked at Nameless.
I've been using my stealth technique since I first walked in. Otherwise, you wouldn't have discovered me until I sat down and started talking.
Good heavens.
He's even learned to blame others first.
Locke was pondering whether to twist off the head of this boss who had thrown him under the bus, after all, a leader who liked to pass the buck was not a qualified leader.
"Good morning, gentlemen."
Maria Hill, dressed in a style different from her usual attire, looking very much like a city woman, walked up to Locke and Nameless with a smile, greeting them: "I didn't expect to meet you two here on a weekend. Is this fate?"
Locke glanced at Nameless, then smiled at Maria Hill: "I'm here on official business. As for Mr. Nameless, whether he is or not, I wouldn't know. I'm not familiar with him."
Nameless: "..."
423. Disasters are always one step behind me
That's just how it is.
Locke was here for legitimate business, and Mr. Nobody, as he himself admitted, was here to snoop.
Snooping, in itself, wasn't a big deal.
But... you can't get caught, even by an enemy. Getting caught red-handed while snooping is always awkward. What's more, Maria Hill and Locke had been getting along fine since she took office, so they weren't exactly enemies.
Besides,
Mr. Nobody had passed the buck so deftly just now. If Locke didn't distance himself cleanly, who knew what other blame Mr. Nobody would try to pin on him? Seriously, he and Mr. Nobody were, at most, collaborators. There was no superior-subordinate relationship between them.
Indeed.
Mr. Nobody listened to Locke's swift buck-passing and thought to himself, 'New employees nowadays are getting more and more opinionated.'
But, the older ginger is spicier!
Want to back out?
Too late.
Mr. Nobody regained his composure, then stood up and said with a smile, "Yes, Locke and I are here on business. What a coincidence to run into Director Hill here! Is Director Hill on vacation in New York City for the weekend?"
Hill smiled, "I have an apartment in New York City, and I come back to New York City every weekend."
Pretense!
Keep up the pretense!
A high-ranking, powerful leader at Langley, in charge of the European office, would she really be casually sitting in New York City's Grand Central Station on a weekend, engrossed in yesterday's newspaper?
Also,
Maria Hill glanced at Mr. Nobody, then looked at Locke, who had finished speaking and was preparing to retreat again. "Mr. Broughton was at the Columbia Technology Center, three blocks from here, half an hour ago. How did he suddenly end up here?"
Locke glanced at Mr. Nobody, then at Maria Hill, and smiled, "It seems my whereabouts are not only important to Mr. Nobody, but Director Hill also seems to pay close attention."
Strange.
He hadn't sensed any S.H.I.E.L.D. agents following him.
Could his anti-tracking radar be malfunctioning?
Locke wondered.
Maria Hill's smile was radiant. "Mr. Broughton can now be considered one of the most untouchable individuals in law enforcement, without a doubt. And when a spider army, like a tidal wave, suddenly appeared at the Columbia Technology Center, we naturally paid a little attention. Coincidentally, when the satellite was redirected, it just happened to catch sight of Mr. Broughton."
Locke raised an eyebrow and nodded.
He knew it.
Although he had already leveled up his Steel Body to Level 3, he couldn't say that his physical strength was that of a god among men, but he could certainly be considered among the strongest. It was impossible for him to be unaware of someone tracking him.
He had just thought that perhaps it was because of his life leap, so some minor, insignificant threats were automatically filtered out, just like an elephant. Would an elephant care, or even notice, if an ant was biting it?
Just then,
"Robin?"
"..."
Maria Hill turned her head and saw Ted, the future architect, waving at them from not far away. She gave Ted, who was in a relationship, a smile, then looked at Mr. Nobody and Locke. "Gentlemen, would you be interested in meeting my friend?"
She was very generous.
She seemed completely unconcerned.
Locke waved his hand directly, turned, and walked towards the ticket hall. "I'm here for official business, Director Hill. Goodbye."
Mr. Nobody, seeing this, also smiled. "Since Director Hill is on vacation, I won't disturb you. I have something to do today, another time perhaps."
After saying that,
Mr. Nobody turned to walk towards the exit, then stopped, looking at Locke, who had actually entered the ticket hall, and, curious, followed him.
"Robin!"
Ted, who had finally caught up to Robin, saw that Maria Hill hadn't arrived yet, and jogged over. Then, looking at Mr. Nobody and Locke, whom he had just seen, he asked curiously, "Are they your friends, Robin?"
Maria Hill watched Mr. Nobody and Locke enter the ticket hall one after the other, then came back to herself, nodded, and looked at Ted, her face full of apology. "I'm sorry, Ted, the station just called. I have an urgent written interview to rush to. Those two were my colleagues. I'll have to ask you to look after my sister for me."
Ted was stunned.
Hadn't they agreed that he would come today to tell her about the history and culture of New York Station?
But... after Maria Hill pecked him on the cheek, Ted's mind went blank. He didn't even know when Maria Hill had left.
"Department of Homeland Security."
After turning a corner, Maria Hill put on her sunglasses, then with a flick of her right hand, she directly showed her ID, walked through the security checkpoint, and arrived at the waiting hall, then called out to Mr. Nobody, who was not far away.
Mr. Nobody turned around.
"Director Hill."
"Mr. Nobody."
Maria Hill looked around Mr. Nobody, and after not seeing Locke, she seemed to have thought of something. "What, Mr. Nobody has even lost track of his own employee?"
