As a single woman, Aunt Mei worked in a welfare-oriented rescue organization, so her salary wasn't high.
Their life, while not exactly impoverished, was just enough to get by.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have relied on scavenging to save up for his computer.
If he had the ability, he naturally hoped Aunt Mei could live a better life.
Before, he wouldn't have thought about these things.
But after the experience with Shadow Spider-Man, he had indeed grown up a lot overnight.
The first step in growing up was to start caring about the people around him.
"Then prepare yourself. I have other matters to attend to. My assistant, Happy, will come this afternoon to take you to your destination," Tony said, rising to leave.
"Okay," Peter nodded, also standing.
He needed to prepare more webbing during this time.
After seeing Tony off, Peter then dealt with Aunt Mei, who had been persistently questioning him.
He casually mentioned that he had received funding from the September Foundation.
This was good news for the family.
Aunt Mei immediately happily announced that they would go out for dinner that evening to celebrate.
However, Peter told her about Tony's arrangements for him: In the afternoon, Iron Man would send someone to help him with some matters to ensure he met the September Foundation's support standards and so on.
This was the story he and Iron Man had agreed on for this "business trip."
Aunt Mei was disappointed, but she knew that business came first.
So, she pulled Peter aside and gave him another lecture, offering advice on how to get along with other people.
Peter was getting a headache from it all, but he had to grit his teeth and listen.
He was having a bit of a mischievous thought at that moment, wondering if Shadow Spider-Man was also nagged by his Aunt Mei.
This is probably what "adults' experience" is like.
It was indeed for the good of the younger generation.
But the younger generation really didn't like to listen.
After going on for over half an hour, Peter desperately hinted that he was leaving in the afternoon and needed to prepare some things. Only then did Aunt Mei let him go.
After preparing some clothes and other necessities for Peter's trip, Aunt Mei went off to work.
Back in his room, Peter leapt lightly, clinging to the ceiling. He pushed aside the access panel and pulled out a few small webbing balls.
These were his homemade webs.
The recipe for the webbing had come to him naturally after the spider bite, when he'd gained his powers.
It was like how spiders in nature spun their webs.
"One, two, three, four... and eight more webbing balls. Should be enough, right?" Peter counted the webbing balls and stuffed them into his pocket.
This was an "expedition," after all, and he needed to be prepared.
Then, he looked at his Web-Shooter.
Compared to the Webbing formula that was a power-up, the Web-Shooter was his true masterpiece.
Because he wasn't a real spider, he didn't have the organs to shoot Webbing like one.
So, he had to rely on external devices.
To achieve this, he taught himself biology, materials science, and mechanical dynamics.
Biology and materials science helped him understand the structure of spider silk and how to use the formula to create Webbing.
The structure of spider silk is very complex. It has three levels of structure.
The first level is the hydrogen bond β-chain, formed by amino acid molecules closely connected to each other through hydrogen bonds.
The hydrogen bond β-chains are then connected to each other through hydrogen bonds to form the second-level structure of spider silk – hydrogen bond β-sheet nanocrystals.
The hydrogen bond β-sheet nanocrystals embedded in the semi-amorphous β-turn polypeptide chain form an α-helical structure, which creates the protein nanocomposite structure, the third-level structure of webbing.
Based on this structure, he came up with an idea.
First, he would prepare the material to the third-level structure of webbing, and then use a subatomic compressor to compress it back to a subatomic state.
This would allow a mass of webbing, hundreds of meters long, to be compressed into a nail-sized, solution-like form.
The Web-Shooter was essentially a miniature subatomic compressor. However, for ease of carrying, it removed other functions, retaining only its pressure capabilities.
The webbing solution needed sufficient pressure to achieve instant deployment and retraction.
If the pressure wasn't enough, the webbing would just keep shooting out.
For these reasons, the materials for the Web-Shooter were also very particular. Many of Earth's materials did not meet his requirements.
Either it's too expensive or it's too fragile.
Later, he snuck into downtown New York City and found some metal that met his requirements at the site of the Avengers' battle with aliens from a few years ago.
After a lot of hard work melting and forging, he finally made it into the shape he wanted.
At this moment, he couldn't help but envy Shadow Spider-Man. He didn't need to synthesize webbing, but instead, he could shoot it directly from his wrists.
He wondered if he could gain such an ability in the future when he possessed another Spider-Man.
But for now, Peter was going to modify his Web-Shooter slightly.
This was an inspiration he got from Shadow Spider-Man.
Shadow Spider-Man's webbing could be changed at will according to his own wishes. Webbing, Web-Bullets, Web-Nets, Web-Whips, various forms, could be used in different scenarios.
He wasn't asking for much. Modifying his Web-Shooter to that extent wasn't something he could do right now.
He planned to add two new firing modes: Web-Bullet and Web-Net.
Previously, the simple Webbing was just a tool for him to move around, and he'd occasionally use it to bind people.
But with the Web-Bullet, he could release a large mass of Webbing in an instant, using the Web-Shooter to unleash a burst of immense kinetic energy, resulting in an effect similar to a bullet.
Although the Webbing's material and its rapid crystallization upon contact with air meant the Web-Bullet wouldn't be lethal, anyone hit by it would definitely be disoriented.
This was clearly a good offensive tactic.
As for the Web-Net, it was an extension of his existing method of binding people with Webbing. He would directly spray the Webbing in a net-like pattern, which not only covered a large area but could also directly ensnare enemies, rendering them unable to move and instantly incapacitating them.
To this end, Peter had consulted a wealth of information, carefully studying similar objects like bullets and fishing nets, observing their movements from deployment to completion.
At the same time, he kept replaying the sensation of merging with Shadow Spider-Man in his mind.
Finally, before two o'clock in the afternoon, he finished his modifications.
After completing the work, he tested the finished product slightly and found that it completely met his expectations.
\n\n
A little while later, a message was sent to Peter's phone.
"Hello Peter, this is Happy. Tony should have told you about me. I'm downstairs."
Peter picked up the newly adjusted Web-Shooter, checked his equipment, and grabbed the backpack on his bed before going downstairs.
He knew that he would be facing the first superhero in history.
Captain America!