Bang, bang, bang…
Intense gunfire echoed from somewhere in Brooklyn.
Inside the alleyway.
Kenji stood with one hand in his pocket and the other raised, his five fingers spread wide.
His black trench coat billowed despite the lack of wind.
He was only a pair of sunglasses away from looking exactly like Neo in The Matrix.
When the gunfire started, the five thugs saw Kenji delusionally trying to catch bullets with his bare hands, and their smiles twisted into ferocious sneers.
But when the fired bullets seemingly hit an invisible swamp and froze in mid-air, their sneers and bared white teeth instantly turned into pure terror.
By the time Kenji left the alley, five bruised and battered gang members stood respectfully behind him.
They insisted on giving him all their loose change and cell phones, swearing up and down that they would turn over a new leaf.
Unable to decline their generosity, Kenji had no choice but to accept everything.
At the very least, his operating funds and equipment for the next few days were completely secured.
Meanwhile, the miserable Peter was still mopping the floor in the closed burger joint.
With the equipment in hand, Kenji was no longer wandering in the dark.
Connecting to this world’s internet, a massive ocean of information unfolded before him.
Searching with several phones simultaneously, Kenji skimmed through the local New York news at lightning speed.
As he dug deeper, he quickly discovered that the epicenter of the great Brooklyn earthquake was directly beneath a building called Fisk Tower.
Seeing the name of the building’s owner confirmed that he was heading in the right direction.
Kingpin.
Real name Wilson Fisk, a Marvel supervillain and one of the arch-nemeses of Daredevil and Spider-Man.
Consequently, Kenji took a trip to Hell’s Kitchen on the west side of Manhattan.
His mental power covered the entire neighborhood, but he couldn’t find the devil who loved this area more than his own life.
Similarly, this New York City lacked the flashy Stark Tower, and there was no news circulating on the internet about the Avengers.
Considering the MCU Peter who had also crossed over, this world was highly likely a stage exclusively meant for Spider-heroes.
The scene shifted back to the early morning in Brooklyn.
Melody Coffee Shop was located near the center of Brooklyn.
Although not quite on par with Manhattan, it was still one of the most bustling areas in the entire district.
Across the street from the coffee shop stood a commercial skyscraper reaching into the clouds.
The top floor featured a luxurious banquet hall, and the building’s overall height dwarfed most of the surrounding structures.
This was the private property of Kingpin, the emperor of New York’s underworld: Fisk Tower.
If a traditional Spider-Man were here, he would probably already be initiating the standard investigative routine: disguising himself, infiltrating, fighting, and stealing core secrets.
But as an esper with psychic abilities, Kenji’s methods were far more convenient.
Just like his search for Daredevil the previous night, his invisible telekinesis rippled out across the city skyline, silently enveloping the entire building.
During this process, the busy, ordinary employees inside the building noticed absolutely nothing unusual.
And from Kenji’s perspective, there was nothing out of the ordinary within the upper floors either.
His telekinetic vision spread downward from the top-floor banquet hall.
The offices of various departments came into view; staff bustled between floors, seizing every second to maximize profits for their boss.
Conversations, reprimands, arguments, cursing, the click-clack of high heels on marble floors, the rapid clatter of keyboards, and an indescribable scene between a man and a woman in a restroom stall…
In an instant, all the situational data within the building was processed by his telekinesis, reconstructed into audio and visual information, and transmitted clearly into his mind.
After a moment of critical observation, he even gained a rough understanding of Kingpin’s business empire, financial status, and highly classified secrets, such as how many competitors had been dealt with the previous day.
Kenji had to admit that for a company with underworld ties, these activities were quite standard.
Since the earthquake’s epicenter was underground, he continued probing downward.
His all-encompassing telekinesis extended lower, passing through an airtight layer of concrete before the world suddenly opened up.
The building’s underground parking garage had been hollowed out all the way down to a former abandoned subway station.
They had constructed a massive underground experimental facility directly beneath the city, boasting an area comparable to four or five soccer fields.
In the colossal cavern at the front of the lab, a large-scale particle collider had been secretly assembled.
The two opposing emitters looked like massive heavy-caliber artillery cannons.
One could only imagine the immense energy of the high-energy particle beams they fired!
Case closed.
The culprit responsible for disrupting space-time and triggering the massive earthquake was undoubtedly this giant machine!
On one side near the ceiling of the cavern was a central control room.
Through the glass, over a hundred busy researchers could be seen sitting at computers, typing furiously and working diligently.
