Chapter 884: Dazzling Stars - Rotten (Part 29) (Patreon)

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Carrying a large parcel and sporting a bright halo above his head, Peter followed behind Schiller as they returned to the central garden, taking a different path leading in a new direction.

During their journey, Peter reached up and touched the glowing halo on his head. He said, "Is this thing actually tangible? What is it made of? Why does it shine?... Wait, does it seem like there are Fire patterns on it? Could this be Molten Steel..."

Just as he was saying this, he felt Schiller's stern gaze. Peter cleared his throat and said, "Alright, I get it. It's magic... Uh, no, it's holy light. Thank you, Jesus... um..."

Peter playfully made a zipper motion in front of his mouth with two fingers, causing Schiller to turn his head away. However, after a moment, Peter spoke again, "Doctor, where are we going now? I see a Nordic-style building nearby. Can I go in and take a look?"

"That's for later. Right now, we have business to attend to, and I need your help," Schiller replied, leading Peter around a corner, past the Hall of Heroes, and onwards, where they could see a waterfall. They ascended a mountain path next to the waterfall, and halfway up the slope, there was another sacred building.

As they climbed the stairs, Peter noticed a statue of Jesus. He glanced at it and then said, "Why do I feel like the attire on the Jesus statue is a bit unusual? Jesus was supposed to be born in..."

"Peter, how significant was the explosion that almost killed you?" Schiller asked.

"Oh, the explosion wasn't that big," Peter recalled, saying, "The Criminal's power hadn't fully unleashed when I knocked him out. The affected area was probably a few hundred meters at most."

"Fortunately, the area he was facing was barren land, so only a few residential buildings behind him were affected."

As he said this, Peter's tone became concerned. He said, "Even though Havok's power had diminished after dispersing, the buildings might not withstand it. If they collapse, people could get hurt, and disaster relief afterward would be troublesome..."

With that, he quickened his pace and came up to Schiller, saying, "Doctor, you mentioned I can Resurrection. When can I Resurrection? I want to return as soon as possible. I'm afraid the other Spider-Man won't understand the local situation and create a mess..."

"You want to Resurrection as soon as possible?" Schiller asked knowingly.

Peter nodded vigorously, but before he could speak, he heard Schiller say, "If you want to Resurrection quickly, stop asking so many questions! Turn your head away from that Angel statue!"

"But... but... the pattern on the Angel's bottle and the era it seems to represent are a bit... well, I understand," Peter said, covering his mouth with one hand.

The hall they were in resembled a medieval church's preaching hall. Various patterns adorned the off-white and brown tiles on the floor, while statues of small angels in different forms lined the walls. Depictions of Jesus and colorful glass were also present. The entire building seemed to shout, "This is Heaven! This is Heaven! This is Heaven! This is Heaven! This is Heaven!"

Ignoring the architectural details' discrepancies, Peter continued forward with his package. However, Schiller stopped directly in front of a wall next to the preaching hall.

Peter examined the wall with his eyes but found nothing unusual. However, Schiller reached out and pressed a brick on the wall, causing it to slowly open on both sides...

Inside was an elevator.

Peter widened his eyes and pointed at the elevator. Just as he was about to say something, Schiller had already stepped inside, leaving Peter with no choice but to follow him.

They rode the elevator, pressed a button, and arrived on the third floor. Upon exiting, Peter realized they were in a highly modern office, a stark contrast to the previous surroundings, giving him a sense of time travel.

"The corridor here looks somewhat like S.H.I.E.L.D., doesn't it? Especially this monitoring equipment. Does Heaven need surveillance? Do angels steal things?" Peter furrowed his features, expressing disbelief.

As they walked into the corridor, Nick Fury appeared and greeted them, saying, "Peter, long time no see. How's it going as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Oh, Director Nick, I'm relieved to see you're alright! Wait, this is Heaven... you're okay... you should be okay, right?" Peter stammered, but soon he noticed a bigger issue. He said, "Director, how did you know I became the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Weren't you...?"

Nick coughed twice, exchanged a glance with Schiller, and then pushed open the office door, leading Peter inside. He said, "Peter, this was actually part of our plan. You see, everything was within the plan..."

Nick pushed Peter onto a sofa in the office's guest area and went to pour some water. Peter's gaze followed him, and he said, "Everything within the plan? What does that mean? Wasn't your assassination an accident?"

"Of course not," Nick shook his head. "Guess who attacked you?"

"Wasn't it the military?" Peter asked.

After pouring the water, Nick turned and placed the glass in front of Peter. However, his gaze was fixed on Schiller. Peter followed his gaze and slowly widened his eyes. He pointed at Schiller and said, "Are you saying... Dr. Schiller was the one who tried to assassinate you?!"

Schiller took a sip of coffee and said calmly, "Don't talk nonsense. I wasn't the one who attacked you. I simply took care of a certain mercenary's dismal business."

Peter frowned, but Schiller continued, "Since Peter is here now, we can proceed with our next plan."

"Are you sure about this? Our next opponents won't be easy to deal with, and I suspect Tony has already become suspicious."

"No need to doubt. He probably guessed part of our plan already, but he has no choice but to cooperate with us."

Nick sat down on the sofa and took a sip of water, saying, "So, our next target is Stark?"

However, Schiller shook his head and said, "No, let's take a look at Captain America first. He should have returned to New York by now."

