"Don't shoot!"
At the same time, Aunt May's voice rang out.
But it was too late.
Vulture had already collapsed in a pool of blood.
At that moment, images of Yuri and Uncle Ben's brutal deaths flashed through Peter's mind in turn.
He knew more than Aunt May did.
He knew Uncle Ben had not offended a factory owner, had his legs broken, and been dumped in an abandoned factory, only to be torn apart by stray dogs.
It was the ugly-hearted factory owner who had hired Green Goblin. Green Goblin had taken Uncle Ben to the abandoned factory, where Vulture, standing before him now, had used his sharp teeth to tear strips of flesh from Uncle Ben's body and devour him alive!
That was why, when he had found Uncle Ben's body, all that remained was a bloody skeleton and an intact head left behind so they could identify him!
How could he possibly endure such hatred?!!
"You killed him?"
"You actually shot an unarmed man?"
"Who do you think you are?"
"You think you can stand above the law?"
Aunt May stared at Peter in disbelief, firing question after question at him.
Peter, who had regained control of his body, did not know how to answer Aunt May's barrage of questions or the look in her eyes.
"But he would have killed you," he mumbled.
"Killed me? Yes, so you want me to thank you for that? Is that what you wanted?" Aunt May was utterly forceful at that moment.
Peter stared blankly at Aunt May. He said nothing, because he did not know what to say.
It was as if Aunt May could see his eyes through his black goggles. She froze for a moment, and the words that followed never left her lips.
She took a deep breath, turned her back to him, and said somewhat desolately, "Child, I want to tell you something. In this era, people like us are nothing but grass beneath others' feet. If everyone's actions are no longer bound by rules, then we truly are nothing."
"We should not live in a world where people slaughter one another like animals!"
Peter fell silent again.
He could understand Aunt May.
She and Uncle Ben, like his former self, had been extremely insignificant figures in this dark age.
Yet she and Uncle Ben had always used their humble selves to do what they believed had to be done.
They stood against despicable businessmen who deliberately withheld wages and ugly pharmaceutical merchants who deliberately raised drug prices.
They were like fireflies, trying to use their faint light to drive away the darkness of this age.
But what had the final result been?
Uncle Ben had been taken by Green Goblin and eaten alive by Vulture.
Aunt May had nearly suffered the same fate!
Even he had been attacked by members of the Green Goblin Gang not long ago!
If not for Yuri, he might already have been dead.
"Ma'am, I understand. But what you don't understand is that some people will never follow your rules. Those people might follow mine! And my rule is violence!"
People like Aunt May would stand in the light and illuminate the world.
People like him, meanwhile, were destined to hide in the darkness.
He was Peter, Peter who had crossed over from the twenty-first century, but he was also Spider-Man, Shadow Spider-Man!
Peter turned and left.
He was going to settle this.
He did not know how time flowed between this world and his own, but by his understanding, he had entered this world from the other through something akin to quantum entanglement and possessed Mr. Shadow Spider-Man's body.
So, theoretically speaking, at least while he possessed this body, time in both worlds should be synchronized.
There were about four hours left until morning on his side. Mr. Stark had said he would come visit in the morning, so he only needed to return within four hours.
After briefly sorting through his own situation, Peter began considering where the Green Goblin Gang might be.
If nothing unexpected had happened, the other two people who could become his allies—Felicia and J. Jonah—were both there now.
"The meat processing plant!"
"Yuri's files called this place an execution chamber. It's one of the Green Goblin Gang's usual 'offices.' If nothing unexpected happened, this should be it, right?"
Peter stood atop a factory building. He found a skylight, but it was locked.
That did not trouble Peter. He reached out, gripped one side of the skylight, and pulled hard. Under the force of more than ten tons, the skylight quickly warped before being torn completely open!
Peter casually tossed the warped skylight aside. No one should expect him to pay compensation for this.
Besides, if everything went smoothly, the Green Goblin Gang would cease to exist after today. Who would come looking to him for compensation?
Peter crawled down along the wall, and his sharp hearing quickly caught the sound of voices.
Following the voices, he finally saw the target of this trip.
Below were two enormous cages.
One held the kidnapped J. Jonah Jameson. Chains bound his body, and he looked haggard, clearly having endured considerable torture.
The other cage held a huge tiger. Peter had seen it in Yuri's files. It was Kraven the Hunter's companion.
Several people stood in front of the cages as well.
"Green Goblin" Norman Osborn, Kraven the Hunter, and... Felicia!
Felicia had indeed been brought here too.
"Oh, Felicia, my dear, what am I supposed to do with you?" Green Goblin asked, his hands in his pockets as he looked at Felicia.
"Hmph. You could apologize to me, Osborn," Felicia said, maintaining her usual icy demeanor. As the owner of Black Cat Bar, she was a ruthless woman capable of killing without hesitation. "Then you could have one of your lackeys call me a car."
"Call you a car? Hehehe~" Green Goblin let out an inexplicable laugh. "I admire your bluffing, dear, but it won't do you any good."
As he spoke, he pointed at the cage beside them. "Why don't you ask Jameson? He's been cursing me for a week, but he still won't escape the fate of having his guts ripped out and dying."
"Th-Thomson!" Felicia turned her head and only then noticed the man imprisoned in the cage in the corner. Her face changed in shock.
"Why are you so surprised?" Green Goblin clicked his tongue. "Oh, right. You thought Jameson was shot dead by Spider-Man a few hours ago, didn't you?"
"But I knew that because I have informants at City Hall. What about you? How did you know?"
"Let me guess, let me guess, dear~" Green Goblin slowly began pacing around Felicia. "Spider-Man is in contact with you, isn't he? Is he your little lover? Did you have him kill Thomson?"
Felicia's expression darkened somewhat. "Just like how you sent Thomson to kill Ben Urich? Do you think you're very clever, Osborn?"
"What do you mean?" Green Goblin's face immediately darkened as he stared fixedly at Felicia.
Before you continue