So Ye Li decided to let the matter rest for now. He would give this underground king a taste of his own medicine when he got the chance.
After all, they had never met, so he did not feel particularly strongly about the grudge.
"Oh, big brother, you're following this news too."
Jessica carried a small black shoulder bag as she bent down beside Ye Li's computer. "That Black Spider who appeared a few days ago looks a lot like Ghost-Spider. I suspect they might be some kind of crime-fighting couple."
Ye Li felt helpless.
He had clearly said he was Spider-Man, so how had the media turned him into Black Spider?
He was not Miles's little Black Spider.
Jessica kept chattering beside him. "But he's so mysterious. Vulture, the Super Criminal who nearly smashed into us that day, vanished without explanation. Some people say Black Spider already killed him."
"I heard from Gwen that her dad is really unhappy about it. He thinks criminals should be handled by the police, and no one else has the right to..."
"Jessica, you'll be late if you don't leave for school now. You don't want to be late on the first day of school, do you?"
Ye Li raised the black ring around his wrist, which displayed the time.
"All right. Your new watch is pretty nice."
Jessica tilted her head and lightly kissed his cheek before leaving with a smile.
"I'm heading out, then. Don't forget tonight's party! Gwen will be there too~"
"Don't worry, I'll definitely be there!"
Ye Li waved her off.
After seeing Jessica out, he skimmed through the news from the past few days again.
"Stark hasn't even become Iron Man yet. There are pitifully few Super Criminals these days."
He found no Enemy of Fate for either Gwen or Jessica.
Disappointed, Ye Li closed the screen and decided to give up on grinding monsters for now.
Rather than exhausting himself fighting supervillains for rewards, wouldn't it be better to build connections with future superheroes, piggyback on some easy missions, load some kind of template, and honestly become an Extraordinary Relationship?
That was right. He was just that lazy.
Maybe he had gotten used to slacking off over the past few years.
Midtown High.
"Gwen, why do you seem to be in a bad mood?"
"Do I?"
Gwen took out a small mirror and smiled into it. "I look perfectly normal. I'm not frowning or anything."
"It's your appetite! You've been eating so much lately, you could almost compete with me. I heard people binge-eat when they're upset."
Jessica seriously reminded her, "Don't eat too much at tonight's party, or you'll ruin your figure and won't look as good."
"..."
Gwen felt wronged. Fighting criminals was exhausting, okay? What was wrong with eating a little more?
Bruce Banner! Jessica's Crazy Idea!
But she could not say that.
Thinking of something that had indeed been troubling her lately, Gwen said, "Jessica, you saw the reports about Black Spider too, right? Because of Black Spider, Dad doesn't think much of Ghost-Spider anymore either."
"What does that have to do with you?"
Jessica draped an arm over Gwen's shoulders and teased with a smile, "Don't tell me you're a Ghost-Spider fan too?"
"A fan?... Yeah, I guess so."
Gwen answered reluctantly.
Being her own fan... that was way too embarrassing.
Gwen was a Ghost-Spider fan too—Jessica came up with an idea.
She tapped away on her phone, sending a message to her big brother.
Meanwhile.
Manhattan Fifth Avenue.
Inside an elaborately decorated high-end art studio.
"Dr. Banner, it's quite a trip from my home to this studio."
Looking at the man who had come to see him, Ye Li forced himself to remain calm. "Normally, I only come here once or twice a week. So I hope you're not joking with me. Do you really want to learn painting from me?"
That was right. Sitting before him was Bruce Banner, the Hulk.
Although Ye Li was confident he could trade blows with Hulk before he became powerful enough, he was still worried that the green guy would come out and tear the studio apart.
That was why, after receiving the message, he had chosen to meet at his nominal workplace instead of at home.
If not for the system, Ye Li would never have wanted to meet this doctor.
Honestly, he was already starting to regret it.
The Hulk template was powerful, but it was bad for the city's appearance.
Exploding out of his clothes at every turn was one thing, but he was green all over too.
And getting close enough to Banner for the system to define him as Banner's Extraordinary Relationship would not happen overnight.
Without that prerequisite, Banner's missions naturally could not be triggered.
"Yes, Mr. Ye Li."
Banner looked somewhat dejected. "I heard that the art of painting can calm a person's mind. I want to give it a try."
"If your emotions are unstable, I think you should see a doctor instead."
Ye Li neither agreed nor disagreed. "Painting can indeed cleanse the soul sometimes."
"But it can also make you increasingly irritable."
"Take Vincent Willem van Gogh, for example. Everyone knows that."
"Dr. Banner, do I need to give more examples?"
Banner nodded.
"I know this might not work."
"But I've already tried many methods to control my emotions. There's no harm in trying this too."
You have nothing to lose, but I might.
Just as Ye Li was about to say something else, his phone chimed.
Only messages from Jessica and the others had notification alerts enabled, so he casually picked it up and glanced at it.
It was a message from Jessica:
Li, I want to start a Ghost-Spider Fan Club!
You like Ghost-Spider too, right? Can you help draw a Ghost-Spider poster?
I'm planning to announce it at tonight's party.
Hehe~ Gwen is a Ghost-Spider fan too. I'm definitely going to give her a scare.
She probably really will get scared by you...
Ye Li had to admit that Jessica had plenty of crazy ideas.
Gwen was a Ghost-Spider fan? Heh, that was interesting.
With great interest, he turned on the computer beside him.
Drawing a large poster by hand in time for tonight would not work. He would need software assistance.
"Banner, I agree."
As Ye Li operated the computer, he said, "You can be my assistant for now, until you decide this is useless."
Banner smiled. "Thank you, Ye."
No need to thank him.
Free labor was free labor.
The view returned to Midtown High.
Gwen and the others had already begun class.
The middle-aged man teaching from the podium had lost one arm. His name was Curtis Connors.
As a biology professor, he had unique insights into certain points of knowledge, and he taught with ease.
Gwen listened attentively. During her summer internship at Osborn Corporation, she had studied under Dr. Connors.
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