The night wind in New York was not always gentle. After the weather cooled down, the cold wind whistling through the streets was like a dense and fine needle. No thick coat or scarf could resist its chill.
People on the street hurriedly put their hands in their pockets, pressing down their hats, fastening their scarves, dreaming of a warm fireplace and steaming hot meals in their minds, quickening their steps on the way home.
If they looked up, the glass curtain wall of the building was stained with warm light by street lights. The street lights, like dancing flames, burn upwards along the mirror until the flames reach the sky. A dark figure stood at the edge of the building's roof, looking down at the whole New York City.
His sadness ignited like a flame. Just a few hours ago, a deafening gunshot shattered the surface of tranquillity.
Spider Man's hand clenched a newspaper tightly. As his fingers slightly loosened, several copies of the Global Times fell down, with the death news of Nick Fury published on the front-page headlines.
It should have been a peaceful afternoon. Peter had just ended a date with Gwen. For the first time, they embraced on the bustling street.
Gwen's cheeks turned redder than the red Christmas socks just hung up in the shop. Peter smiled at her, his eyes brighter than the lights on the Christmas tree.
"Gwen, you must come to my house for dinner on Christmas. My uncle and aunt are very eager to meet you. They are very gentle and kind people, you don't have to worry…"
"I know, I know…" Gwen said with her fingers entwined with Peter's, lowering her head: "They must be gentler than my dad, but you have to think about how to deal with my dad."
When this topic was brought up, Peter pulled a long face and said: "The Chief is a hero. He acted heroically in the battle when the bats invaded New York. I'm just afraid that if he uses this bravery on me, he will kick me out of your house."
Gwen burst into laughter and said: "No way, you think too much. He has basically accepted that I have a boyfriend."
But then, she frowned again and said, "But I can't be sure if he can accept that my boyfriend is Spider Man. Remember, he always complains about you swinging around the New York sky. He thinks you are a frivolous boy…"
Gwen, holding Peter's arm, said, "why don't you appear in the newspapers less recently? If you really upset my dad, he might point a gun at you."
"Then I swear. I'll never fight back!" Peter made a swearing gesture. Gwen quickly pulled his hand down, Peter started to laugh loudly, hugged Gwen around the shoulder. Gwen pushed him away a bit begrudgingly.
After they laughed and played for a while, they had to part ways. Gwen sighed and said, "The lab that I intern at, my really nice lab partner Betty, is going back to recover from severe anxiety, and Dr. Dora who taught me a lot has also been transferred to another team. I don't know any of the new researchers, and handing over to them will take quite a while."
"It's okay." Peter assured her, "Right now, the human race has finally united and all research is progressing really quickly, many times faster than before. It's a good time, you don't need to rush."
Peter excitedly said, "It's hard to believe that all humans have come together in unity. We are moving towards the cosmos together, and maybe soon we will be able to leave the Milky Way and explore the mysteries between the stars!"
But Gwen wasn't quite as excited she furrowed her brows, grabbed Peter's hand and said, "Peter, you're always so optimistic, but… there's something… I don't quite know how to say this, but I heard that there was a data theft incident at our lab…"
Gwen sighed out, tensing her hand tighter around his, "I have a feeling that this might just be the calm before the storm."
"Don't be like that, Gwen, remember what I said? Rather than worrying about the future, we should focus more on our experiments." Peter looked into Gwen's eyes and responded, "With the technology advancements reaching maturity, as long as we continue developing at this pace, our dream of exploring the stars will be realized very soon..."
Gwen tilted her head, looking at him for a moment before shifting her gaze away. She lowered her voice and asked, "What do you plan on doing when that happens?"
"Doing! Well of course, I'll continue the experiment, finish college… wait, what do you mean… um… what I mean is…."
Peter began to stammer abruptly, clenching his fingers instinctively. However, by this time, Gwen had already broken away from his grip, turned around to walk away and looked back at him, "Go do your experiments. I'll see you tomorrow."
Peter looked dumbfounded at Gwen's leaving figure. He stuttered a few steps on the spot, wanting to punch the wall with his arm, but deliberately restrained his strength when his hand touched the wall, just lightly touching it.
Then, with his backpack in any hand started walking on the street quickly, almost forgetting his destination, with excitement filling his mind.
Peter didn't think he was a particularly romantic person. He was a typical science student, but at that moment, the high spirits made him feel like he had consumed all the inspiration of the rest of his life and conceived a brilliant idea.
If humans could really come to space, feel the brilliance of the stars, what other day could be deemed more romantic and thus more worthy of becoming the most memorable day of his life?
This state of mind acted like a stimulant into Peter's brain, causing a burst of inspiration for scientific research. One good idea after another piled up in his brain, making him eager to get back to the lab and put them into practice.
But there was a distance from here to the lab, and it was too slow to walk on foot. Peter found a secluded alley and put on the Spider Man suit from his backpack.
