Chapter 279: Little Spider, Peter Parker
After sending Li Zhongzhi and his daughter to the airport, Charles took a flight back to New York.
Before leaving, he instructed Neji to kill Abin. This man had abducted Li Zhongzhi's daughter, and justice demanded that he pay. Charles's orders were clear – not a single one should be spared.
During the flight back to New York, Charles received the rewards for the commissioned mission.
"Ding! Completed C-rank mission, rewarded 500 reputation points, 50,000 copper coins, and 1 ordinary treasure chest!"
Returning to New York late at night, Charles went directly to his room to rest.
...
The next day, as the sun rose as usual, Charles opened his eyes and signed in.
"Ding! Sign-in successful, rewarded 200 reincarnation stones!"
After collecting the reincarnation stones, Charles checked the refreshed ninja shop to see if there were suitable ninja fragments.
Opening the system's ninja shop interface, he saw four ninja portraits:
Rock Lee Fragments: Daily limit 0/4, 80 gold coins/1 piece!
Uchiha Itachi Fragments: Daily limit 0/4, 520 gold coins/1 piece!
Hatake Kakashi of the Copy Wheel: Daily limit 0/4, 420 gold coins/1 piece!
Uzumaki Naruto Fragments: Daily limit 0/4, 80 gold coins/1 piece!
Looking at the four newly refreshed ninjas—two C-rank ninjas, Rock Lee and Naruto, with the latter having learned Shadow Clone Jutsu and Rasengan; and two A-rank ninjas, Itachi and Kakashi—Charles considered the cost-effectiveness.
After some thought, he directly gave up on Itachi and Kakashi.
Currently, Rock Lee's fragments were maxed out again. Charles immediately purchased the four fragments, bringing his total to 17, just 13 fragments away from ascending.
Having bought eight fragments, Charles only spent 640 system gold coins. He was quite satisfied with this cost-effectiveness. As for ninja recruitment, he planned to wait a bit longer.
Checking other resources, he had 15,526,000 copper coins and a reputation value of 20,060.
Seeing that he barely had 20,000 reputation points, Charles knew that Gamakichi was level 25, costing 2,800 reputation points and 320,000 copper coins for each level up. He decided to save some reputation points before leveling up his summoned beast.
Exiting the system space, Charles got up, freshened up, and then walked out of his room towards the dining area downstairs.
Passing by the service counter, he saw Iruka sitting inside. After some consideration, Charles asked, "Has anything special happened these past two days?"
"Lord Charles, nothing particularly noteworthy happened these two days. However, there is a little fan of yours who has come to the office for two consecutive days?"
"A little fan?"
"Yes, around 5 PM these two days, a child with a backpack, holding your poster, has come over, seemingly wanting your autograph."
"But according to my observation, there seems to be an Iron Man helmet toy in his backpack."
Hearing Iruka's explanation, Charles raised his eyebrows slightly.
Hearing Iruka's words, Charles was stunned for a moment.
"With my poster and an Iron Man helmet, is he a fan of both Tony and me?"
"If he comes today, you can bring him in. I'll give him a signature," Charles replied.
Upon hearing Charles's response, Iruka smiled and said, "Lord Charles, you're truly kind."
Charles smiled and waved, then left for the dining area to enjoy breakfast.
After breakfast, Charles was about to go to the training room to practice ninja seals.
Despite the Dragon Ring's enhancement for instant casting, when it came to increasing the power of ninjutsu, Charles still needed to perform hand seals. With his current seal speed, he was still a bit slow.
As Charles was getting ready to head to the training room, David rushed in.
"Senior, have you seen the teacher?"
"Since that day, I haven't seen the teacher, and I can't contact him either," David, looking a bit anxious, said.
Smiling, Charles replied, "The teacher went back to the magical realm to handle some matters. He'll be back in a while."
Hearing that the teacher didn't disappear as he did ten years ago, David's anxious expression eased, but curiosity appeared on his face.
"The magical realm?"
"A different realm? Another dimension? Or another planet?"
"Could there really be an inner world inside the Earth?"
To David's questions, Charles shook his head and said, "I'm not sure either, but when the teacher comes back, we'll go together."
Knowing the reason for the teacher's disappearance and that they could enter the magical world when he returned, David became excited.
After chatting with David for a while, Charles sent him away and went to the training room to practice seal speed.
Although Charles awakened the system at the age of 18, and it had been just over three years, his seal speed was considered decent. However, there was still a considerable gap from achieving six seals or more per second.
As physical fitness continued to improve, Charles's seal speed increased.
The twelve seals of Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig continuously formed in Charles's hands, gradually speeding up.
Thus, Charles trained in the training room.
...
Soon, it was five o'clock in the afternoon.
The little boy mentioned by Iruka arrived at Charles Agency, carrying a backpack on his back.
Ignoring the guards at the entrance, the boy, with a serious expression, walked in and approached the service desk.
"Uncle Iruka, has the Ninja Immortal returned?"
Iruka looked at the 5-year-old boy holding a rolled-up poster that matched his height, smiling, and said, "Yes, he's back. You can sit on the sofa over there."
Excited to hear that his idol had returned, the boy's face lit up with joy. He hopped over to the sofa mentioned by Iruka and took a seat.
Iruka picked up the phone on the service desk and dialed Charles.
"Lord Charles, the little boy from earlier is here. Would you like to see him now?"
"Okay, I understand."
After hanging up the phone, Iruka sat at the service desk and began working. As seven ninjas went out, the number of people dealing with the agency's requests decreased, but the number of commissions increased due to Charles's reputation.
