Just a Slight Showing of Skill

[Sacrifice successful!]

[Congratulations, Host, you have received 3,000 points!]

As the cold notification sounded, the point balance on Peter's virtual retinal panel instantly jumped from 0 to 3,000.

Watching the cold relic turn into warm Sacrifice Points, Peter's mood immediately brightened.

He did not rush to go on a shopping spree.

The items in the System Shop only refreshed once a month. They were not going to grow legs and run away.

After trying to make contact with the Lizard Serum, he could make a more reasonable purchasing plan based on the final results.

These 3,000 Sacrifice Points were both savings and the confidence and backup plan he needed to face the unknown.

With that thought, Peter looked at the copied algorithm manuscript in his hands and, thoroughly satisfied, began another journey into the sea of knowledge.

Two mornings later.

"I did it!"

Looking at the notebook full of draft calculations in his hands, Peter looked exhausted, but his eyes shone frighteningly bright.

Relying on his own genius mind, he had completely understood all the knowledge related to the Decay-Rate Algorithm in just two days.

After using the Horse Talisman to erase the heavy dark circles under his eyes, Peter grabbed his backpack and strode out the front door.

When he boarded the school bus, the cabin was as noisy as ever.

With a sweep of his eyes, he quickly spotted Gwen.

Gwen was currently curled up alone in a corner by the window, her head lowered, looking completely withdrawn and unapproachable.

There were huge dark circles beneath her beautiful eyes. Clearly, she had barely rested over the entire weekend.

Peter could guess with his toes that Gwen had definitely been busy trying to get familiar with the Spider-Man abilities she had just gained and could barely control.

Judging from her current dejected appearance, the results clearly had not been ideal.

With that thought, Peter did not hesitate. He dropped down right beside Gwen.

Before regaining his past-life memories, he and Gwen had been childhood sweethearts, but they had always deliberately kept their distance at school.

When riding the school bus, he had never taken the initiative to sit beside Gwen.

The seat next to Gwen was usually reserved for her best friend, Betty Brant.

But Peter now had none of that peculiar, inexplicable teenage boy awkwardness.

"Morning, Gwen."

Peter looked at Gwen beside him, his voice carrying a subtle, teasing note of knowingly asking the obvious.

"You look... like you didn't sleep well."

The sudden voice and the seat sinking beside her made Gwen's body stiffen.

She abruptly raised her head. When she saw Peter's face so close to hers, she instinctively shrank toward the window like a startled rabbit.

She was scared!

Scared that if she lost control, the countless tiny hooks on her body would stick firmly to Peter!

If she really ended up pressed against Peter...

The teasing from their classmates and Betty's mocking gaze would absolutely make her die of embarrassment on the spot!

And if she got nervous and lost control of her strength, tearing Peter's clothes apart...

That would be even worse!

Yet Gwen's tangled worries and terror looked entirely different in Peter's eyes.

As though he could hear her thoughts, he not only failed to pull away from her, but deliberately leaned a little closer.

Lowering his voice, he asked in a slightly aggrieved and hurt tone:

"You don't like me? Should I leave, then?"

"I-I don't!"

The moment Gwen heard that, she panicked and immediately retorted:

"How could I possibly dislike you?"

Her cheeks flushed as she floundered. She wanted to reach out and grab Peter to prove that she did not dislike him, but her hand froze in midair, too afraid to move any farther.

The extreme conflict nearly drove her crazy, making her look utterly wronged.

However, in Peter's slightly mischievous eyes, that pitiful little expression was...

So cute~

Not only did he fail to back away, he leaned even closer.

Their faces were nearly pressed together.

"Really? You don't dislike me?"

He kept his voice low. As he spoke, the warm breath from his mouth brushed against Gwen's ear like a feather, tinting even her smooth earlobe with a faint blush.

"Then why are you hiding so far away? There's... practically enough room for another person between us."

Feeling Peter so close, Gwen's mind went blank, her heart pounding so fast it felt as though it would leap out of her throat.

Peter... what was wrong with him today?!

Why had he suddenly become so... so strange!

"I... I just..."

Gwen stammered for a long while, yet she could not bring herself to tell him the truth.

She could not exactly say that she had suddenly gained spider superpowers!

Peter definitely would not believe something that outrageous!

He might even think she was playing a prank on him!

Seeing Gwen desperately try to come up with excuses until she was nearly forced to tears, Peter finally found his conscience and decided to stop while he was ahead.

If he kept teasing her, this future pajama baby might really puff up on the spot.

So he chuckled, suddenly sat upright, restored a normal social distance between them, and began discussing business.

"Alright, I'll stop teasing you."

His tone suddenly became extremely serious, as though the mischievous bastard from moments ago had never been him.

"I remember, you're an intern assistant at the Osborn Group, right? You work on the cross-species genetics project, and the person in charge is... Kur..."

He deliberately pretended he could not remember the name.

"Kurt Connors."

Gwen almost blurted it out, picking up where he had left off.

At the same time, her eyes brightened somewhat. Peter had reminded her!

Doctor Connors was an expert in genetics. Perhaps he could give her some advice and help her quickly master this newly acquired power.

But... why had Peter suddenly brought this up?

"Oh, right, that's the name."

Peter snapped his fingers, his face showing an expression of complete naturalness.

"The visit the morning before yesterday suddenly gave me a strong interest in biology.

I thought about it and felt that this field seemed quite promising, so... could you take me to meet Doctor Connors?"

He made up a fairly reasonable excuse.

"Biology?"

Gwen's expression was a little strange.

"Didn't you like physics more before? You even said physics was the ultimate romance of the universe."

"But both my parents studied biology."

Peter spread his hands like a little bear, then his face filled with almost arrogant confidence:

"And I think that with my intelligence, I only need to show a little skill to earn PhDs in both biology and physics."

His words were incredibly flamboyant, yet they somehow carried a persuasiveness that made them impossible to refute.

Gwen could clearly feel that Peter truly seemed different now.

He was no longer that somewhat introverted, slightly bookish science nerd. He had become confident, cheerful, and even somewhat... dazzlingly charming.