A Bad Story (Part One)

The hands of the pocket watch turn backward, and the camera begins to rewind time.

When the Lizardman fell from the top of Stark Tower, Dr. Connors only remembered the whistling wind in his ears, and gradually, he recalled the sound of shrapnel flying past his ears as well.

With the immense pain of falling to the ground and a sea of bright red before his eyes, Connors felt as if he were in a dream.

Many years ago, he was just a newly enlisted military doctor. Like all young people of that era, he firmly believed in the principles of protecting the country. So he and his comrades participated in the war with full confidence.

Connors could no longer recall the high spirits they had once shared. The brutality of the battlefield shattered all their dreams; wounds, death, and bloodshed showed no mercy to anyone for ideals and ambitions.

When Connors returned to his hometown, he was a battered and bruised loser. He received compensation and was then thrown into the sewer in the corner like a leaky garbage bag.

This cruel society would not make an exception for his difficult life of being unable to take care of himself because of his past achievements and honors. He began to clumsily learn how to live with One Hand, like a Joker on stage, making people laugh with his distorted movements.

The sounds of bottles and jars being knocked down by him echoed in Connors' ears. His dream deepened, and the few remaining colorful memories began to fade away, leaving only endless darkness.

He remembered that one of the most talkative young soldiers in their squad had aged considerably when Connors saw him again, but he still told Connors with a smile that he would be saved soon, that the country had not abandoned him, and that he would soon be better.

Most of these once-passionate young people did not have the same level of education as Connors, and most of them had not attended university. Therefore, as long as they brought up some seemingly profound terms, they would feel that they had truly received a godsend opportunity to change their miserable lives.

Connors learned of a secret military plan from his old comrade.

The darkness in his dream grew ever deeper. Connors only remembered the cold light of the computer screen flashing in his vision. When he saw the information recorded in a certain text, he knew that from now on, he had to shut his mouth and remain silent forever.

This horrific scam doesn't need any sane supporting characters.

After losing an arm, Connors also lost the ability to speak, becoming mute.

Countless data and information became clearer and clearer in his dreams, surrounding and engulfing him. The intense guilt and the pressure that drove him almost mad completely overwhelmed him.

Connors made up his mind then and there that if life was destined to be a downward fall, then he would do what he was doing now: even if he was to die here, he had to leave a deep and painful mark on this land.

The last word that remained in his consciousness was the name he could not forget even in so many Hush nights—"Project: Desperate Measures".

The cold light from the computer screen shone on Peter's face as he searched for information in the laboratory that Dr. Connors had once used in Stark Tower.

After Dr. Connors was rushed to the hospital, Peter was overwhelmed with guilt. He knew that the problem must lie with the serum that Dr. Connors had been researching. Since he couldn't help with the rescue, he wanted to start by looking at the research data on the serum to see if he could find a way to counteract it.

Although Dr. Connors withdrew from Stark Tower with his data, the research results from this collaboration belonged to the Stark Industries and the military, and some of them were still stored in the terminal data recording equipment in Stark Tower.

Peter knew that Dr. Connors had the authority to change the data on these devices, and he wanted to find some Silk.

What puzzled Peter was that the data device used by Dr. Connors was too clean; no one could have even deleted all the records from the calculator on it, leaving nothing but a series of numbers as the results.

Peter found it strange. Dr. Connors was not that kind of person. He was very rigorous in his academic research and would not do something like deleting all the solution process and leaving only a seemingly plausible answer.

Peter searched the computer relentlessly and eventually found some clues. He noticed that certain combinations of numbers seemed to follow a pattern. Peter began typing rapidly, the blue light from the screen reflecting off his face and into his eyes. After a while, the light changed, Peter said, "What is this? A website address?"

Because this type of data terminal device is not allowed to connect to the internet, Peter had to turn to Jarvis for help. Jarvis analyzed the URL and found that it pointed to an encrypted website. This website was encrypted in layers, but this did not stop Jarvis. Soon, Jarvis obtained an image from the website.

Peter stared at the holographic screen in front of him and said, "What is this? It looks like a child's doodle or abstract drawing. Are you sure this is what that heavily encrypted website is trying to protect?"

"That's all we have, Mr. Parker."

In the somewhat dark laboratory, Peter crossed his arms and stared intently at the messy lines on the drawing. It was a blank sheet of paper with many black lines that looked completely random, as if it had been scribbled on with crayons.