Mr. Nobody's mouth twitched.
There was another meaning to that statement.
That was, it was almost overtly telling Mr. Nobody that Maria Hill was already quite certain that he had also been following her, and there was a deeper meaning: 'Look, your employee doesn't give you any face at all.'
Mr. Nobody's eyelid muscles twitched a few times, then he smiled and said, "Young people nowadays are all so individualistic, aren't they? We have to adapt to the times, Director Hill."
Hill nodded, looking around. "Mr. Nobody, do you think we should evacuate this place in advance?"
Mr. Nobody looked at Hill, his mouth twitching again. "If something goes wrong at Grand Central Station, it would be a huge deal."
Hill said, "Locke Broughton is your man."
Mr. Nobody couldn't refute that. He looked at the ceiling, which had already become history, and sighed.
It was precisely because of this that he had followed Locke.
But... he was still a step too late.
By the time he found his ID, and after a staff member had looked at it, and he had walked in, Locke was already gone.
After all, Locke had bought a ticket directly with real money and entered, while he had entered for free. But there was at most a three-minute gap between them, and within those three minutes, no train had entered the station. So, Mr. Nobody was a bit numb.
At the same time, hearing Hill's words, he felt a little panicked.
For no other reason!
Before the New Orleans incident, Maria Hill seemed to have vaguely noticed a crucial point: it seemed that wherever Locke Broughton appeared, something happened. However, these events seemed to have no direct connection to Locke Broughton. From the events of the Poseidon, Assassin Freshman, and the aftermath of City of Extreme Cold, Locke was not the party involved; he was just very unlucky.
No!
He was very lucky!
After all, it seemed that all disasters were always one step behind Locke!
And the Columbia Technology Center half an hour ago further confirmed this point.
Locke appeared, and the spider army came out.
So, Maria Hill had just thought of Locke's 'disaster magnet' constitution, and that's why she followed him, after all, this was Grand Central Station, the busiest station in New York City in terms of foot traffic.
In fact,
What Maria Hill was thinking was precisely the psychological fluctuation Mr. Nobody experienced when he followed Locke.
After all... there was no reason why Mr. Nobody couldn't think of what Maria Hill could, and furthermore, because of Lorraine Broughton, Mr. Nobody was unusually attentive to Locke.
Originally, Mr. Nobody had thought that Locke saying he was here for official business was just an excuse to fool Maria Hill, just like his own. It wasn't until Locke took out his ticket upon entering the station and looked back at him that Mr. Nobody suddenly understood.
Locke wasn't joking when he said he was here for official business.
The next second,
Mr. Nobody thought of Locke's 'disaster magnet' constitution and immediately gasped. Although Locke had already proven that 'disaster is always one step behind him,' others were not so lucky. At the very least, the at least twenty thousand people currently in Grand Central Station couldn't outrun disaster.
He came back to his senses.
Mr. Nobody looked at Maria Hill. "I'm Langley."
Maria Hill raised an eyebrow.
"What ID did you use to get in?"
"...Department of Homeland Security?"
"The CIA doesn't have domestic law enforcement authority."
Like all federal agencies, Mr. Nobody was no exception. Even though nothing had happened yet, he had already started passing the buck. "So, for anything that happens domestically, we at the CIA are not authorized to intervene. If we did, and were impeached, that wouldn't be good. But your S.H.I.E.L.D. is different."
Maria Hill reacted.
This was a rhythm of directly throwing the blame on her before the disaster even happened.
Shameless!
Maria Hill also took a sharp breath, looking at Mr. Nobody with an expression reserved for a scoundrel. "I heard that Mr. Nobody has already given Locke a waiver for the exam?"
Mr. Nobody shook his head. "His identity is still highly classified. Director Langley doesn't know yet."
After all, if the bureau had to inform a temporary employee about every new hire, how would work ever get done?
"...What do you mean?"
"He can be, and he can not be."
If you plan to use Locke's identity as a CIA coded agent to make a fuss and pass the buck, then sorry, Locke isn't a CIA agent. Deleting a file is a matter of a phone call.
This was the true meaning Mr. Nobody wanted to convey.
Maria Hill understood.
"Shameless!"
"Thank you."
"..."
Maria Hill took a deep breath, looking at Mr. Nobody, who took pride in his shamelessness rather than being ashamed of it, his expression clearly saying, 'As long as I don't take the blame, you can say whatever you want.' She took out her phone, ready to dial the New York S.H.I.E.L.D. number, then paused for a moment and looked around. "I think, before we make that call, we should try to find the missing Locke, don't you think?"
Mr. Nobody: "..."
Four Hundred and Twenty-Four, the White-Eyed Wolf Father and Son
After all, it hasn't happened yet.
At this moment, to directly consider who should take the blame, Maria Hill felt she was overthinking it, even though several previous incidents had proven Lock's disaster-prone nature.
But... what if?
And even if someone had to take the blame, it couldn't be S.H.I.E.L.D.
Locke was with the CIA, not S.H.I.E.L.D., and from a serious perspective, wasn't Locke their enemy?
There's no reason for an enemy to take the blame.
What's more... during the Poseidon disaster, that giant octopus appeared.
Then during the Augusta disaster, the witch appeared.
During the New Orleans disaster, the Witch Academy appeared.
What about this time?
Maria Hill thought of what had just happened at the Columbia University Technology Center, shivered, took a deep breath, and still pulled out her phone: "I think we need to have CDC personnel on standby nearby."
