Uncle Ben's Sacrifice

"Hello, Mr. Jack, I'm Ross. I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Stark just now. If you don't mind me asking, are you really researching the Super Soldier Enhancement Serum?"

General Ross was clearly still obsessed with the Super Soldier Enhancement Serum. As soon as he and Chen Changsheng had some private time, he got straight to the point, asking about the matter he cared about most.

"Of course, General Ross. My company has already made significant progress in the research of the Super Soldier Serum. Look at the Tyrants; they are byproducts of enhanced soldiers, but they still have great potential for use," Chen Changsheng said to General Ross with full confidence.

Well, Chen Changsheng was indeed incredibly confident. After all, enhancing the human body was as simple as blinking for him. The reason he went through so much trouble was just to make things seem more natural.

After chatting with General Ross for a while longer about topics that interested him, Chen Changsheng's professional knowledge left General Ross stunned. Chen Changsheng's confident and composed demeanor made General Ross believe even more that Chen Changsheng was the one who could fulfill his dream of the Super Soldier Enhancement Serum.

It wasn't surprising that General Ross was so convinced, considering how astonishing the Tyrant's abilities were. Superb regeneration, super learning ability, and superior physical fitness – any one of these made it seem more like a super-soldier than Captain America. The only drawback was probably its appearance, but who cared about looks for a war machine?

After agreeing with General Ross on a time to visit the Umbrella Corporation's laboratory, Chen Changsheng officially concluded this weapons demonstration trip. Sometimes, sparking interest was more important than directly sealing a deal.

The military brass, armed with America's hefty military budget, naturally wouldn't be stingy. They placed an order for Umbrella Corporation's Bio-Tyrants. They would see how the product performed before making further plans after the military decided to put them into use.

It could be considered securing a large order for Umbrella Corporation. The moment Chen Changsheng returned to the Umbrella Tower in New York, he immediately convened the newly hired department heads for a discussion. After formulating Umbrella Corporation's next development plan, Chen Changsheng prepared to return to campus and continue his simple and unpretentious high school life.

Chen Changsheng firmly believed in leaving professional matters to professional people. At this time, Chen Changsheng was not yet familiar with the Neuro-Bugs in this world, so he decided to wait for now.

Chen Changsheng held the core technology of Umbrella Corporation. If the temporarily hired executives were to leave him, they would likely be worthless. Therefore, Chen Changsheng believed that these people would not do anything they shouldn't.

Upon returning to Midtown High, the first familiar face Chen Changsheng saw was Peter Parker again. Peter had already removed his thick glasses. He seemed to have grown taller, become much stronger, and more importantly, much more handsome. Although still young, the changes were visibly apparent.

In Chen Changsheng's perception, Peter now possessed strength far beyond that of an ordinary person. According to General Ross, Peter in some aspects should be comparable to Captain America.

Feeling a bit antsy, Chen Changsheng couldn't resist testing Peter's strength. The line "With great power comes great responsibility" from Spider-Man's youth had captivated countless fans. Chen Changsheng wanted to test just how great his power was.

Chen Changsheng quietly walked behind Peter and gently patted him on the shoulder. His speed was well-controlled, not exceeding that of an ordinary person by too much, yet pushing the limits of what a normal human could do.

As expected, Peter, as if foreseeing it, dodged Chen Changsheng's outstretched hand with a sidestep. Peter quickly turned around and, upon seeing it was Chen Changsheng, greeted him with a happy smile.

"Jack, are you also here to help prepare for Mary Jane's birthday party?" Peter asked Chen Changsheng.

Chen Changsheng had no idea it was the day for Mary Jane's birthday party preparations or that she was about to host a birthday party at school. But none of this stopped Chen Changsheng from attending as an uninvited guest. Life, Chen Changsheng actively enjoyed every moment of it.

From Peter Parker's words, Chen Changsheng learned that the upcoming Mary Jane birthday party was being organized by Harry Osborn, the young master of the Osborn Group.

Glancing again at Peter Parker, who was excitedly preparing to contribute to Mary Jane's birthday party, Chen Changsheng couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Peter, you probably think your good buddy Harry is throwing this party for you to pick up girls, don't you?

During his time at school, Chen Changsheng had noticed some clues. It seemed that Mary Jane, Peter, and Harry were entangled in a peculiar love triangle. This complicated relationship even made Chen Changsheng exclaim how dramatic it was.

What can I say? Love is a light, so green it makes you panic... If you want life to go smoothly, Peter, you might just have to wear a little green on your head.

Looking at the happily smiling Peter Parker, Chen Changsheng patted his shoulder, not wanting to disturb the young boy's sweet dream.

What if Peter sees something he shouldn't at tomorrow's birthday banquet? Let's offer a moment of silence for the kind Peter.

Mary Jane was indeed the belle of Midtown High. Even before the birthday party, just the preparation meeting had attracted many students to help.

Some rich second-generation kids were surrounding Harry and Mary Jane, offering blessings. Peter, upon seeing Mary Jane, happily walked over and said, "Hi, Mary Jane, happy early birthday."

Of course, many others were saying the same thing. Clearly, Mary Jane hadn't noticed Peter's greeting amidst the crowd.

But Peter was still happy after offering his well wishes and was pushed by the crowd to Chen Changsheng's side. He was waiting for Mary Jane to be free so she would notice him.

However, this was likely another wishful thought. As the main character, Mary Jane was busy dealing with a continuous stream of people. It would be difficult for someone inconspicuous in a corner to be noticed.

While snacking on various treats, Peter was chatting with Chen Changsheng about their recent lives when the two academic superstars, Helen Zhao and Gwen, walked over.