Many people came seeking help, prompting Iruka to reject some tasks. They also closed requests related to finding pets, retrieving items, and investigating infidelity.
Once the citizens learned that getting Charles's help required a considerable sum of money instead of free assistance, the New York residents seeking attention or minor favors also reduced their visits.
...
In the training room-
Charles had just heard about the return of the young fan who admired both him and Tony. He decided to go out and take a look, as it coincided with the end of his training time.
Walking out of the training room and heading to the service desk, Charles noticed a little boy sitting in the sofa area, appearing to be around five or six years old.
Approaching the boy, Charles sat on the nearby sofa, looking at the child and saying, "I heard you wanted to see me, and you've come three times."
Seeing the figure in front of him, the boy's face showed excitement.
"Oh my goodness, I really see you, Ninja Immortal!"
The boy exclaimed, jumped off the sofa, and ran to Charles, hugging his thigh tightly.
Surprised by the boy's reaction, Charles was almost tempted to kick him away reflexively. Fortunately, he managed to control the impulse.
Charles lifted the boy off his leg, placed him on the sofa, and said, "Calm down, calm down. Little one, what's your name, and why are you looking for me?"
The boy, still a bit excited, replied, "I'm Parker, my name is Peter Parker."
Iruka, who was sitting at the service desk, almost burst into laughter upon hearing the boy's name. It turned out that this little fan shared the same name as the ninja dog summoned by Lord Charles, called Parker.
Despite the amusing coincidence, Iruka knew that the boy's last name was Parker, and his first name was Peter. Suppressing the urge to laugh, he maintained his professionalism.
After hearing the name, Charles also showed some surprise. He looked at the little man in front of him, realizing that this was the future "Spiderman".
Patting Peter's head, Charles chuckled and said, "It's dangerous outside. Are you not afraid of being abducted by traffickers while running around alone?"
Seeing his idol, Peter was clearly very excited.
"My aunt sent me here, but she didn't come in."
Charles nodded, finding the explanation reasonable.
Although Peter Parker and Aunt May also lived in Queens, they were not on the same street, and there was still some distance between them. It was unlikely for the aunt to let the little guy run around.
At this moment, Peter jumped off the sofa, opened the poster on the coffee table, revealing Charles in a suit at a press conference.
"Ninja Immortal, could you sign this poster for me? If I get your signature, they will surely envy me."
Top of Form
Charles smiled and patted Peter's head. "Do you have a pen?" he asked.
Peter quickly opened his backpack, took out a pen, and also revealed a toy – a Iron Man helmet.
Seeing the Iron Man helmet in the backpack, Charles smiled, wondering if these toy manufacturers paid Tony Stark any copyright fees.
Nevertheless, Charles took the pen in Peter's hand and signed his name directly below the image on the poster.
"Thank you!" Peter looked at the signature, his face beaming with joy. After rolling up the poster again, he glanced at the Iron Man helmet in his backpack and seemed to think of something.
"Uncle, you're a good friend of Iron Man. Can you help me get his autograph?"
"I haven't had a chance to meet him. My aunt says he never goes to the company, and the doors of Stark Tower aren't open to us," Peter explained.
Seeing the hopeful expression in Peter's eyes, Charles didn't refuse. He liked this little guy and said, "Sure, I'll ask Tony to give you an autograph next time I see him."
"Thank you, Ninja Immortal!" Peter packed up his things, put on his backpack, and bowed to Charles. "My aunt says not to disturb you too much. You're a superhero who saves the world. I hope to see you again, Ninja Immortal."
As Peter was about to leave, Charles stood up. "Let me walk you out."
Outside the agency, Aunt May anxiously waited. As her nephew had been inside for quite a while, she wondered if he had met the superhero or if something unexpected happened.
Just as Aunt May was about to go in to check, the agency's door opened.
Peter Parker, looking at his aunt outside, ran over joyfully, hugging her arm. "Aunt, I got the Ninja Immortal's autograph!"
Aunt May, holding her nephew's hand, looked at the man near the door, smiling apologetically. "Thank you. Peter really admires you."
Charles nodded and didn't say much. Although this version of Aunt May was very beautiful, more charming than she was ten years later, he felt no attraction.
Turning back into the agency, Charles's appearance outside was only to ensure that Peter Parker, this little guy, wasn't sneaking over and was properly picked up.
He had no intention of flirting with a widow or a married woman. Moreover, He didn't even know when May Parker's husband had died due to an accident.
Seeing Charles return to the agency, Aunt May, with Peter, returned home. Along the way, Peter had already revealed his chatty nature, talking endlessly, mainly about Charles and Tony Stark's heroic stories.
...
Days passed, and a week had gone by.
During this week, Charles mainly shuttled between the training room and the laboratory. He also accompanied Ginny to inspect the progress of the base construction and the orphanage under construction in Hell's Kitchen.
In the span of 7 days, Charles obtained 80,000 copper coins, a ninja recruitment scroll, 600 reputation points, 50 delicious ramens, 1 ninja art scroll, and 50,000 copper coins through daily sign-ins.
During this period, the gold and jewelry given by Ginny had all been sold, bringing in a billion US dollars.
The dividends from the five continental hotels amounted to 100 million, while the handling of the European vampire side was still in progress, and there was no clear amount for the time being.
With the incoming cash of 1.1 billion, Charles had Ginny transfer another 100 million to his private account and then allocated the remaining amount for the additional budget in the construction of the base and orphanage.
Construction workers were also increased, and 24-hour shifts were implemented to speed up the construction progress.