Mr. Nobody nodded: "Good point!"
Locke, who had walked through a secret door to an underground space almost directly beneath Mr. Nobody's feet, looked up, glanced, and seemed to hear Mr. Nobody's words, a slight smile playing on his lips.
What a load of nonsense; you just don't want to take the blame.
Locke rolled his eyes. At first, he thought Mr. Nobody was a serious and earnest person, but after getting to know him, Locke realized that this guy seemed to be a highly evolved version of Nick Fury.
Of course.
Locke didn't dislike Mr. Nobody. After all, Mr. Nobody's intelligence and emotional intelligence were both online. Frankly speaking, if Nick Fury could change his skin and talk to him again, at the very least, his basic level of aversion to Nick Fury wouldn't be ninety-nine.
What a pity.
Locke shook his head, came back to his senses, and focused his attention on the present.
Locke didn't care about Mr. Nobody and Maria Hill's concern. He liked to be steady in his actions, and besides, he was a CIA agent, so it was perfectly reasonable for him to avoid being tracked by someone.
As for why he was here?
It was also very simple.
Locke was the student council president of Midtown High School. Yesterday, a student brawl occurred at the Columbia University Technology Center. He came to check on it, and accidentally discovered a secret underground passage, so curiosity drove him to investigate.
Is there a problem?
It was nothing more than curiosity colliding with his part-time job, a coincidence.
What?
Not a brawl? Was it Flash and Eddie bullying Peter Parker unilaterally?
Sorry.
The scene Locke saw wasn't like that. After all, Peter Parker had thrown a punch back. Although he appeared to be Western, Locke, who was still an Easterner at heart, had a very strict concept of self-defense.
In Locke's opinion, Peter Parker's retaliation did not count as self-defense.
"This is..."
After a while, Locke followed the colorful spider's scent to a subway tunnel, frowned, and looked up: "Waldorf Astoria Hotel?"
Above ground.
About a kilometer in a straight line from Grand Central Station, the once-renowned and still prestigious Waldorf Astoria Hotel, with its forty-two floors, stood tall on Park Avenue, hailed as the most luxurious and famous hotel in the world.
But... Locke tilted his head, seemingly remembering something: "Roosevelt Station?"
Or, Track 61!
Beneath the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, there was an abandoned underground railway track called Track 61. In 1930, when the Waldorf Astoria Hotel was built, this platform was also constructed, allowing wealthy individuals arriving in New York to take the subway directly to the hotel.
Track 61 was not a secret at the time, at least not to Manhattanites.
However, what truly turned Track 61 into an urban legend was President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944. After that, several famous federal generals also used it.
Locke stood on the platform, looking around, and then noticed a subway turnstile in front of him.
He looked up.
It was a wall. A few years ago, the Waldorf Astoria Hotel had already sealed off this secret passage to the platform. The reason, in a word, was that there were no extra funds to maintain this secret station.
Although the President would use this secret station as an alternative escape route when visiting New York, the Secret Service was too lazy to even spend a Franklin, and even if the Secret Service did, the hotel wouldn't dare to accept it.
In a word.
If it were exposed that the Waldorf Astoria Hotel had Secret Service agents, who the hell would come here to stay?
Delivering themselves?
Privacy is something that Americans value greatly. If Secret Service agents are permanently stationed at your hotel, who knows if our sleeping, eating, or phone calls will be recorded by them.
So... due to privacy issues, the Waldorf Astoria Hotel sealed off this passage. Earning money from one Secret Service agent or from wealthy individuals all over the world? Even a three-year-old child would make a choice.
Selfless dedication?
Heh!
Locke stroked the dusty turnstile in front of him, looked up slightly, then frowned, turned around, and looked at the empty subway tracks beneath the platform.
The next second.
Locke walked to the corner of the platform, gazing at the tracks, which, though old, were still usable: "If I'm not mistaken, it seems that the secret train is down here."
Isn't this the plot of The Amazing Spider-Man 2?
Locke raised an eyebrow, turned around, and his gaze once again fell on the token slot.
"Heh!"
Locke came back to his senses, a smile playing on his lips.
Transformer!
Witch Form!
"Rumble!"
Locke's right hand directly grabbed fiercely towards the track, and the energy instantly transformed into a drop of lubricant, dripping into the precise machinery. Instantly, a sound like a falling hammer came, followed by the clattering of gears beginning to turn, and with a rumbling sound, a subway train with a dark red, almost vermilion, exterior drilled directly up from below.
Then... with thumping sounds, the power and propulsion inside were simultaneously activated.
But... where were the carriages?
Locke was slightly stunned, looking at the subway in front of him, which only had a locomotive and no carriages behind it. He blinked. He remembered very clearly that there should have been a carriage the same color as the locomotive, containing Richard Parker's laboratory.
How did such a large carriage disappear?
Did I open it incorrectly?
Locke raised an eyebrow. After entering the driver's cabin, which only had a locomotive, he looked down, confirming that there was indeed no vermilion carriage below.
Wait... Locke felt the scent of the colorful spider and looked in the direction of the locomotive. It seemed that the spider's scent was still a little ahead and below.
This is excavating the entire city of New York... no, the entire underground of Manhattan.
Also.
Locke felt he had discovered a secret, which was why Nick Fury was so fond of Spider-Man.
In a word.
Nick Fury liked to use public funds for private work.
And the Parker family?
