Lie to You

After using the Goblin Defibrillator XL to pull Uncle Ben back from death's door, Kraft took out an injection gun from his bag and pressed it to Uncle Ben's neck, giving him a shot of adrenaline.

Uncle Ben, whose breathing had been weak moments ago, immediately perked up.

"Kraft?"

Feeling the strength surging through him, Uncle Ben sat up slightly.

"Did you save me?"

"Don't move! You're still injured!" Kraft shoved Uncle Ben back down, making him lie still. "The ambulance will be here soon. Tell me right away if you feel any discomfort!"

"Don't worry. I feel pretty good right now."

Uncle Ben smiled and obediently lay back down.

"That's because I gave you an adrenaline shot, so you can't feel the pain. But your body hasn't actually improved much."

Of course, Kraft was making that up. The original version of that adrenaline shot had also come from Swann's world. Its original effect really was to trade the body for combat power, but Kraft had long since used technology from other worlds to minimize its side effects. He had even added a tiny amount of bodily repair medicine.

It was not that he could not add more, but injuries like bullets and shrapnel often remained inside the body. Adding too much repair medicine in those circumstances would not be a good idea.

"That's great, Kraft. Good thing you were here..."

Peter Parker, crying his eyes out, walked over and repeatedly thanked Kraft with lingering fear on his face.

"Hmph!"

Kraft shot him a fierce glare, then turned away, not wanting to speak to him.

"Uh..."

Peter, who had wanted to ask why Kraft was here, hesitated and swallowed his question.

He was already in the wrong, and Kraft had just done him an enormous favor. Peter Parker did not dare provoke Kraft when he was so obviously in a bad mood.

Soon, the ambulance arrived. Kraft and Peter climbed aboard with it and sent Uncle Ben to the hospital.

After anxiously waiting outside the operating room for some time, they and Aunt May, who arrived afterward, finally received word from the doctor that Uncle Ben was out of danger. Only then did Kraft breathe a sigh of relief.

"It's all thanks to you, Kraft."

Aunt May wiped away her tears and hugged Kraft tightly, refusing to let go as she thanked him over and over.

"If Ben were gone, I really don't know whether I could keep going."

"It's alright, Aunt May. As long as Uncle Ben is okay."

Kraft patted Aunt May's back and comforted her softly.

"Sorry to interrupt."

At that moment, a Black man in a police uniform walked over and pointed at Kraft and Peter.

"I'll need you two to come with me and give a statement."

"Alright, no problem."

Kraft nodded. This officer had arrived long ago and had merely been waiting for them. Since he was being so considerate, Kraft naturally would not make things difficult for him. Besides, he really did need to explain all the gadgets he had displayed earlier.

Since Kraft and Peter were not suspects, the Black officer did not take them back to the station. Instead, he found an empty room in the hospital and began taking their statements there.

Kraft glanced at the earpiece in the man's ear. If he remembered correctly, it had not been there before. It seemed America's intelligence agencies might already be getting involved. Unfortunately, this was not a good time to contact Angela again.

After adding an inconspicuous bone-conduction headset to his plans, Kraft sat down across from the Black officer alongside Peter.

The Black officer first asked Peter Parker, who had witnessed everything, to recount what had happened. Peter Parker told him everything: how he had watched the robber take the cash without stopping him, only for that to nearly get his uncle killed. His words were full of regret.

As for why he had been at the underground boxing venue, Peter merely said he had gone there out of curiosity. The Black officer did not doubt him and instead comforted him, saying it was only natural not to step forward when facing an armed criminal.

Kraft, who had long known that Peter Parker was no longer the same as before, gave a disdainful snort. If Peter had still been the frail bookworm he once was, Kraft would not have been this angry. Still, the two were fairly close, so although he was unhappy, he did not expose Peter's lie.

After questioning Peter Parker, the Black officer turned to Kraft.

"Hello, Kraft."

The Black officer first flashed a row of pearly white teeth and offered him his hand.

Kraft shook his hand with a puzzled look, and only then did the officer explain with a broad smile, "My two sons are devoted fans of the Mechanical Combat Pets you invented. They even joined their school's team. Once we're done here, you have to give me an autograph. Hawk and Andy will be over the moon!"

"Sure, no problem."

Kraft had that much patience for fans of his products.

"Ahem, then let's begin the statement."

The Black officer tilted his head slightly, presumably because someone was prompting him through his earpiece. He cleared his throat and addressed Kraft seriously.

"First, how did you know Benjamin Parker had been shot? According to the information received by the police, you should have ridden your skateboard all the way from your laboratory the instant Mr. Parker was shot."

"Because of him." Kraft pointed at Peter beside him and followed the response plan Angela had prepared for him earlier. "Back when we were at the FEAST shelter, he was acting a little strange. I got curious and put a listening device on him. I happened to have nothing to do today, so I listened in and heard that he had gone to watch a boxing match. I was about to turn it off when I heard the sounds of a robbery..."

Kraft shrugged and said thankfully, "Good thing Uncle Ben got lucky."

"Wait! When did you put a listening device on me?! How did I not know?!"

Peter Parker believed him completely and had no idea how much of his secret Kraft might have overheard.

"You're violating my privacy!"

"What? You want to sue me? If I hadn't planted that listening device, Uncle Ben would have been killed because of you!"

Kraft glared back at him. Peter Parker, who had been indignant moments ago, instantly wilted. He also knew Kraft was covering for him, since he had not gone to watch some underground boxing match—he had gone there to participate in one.

"Uh... you can settle the privacy issue privately afterward, but may I ask where your listening device is now?"

"Take off your shoe!"

Kraft kicked Peter Parker's left foot and ordered him bluntly.

Peter, full of grievances but not daring to protest, obediently took off his shoe and handed it to Kraft.

Taking the shoe with obvious disgust, Kraft removed a button-sized disk from its sole and showed it to the Black officer.

"There. This is it."

This listening device, which had also come from Professor Agasa, had naturally not been attached long ago as Kraft claimed. He had secretly stuck it to the bottom of Peter's shoe while saving Uncle Ben. At the time, Peter had been so panicked that he had not noticed Kraft's little move at all.

"It's that small?!"

The Black officer's eyes widened, exposing a great deal of white and making him look a little unsettling.

He hesitated, then asked tentatively, "Would you be interested in selling this kind of listening device to the police?"