It was already midnight, and aboard the Whitebeard Pirates' enormous pirate ship, the whole crowd of pirates was still partying.
They had no complaints about the beer mugs being bigger than their faces, draining more than half of each in a single gulp.
As soon as they drank the beer, an extremely faint golden light radiated from their bodies, then quickly merged into them.
This was beer Han Yu had put Senzu Beans into. It could heal injuries without affecting the taste. For this banquet of several thousand people, Han Yu had used only two Senzu Beans. Otherwise, eating a single one would fill them up, and they wouldn't have room for anything else.
Up on the quiet mast, Wanda stood alone in the breeze.
Han Yu leaped onto the mast, took a coat from his system storage, and draped it over Wanda's shoulders.
"Why don't you go down and join the fun? Pietro's having a great time down there."
Han Yu looked down at the deck. Quicksilver was using his superpowers to play games with everyone. His speed was beyond anything the pirates had ever seen, leaving them amazed as well as entertained.
"I wanted some peace and quiet by myself. It's too noisy down there for me."
Wanda snuggled deeper into the coat, its warmth putting her much more at ease.
"What's wrong?" Han Yu asked.
Wanda's gaze grew distant. "A few days ago, Pietro and I were still wandering around, never knowing where our next meal would come from. I didn't even know what I was living for. I never imagined that now, with a single transformation, I'd become a god who can decide whether others live or die."
Han Yu nodded and said, "To be honest, I know you and your brother have some grievances with Tony Stark. I wasn't involved, and I don't want to speak from the moral high ground. I just want to say that those things weren't what he intended, and now he's fighting for peace and for Earth."
Wanda was surprised that Han Yu had brought up Iron Man, Tony Stark. She fell silent for a while, then said, "As I am now, I could probably kill him without much effort, couldn't I?"
Han Yu said, "As long as you want to, you can do it. But I don't want you to become like that."
Wanda let out a long sigh and thought for a while before saying, "If Stark keeps making weapons for those people to wage war with, maybe I'll step in and kill him. But I saw him carry a nuclear bomb into space for Earth back then. Although I don't want to forgive him, I don't have any prejudice against him either. Let's leave it at that."
"I'm glad you were able to work it out..."
Han Yu was only halfway through his sentence when Wanda suddenly leaned over and nestled into his arms.
Han Yu was taken aback. Smelling the faint fragrance of Wanda's hair, he said nothing more and gently held her.
Wanda raised her head to look at Han Yu, her eyes as tender as water. As he stared at her, somewhat dazed, she gently kissed him.
The two instantly returned to the general store, appearing in Han Yu's room.
And then.
A sleepless night.
At noon the next day, sunlight shone through the window into the room. Long eyelashes fluttered, and Han Yu slowly opened his eyes.
Yawning, Han Yu sat up and found Wanda lying beside him, her bare shoulders exposed. A ray of sunlight fell across her fair face, making her look very beautiful.
"Last night, we..."
Han Yu suddenly recalled what had happened the night before. Remembering how wild it had been, he couldn't help smiling. He tucked the blanket around Wanda, then got out of bed and dressed, planning to make lunch.
He had just left his room and was about to go downstairs when he spotted Quicksilver sprawled spread-eagle on the living room floor, with several wine jars beside him.
"Pietro, don't tell me you slept here all night?"
Han Yu went over and patted Quicksilver's face. Without even opening his eyes, Quicksilver rolled over and went back to sleep, mumbling, "Drink... keep drinking! Whoever stops drinking is a grandson..."
"How much did he drink...?"
Han Yu shook his head helplessly and used Green Lantern Energy to carry him back to his room, then went downstairs to cook.
Judging by Quicksilver's condition, he definitely wouldn't wake up anytime soon, so Han Yu only made enough for himself and Wanda.
Han Yu had just finished making lunch and was about to carry it out when he felt something warm and soft press against his back. A gentle voice sounded by his ear.
"You're up so early..."
