In the dining room, Gaia looked at Gwen on his right and Peter on his left, shaking his head every now and then.
He really couldn’t understand what was wrong with these two.
First was Peter.
It was understandable that he was devouring sandwiches without a care, but why did he keep glancing down at his own arm and foolishly giggling?
He looked like a complete idiot.
Then there was Gwen.
The girl kept her back hunched the entire time, stuffing her mouth full like a hamster.
At this rate, she was going to mutate into a humanoid spider monster any second.
Little Gaia climbed in through the window, rubbing his swollen butt, and grumbled, “So what do we do now?
Personally, I think we could form a Spider Rock Band.”
Nobody paid Little Gaia any attention.
Adopting a mindset of *I don’t understand, but I respect it*, Gaia waited until the two had almost finished eating before clearing his throat twice.
“I assume both of you have realized your current situation,” Gaia said.
Gwen and Peter nodded while continuing to chew.
Gaia continued, “Since you know, then pay attention and learn to control your power as soon as possible.
First, to avoid hurting others.
Second, to avoid ruining your daily lives.
Third, to avoid getting captured and sliced up on an operating table.
Got that, you two?”
Gwen and Peter swallowed hard and nodded rapidly like chicks pecking at grain.
Seeing their expressions, Gaia didn’t feel like giving them a grand lecture.
Although every universe had its differences, every Peter Parker managed to master his powers quickly after becoming Spider-Man.
They didn’t need his help at all.
“Splendid, you two.
In that case, I’m heading off to work.
Good luck.”
Peter nodded and waved goodbye to Gaia.
Gwen, on the other hand, looked out the window at the somewhat dim sky with a puzzled expression.
“Gaia, it’s almost night.
You still have to go to work?”
Gaia looked at Gwen in surprise and pointed at the clock on the wall.
“Miss Stacy, it’s six o’clock tomorrow morning.
In fact, you’ve been asleep for nearly twenty hours.”
*Clatter!*
Almost the second Gaia finished speaking, the slice of pizza in Gwen’s hand dropped back onto the plate.
Gwen froze in place, a look of utter terror on her face.
After a long pause, Gwen slammed her hands on the table and stood up.
“You mean I stayed out all night?!”
Little Gaia took the opportunity to hop onto the table, glanced at Gwen, turned to Gaia, and gave a wicked grin while pointing his thumb at her.
“Pal, this chick is nice.”
Gaia slapped Little Gaia right off the table and growled, “Man, you’re way too repressed.
Can you stop acting like a damn hentai goblin?
It’s disgusting.”
Turning back to Gwen, Gaia saw her staring blankly at him.
Though he secretly wondered if the girl was a bit slow, he nodded outwardly.
“You heard right.
And you slept overnight at a man’s house.”
Gwen frantically pulled out her phone, saw the display showing ninety-nine plus missed calls, and buried her face in her hands.
“Oh God…
Could you stop making light of it?
My mom and dad are going to kill me!”
*Ding-dong~*
The doorbell rang, and Gaia stood up to head for the front door.
“Relax.
No matter what, you’re their biological daughter.
At worst, you’ll get a Tag-Team beating or a tongue-lashing.”
Gwen pictured the scene in her mind and slumped back into her chair, utterly drained, looking like a pile of burnt ash.
“Oh, please stop talking…”
Peter sat across from Gwen, enjoying the funny show while chewing his food.
*Side Theater: I don’t know Gwen very well.
I just heard at school that her dad is a police captain and her family is really strict.*
*Thinking about it from her perspective, if I stayed out all night, Uncle Ben and Aunt May would probably be sick with worry.
Once they found me, they’d give me an earful.*
*And then they’d ask Cousin Gaia to discipline me severely.
According to them, they can’t replace my parents, but a cousin is a real cousin—brothers are brothers.*
*(Visualizing Little Peter coming back after a night out: Uncle Ben holds a crying Aunt May while Little Gaia stands at the doorway in a power stance holding a leather whip.
The moment Little Peter steps inside, Gaia unleashes…
the ancestral technique, presumably.
After all, the Parker ancestors reportedly came from England.)*
When Gaia returned to the dining room, he had a set of clothes in his hand.
Gwen glanced at them “casually” and noticed that the clothes Gaia was holding were identical to the jacket she had torn to shreds earlier.
Realizing what this meant, Gwen’s face flushed slightly.
Just as she was about to say something to thank Gaia, Gaia spoke up.
“Fifty dollars for the clothes, twenty for delivery.
Plus the door frame and the entire door.
A grand total of five hundred thirty-four dollars and fifty-six cents.
I’ll round it off—just give me five hundred thirty-five dollars.
Remember to drop the money off at the Ares Club headquarters in Manhattan.
Don’t even think about skipping out on the bill.
I know Captain Stacy is up for a promotion soon.
You wouldn’t want Captain Stacy to miss his promotion over five hundred thirty-five dollars, would you?”
With those words, Gaia checked his watch.
Without waiting for Gwen’s agreement, he tossed the clothes to her.
Straightening his collar like a refined scoundrel who had taken what he wanted and was calling it a day, he turned and left.
Seeing this, Little Gaia scrambled up from the floor.
“Hey, wait for me, pal!”
Catching the clothes, Gwen froze in place, staring blankly as Gaia’s figure disappeared past the dining room doorway.
Only when the sound of the front door closing reached her ears did Gwen snap back to reality.
Her face grew even redder, and she puffed out her cheeks angrily, pouting.
She felt like a tiny little person inside her brain was about to jump up and down in rage.
Just as Gwen was complaining to herself about how ungentlemanly he was, before trying to comfort herself with the thought that Gaia was sick and she ought to be forgiving, Peter’s voice drifted over from the side.
“Um…
are you going to finish that durian pizza?”
Gwen turned her head and saw Peter grinning at her, pointing at the last remaining slice of durian pizza on the dining table.
With a cold snort, she grabbed the plate and inhaled the durian pizza in a flash right under Peter’s shocked gaze.
After finishing, Gwen put down the plate, wiped her mouth with a napkin, stood up, and put on her jacket.
Leaving behind a curt “Goodbye, Parker,” she turned and left.
Peter was left sitting alone in the dining room, looking utterly wronged as he muttered to himself, “My durian pizza…
that was the last slice…”
…
On the other side, Gaia took a taxi to the Midtown Manhattan headquarters of Ares Club.
As a transmigrator who grew stronger just by working out, what industry would he choose to pursue?
Of course it was opening a fitness club famous across New York, with a chain across five states totaling one hundred thirty-seven branches!
“Oh!
Motherfucker!”
Sitting in the taxi, Gaia watched through the window as five masked men holding five AK-47s rushed into his club.
Gaia felt like Spider-Man’s broke curse was rearing its ugly head.
Motherfucker!
What kind of idiot takes five AKs to rob a gym?!
With that kind of firepower, shouldn’t you go rob a jewelry store or a bank?!
What the hell can you steal from a gym?
Dumbbells and weight plates?
Fuck!
Son of a bitch!
Though cursing profanities under his breath, Gaia made no move to get out of the cab.
Mutants existed in this world.
Because his own abilities weren’t overwhelming, he placed great emphasis on team and group strength.
Whether among his customers or his employees, quite a few mutants were present.