Chapter 83: | The Godly Ninja Spider
Peter gently pushed open the door, holding a stack of documents, and saw a middle-aged man in a white research uniform packing up his things. He said, "Dr. Connors, are you leaving today?"
The middle-aged man had gray-white hair, looked a little haggard, and, more importantly, his right arm was empty under his research uniform, indicating that he only had one arm.
"Oh, it's Peter? Yes, the research collaboration has ended, and I have to leave," Dr. Connors replied.
Peter gently placed the documents on Connors' desk and whispered, "I'm sorry, if I were a little more skilled, maybe we could have made some progress before the end of the research."
"You're already very skilled," Dr. Connors said kindly. "You're just a high school student, but you're smarter and work harder than the research students I've seen before. If I could, I would like to write you a recommendation letter."
"Thank you, but I haven't decided which university to attend yet, and I still have some time before I go to college," Peter said, moving his lips.
"Then where do you plan to go next? The serum research has reached the final stage, and it should be able to be completed with a similar laboratory," Peter asked.
Dr. Connors looked around his office and said, "There won't be any place with hardware conditions as good as Stark Tower. When they invited me, I was attracted to the hardware conditions of the laboratory here, which is why I agreed to come."
He packed up his things with his remaining hand and said, "But it's okay, as you said, the experiment is at the final stage. With a little more effort, I can succeed."
"By then, maybe not just me, but many people can regain their arms. I know many people lost their limbs in the war, and the military's financial support can barely sustain them. Those prosthetics are too expensive. If there really is a regenerative serum, they can become normal people again," Dr. Connors said excitedly, leaving a deep impression on Peter during his internship.Originally, Peter was not interning in this research group, but when he was running errands for the group leader, he met Dr. Connors, who had just been invited by the military to participate in the Stark medical research collaboration.
Seeing him for the first time, Peter was very surprised because Dr. Connors had only one arm. But this did not hinder his scientific research at all. He had a brilliant mind and was considered one of the world's top experts in bionics and serum technology research.
Peter was greatly shocked because even people with all their limbs intact might not achieve such high accomplishments. So he applied to be transferred to Dr. Connors' research group.
After all, he also mutated after being bitten by a spider, and he wanted to figure out what exactly caused this mutation.
Peter was very smart and diligent, although he had a bit of a bookish tendency. But he was the kind of kid who teachers liked the most. Soon, Dr. Connors liked this young intern too.
From Connors, Peter learned that he was originally a military doctor and a veteran. It was on the battlefield where he lost his arm, but this did not stop him from pursuing his scientific research.
On the contrary, he took a different path in medicine, started researching the role of serum in living organisms, and achieved quite impressive results.
When he was Dr. Connors' assistant, Peter also learned a lot about biology. After obtaining the spider mutation, Peter's brilliant mind turned even faster. With two geniuses working together, the research speed naturally soared.
But just when they were only a little bit away from completing the project, the collaboration between Stark and the military ended, and these researchers had to leave the Stark building.
Originally, even if this kind of invited research project was terminated halfway, the researchers could still receive their compensation. They were eager to end it soon so that they could use the remaining time to go on vacation.
However, Dr. Connors was different. He wasn't here to just laze around, he genuinely wanted to develop a serum technology that could regenerate lost limbs, to restore his own body and benefit other disabled soldiers who lost limbs in wars.
So inevitably, he felt somewhat disappointed, but looking at Peter's reluctant expression, Dr. Connors still said, "It's okay. When you go to college, maybe I'll still be teaching at a university on the East Coast. You can come to my lab, and we can continue our research."
"Deal!" Peter said happily.
In fact, Stark had also tried to teach Peter about mech suits and artificial intelligence before, but Peter wasn't very interested.
He wasn't like Stark, who was into industrialism, but he preferred exploring the unknown mysteries of humanity, such as the secrets hidden in nature or the wonders of outer space.
During his studies with Dr. Connors, he learned a lot about the mysteries inside cold-blooded animals like spiders and lizards, which fascinated him. He thought being a biologist or entomologist in the future wouldn't be a bad idea.