Peter frowned, looked at it for a while, and said, "No, this picture shouldn't be viewed like this. Jarvis, could you please flatten this picture and make the lines on it 3D?"

Is that so, sir?

Jarvis did as Peter said, but it still turned out to be a complete mess. Peter said, "Yes, that's right... Can you straighten them out? Just like the current turning pattern..."

In less than a second, the pattern that was originally a tangled mess of black curves transformed into a pattern of zigzag lines.

Peter's eyes widened. "It's a map of the New York sewers!"

He quickly opened his backpack, took out the piece of paper he had been writing down, and compared it to the paper, saying, "Yes! That's right! It's a 3D sewer map, look! This is the road I always take... I'm absolutely sure I'm not mistaken, I've been wandering around in there for days..."

"But what's the point? Why would Dr. Connors hide this map? Shouldn't someone be able to figure out the route by spending a few days wandering around the sewers?"

Peter scratched his head, continued looking at the pattern, then turned it around and compared it to the route he had obtained.

"... No, there seem to be a few wrong paths here. Like here, this should be a right turn after going down one step, but why does it show a left turn? There's no manhole cover here either, and where these paths intersect... that reservoir!"

"Dr. Connors is pointing to that reservoir! But what's there? That laboratory? But..."

Peter thought for a moment, quickly put away the map in his hand, grabbed his bag, and said, "Jarvis, keep in touch with me! I might need your technical support later..."

"No problem, Mr. Stark has granted you access to the vast majority of technical support."

Peter grabbed his backpack and ran quickly out of Stark Tower. He found the nearest manhole cover and crawled inside. He darted through the sewers and soon arrived at the reservoir where the laboratory he had burned down was located.

Upon opening the door of the maintenance station, where charred marks remained, Peter realized something was amiss. Although the maintenance station resembled an evil laboratory, it was only an illusion; Peter found no useful information there.

On the contrary, there were all sorts of specimens here, including some unidentified organ specimens. As an insider, Peter knew that biological experiments were often not like what ordinary people thought, involving corpses. These specimens, which had been soaked for a long time, were completely useless.

Now that he knows this lab is Dr. Connors's creation, it seems even stranger. Dr. Connors is an expert; why would he meticulously arrange a bunch of equipment and specimens that are completely useless in experiments here? It's as if he deliberately wanted people to think this was a biological laboratory.

Everything here seems designed for laypeople, fulfilling their fantasies about some wicked scientists.

Peter didn't know that the owner of this place was Dr. Connors before, and he didn't pay attention to this strangeness. But now that he's here again, Peter recalls the scene in the laboratory he saw before. It's more like a carefully arranged stage than a real biological laboratory.

Peter was increasingly confused. If this wasn't where Dr. Connors was actually conducting his experiments, then why would he hide a clue here? What did it refer to?

Peter searched the place relentlessly, feeling around on the walls and floor for any possible hidden doors, but he found nothing.

Peter left the maintenance station somewhat disappointed. He suddenly noticed that the moss at the entrance of the maintenance station had also been cleaned, and some white powder was left in the corner. Peter began to think quickly. He remembered that on the way here, some places had been cleaned of moss, while others had not.

He ran a few steps forward and saw a corner where there were also traces. Peter followed these traces that had been deliberately altered and found that there were traces on a staircase leading down the same road, but not on the road further ahead.

Peter followed the trail where the moss had disappeared, and eventually, the trail led him to the very end of the sewer.

There is also a maintenance station there.

The door to the maintenance station was unlocked, and the inside looked like it had been abandoned for a long time. After all, this was the lowest part of the New York sewer system, a truly dark and sunless place.

Peter opened the door and was greeted by an ordinary maintenance station, piled with some messy boxes and cleaning tools that hadn't been used in a long time, looking like something from the last century.

Peter waved his hand in front of his face to brush away the dust. He opened all the boxes and found a box containing an unidentified object at the very bottom.

When Peter opened the box, he found a device Peter had never seen before. It was a square, black device with an antenna. Peter took out his phone, snapped a picture, and then called Jarvis. Jarvis quickly told him that it appeared to be an old data terminal with a signal transmitter. Although it was an older version, its power was still quite good.

"So what's here?" Peter asked.

"You can bring it to Stark Tower, and I can physically hack it."

So Peter put the data terminal in his backpack and left with it on his back.