164

**Chapter 166: Return to New York**

Regarding Manhattan's answer, Peter, who had expected it, did not show any surprise or dissatisfaction. He just asked calmly, "Can you tell me why?"

Manhattan replied straightforwardly, "If possible, I don't want you to leave."

Peter raised his eyebrows, genuinely surprised this time, and asked, "Why?"

"I have been observing you for a long time, Black Superman," Manhattan explained. "Although you are an outsider, what you have done during this time has not threatened the universe. On the contrary, I think your existence contributes positively to the universe."

"Although I don't understand your motivations for certain actions, you are not abusing your power. Even if your existence is steering the future in an uncertain direction, this change is sometimes not necessarily bad."

This time, it was Peter's turn to fall silent.

Good grief, he thought, the problem lies in self-perception.

Peter had always considered himself an unstable factor, uncertain of what he might do for amusement or other reasons in the future. He assumed he was a wild card, but Manhattan saw him differently.

This felt like someone who always ranked last in exams finding out that the issue wasn't them but the test paper. He was a top student all along. It was almost ridiculous.

However, the issue now wasn't about being a poor student or a top student. The issue was, if Manhattan refused to help, leaving wouldn't be easy.

After a moment of silence, Peter asked, "What kind of future do you see?"

Manhattan didn't hide anything and said sincerely, "In every possible future, I see myself fighting a Kryptonian who grew up on Earth. After that, there's a darkness I can't see through."

He looked at Peter, "By the way, the Kryptonian's power is somewhat similar to yours. But you seem to have known about my existence from the beginning, so there's a high probability that you know him—Superman, Clark."

"I do know," Peter admitted, not hiding too much. With beings like Manhattan, there was no point in subtlety. "The future may be better, it may be worse, who knows."

Peter looked directly into Manhattan's pale eyes and said, "But one thing I am sure of now, Manhattan, is that I will definitely leave."

"If you must leave, I can't stop you, but I won't help you either..."

"No, you will help me," Peter interrupted Manhattan directly.

He continued, "You know, with my current strength, as long as I make up my mind to leave, I can always find a way. It will just be more troublesome."

"As for the harm this trouble might cause to the universe, that is out of control."

For the first time, Peter saw a hint of hesitation on Manhattan's otherwise expressionless face. Seizing the moment, he struck while the iron was hot, "For example, the wall that separates this universe from the outside. If I wanted to get out of there, the only way would be to find a way to break it. Manhattan, you don't want this universe to be hurt unnecessarily, right?"

...

After a period of friendly and harmonious communication, Manhattan finally realized his mistakes and corrected them under Peter's guidance. With his cooperation, Peter quickly opened a door leading outside the DC universe.

Whether it was an illusion or not, Peter felt that after he left, the door closed a little too fast, almost as if it were impatient. But these details were unimportant now.

Without the cosmic barrier, the anchor point of the Marvel universe became clearer and clearer. Peter could feel that the anchor point was not far away.

Unlike his previous visit, Peter now had ample time and opportunity to perceive and become familiar with this journey and the universal environment. This high-dimensional perception and understanding would be immensely helpful for his future endeavors.

Marvel, Earth.

Peter's figure suddenly appeared over New York.

Finally returning to Marvel, even he couldn't help but feel a little more relaxed. When he left, it was still during the Battle of New York. Now, the city had completed most of its reconstruction, indicating that the time span was not long.

Curious about how everyone fared during his absence, Peter released his perception and began to search for the corresponding information. To his surprise, he found that all traces of him had disappeared from Earth, as if everyone had forgotten him.

He wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he quickly identified the culprit—[Eternity]. The deus ex machina that had dealt with him.

Originally, eternity was a abstract cosmic god. Even if eternity tended toward multi-dimensional, it still didn't break through that layer of shackles. It was probably just a separate version , a avatar or clone, as both Marvel and DC liked to play with this concept.

It was impossible for the Time Management Bureau to produce the eternal deity. With a little authority and favor, hiring a clone was already the limit. The Space-Time Management Bureau had the energy to do this, and in some timelines, they even enslaved Galactus.

When Peter was exiled to the DC universe, he felt there was a high probability that someone else was involved. At that time, the system store revealed two talents—[Cosmic Conceptual Entity] and another completely unknown [???].

What this [???] was and who it belonged to could only be discovered later if given the opportunity.

After locking the target, Peter had some idea of the situation at hand. At his current level, it was not difficult to solve it. But there was another matter more pressing.

The next second, Peter appeared above his apartment.

He, Gwen, Uncle Ben, and George had chosen this place together, and now they had all moved in. Peter saw that everyone was still alive. Uncle Ben and Aunt May were sitting at the dining table having breakfast. Thanks to Peter's foresight and the fortune he left behind, their quality of life had improved, but the lively atmosphere seemed to have faded.

The two elderly people sat at the table, the atmosphere sluggish. Peter's room was still neatly kept, as if waiting for its owner to return.

Across the street, in Gwen's apartment, her family was all together. Aunt Helen was having breakfast, George was reading the newspaper, and the two brothers were lazily getting up and washing.

Only Gwen remained in bed, even though it was getting late. Before, she was always the first to get up, diligently fulfilling her role as Spider-Woman. Even before that, her schedule was very regular, often waking Peter up.

It wasn't until breakfast was finished and Helen sent the two brothers to school that Gwen finally woke up and got out of bed.

George, who hadn't gone to work yet, seemed to have waited for her.

"Gwen, you can't go on like this," George said, unable to hold back any longer after seeing her finish washing.