Now Flash finally had somewhere to vent his anger.
He released Peter, turned around, and flashed Jonathan a wide grin.
His yellowed teeth made the smile look both vulgar and unpleasant.
The moment the surrounding students saw his expression, they knew something bad was about to happen.
Many had already concluded that Jonathan wouldn’t be escaping a beating this time.
“Jonathan, you asked for this.
Don’t blame me!”
As Flash spoke, he clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking loudly.
Jonathan remained exactly where he was, his expression unnaturally calm.
He didn’t even raise an eyebrow.
Some of the more timid students couldn’t help covering their eyes.
They could already imagine Jonathan’s face being beaten black and blue.
Naturally, Gwen was the most nervous of them all.
She was already prepared to intervene.
If Flash truly dared to attack Jonathan, she would immediately rush forward and stop him.
As Police Chief George Stacy’s daughter, all she had to do was stand in front of Jonathan, and Flash most likely wouldn’t dare do anything reckless.
But while everyone expected the worst for Jonathan, Flash finally made his move.
He swung his massive fist straight at Jonathan’s face.
Gwen’s heart sank.
It was too late.
Yet in the next second, everyone was stunned.
Not only did the punch miss Jonathan, but he avoided it simply by shifting casually to the side.
The movement was so clean and precise that it seemed as though he had calculated the attack long in advance.
The shock of witnessing this was even greater than seeing Gwen clinging to his arm that morning.
Flash stared blankly after his punch struck nothing but air.
An absurd thought even entered his mind.
Since when could this guy move like that?
What he didn’t know was that, in Jonathan’s eyes, his movements were as slow as a replay.
“Thompson! New chapters come out on novelping.com first.
What are you doing?”
While Flash stood there in a daze, Gwen finally rushed between them.
She spread her arms and placed herself directly in front of Jonathan, shielding him with her body.
Flash looked at Jonathan behind her, then at Gwen’s fierce glare.
In the end, he could only swallow his anger, turn around, and walk away.
They had all grown up in the surrounding neighborhood.
Everyone knew that Gwen’s father was the local police chief.
Flash might have been the school bully, but he was far from stupid.
He knew exactly whom he could provoke and whom he had to leave alone.
Gwen clearly belonged to the latter category.
Once Flash was gone, Gwen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She turned toward Jonathan, her face filled with concern.
“Are you all right?”
Jonathan had originally wanted to use the opportunity to test how much stronger he had become than an ordinary person.
Unfortunately, Gwen’s timely rescue had interrupted his plans.
He felt a little helpless, but faced with her genuine concern, he could only set the thought aside.
“I’m fine.”
His answer was perfectly natural.
Peter finally walked over.
He looked at Jonathan with obvious gratitude.
If Jonathan hadn’t stepped forward just now, there was a very good chance Peter wouldn’t have escaped today’s beating.
“Thank you, Jonathan.”
“It was nothing, Peter.”
Jonathan studied the Peter Parker standing before him, who had yet to become Spider-Man.
Only one thought came to mind.
He’s really weak.
But then Jonathan remembered that once Peter was bitten by the spider, he would be able to wipe the floor with Jonathan’s current self using only one hand.
A powerful sense of urgency immediately rose within him.
He needed to become stronger.
He had to keep growing stronger.
Whether or not he ever returned to his original Earth, strength was essential if he wanted to live safely in the Marvel Universe.
The rest of the school day passed much as usual.
The only thing that truly caught Jonathan’s attention was an announcement from their teacher.
Tomorrow, their entire class would be visiting Oscorp Industries.
The moment he heard the news, Jonathan instinctively looked toward Peter Parker.
It seems the turning point of this guy’s life is about to arrive.
Jonathan immediately understood what was coming.
He certainly had no intention of missing the iconic moment when Peter became Spider-Man.
After that brief episode, the day passed quickly.
When school ended, Gwen naturally linked her arm through Jonathan’s again, and they walked outside together.
They had always gone to and from school together.
Today, however, things felt slightly different.
As they passed the athletic field, they saw a noisy crowd of students gathered in a circle, as though something had happened.
When they approached, they discovered that Flash was causing trouble again.
Relying on his larger build, he was bullying a much shorter student.
And this was far beyond harmless teasing.
Flash even noticed Peter approaching.
He immediately shouted at him.
“Peter, come over here and take a picture of us!”
He actually wanted a photograph to commemorate the bullying.
Despite how appalling his behavior was, hardly anyone nearby tried to stop him.
Instead, quite a few students cheered him on and watched the spectacle.
Jonathan instinctively frowned.
Gwen did the same.
She had always been kindhearted and hated seeing things like this.
“No.
I’m not taking a picture for you.”
Peter stepped forward.
His voice was still somewhat timid, but his refusal was unmistakable.