Chapter 1024: Astonishing Mundanity (Part One) (Patreon)

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In the classroom of New York University, Peter Parker neatly arranged his books and adjusted the thick black-framed glasses on his face. Turning to his classmate beside him, he said, "I won't be going to the laboratory this afternoon. I left the key under the flowerpot by the laboratory door. If the seniors don't return tomorrow morning, I'll come to get it from you."

His chubby Asian classmate standing beside him squeezed his eyes and made an OK gesture. Stretching his neck, he glanced at Gwen, who had just walked past them from the front row. He bumped Peter with his shoulder and said, "I knew you had a date planned. By the way, have you applied for the shuttle transportation card? If you take the shuttle, it's only ten minutes from here to the commercial street in Brooklyn. It could save you a lot of time."

Peter adjusted his glasses again, looking somewhat puzzled at his classmate. "Don't you buy tickets at the platform for the shuttle? Why do you need a transportation card?"

The Asian classmate shook his head helplessly. "Peter, you've been too immersed in the laboratory. You're falling behind the times. The shuttle from Osborn Industries allows you to buy tickets at the platform, but not the one from Stark Industries."

"The shuttles and space trains from Stark Industries both require a unified transportation card. Haven't you got one? ... Never mind, I'll lend you mine first. May your date go smoothly."

With that, he took out a bunch of keys from his pocket and detached a shiny diamond-shaped crystal from one of them, tossing it to Peter. Peter caught it, scratching his head with some confusion.

At this moment, Gwen walked over and said, "Oh, isn't this the new transportation card from Stark Industries? Did you apply for it so quickly? I was worried that if we take Osborn Industries' shuttle, we might have to take a detour."

Peter smiled somewhat embarrassedly. "I didn't apply for it. Lately, I've been following Mr. Stark, testing the operation routes of the space train. I didn't even know about these things..."

Walking side by side out of the classroom, Gwen and Peter received greetings from many people on the road, some teasing them about their relationship. Before Gwen could react much, Peter already felt a bit embarrassed. He said, "How about we go around through the covered bridge nearby? There are too many people here."

"What's there to be embarrassed about? Everyone knows now. With the recent civilianization of shuttle technology, you hold 32 proprietary patents. You're a celebrity in Stark Industries and the Solar System Development Plan Laboratory. Many seniors in the physics department have been asking me about you."

Gwen flicked her hair to the side and patted Peter's arm. "Although you're popular, you still need to be careful. If someone asks for your help, don't refuse too rigidly. If you can't do it, just attribute it to the rules of the company, but don't think about..."

"Hey, Peter, Gwen, what are you two doing here?" Suddenly, a hearty laughter came from in front of Peter. A handsome young man in a suit walked briskly from around the corner, followed by a beautiful girl in a long skirt. Peter walked up to him, pleasantly surprised, and hugged him, saying, "Hey, Harry, why are you at school today? I was just thinking of going to Osborn Industries to find you..."

Gwen and Mary Jane Watson behind Harry hugged each other. Mary Jane covered her chest, laughing uncontrollably, leaving Gwen puzzled.

Mary Jane leaned on Harry's shoulder, laughing continuously. Harry shook his head helplessly and said, "Before coming here, we made a bet. I bet Peter must be holed up in the laboratory, but Mary was sure Peter and Gwen were together, probably on a date, and might be worrying about not having a transportation card."

"See, I told you, Peter isn't the bookworm they think he is. Otherwise, how could he win over Gwen? She's got a whole team swooning over her!"

With that, Mary Jane took out a diamond-shaped crystal from her Chanel bag and handed it to Gwen, saying, "This is a universal transportation card from Stark Industries. It works for both shuttles and the latest space trains in operation. If you're going shopping in Brooklyn, taking the space train would be the most convenient..."

"Oh, thank you! Wow, you guys are so considerate. But, a classmate lent me a transportation card already." Peter shook the keychain in his hand. Harry looked surprised. "You don't know? Stark Industries issues one card per person, and a card can't be used for verification twice in a short period. So you guys must have two cards. I was just about to give you mine..."

Peter widened his eyes in surprise, pushed his glasses up, and said, "Why so strict?"

"More than that, I heard that Stark Industries is preparing for real-name registration on transportation cards. But there's quite a resistance from shareholders, apparently afraid of users feeling like their privacy is being invaded..." Harry shook his head, then added somewhat sadly, "But I think, with Stark's determination, they should be able to push it through. After all, Stark Industries has too much advantage in this area..."

"I heard that China has already implemented it long ago, and they don't even need transportation cards, just facial recognition, which is very convenient." Peter took the transportation card from Mary Jane and handed it to Gwen. Mary Jane shrugged and said, "Convenient indeed, but Congress won't pass such a bill..."

"I heard the election is about to start?" Gwen also looked at Mary Jane and said, "It's said that the probability of the current president's reelection is high, and Uncle Norman seems to have intentions, right?"