It seemed to be the same. Just look at Peter Parker's father. After developing technology with research funds from Osborn, he directly ran away. Now, he's even appropriated this secret subway for himself.
Indeed.
Birds of a feather flock together!
Locke looked at the illuminated control panel, which displayed a message requiring a password to start, and couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter.
After a while.
With a thud.
After Locke's finger hit the enter key, the secret was instantly deciphered. Immediately after, the locomotive, this public property occupied by Peter Parker's father, began to move.
The next second.
The train set off, leaving the platform.
Locke sat in the driver's cabin, shaking his head repeatedly. He truly was a scientist, a scientist with a peculiar way of thinking. His methods were wild; he didn't bother with private jets, he went straight for private subways.
No, wait.
Richard Parker seemed to have a private jet.
Locke stroked his chin, flipping through the database, thinking to himself.
Then he deserved to die even more!
In a word.
When you were cooperating with a capitalist, didn't you have any idea? When you first accepted Osborn's financial sponsorship, you didn't say that Osborn was a black-hearted capitalist and might even be colluding with foreign arms dealers. Good heavens, when your experiment succeeded and was about to yield results, you suddenly declared that Osborn was a black-hearted capitalist and was also colluding with foreign terrorist organizations, so your experimental results could not be given to him, absolutely not allowed to fall into Osborn's hands. Then, you disguised yourself as a victim and fled in a hurry.
What was this supposed to be?
In the end, it all came down to one thing: he couldn't bear to let Osborn take the lion's share of the profits from his hard-earned research.
If you had the guts, you shouldn't have accepted Osborn's sponsorship in the first place.
Osborn paid real money to play with you, and in the end, you said Osborn had bad character and didn't want to cooperate with them anymore.
Heh.
Norman Osborn always told Harry Osborn that a man should be like a tough guy. In Locke's opinion, Norman Osborn was still too soft-hearted.
If it were Locke.
If one day, Locke took out 800 million to sponsor a scientist's research, and when he succeeded, he then said he was a villain and didn't intend to give him the technology.
Heh heh!
Plane crash?
What kind of beautiful dream is that?
Forget about nine generations, or even ten generations. Locke would start directly with eighteen generations, and even that guy's ancestors from eighteen generations ago would all go directly to hell, and their souls would be scattered.
In the end.
One sentence!
The Parker family were all ungrateful scoundrels!
425. Psychologically Distorted Richard
Osborn genuinely funded his collaboration with Richard Parker, only to be backstabbed by Richard Parker. Later, Peter Parker directly caused the Osborn family's ruin.
This was similar to Peter Parker's actions towards Gwen's family.
In the original plot, George Stacy sacrificed his life to keep Peter Parker away from Gwen. Peter agreed to it immediately, then went back on his word just as quickly.
He even colluded with Nick Fury to betray Tony Stark, who regarded him as his own son.
"Tsk tsk…"
Locke's thoughts raced, and he shook his head, saying nothing: "How can such an ungrateful wretch, who doesn't keep promises, value friendship, or uphold integrity, be liked by so many people?"
He certainly didn't like him.
Locke always fulfilled any promise he made. If he said he would slaughter someone's ten generations, he would definitely slaughter their ten generations. He wouldn't be like Peter Parker, who agreed to George's request not to bother Gwen, and then, before George's seventh day of mourning had even passed, went back on his word and started bothering Gwen again, as if his words were just farts.
Locke also valued friendship. Once someone was added to his friends list, like Kahn, he would personally spend thirty million to put out a bounty for an enemy's head. He wouldn't be like Peter Parker, who, when Harry considered him a brother and took him out for good food when he was down, couldn't even spare a tube of blood when Harry was in need.
Worried that Harry would die from the injection?
Heh.
Although Harry wasn't an academic genius, he wasn't an idiot. If he got a tube of blood, how could he possibly be so foolish as to inject it without testing it first?
Simply put,
Peter Parker was just like his ungrateful father, Richard Parker—a refined egoist who always found a high-sounding excuse for his selfish actions.
For example, a true villain is less detestable than a hypocrite.
"Buzz!"
Locke came back to his senses, looking out the window. In the distance, the train driver, who was frantically signaling and then passed by the front of his car with a look of shock, heading towards the next stop at Central Station, met his gaze. Locke raised his hand: "Hi!"
The train driver was stunned.
The next second.
Boom!
The train carrying Locke rumbled along, directly turning onto a dark, long-abandoned branch track that, being underground, had not suffered any damage.
Before long,
the brakes engaged.
"Screech!"
"Screech!"
Accompanied by sparks occasionally sputtering in the darkness and a teeth-gritting sound like rust being scraped off, the train's speed gradually slowed. Then, with a thud, the seemingly dead-end wall in front slid open to the right, allowing the now gliding train to smoothly enter.
The wall closed again after the train entered.
Immediately after,
the train beneath Locke sank, swayed back and forth, and finally came to a stop after pulling into a dark, abandoned cavern.
The next second,
as Locke stepped out of the cockpit, he noticed that behind the train's front car, in the tracks, it seemed that the train's entry had activated some kind of switch. A carriage, identical in its vermilion color to the train's front car, slowly rose from beneath the tracks.
After a while!
A complete train appeared before Locke's eyes, and with it, the computer inside the train immediately began to operate.
Locke shrugged.
This was the Marvel Universe, not a conventional timeline. Since 1960s notebooks had appeared, it was not surprising that a computer from over a decade ago could boot up in five seconds after sleeping underground for so long, without a speck of dust on it.
