Today, they prepared flowers, a cake, and a room full of colorful balloons for me.
Not to celebrate my birthday.
Nor to celebrate my transmigration.
But because I had been discharged.
Queens, New York.
13 Bleecker Street.
The moment Mark stepped inside, the party popper in Ben Parker's hands sent confetti flying everywhere.
"Welcome home, son."
Ben Parker and May smiled lovingly at Mark as he returned home, each giving him a big hug.
Behind them, young Peter Parker held a cake in his one hand.
The colorful candles on the cake had already been lit.
Ben Parker and May stood beside him, gently singing a song of well wishes.
Before long, the singing stopped.
Peter Parker looked at him expectantly and softly prompted the distracted Mark.
"Mark, you can make a wish now."
Mark thought for a moment, then stiffly clasped his hands together and closed his eyes to make a wish.
I hope the spider that bit me last night gets what it deserves.
Then he opened his eyes and blew out the candles under everyone's expectant gazes.
He hadn't said a single word throughout the whole process.
He had only transmigrated a few days ago and still wasn't used to his current identity.
Mark Parker, the biological son of Ben Parker and May, and Peter Parker's good-for-nothing older cousin.
Three years ago, an accident had landed him in an asylum.
Thanks to Mark's transmigration, Mark Parker's condition had improved.
But his request to be discharged had still been denied.
The reason he had managed to get out was that his asylum had... blown up.
Yes, the asylum had suffered a terrorist attack by the Green Goblin, and its patients needed to be relocated.
So Mark had been temporarily sent home.
As for the patients whose families couldn't be reached... their families could no longer be reached.
Upon receiving the news, Ben Parker had gone to bring Mark home that very night.
He had even prepared a simple welcome celebration.
Seeing that Mark still said nothing after blowing out the candles, Ben Parker and May exchanged a look, their eyes full of worry.
They quickly concealed those emotions.
Forcing smiles, they clapped and cheered.
"Oh, my boy, you did great."
"You're so strong. You're the bravest child in our Parker family."
They did their best to comfort Mark, as though encouraging a three-year-old.
They worried that the terrorist attack might have worsened his condition.
Mark, however, had noticed Peter Parker's empty right sleeve.
Three years ago, that accident had cost Peter Parker his right forearm.
Mark Parker had been driven mad by fright on the spot.
The one responsible for that accident had also been a green demon.
But not the same Green Goblin who had attacked the asylum.
That was why Peter Parker hated green.
So did Mark Parker.
Before long, the celebration ended in a strange atmosphere.
Ben Parker and May still had to hurry off to their night shifts.
They worked more than one job to pay the asylum's fees.
The Ben Parker and May in Mark's memories... had originally looked much younger.
As for Peter Parker, he moved out of the only spare bedroom.
He decided he would sleep on the couch from now on.
Mark didn't refuse Peter Parker's kindness.
"Thank you, Peter." He finally spoke.
Perhaps it was because his language system had only just finished loading.
At the doorway, Peter Parker froze for a moment, then a faint smile appeared on his face.
There was a trace of guilt in that smile.
"Actually, about what happened three years ago..."
He spoke quietly, but before he could finish, Mark closed the door.
At that, the guilt in Peter Parker's heart grew even stronger.
He still hasn't forgiven me?
"Scrape, scrape..."
Suddenly, the sound of something sharp scraping came from outside the window.
Peter Parker glanced over, just in time to see a huge green tail flash past the window ledge.
His expression changed, and he hurried over to the window.
Instead of sticking his head out, he spoke quietly into the air outside.
"What are you doing here?"
"Whoosh..."
A breeze swept withered yellow leaves past his eyes, and a deep voice sounded in Peter Parker's ears like a demon's whisper.
"Peter, you should have thought it through by now. Your family will only be safe if you work with me."
The voice was full of menace and confidence.
Peter Parker clenched his fist in anger. He had refused countless times already.
"So you were the one who attacked the asylum." He gritted his teeth.
"Me? Ahem... that's right, it was me. You know how dangerous I am."
The demon continued whispering, "So, Peter, you could lose your loved ones at any moment. One, then two, and then... the last one."
"Holy shit, don't hurt my family. I'll think it over." Peter Parker struggled to restrain himself, veins bulging in his neck.
"Hehehe, Peter, you don't have much time to think. I'm giving you just three days.
If I don't like your answer, your cousin will be the first one you lose."
Then the demon's words paused briefly, as though he had remembered something.
"Time's up. I need to go to sleep. I look forward to your next answer. After all, just like me... you need a new arm too."
The wicked laughter dispersed on the wind. Peter Parker could imagine the savage cruelty on the demon's face.
In the dusk, the fading sunlight fell across his face.
Peter Parker slowly raised his hand.
Even as the sunlight grew dimmer, he still wanted to reach out and catch that last glimmer.
Family was the only light in a dark world.
What he needed wasn't a new arm.
He needed light.
Meanwhile.
The spare bedroom's door stood ajar. Through the gap, Mark glimpsed the reflected gleam of green scales flashing past the balcony.
He had heard everything.
"Bastard, am I the only older cousin in New York? Why do you keep coming after me?"
He gently closed the door and leaned against the wall, his expression grim.
That green bastard had followed him all the way here from the asylum. Apparently, he was dead set on killing him.
Peter Parker's answer was crucial.
But anyone who had ever been Spider-Man's friend knew that Spider-Man couldn't protect a single one of his loved ones.
So he could only rely on himself.
Three days. He had just three days!
He took a deep breath, calmed his turbulent emotions, and began examining the cramped room.
The room had been cleaned, the sheets and bedding replaced with fresh ones, and the desk was piled high with books on biology and physics.
In the corner, a motorcycle helmet lay beneath a thick layer of dust.
Three years ago, on Peter Parker's eighteenth birthday, he had finally saved enough money to buy his favorite motorcycle and a helmet.
But after that day, he had never had any use for them again.
Mark opened the window, letting cool air flood into the somewhat stuffy room.
Then he found a bandage and stuck it over the red, swollen wound on the back of his hand, about the size of a fingernail.
A spider had bitten him last night, and the wound still itched.
He had no idea whether it was venomous.
But that didn't matter. There was no need to waste money going to the hospital.
He had already taken painkillers.
That was how everyone here did things.
Then, with a thought, the familiar game interface appeared before his eyes.
[Game: Demon Hunter] [Loading progress: 99%... 100%!] [Game loaded successfully!] [Game introduction: You will become an apprentice Demon Hunter, hunting evil demons on the Holy Light Continent and spreading the radiance of love and justice to every corner of the world.] [Tip: Powers obtained in the game can be synchronized with the real world!] [Enter the game?]
The information before him finally let Mark breathe a sigh of relief.
For the past few days since his transmigration, his cheat had been stuck loading.
Now that it had finished, he could finally put his mind at ease.
He was certain that the Marvel Universe he had transmigrated into wasn't the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
A Peter Parker missing part of an arm meant a Marvel Universe with a completely unknown timeline.
But no matter which universe it was, being related to Peter Parker was dangerous.
Anyone who had ever been Spider-Man's friend knew that no matter how many Spider-Men you gathered, you couldn't cobble together one whole Uncle Ben.
That was Spider-Man's curse.
Ben Parker would die. May would die. Mark, the good-for-nothing older cousin, would have to die too.
The thought flashed through Mark's mind, and he clicked [Enter the game] without hesitation.
His first small goal: survive the next three days!
Gain powerful abilities in the game.