Gwen's Anxiety

New York.

Octopus Monster Laboratory.

After revealing the true form of the Endosymbiotic Battle Armor to Tony, Russell hadn't transformed the No. 01 back into its Zaku form. While the Zaku form was also quite appealing, compared to the Endosymbiotic Battle Armor form, it seemed a bit rough.

Russell didn't regret showing the true form of the Endosymbiotic Battle Armor to Tony. He couldn't keep presenting No. 01 in its Zaku form forever. After all, the Endosymbiotic Battle Armor would eventually have to be unveiled, so revealing it a bit earlier to Tony wasn't a big deal.

This way, he could prevent Tony from accusing him of copying his battle armor design in the future, and he could also spark Tony's curiosity. With Tony's personality, he would surely try to figure out the Endosymbiotic Battle Armor's secrets once he saw its true form.

Russell wasn't afraid of Tony having thoughts; he was afraid of Tony having no thoughts at all.

Back in the laboratory, he returned No. 01 to the system space. Then, sitting on a sofa chair, he boredly stared at the ceiling.

He had initially thought that meeting and competing with Tony might trigger another reward. However, reality proved him wrong. While Tony indeed had rewards that could still be extracted, how to activate them was a question worth pondering.

From the current situation, it seemed that simple contact with Tony and Banner wouldn't be enough to trigger rewards. So far, the only feasible way seemed to be significantly impacting their destinies.

Just like preventing Tony from becoming Iron Man due to the kidnapping incident.

Changing destinies?

After considering it for a moment, Russell decisively abandoned the idea. While the system's rewards were nice, they might not always be satisfactory. Take, for example, the reward Blonsky activated, called the "Power of Abomination."

After resting in the office for a while, he transformed into his Superhero Serum form, opened the office window, and swung his tendrils as he left the laboratory.

Doing good deeds every day!

Though this was just a daily reputation task for the serum, there was no harm in going out and improving his reputation.

New York was as safe as ever.

Shortly after leaving the laboratory, Russell completed his daily good deed task. He prevented a robbery and subdued a man attempting to rob a convenience store, handing him over to the police.

With this small-time petty thief dealt with, he was about to check if there were any more opportunities to do good when a familiar figure appeared in his view.

Gwen!

Gwen, dressed in a Spider suit that accentuated her figure, swung on webs between the tall buildings.

Without hesitation, Russell shot tendrils towards the adjacent building and used the same unique mode of travel as Gwen, following behind her.

From Queens to Manhattan, Gwen finally landed on the rooftop of a skyscraper, standing on the edge of the rooftop, overlooking the street below.

Seeing Gwen come to a stop, Russell didn't immediately go to the building she was on but instead reached the rooftop of the building across from her.

Following Gwen's gaze, Russell saw the situation on the street.

An overturned armored truck was on the street. Not far behind it lay a police car riddled with bullets, around which a group of police officers were gathered, with three of them lying on the ground.

Judging by the resuscitation efforts of the surrounding officers, the three downed police officers were still alive.

As a distant ambulance siren wailed, Russell shifted his attention from the injured police officers on the street and looked towards Gwen on the rooftop opposite him.

Huh...

Where is she?

Gwen had already left the building across from him, and he had no idea where she went.

Although he didn't know Gwen's location, after a moment of thought, he decided not to waste this reputation-boosting opportunity.

He shot white tendrils towards the nearby building, then quickly descended to the street.

No sooner had he landed on the street than he was surrounded by eager citizens who rapidly explained what had happened at the scene.

In summary, it was a fairly common robbery.

The well-meaning citizens didn't know exactly what the robbers had stolen. However, they did provide some useful information – the armored truck had been escorted by a police car.

The devastated police car nearby was the one that had been escorting the armored truck.

Robbing an armored truck with a police escort, and succeeding at it!

These robbers were quite interesting!

"Which direction did the robbers go?"

Upon hearing Russell's question, the well-meaning citizens immediately pointed out the direction in which the robbers had fled.

Russell glanced in the direction the robbers had fled, but then hesitated.

Commissioner Stacy?

Gwen's father was here?

Russell stepped out of the crowd and approached beyond the police line, checking the condition of the three injured police officers.

Although he hadn't personally interacted with Gwen's father, George Stacy, he had seen his picture.

The investigation report sent by the private investigator contained a photo of George.

It really was Gwen's father!

Seeing George, who had at least five or six bullet wounds all over his body and had completely passed out, lying on the ground, Russell finally understood why Gwen had been so anxious.

After a moment's thought, he approached George and knelt beside him.

The surrounding police officers cast him a glance but didn't stop him.

This is the power of a good reputation!

Glancing at George, whose breathing was nearly nonexistent, Russell sighed.

Consider yourself lucky!

Who asked you to have such a beautiful daughter?

Russell was also a skilled marksman. Observing George's wounds, he realized that he had a 99% chance of dying.

Under the watchful gaze of the surrounding police officers, Russell knelt down and placed his right hand on George's nearly motionless chest.

Healing!

The white symbiotic entity flowed into George's body through his palm.

The lodged bullets were pushed out of George's body.

At the same time, George's damaged organs began to rapidly regenerate, and his wounds began to heal at an incredible speed.

In less than five seconds, Russell used the serum's ability to heal George from the brink of death.

The surrounding police officers stared at the scene in shock, finding it difficult to believe their eyes.

Not only were the police officers surprised, but George himself was equally stunned.

Just moments ago, George's life had begun flashing before his eyes.

"I..."

George, who had fully recovered, incredulously touched the spot where he had been shot.

Seeing George sit up, Russell said nothing. He shot white tendrils towards the nearby building and, using the same method as Gwen, swiftly pursued the direction the robbers had taken.

---

If you're interested in reading more, feel free to visit my patreon which already contains 20 chapters: 

https://www.patreon.com/XElenea