He walked in.
The first thing Locke saw was a successful email reception notification on the bright computer screen. On the computer, there were also yellowed photos, indicating who the owner of this computer was.
"Interesting!"
Locke glanced at the yellowed photos, then at the still-new computer screen. He stroked his chin, then sat down and pressed the enter key.
Immediately after,
on the computer screen, Richard Parker, a talented and seemingly heroic character, appeared.
His first words were a classic line.
"My name is Richard Parker. No matter how I may be misunderstood in the future, I hope the world knows the truth."
"Osborn Bio has been leading in genetic research, but Norman Osborn made a deal with the military to fund my research. After I was close to completing my research, I discovered what they wanted to do with it."
"Weapons, biochemical weapons!"
"I refused."
"Now, to force me into compliance, Norman Osborn has fabricated evidence against me, for example, accusing me of embezzling public funds and misappropriating research funds, attempting to control the success of my research by doing so…"
"…"
Locke stroked his chin, looking around. Although the equipment in this carriage was outdated, at the time, conservatively estimated, the carriage equipment would have cost several million to replace: "Isn't this… the truth?"
It was supposed to be a research collaboration.
A mutual agreement.
At the beginning, you already knew Osborn was collaborating with the military, but you didn't say anything. Now that the research is almost complete, you suddenly feel your conscience bothering you.
And then?
If you don't want to do it, fine, follow the proper procedures. What do you mean by fabricating evidence against you? If you hadn't embezzled public funds and misappropriated research funds, then it would be called fabrication.
But?
If Richard Parker really had enough money to furnish this carriage himself, would he have needed to leave Peter Parker with his relatives, without even leaving a single penny?
Heh.
Hypocrisy!
Locke shook his head. Having lived two lives, from no angle could Locke imagine how Richard Parker on the screen could so solemnly present his own mistakes as Osborn's fault, or the military's fault.
He, for one, couldn't do it.
Indeed.
Like father, like son.
Locke sighed inwardly, especially when he heard Richard Parker's rather fortunate words, saying that he had used Osborn's funds for experiments and had kept a spider, a small spider that could not be activated without him or his descendants' bloodline. He kept shaking his head in disapproval.
To be able to frame selfishness as being for all of humanity, for the entire world, one has to admit that even Thanos, the director of the Universal Population Control Commission, would probably admit defeat.
"Shameless!"
"Utterly shameless!"
Locke chuckled inwardly, looking at the frozen video and giving his conclusion. Then, he closed the email.
The next second,
Locke stroked his chin. He wasn't here to criticize a dead man. The same old saying applied: Spiderman better not provoke him. If Spiderman dared to provoke him, death was Spiderman's only option, the only difference being whether Spiderman died alone or took his whole family with him.
Just then,
"Oh."
Locke raised an eyebrow, seeing a folder on the computer desktop. He opened it and saw a video inside: "What is this?"
The video opened.
A black and white spider appeared in the video.
"Jelly?"
"No, that's not right."
Locke shook his head, observing the spider in the frame: "Jelly is white and black, giving a cute and cuddly impression, but this spider is mostly black. It doesn't look like a good spider at all."
Most importantly, the spider in the video, predominantly black with white accents, was extremely aggressive.
At the same time,
Richard Parker, after setting up the camera to stop shaking, also appeared in the frame.
"Life Evolution Research, 352nd experiment!"
"Experiment location: Osborn Bio-Industrial, Life Enhancement Laboratory."
"Experimental subject."
"Miracle Spider!"
Richard Parker walked over to the experimental table. On the table was the spider, trapped in a container, roaring like an angry bull—the "Miracle Spider" he had spoken of.
Richard Parker in the video put on protective gloves, then used equipment to directly clamp the Miracle Spider inside. The latter seemed to know what was about to happen, but this did not affect Richard Parker, who, with a swift motion, directly pulled off three of the Miracle Spider's legs amidst its shriek.
The next second,
Richard Parker made no further movements; instead, he seemed to be waiting for something.
Just then,
the Miracle Spider inside roared furiously. The next second, accompanied by a sound like something breaking through the earth, three new legs emerged at the spots where Richard Parker had just pulled off the three claws.
Locke raised an eyebrow.
Richard Parker looked up at the camera.
His excitement was evident.
"Oh my god, did you see that?"
"Hmm."
"…"
Locke raised an eyebrow. In the video, someone seemed to be echoing Richard Parker's words, likely Mary Parker, his wife and fellow scientist.
"God."
"Although we've seen this scene no less than two hundred times, each time, whenever I see it, I feel like it's simply a miracle."
Sick!
Locke rolled his eyes. This was the 352nd experiment, which meant Richard Parker had pulled off this spider's legs at least two hundred times.
Just the sheer number made Locke feel it was cruel.
Killing is one thing, but torture is another.
Unless Locke was extremely angry, he would torment his enemies, but in general, especially now that he had dimensional powers, he rarely enjoyed tormenting people in person like this anymore.
It was bloody and not aesthetically pleasing.
Indeed.
Richard Parker's psyche had already been twisted, no wonder his values were so distorted…
Four Hundred and Twenty-Six, 3. The Improper View of the Parker Family
Locke thought to himself.
Then… like watching a movie, he expressionlessly watched Richard Parker, who was putting on a solo act like a sick patient in the video, until Richard Parker started talking about the origin of the spider in front of him.