With the Spider Silk Launcher ready, Spider Man appeared again in the New York Sky. His cheerful mood, accompanied by cheers, made him swing higher, almost blending into the sunlight.
But before he had gone far, he noticed a car was closely parked next to a roadside utility pole. There seemed to have been an accident, and the cars behind were waiting for him. Some drivers impatiently honked their horns.
Spider-Man released his web, rolled on the ground to offset the force, then went over to the crashed car.
To his surprise, the car window rolled down to reveal a familiar face. Eddie Brock poked his head out and said, "Hey! Spider-Man, perfect timing. Can you help me upturn this car? I'm rushing to the airport."
"Eddie, what are you doing here? How's Venom?"
"He's great, roaming free. If it weren't for him, I'd already be airborne." Just as Eddie finished his complaint, Venom's face appeared, his teeth bared as he said, "Shut up, weakling! All I did was step on the gas for you, you're the one who couldn't steer....
"All right, all right, cut it out. Mr. Eddie, I'll help you with the car." Spider-Man moved to the front of the car, gave it a strong push, and the car was back on the road.
He patted the hood, saying: "Okay, there shouldn't be any big issues. By the way, why are you hurrying to the airport? Big news?"
Eddie's expression suddenly shifted, he was about to speak when Venom's face emerged again, he said: "Shut up, get moving, stop wasting time with this kid..."
With that, they rammed the gas pedal, and the car was out of Spider-Man's sight. He scratched his head puzzled, but nonetheless, proceeded to Stark's lab as planned.
Upon entering the lab, Peter changed his clothes and began sketching on the back of two pieces of paper. A short time later, he stepped back to look at his work, seemingly very satisfied with his idea.
He picked up the papers, got in the elevator, and instructed Jarvis, "Take me to the floor where Mr. Stark is. I came up with a new idea regarding the problem we discussed yesterday. He's going to love it."
"Sorry, Mr. Parker. Mr. Stark isn't in the Stark Building right now. Would you like me to contact him for you?" Jarvis responded.
"He's not at the Stark Building? Then where is he? At the Avengers base? Or the United Nations conference room?" Peter asked.
"Connected to Mr. Stark... beep, beep... Hello? Peter? You in the lab?"
Peter detected something odd in Stark's voice, but before he could further inquire, Stark interjected, "Have Jarvis launch a plane to bring you over...forget it, Peter, stay in New York. Go back to the Avengers Base and look after the equipment there."
Just that, and Stark hung up. Peter was left puzzled. Stark wouldn't usually hang up so abruptly.
"Jarvis, what's going on?" Peter asked, to which Jarvis replied, "Your Battlesuit upgrade is in lab 2. Shall I bring it to you?"
"Jarvis, is Mr. Stark keeping something from me?" Peter frowned, pursing his lips to say, "It's okay if he doesn't tell me, I'll ask someone else."
With that, he walked out of the elevator, phone in hand. He started dialing, and as soon as the call connected, he said, "Hello? Dr. Shiller, what's going on?"
"Really? … What did you say? You're not in New York either? Where is everyone? What's going on?"
Peter stood still in the hallway, hanging up the phone. He took a deep breath, and after a moment heard mechanical footsteps from behind. Turning, he found Jarvis' robotic form standing there.
The great robot bent over slightly, his head bowed with an outstretched hand. Seeing the Spider-Man suit in his hand, Peter turned his head away in frustration, saying, "I don't want it. I can do it myself."
Without showing any sign of irritation, Jarvis simply took back the suit. Peter then dialed another number, murmuring as he did, "I'm going to call the Captain. He wouldn't lie to me, he wouldn't keep things from me...."
He picked up the phone and said: "Hello, Captain, what's really going on? Why is everyone keeping secrets from me? Are you also not in New York?... Captain! Captain! What's going on? Why...."
"Oh my God, don't be like this, Captain, whatever it is, I'll stand by you guys... alright, I'll guard New York, but shouldn't you guys tell me what's going on?"
"Buy a newspaper?" Peter said in surprise, "What does a newspaper have to do with anything?...Okay, Captain. You're busy, I'll go get a newspaper now."
Peter quickly rushed out of the hallway, jumped out of the window, and swung handily onto the roof of a nearby building using his spider silk.
From his high vantage point, he spotted the nearest newsstand. There, he noticed the latest batch of newspapers being laid out on the front rack.
Peter frowned; it wasn't morning, why were there new newspapers?A
And the truck that just left bore the Global Times logo, which was no small news organization. Renowned former journalist Eddie Brock could only serve as an ordinary editor there— such large companies wouldn't adjust delivery times on a whim.
So, Peter bought a copy of the newly arrived newspaper. As he unrolled the paper and scanned the front page, he was presented with a headline he never expected: yesterday's acquaintance, S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury's obituary.