Ch.160 Some Meet Parents, Some Accompany Lizards

It wasn't until Ronan left the square and entered the Sanctum that Kaecilius felt the weight lift from his body.

But he also collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

Mordo glanced at him indifferently, shook his head helplessly, and then turned to leave.

It was clear that he was deeply disappointed in Kaecilius.

Mordo's attitude, Ronan's actions toward him, and the whispers of the surrounding mages—all of it was noticed by Kaecilius.

Especially the whispers. They weren't mocking, but they were even harder for him to accept than mockery!

How could he... just kneel before Ronan like that so suddenly!

What kind of sorcery had Ronan used?

In truth, Kaecilius was a smart man, at least above average in intelligence.

So, his jealousy of Ronan was mostly hidden in his heart and rarely showed on his face.

But today, he truly couldn't hold it in anymore.

Ronan had actually mastered the Images of Ikonn!

This was a technique he had begged to learn for so long but had never been deemed worthy of!

How old was Ronan?

Why did he get to learn it?

Finally, unable to contain his anger, he challenged Ronan.

But the result was utter humiliation!

"Kaecilius, are you okay?"

At this moment, the "companions" who had always followed Kaecilius came over to help him up.

Their speed in offering assistance was on par with that of American police.

"Get off me!"

Kaecilius shook off his companions' support, though his steps were still unsteady.

He didn't want anyone to see him in such a sorry state.

He turned his head, looking at Ronan's retreating figure, his face filled with boundless hatred.

Fine!

If none of you are willing to teach me, then I'll find my own way!!!

One day, you'll regret your choices!!!

——

Entering the Sanctum, the Ancient One was, as usual, drinking tea, seemingly oblivious to what had happened outside.

"Master, I've come back to see you."

Ronan sat down across from the Ancient One, feeling a little guilty.

After all, he had just taken action against Kaecilius.

It wasn't that he shouldn't have acted, but the way he did it was somewhat humiliating.

"Just don't come back to annoy me."

"Last time, you promised to let me meet your girlfriend, but it's been over a month now."

"Do you want her to attend my funeral directly?"

The Ancient One glanced at Ronan, her expression calm.

Hearing this, Ronan looked aggrieved.

It wasn't like he wanted to delay for over a month. It was all because of your good disciple from Earth-616, Strange!

If it weren't for him, how could I have disappeared for a month out of nowhere?

And what do you mean by attending your funeral?

If anyone's attending a funeral, it should be you attending hers, Master.

"Master, let's talk about what just happened outside."

"I think I made a mistake. The way I treated my fellow disciple was absolutely wrong."

"So, I've decided to punish myself by meditating in seclusion for a month. After I've served my sentence, I'll come back to see you!"

With that, Ronan planned to make a quick exit.

He hadn't expected that the first thing upon meeting the Ancient One today would be being "pushed into marriage."

Of course, while this wasn't exactly about marriage, what was the difference?

The step before marriage is for both parents to meet and see if the other party is suitable, right?

This progress was a bit too fast.

"If you truly want to accept punishment, then I agree."

"Go to the top of the sixth mountain to the north. There's a cave there where I once meditated many years ago."

"You can go there to reflect for a month."

"As for school, I'll allow you to use a clone to attend classes."

The Ancient One smiled at Ronan, creating a scene of perfect harmony between master and disciple—a model for teacher-student relationships!

Ronan, however, stiffened slightly, his feet pausing mid-step as he planned to escape.

Go to that godforsaken place to reflect?

He'd rather die!

"Master, let's talk about when you'll meet Gwen!"

"I think it's time for you two to meet."

Ronan spoke with righteous determination.

He definitely wasn't trying to avoid going to that godforsaken cave. He was just being considerate of an elder's wish to see her child marry early.

He was just that soft-hearted. What could he do?

"Are you sure?"

"I don't have the habit of forcing others. I respect people's opinions."

The Ancient One continued to smile at Ronan.

Huh?

Why does this sound so familiar?

Ronan was momentarily stunned but quickly nodded. He was absolutely doing this voluntarily. The Ancient One hadn't forced him.

"I've tentatively set the time for next weekend because she's visiting her grandmother this weekend and won't be back."

"Other times are too rushed, so I'm not considering them for now."

"What do you think about this timing?"

Ronan asked for the Ancient One's opinion.

It wasn't that he couldn't make this decision himself, but it involved Kamar-Taj.

As an organization that had remained hidden on Earth for thousands of years, most people who came here would become Kamar-Taj mages.

And they would follow Kamar-Taj's rules, not revealing anything to the outside world.

But Gwen Stacy was different. She was unlikely to join Kamar-Taj, so following the rules wasn't applicable.

"Don't worry. You just need to arrange the time and bring her here."

"As for the rest, I'll handle it."

The Ancient One didn't give Ronan any room to make excuses and agreed directly.

The time was set for next week.

Ronan couldn't help but sigh. Who would have thought their relationship would progress so quickly?

How long had it been, and now they were meeting the parents?

