Liz's heart was shattered!
She had been inexplicably dragged here by the crazed Harry Osborn. The once-noble playboy now had terrifying bulging veins and twitching muscles across his face, paired with eyes glowing with madness and evil. He was as terrifying as one could imagine.
She had been captured simply because she was Peter's girlfriend.
That could have been tolerated, but Harry actually told her that her boyfriend Peter was Spider-Man?
This revelation suddenly gave Liz a glimmer of hope.
"I'll kill you right in front of your boyfriend!" Harry had said.
Liz was both terrified and oddly a little excited, because her boyfriend wasn't just some random nobody but a true hero.
Liz had already made up her mind to cooperate with Peter when he came to rescue her, and they would escape together.
No matter how strong Harry was, he was still just one person. Even with her hands tied and in handcuffs, she felt there was still a chance.
The only unpleasant thing was that Mary and Michelle had also been captured, and they had the nerve to claim to be Peter's girlfriends too.
Unexpectedly, her father suddenly appeared, wearing some strange winged flying suit, trying to save her. But though he managed to draw Harry away, he ended up getting killed by a second Green Goblin?
What was going on?
Her father's brutal death finally caused Liz to lose control, screaming uncontrollably.
Her screams only lasted for three seconds before the Green Goblin's left hand grabbed her throat tightly, his sharp nails even piercing her skin. Extreme fear silenced her, making her scream sound like a rooster caught by the throat, and she dared not make another sound.
"Yes! That's better. Stay quiet, beautiful. That's the only way you'll survive a little longer." Amidst the sinister laughter of the mysterious Green Goblin, Liz's eyes bulged as she watched her father turn from a living person into a... zombie!
"Mmm! Mmm!"
Adrian's neck soon stopped bleeding, and the exposed skin quickly turned a bizarre shade of blue-green.
Most terrifying of all, Liz could no longer hear her father breathing.
"The *Vulture*, right? Come with me. You're still... somewhat useful." The Green Goblin's raspy voice commanded, and Adrian obediently followed.
When the Green Goblin brought *Vulture* and Liz back to the Empire State Building's rooftop 'hostage area,' Harry had already dealt with the commotion below.
Liz looked at the mercenaries who had turned into zombies, her face drained of color. She had met some of them before—they were supposed to be her father's friends.
"Still wondering if he's your father?" The masked Green Goblin sneered cruelly. "Take off the mask, show your darling daughter."
*Vulture* obeyed.
The moment he removed the mask, Liz fainted on the spot.
History had shifted subtly. Originally, *Vulture* would have become one of Spider-Man's individual nemesis, but in his desperate attempt to save his daughter, he ended up sacrificing everything.
This was the terrifying nature of the zombie apocalypse.
If you can't take out the enemy boss in one go, it turns into a war of attrition, slowly building up a 'plague army' from another realm.
Harry noticed the second Green Goblin and frowned, "Who is this...?"
The *Second Green Goblin* replied coldly, "Idiot, you were distracted. If it weren't for me, Spider-Man's girlfriend would have already been saved by her dad."
"Hmph! I don't need you to tell me how to do my job!"
The second Green Goblin glanced disapprovingly at the disposable mercenaries behind Harry, saying, "I already told you, my power is being suppressed in this world. The number of zombies I can create is limited for now. Don't waste my precious power on this trash."
Suddenly, Harry laughed. "Who said I wasted it? Thanks to them, I've found a worthy ally."
"Who?"
Harry mentioned a name.
This time, the second Green Goblin grudgingly acknowledged, "That'll do."
Harry returned to the hostage room with his spoils, leaving the zombified mercenaries and security guards under the *Vulture* to watch over the hostages. Meanwhile, the second Green Goblin once again retreated into the shadows.
On the other side, Spider-Man, Peter, had clearly missed the perfect opportunity to rescue his girlfriends.
Because...
He had been bombarded by calls from several parents.
"Hello, Mr. Parker? My daughter's missing. I was wondering if she's with you? She's always hanging around you."
These calls were driving Peter to the brink of collapse.
He had only officially declared Liz as his girlfriend, and had clearly turned down the other girls. So why was it that Liz's father didn't call, but the other girls' parents did?
These annoying phone calls seriously hindered Peter.
After all, he was still just a high school student.
Yet Peter didn't dare to simply hang up on these anxious parents, nor could he tell them the truth—if he told them their daughters had been kidnapped because of him, wouldn't they tear him apart?
In fact, he arrived quite late. His only consolation was that his enemies were stupid enough to capture Gwen as well.
That was like strapping a remote-controlled bomb to their own pants.
By the time Peter arrived, it was already 11:30 PM.
He didn't act rashly, instead sneaking into the Empire State Building's ventilation ducts. Unsurprisingly, Peter found a strand of web.
He was very familiar with this web—it was the same kind he used.
Almost as soon as he touched the web, he heard Gwen's voice. Spiders don't have vocal cords, but humans do. Gwen's voice traveled through the web, subtly vibrating into Peter's ears.
"Peter, you finally decided to show up?"
"Sorry, Gwen. What's the situation?"
"Your 'old friend' Harry has gone mad and plans to get revenge on you. Strangely, he knows your true identity, but he doesn't know mine."
"Uh..."
"Another thing, there's probably another Harry, or someone very similar to him, wearing green armor. This guy has the power to turn people into zombies. I suspect he's a zombie too... He just killed Liz's father, Adrian, and turned him into a zombie. Worst case, we're up against three powerful enemies."
Gwen took two minutes to briefly explain the situation with the zombie Green Goblin and what had just happened.
Hearing this, Peter's scalp tingled.
If Gwen hadn't been here to help, Peter felt like he wouldn't be able to handle this on his own.
"Gwen, got any good ideas?"
"Yeah! It's not midnight yet, so if we're lucky, we might get help from Kratos."
"Kratos? The tough guy from the Golden Gate Bridge?"
"Yeah."
"So, he's the one who took down Electro too?"
"Probably."
After the Golden Gate Bridge incident, the two had discussed this, but Gwen had kept the details about zombie Peter hidden.
Peter hesitated for a moment. "Alright! Let's consider that our best option. A 3v3 is better than being outnumbered. But we need a backup plan."
"If they dare to lay a finger on us 'weak little girls,' I'll fight them to the death!"
Peter gritted his teeth. "Since when are you weak?"
Gwen was immediately incensed.
Just then, a chilling voice echoed through the Empire State Building's PA system.
"Peter! Since you're here, why not say hello to your old friend?"
(End of Chapter)