Mason and Harry opened their respective magic suitcases, allowing the team members to choose various useful equipment from them.

This time it was a real war, so Mason took out all the potions and expensive engineering creations he had made during this period.

Among them, there were even a few delicate clockwork squirrels filled with high-explosive explosives and an unfinished world enlarger and reducer.

Selina was talking to Barbara and Two-Face in the Osborne Tower, instructing them to pay attention to the movements of the Cleaners and report in a timely manner, not to rush up recklessly.

As for Mason, he didn't have much to tidy up.

This guy always carries the best things with him.

He was now sitting on a rotten piece of wood by the beach, leaning on his penguin umbrella. In front of him, Spider-Man Peter Parker was squatting there, smoking one cigarette after another, looking very melancholy and complex.

Like Team K, he was obviously caught off guard by what the Green Devil said before.

He was still in the process of psychological reconstruction.

Mason put down the telescope in his hand and stopped looking at the nearly fifty strange-looking aircraft that had already assembled on the sea surface, as well as the terrifying thing that was slowly rising in the sky behind the horizon.

That should be the Cleaner's warship that the Green Devil mentioned. Just by looking at its size, you could tell that it was not something to mess with.

This was an army!

Just the momentum when they set off had already proved this point, like a black tide engulfing the world, without mercy, without emotion, turning everything into ashes wherever they went.

"Are you okay?"

Mason estimated how many of the defense weapons in the Osborne Tower could be taken down, and took out a bottle of tonic and poured it into his mouth, asking.

"Did you call me?"

Peter raised his head and blew out a smoke ring.

"I didn't call you a ghost!"

Mason rolled his eyes and patted the rotten wood next to him, gesturing for Spider-Man to come over and sit down. Peter walked over with a cigarette in his mouth, but when he got close, Mason made a gesture to keep his distance, saying:

"I'm seventeen years old, I'm a minor, and Spider-Man shouldn't smoke this stuff. You're ruining the noble impression you have in my heart."

"You're being melodramatic."

Peter mocked, throwing the cigarette butt down and sitting next to Mason.

After a few seconds, he said:

"What Norman said, do you think it's true?"

"Maybe it is, but it could also be just a trick to deceive me."

Mason took off the Sorting Hat from his head, which had been in a good mood and humming a song in his mind all the time. He said:

"But to be honest, I don't care if it's true or not. I took a job before, a job to kill these Cleaners, so this time it's like catching rabbits in the grass.

If I have to cooperate with the Cleaners, I won't be happy. So, even if I know it's a tough bone, I still want to take a bite and see how good my teeth are. So don't worry about us.

It's you instead.

If what the old Green Devil said is true, then Peter, your decadence in these years is really a waste of time. You have indeed let down your companions and the little chance they fought for in this world.

With your abilities, if you had joined the Star Society with Black Widow and the others back then, you might have reached the rank of A-level personnel by now.

Although being a puppet leader in a lower-level organization that acts as a hunting dog is indeed not very interesting."

"I don't think he was telling the truth."

Spider-Man rubbed his face and said:

"But deep down, I hope he was telling the truth.

I hope we haven't encountered a shameful betrayal. I hope all of this was planned in advance, so that I can regain hope for my former companions.

Oh my god.

You can't imagine the despair we faced when we were isolated and facing the army of the Star Society and the Cleaners. I saw Thompson being blown up with his arm hugging a biological bomb and those bastards dying together. I will never forget it."

"Let go of those unhappy things."

Mason reached out and patted Spider-Man's scruffy beard, took out an unopened shaving razor from his bag, and threw it to him, pointing to his chin and saying:

"We're going to fight soon, and this time you won't have trusted friends by your side. But I think if you're going to step onto the battlefield as a superhero, you should at least maintain some dignity.

Tell me about your spider sense.

You said it disappeared because you're getting older, but to be honest, I don't believe it. Once you have that kind of beastly intuition, it won't disappear so easily.

So, what happened that day that was so serious that it caused your spider sense to degrade?"

"I..."

Spider-Man clenched his fist, obviously touched a terrible memory. Under Mason's gaze, he gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and opened the shaving razor while speaking softly:

"It was something I forgot, or rather, I abandoned it. You know, I was seriously injured in that battle, and it was Mary Jane and Harry Osborn who dragged me out of the ruins.

Mary Jane didn't tell you the whole truth.

They shouldn't have gone!

When you're just trying to make great content at pawread.com .

The building was already crumbling at that time, but I could have brought everyone who came to save me out. But at that time, the feeling that I could be killed at any moment stimulated my brain.

It was howling, urging me to leave that place immediately, like the survival instinct of a living being.

And when I should have planned my actions rationally, I chose to follow the instinct to escape. I took Mary Jane and Harry with me, but the others...

I wanted to go back and save them, but I didn't make it in time. I got injured.

Even Harry in the end.

Sigh."

