The Search

Wallace, who was standing nearby, went green when he heard that remark and immediately searched for whoever had said it.

He soon spotted Mercer a short distance away. It was easy to pick him out because he was also holding his nose and fanning the air with his hand.

Mercer's remark drew even louder laughter. Even several Hydra members keeping watch nearby were amused. There wasn't a single swear word in it, yet it was utterly humiliating.

Even Peter Parker couldn't help bursting out laughing when he heard it.

As the laughter rang out around him, Wallace headed toward Mercer with several of his lackeys, his expression dark.

Seeing him storm over, Mercer raised an eyebrow and watched Wallace with a smile, which only made the latter walk faster.

"What are you still standing around for? Get out of here! His family's loaded. You can't take him on!"

Just as Mercer was considering how to teach this bully a lesson, someone beside him tugged his sleeve. He turned and found that the person warning him was none other than Peter Parker.

"Don't worry. He can't do anything to me. You should leave first, though. I doubt he'll let you off," Mercer said with a faint smile.

Looking at the furious Wallace, Peter hesitated for a moment, then seemed to make up his mind. Instead of leaving, he stepped in front of Mercer, surprising him.

"Wallace, if you want trouble, take it up with me. Leave him out of it..."

Peter knew Wallace had targeted Mercer because Mercer had spoken up for him. He didn't want anyone getting hurt on his account, but as soon as he spoke, Wallace swung a fist at him without a second thought.

To both Peter and Mercer, that punch was far, far too slow. Either of them could have dodged it effortlessly.

But Peter didn't dodge. He couldn't reveal his strength. Though he could easily avoid the punch, he stood completely still, making it seem as though he hadn't reacted in time.

Just as the fist was about to hit his face, Peter suddenly felt someone grab his backpack and yank him backward.

Wallace's fist brushed past Peter's face without landing.

"Throwing punches just because someone said something? Your mouth must connect straight to your colon, then loop back up to your head. There's not a scrap of brain in there, just shit."

The big brute finally snapped at those words. No longer caring where he was, Wallace ordered the lackeys beside him, "Grab him!"

They hesitated briefly, but after seeing Wallace's dark expression, they gritted their teeth and lunged at Mercer.

"Oh dear, oh dear. Getting a little upset, are we?"

Amusement flickered in Mercer's eyes. As the boys charged, he shifted slightly to the right and stuck out a foot.

The boy in front hadn't expected Mercer to react so quickly. He tripped over Mercer's foot and fell flat on his face.

Seeing what had happened to the first boy, the other two quickly adjusted their movements and lunged toward Mercer on the other side, grabbing his collar.

Mercer didn't panic. Once they had hold of him, they yanked him hard toward them, as though afraid he might escape.

Mercer obliged, leaning forward. Neither had expected him to do that, and all that force came tumbling back toward them.

As luck would have it, the machine housing the Tesseract stood directly behind the spot where they fell.

Mercer stumbled and fell with them, reaching toward the machine as he went.

To the onlookers who didn't know what was really happening, Mercer was simply trying to grab something to steady himself as he fell.

But Galacta and Peter, who were closest to him, saw a flash of light flicker in his palm and instantly sink into the machine.

Amusement appeared in Galacta's eyes, and she watched him with a smile.

Peter, however, looked stunned. He even rubbed his eyes, wondering whether he'd imagined it. He thought he'd just seen silver light stirring in Mercer's hand, but it had been very faint, and Mercer had chosen the angle well.

Had Peter stood just a few steps farther back, he wouldn't have seen the flash in Mercer's palm at all.

Peter was about to say something when Galacta raised a slender finger to her lips, signaling for him to stay quiet.

Spider-Man was still bewildered. Had this girl noticed it too?

Who were they?

He could also tell that Mercer's movements were beyond anything an ordinary person could manage. Mercer had been utterly composed, without any of the panic one would expect from someone as young as he looked.

Could he be someone like me?

Watching Mercer's back, Peter found himself truly wanting to befriend him if that was the case. He was all alone, unable to tell anyone anything, and the responsibility weighed far too heavily on him.

If someone could share that burden, even if they only talked, Peter wouldn't feel so stifled.

Peter raised a hand, intending to call out to Mercer, but thought better of it. This probably wasn't the right moment. There were too many people around, and he didn't know what Mercer had just been doing. I'll talk to him when we leave...

"Well? Still want to fight?" Mercer asked Wallace with a faint smile.

His lackeys had been dealt with in the blink of an eye. Mercer looked as though he'd trained in some sort of martial art. Wallace was livid, but Mercer's movements had also made it clear that he wouldn't stand a chance either.

"Just you wait! This isn't over!" Unable to do anything to Mercer head-on, Wallace could only glare at him angrily before slinking away with his lackeys.

"How boring. That's all you've got?" Mercer curled his lip. He'd thought Wallace might actually have something going for him, but he was just a blustering coward.

"Hey, thanks for that," Peter said gratefully as he walked over to Mercer.

Mercer smiled. "No problem. I can't stand people like him anyway."

While outwardly responding to Peter's questions, Mercer secretly observed the crowd's reactions.

The lightning energy he'd sent into the machine was meant to gauge the strength of the energy released by the Tesseract. It was steadily growing stronger.

That proved someone was continuously activating it, but their efficiency was abysmal. Even after working on the Tesseract for so long, they still hadn't reached the energy level they needed.

The caster would be someone who paid no attention to what just happened here, or only glanced over a few times before looking away!

That was also why Mercer had stepped forward earlier. He wanted to use this to identify whoever was chanting the spell. With people constantly coming and going, it was difficult to tell.

His only option was to cause a disturbance and see how everyone reacted.

"Ten meters behind you, to your right. Black baseball cap." Galacta's voice reached Mercer's ears so softly that only he could hear it.

Mercer turned naturally toward the spot Galacta had indicated. As he turned, a deep crimson surfaced within his eyes, and three tomoe slowly revolved in his pupils.

Three-Tomoe Sharingan, activate!

Since studying the Book of the Vishanti, he could now see traces of magic with his Sharingan.

To his eyes, anything containing magic stood out like something coated in fluorescent powder in the dead of night.

But Peter had kept chattering beside Mercer, his attention fixed on him the entire time, leaving Mercer no opportunity to use his Sharingan and look around freely.

The instant he turned, he activated his Sharingan and looked at the person Galacta had pointed out.

Found him. That's the one!

Mercer's gaze suddenly settled on a corner, where an unremarkable middle-aged man stood.

Beneath his baseball cap, the man's eyes were fixed on the Tesseract. His lips moved ever so slightly, as though he were muttering something.