The Spaceship in the Basement (New book, please collect)

"Oh, God, I hope they're okay."

The compassionate Parker Couple expressed concern over the breaking news accident and prayed for everyone's safe escape from danger.

But at that moment, Peter Parker in the back seat felt like he'd been clubbed hard on the head.

He couldn't care less about the casualties from this sudden disaster; his mind just kept echoing that line: "A mysterious person used webbing to save the day."

Peter never imagined that while he was still planning his next move to acquire Spider-Man's powers, someone else had already beaten him to it, successfully awakening Spider-Man's extraordinary abilities.

And right now, that person was showcasing immense power, announcing Spider-Man's birth to the world.

No doubt, after today, the name Spider-Man would sweep across all of New York City, even the entire world.

And none of it had anything to do with him, Peter Parker.

At this moment, Peter felt like a rich kid about to inherit a billion-dollar fortune, only to discover at the crucial moment that he wasn't the biological child.

Not only was the billion-dollar inheritance going up in flames, but he'd also be kicked out, left begging on the streets.

Such a massive letdown was almost impossible for anyone to accept.

And that's why, even as the Parker Couple drove to their destination, Peter still couldn't fully come to terms with this devastating news.

"Peter, we're here."

Uncle Ben didn't notice the intense disappointment churning inside Peter at that moment.

He parked the car in front of a farm gate and called out to Peter in the back to open the door.

Now, still lost in his dejection, Peter finally snapped out of it, steadied himself, and got out of the car too.

Temporarily forgetting his failure to become Spider-Man, Peter looked at the massive farm before him. Though it seemed a bit desolate—the once-level ground now overgrown with weeds nearly a meter tall—

it still had a unique kind of beauty.

Whenever a breeze swept through, it rippled like an emerald sea.

"Well, even if I can't be Spider-Man, at least I can be a farmer."

If given the choice, who wouldn't want to be the cool Spider-Man?

"Parker Farm, the only thing this body's parents left him."

Recalling the memories of this farm in his mind, Peter felt a bit strange.

He didn't remember any farm like this appearing in the Spider-Man movies.

"It's been a whole year since we last came, and it's already this overgrown. Looks like we've got our work cut out for us these next few days."

Staring at the weed-choked farm, Uncle Ben couldn't help rubbing his already stiff old back.

Hearing Ben's complaint, Aunt May shot him a look, then said to Peter, "Peter, let's head inside first."

Ben smiled and shook his head, then slowly followed into the farm.

"This farm is really not small. Even out in the suburbs, this huge area must be worth a pretty penny. Who said Peter Parker was a poor kid? He's a future farmer, plain and simple."

Walking into the farm, Peter could truly feel its vastness.

Just getting from the gate to the living house took a good while.

On the farm sat a few simple wooden cabins.

It had been a full year since their last visit.

The house they'd tidied up a year ago was now covered in a thick layer of dust again.

Uncle Ben pointed to the smallest wooden cabin on the far end and said to Peter, "Peter, your aunt and I will handle the other rooms. That storage shed is yours to clean up, alright?"

Peter didn't answer, just walked toward that wooden cabin.

"Ben, we could've done that ourselves. Why make Peter do it?"

Aunt May watched Peter leave, her eyes full of affection.

Uncle Ben smiled and replied, "May, he's grown up. It's time he learned to be independent like a man."

"In my eyes, he's still a child no matter what."

On the other side, Peter had already reached that small storage shed.

Cleaning up a shed was nothing to complain about.

But when he stepped inside and saw the mess of random junk piled up, its purpose unknown, all covered in a thick layer of dust, he still felt a bit of despair.

"Isn't this going to take an entire afternoon to clean up? I haven't even had lunch yet!"

Peter couldn't help roaring inside his head.

In the end, he could only silently start sorting through the clutter.

Luckily, Uncle Ben wasn't some evil capitalist.

An hour later, he still came to call Peter to eat the lunch Aunt May had made.

But after eating, Peter had to go back to sorting out the warehouse.

So Peter spent almost the entire afternoon organizing that warehouse.

He cleaned and arranged the materials and equipment of unknown purpose, categorizing and putting them in order.

Gradually, the once chaotic warehouse became neat and tidy.

And during the process, the memories of this farm in his mind slowly became clearer, including those of this warehouse.

He remembered that the parents of this body had warned him as a child never to play here.

Now that he thought about it, it seemed like they were hiding some secret.

"Don't tell me there's a hidden biology lab here?"

Given that this body's parents were biological genetic scientists, Peter felt it was entirely possible there was a biology lab hidden here.

"Hey, even if there is a lab, what use is it to me now?"

"Am I supposed to use it to run biological gene modification experiments on myself? If I can't be Spider-Man, should I become Fly-Man or Cockroach-Man?"

Thinking this, Peter couldn't help shaking his head, casting aside these impractical ideas, and continued organizing the warehouse.

Peter plopped down on the ground. "Finally almost done. I'm dead tired."

After spending nearly the whole afternoon, Peter was finally close to finishing the warehouse.

Only a pile of metal objects of unknown purpose remained in the corner.

"Whoa, that's heavy!"

As he lifted the metal items from the corner one by one, Peter felt like his back was about to break.

"Huh? Is this... a basement?"

After moving away that pile of useless metal, Peter did notice something unusual.

It seemed that due to years of neglect and the excessive weight of those metal objects, the wooden floor beneath them had cracked, revealing a hole.

Peter couldn't help lying down on the floor and peering into the hole. He could vaguely make out a staircase leading deeper, but it was pitch black down there, with nothing visible.

"So there really is a mysterious basement. Did my parents leave it behind?"

At that moment, Peter felt a stir of curiosity.

After all, it was because of their research results that this body's parents had been murdered.

"Forget it, I'll just go down and take a look."

Peter didn't believe this suddenly appearing basement could pose any danger to him.

It wasn't like he was tomb raiding—there wouldn't be that many traps and hazards.

So Peter found a flashlight and used a hammer to widen the hole enough for him to get through.

Then he carefully climbed down.

Step by step down the stairs, his feet soon hit solid ground.

Relying on the light of the flashlight, he slowly ventured deeper.

"What's that? A dinosaur egg?"

As Peter cautiously moved forward, he discovered that at the far end of the basement, there was no lab—just an oval-shaped "giant egg."

But when he got closer, he finally confirmed.

"No, that's not an egg. It looks like... a spaceship."