"Five years ago, a meteorite fell in New Jersey."
"When the Osborn Bio-Security team arrived at the scene, they didn't find a meteorite in the crater, but instead, they saw it."
"The Miracle Spider!"
"The Perfect Spider!"
"These two spiders seem to come from different biological lineages of the same species."
"But…"
"The Miracle Spider and the Perfect Spider are, without a doubt, a perfect representation, symbolizing all life on the evolutionary frontier."
"…"
Locke crossed his arms, listening intently to Richard Parker's narration in the video, then his gaze fell on the Miracle Spider, the creature Richard Parker called the vanguard of life's evolution.
The Miracle Spider hissed in the glass container.
Without even seeing its expression, just hearing its voice, one could tell it was very angry.
According to Richard Parker, after the Osborn Bio-Security team arrived at the scene that year, they didn't find a meteorite, but instead found this Miracle Spider, which they then captured and brought back to Osborn Bio-Industrial for research.
By the way.
Where's the Perfect Spider?
Jelly?
Locke thought to himself.
But… progress had been slow, until Osborn spent a fortune inviting Richard Parker, who was then begging on Wall Street, clutching a PPT, and desperately seeking massive research funding.
And so.
Richard Parker accepted Osborn's invitation, and then, together with Dr. Mendel Stromm and Dr. Curt Connors, began research on this Miracle Spider.
What a pity.
The Miracle Spider was alive, and its life level and perfection were evident before them, yet no matter how Dr. Mendel Stromm, Dr. Curt Connors, and Richard Parker researched it, they couldn't figure out how it achieved this.
However.
This time, it might be different.
In the video.
As the cold storage opened, Richard Parker took out a tube of blood from inside.
Mary Parker's voice came from off-screen.
"Richard?"
Mary Parker looked at her husband, who was taking out another tube of blood, and seemed a little curious and frowned, "We've already tried it, PH4 simply cannot fuse with the Miracle Spider."
Locke raised an eyebrow.
PH4?
This stuff again?
However, it seemed that both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the military believed that PH4 was an indispensable component on the path of evolution.
But I have a whole dozen of this stuff!
Locke thought of the dozen large blood vials and purification fluids in his storage warehouse, raised an eyebrow, and then another question arose, as he curiously watched Richard Parker holding the PH4 as if it were a rare treasure.
Since Locke first heard of PH4, the most common information he received was that PH4 was irreversible and could not be artificially manufactured, except for the two PH4-containing samples he had artificially created, one discovered by S.H.I.E.L.D. and the other by the military. He had never seen a PH4 belonging to a third person.
Where did the PH4 in Richard Parker's hand come from?
Mary Parker then whispered, appearing on screen but obscuring the camera, her voice very low, but clear enough for Locke to hear: "That test subject has escaped from the lab, and these dozen or so tubes of PH4 are all we have left."
Test subject?
Escaped?
Locke narrowed his eyes: "Interesting."
Richard Parker said, "I know, but precisely because of this, we need a different approach even more."
The camera was turned back on.
"What approach?"
"A drastic approach."
Richard Parker glanced at his wife, Mary Parker, behind the camera, then looked at the Miracle Spider in the glass container: "We've been stuck because PH4 repels any life form except humans, but what if this Miracle Spider has human DNA?"
"…What?"
"You heard right."
"…"
According to Richard Parker, their research on the Miracle Spider had been going on for over five years, but they were still stuck at the doorstep, unable to make any significant progress. However, they had already understood the relationship between PH4 and humans, and between the Miracle Spider and humans. It was just that there was only one Miracle Spider, and they couldn't afford to be careless.
"You're crazy!"
Mary Parker's tone sounded somewhat shocked: "If your idea is wrong, you know Osborn will sue us into bankruptcy."
"Science requires a certain amount of preparation for failure."
"Perhaps we should notify Dr. Mendel Stromm and Dr. Curt Connors."
"No."
Richard Parker shook his head and rolled up his sleeves: "If those two were here, they would never agree to me doing this. Science requires a certain sacrifice. By tomorrow, these remaining nine tubes of PH4 will be transferred, so we don't have time."
As he spoke.
Richard Parker directly began the practical operation.
A sneer hung on Locke's lips.
Look.
He spoke with such righteous indignation.
Science requires a certain sacrifice and preparation for failure.
There's nothing wrong with saying that!
But… the lab.
The Miracle Spider.
These are all Osborn's assets. Richard Parker's words are like telling someone, "Come on, brother, use your money, let's start a business. If it succeeds, it's mine; if it fails, it's yours."
And… he's even dragging Dr. Mendel Stromm and Dr. Curt Connors into it.
Without a doubt.
If this isn't called having a twisted moral compass, then what kind of moral compass is considered twisted?
Soon.
In a tense but orderly operation, Richard Parker drew a tube of his own blood, then grabbed the Miracle Spider inside and directly injected his blood into the Miracle Spider's body.
Instantly.
The Miracle Spider's pupils widened, as if in disbelief.
Me… was I forced to sign a contract?
How could this damned low-level creature do this, how dare he?
The next second.
Just as this Miracle Spider, which had fallen to Earth with the jelly but ended up in a lab, was about to rage and riot, the tube of PH4, also prepared off-camera by Mary Jane with Parker's DNA, was also injected into the Miracle Spider's body.
Instantly.
The Miracle Spider seemed to get high.
Splat.
