Chapter 11: Parker on the Roof

Parker's home.

He sat at his desk, looking at the CT scan images in his hands with a serious expression.

After a while, he put down the CT scan and glanced at the desk in front of him.

On the desk, there was a transparent glass bottle with creatures wriggling inside.

Peter reached out and brought the glass bottle closer to his eyes, carefully examining the creatures inside.

Insects with peacock green shells were crawling slowly inside.

The insect in front of him was called the "Jewel Wasp," which he had discovered in the backyard.

With a metallic sheen, the harmless-looking Jewel Wasp was said to be the prototype of the xenomorph.

Although the name sounded pleasant, the insect in front of him was not harmless but a fierce creature like the xenomorph.

Peter opened the glass bottle and casually threw a cockroach inside.

"Swoosh!"

The Jewel Wasp, sensing its prey, raised its sting and plunged it into the cockroach's body.

The paralyzed cockroach immediately became motionless.

Then the Jewel Wasp moved its sting again, piercing straight into the cockroach's brain.

This strike was like the terrifying mouthparts of the xenomorph piercing straight into a person's mouth.

And supposedly, once the female wasp could control the cockroach, it would use its antennae to guide the prey forward.

The cockroach would follow the female wasp back to its nest, obediently sitting down.

Then the female wasp would lay an egg in the cockroach's abdomen, and the latter would stay in the nest, patiently waiting for the larva to hatch.

Putting down the glass bottle, Peter's gaze turned to the dark night outside the window.

Was he the cockroach in the glass bottle, or the wasp?

"Buzz~!"

Just as he was lost in thought, his phone suddenly rang.

The caller ID showed Gwen Stacy's name.

After hesitating for a moment, he answered the call.

"Hey, Peter, good evening."

"Good evening, Gwen."

Gwen's voice sounded concerned, "You didn't come to school today. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I wasn't feeling well today, so I took a day off."

Peter casually came up with a reason to explain why he didn't go to school today.

"Well, I was thinking of visiting you today, but I got caught up with things at school. Maybe next time, you can let me know in advance, and I can ask Miss Fisk to write you an excuse note so you won't get criticized by her tomorrow."

Gwen said in a rush, showing her concern for Peter.

"Thank you, Gwen. I might ask for your help next time."

Peter thanked the kind-hearted girl.

"No, I should thank you! Without you, maybe I would have fallen off the roof. Maybe in some parallel universe, that's how I fell."

Gwen said to Peter with her mind wandering, "After all, I often do crazy things, which is not a good habit."

"Anyway, as long as you're okay, that's all that matters. Get some rest early. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

*Click!*

After hanging up the phone, Gwen threw her phone onto the bed.

Then she leaned back and fell onto the bed.

Ever since the rooftop incident, her feelings towards Peter had become complicated.

In her impression, Peter was the one who was often teased by others as the "left-handed wrench."

(Left-handed wrench: A wrench doesn't have a left or right, and pranksters often use this to trick others into fetching a "left-handed wrench.")

But since that night when they met on the roof, she felt that Peter was different from before.

It wasn't necessarily good or bad, but she admitted that compared to the previous Peter, she seemed to prefer the Peter on the roof.

"Well, I'm always overthinking. Maybe Dad is right. I'm inherently rebellious."

After muttering to herself in a low voice, Gwen took out her phone and opened the music player.

As a member of the school band "Mary Janes," she had an unusual obsession with rock music.

"Your life, like a phantom, like a forgotten soul~"

"Here you and I, you've been gone for years, how I wish you could stay~"

"Walking dead, like walking dead~"

Listening to her favorite rock band's singing, Gwen's thoughts became restless.

"Like a walking dead. I've been feeling a bit like that lately, always lost in thought, like a phantom."

She murmured to herself as she listened to the lyrics.

The next morning, early dawn.

Peter had just entered the school when he ran into Gwen.

"Hi, Peter, good morning!"

Gwen was in a good mood and greeted Peter.

With her golden hair and delicate features, Gwen wore an open-chested baseball shirt, looking youthful and beautiful.

"Miss Gwen, next time wear your school uniform and pay attention to your attire!"

Before Peter could speak, a bald white middle-aged man standing not far from the two of them pointed at Gwen's clothes and issued a dress code warning to her.

"I will, thank you for reminding me, Mr. Morton."

Gwen turned her head and smiled back at him.

Mr. Morton was the assistant principal of Midtown High School, mainly responsible for maintaining discipline in the school.

Gwen breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to Peter to complain, "Mr. Morton always wants to shape a cute John Wayne image when counseling students, but it doesn't seem to be successful."

"John Wayne?"

Peter found himself a bit unable to keep up with her train of thought.

"Don't you know John Wayne, Peter? He's Hollywood's first cowboy, one of the most classic idols of American culture."

At this point, Gwen finally felt that Peter in front of her was a bit like the clueless Peter from before.

"I know a kind of toilet paper called John Wayne. The ad says, 'It's rough, tough, but it won't cause any trouble to anyone.'"

Peter thought for a moment and said to Gwen.

Upon hearing Peter say there's a toilet paper called John Wayne, Gwen was first stunned.

Then she burst into uncontrollable laughter, lacking the demeanor of a lady.

"Haha, you are so humorous and cute, Peter."

Gwen said, holding her waist, out of breath.

Being described by Gwen as "humorous and cute," Peter felt a bit speechless.

It was the first time someone had described him like that.

Did such vocabulary even apply to him?

"Thank you for your compliment, but I doubt anyone else would think so."

Ignoring the curious gazes of the students passing by, Peter said to Gwen, who was losing control, "Maybe you should work on your facial expressions."

"Sorry."

Gwen quickly adjusted her mood and apologized to Peter, "I just found it so funny because..."

Peter, puzzled by the girl's strange sense of humor, shook his head and walked towards the teaching building.

"Is there any follow-up on those thugs who tried to kidnap you?"

Peter casually asked Gwen, who caught up with him.

"I don't know. My dad said they were from the Hand Society, but it seems like they've run into some trouble recently because of my dad's actions against them."

Gwen became serious, "Because of my dad's previous actions against them, they wanted to retaliate against me."

"If I became a superhero, the first ones I'd deal with would be these guys!"

Gwen gritted her teeth, her tone becoming fierce.

...