Chapter 2150: Ultimate New World (29) -2

"We were almost out of San Francisco City before we drove into this fog."

Both were somewhat stunned, doubtfully questioning whether they had not fully awakened, or if they were experiencing an illusion.

"Occult," Aisha uttered a word that Bruce didn't understand at first, but Peter, who is Spider-Man and has weathered considerable ups and downs, placed his hands on his hips and surveyed his surroundings before sighing.

"Looks like we're in trouble, but I really have an urgent matter to attend to. The professor's experiment has achieved a significant breakthrough; he finally found the appropriate ignition particle and is starting up the High Energy Collider. I need to rush over there immediately..."

"Oh, you have a car, right?" Peter looked at Bruce's car, "How about I get in your car, and we try to move forward?"

"My car has run out of gas; it won't start. Otherwise, why would I be stuck here? I also have something urgent to take care of."

The two looked at each other speechless. Peter turned around to inspect the deep fog, where the vague figure was still standing there.

"Hey, buddy, how long do you plan on standing there? If you have anything, come over. If not, just let us leave. What's the point of trapping us here? How does it benefit you?"

Peter raised his hand with a frustrated sigh, shaking his head saying, "Everything's been going wrong lately. I'm so vexed, I feel like picking a fight."

"Isn't that the truth?" Bruce turned his back to lean on the car, crossed his arms in annoyance and said, "I bet if you heard about my experiences, you'd think you're living the happiest life in the world."

Peter felt a little unconvinced at that, considering he was troubled too.

About two weeks ago, Stark came to him wanting him to open a Spider Totem Portal to another universe.

But just a few days before Stark's visit, the Spider Legion explicitly reiterated the rule against abusing the Spider Totem Portals. This rule was first established by the earliest members of the Spider Legion, which included Peter and others, aiming to enhance the stability of the cosmos structure.

Peter had long known that his universe's structure was in complete disarray. For some reason, whenever there were a few disasters in the multiverse, this universe would always be invaded.

For years, invaders came and went as they pleased without any concern for the stability of the universe structure. Some invaded through the doorway, others through the window, and those who couldn't get through would drill holes.

Just yesterday, he had a call with the Scarlet Witch, only to learn about mutants researching where to go after the cosmic structure collapses.

As far as Peter, who could step outside this universe and witness it from a third-person perspective, was concerned, it was not an exaggeration that the universe's stability was hanging by a thread.

Peter was already worried about this, and when Stark approached him, Peter found it difficult to refuse. But for the sake of the universe, he firmly turned him down.

Peter figured Iron Man would surely understand him, given that this was a matter of universal existence. To his surprise, Iron Man felt that Peter put justice and principle above their relationship. It was the first time Peter had such a heated argument with Stark. He was still reeling from it.

Luckily, Peter's body was previously controlled by Superior Spider-Man, also known as Otto, forming a bond of friendship between them. They decided to work together for the future of humanity. Once Otto decided to conduct research in San Francisco, Peter followed.

But upon his arrival, their research ran into difficulties. The key factor to ignite the artificial sun couldn't be found, and both Peter and Otto couldn't find a way forward. They were frustrated.

Just when Otto found the ignition factor and Peter was going to watch, they got lost in the thick fog right outside the laboratory. Can it get more unfortunate than having your teeth stuck when drinking cold water in your bad luck?

Anyways, they were now stranded and trapped by some Mysterious Power. With nothing to do, Peter's talkative tendency as Spider-Man kicked in, so he told Bruce everything.

What saddened him the most was his relationship with Stark. As Peter sat on the front hood of the car with his back to Bruce, he placed his clasped hands on his legs and said,

"Do you know? I just returned from other universes not long ago. There's one universe in particular that I don't know how to put into words."

"That universe also has a Spider-Man, who's somewhat different from the others. He's well-protected by his elders and prefers to work in the lab for humanity's future."

"Although I told him that Spider-Man would rather protect the average people every night, and I truly believe that, sometimes I wonder, what if I didn't get bitten by that spider and successfully graduated, interned at the Osborn Group, and maybe even joined the Stark Group? Would I have made a bigger impact on the world?"

"Universes are bound to be destroyed," Peter lowered his head and said, "and our universe is bound to be destroyed especially soon. When I think about this, I tend to feel a bit powerless, so I often wonder, if I were not Spider-Man, but Peter Parker like that kid, could I have saved the universe?"

"Unfortunately, there are no what-ifs," Peter gently shook his head and said, "I may not necessarily make a good scientist."

Bruce understood what Peter was saying, because it's straightforward. It's about two paths lying ahead of this youth: either become a street hero or become a scientist.

He'd always found being a street hero pretty good as he could practically protect everyone. However, the situation in their universe was gradually worsening, and merely being a law-enforcement superhero was hardly enough when facing such a significant crisis.

Bruce understood this feeling all too well. Was there anyone in this world more ineffective than him?

Even him, a max level character with maxed out attributes and the most premium gear, couldn't clear that damn lousy dungeon, yet this character who just left Novice Village at level 2 fancied saving the world?

Hellbent on doing so, he went into the dungeon with his ragged inventory and pathetic attributes, and was bruised and battered. So he thought about leveling up in another dungeon first, only to find it barely better than the terrible one. He was still beaten black and blue.

Thinking about this, Bruce finally couldn't hold back anymore. He sighed heavily and said, "At least you've been doing pretty well being a superhero. You think you can't save the universe by fighting criminals, but have you ever thought that some people can't even defeat criminals with their fists."