New York.
Manhattan's dusk was sliced into countless fragments of gold by the glass curtain walls of its skyscrapers.
A helicopter with an understated paint job landed smoothly on the roof of a building.
Wenwu stepped out of the cabin, the hem of his black trench coat snapping in the wind.
He walked slowly to the edge of the rooftop, his hands tucked casually into his pockets, and looked down over the bustling, noisy city below.
Neon lights spread through the neighborhoods like blood vessels, while streams of traffic converged into dazzling rivers of light.
Wenwu swept his gaze across the city, a trace of amusement flickering in his eyes.
"Once Iron Man bursts onto the scene, this New York is probably going to see one disaster after another."
He murmured to himself, the faintest hint of a smile curling his lips.
Perhaps there would be no need to wait for Stark to put on that tin suit. Before long, Hulk's battle with Abomination would play out in this city first, giving its citizens a truly staggering shock.
Withdrawing his gaze, Wenwu turned and left the rooftop, entering the luxurious penthouse villa on the top floor.
This was a place the Ten Rings had arranged in advance, with an excellent view and absolute security.
Inside the living room, Hamid had already been waiting for quite some time.
Seeing Wenwu approach, he immediately stepped forward and bowed slightly, keeping his voice very low as he delivered a clear, orderly report. "My lord, we've found the Peter Parker you asked us to investigate.
"He's currently a senior at Midtown High School in Queens. Our people have already found an opportunity to secretly draw a fifty-milliliter blood sample from him."
Wenwu sat down on the leather sofa and tapped his fingers lightly against the armrest, motioning for him to continue.
Hamid went on, "Dr. Otto Octavius has now established a nuclear fusion artificial sun laboratory, but no one in academia has any faith in him, and he's desperately short of investment.
"He previously approached Oscorp, but Norman Osborn rejected him on the grounds that the 'risk was too high.'"
"As for Dr. Curt Connors, he's currently a professor of biophysics at Columbia University.
"As you said, my lord, he was once a battlefield medic in the US military. His right arm was severely injured in an explosion and had to be amputated.
"Recently, he's become completely obsessed with reptiles' ability to regenerate lost limbs and has been researching it like mad."
Wenwu nodded slightly.
Although Curt Connors had little involvement in the plot of the original Spider-Man films, his characterization closely matched the original comics.
A solitary man, an obsessive genius fixated on reptilian regeneration to restore his lost arm-barring any surprises, he would inevitably transform into the Lizard, who would give Spider-Man such headaches.
"Hamid, your next task is to establish a technology company. Call it 'Star Ring.'"
Wenwu stopped tapping his fingers, his tone steady but carrying unquestionable resolve. "It must be absolutely clean, with no trail leading back to our Ten Rings. Then approach Otto and Connors in the company's name and fully fund their research."
He knew that both men were scholars with a strong sense of justice in their early days.
Although he had reorganized the Ten Rings' armed forces after taking over, legitimized some of its operations, and stopped dealing in businesses with terrorist undertones, its reputation as a terrorist organization would not be so easily shed!
If he approached them under the Ten Rings' name or coerced them, the two might submit, but they might not work for him in earnest.
Wenwu did not consider himself a good man, but he was certainly no utterly depraved madman either.
Since he could not recruit them that way, he would pave the way with legitimate business investment.
"Yes, I'll see to it immediately. Do you have any other instructions, my lord?" Hamid asked respectfully.
"Also send people to infiltrate Oscorp Industries and find the data on the human enhancement serum Norman is researching. In addition, keep monitoring Peter Parker's movements. If he and his classmates are going to Columbia University, report to me immediately."
"Yes, my lord!" Hamid accepted his orders and withdrew silently from the living room.
A few days later.
Inside Columbia University's genetics laboratory, the air was filled with the smell of disinfectant and the faint hum of precision instruments.
Today was Midtown High School's field trip, and Peter Parker was moving through the laboratory among the other students, a camera hanging around his neck.
As it happened, the laboratory's project to breed genetically modified spiders received both funding and technical support from Oscorp.
In the Spider-Man storyline, Oscorp Industries was notorious for churning out villains. Almost all the villains had some connection to Oscorp!
Wearing an ordinary suit and black-framed glasses, Wenwu quietly slipped in under the guise of a school staff member.
His gaze passed over the noisy students and locked precisely onto Peter at the edge of the crowd.
The rather scrawny nerd was holding up his camera, aiming almost every shot at the face of his dream girl, Mary Jane, his eyes filled with unconcealable infatuation and awkwardness.
Just as Peter became absorbed in sneaking pictures, letting his guard down completely, a dark red mutant spider emitting a faint fluorescent glow descended from overhead and silently crawled onto the back of his hand.
"Hiss-"
The sharp sting made Peter suck in a sudden breath. Instinctively, he shook his hand hard, flinging the spider away.
Behind him, Wenwu, who had long been prepared, narrowed his eyes.
Moving at lightning speed, too fast for an ordinary person to follow, he precisely caught the mutant spider in a specially made glass vial while it was still tumbling through the air. Then he turned his wrist and slipped it into his pocket. The entire process was seamless and drew no one's attention.
Only after finishing all this did Wenwu stroll unhurriedly over to Peter.
At that moment, Peter Parker glanced at the bite on the back of his hand, thought nothing of it, and continued sneaking pictures of his dream girl.
Wenwu chuckled. "Looks like you really like that girl."
Peter turned sharply and met Wenwu's half-amused gaze, his face instantly flushing bright red.
He opened his mouth but offered no denial.
"If you like her, be bold and go after her."
Wenwu patted him on the shoulder, speaking like an easygoing elder.
Peter gave a bitter smile, his eyes dimming a little. "I feel like... I'm still missing something."
"Missing what?"
Wenwu raised an eyebrow. "Money, words, or good looks? If you don't even have the courage to confess, you'll only get to watch someone else hold her hand while you hide in a corner!"
Those merciless remarks pierced Peter's heart like a needle.
He stood frozen in place. Before he could react, Wenwu had already turned around, tucked his hands into his pockets, and strolled out of the laboratory.
Half an hour later.
Peter's body began undergoing drastic changes.
He felt physically awful, as though he had come down with a high fever.
Pale-faced, he asked the teacher leading the trip for permission to leave, then forced his heavy legs onward and stumbled out of Columbia University.
He managed to make it to the bus stop, but the bus still did not come.