Chapter 58: Easily Resolved

At that moment, Maverick and Peter saw the environment around them undergo a massive transformation. In the blink of an eye, they found themselves in a vibrant, primordial forest instead of the factory.

In this forest, the roars of various wild beasts echoed intermittently. As they remained vigilant, a horde of flying monsters suddenly surged towards them from a distance.

Reacting swiftly, both Peter and Maverick leaped to a nearby spot. The flying monsters plunged into the ground the instant they dodged, causing no harm.

"These are illusions. No wonder my spider-sense isn't tingling," Peter concluded quickly upon witnessing the scene.

Maverick reached the same conclusion but remained cautious. While the current threats were illusions, that could change at any moment.

And indeed, his caution was justified. When the flying monsters reappeared, accompanied by a massive dinosaur attack, Peter chose to evade the dinosaur. However, one of the flying monsters, which was real, struck him, sending him flying.

Maverick, on the other hand, shot a web toward the invisible ceiling of the factory, lifting himself into the air just in time to avoid both waves of attacks.

*Cough, cough!* Peter stood up from the grass. He had hit the factory wall, which marked the boundary of the illusion, to stop himself.

"Damn it, these illusions are messing with my spider-sense," Peter remarked to Maverick, who had just landed beside him.

Before they could continue their conversation, the entire forest began to shake, filled with the roars of countless beasts growing louder and closer.

In the distance, a horde of dinosaurs, lions, and tigers charged towards them on the ground, while the sky filled with flying monsters, planes, and missiles.

"I bet he never studied history. How else would he put so many creatures from different eras together?" Despite the impending danger, Peter's wit remained sharp.

Maverick chuckled, "Maybe that's exactly it."

"I've decided to close my eyes to distinguish reality from illusion. My eyes receive false information, but my senses won't deceive me," Maverick explained his strategy to Peter after their brief banter.

Peter nodded in agreement, "That's a good idea. My eyes are seeing too much, which is why my senses are getting confused."

Even though Peter's spider-sense and Maverick's Venom instincts could accurately detect real threats, the barrage of illusions still affected their brains through their eyes, leading to incorrect responses.

The two of them closed their eyes in turn, waiting for the army of beasts to attack.

"Phew, honestly, this takes some guts," Peter said, moving his shoulders to ease the tension.

"They're coming," Maverick muttered. As soon as he spoke, the beasts rapidly surrounded them.

The sounds of electricity and clashing metal rang out. Using their exceptional senses, Maverick and Peter dismantled the robots hidden among the illusions with ease. In no time, the ground was littered with broken metal parts.

Once all sensed dangers were eliminated, Maverick didn't stop. His constant movement over the past few minutes had allowed him to pinpoint Quentin Beck's location.

"So, you've got some skills. Now let's see if you can figure out which one of these is the real me," Quentin Beck taunted, waving his hand to summon over a hundred Mysterios, all armed and aiming at the two of them, creating an intense sense of pressure.

"You only have one cha—" Before Beck could finish his sentence, Maverick had already slapped his fishbowl helmet off and grabbed him by the throat, cutting him off.

"Sorry, your trick has already been exposed," Maverick said in a gravelly, unemotional tone.

To him, the hundred illusions were useless because Venom's senses had locked onto the one real Beck.

Peter was astonished at how Maverick had pinpointed the real Quentin Beck among so many illusions. He had scrutinized the figures but hadn't found any differences or flaws.

'If I could find the real Quentin Beck as easily, I wouldn't have been so miserably played these past few days,' Peter thought to himself.

*Thwip!* White webbing shot out, quickly wrapping around Quentin Beck, leaving only his head exposed.

"Venom, I'll hand him over to the police. He hasn't hurt anyone recently," Peter hurriedly explained, as if afraid Maverick would snap Beck's neck the next second.

Maverick released his grip, letting Beck struggle on the ground. "I know, I won't kill him. I'm not a demon," he said calmly.

Peter: "…"

"I've done my part. You can handle taking him to the police yourself," Maverick said, waving at Peter as he walked away.

"Thanks for your help!" Peter called after him, watching Maverick gradually disappear from view.

'Having an ally feels pretty good,' Peter thought, a faint smile forming beneath his mask.

Though Venom was ruthless and merciless when dealing with criminals, it was undeniable that he stood on the side of justice.

Looking at the now bound and squirming Mysterio on the ground, Peter cheerfully picked him up and said, "Alright, Mr. Beck, it's time to take you to the police station."

°°°

After successfully dealing with Quentin Beck, Spider-Man's reputation was restored. Everyone realized that all the previous chaos had been orchestrated by Mysterio to frame him.

As a result, Spider-Man's popularity soared even higher than before. Almost all the media outlets were condemning Mysterio and praising Spider-Man, with J. Jonah Jameson's Daily Bugle being the only exception.

Even though Jameson could no longer claim that Mysterio was innocent, his attitude towards Spider-Man hadn't improved. He began to analyze Spider-Man's supposed mistakes during the incident in his column.

While this earned the Daily Bugle and Jameson the ire of many Spider-Man fans, it also visibly boosted the paper's sales.

Maverick had no interest in such public opinion battles. In this era dominated by capital, he believed that everything heard and seen should be carefully scrutinized before forming a judgment.

With Mysterio dealt with, Maverick's life returned to normal. He spent his days studying, reading, and occasionally catching glimpses of Spider-Man, Peter Parker, swinging around outside.

°°°

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