If only he could invent some technology that could save lives, just like Dr. Connors did, that would be even better.
Although Peter has become Spider-Man and actively fights crime every night, as a good student, he knows that being a superhero alone is not enough for his life plan.
He still wants to go to a good college, follow a planned career path, and study in a field he likes. Ideally, he would like to obtain multiple doctoral degrees, then either become a professor or establish his own research center.
Perhaps due to the influence of spider mutation, Peter feels a special closeness to these cold-blooded creatures during his research with Dr. Connors. Thus, he gradually confirms his future goal.
Having a clear goal greatly dissipated the sadness of parting with his teacher. After leaving Stark Tower, Peter was full of energy and ready to continue his Spider-Man career.
In his last battle with Bullseye, Peter learned a lot. He found out that although he had web-shooters and could swing around tall buildings, his speed was not that fast. At best, he was just a little faster than a car. Moreover, such conspicuous actions meant that as soon as he appeared, all of New York would know he was out fighting crime. By the time he got there, experienced robbers would have already vanished.
In the last battle, the only plan that received collective praise was his use of the New York underground sewers. This was a great tactic since the sewer environment was not good, the walls and floors were slippery, and it was dark and damp. Ordinary people could not move around easily in there.
However, Peter was different. He was Spider-Man, and he could stick to various walls and not worry about slipping on the ground.
Moreover, the straight and wide ground of the sewer is like a runway tailor-made for Spider-Man. There is no traffic or pedestrians here, and he can sprint with all his strength, much faster than racing cars.
Most importantly, it's discreet enough. He moves underground and then emerges from the nearest sewer opening, and no one will notice where he came from and where he went.
This is especially useful when dealing with some seasoned robbers.
Previously, there was a group of bank robbers, all of whom were experienced. There were three or four people just watching them. Peter had fought them before, but as soon as his figure appeared on the horizon, the group of people disappeared instantly.
Later, Peter used the sewer tactics to catch them off guard. Before they could transfer the bags of cash to their car, Spider-Man crawled out of the nearest sewer cover at the street corner and punched the engine of their escape car, rendering it useless. The robbers were then caught by him.
Now, Spider-Man has discovered the convenience of the sewer. For him, it is like a fast elevator that can reach any location in New York at any time.
In this way, Peter began to pay attention to the construction of the sewer.
New York's sewer was built early and has undergone countless renovations. There are almost no maps that can accurately draw all the sewer routes.
So Peter decided to personally explore all the sewers and draw a map of the routes.
Anyway, he was not busy with his studies, had plenty of time, and was fast. He could cover half of the city in a day.
Today, Peter is wandering in the sewer with a map in his hand, marking the structure of the sewer with a marker.
He was concentrating on drawing and didn't pay attention to the ground under his feet. His spider sense suddenly tingled and he noticed that a brick was protruding from the ground. If he continued to ignore the road, he might trip over it.
So Peter put down the map in his hand, intending to finish exploring this area first.
And just then, he noticed a small detail that was different.
Generally speaking, most of the sewers in New York are not frequented by people, and the ground is covered with various slippery moss and grime. But here, the moss seemed to have been cleaned by something.
Peter walked to the junction of the wall and the floor tiles, and found a tiny bit of white powder. He leaned in and sniffed it, realizing that it was an acidic substance, as if it was specifically used to clean moss.
Who would have nothing better to do than come here to clean the floor? Peter wondered. Even he wouldn't want to stay in this dark and damp place if it wasn't for fighting crime.
He continued to follow these traces and soon discovered signs of activity in a long-abandoned sewer maintenance room.
It was easy to deduce that there was a smell of burnt fuel here, indicating that someone had made a fire here. Peter glanced at the iron door of the maintenance room with his keen eyesight and saw signs of someone living inside.
Peter didn't use violence to break down the door, as he knew it would likely be discovered. He didn't have any lock-picking tools on hand either. So he took out his map and marked this spot, planning to come back with some tools in a few days to take another look.
Regardless of who this person was, it was really strange for them to come and live in the sewer. If they were a good person forced to hide in the sewer, Peter was willing to help them. If they were a bad person, then Peter could take care of them.