Chapter 1024: Astonishing the World (Part 1)_1

In a New York University classroom, Peter Parker packed up his books, pushed up his thick black framed glasses, and turned to his classmate next to him. "I'm not going to the lab this afternoon. I'll leave the key under the flowerpot at the lab door. If the seniors don't come back tomorrow morning, I'll go get the key from you."

The fellow student standing beside him was a plump Asian. He winked at Peter, made an OK sign, and then stretched his neck to look at Gwen, who had just walked over from the front row. He nudged Peter with his shoulder and said, "I knew you had a date! By the way, have you got a shuttle pass yet? It only takes ten minutes from here to Brooklyn's business street by shuttle. That'll save you a lot of time."

Peter adjusted his glasses again and looked puzzled at his classmate. "Aren't shuttle tickets bought at the station? Why are they issuing cards now?"

The Asian classmate shook his head helplessly. "Peter, you've been cooped up in the lab too long. You're falling behind. You can buy tickets at the station for the Osborn Group's shuttles, but not Star Group's."

"Star Group's shuttles and air riskers require a single card, didn't you get one? …Never mind, you can borrow mine, have a good date."

After speaking, he pulled a keychain from his pocket, unhinged a shining rhombic crystal, and tossed it to Peter. Peter caught it and scratched his head in confusion.

At that moment, Gwen walked up and said, "Oh, isn't this the new transportation card from Star Group? You got one so quickly? I was worried we'd have to take a detour if we took Osborn Group's shuttle."

Peter gave an embarrassed smile. "No, I didn't get it. I've been busy testing different routes for the air trains with Mr. Stark recently. I didn't know these existed…"

As Gwen and Peter walked side by side out of the classroom, numerous people greeted them. Some, in jest, appeared to be teasing the pair about their relationship. Barely affected by the teasing, Peter suggested, "Maybe we should go around the side bridge. It's a bit crowded here."

"What's there to be embarrassed about? Everyone knows that you own 32 exclusive patents on the newly-civilized shuttle technology. You're a star in Stark Group and the Space Development Plan Laboratory. A lot of senior physics students have been asking about you."

Gwen flicked the hair by her ear aside, patted Peter's arm, and said, "Although you're popular now, you need to be careful. Don't decline favors too harshly. If you really can't do it, blame it on the group's rules, and don't think too much about…"

"Hey, Peter, Gwen, I didn't think I'd find you two here!" A hearty laughter rang from in front of Peter. A handsome young man in a suit briskly walked over from the corner. A lovely girl in a long skirt trailed behind him. Peter looked pleased as he moved to embrace the man. "Hey Harry, why are you on campus today? I was planning to go find you at the Osborn Group…"

Gwen hugged Harry's companion, Mary Jane Watson. Mary Jane, doubled over with laughter, left Gwen puzzled.

Mary Jane leaned on Harry's shoulder, her body shaking with laughter. Harry shook his head in resignation and said, "Before we came here, we made a bet. I bet Peter was cooped up in the lab, but Mary was sure Peter and Gwen would be together, possibly going on a date, perhaps troubled by the lack of a transport card."

"Look, I told you, Peter is not the bookworm they make him out to be. Otherwise, how could he have won Gwen over? She's the heartthrob of an entire football team!"

After speaking, Mary Jane took a rhombic crystal from her Chanel bag and handed it to Gwen. "Here's a Stark Group transport card. It's valid on both the shuttles and the recently introduced air trains. If you're shopping in Brooklyn, the air train is your best bet…"

"Oh, thanks! My God, you guys thought of everything. But, my classmate already loaned me a card." Peter shook the keychain in his hand. Harry looked surprised and said, "You didn't know? Each person can only validate one card from Stark Group, and a card can't be validated twice in a short time. So you must have two cards. I was about to give you mine…"

Peter, looking surprised, pushed up his glasses and said, "Why are the rules so strict?"

Harry shrugged and added some dejectedly, "More than that, actually. I heard that Stark Group is preparing cards that must be linked to a real name. But it seems that the shareholders are opposed to this, fearing that users will feel their privacy is being breached… With the determination of Stark Group, though, I think they'll overcome this obstacle. They just have too many advantages in this domain…"

"I heard that China has already implemented this, and not only that, they don't even need cards. They use facial recognition which is very convenient," Peter took the transportation card from Mary Jane, and handed it to Gwen. Mary Jane shrugged and said, "It might be convenient, but Congress will never pass such a law…"

"I heard that there's an election coming up?" Gwen also looked at Mary Jane. "Apparently, the current President has a high chance of being reelected. Your Uncle Norman seems to have shown an interest?"

