The Choice

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Peter spun around and kicked him.

He did not even need to look to know who it was. Wasn't it Kraven the Hunter, whom he had knocked unconscious?

This guy's physical condition and willpower were indeed impressive. The dizziness brought on by such intense pain had faded after only a short while.

But in the face of overwhelming power, such things were empty talk, completely useless.

Crash—

Kraven the Hunter was smashed into a nearby glass container, shattering it outright.

"Ahhh!"

He let out a terrified scream.

The spiders inside the container frantically crawled onto him, quickly covering his entire body and injecting him with venom.

Within moments, Kraven the Hunter stopped moving.

His face, his clothes, even inside his body, were likely crawling with venomous spiders. It was an utterly miserable and horrifying sight.

"Hey, listen, Spider-Boy. I really think you should learn some decisiveness from those black widow spiders," J. Jonah said behind him. "Sure, I often slander you in the papers, but you know, that's my job. I actually admire you. It's just that today, you've really disappointed me!"

"Mercy is for the kind-hearted. Showing mercy to evildoers is violence against the good!"

Peter fell silent for a moment, then turned and chased after the Green Goblin.

He was not a foolish person. On the contrary, he was very smart.

He understood the reasoning behind J. Jonah's words.

He simply could not accept it for the moment.

Emotionally, he was more inclined toward what Aunt May had said before.

But the rationality he had gained after merging with Shadow Spider-Man told him that J. Jonah was right.

This was the true way to deal with evil people!

To keep good people from being hurt again, evil people had to receive the punishment they deserved!

Certain thoughts gradually took root and sprouted in Peter's mind.

One day, they would grow into towering trees!

There was an underground passage in the factory. Though Osborn did not come here often, he considered himself very familiar with the place.

Because his profession was doing "odd jobs" for various capitalists, even high-ranking government officials.

For example, killing Shadow Spider-Man's uncle.

Adolphus Crane, the owner of three sweatshops that had gone bankrupt after Ben Parker helped organize protests against them, hired the Green Goblin to retaliate against Ben Parker. At the same time, he bribed the NYPD's deputy police commissioner to ensure the police would not interfere, then spent another sum of money to bribe the Mayor of New York City.

The relationships involved were tangled and complicated.

And as someone akin to a white glove, if the Green Goblin ever ran into trouble one day, or if some of those people decided to abandon him, what awaited him would be a thunderous blow.

The Green Goblin had anticipated that day and prepared this escape route for himself in advance.

Unexpectedly, this escape route was not used for that purpose, but to flee Spider-Man's pursuit instead.

At that moment, Felicia, whom the Green Goblin was holding captive, also sneered and began trying to undermine him psychologically.

"It's useless, Osborn. It's all over!"

"Do you think your friends at City Hall will still bail you out after this?"

"No, they won't!"

"Everyone who was ever connected to you will make sure you shut up forever before you can expose them!"

"You're dead!"

Felicia's words were sharp, piercing the Green Goblin's heart like knives.

The Green Goblin's face darkened terribly. "Shut up, Felicia!"

He tried his best to search through the faint light for an exit.

The truth proved that although he had memorized the routes down here many times before, without a light source, it was still difficult to find the passage he remembered.

"Felicia, run!"

Crash!

A figure pounced over. Before the Green Goblin could react, he was seized and slammed onto the ground beside them.

"Surprised?"

Peter sneered.

Yet the Green Goblin did not seem afraid. Instead, he said with faint mockery, "So, the cute little spider caught the big bad wolf and thinks he has victory in the bag, huh?"

"Then... before we end this farce, why don't we first see who's beneath that mask?"

As he spoke, the Green Goblin reached for Peter's mask.

"No!" Peter hurriedly raised a hand to stop him. Whether in this world or the other one, he did not want the identity beneath his mask exposed, because it could bring unimaginable consequences to his loved ones.

Smack!

In his panic, Peter's hand struck the Green Goblin's face.

Rip!

The Green Goblin's facial skin tore with the sound of ripping cloth.

Beneath the ruined layer of skin was an ugly face covered in bluish-green lumps!

"This!" Peter was utterly shocked. He could not understand why the Green Goblin's face looked like that.

But at that moment, the Green Goblin's accurate, swift grab also tore off Peter's mask.

Looking at Peter's exposed face, he snarled viciously, "So you're Yuri's useless little lackey?"

"What, kid? Never seen a freak show?"

Peter was still stunned. "Green Goblin... so this is..."

The Green Goblin's eyes were filled with killing intent and hatred. "My whole life... ever since I was little, other children threw stones at me. I could only scrape by in freak shows, put on display as a deformed monster in exchange for a mouthful of black bread."

"But now, things are different!"

"When they say the name Osborn now, what I hear is respect, is awe!"

"And the very few who have seen this face... they know that one of us has to die!"

"So, are you ready to die, little spider?"

The fully unleashed Green Goblin seemed to possess limitless strength, actually beginning to break free from Peter's suppression!

While Peter was distracted, the Green Goblin shoved him away, nearly making him fall flat on his ass.

Buzz—

At that moment, Spider-Sense was triggered.

Peter instinctively tilted his head.

Bang!

A bullet flew past his head.

The Green Goblin stared at him in shock, seemingly unable to believe that Peter had dodged a bullet from such a short distance.

As if he had foreseen it!

The gunshot and Spider-Sense also jolted Peter awake.

He pounced forward again and bound the Green Goblin with webbing.

"Come on, kill me!" After struggling a few times and failing to break free of the webbing, the Green Goblin knew the situation was hopeless.

Peter slowly raised the gun. In his mind, Uncle Ben's corpse and Yuri's corpse flashed past one by one, while Aunt May's and J. Jonah's words echoed in his ears.

"...I don't want to live in a world where people slaughter one another like animals."

"Mercy is for the kind-hearted. Showing mercy to evildoers is violence against the good!"

"What should I do?" Peter muttered, unsure whether he was asking his high-school self or the owner of the body he had merged with—Shadow Spider-Man.

An idea gradually surfaced in his mind.

It seemed to be Shadow Spider-Man's answer.

Peter suddenly raised his head and lowered the gun.

Bang! Bang!

Under the Green Goblin's stunned gaze, Peter threw lightning-fast punches, breaking all of the Green Goblin's arms and legs.

Then he bent down, stared directly into the Green Goblin's eyes, and said, "You will stand trial. You will publicly atone for everything you have done!"

Then, if they don't kill you, I'll send you on your way!

Peter silently added in his heart.