Although Ronan had visited Gwen's home with her once before, that time didn't feel as formal. It seemed more like George Stacy had set a trap to lure out whoever had kidnapped his daughter.

But the one who fell into the trap wasn't Ronan—it was the unlucky S.H.I.E.L.D.

——

While Ronan was being "pushed into marriage," Peter Parker wasn't idle either.

After being enlightened by Ronan's words, Peter gave up on sneaking into Oscorp to steal information and instead went to work as usual.

Oscorp paid well. Even interns like Peter could earn $200 a week.

While this might not seem like much, for a high school student, it was a significant sum.

Especially for someone like Peter, whose family wasn't well-off and struggled just to support his education.

So, the $200 could solve many of Peter's problems.

Oscorp didn't mind the $200 either. Their idea was simple: use this money to win over the interns.

Even if these interns didn't become the scientists they needed, it didn't matter.

As long as one person eventually became what they wanted and chose them, the investment would be worth it.

And Peter Parker was undoubtedly one of their targets.

Entering Oscorp, swiping his card, Peter walked into the lab as usual.

However, he was surprised to find that the usually bustling lab was eerily quiet today.

There was no one at the workstations, and even the lights were off.

"What's going on?"

Peter walked into the lab and ran into Dr. Connors, who was hurrying out.

"Dr. Connors, what's happening?"

"Is today a day off?"

Peter quickly asked.

"Peter, don't you know?"

"This lab has been shut down, and the staff have been given time off."

"Starting today, you don't need to come in either."

Dr. Connors wasn't as friendly as usual. Instead, he seemed to be in a strange mood.

If the lab had been shut down, he should have been upset, but he wasn't.

If he was angry about it, there was no sign of anger on his face.

To Peter, Dr. Connors seemed indifferent to everything.

"Dr. Connors, is there a chance I can intern in another lab?"

As Dr. Connors was about to leave, Peter stopped him again.

This time, a flash of anger appeared in Dr. Connors' eyes.

"I don't mean anything else. You know my family isn't well-off."

"I need this part-time job to help with expenses. $200 a week is really important to me." Peter quickly explained.

At this moment, his peripheral vision caught sight of a broken test chamber on a nearby table.

Hearing Peter's words, Dr. Connors took a deep breath and stopped.

"You can join another team. The pay will be the same."

"As for..."

Dr. Connors noticed Peter's gaze and became agitated again.

This time, he didn't give Peter a chance to speak further. He pushed Peter aside and walked out quickly.

Peter stumbled from the push.

Watching Dr. Connors leave, Peter didn't follow. Instead, he turned to look at the test chamber.

He was familiar with this transparent chamber—it was usually used for testing on mice.

However, most mice couldn't withstand the tests and ended up in terrible conditions.

He slowly approached the table and saw that the bottom of the chamber was broken, with glass scattered everywhere.

Next to the broken glass was a mouse, gnawing on the corpse of its companion.

When Peter got closer, the mouse, which had been engrossed in eating, suddenly stood up.

Its size was more than twice that of a normal mouse, and it had a ferocious expression!

At that moment, Peter knew that the lizard from last night was definitely connected to this lab!

Instinctively, he wanted to search the lab for evidence.

But he quickly stopped himself.

He remembered Ronan's words and cautiously looked around.

Who knew if there were hidden cameras nearby?

Although it's illegal in the U.S. to monitor employees with cameras, security cameras were an exception.

So, Peter didn't touch anything. Instead, he carefully observed the surroundings with his eyes.

If rummaging through things was illegal, then just looking shouldn't be, right?

After looking around, Peter noticed that all the equipment usually used for experiments was gone.

It had been moved somewhere, but he didn't know where.

As a part-timer, he didn't arrive as early as the full-time staff. The equipment might have been moved in the morning.

Now, the place looked like an ordinary office.

Confirming there was nothing of interest, Peter didn't hesitate and left immediately.

He wanted to catch up with Dr. Connors and ask for answers.

Unfortunately, by the time he reached the entrance of Oscorp, Dr. Connors was already gone.

Peter took a deep breath. This lead had just been cut off.

According to Dr. Connors, the lab was permanently shut down, meaning he wouldn't be around for a long time.

So, getting answers from Dr. Connors was almost impossible.

In that case, Peter could only focus on the lizard itself.

After seeing the lizard last night, there had been no trace of it since.

The NYPD had been searching all morning but hadn't found anything.

Peter could only walk and think about a solution.

Although he could consult Ronan, he dismissed the idea as soon as it came to mind.

It wasn't that he didn't want to ask for help, but he wanted to try solving this on his own.

In his view, becoming a superhero required overcoming many challenges.

Now was his best opportunity.

Not just to grow physically, but mentally as well.

At the same time, because of Ronan's advice, he had to keep his identity a secret at all costs.

The only thing left to do was find the lizard's hiding spot.

Where could something so large hide without being noticed by the police?

Peter's first thought was the suburbs.

The area was sparsely populated, with many places like his "secret base" that were perfect for hiding.

But he quickly dismissed this idea.

