Anyone Could Be Uncle Ben

"Ugh!"

Li Wei rubbed his temples. The world suddenly felt unbearably noisy.

Every kind of voice came flooding in, and they were people's innermost thoughts.

He could sense the dark side of everyone around him.

Someone might greet another person warmly while cursing him inwardly.

Or smile to his face while silently insulting him.

At this rate, Li Wei felt he might end up depressed.

No wonder telepaths didn't casually peer into other people's minds.

It could make them despair of the world.

There was a devil in everyone's heart!

But he didn't withdraw his power. Instead, he tested its strength.

His Telepathy could extend over three hundred kilometers—and that was the radius!

In other words, he could cover all of New York whenever he wanted.

Then came mind control. He could easily control people and probe their thoughts.

After experimenting for a while, Li Wei grew tired and withdrew his power.

That can't be far from Omega-level, can it?

Well, unless someone's an enemy, I'd better not look into their mind. I'll only be disappointed.

Li Wei took that lesson to heart.

Telepathy was powerful, but using it constantly would probably make him lose faith in the world.

People talked about inner beauty, but those who truly had it... were few and far between.

Why else did the ancients say to judge people by their actions, not their thoughts?

That afternoon, Li Wei slipped away.

He rode Bumblebee to the FEAST Homeless Shelter.

The building was luxurious by New York standards. If not for all the homeless people coming and going, no one would have guessed it was a shelter.

The shelter was handing out free food.

The food itself cost little, but the reported cost per meal was astonishing. The shelter pocketed the difference, of course.

"Hahaha, these donuts are delicious."

As Li Wei got out, he heard a hearty voice.

He twitched his lips and ignored it.

He watched from the side for a while and reached a conclusion.

The shelter simply couldn't keep up.

Homeless people lined up down the street, and plenty of others had joined the line just for the food.

It was free, after all. Why pass it up?

Even May Parker had come out to help, rushing back and forth until she was covered in sweat.

Quite some time passed before the free food ran out and the crowd finally dispersed.

Only then did Li Wei walk over.

"I'll take that."

He stepped up to May and lifted the tables and chairs.

"Mr. Li, you shouldn't have to do that!"

May held on for a moment, her hand pressing against his.

Aunt May was already in her thirties, but she had aged gracefully. Her skin was well cared for, and she was quite attractive.

Being her man might be a little dangerous, though.

He could easily end up saying, "With great power comes great responsibility."

"It's fine."

Li Wei smiled. "Mr. Li sounds too formal. Just call me Li Wei."

"Well... all right."

May agreed. Using his first name felt more personal, and it was a good way to grow closer.

They chatted as they helped the volunteers carry everything inside.

Li Wei casually asked a few questions and learned that Aunt May hadn't remarried. She wasn't even seeing anyone.

"I'm raising a child. Who'd be interested in me?"

May shook her head.

"He isn't your son, is he?"

Li Wei asked.

"No. He's my sister's. But something happened to his parents, so I had to raise him."

May Parker fell quiet as she spoke.

There was no Uncle Ben in this world, but anyone could be Uncle Ben...

Li Wei let the subject drop and asked, "Why did you ask me to come?"

Once the conversation returned to work, a little brightness came back to May's face.

"As you can see, the shelter is short-staffed. I'd like to hire some permanent employees."

She looked at Li Wei.

"What about them?"

Li Wei glanced at the people still helping out.

"They're volunteers, but there are fewer and fewer of them now. The economic crisis..."

May sighed.

The economic crisis had hit hard. Although America kept leaning on its "allies" to shore itself up, plenty of people had still lost everything.

Under those circumstances, volunteers were naturally becoming scarce.

After all, volunteers at nonprofits like this weren't paid...

That was why they were called volunteers.

Only May and a few other permanent employees received a salary.

When people could barely afford to feed themselves, helping others was the last thing on their minds.

Li Wei said, "Handle it however you think best. I trust you completely, May."

May was deeply moved and thanked him again and again.

Then she brought up something else.

"Li Wei, I never imagined someone as kind as Martin Li was a gang boss."

She looked at him with an alluring gaze, but Li Wei knew better than to say too much.

Instead, he sighed. "Neither did I. I suppose everyone has two sides."

Fortunately, May didn't dwell on it. "New York has too many gangs. Martin Li was barely gone before someone else showed up."

"Oh?"

"Kingpin. You know, the one running for mayor. He said on TV that only electing him would rid New York of gangs. Otherwise, the city would become a paradise for them. It sounded like a threat to make us vote for him."

May spoke with obvious displeasure.

Kingpin had recently issued that threat to win votes.

Everyone knew what he meant.

As the ruler of the underworld, he might have trouble making New York better, but throwing it into chaos would be easy.

Norman Osborn, meanwhile, had firmly declared that once elected, he would crack down on every gang and wipe them all out.

It was classic American politics.

Elections were about slogans. Whether you could deliver came later; first, you had to make your promises sound bold.

And the voters ate it up.

The bigger the boast, the more people believed it. The whole thing had turned into a contest of who could brag the loudest.

Such were the benefits of their education system...

Li Wei hadn't heard about any of this. "Has it affected the shelter?"

"Not really. Some people came looking for Martin Li at first, but nothing's happened since."

May shook her head.

They had been Martin Li's enemies, but the shelter had no connection to him anymore.

So the gang members had quickly left.

Li Wei nodded. "If anything happens, contact me immediately."

"Li Wei, wouldn't that put you in danger?"

May looked at him with deep concern.

"Don't worry."

Li Wei stayed a little longer. Everyone at the shelter trusted May, and she ran it well.

She wasn't just beautiful; she was capable, too.

Later that afternoon, Li Wei invited her to dinner.

May shook her head. "There's a child at home. I need to get back and check on him."

"How old is he?"

Li Wei asked at once.

"Seven."

May answered.

"Could I meet him?"

"Well... all right."

May had initially worried about what might happen if she invited Li Wei home.

But with a child there, she figured he wouldn't try anything, so she agreed.

They bought a pizza and took it back with them.

Before long, Li Wei met Peter Parker as a little boy.