"Thank you very much. I'll notify Laboratory 32 right now; they've been pushing for a while. Okay, goodbye."
After hanging up the phone, it was not long before there was a knock on the office door. Tim was taken aback by the appearance of the visitor.
"What's wrong?" A pair of hands waved in front of him. Tim shook his head and said, "Nothing, I just thought all the researchers here were Peter Parker."
"You're new here, aren't you? Indeed, most of the researchers here are Peter Parker, but I'm Gwen."
"Are you Spiderman too?"
"Of course. Actually, Miles was supposed to come, but he had to rush because he hadn't finished his homework, so I'm running this errand for him. Where's the new reagent?"
"Over there. You need to take one box to Laboratories 32, 33, and 36 on the 22nd floor. If there's any extra, don't bring it back; just leave it in the storeroom on the 22nd floor."
Gwen Spiderman nodded in agreement but then turned around curiously and asked, "Why are you responsible for receiving the reagents? They usually wouldn't assign such an important task to a newcomer."
"It's because I'm good at what I do," Tim said with a hint of pride. Seeing Gwen's skeptical look, he sighed and confessed, "I was actually working under Mr. Stark in his lab, but he found me too noisy and kicked me out."
Gwen Spiderman sized him up and asked, "You got into Mr. Stark's lab? Which university did you graduate from? Have you had any significant achievements before?"
"None of the above," Tim shook his head, adding firmly, "I got in through connections."
"Now that's interesting. Who has enough clout to get you directly into Mr. Stark's lab?"
"Doctor Shiller."
"Then you're good."
Just as Gwen Spiderman was about to leave, Tim received another phone call. After hanging up, he said, "There seems to be a problem with the storage records on the 22nd floor. I'll go down with you."
Gwen Spiderman didn't say anything else, picking up the box to leave, while Tim, trying to be a gentleman, offered to help her with some. The box was so heavy it nearly tore his arm off.
Gwen Spiderman chuckled, effortlessly balancing the box in her hand and said, "You can't compete with Spiderman in this. You'd be wise to remember that next time."
Feeling somewhat helpless, Tim shook his head. On their way down together, he asked Gwen Spiderman a lot about the Spider Legion.
"To be honest, I'm very interested in Spiderman, mainly in the process of how you acquire your spider abilities. Have you all been bitten by a spider? Is the spider that bit you still alive?"
"I knew you'd want to talk about this." Gwen Spiderman's face showed she wasn't surprised by his question. She said, "Just about everyone who knows a little about Spiderman is curious about this, but you might be disappointed. It's not a very rigorous scientific process; to be precise, it's actually 'magic'."
After introducing Tim to the Spider Totem, Gwen Spiderman said, "The spiders that bit us aren't even the same. Some are just non-venomous species, and some didn't even bite at all; it was all just a formality. But we all ended up with similar superpowers."
Tim was visibly disappointed. Gwen Spiderman continued, "You don't know yet? With Battleworld opening recently, our team got a new member called Bruce Wayne, and he's quite the character..."
"Wait a minute!" Tim felt like his brain had stalled. He said, "Aren't you all Spidermen? Isn't your team made up of Spidermen?"
"Yes, and this Bruce Wayne is also a Spiderman. Strange, right?"
"Bruce Wayne can be Spiderman?!" Tim was genuinely surprised, exclaiming, "But you are from two different universes."
"The process is kind of complicated. That Bruce didn't explain it well, but apparently, a Spiderman from another universe gave him the abilities."
"Is that something that can just be passed on?!"
"Of course not. Recently, another Spiderman transferred his powers to Miles, but that has to be approved by the Spider Totem."
Continuing to carry the box, Gwen Spiderman pondered and said, "We originally thought this Bruce Wayne would be as intelligent as the other Batmen. Combined with the powers of Spiderman, wouldn't our team be invincible?"
"Isn't it?"
"Not a chance," scoffed Gwen Spiderman. "For some reason, this Bruce who became Spiderman isn't very bright. To put it mildly, he's kind of dim, and doesn't have the dark vibe of Batman; I think he's quite normal."
"The world is full of wonders," Tim mused, shaking his head. "There's nothing very special about my counterparts."
"They're all exactly alike?"
"Not exactly. It seems some Tim Drakes have a different sexual orientation than mine. They seem to be gay."
"That's not so different." Gwen Spiderman shook her head and said, "My good friend is also gay, but she's very popular, probably because she's a drummer."
The two quickly arrived at the 22nd floor. Tim headed for the storeroom, while Gwen Spiderman set off to deliver to the laboratories. Before leaving, Gwen Spiderman introduced Tim to the Spider App, suggesting he check it out when he had the time.
Tim finished his work in the storeroom and took out his phone to explore; he was truly curious about the organization system of the Spider Legion. However, since he was an outsider, he couldn't log in.