After Richard Parker slowly let go, the Miracle Spider, as if drunk and high, stood up, splat, stood up, splat, like a boneless shrimp, unable to stand steadily no matter how it tried.
Then.
A change occurred.
The Miracle Spider began to transform dramatically, as if stretching, its black and white colors gradually fading, and then, colorful hues began to appear on its body.
Instantly.
The Miracle Spider transformed into the familiar, somewhat mischievous, colorful spider that Locke recognized.
Locke raised an eyebrow.
The camera then abruptly shifted, revealing a familiar yet strange scene.
It seemed to be this abandoned cave.
Changed locations?
"No one followed, right?"
"No one."
In the video, Richard Parker's demeanor had changed from his lab appearance; he seemed a bit haggard, as if he had aged, and he walked into the camera's view, then embraced the camera, seemingly kissing someone: "The plan to steal the Perfect Spider failed, we must leave quickly, Osborn is already suspicious of us."
Mary Parker, hearing this, panicked slightly: "Richard, maybe… maybe we should send the Miracle Spider back."
"No!"
"…"
Under the camera's gaze, Richard Parker walked over to the experimental table, looked at the camera, and pointed at the Miracle Spider on the table, which required no restraints: "Do you know what this is?"
As he spoke.
The Miracle Spider began to squirm like a liquid, then slowly covered Richard Parker's entire body.
Black Spider?
Locke watched Richard Parker, who had transformed dramatically in the camera, also becoming Spider-Man, and couldn't help but blink.
The next second.
Richard Parker returned to his original form: "This will be an evolution, Mary, an unprecedented evolution. Moreover, I am already linked to the Miracle Spider's life. If the Miracle Spider goes to Osborn, Mendel Stromm and Curt Connors will definitely research the Miracle Spider with cruel methods. If anything happens to the Miracle Spider, something will happen to me too."
Locke couldn't help but laugh.
Damn it.
When you were treating the Miracle Spider so cruelly yourself, weren't you very excited?
Indeed.
People with twisted moral compasses often also exhibit double standards.
"Then…"
"We must leave."
"Hmm?"
"Yes, we'll leave first. As long as Osborn can't find the Miracle Spider, then we'll have a chance to return. As long as we can return, the future will be in our hands."
"But… Peter…"
"It's fine."
Richard embraced his wife once more, comforting her: "Osborn won't do anything to Peter. This will be a gamble that changes our family's destiny, but I think we should take a chance. You rewind the video, I'll collect the experimental data, and we'll leave tonight."
Saying that.
Richard Parker, under the camera's gaze, walked towards the computer in the lab, which had also been converted into a carriage, opened the computer, and seemed to be saying something to the camera.
"My name is Richard Parker…"
The video ended.
Locke raised an eyebrow, stood up, looked around, and then at the computer in front of him.
The next second.
Richard Parker's actions in the video, and in a video from the email earlier, formed a complete timeline in Locke's mind.
Instantly.
The story of Richard Parker became clear…
427. The Black Spider's Encounter
It was quite obvious.
After the experiment targeting Ph4 and the Miracle Spider, it was a success, but Richard Parker took the successful Miracle Spider for himself.
Then, to appease his conscience, he deluded himself into believing that he was doing it for all humanity, to prevent his research findings from being used in a biochemical crisis.
But in reality,
it was nothing more than to satisfy his own selfish desires.
Later,
the incident happened.
Richard Parker not only transferred the Miracle Spider here, but he also tried to steal another spider, the Perfect Spider, as well.
Unfortunately,
since the Miracle Spider went missing, Oscorp Bio had been very strict in guarding the remaining Perfect Spider, and Richard Parker's plan to steal it failed.
So... to leave himself a way out, Richard Parker left the video that Locke had just seen when he entered. This way, no matter who it was, they would always be predisposed to believe him.
After all... no one likes capitalists, and it's unlikely that capitalists would idly come to this dark, poorly ventilated underground cave.
In this way, Richard Parker could advance or retreat as he pleased.
People always believe what they want to believe. Compared to Richard Parker enriching himself, people were clearly more willing to believe that Richard Parker ran off with the funds for the safety of all humanity, to prevent the spiders from being weaponized.
"Tsk tsk."
Locke snapped back to reality, raised an eyebrow, shook his head, and said in one breath, "Having a twisted moral compass combined with double standards isn't a big deal, but a brilliant double-standard hypocrite with a twisted moral compass is a bit terrifying."
It was only because he was an outsider.
If an insider came here, let alone the little spider itself, even law enforcement agencies or other capitalists would probably believe this video.
No other reason.
If Oscorp fell, many people would benefit.
As long as this video was exposed, Wall Street would also be very happy to see Oscorp directly liquidated.
But.
"Shameless,"
Locke sighed again, "Too bad, I still have some self-respect."
At the very least, Locke would never accept a blade handed to him by someone with an extremely twisted moral compass. If he did, wouldn't that mean he was colluding with such a person?
Who was he insulting?
Locke scoffed, found the video in the email, opened it, confirmed it was correct, and prepared to delete it.
However... "Huh?"
Locke raised an eyebrow, suddenly noticing Richard Parker's hand movements at the end of the video, and was slightly stunned, "What is this?"
Zoom in.
At the moment Richard Parker turned off the camera, he took something from the computer with his left hand.
A USB drive!
Of course.
The USB drive itself wasn't the point; the key was the shape of the USB drive in Richard Parker's hand.
It looked familiar.