Harry nodded and said, "That's right, the Osborn Group has always been fond of the current president. However, his rival is also formidable. It's now up to Stark Group. I personally don't think it matters who gets into office. Reorganizing nationwide transport routes is an issue that can't be avoided…"

"Look at you guys, back at it again with these topics!" Mary Jane fanned her face and made a funny face. "Whenever the three of you get together, within three minutes, the conversation will turn to national affairs. I should probably get going and leave you guys to decide the future of the human race…"

Upon saying this, she turned to leave, but her arm was still linked with Harry's. Harry, laughing, pulled her back, and Gwen extended a hand to stop her too. After a round of laughter, Harry was the first to break the silence.

"You go ahead. My dad asked me to have a chat with the principal. Osborn Group is willing to fund New York University's laboratory and provide them with two of the newest shuttle samples for their research. I need to confirm this..."

Upon saying this, he waved his hand and left with Mary Jane. Gwen pulled Peter's arm. After the two left the teaching building, they didn't hasten to leave New York University but instead walked towards the back of the building.

They took the small path behind the teaching building, arriving at a side door of New York University. There should not be many people here, but now a long queue had formed. Peter looked forward and exclaimed, "My God! So many people for the shuttle! Why don't we take the sky train instead? I heard it's faster..."

"Do you believe that the sky train will only have more people?" Gwen said while shaking her head, arms folded: "The route from Brooklyn to New York University has just opened. Everyone's excited to try something new. If we go there now, we'd be crushed."

Gwen sounded a bit annoyed, a tone she seldom used. Peter laughed and reached out to grab her arm. After a bit of tugging and pulling, they ended up joining the queue.

After a short while, they moved up to the front. Instead of a hefty elevator, what appeared before them was a long electric pole and a platform that seemed to lack any safety precautions.

The electric pole was in the middle of the platform, which could accommodate four people in each of its four directions, carrying 16 people in one trip. That's why the queue was moving so quickly.

Peter, holding Gwen's hand, stepped onto the platform. Before the platform began to float, the previously unprotected platform suddenly lit up with a blue light beam. The lattice formed by the light beam reached up to Peter's waist, which not only prevented passengers from falling but also did not obstruct them from enjoying the scenery.

Gwen reached out her hand and found it touched cold metal. She said, "Isn't it amazing? After energy is condensed to the extreme, it can actually materialize... Wait, is this your patent?"

"Uh... not entirely..." Peter thought for a moment before saying: "It was researched and developed in Doctor Otto's lab. I heard it was a byproduct of the development of clean energy..."

"Although it's handy, it's not very durable, so it can only be used for civilian purposes. If there is any advantage, it's that the cost is relatively low and it's easy to transport." Peter looked down at the base of the glowing barrier - the source of the light beam.

The platform stopped at the height of about seven floors. A small opening was made on the lattice facing the east side, and a part of the platform extended. With a swoosh, a shuttle stopped in front of the station.

As its name suggests, the shape of the shuttle was like a spindle, about tens of meters long from head to tail. It was wider at the front and narrower at the rear, without any visible propulsion device, but it was very fast.

The lower half of the shuttle was equipped with a propulsion device, so it was opaque. The upper half was completely transparent and had a shading cover. When Peter walked in, he didn't detect any shaking – it was even steadier than a bus.

A shuttle could seat precisely 32 people. Standing was not allowed. Everyone buckled up their seat belts in their seats. However, there was a large gap between seats, and since the upper half was transparent, the view was great.

Peter and Gwen sat in the first row of the double seats. They were whispering to each other. Peter started, "I really didn't expect that this project would come to fruition so quickly. It was about a month ago when I proposed to Mr. Stark the idea of civilian use of shuttle buses, yet it has been developed so quickly..."

Gwen tugged at his sleeve and whispered back, "It's always simple to transition from military to civilian use. Moreover, the Solar System Development Plan has been in place for so long, even the transportation system from Earth to Mercury is mature, let alone surface transportation, right?"

"But I did resolve quite a few problems. After all, cargo transport doesn't require safety considerations. Even if it overturns or crashes, we'd only lose some goods, but transporting humans on the surface is not the same…"

"And the gravity of the Earth needs to be considered as well. Fortunately, Mr. Stark compensated for this with his mecha power system. I heard that Mr. Strange's Floating Spell, or the anti-gravity system that he'd been researching on the magic side, also came in handy…"

"But I think there's still room for improvement." Gwen thought for a moment, took Peter's hand, drew a pattern in the palm of his hand, and said: "Look, if we design the shuttle to be hollow and ring-shaped, and set up three compartments in the center of the ring, separating the propulsion system and passenger space completely, not only will the view be better, but it will also be safer…"

"But can the ring structure ensure the stability of the propulsion system?" Peter frowned, then suddenly seemed to remember something, "Wait, it might work actually. I remember Mr. Stark had similar designs in several versions of his transportation aircraft..."

"Stop talking, we've arrived." Gwen got up first, pulling Peter up and walked towards the outside of the shuttle.

After they left the platform, Peter came to his senses.

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