He let out a sigh and lowered his head, saying:

"That day, I became a coward. Spider-Man died that day, and the only one who survived was a coward named Peter Parker.

I hate myself, Mason."I hate myself for not dying with the captain and the others in that battle. I traded my friends' lives for my own, leaving me and Mary Jane to live in pain.

As I began to hate myself, my spider senses started to weaken day by day. Until one night, three months later, after getting drunk, I...

I lost it forever. Ah!

What are you doing!"

The old Spiderman, lost in his memories, didn't notice Mason's small movement. By the time he reacted to the sting, Mason had already jabbed a syringe into his wrist.

As the young man pressed the switch, a tube of blood was collected.

Mason ignored Old Peter's angry glare, instead, he tossed him another syringe filled with a third of the liquid, saying:

"You're lucky. I can give you back what you lost today, but only for 30 minutes. You have to make every second count. Just a friendly reminder, this thing hurts.

And there will be a severe rejection reaction afterwards.

As for your blood, consider it payment."

Mason flicked the tube of Spiderman's blood in front of him, saying:

"I'm going to take it back for research, maybe it can help you get your spider senses back. Oh, by the way, do you have Wolverine here? X-Men?

Mutants or Inhumans?"

"No."

Spiderman looked at the syringe in his hand, he said:

"I've heard from those outsiders recruiting at the refuge, they said there are Spidermen like me in many other parallel worlds.

I've also heard the name Wolverine.

They said that in many worlds, Wolverine and I are good buddies. Sometimes their stories are quite interesting, and I would fantasize about having such a friend after getting drunk.

Is your life really as exciting as they say, Mason?

Do you wander around in the colorful parallel worlds as they boast?"

"More exciting than you can imagine, Peter. Sometimes it feels too exciting to the point of being 'thrilling'."

Mason made a long face and said:

"I've only been in this organization for a month, and I've already killed so many people that their bodies could crush me three times over.

Just a week ago, I carried out a murder at their headquarters.

Just because my hat told me those people deserved to die.

Look, just saying this makes me feel like I've become a lunatic. Let's take a break, they'll be here soon."

Mason stood up, put away Spiderman's blood, stretched his shoulders, and turned to the old Spiderman who was starting to shave, saying:

"By the way, do you know what the biggest advantage of being Spiderman in the apocalypse is?"

"There's an advantage to this crap?"

Old Spiderman looked up at Mason and said:

"How come I didn't notice?"

"You always need to learn to look at things from a different perspective, Peter. That's your bad attitude."

Mason smirked and said:

"In this world, under these circumstances, you don't have to worry about not being able to make money and support your family after becoming Spiderman. The life problems that once troubled you and Mary Jane are gone.

You don't have to carry a mortgage or a car loan, you don't have to worry about Aunt May's medical bills, you don't have to worry about where your daughter's next can of milk powder will come from.

You don't have to take pictures of yourself for that irritable old man Jameson just for a little money.

Didn't you see the light in your daughter's eyes just now?

Do you know what that child needs most now?

She doesn't need a rich dad, Peter, she wants her dad to become the hero who saves the world again. Ah, children's thoughts are so simple.

Children never lie.

So the next battle is not for us or for your dead friends."

The captain of the K squad walked towards his companions, not looking back, he said:

"You've already lost your own world, you adults who are always immersed in past sorrows are beyond saving, but the children still have a chance.

At least take back your daughter's future?

You don't want her to live in this wasteland, do you? Isn't that your responsibility as a father?"

"Tsk!"

After Mason walked away, Old Peter snorted and said:

"A seventeen-year-old guy talks like he's older than me, these young people pretending to be deep are really annoying!"

"Yes, sometimes I also think Mason is pretentious. But you have to admit that his nonsense makes sense and is very passionate, right?"

A voice sounded next to Old Spiderman, making him nod in agreement. He was about to add a few words when he suddenly realized.

He turned his head.

The black Panama hat that Mason had placed on the rotten wood was forming a vague face, grumbling at him.

This strange scene made Peter freeze in place for several seconds.

Then he slapped his cheek and said:

"Hehe, he just said he murdered a few people because a hat told him to, and I thought he was joking. Indeed, terrifying truths are often told as jokes.

Damn!

The lives of these Star Hunters are really colorful."

---

"Damn, having such a capricious captain is really a pain in the ass! Why are we suddenly going to war?"

Captain Jack grumbled with a pipe in his mouth in the collapsed refuge's sewer. Beside him was a disgruntled old man, Jameson.

Not far away, all the people from the refuge were gathered.

During the recent earthquake, these people were summoned by Mary Jane and rushed into the safer underground cave, narrowly escaping disaster.

Now, Mary Jane was still organizing people to search for those who hadn't escaped in the ruins.

"The negotiations have reached a deadlock! And it had to be at this time."Jack blew smoke rings and complained about the world to the mayor of the refuge city next to him, saying:

"I say, if those lizard people want your underground city, just give it to them. There's no need to hold onto this broken place. We need reinforcements now.

