Chapter 28: Collision Course

"Mmm."

Gwen murmured as she swallowed her mouthful of bread, stretching her neck to make sure it went down.

"For someone who enjoys eating, delicious toast like this is always a treat."

Peter squinted his eyes. "Well, I think it depends on the timing, Gwen. It's not dinner time yet."

"It's not my fault. This café serves food all day long, whatever's on the menu is fair game," Gwen retorted.

Peter gave her a pensive look. "But why don't you gain weight, Gwen?"

Gwen smirked triumphantly, reaching out to grab Peter's hand. "Are you curious about my secret to staying in shape?"

Before Peter could respond, Gwen explained, "I have a fast metabolism, just like a rabbit."

"Cough, cough, you might not believe it, but I really can eat anything, whenever I want. My body just burns off the extra calories completely."

Listening to Gwen's words, Peter fell into thought.

Gwen was the opposite of himself.

He couldn't afford to eat much now. If an alien got into Gwen's stomach, given her appetite, it would probably gestate in the morning and burst out during dinner.

"Not bad, Gwen. Some women dream of being like you."

"That's because they're foolish. Why pursue something like that?"

Peter smiled again. "Fair enough."

Gwen quietly savored her food, not saying another word.

She enjoyed these moments, moments worth embracing.

In her life, she had never experienced such quiet moments.

When she was with her friends, although relaxed, there would still be banter and jesting.

But with Peter, he wouldn't argue back, only smile or remain silent.

Sometimes she wanted to be angry or stubborn, but Peter always diffused it.

Perhaps Peter harbored secrets unknown to her.

But so what?

Everyone has their own secrets, and she didn't mind.

Clutching her fist, Gwen suppressed a burp trying to escape.

Pushing the plate aside gently, she looked at the food barely touched in front of Peter, and asked, puzzled, "Aren't you eating, Peter?"

"I'm not very hungry."

Gwen blinked. "Well, I think we might have it wrong. I seem to be the type of guy with a big appetite, and you're more like the delicate girl who gets full after a few bites."

"Oh, right!" Suddenly remembering something, she said to Peter, "There's a radioactive biology science exhibition this weekend at the Natural History Museum, in the exhibition hall. Do you have time to attend?"

"A radioactive science exhibition?"

Peter froze at the mention of those words.

"Yes, aren't you interested in this kind of exhibition? It displays various radioactive experimental insects, as you mentioned before. Did you forget about it?"

Peter nodded, setting down his coffee cup.

This should be the encounter that would lead Peter Parker to become Spider-Man.

"Of course, I haven't forgotten."

Peter was about to agree to Gwen's invitation when suddenly!

A sense of danger surged through him.

As if by telepathy, he caught wind of impending doom.

The next moment, Peter lunged towards Gwen.

In Gwen's astonished gaze, Peter swiftly embraced her and darted to the side.

The coffee table toppled over from Peter's movement, making a "thud" sound.

The plates and coffee cups on the table all crashed down, making a "crash" sound.

Hot coffee splattered, staining the carpet.

"Whoosh!"

The glass beside the two shattered with a deafening sound, its shards flying everywhere.

What shattered the glass was a black Lexus.

Out of control, like a mad bull, the car smashed through the glass and directly into the café.

With a thunderous roar of the engine, the car's undercarriage scraped against Gwen and Peter lying on the ground, speeding past.

With her ears ringing from the shock, Gwen was stunned into a daze the moment she was pounced on.

At this moment, she hadn't yet grasped what had happened.

Gwen, who was pinned down by Peter, felt like everything before her eyes was playing out in slow motion.

The collapsing glass shards, the spilt brown coffee.

She even saw the driver's terrified face in the car's cockpit.

"Boom!"

Like an untamed horse, the Lexus rammed heavily into the wall, emitting a loud bang.

The wall cracked under the immense force, and dust fell.

The tables and chairs that were hit along the way shattered into pieces.

The tremendous impact sent scattered fragments of tables and chairs flying everywhere.

Fortunately, there weren't many customers in the café at the moment.

"Ah!!"

Even so, the few customers who witnessed everything still let out screams of horror.

The entire café immediately descended into chaos.

Peter pulled Gwen up, brushing off the glass shards clinging to her.

"Are you okay, Gwen?"

Gwen, still in a daze, mechanically nodded. "I-I'm fine. What just happened?"

"I don't know. What I see now is that this out-of-control car crashed into us."

As Peter spoke, he turned his gaze to the driver inside the car.

Lying on the steering wheel, the driver, covered in blood, had already passed out.

Only now did Gwen, who was feeling frightened, grab Peter's hand.

If Peter hadn't lunged at her just now, she might have been directly knocked away.

Thinking that Peter had saved her once again, she held his hand tighter.

Unaware of Gwen's subtle gesture, Peter furrowed his brows, looking out the window.

On the street outside the café, lay a young man whose fate was uncertain.

He was a young white man, lying in a pool of blood, seemingly hit by the car just now.

Pushing open the café door, Peter walked outside.

Gwen quickly followed.

Seeing the victim lying on the ground, Gwen hurriedly dialed the phone.

At the same time, she bent down to check on him.

She had learned first aid and knew how to handle patients in emergencies.

"It's no use, Gwen, he's already dead."

Watching Gwen's frantic movements, Peter shook his head expressionlessly.

"His breathing is weak, but maybe he can hold on until the ambulance arrives. The hospital is right next door..."

Before Gwen could finish her sentence, a voice interrupted her.

"Victor!"

Peter looked up at the familiar figure standing on the other side of the road.

The familiar horse-like face made Peter quickly identify him.

Doctor Strange?!

Still not Doctor Strange at this point, Stephen Strange looked incredulous.

He stared at the body lying at Peter's feet, shocked in place

...