Venom Spider-Man Appears

Back on the commercial street.

He casually destroyed several hidden cameras concealed along the street, all faintly aimed at his little shop. There was no need to think about it—Black Eggplant had definitely ordered his men to set them up. Maybe they could even upload data in real time and experience firsthand what it felt like to be crushed.

The first floor of the shop was empty. Yinsen had left a note on the counter that read, "The food sent over from Hell's Kitchen is all stored in the refrigerator." Yuri walked over and found some food still lying on the floor, not yet refrigerated. When he opened the fridge, he was stunned—it was practically bursting.

He wondered whether he should tell Hell's Kitchen to make less food. After all, Shack and the other four went out fighting crime every night, and the money they got from robbing criminals was at least a hundred thousand, if not a million. Besides, they had basically learned how humans survived and could fully support themselves now. There was no need for him to keep feeding them.

It took him half an hour to fill his stomach. For Mutants with enormous appetites, eating itself did not take much effort, but getting full truly took a great deal of time. He needed to hurry up and develop some high-energy food. He could not waste all twenty-four precious hours of a day just filling his stomach.

Bang!

A large pile of materials, along with the first Steam Armor Yuri had created, crashed heavily onto the floor of the second level. The magic patterns inscribed throughout the shop flashed briefly, easing the unbearable burden placed upon the ordinary construction materials.

"I still need to change houses."

Yuri shook his head. There had really been far too many things going on lately.

But as the saying went, put on your pants before your shoes; be a grandson before becoming an old man. Food had to be eaten bite by bite, and matters had to be handled one at a time.

The first thing he needed to do was make some modifications to the first-generation Steam Armor. For instance, he needed to fuse together the patchwork assortment of steels on its shell so it would not look so obviously cheap before it was painted later. He also needed to weaken certain aspects of its speed, flight, and endurance so it would not display attributes that were too eye-catching. And he needed to improve the energy absorption array serving as its power core, inscribing it with anti-theft magic that was completely useless—or that would instantly blow up the entire armor if tampered with too much...

More than two hours later, when Shack and the other four pushed open the door and entered, they saw two second-generation Steam Armors. They were in no way inferior to War Machine before it had been painted, and were even more imposing in size and sheer pressure!

Yuri checked the time. It was only three in the morning. Usually, the five of them did not return until the first faint light of dawn.

"Why did you come back so early today?"

Vanax darted over to one of the Steam Armors and curiously examined the metal can in front of her. It did look rather impressive, so she could not resist curling her fingers and giving it two "gentle" taps. "Boss, Daredevil said Hell's Kitchen has practically been purified into a paradise on earth by the five of us. He plans to rest for a few days, then make one final push to find Kingpin's hideout and take him down in one stroke."

Clang! Clang!

An inactive Steam Armor was nothing more than a heap of scrap metal. How could it withstand a "gentle blow" from Vanax, one of the elder Mutants? Two dents the size of baby fists immediately appeared on the armor's originally smooth, pristine surface. The moment Vanax saw Yuri's face go dark, she knew she would probably have to go through another miserable emotional journey tonight of So Close Yet So Far and Tried to Snatch It but Found She Couldn't Win.

"Get lost!"

Kate crossed her arms and watched that Silly Bird flee in panic, her heart brimming with gratitude. How wonderful life was when she had a god-tier teammate who never let her down in battle, and a pig of an opponent who became absolutely stupid whenever mating rights were at stake—and both of them were named Vanax.

After making one final adjustment and confirming that there were no problems, Yuri casually smoothed out the two dents Vanax had made. He stored the armor in the Black Sphere, then headed upstairs with Kate. After only a few steps, he suddenly sensed something odd behind him. Turning around, he met three pairs of eager eyes.

"Boss, when can we go to the Arctic?"

"The three of us are about to die from holding it in!"

"Yeah, Boss, you need to hurry up and find us girlfriends!"

Yuri was speechless. So the members of his clan had just solved their food problem, and now that they were well-fed and warmly clothed, they were already thinking about lust. Still, it was indeed a problem. He thought for a moment before saying, "Hold it in for another week. We'll leave for the Arctic in a week. When the time comes, do whatever you want. As long as you have the ability, and as long as it's no more than ten, find however many you can."

Only after Shack and the other two agreed happily did he continue up to the third floor.

What followed was a stormy bout of passion. In the middle of it, a Silly Bird who truly could not endure any longer joined in, followed by another wild tangle of bodies.

The night passed without incident.

But Spider-Man in Queens had plenty to say.

The black slime stuck to his hand not only could not be shaken off, it was even continuously seeping into his body. No matter how tightly he tensed his muscles and skin, he could not stop its advance.

"Could this be some kind of parasitic organism, like Alien?"

"Is it going to eat all my internal organs and crawl out of my stomach?"

"Oh God, if Aunt May sees the horrible way I died, that would be awful!"

"..."

More than half of the black slime had seeped in, and Peter's thoughts began to spiral into chaos. One crazy but not malicious thought after another surfaced, making his nerves increasingly fragile. In the end, he gave up resisting altogether, buried himself in his pillow, and began to cry.

No matter what, he was only a child who had suddenly gained superpowers. Faced with the great terror between life and death, even an old man who had lived an entire lifetime might not be able to take it calmly—let alone a little Spider-Man who had not yet been tempered by society... Though, of course, he had imagined all of it himself.

The clock on the wall ticked away, marking the passage of time bit by bit. No one knew how long passed before Peter's sobbing gradually quieted. He suddenly sprang up from the bed, his agile body landing steadily on the floor.

"Why are you crying? Aren't you still alive and well?"

"But I definitely won't last much longer..."

"I need to do something meaningful before I die. Do whatever I want, without restraint."

"Aunt May! Aunt May's job is far too exhausting, and the key is that she barely earns any money."

"It's all Aunt May's boss's fault. I could kill him!"

"No, no, no. Murder is way too terrifying. I should make money instead. Make enough money for Aunt May to live the rest of her life comfortably. Then even if I die, she'll still be able to take care of herself."

"Rob a bank! Robbing a bank can get me lots and lots of money!"

"No! Aunt May would get arrested because of that. I need to think of another way."

Poor Symbiote. Peter's body and soul were simply too powerful, so it could not gain control over his body at all. It could only stir up the evil thoughts in Spider-Man's heart and push him step by step toward corruption. But the problem was that Peter had pitifully few evil thoughts to begin with. In that heart full of sunshine, the Symbiote could not find anything it could use to tempt its host.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

The phone on the table suddenly rang. Peter answered it, and Captain George's voice came through. "I need your help, kid. The location is the overpass. A large-scale drug deal is taking place here. The enemy has heavy firepower, and I need you to help draw their attention!"

A drug deal?

There had to be plenty of cash there!

With a thought, the black-and-white Venom Spider Suit instantly covered Peter's entire body.

"Cool~"

"I'm on my way!"

After hanging up, Venom Spider flipped out the window.