Coveting

"My God, how did you do that?"

Peter, who had been standing on the sidelines, had naturally witnessed the entire process of Dilos teaching those guys a lesson. He looked at Dilos's somewhat slender frame and subconsciously reached out to pinch the muscle on Dilos's arm that wasn't covered by his sleeve.

"I can't even pinch it..."

Shock and envy mingled in Peter's eyes. He swallowed hard, and after a moment, he asked, "How did you train for that?"

As far as men go, there is basically no one who doesn't hope to maintain a good physique while also possessing strong, toned muscles.

Peter compared his own arm to Dilos's, feeling a bit helpless. Although Dilos's arms looked slender, they were pure muscle, and overall, they looked a size larger than his own.

Compared to Dilos, he looked as thin as a rake.

"If you want a physique like this, it requires years of persistent, high-intensity training."

Seeing the envious look in Peter's eyes, Dilos felt his small vanity satisfied, yet he still felt somewhat speechless about the situation.

Thinking that this man, who would one day become Spider-Man, was actually envious of his muscles—the mere thought of it felt surreal to Dilos.

However, Dilos reminded himself that this Peter Parker had not yet been bitten by the radioactive spider, nor had his body undergone mutation, so such a reaction was perfectly normal.

After a moment of thought, Dilos decided to get to know him properly. After all, given the disaster-prone nature of this world, he and Peter would likely have many interactions in the future.

With that in mind, Dilos took off his glasses; he didn't want people to remember him only as the guy wearing these ridiculous frames.

"Oh, my God!"

The moment Dilos removed his glasses, he heard Peter exclaim in surprise again, leaving him feeling rather helpless.

"It's just taking off my glasses, do you have to be so dramatic?"

Dilos muttered to himself in frustration, but Peter's next sentence made him feel awkward.

"You're that Dilos Sullivan! The author of the bestselling novel Harry Potter?!"

Peter seemed overjoyed. He circled around Dilos, pacing back and forth until Dilos finally reached out and pressed him to a stop. What left Dilos speechless, however, was that while Peter's body had stopped moving, his mouth hadn't.

"I'm your fan, really. No, I mean, how did you end up here? I'm just so happy."

Peter spoke incoherently until Dilos made several gestures for him to quiet down, at which point he finally settled.

Even so, the excitement on Peter's face refused to fade.

"Ahem, sorry." Peter coughed a few times to mask his embarrassment. He suppressed his emotions and, in front of the smiling Dilos, tried to act composed:

"Hello, Mr. Sullivan. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Peter Parker."

"It's an honor to meet you, Spider-Man."

"Sorry, what did you just say?" Peter didn't immediately catch what Dilos had said. The latter felt a bit awkward; he had been secretly enjoying the fact that the legendary Spider-Man was a fan of his books, and in a moment of distraction, he had blurted out the nickname used for the hero back on Earth.

"Nothing, just a slip of the tongue." Dilos smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Peter Parker."

"But please, don't be so excited. I don't want to be mobbed by other fans."

As he spoke, Dilos carefully checked his surroundings and then put the ridiculous, thick-rimmed glasses back on. With that simple action, Peter Parker realized that if he hadn't already known who the man was, he wouldn't have been able to confirm that this was Dilos.

Dilos wasn't lying; this world still had the bad habit of fans taking candid photos. Not only that, but annoying creatures like paparazzi also existed. If it weren't for the effective disguise of these glasses, he would have been exposed online by some bored fan long ago, and those reporters who spent their days hunting for headlines would have already swarmed New York to track him down and report on him.

And so, Dilos and Peter chatted. Beyond novels, they also discussed biological and physical sciences.

This delighted Peter; he never expected his idol to be someone so obsessed with science, and one whose understanding and grasp of scientific knowledge were far beyond his own.

This was normal, as Dilos had been studying these subjects for several years to prepare for future disasters. With that foundation, combined with the physical conditioning of his martial arts and the auxiliary effects of his own superpowers, Dilos's memory and learning ability far exceeded those of others.

As for Peter Parker, his exposure to knowledge was limited, and he hadn't been bitten by the spider yet, so his brain's development was still within the range of a normal person. Even though Peter was a top student at school, he couldn't compare to Dilos at this stage.

The two hit it off, and Peter Parker even invited Dilos to his home.

Dilos certainly wouldn't refuse such an opportunity delivered to his doorstep. Before coming to New York, he had thoroughly researched the background. Among the news he found was information about Peter Parker's father, Richard Parker.

Richard Parker, just as described in the films of his past life, had been researching cross-species genetic implantation technology at Oscorp alongside Dr. Connors. However, unlike the movie, nine years ago, Richard Parker's laboratory was invaded by a group of unidentified thugs who attempted to seize the experimental data and finished products from him.

Richard Parker refused to yield, fighting the thugs alongside his wife. In the end, the couple died with the attackers, and the data and samples were destroyed in the struggle.

That was the official story, but Dilos believed the truth was far more complex than a few sentences could explain.

Dilos didn't care about that, though. To him, Richard Parker's research notes were what mattered most. Although the newspapers reported that the data had been destroyed, that didn't mean Richard Parker hadn't left backups at home or elsewhere.

Dilos could think of this, and so could others. He believed Peter's home had likely already been ransacked; if those things existed, they had probably been taken.

Still, he held onto a sliver of hope.

What if Richard Parker's contingency plans were clever enough that those people hadn't found them?

And so, carrying quite a few hidden motives, Dilos stepped into Peter's home.