Tim had no choice but to call Schiller for his Spider App account, but to his surprise, Schiller needed him for something. He had to request a half-day off in the attendance system and returned to Arkham Sanatorium.
"This is the situation, Tim, you've handled some work for Wayne Enterprises before, right?"
"Not much," Tim shook his head and said, "Since Bruce got his PhD, I've been managing the whole company."
Schiller patted his shoulder and said, "I plan to buy a farm in California, mainly for convalescence and socializing. I just called to inquire, and their asking price was astonishingly high. Do you have any good methods?"
"Legal or illegal?"
"You would do something illegal?!"
"Gothamites all do," Tim said. "You could find a Gypsy to throw feces on their door. I have a recipe that leaves a lingering scent for three years."
Schiller spat out his drink, looking at Tim and said, "It's hard to imagine the days you spend in Gotham, but I am a doctor, I can't break the law, so of course, the means must be legal."
Tim sat down, thought for a while, and said, "That's a bit tricky then. If you want it to be completely legal, that's probably not possible. It can only look more legal."
"For example?"
"Relocation of a heavily polluting chemical plant, explosion of a hazardous chemical tanker, coastal nuclear wastewater discharge, urban rain cloud pollution..."
"Wait a second." Schiller put down his cup and then said, "I'm not looking to get the land for free, just a bit cheaper will do."
Tim rubbed his chin, rolling his eyes upward, pondering, and said, "Then it has to rely on public opinion. Do they have any unethical slaughtering acts? How about the safety measures for the biogas pool? Has the farmer's pet died recently? Are there any extreme sports venues nearby?"
Hearing these questions, Schiller knew what Tim was up to, so he cleared his throat and said, "This world's unscrupulous people are all the same; the methods you can think of have already been thought of by some unscrupulous ghost."
Tim looked him up and down and said, "The unscrupulous ghost you're talking about wouldn't be you..."
"Not me, don't talk nonsense!" Schiller denied at the speed of light, then said, "Those who own a farm in that kind of place are not fools; naturally, they have someone backing them."
"Don't you have someone backing you?"
"I am usually the one backing others."
"This is a bit troublesome then," Tim said, touching his chin. "If they've encountered such things before, they would surely be prepared, but there should still be one method."
Tim reached for a piece of paper on the coffee table, writing as he spoke, "They have backing, so they can definitely control traditional media outlets, and even if there is any misconduct within the farm, it won't get exposed. However, new media is different. TikTok influencers dare to go anywhere. If you can create a hot topic and draw them in, certain things will definitely be exposed."
Schiller applauded for him.
Tim looked puzzled at him and said, "Actually you could have thought of this yourself, right? After all, this short video app is something new to me, but not to you."
"But after all, you're the young one," Schiller said. "What do you think would make for a good hot topic? Crop circles?"
"That's old news," Tim sighed and said, "Farm… farm… Got it! Isn't Pamela researching attacking vegetables? Take two Attacking Cabbages there, I guarantee the influencers will swarm over."
"Attacking is not right."
"Then don't hit the good people," Tim said. "Based on what you said, most of those farms on the West Coast are places where rich people invest for socializing. Find a gathering of politicians and finance industry workers, throw two cabbages in there, and the contribution to the stability of human society will be higher than all superheroes in New York catching thieves for a month."
"Genius idea!" Schiller snapped his fingers forcefully and said, "Let's do that!"
Pamela in the laboratory received a call, and hearing Tim's request on the other end, she was stunned and said, "You want to throw cabbages where? Am I hearing this right? The Love Farm in Paris?"
Pamela glanced at the note she just got from Nick, then said, "Do they have a gathering early next month, with the purpose of raising funds for the Democrat campaign in Los Angeles, and will a congressman named Prorance Ansher be there?"
"Don't ask me how I know." Pamela looked down at the profile of the middle-aged balding man on the material and said, "I'm taking the job. What's your offer? No, that's too low..."
Steve, who had been talking with Jason from the classroom to the cafeteria, also received a call. He said, "Yes, it's me... You guys are that short on people, huh? Assassination? Are you serious?"
"I hope you're not making a mountain out of a molehill." Steve switched the phone to his other hand and said, "I'll send someone to keep an eye on it... You want me to go in person? Don't tell me Hydra has infiltrated it. Alright, what time is the flight tomorrow?"
After hanging up, Steve gave Jason a look, pocketed his cellphone, then said, "Emergency mission, we fly to Los Angeles at nine tonight. The higher-ups received a report from an informant that someone is planning to assassinate a congressman at a gathering on a farm not far from Los Angeles next month. I need to go and keep watch."
"Does this still require your intervention?"
"They think I have too much free time and are trying to keep me busy," Steve jumped off the bar stool and then said, "Go inform your classmates to gather; we need to use more peaceful methods this time."
Jason gave him an OK sign and said, "I get it, we'll wait peacefully for the politician to be halfway beaten to death before going out to clean up the mess."