Peter felt terrible, dizzy, with hot and cold flashes all over his body.
He still did not know that the cause of all this was the spider in the laboratory.
Inside his body, the genes of the Chosen Spider were modifying him, his genetic chain breaking and being reorganized.
"Oh Peter, are you okay?"
"Luoya, do you know what's wrong with Peter? He was completely fine when he went to school this morning."
May looked at her nephew with deep concern. She had always treated Peter and Luoya as her own sons, and right now Peter looked sick.
"I'm fine, Aunt May. I'm just a little sleepy, and I'll feel better after a good night's sleep."
Before Luoya could speak, Peter blurted out first.
He was far too sleepy right now and just wanted to lie down in bed and sleep soundly.
"All right, but if you feel worse, you must tell me."
May nodded. Peter had always been in good health, and she assumed he had simply caught a cold.
Luoya smiled silently. After tonight, the neighborhood's friendly Spider-Man would be online; just thinking about it made him rather excited.
Watching Peter stumble up the stairs, Luoya looked out the window. The moon had already risen.
"Mom, I'm heading to my room too."
After saying goodnight, Luoya walked back to his room and closed the door.
Swish.
The window in the room was pushed open. Seeing that the lights downstairs had been turned off, Luoya didn't wait any longer and leaped out.
Snap.
His strong muscle control made the sound of Luoya landing very light. Glancing around, he began running in the direction of Hell's Kitchen.
Soon, a dirty and chaotic neighborhood came into view.
Through his enhanced hearing, Luoya could hear the sounds of wild partying, screams, and other noises mixed together all around him.
Luoya didn't stop, walking straight toward Bray's diner.
Bray was eating a late-night snack at the entrance of the diner. Catching sight of a tall, dark figure approaching from afar, and recognizing Luoya, he immediately stood up.
Luoya looked inside the diner. Aside from the few Black men he had seen the night before, there were also two little ones bustling about.
At Luoya's request, Bray had given Lu Xuan and Lu Hao part-time jobs at the diner.
It basically meant helping clear tables, washing dishes, and the like, and the pay, naturally, was some food.
Resources were scarce in Hell's Kitchen, and Bray didn't have much money himself; trying to feed two kids out of thin air was genuinely a bit of a stretch.
Lu Xuan was very sensible. Upon seeing Luoya, she brought a pie from a plate and placed it right in front of him—this was supposed to be her pay for the night's work.
"Thanks."
Luoya didn't refuse. He thought this was good; having a job meant they were earning their own living.
Charity feeds the industrious, but breeds the indolent; this truth never goes out of style.
At that moment, under the cover of night, a figure in a cloak stepped into the street.
After glancing around, she walked into the diner.
"Boss, get me an apple pie, a steak, and a bottle of juice."
A young and seductive female voice came from beneath the cloak.
At the same time, the newcomer removed her hood, revealing her hot figure underneath. A large expanse of wheat-colored skin was exposed beneath her red outfit.
Luoya raised an eyebrow slightly and looked at the woman.
Of course, he wasn't trying to peek at her, though he had to admit her figure was indeed hot.
Based on Luoya's observation, this woman in red should be someone trained in martial arts. Her physique was athletic, and her muscles were quite powerful.
Of course, the most crucial part was that she had a pair of sai tucked at her waist, looking like someone not to be messed with.
Facing such a woman, the other men in the diner unusually refrained from making passes at her.
You had to know that in a place like Hell's Kitchen, especially on the seedier streets, any female on two legs would usually get harassed by the locals for a bit!
Yet this woman's aura was truly overpowering, just like a...
"Assassin."
Luoya didn't know why these two words suddenly popped into his head, but he simply felt that the woman in red matched his preconceived notion of a female assassin.
It was a pity that Luoya's knowledge of the Marvel universe from his past life wasn't entirely comprehensive, otherwise he might have guessed the woman's identity from her all-red attire and the iconic sai at her waist.
Elektra didn't pay much attention to the lingering gazes of the many men in the shop, except for Luoya, whom she spared a couple of extra glances.
She had just taken care of a few scumbags tonight, and her mood was still pretty good.
Elektra could be described as a somewhat unconventional superhero, nicknamed the "Black Angel".
The origin of the Black Angel nickname had a lot to do with her morally ambiguous behavior.
The diner seemed to grow quiet because of this. Luoya rested his chin in one hand, pondering how to quickly increase the unlock progress of his Homelander Template in Hell's Kitchen.
Judging by the current forty-five percent progress, it was still far from enough.
Fortunately, he could feel that as the unlock percentage increased, his overall strength was multiplying.
In terms of strength, Luoya estimated that his current arm strength should be around several hundred tons, perhaps even more; he hadn't calculated it precisely.
His other abilities were also extremely powerful, but still not strong enough, especially "flight"—that immensely formidable ability.
It was just a pity that even though the unlock progress had reached forty-five percent, Luoya felt he was still quite a distance away from being able to fly.
Just as Luoya was deep in thought, a commotion broke out outside.
"What's going on?"
"Uh... it's the gang protection money collectors."
A man wearing a white suit and a newsboy cap walked in. Following the death of the sinister Myron Toynbee, he had taken over this position.
Luoya actually found it a bit strange. In his impression, would an underground crime lord like the Kingpin really send people specifically to collect so-called protection money?
Especially from an utterly bottom-tier gang like the Iron Club Gang.
"Bray, I heard your boss bit the dust?"
"But it doesn't matter, you're still here, so it's time to pay this month's protection fee."
The man in the white suit seemed to know Bray.
"Hey, Jeremy, listen." Bray was trembling slightly at first, but after glancing at Luoya, he regained his confidence.
That's right, with a boss like this backing me now, what do I have to be afraid of?
So, Bray said toughly, "Matt already paid the protection fee a couple of days ago."
Jeremy shrugged indifferently. "I know, but who knows what happened to that guy—he kicked the bucket the other day."
"So, what does the fee he collected have to do with me?"
With that, Jeremy turned his gaze toward the people inside the diner. The first to catch his eye was Elektra.
Her hot figure instantly grabbed Jeremy's attention, but the aura that clearly marked her as dangerous also stirred a strong sense of wariness in his heart.
Reluctantly looking away, he shifted his gaze to Lu Xuan, who was packing up her things and preparing to leave.
"Tch, I never expected a dive like yours to have such a fine piece of goods, Bray!"
Jeremy grinned, his eyes glowing like a hunter discovering prey.
"How about this? We'll use her to cover this month's protection fee,"
he said.