The voice sent a tingling sensation through Han Yu's body. He turned around and saw Wanda.
She was wearing one of Han Yu's white shirts. The shirt was a little large on her, making her figure look even more petite, while the long hair falling loosely over her shoulders made her look thoroughly feminine.
"Let's have some lunch. It's already noon."
Looking into Wanda's eyes, tender as water, Han Yu felt as though he could sink into them and never get out. He quickly looked away and carried lunch out.
Watching Han Yu's somewhat flustered retreat, Wanda pressed her rosy lips together and broke into a lovely smile. It suddenly struck her that Han Yu wasn't all that mysterious after all.
At least in this respect, he was still very much like a young boy.
After lunch, Wanda volunteered to take the dishes and wash them. "All right, leave these to me. Thanks for your hard work last night. Go get some rest."
Han Yu smiled somewhat helplessly. Could she stop teasing me like that? Doesn't she know how good-looking she is?
Just as Han Yu was about to flop onto the living room sofa, he heard the soft sound of wind chimes.
As mentioned earlier, the volume of the wind chimes depended on the visitor's strength. The stronger the visitor, the faster the chimes swayed.
But judging by how fast they were chiming now, the visitor probably wasn't very strong.
"Han, are you there?"
In the general store on the first floor, a boy of fifteen or sixteen stood in front of the counter, repeatedly calling Han Yu's name toward the door there.
"I'm coming, I'm coming. What's the hurry?"
Han Yu came downstairs. Seeing the boy in front of him, he raised an eyebrow and said, "Parker, why aren't you at school? What are you doing here?"
The visitor was the Spider-Man everyone knew, Peter Parker. Of course, "everyone knew" referred to Han Yu's previous life. For now, Spider-Man was just an ordinary high school student.
Han Yu had also been quite fond of Spider-Man in his previous life. Once helped him; after coming to this world, he had helped Peter Parker through a chance encounter, and Peter had become Han Yu's first friend in this world.
When Peter Parker saw Han Yu come downstairs, he ran to the door of the general store. After making sure no one outside was going to come in, he hurried back to Han Yu and said excitedly,
"That's not important, Han. Let me show you something amazing!"
Before Han Yu could speak, Peter Parker looked around the store, ran over to a box nearby, and wrapped both arms around it. With a little effort, he lifted it.
Han Yu's pupils contracted sharply. Others might not know how heavy that box was, but how could he not know?
The box contained ore Han Yu used to forge weapons, a full four hundred kilograms of it!
For an ordinary person, lifting something weighing four hundred kilograms was impossible. For someone like Peter Parker, a boy of fifteen or sixteen who weighed only about fifty kilograms, lifting it was even more of a tall tale.
There was only one explanation: he had been bitten by a mutated spider!
Han Yu asked, "What's going on with you?"
Peter Parker put down the box of ore and came over to Han Yu, brimming with excitement. "Amazing, right? The strange thing is, a few days ago I went with my school to visit Oscorp. That Oscorp—you know Norman Osborn, right? He's..."
"I know, I know. Get to the point."
Han Yu pulled Peter Parker back on topic. The kid was prone to wandering off track when he talked, drifting from one subject to another and going on for an hour.
"Oh, right, I almost got sidetracked." Peter Parker smiled awkwardly and continued his story. "We were visiting a laboratory that did animal experiments. I think a spider fell from the ceiling and bit me on the neck. The next day, I found my strength, speed, and reflexes had all improved beyond those of an ordinary person!"
Peter Parker's account confirmed it for Han Yu. In the classic Spider-Man trilogy from his previous life, Spider-Man had gained his superpowers the same way.
"Who else have you told about this?" Han Yu asked seriously.
"Just you. I haven't even told my classmates or Aunt May."
As Peter Parker saw it, the owner of this general store, who was a few years older than him, was the only person he could trust.
If he told his classmates, they were all young, and there was no telling when the news might spread through the whole school. Peter Parker didn't want to be captured and experimented on.