Peter didn't fully grasp what they were discussing, but he raised a question, saying, "Shouldn't Captain be in Washington? Last time I called him, he said he was waiting for Nick Fury's funeral."

As he said this, Peter noticed that both Nick and Schiller were looking at him. Schiller fixed his gaze on Peter and said, "Now, the funeral he's preparing for might not only be for Nick Fury."

Peter suddenly froze, and in an instant, memories raced through his mind. He remembered the scene of himself falling from a high-rise building and grabbing Nitro, who was about to explode.

A young man, not particularly strong, with a slender figure, had recklessly descended at the fastest speed, reaching the center of the explosion just as Fire and Cigarette dust swirled around. He had embraced the human bomb in that moment.

The next second, a terrifying explosion occurred, propelling everyone within several hundred meters away. Peter flew particularly high, thanks to the Spidermutation that granted him a robust physique, enabling him to remain intact even under such intense impact.

However, during the release of Nitro's power, the energy's impact pierced through his chest, leaving a gaping hole.

When this image appeared on the screen, Captain America Steve's reaction, like everyone else in New York, was to cover his mouth, widen his eyes, and his chest began to heave rapidly.

The New York superhero program crew had arrived at the rooftop of a building near the chemical factory to film the New Warrior Team's battle against the criminals. After the members of the New Warrior Team jumped off the building, they, as ordinary people, didn't rush to catch up quickly. This decision saved their lives.

Initially, they were only capturing long shots from the rooftop of the building. Later, when the New Warrior Team pursued the criminals, the film crew didn't hurry to follow, instead driving slowly behind them. During Nitro's explosion, they were outside the blast radius.

However, this also meant that their cameras recorded the entire process of the explosion in full. But this footage didn't air on the New York superhero program; instead, it appeared on a legal program.

The explosion in the southeast of New York shocked the world. Since the 9/11 attacks, all U.S. agencies had been on high alert for such incidents, and when the footage surfaced, it left everyone in awe.

Initially, the most discussed topic should have been the uncontrollable explosion caused by the criminals. But what was even more astonishing was Spider-Man's death.

Spider-Man had been a well-reviewed superhero in New York for a long time. Many people knew him, and most of the public held a favorable view of him.

One reason was that the Daily Bugle had not yet targeted Spider-Man, and another was that Peter, who portrayed Spider-Man, didn't appear in public too frequently due to his experiments. Paradoxically, this endeared him to people.

Most of New York's residents had a higher opinion of him than even Iron Man, especially since they knew that Iron Man was Tony Stark, whose personal life was often criticized.

Spider-Man's youthful appearance indicated his young age, and his few television appearances suggested that he was quite trendy. He came from a normal background, had good academic achievements, liked playing video games, listened to popular music, and sometimes had conflicts with his friends.

This image earned him the affection of many young people who considered Spider-Man to be a representation of their generation. Among New York's most famous heroes—Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Captain America—Spider-Man had the largest teenage fanbase, while Iron Man had more middle-aged and elite supporters, and Captain America had a large following among older fans of his era. Each of them had their own audience.

Undoubtedly, teenagers were the most prone to being emotional and unable to control their feelings. They were also more familiar with the online world, making them more likely to express their opinions on the internet.

As a result, Spider-Man's death, under the influence and amplification of the internet, caused a tremendous uproar.

Various mourning posts appeared online, and many young celebrities and athletes voiced their grief, claiming that this was a failure of government duty, allowing criminals to run rampant and leading to the death of a young, vibrant, and just superhero.

Among all the superheroes in New York, Spider-Man had the highest approval ratings. Regardless of the country, the tradition of showing respect for the deceased was upheld. Originally, some people had criticized Spider-Man for his somewhat frivolous behavior, but after his death, he received universal praise on the internet.

Many of his die-hard fans attended memorials for the accident, while others placed flowers at the entrance of Ryker's Island Prison and New York City Hall. Even more people engaged in online debates, discussing who should bear responsibility for this incident.

Most people believed that the primary responsibility lay with the criminals, and the prison that allowed them to escape and the government should share some of the blame. However, the main point of contention was whether the members of the New Warrior Team should also be held responsible.

Some argued that they were well-intentioned and wanted to combat criminals but lacked experience and abilities, leading to this mistake. However, many believed that they were entirely to blame for instigating the situation.

Most people felt that the New Warrior Team and the television station staged a show, lacking both the ability and a proper plan, recklessly going after criminals and causing a mess, which ultimately dragged Spider-Man into it.

Spider-Man sacrificed his life, but they had nothing to show for it. Moreover, after the accident, they continued to shift responsibility online, and many of their fans even attacked Spider-Man.

In just a few days, the members of the New Warrior Team had incited public anger. In the New Warrior's base, Fastball raised his voice and said, "What does this have to do with me?! Spider-Man clearly brought this upon himself! If he hadn't tagged along recklessly, we would have taken down those criminals a long time ago!!!"

Just then, Fastball heard his mobile phone ring. He picked it up and looked at the screen, and his face turned red in an instant. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "These damn ignorant bloggers!!! They dare to call us frauds who staged a show! They say we're murderers who intentionally killed Spider-Man! They even called me... said I'm a foul-mouthed thug!!! They actually dare to describe me like that... I'll kill them!!!"

"Whom are you going to kill?" a slightly cold voice came from the doorway.

All the people in the base turned their heads, and in the dim light of the corridor, they first saw a red, white, and blue circular shield.

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 885: The Dazzling Stars Rotten (Part Thirty)