What about the fighting over there!

If I can't bring people over in time, my new boss, my girlfriend, and my ex-lover will be done for."

"You don't know shit!"

Jameson, who was full of foul language, cursed:

"That refuge is the only safe place around here!

Although the outside virus has long disappeared, the water source is still toxic. Without the refuge's water purification equipment, we will all die of thirst within a week!

Do you think those lizards want the refuge for? They want that stuff too."

As he spoke, the bad-tempered former newspaper boss stared at the lizard people from several tribes gathering nearby with a hateful look, spat on the ground fiercely, and said:

"Although they can survive by drinking dirty water, who doesn't want to reminisce about the good old days? They have been stealing our synthetic bread and filtered water all along, those damn thieves!

Besides, I don't care about your negotiations with these cunning outsiders and lizard people!

Are you trying to drag them to help that big fraudster!

Bah!

Do you think I will help you?

Dream on!

I have been at odds with Spider-Man my whole life! Do you know? I have been at odds with him since over ten years ago. That bastard deceived me. He deceived the whole city!

If my newspaper still existed, I would definitely have the editors write several scathing articles criticizing Spider-Man's inaction!

Fuck!

The refuge has collapsed, and he hasn't come out to save anyone!

Fighting, my ass!

There are only a few people left in all of New York. Didn't he swear to protect us? Doesn't he want to see what he has protected?

Jack, the captain, who was thinking about how to quickly persuade the underground people to help in the fight, had no time to listen to the complaints of this cynical old man next to him.

But he had to listen.

However, as Jack listened, he began to understand.

He looked at Mayor Jameson, who was full of foul language, with a strange look in his eyes, and then turned his eyes, saying:

"I heard Mary Jane say that ever since Spider-Man debuted in New York City, you have always been his archenemy. I heard that the trouble you caused him alone could rival the entire Sinister Six."

"That's right."

Jameson proudly snorted. This bald old man, who had already lost all his hair, held a cigar in his mouth and said proudly:

"When it comes to causing trouble for Spider-Man, who in all of New York City can compare to me? Those second or third-rate villains shamelessly call themselves Spider-Man's archenemies.

Bah!

I haven't said a word, and they have the nerve to call themselves Spider-Man's archenemies?

Let me tell you, outsider.

Although the time I spent fighting wits with Spider-Man was only about ten years, compared to my eventful and unsuccessful life, it was too short. But those ten years were really the best time of my life.

I enjoyed writing articles every day to attack that fraudster. It was really satisfying, and I felt years younger.

It's like... how should I put it?"

Jameson scratched his bald head and furrowed his brow, saying:

"It's like it was destined! Without Spider-Man, Jameson would just be the boss of a half-dead third-rate newspaper in New York. But with Spider-Man, my Daily Bugle could rise to the top.

Tsk, if he hadn't tricked me into paying his salary for over ten years, maybe I could have been friends with him."

"I understand! I understand that feeling."

Jack blinked his eyes. He felt that he had found a solution to the problem and said to Jameson:

"I have a friend named Hector. He's a complete scumbag and almost killed me seven times. But every time, I fought back. Do you understand what I mean?

You hate each other to the point of wanting to kill each other.

But every time you have trouble, you're the first one to think of asking him for help.

That's what a love-hate relationship is.

Look, the happiest time of your life was when you were fighting Spider-Man. That's what you said, Mr. Jameson."

The captain pursed his lips and said softly:

"So I guess you must have been lonely during the years when Spider-Man retired, right? Look at you, suddenly aging like this. According to your age, you shouldn't be so decrepit.

You know, a person's value in the eyes of others is often determined by their enemies.

Without Spider-Man, you're just an ordinary survivor in the post-apocalyptic world. But if Spider-Man reappears in the wasteland, then you...

And your Daily Bugle, right?

Even forming a small group specifically to oppose Spider-Man. Look, can warriors still be called warriors without archenemies? So the one who should be thinking about helping Spider-Man here shouldn't be me!

It should be you.

If Peter Parker unfortunately dies tonight.

Think about it.

If you don't have that annoying fraudster in your future life, how boring would it be?"

Jameson stood still.

The hot-tempered old man felt that Captain Jack's line of thought was not quite right.

But he couldn't pinpoint what was wrong.

Following Jack's words, Jameson thought for a moment and suddenly realized that if Peter Parker really died, the biggest reason for him to persist in the apocalypse would disappear!

He wanted to expose the fraudster's true face and make him despised by everyone!

If the fraudster died, what would be the meaning of the truth?

"Damn it!"

The old man angrily swung his cane and cursed:

"Peter Parker, that despicable fraudster can't die! He must live and face trial and repay the wages I paid him for all these years!

Yes!

That's right!

You!

Outsider!"You look like a smart guy. I'm sure you have some ideas on how to convince those unreliable damn lizard people. Come, talk to me and see if I can help."

(End of this chapter)