The sewers were vast, the path was long, and there were no manhole covers near the reservoir that led to the surface. He had to establish resting points between the manhole and the reservoir, otherwise he would never be able to cover such a long distance, no matter how exhausted.
Peter too keenly recognized this; which indicated that the strange person moving through the sewers was probably just an ordinary human. He couldn't possibly walk several kilometers through such a damp and dark sewer without needing to rest, instituting numerous rest areas within the sprawling sewer network.
This gave Peter confidence, because as long as the person he was facing was a normal human, and he could catch him off guard, then he was sure he could catch him.
One night, Peter found the reservoir outpost. He knew at this time the strange person wouldn't be there, so he pried open the door to the maintenance station near the reservoir.
Upon entering the maintenance station, Peter was taken aback. Inside were bottles and jars, as well as fairly rudimentary equipment.
Peter picked up one of the bottles and looked inside, finding what seemed to be some biological tissue samples. He wondered, who was this person conducting experiments here in the sewers?
He stepped over the haphazardly stacked boxes on the floor and walked further in. What he saw was even more shocking: there were countless biological specimens that under the mournful lighting seemed especially terrifying.
It was like the base of a mad scientist.
This person was cautious. Apart from the experimental materials, there was no data or texts left behind. Peter looked around, but there was no information relating to his identity.
A mad scientist conducting biological experiments in the New York sewers? Peter gradually sketched a sinister figure in his mind.
This couldn't continue, Peter thought. While the New York sewers were seldom used by people, it was still part of the city's lifeline. If anyone were to dump dangerous experimental waste here, the whole of New York could be endangered.
With that in mind, Peter walked to the door. He gathered some cardboard boxes stacked high and relatively dry near the entrance, tore them apart, and set them on fire, intending to burn down the entire outpost.
Though the sewers were damp, the inside of the maintenance station was somewhat dry. Once lighted, the fire quickly filled the entire room with black smoke. Peter closed the door of the maintenance station and watched the fire consume all the experimental equipment.
He let out a sigh of relief. Lucky he had discovered this early. If that mad scientist really managed to develop some poison or toxic gas, it would be too late.
Emerging from the sewer, Peter was still uncertain. Even though he had destroyed one outpost, this mad scientist could have others. He had to monitor the area closely for the next few days, ideally catching the scientist.
During the next few days, Peter interned at the Stark Group during the day and frequented the sewers at night. After the outpost had been destroyed, the signs of life in the sewer seemed to have disappeared.
The mad scientist seemed to have given up.
Peter felt slightly relieved. His internship had not been going well recently. He found Mr. Stark to be incredibly negative. He wouldn't even conduct experiments, smoking and drinking all day. Sometimes he'd get so drunk he would pass out on the lab's floor, leaving Peter to help him up.
Peter had read the negative reports about Stark, but he didn't believe a word of them. He thought it was all slander. Iron Man was a superhero who had saved many people, not the heartless devil described by the media.
Peter wanted to change this situation but didn't have any good solutions. He was not good at this kind of thing and didn't even dare to make a phone call to challenge those reports. So, he returned to the psychologist's office. He thought that Dr. Schiller must have a way to change public opinion.
Dr. Schiller was currently busy finding food for the symbiont.
When Peter arrived at the psychology clinic, Dr. Schiller was bandaging Pikachu, who had lost a chunk of fur on his tail after jumping around while Schiller was cooking and getting it scorched in the pot. Pikachu was pitifully lying on the table receiving treatment.
Peter said, "Hey! Am I interrupting? I can come back tomorrow..."
"No, come in. I don't have much to do now."
Peter walked in, gave Pikachu's face a good rub, and Pikachu tried to dodge, but his tail was still in Schiller's hand. When he tried to jump away, his tail was grabbed and he fell back onto the table, knocking over a pile of cups in the process.
"Stay still," Schiller said, "or your tail will stay bald forever."
Peter sat down on a chair nearby and said, "Doctor, have you seen the recent reports? The journalists can really talk nonsense, there are even people claiming they've seen Mr. Stark selling weapons to terrorists, describing the scenes of their negotiation in graphic detail..."
"This is journalists' bread and butter. If they didn't have this ability, they wouldn't be able to work in New York's journalistic circle."
"But they are outright lying!" Peter said angrily, thumping the table. "Mr. Stark is not that kind of person!"
"Is that so? If it were all lies, Mr. Stark's attitude towards these rumors should be right with you, no? You're incredibly angry because your friend is being lied about, shouldn't the person himself be even more furious when faced with these rumors?"