Locke blinked, then got up and rummaged through the computer desk. Soon, he found a special reading device.
"Hmm?"
Locke looked at the reading device in his hand, tilted his head, and stared at Richard Parker in the video, "There's an unexpected surprise. Could this device read the USB drive that Lorraine was twelve years late in sending?"
Last Christmas, along with the letter from Lorraine Broughton, there was also a USB-shaped device. Locke had searched for similar devices before but found nothing. Even in Langley's intelligence system, there was no similar description.
Locke had thought that thing was really just a so-called amulet.
Now?
Well, well.
Locke raised an eyebrow.
"Thank you!"
After saying that,
Locke directly chose to completely delete the video left by Richard Parker. Then, after sending the video from the computer to his own email, he also prepared to format the computer.
After all, Locke knew in his heart that he wasn't a saint, nor could he be considered a good person, but he absolutely couldn't do something like helping evil.
At the very least... Locke wouldn't repay kindness with enmity!
Oscorp gave people when they needed people and money when they needed money. In the end, you still wanted Oscorp's whole family to die. How twisted your moral compass was, and how malicious your intentions were.
Norman Osborn, letting you just crash and not implicating your son, was truly letting the tiger return to the mountains.
Locke looked up, remembering the scene where Peter Parker directly wiped out the Osborn family, and sighed at Norman Osborn's mercy.
The next second.
"Gurgle gurgle!"
After Locke pressed the enter key with his right hand, he heard the sound from behind, a slight smile playing on his lips. Then, he took his hands off the keyboard, turned around, and looked at the flower spider, which was made up of countless tiny, densely packed spiders, enough to make someone with trypophobia instantly drop dead, resembling a small mountain: "What a coincidence, I was just about to look for you."
As his words fell,
outside the carriage, the flower spider, made up of countless tiny, densely packed spiders, opened its mouthparts.
"Roar!"
"Poof!"
Instantly,
the thick spider silk sprayed out from various parts of the flower spider's body, like a net, directly covering Locke: "White light!"
Just inhaling the lingering scent of white spider jelly on Locke's body,
this flower spider went completely insane.
If the white spider jelly hadn't stubbornly refused to let it devour it back then, it wouldn't have come to this. Originally, it could have evolved into a Weaver, but instead, it ended up on this godforsaken planet where no birds even bothered to poop.
Moreover... due to severe injuries, when it woke up again, it found that it and the jelly had both been captured by Oscorp Bio.
If it were just that, it would have been fine.
Because it was male, and it had devoured many creatures of the jelly race before, its condition looked very good. Then, this led to its nightmare.
Countless times, it was dismembered by the lab personnel, forcing it to emergency repair itself. But the more this happened, the more excited those guys seemed to get.
However, if it didn't emergency repair, its true form would be exposed. But if it used its energy for emergency repairs, it wouldn't be able to recover and bite these low-level creatures to death.
This fell into a vicious cycle.
But, making it learn from that detestable white spider and feign weakness was something it absolutely refused to do. So, Richard Parker would pull, and it would grow back, as if they were locked in a struggle.
And then... there was no then.
The black spider originally thought that such a life would be the theme of its remaining days, but Richard Parker's outrageous actions completely shocked it.
This damned low-level creature actually injected its bloodline into its body, then forcibly bound itself to it.
This completely shocked the black spider, making it suspect for a moment that the white spider had informed these low-level creatures to eliminate it. But the black spider, feeling the equally terrified white spider, immediately understood that this was not informing, but rather, an accidental encounter.
However,
the black spider quickly adapted. Perhaps this was a great opportunity, an opportunity for it to escape.
But... the black spider never expected that after it obediently came into contact with Richard Parker and acted as if Richard Parker was its sole master, this guy would run away without it, and even freeze it.
Yes.
When Richard Parker ran away with Mary Parker, he directly froze it. The reason was simply because he had once boasted to Richard Parker that even in minus one hundred degrees of freezing, he would not die. After that, before he could even react, he was frozen.
When the black spider woke up again,
Good heavens.
Richard Parker was already dead.
And it, due to the life contract, once again fell into weakness, almost dying. However, because of Ph4, it did not die. Instead, it even gained a special ability.
Ph4 is only produced when a female is pregnant.
Simply put,
it was, in a sense, transsexualized and self-reproduced. However, this was a single-parent reproductive mode. Although it could self-incubate with the special ability brought by Ph4, it could not take the path of a Weaver.
The most crucial thing was that its life was bound. Unless it could break the binding.
Here it was.
After the black spider sensed Peter Parker's aura, it immediately emerged without hesitation, bit Peter Parker, and directly threw its already discarded power to Peter Parker.
As for Cindy Moon?
This was entirely because of Locke.
After the black spider gave its original discarded power to Peter Parker, it became weak again. However, before it could recover, it felt a familiar aura.
The aura of the white spider.
Moreover... within this white spider's aura, there was also a powerful and terrifying aura.
It was clear.
The white spider had found a powerful backer.
This made the black spider very afraid, so it emerged. When it felt the powerful aura just a door away from it, it directly grabbed Cindy Moon and then forcibly infused her with the life and power of the white spider race that it had devoured at that time, attempting to confuse Locke in this way.
But... it failed again.
The white spider had no intention of letting it go. Just as the black spider completely embarked on the Ph4 mutation path, that powerful and terrifying aura once again pressed down on it.
So!
No more cowering!
I'm not a coward, come on, kill me...