The distance from the bridge where the incident occurred to the suburban farms was too far.

A creature that large would surely be spotted, and the police would definitely notice.

However, from the police radio channels, Peter learned that they weren't focusing on the suburban farms.

In fact, they hadn't even pinpointed a specific location.

This possibility was ruled out.

So, where else could it be?

As Peter pondered, he suddenly noticed a small lizard on the ground.

The little lizard scurried across the street and disappeared into a manhole.

This action immediately gave Peter an idea.

To perfectly hide such a large body and disappear from public view in a short time,

there was no better place than the sewers!

Thinking of this, Peter quickly took out his phone and searched for the underground sewer maps.

He had found a clue!

Meanwhile, Dr. Connors wasn't idle either.

He was hiding in a secluded part of the sewers, conducting experiments on himself.

Since Oscorp had canceled his research project, he had given the entire lab staff a seven-day break.

After taking the necessary equipment from the lab, he had moved everything here.

Although the sewers were filled with New York's wastewater and the smell was unbearable,

if he wanted a place in New York that was safe, cost nothing, and wouldn't be noticed by anyone, the sewers were undoubtedly the best choice—no contest.

At this moment, a camera was recording him as he detailed the changes in his body from last night.

"Test subject: Dr. Curtis Connors. Body temperature: 89.7, stable for 48 hours."

"Blood analysis shows that lymphocytes and monocytes contain information from the previous host."

Dr. Connors spoke confidently into the camera, unaware that not far from him, Peter Parker—now in his Spider-Man suit—was slowly descending into the sewers using his flexible webs.

He made no sound at all!

"Blood clotting speed has increased significantly. Muscle response, strength, and flexibility have improved noticeably."

Dr. Connors was recording the changes in his body.

Meanwhile, Peter was shooting webs in all directions, covering every pipe he could find.

He didn't miss a single one, and he didn't stop at just one web per pipe.

As Peter shot web after web, they formed a massive "spider web" with him at the center.

Lying on the web, Peter could detect the slightest movement on any strand, alerting him to any threat.

This was how spiders sensed danger in their environment.

Sometimes, it was even more effective than his Spider-Sense.

However, Dr. Connors was completely unaware of this.

At this moment, he was taking off his glasses, looking at the camera with a complicated expression.

"Vision has improved accordingly. The test subject no longer needs corrective lenses."

"This isn't just about finding a cure for diseases. This is about creating the perfect species!"

Dr. Connors took a deep breath and began trembling as he unbuttoned his right sleeve.

He knew that his years of hard work had finally reached the most critical stage!

If last night's transformation was an accident, today, he would turn that accident into a certainty!!!

"Attempting to prevent relapse. Increasing dosage to 200 milligrams!"

Dr. Connors, looking excitedly at the camera, aimed the syringe at his right arm.

The arm that had grown back perfectly last night was now a mutilated limb again.

Sss...

Without hesitation, Dr. Connors injected the serum into his arm.

As the liquid entered his body, a look of madness gradually appeared on his face.

Bang!

He knocked over the camera in front of him. Proud as he was, he didn't want anyone to see his transformed, monstrous state!

Meanwhile, Peter was sitting on his web, playing a mobile game.

Did he feel confident?

Not really.

He was just following a hunch and planned to wait here for the afternoon.

If nothing happened, he could just leave.

After all, he didn't have any part-time work today.

Earlier, he had sent his theory to Ronan, who had presumably reported it to the police.

So, what Peter needed to do now was test the lizard's strength.

If he could win, he'd capture the lizard and take it back.

If not...

He had other plans!

Call for backup!

Buzz!

As a vibration sound rang out, Peter, who had been playing his game, suddenly flipped up from the web.

One of the web strands, like a guitar string, began to vibrate.

He looked at the vibrating strand on the left and then at the corresponding pipe.

If he guessed correctly, the lizard should be coming from that direction...

But before he could figure it out, another strand on the opposite side started vibrating!

The sound of the vibrations drew Peter's attention, and he quickly turned to look in that direction.

This way?

Unfortunately, the next second, the strands beneath him began vibrating chaotically!

Now, Peter was panicking.

His plan with the web was to detect where the enemy was coming from and prepare in advance.

But now, it seemed his plan had completely failed!

A large shadow appeared on one of the pipes, but when Peter focused, ready to fight, he suddenly realized that what was walking on the web was a normal-sized lizard!

Before he could react, more and more lizards began moving along the webs, all heading in the same direction.

Yes, all the small lizards seemed to be following some command, moving together in unison.

This was an extremely unusual phenomenon!

Lizards aren't social creatures.

They only gather during mating season. Otherwise, they're highly territorial!

The only reason they would gather and move in the same direction was either because something was attracting them, or because a powerful leader was summoning them!

Peter put on his mask, hiding his face, and began following the lizards' direction.

If he guessed correctly, the lizards were heading toward the giant lizard's location!

As the king of the lizards, the giant one was enough to make the smaller ones submit.

As Peter moved deeper into the pipes, a massive shadow suddenly loomed over him!