Chapter Ninety-Three: Autumn Chill After the Jade

If it had only been a single punch that knocked out Thompson, Gwen wouldn’t have felt defeated; after all, she could easily do the same now. But that wasn’t the main issue.

What truly mattered was that Gwen suddenly remembered something crucial she had always overlooked: the spider had bitten Peter before it bit her.

In that moment, she understood so much. She realized why Peter, who had always been frail and timid, could suddenly muster the courage to stand up to Thompson.

Because Peter had mutated, just like her.

When she grasped this, Gwen looked again at Thompson writhing on the ground in pain, and noticed that despite Peter’s punch, Thompson hadn’t actually been injured.

Peter had managed to control his strength perfectly, meting out punishment without causing harm.

This level of control... Gwen admitted to herself she couldn’t match it.

If she were to try and replicate that punch, she’d likely let her emotions get the better of her—either she’d hit too hard and kill Thompson outright, or it would be so feeble it wouldn’t move him an inch.

She couldn’t achieve the effortless mastery Peter displayed.

Both had gained superpowers less than a month ago, and yet that infamous “Peter Parker” had so easily surpassed her. Gwen’s confidence was deeply shaken.

And then, after returning home, Gwen couldn’t help but think of the red-suited figure the news kept calling “Spider-Man”—the one New York’s media hailed as the nemesis of gangs.

His most distinctive trait was the ability to shoot a milky, high-tensile material from his wrists, allowing him to swing between skyscrapers.

This detail had led Gwen into a mental blind spot for some time.

Now, looking again, she realized Spider-Man’s abilities were strikingly similar to her own.

He possessed a bio-electromagnetic field, could cling perfectly to walls, was strong, fast, and quick to react... except for the ability to shoot webs from his wrists, which she lacked—everything else, she had.

She’d already suspected as much, but Peter’s punch confirmed it.

Peter was Spider-Man.

Both had been bitten by the same spider, and gained identical superpowers—well, not entirely identical, since Peter could shoot webs... Was that a trait unique to male spiders?

Gwen quickly shook her head to banish the chaotic thoughts.

In truth, this conclusion was difficult for Gwen to accept; she couldn’t stand being so thoroughly defeated.

She was still struggling to fully control her powers, and yet Peter had already become a masked vigilante, patrolling the city?

Since returning home from school that day, Gwen had been deep in thought...

Even someone as timid as Peter had begun to grow, driven by his sense of justice, into a hero who could leap from rooftop to rooftop.

And what about her?

She needed to change, too!

She remembered her father, always busy with work because of the city’s poor security, and the other officers at the precinct.

She recalled the moment, years ago, when her father’s best friend and colleague was murdered by gangsters, and her father wept bitterly, hidden away in the house.

Determination was etched on Gwen’s young face.

It wasn’t just stubbornness—it was her sense of justice.

She would be a hero as well!

——

A little over a month later, on the afternoon of October 3rd.

Number 19 Ingram Street, within the Divine Bell Clinic.

Divine Bell Xiu moved a small stool to sit at the clinic’s entrance, gazing at the sky gradually tinged orange by the setting sun.

A phrase suddenly came to mind: “As the sun sets into the shining stars, dusk falls upon the world, and autumn claims the land.”

In the blink of an eye, he had been here nearly four months—the weather had shifted from cool to stifling, and now carried a hint of autumn chill.

Ever since he’d devised the plan to rob Stark a month ago, Ivan had secluded himself in the base, feverishly manufacturing all sorts of devices. Now, everything was ready.

In the past month, Divine Bell Xiu’s income had totaled more than two hundred thirty thousand dollars.

One million came from Tony, who visited and, adding to the previous advance, paid for the removal of two shrapnel fragments.

Another one hundred ten thousand was contributed by Norman Osborn, who, after some time, returned to the clinic with a boy about Peter’s age—Harry Osborn, his son.

Divine Bell Xiu claimed Harry was too young for treatment, and set the price equal to Tony’s—one million dollars. Norman was perplexed, but ultimately agreed.

The rest came from contributions by the gangs...

Hearing the busy sounds inside, Divine Bell Xiu put aside his memories, exhaled softly, and prepared to go in and assist Wanda.

Half a month ago, Wanda had become capable of tending to patients’ wounds herself—her learning ability was unmatched.

Divine Bell Xiu had since become a hands-off manager, letting Wanda practice on most of the gang members, so her medical skills were now quite advanced. She could handle things independently.

Except for those with special abilities or particularly difficult cases, Divine Bell Xiu would intervene.

Today was an exception, however—the number of patients was overwhelming.

With his planned heist taking place that night, he couldn’t afford delays caused by too many patients.

He donned a sterile gown, picked up a scalpel, and approached the gang member lying on the bed.

For some reason, the patients kept increasing lately, and their injuries were becoming ever more severe. Divine Bell Xiu thought about reminding Peter to ease up a little.

Couldn’t he take it easy? What was fueling Peter lately?

Divine Bell Xiu muttered inwardly.

Meanwhile, his hands moved swiftly—silver blades flashed, red blood flowed, and after handing off the patient to Wanda for bandaging, Divine Bell Xiu switched knives and headed to another patient in a different room...

At last, as stars began to fill the sky, Divine Bell Xiu’s work was done.

He really needed to raise the prices again—so many people every day, it was unbearable.

He washed his hands, thinking to himself. He’d already raised prices several times, but strangely, the higher the prices, the more gang members appeared...

Once everything was tidied up, he turned and gave Wanda a few simple instructions:

“Tonight, sleep here. Wear a hairband, then use the container of chaotic magic under my bed to craft a doll that looks exactly like me, and keep it here until I return tomorrow morning.”

“Alright!” Wanda replied with a radiant smile, nodding eagerly.

Seeing this, Divine Bell Xiu smiled back, then slipped out quietly through the back door.

Tonight,

he would begin the heist he’d spent a full month preparing for!