Harry nodded, "Correct, Osborn Industries has always favored the incumbent president. But his competitors are strong too. Now it depends on Stark Industries' stance. Personally, I don't mind. No matter who takes office, reorganizing the national transportation network is an inevitable task..."

"Look at you, starting this kind of topic again!" Mary Jane fanned herself with her hand and made a funny face, saying, "As long as the three of you gather, within three minutes, you'll end up discussing national affairs. It seems I have to go. I don't want to disturb your decisions about the future of humanity..."

With that, she turned to leave, but her arm was still hooked around Harry's arm. Harry laughed and pulled her back, and Gwen also reached out to pull her. After some playful banter, Harry spoke up first:

"You guys go ahead. My dad asked me to talk to the principal. Osborn Industries is willing to sponsor the laboratory at New York University and provide them with two of the latest shuttle samples for research. I need to confirm this..."

After saying that, he waved his hand and left with Mary Jane. Gwen took Peter's arm, and the two of them walked out of the classroom building. However, instead of immediately leaving New York University, they turned back and walked towards the rear of the building.

Following the path behind the classroom building, they arrived at the side entrance of New York University. There shouldn't have been many people here, but now there was a long queue. Peter looked ahead and exclaimed, "Oh my god! Why are there so many people for the shuttle?! Should we just take the space train? I heard it's faster..."

"Do you believe it? The space train will only have more people?" Gwen shook her head with a hint of disdain in her tone, which she rarely used. Peter chuckled and reached out to grab her arm. After some pulling and tugging, they finally stood in line together.

Before long, they reached the front of the line. However, instead of encountering a bulky elevator, they faced a long electric pole and a platform that seemed to have no protective measures.

The electric pole stood in the center of the platform, with space for four people to stand in each of the platform's four directions, allowing for the transportation of 16 people at a time, hence the fast movement of the line.

Peter and Gwen stepped onto the platform. Before it floated, the area around the platform, which had no protection whatsoever, suddenly lit up with blue beams. The beams formed a barrier around the platform, reaching just about to Peter's waist, preventing passengers from falling off while still allowing them to enjoy the view.

Gwen reached out her hand, only to feel the cold metal. She said, "It's amazing, isn't it? After compressing the energy to the extreme, it can actually materialize. Wait, is this your patent?"

"Um... not entirely..." After thinking for a moment, Peter said, "It was researched in Dr. Otto's laboratory. I heard it was a by-product of developing clean energy..."

"While it's convenient, its strength isn't high, and it's only suitable for civilian use. If there's any advantage, it's probably the low cost and ease of transportation." Peter looked down at the base of the glowing barrier, where there was a projector, the source of the beams.

The platform stopped at about the seventh floor's height, and a small opening appeared on the east side of the barrier, extending a section of the platform. With a "whoosh," a shuttle stopped in front of the platform.

True to its name, the shuttle was about a dozen meters long from front to back, with a tapered shape from front to back. There were no visible propulsion devices on its exterior, but it was incredibly fast.

The lower half of the shuttle housed the propulsion devices, so it was opaque, while the upper half was entirely transparent with sunshades. When Peter entered, he didn't feel any shaking, much more stable than a bus.

A shuttle could seat exactly 32 people, with no standing allowed. Everyone was strapped into their seats. However, there was a considerable gap between seats, and because the upper half was transparent, the view was excellent.

Peter and Gwen sat in the front row of the double seats. They whispered to each other. Peter spoke first, "I never expected this project to land so quickly. Just about a month ago, I proposed the civilianization of shuttle transportation to Mr. Stark, and now it's been developed so quickly..."

Gwen tugged at his sleeve and whispered back, "Military to civilian conversion is always straightforward, especially since the Solar System Development Plan has been going on for so long. The transportation system from Earth to Mercury is mature, not to mention the surface..."

"But I still dealt with quite a bit of trouble. After all, when transporting goods, safety isn't a concern. Even if there's a rollover or a crash, it's just a loss of goods. But transporting humans on the surface is different..."

"And we also have to consider gravity. Fortunately, Mr. Stark used his Mech armor's power system to compensate for this, and I heard that Mr. Strange's research on magic, specifically levitation, or anti-gravity systems, also came in handy..."

"But I think there may still be room for improvement." After thinking for a moment, Gwen took Peter's hand, drew a pattern in his palm, and said, "Look, if we design the shuttle as a hollow ring and add three cabins in the center of the ring, completely separating the propulsion system from the passenger space, not only would the view be better, but safety would also be guaranteed..."

"But can a ring structure ensure the stability of the propulsion system?" Peter frowned, saying, but suddenly, as if remembering something, he said, "Wait a minute, maybe it's possible. I remember Mr. Stark had several versions of transporters that were similar..."

"Stop talking, we've arrived." Gwen stood up first, pulling Peter up, and then they walked towards the exit of the shuttle.

Once off the platform, Peter finally reacted.

"We're already at the commercial street? That was fast!"

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

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 1025: Astonishing Mundane Affairs (Part Two)