Toby's Face-Slapped by Light Speed, Scarlet Spider, Activate!

This time, Gwen picked out a car for Toby even faster than she had when choosing one for Ben last time. She settled on a model in less than half an hour.

But rather than the pickup Toby had initially imagined, like Ben's, Gwen chose the latest off-road Wrangler.

In Gwen's words, pickups were suited to middle-aged and older people, not young people.

At Toby's age, if he did not like sports cars or sedans but wanted something bigger, then an off-road vehicle was the obvious choice for a young man.

Besides, the Wrangler was nearly two meters tall and wide, and over four meters long. It was perfect for a guy as tall as Toby.

And its appearance suited Toby too—both were full of muscular beauty and a sense of power!

After taking it for a test drive, Toby found himself quite satisfied with it as well, so he paid for it in full right away.

However, unlike when Ben had bought the Ford Raptor last time and the dealership had one in stock, they did not have the top-spec customized Wrangler Toby wanted. It had to be transferred from elsewhere, so there would be some waiting time for delivery.

So for the time being, Toby could only drive his beat-up R8 and take Gwen to the amusement park.

Once they entered the park, the smile never left Gwen's face. She dragged Toby straight to the Ferris wheel, a ride every couple had to take.

As the Ferris wheel slowly rose, the two chatted in their cabin about the little private things couples talked about.

Things like whether she could have cold drinks today...

During that time, Gwen also mentioned the case her father was working on—the incident last night on Manhattan Bridge, where the Lizard Man had fought Spider-Man.

When she first saw the news, she had thought Spider-Man, the one fighting the Lizard Man, was Toby.

After all, when Toby had saved her before, he had worn a combat suit that looked very similar, aside from the color.

But Gwen quickly noticed that Spider-Man's build clearly did not match Toby's.

Still, because Gwen had known about Toby's other identity from the start, she had some understanding of his abilities.

Based on Spider-Man's similar build and abilities to Toby's, she had guessed last night that the new Spider-Man might be Peter.

Toby did not deny Gwen's guess. He admitted that Peter was indeed the Spider-Man who had made the headlines last night.

After all, Gwen had figured it out herself. Even if he denied it, there would not be much point.

Besides, Gwen had never been one to blab. That was clear from the fact that she had known about his other identity for two years without telling a single second person.

And clever Gwen had not merely guessed that Spider-Man was Peter. From that, she had also inferred that the Lizard Man might be Dr. Connors.

However, Gwen was not as certain about the Lizard Man's identity as she had been about Peter being Spider-Man.

Still, because of that suspicion, Gwen had called Dr. Connors that morning after getting up.

Dr. Connors had sounded perfectly normal over the phone, with no indication that anything was wrong.

He had only told her that he had completed the initial production of the Lizard Regeneration Serum. The upcoming human trials would be a confidential project of Osborn Enterprises.

As his intern assistant, Gwen was not in a position to participate, so she would not need to go to Osborn Tower to help him on her days off for the time being.

The reason Dr. Connors gave was legitimate enough. So although Gwen still suspected him, it remained only a suspicion; she had no concrete evidence that Dr. Connors was the Lizard Man.

But during this casual conversation on her date with Toby, he directly confirmed Gwen's guess.

The Lizard Man really was Dr. Connors!

If you can't find the book by its title, try searching for the author—it may have simply been renamed!

However, Dr. Connors's lizard serum was not as permanent as Toby's and Peter's. Its effects wore off over time, and he needed continual injections to maintain the Lizard Man's form and abilities. Otherwise, he would "degenerate" back into a crippled human form.

After hearing Toby's words, Gwen did not doubt them in the slightest. She could not help worrying about her teacher's condition, and even more so about her father's safety.

After all, the Lizard Man case was being handled by her father, Captain Stacy. It was inevitable that he might have to face the Lizard Man directly.

And based on what she had seen of the Lizard Man on television yesterday, it possessed strength and speed far beyond that of an ordinary person. More importantly, its healing ability was completely maxed out—ordinary firearms posed no threat to it whatsoever.

Her father was just an ordinary man. If he really faced the Lizard Man, he would be in danger!

But Gwen was sensible. She did not ask Toby for help and burden him over it.

Instead, she put on her bright smile again, as though she had stopped taking the matter to heart.

But in reality, Gwen was already silently considering how to tell her father that the Lizard Man was her teacher in a way that would sound reasonable, warning him to be more careful.

Toby could not read minds, so he did not know what Gwen was thinking.

But his superhuman observational skills keenly caught the subtle difference between Gwen's earlier genuine happiness and her current surface-level cheerfulness, allowing him to guess her concerns.

So he wrapped his hand fully around Gwen's slightly cool little hand and comforted her.

"Don't worry, Gwen. Dr. Connors's ultimate goal is only to make himself whole again. So even if an accident caused him to mutate, he'll still want to continue perfecting his Lizard Regeneration Serum in secret. Under normal circumstances, he won't show himself openly and cause widespread destruction."

"So the chances of Captain Stacy running into the Lizard Man are actually very low..."

BOOM—

WEE-OO, WEE-OO, WEE-OO—

Before Toby could even finish comforting Gwen, an explosion and the wail of police sirens slapped him hard across the face!

The two looked toward the sound and saw several police cars racing after a huge green dinosaur on the street outside the amusement park!

The explosion just now had happened when the Lizard Man hurled one police car into another!

Toby: ...

That backlash came way too fast, like a tornado...

And, by an even stranger coincidence, the Lizard Man charged straight into the amusement park where they were, despite being surrounded by police cars.

And, by an even even stranger coincidence, the first person to step out of the police cars gathered at the amusement park entrance was none other than Gwen's father, Captain Stacy...

Seeing her father get out of the police car, Gwen grew so nervous she could barely breathe, instinctively turning a pleading look toward Toby.

Even though she had not intended to trouble Toby before, at this moment, he had become the only lifeline that could save her father.

Naturally, Toby understood that.

He said nothing. He merely rose slowly inside the Ferris wheel cabin and pulled open its iron door.

Suddenly, Gwen grabbed his hand from behind, her eyes conflicted. "If you go like this, your identity will be exposed. How about we think of another way..."

Toby gently removed Gwen's hand, then tore open the buttons of his shirt, revealing the crimson suit and spider emblem on his chest. Smiling, he said, "Gwen, a true warrior never takes off his battle suit, not even on a date..."

With that, beneath Gwen's startled yet delighted gaze, Toby tore off his shirt completely, transformed into the Scarlet Spider, and leaped from the highest cabin of the Ferris wheel!