12

Listening to the woman's words, Noah glanced again at the spider silk entangled in his hand.

Noah said coldly, "Very well, Ghost. Once again, you've interrupted my job."

"I'm running out of patience. If you keep grabbing my wrist, I can't promise I won't teach you a lesson."

"Maybe then you'll understand what it means to mind your own business. I'll give you three seconds."

"3!"

"2!"

"It seems I don't need to count anymore," Noah remarked, noticing the Ghost remained unmoved.

In the next moment, Noah suddenly vanished.

The Ghost was startled. Before she could react, a warning signal went off in her mind—her version of the spider-sense. Instinctively, she ducked, just as a sound of something cutting through the air came from above.

If she hadn't ducked in time, Noah's leg would have hit her head, with enough force to pin her against the wall. Even with her enhanced physical strength, that blow would have likely knocked her out.

"Oh? Quick reflexes. Not bad," Noah said with a playful tone, his raspy voice sounding as eerie as ever.

Ghost, still recovering, glared at Noah, anger rising as she heard his strange tone. She shot several webs from her hands, aiming to trap him.

But Noah was quicker. He jumped lightly, easily dodging the webs. While in the air, he kicked off the wall, accelerating straight toward her.

"Let's see how tough you really are," Noah said in a deep voice.

The two began fighting instantly. Noah held back, noticing that the Ghost's fighting style lacked rhythm and experience. She relied on her physical abilities and quick reflexes to barely parry his attacks.

"Alright, little Ghost. I don't have time to play with you anymore," Noah said, his hoarse voice cutting through the air.

Before she could react, the Ghost felt a sharp pain in her abdomen and was sent crashing into the wall once again.

The pain forced her to hunch over, gasping for air. She realized Noah hadn't been fighting her with his full strength. At first, she thought she could keep up with him, but now she knew she'd been mistaken.

Struggling to stand, she leaned against the wall and watched as Noah turned his attention back to the robber. The criminal, having witnessed the fight, tried to make a quick escape.

But before he could get far, Noah appeared in front of him.

The robber froze in terror and collapsed to the ground.

"No point wasting more time," Noah muttered, looking down at the robber. He reached out his hand once more.

Seeing this, Ghost, still leaning against the wall, shot more webs toward Noah.

The webs wrapped around Noah's hand, but at that moment, a gunshot rang out.

"Bang!" A bullet pierced the robber's head, ending his panic in an instant.

[(Yes, this is the benefit of the gun, smart people who rated the novel with a 1 star because I gave him a gun.)

( Note: I have deleted the rating Go and rate objectively and I will leave your rating, even if it is two stars. Guys, go and rate the fic)]

Ghost stared at Noah, confused. "Why isn't he following any normal pattern? And where did the gun come from?"

Before she could process it further, Noah suddenly yanked on the webs, pulling the dazed Ghost toward him.

He immediately grabbed her by the neck and pinned her against the wall. His grip was strong, and Ghost struggled to breathe.

Looking into Noah's eyes—those cold, ghostly eyes—Ghost felt the same fear criminals must have felt in his presence.

Noah tightened his grip slightly and spoke coldly, "Little Ghost, my patience with you is running out."

"If you want to fight crime, go ahead."

"You don't like killing? Fine. Tie them up and leave them at the police station. Do whatever you want."

"But don't interfere with my job. Understand?"

"I have my own path to follow. If you get in my way again, I won't be so lenient."

With that, Noah released her, and Ghost collapsed to the ground, panting and coughing as she clutched her neck.

Gasping for breath, she muttered, "You won't kill me, Mr. Venom."

Noah paused, turning slightly. "What?"

Ghost managed to say, "You won't kill me because I'm not a criminal. I haven't hurt anyone. You may be ruthless, but you have your own code."

Noah sneered. "Hmph, try me."

Then, he disappeared into the night.

Ghost leaned against the wall, catching her breath. "I'll try," she murmured softly to herself.

The short fight with Noah made it clear she was still lacking in strength. She had abilities but didn't fully control them yet.

"Why doesn't Mr. Venom know me? With all the news coverage about me recently, he should."

Ghost climbed to the roof of a nearby building and sat on the edge, lost in thought.

"Is he some kind of old man who doesn't use the internet?"

She briefly considered that possibility, then shook her head. "No, he hacked Times Square before. He definitely knows how to go online."

Confused, Ghost scratched her head and removed her hood. Beneath it, a delicate, beautiful face appeared. Her long blonde hair was tied up, but a few rebellious strands fell in front of her blue eyes. She tucked them behind her ears and tapped the earpiece in her ear.

"Mary, who do you think he is?" she asked, her voice sounding much more youthful now without the mask.

A pleasant voice replied through the earpiece, slightly scolding her, "Gwen! How many times have I told you to use my code name?"

Ghost was actually Gwen, and Mary Jane was her friend, providing her with technical support.

Gwen quickly lowered her voice and apologized, "Sorry, sorry. Red Rose, I remember."

"You called me by my name earlier, though," Gwen added, pouting.

Mary was momentarily speechless. "Uh... I was mad at you! Hmph!"

Gwen chuckled, "Sure, Red Rose."

Mary huffed, "That's better. We're a professional team, Ghost."

But then, concerned, she added, "That Venom guy is seriously scary! I got goosebumps watching."

Gwen tried to reassure her, "Mr. Venom does that on purpose to scare criminals. Didn't you see how he was before we showed up? He was even scarier."

"But after we appeared, he toned it down."

Mary, still uneasy, muttered, "That voice of his... it's terrifying."

"I might not sleep tonight. You should come keep me company," she joked.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Not funny, Mary. I snuck out, remember? I need to catch up on sleep."

As Gwen stood up, she winced, clutching her stomach where Noah had hit her. The punch was going to hurt for a few days, despite her enhanced durability.

Hearing Gwen's pain, Mary's voice became worried again. "How's your injury?"

She cursed at Noah. "That damned Venom, hitting you so hard. You're not a criminal!"

Gwen rubbed her stomach, sighing. "I'll be fine. Compared to what he does to criminals, this is nothing. Just a few days of rest."

Putting her mask back on, Gwen swung away, continuing her conversation with Mary as she made her way home.

Meanwhile, Noah handled a few more small-time thieves, making sure to leave them with broken legs and warnings.

After wrapping up his work for the night, he began heading home.

On his way home, he thought about the ghost spider during the fight.

 He intended to let Venom copy her powers, but he did not want to reveal that Venom now existed and had this strange ability that made her suddenly appear next to him. 

He intended to be careful, and when he was sure, he would follow her home to find out who she was and let Venom copy her powers.

Lying in bed later, Noah felt a strange unease, but he couldn't quite figure out why.

After a while, he decided to ignore it, pulled the covers over himself, and soon drifted off to sleep.

At the same time, Gwen was back at home, bandaging her wounds.