Just as he was about to give out, his vision darkening, a bright red Ferrari sports car pulled to a steady stop in front of him amid a low rumble of its engine.
The window rolled down, and Wenwu leaned out. Taking in his deathly pale face, he raised an eyebrow. "Looks like you're in terrible shape. Get in. I'll take you to the hospital."
The word "hospital" instantly brought Peter a little closer to his senses. He instinctively felt his empty pockets and politely declined. "N-no need, sir. It's just a little heatstroke. I'll take the bus home and get some rest..."
"Cut the crap."
Without allowing any argument, Wenwu pushed open the door and hauled him into the passenger seat, deftly buckling his seat belt. "In your state, you could pass out at any moment walking down the street alone. Now, give me your address."
Unable to argue with this overbearing stranger, Peter could only give him his address in Queens.
The car glided smoothly onto the street, and the quiet interior and comfortable air-conditioning finally allowed Peter's taut nerves to relax.
Before long, he slumped groggily against the seat back and lost consciousness completely.
Wenwu glanced at him. Once he confirmed Peter was sound asleep, he turned the wheel, heading somewhere other than Queens.
On the way, Wenwu's pupils abruptly contracted when he saw a company's name mounted atop a skyscraper!
Von Doom Industries!
The company name was familiar. It belonged to Victor von Doom from the Fantastic Four storyline!
Wenwu was not certain whether it really was that company, but he would find out by having someone investigate later!
Before long, he drove into a secluded street and stopped outside the entrance to a hidden underground laboratory.
Inside the laboratory, Dr. Burstein had been waiting for quite some time.
Wenwu carried the unconscious Peter onto an examination table.
Dr. Burstein immediately stepped forward and expertly attached various monitoring devices to Peter's body.
As a cold needle pierced his vein, over a hundred milliliters of abnormally hot blood were drawn into collection tubes.
Then, watching the wildly fluctuating data on the screen, Dr. Burstein sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes filled with shock. "This... this is nothing short of a miracle! His genes are undergoing cross-species fusion and mutation. Recombination at this speed completely defies everything we currently know about biology!"
"Record all the data. I want the most detailed report possible."
Standing nearby, Wenwu hurriedly gave the order.
He had summoned Dr. Burstein overnight specifically to observe Peter's mutation process!
Three hours later, night fell.
At the Parker home in Queens, just as Uncle Ben and Aunt May, frantic after being unable to contact Peter, were about to call the police, a red Ferrari stopped outside their door.
Wenwu personally carried the unconscious Peter inside.
"He just developed a sudden high fever. I've already given him some fever medicine. He'll be fine after some sleep, so there's no need to worry."
Wenwu reassured the elderly couple in a steady voice.
Uncle Ben and Aunt May thanked him repeatedly, finally putting their worries to rest.
The next morning.
Peter woke in bed and abruptly sat bolt upright.
Then, to his astonishment, he discovered that the nearsightedness that had plagued him for years had vanished. The entire world was so clear that he could make out every vein in the leaves outside his window.
He tried clenching his fists. An unprecedented surge of immense strength coursed through his muscles, and his body brimmed with explosive vitality.
As he stared blankly into the mirror, he noticed a note and a gold-stamped business card on his bedside table.
The handwriting on the note was bold and forceful. "I originally intended to take you to the hospital, but I noticed your body was becoming a little different. To keep certain fanatical scientists from capturing you and slicing you up for research, I decided to see my good deed through and take you home.
I'll keep your secret for you. Also, if you want to earn some money part-time, come to Star Ring at the address on the card. You can work as a research assistant when you have time. The pay isn't high, but it should be pretty good for you."
Peter clutched the business card tightly, a multitude of feelings welling up inside him.
Meanwhile, Wenwu stood on the top floor of the Star Ring building, looking out over New York in the morning light.
The part-time job he had arranged for Peter was merely a small payment for providing his mutated blood.
As for whether Peter accepted, he did not care. It would be best if he did; it might even save his Uncle Ben's life.
If he refused and things followed the original storyline, there was nothing Wenwu could do.
Whether Uncle Ben would still die in that accident in the future storyline would be up to fate.
At that moment, Hamid personally delivered the intelligence Wenwu wanted.
Von Doom Industries, CEO Victor von Doom, specialized in aerospace research.
It was building a private space station and was very well known in New York!
Finally, the profiles of all four members of the Fantastic Four matched. Looking at their photographs, he realized they were actually the 2005 version of the Fantastic Four!
Johnny Storm even looked a little like Captain America!
The plot was very simple. Reed calculated that a cosmic storm would soon sweep past Earth and believed Cosmic Rays could unlock the secrets of human genes.
Lacking the money to conduct the experiment, he persuaded the wealthy Victor to fund it and lend him his space station for the experiment.
Victor demanded control over the experiment and brought along his employee Sue, Sue's younger brother Johnny, and the astronaut Ben. Five people in all boarded the space capsule.
In the end, Reed's calculations were wrong, and the cosmic storm arrived early. All five were exposed to violent Cosmic Rays, changing their bodies' molecular structures and granting each of them their own superpowers.
A cosmic storm!
Wenwu narrowed his eyes slightly. Based on the intelligence, it was still roughly two years away!
"Looks like there's no reason to miss this storm!"
Wenwu silently made up his mind. This cosmic storm could grant him a superpower for nothing, so naturally, he would not let it pass!
But he had to prepare properly beforehand. He could not end up turning into a rock man like Ben or some other deformed thing!
For the time being, Wenwu waited quietly.
Meanwhile, Dr. Burstein had already returned to Salia Base with Peter's blood samples and the data.
Three days later, Wenwu finally got what he had been waiting for: Dr. Banner entered New York in search of "Mr. Blue."
Burdened with the gamma curse, Bruce Banner had been hunted around the world by the military for two whole years.
Whenever his emotions ran high, he would lose control and transform into the rampaging, invincible Hulk, whom no one could stop.
For two years, he had lived under an assumed identity, suppressed his anger, and controlled his heartbeat, all to find a cure that would heal him completely.
His persistence finally paid off. Through secret communications online, he finally contacted a genius scientist who went by the online alias Mr. Blue.
To rid himself of the nightmare of the Hulk once and for all, Banner brought his girlfriend Betty Ross and, risking capture by General Ross's military forces, slipped alone into Grayburn University in New York and reached Dr. Sterns's secret laboratory.
Inside the cramped laboratory, streams of data flashed wildly across sophisticated instruments.
Dr. Sterns looked at Banner's blood sample in a test tube and addressed him solemnly:
"I've prepared the antidote. It can completely suppress the Hulk."
Banner's expression was resolute. "Let's begin!"
"All right, then. I'll get started."