Ghost-Spider

Li Wei saw Norman Osborn off, then returned to his office.

"2B, why don't you take off the blindfold?"

"People will think something's strange the moment they see you like that."

At Li Wei's words, 2B immediately replied, "Master, the Tactical Visor can change its appearance."

"You could've told me sooner..."

Li Wei couldn't help complaining.

Sure enough, the visor 2B wore began to change. Through some technology he didn't understand, it turned into a pair of glasses.

Now Li Wei could see 2B's eyes.

They were blue-green, with a mysterious quality that made her look cool and distant.

Somehow, looking into 2B's eyes also gave him the sense that she needed protecting.

Li Wei pinched 2B's cheek. It felt firm and fleshy.

He sat down, and 2B obediently came over to massage him.

"Red Queen, look into Norman Osborn's background."

Li Wei gave the order.

Norman Osborn might be a business partner from now on, but Li Wei still needed to be careful.

Look at Ma Sheng. He had gone to all the trouble of making himself indispensable, only to be discarded the moment he was no longer useful.

Someone that peculiar was probably one of a kind, but Li Wei still had to stay cautious.

Of course, not many people would dare break the rules.

After reading up on Norman Osborn, Li Wei looked into Kingpin.

Kingpin's business empire was terrifying. By now, he had influence on both sides of the law.

According to Red Queen's files, Kingpin had brought many New York council members under his control through campaign donations and could very likely sway election results.

In fact, Kingpin had previously backed other candidates for mayor.

Now he wanted the office for himself.

After crime boss and successful businessman, he wanted to add political heavyweight to his list of titles.

Of course, Norman Osborn was no small player either.

The Osborn Group was worth tens of billions of dollars. In New York, only Stark Industries had a clear edge over it.

Once he had finished reading, Li Wei didn't linger. He went straight home.

"Master, Dr. Otto is planning to begin human trials of the Brain-Computer Interface tomorrow."

Red Queen appeared while he was in the elevator.

"That soon?"

Li Wei was a little surprised.

"We have all the necessary data. We only needed to build it according to the specifications."

Red Queen explained.

Her arrival had made life much easier for the company's scientists.

Dr. Otto, in particular, loved asking Red Queen for help.

He didn't need an assistant, but what could he do? Red Queen could do practically everything!

Aside from physically making things, there was nothing she couldn't answer in an instant.

Even Professor Connors had started asking Red Queen to check data and analyze the components of his compounds.

"All right, then. I'll be there tomorrow."

Li Wei nodded.

He had wanted to take it easy for another day, but that no longer seemed likely.

Night fell.

Queens.

Ghost-Spider raced between the buildings in her black-and-white suit, her little blue heels tapping against the glass.

Then she leaped toward the ground in a Leap of Faith.

She tucked her knees in and spun twice like a diver before stretching out perfectly. A web caught the wall, swinging her forward as she struck more poses in midair.

"Yes! Perfect score!"

Ghost-Spider imagined she was diving, and her movements grew more fluid.

Before long, she reached the location from the tip-off.

FEAST Homeless Shelter.

New York had one of the largest homeless populations in America.

Homeless shelters gave those people somewhere to rest and eat for free.

Sometimes they even offered free medical checkups...

It wasn't pure charity. There was money to be made from the American government, too.

Every year, America funded the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

That money didn't go directly to the homeless. It went to shelters and other centers...

Put simply, people were using the opportunity to help the homeless to make money.

And if a homeless person disappeared, no one would come looking.

That left plenty of hidden businesses operating in the shadows.

Ghost-Spider knew none of this. She crouched on a streetlamp and waited patiently.

Then her phone rang, sending her scrambling to answer it.

She saw it was her father, George, and picked up at once.

"Dad, I already ate out. I made plans with a friend."

"A boyfriend? Is it that boss of yours?"

George Stacy's voice came through the phone.

"What? No, no."

She immediately pulled off her mask, revealing a delicate face. It was Gwen Stacy.

"He's not my boyfriend yet."

"Oh! Not yet? So he will be soon!"

George Stacy teased her, though it stung a little.

That was the trouble with raising a daughter. It felt like watching a pig make off with the best vegetable in the garden.

"Dad! I have to go!"

Gwen had been about to argue, but she spotted vehicles arriving below. She hung up as soon as she spoke.

She pulled her mask back on. Several vans opened, and people wearing demon masks climbed out.

"Devil's Gang. There you are."

Ghost-Spider gave a quiet snort.

This was the gang that had attacked her boss.

More than a dozen of them got out.

A man stepped out of the largest vehicle. His entire body was black and white, as though he had stepped out of a photographic negative.

Mr. Negative.

Gwen had already heard of him and knew he was trouble, so she didn't rush in.

She had no idea why they had come to a homeless shelter.

"There's no one here tonight. Take everything valuable."

Mr. Negative finally spoke.

He was angry himself.

Out of nowhere, his homeless shelter had been bought out today.

He didn't even know how it had been done.

All he knew was that a sum of money had appeared in his bank account.

But when he tried to use it, he discovered his account had been frozen!

That made him furious. His property was gone, supposedly exchanged for cash, and now he couldn't even access the money?

The whole thing reeked of a plot.

He had originally planned to contact the buyer, but now he sensed something was wrong.

So he had brought his men here tonight to take back what belonged to him. Most importantly, he needed to retrieve the critical documents before anyone else got hold of them.

If those fell into someone else's hands, he would be in danger...

He had to deal with it first.

And they needed to make it look like a robbery, so they forced their way in.

Bang!

The Devil's Gang members rushed inside.

Mr. Negative tugged at his tie and followed. He ordered his men to carry things out, then headed straight for the office.

The place no longer belonged to him, so he felt no need to be gentle with it.

Everything he had worked so hard to build had become someone else's overnight. All he felt was anger.

Seeing what the Devil's Gang was doing, Gwen followed them in without a word.

The darkness inside worked in her favor.

Whoosh!