Normally, two beautiful teenage girls would attract the attention of many boys, but with the halo of academic gods surrounding them, some boys would feel inferior and stay far away.

With the academic gods arriving, the conversation naturally shifted. They were originally discussing Mary Jane's birthday party, but after Gwen and Helen Zhao's arrival, the topic gradually turned to which university they would attend in the future.

Can't find the book by title? Try searching for the author, maybe they just changed their name!

As academic gods, Gwen and Helen Zhao naturally had countless prestigious universities offering them scholarships. Sometimes, it's not just the school picking students; the students are also picking schools!

Although Chen Changsheng wasn't an academic god, many universities sought him out, simply because everyone wore the cloak of genius.

But with so many universities vying for him, a new problem arose: choosing which university to attend was always a dilemma. Well, ordinary people wouldn't have the chance to know the troubles of academic gods...

Speaking of this topic, Peter, also an academic god, finally perked up and interjected, "I wanted to go to MIT, but that city is too far from here. I don't want to be too far from Uncle Ben and Aunt May..."

Before Peter could finish, he noticed that the two girls weren't looking at him but were staring intently at Chen Changsheng. His voice gradually weakened. At the same time, he secretly envied heaven's unfairness. Chen Changsheng had two girls showing interest, so why couldn't Mary Jane see him?

Noticing Gwen and Helen Zhao's gazes, Chen Changsheng felt a bit awkward. After all, he had been in a somewhat ambiguous relationship with them for a while, and such things could cause minor issues.

After a moment of thought, Chen Changsheng threw the question back, asking, "Where do you two want to go? I don't mind, as long as we can be together."

Everyone present, including Peter, fell into an awkward silence.

What could one say...

After a period of silence, Chen Changsheng awkwardly changed the subject, trying to ease the tense atmosphere. "What gifts are you planning to give Mary Jane tomorrow?"

Although the topic change was abrupt, seeing Chen Changsheng's attempt at wit, Helen Zhao chose to forgive him and offered a way out, saying, "I'm planning to give Mary Jane a set of cosmetics. She should like it."

"I have an autographed photo from a Broadway theater star. I plan to give it to Mary Jane. I heard she wants to be a Broadway star in the future, so it should make her very happy," Gwen added.

"Then I'll give Mary Jane a beautiful fruit basket," Chen Changsheng said, seeing the lively atmosphere.

But this statement once again caused a silence. After all, the fruit baskets from the mysterious East were now widely known.

The exorbitant prices, which ordinary people couldn't afford, were astonishing, yet they sold incredibly well. Every sale of a fruit basket made the working class cry out about the evil capitalists, but the person selling them was their own classmate...

Beside them, Peter's heart sank. He had always wanted to attend Mary Jane's birthday party but had never thought about what birthday gift to give her. More importantly, Peter's family wasn't wealthy, so he didn't have enough money to buy an expensive gift.

After a moment of anxious thought, Peter recalled his suddenly immense strength. Suddenly, Peter had a bold idea. Why not go to that underground fighting ring mentioned in the newspaper, where he could earn a reward of $3,000?

This way, he could earn enough money from just one fight to buy Mary Jane some suitable birthday presents. Who knows, maybe that would even make Mary Jane see him in a better light.

After a while, seeing that Mary Jane was still busy interacting with the endless stream of students, the group decided to leave separately.

As usual, Chen Changsheng invited Gwen and Helen Zhao to dinner. Peter, however, rushed off to execute his plan.

Back home, Peter Parker frantically searched for an old newspaper he had seen before. After noting down the address, he hurried off to the location mentioned in the paper without saying goodbye to Uncle Ben or Aunt May.

Uncle Ben noticed Peter leaving in a hurry and felt uneasy. He decided to secretly follow him to see if Peter had gotten into some kind of trouble.

However, the now-enhanced Peter was naturally too fast for Uncle Ben to keep up with. Uncle Ben only managed to catch a glimpse of Peter's retreating back and his general direction before he was out of sight.

Fighting in an underground boxing match was like child's play for Peter now; he didn't even need to use any special techniques. He easily knocked out his opponent with just a few punches.

The audience below the ring erupted in curses, shouting about a fixed fight. The manager of the venue broke out in a sweat. After all, the people who came to watch underground fights weren't exactly upstanding citizens, and this kind of commotion was problematic. While trying to appease the crowd, he also harbored resentment towards Peter and instructed his staff not to pay the kid.

After knocking out his opponent, Peter excitedly ran towards the prize collection area, ready to claim his winnings. However, the person in charge of distributing the prize money had already received instructions from above. The prize, which should have been $3,000, was deducted to a mere $100.

Peter was completely taken aback, exclaiming how treacherous people could be. He tried to play the victim, saying he desperately needed the money, but the person in charge simply brushed him off with a "What does that have to do with me?"

Just as Peter was about to leave, a masked robber burst into the financial office. He held a gun to the head of the staff member who had just dealt with Peter, grabbed a large bag of cash, and ran past Peter out into the street.

Peter watched the entire scene unfold without intervening. He even felt a bit of schadenfreude, still stewing over how the manager had shortchanged him. Ignoring the staff member's loud shouts, Peter happily turned to leave. But young Peter wouldn't be happy for long.

Clutching the hundred dollars, Peter walked home dejectedly. Suddenly, he heard a gunshot, and at the same time, he felt a strange sense of panic, as if something related to him had happened.

Seeing the crowd quickly gathering ahead, Peter ran towards it, feeling that someone very close to him was in the middle of it.

After struggling to push through the crowd, Peter saw his beloved Uncle Ben lying in a pool of blood, barely alive.