Leading them was a thin female doctor with frizzy hair wearing a white lab coat.
Right now, she looked highly agitated, her eyes burning with fanaticism as she passionately explained something to an exceptionally muscular, tall, bald man.
Just like in the original work, everything on the surface was merely a smokescreen to deceive the public.
“Listen to me, boss.
We are just one step away from success.
Yesterday’s experiment…” Dr.
Olivia Liv Octavius abruptly stopped her passionate speech, her eyes scanning her surroundings in confusion.
Kingpin’s stature was unusually tall, but he was by no means bloated.
His custom-made black suit was completely filled out by his inflated, terrifyingly robust muscles.
Simply standing there, he resembled a bulletproof wall.
Noticing that the presentation had paused, he slightly lowered his head.
With cold eyes, he followed Dr.
Octavius’s gaze around the room and asked in a deep, booming voice, “Is something wrong, Doctor?” “Umm…” Finding nothing out of place, the female version of Doctor Octopus frowned and withdrew her gaze.
Suspiciously, she asked, “Just now, did any of you get a feeling like…
how should I put it…
being submerged in liquid?” Hmm?
Inside the coffee shop, Kenji, who was monitoring them, couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
Doctor Octopus could actually vaguely perceive the existence of telekinesis.
Truly worthy of being a top-tier scientist.
Even if she didn’t use her talents for good, she was an undeniable genius in certain fields, far surpassing ordinary people.
If this were the One Punch Man universe, she would probably mutate into a technology-based monster in minutes.
…..
Underground facility.
Kingpin turned his head and exchanged a glance with his personal bodyguard, Tombstone.
The latter was an albino Black man, one of the most notorious and ruthless figures in New York’s underworld.
His invulnerable physique was incredibly muscular, yet standing next to Kingpin, he looked like a half-grown teenager.
Shrugging his shoulders, Tombstone remained silent, gesturing that he hadn’t noticed anything unusual.
Kingpin retracted his gaze and gave Dr.
Octavius his answer: “No.” “Uh, then it must have been my imagination.
Let us continue…
gentlemen, where was I?” …
Having obtained the information he needed, Kenji left a large bill on the table, pinning it down with his coffee cup, and stood up to leave.
It was time to regroup with Peter, that poor unfortunate soul…
Leaving the coffee shop, Kenji was just about to find a secluded spot to take off when his footsteps suddenly halted.
In the sky above, a white figure swung rapidly past on a web-line.
Hmm?
The characteristics of a Spider-hero were far too obvious.
An ordinary person might not have reacted in time, but the psychically powerful Kenji saw it perfectly clearly.
It seemed the newcomer was also here to investigate Fisk Tower?
His interest immediately piqued, Kenji changed direction and vanished into a dark alleyway.
…
Crouched atop a red fire pipe was a female Spider-hero in black and white.
The monochrome, form-fitting suit outlined the youthful curves of a teenage girl.
The eyes on her mask narrowed slightly as she stared fixedly at Fisk Tower in front of her.
She was Gwen Stacy, alias Ghost-Spider, the sole Spider-hero of Earth-65 in the Marvel Universe.
Having arrived in this unfamiliar New York a week ago, she only fully grasped her purpose in this world when the news of Spider-Man’s death spread.
Prior to this, Gwen had already begun her investigation.
Guided by her Spider-Sense, she had found the successor to this world’s Spider-Man at Visions Academy.
Unfortunately, the kid was still a total rookie and couldn’t even control his powers.
Consequently, Gwen shifted her focus and quickly identified a likely mastermind: Kingpin.
“This building is too big of a target; it’s not going to be easy to infiltrate,” Gwen murmured to herself as she stood up.
“But the Alchemax facility in the Hudson Valley is also owned by Kingpin.
Looks like I’ll need to pay it a visit soon.
But before that…” Swish— Ghost-Spider vanished from her spot.
She darted through the deserted alley and executed a spinning kick aimed straight into the darkness!
Smack!
Her fierce kick was effortlessly blocked by someone hiding in the shadows.
Gwen twisted mid-air and followed up with a flying kick using her other leg!
Smack!
This time, her teal ballet shoe was caught dead in its tracks by a single hand.
Gwen: !!
Even though she had pulled her punches, the force was more than enough to send a regular burly man flying.
Who was this guy?
The stalemate lasted for a second before the stranger voluntarily let go.
Breaking free, Gwen planted one hand on the ground and vaulted gracefully into the air with a dancer-like backflip, landing squarely on the vertical red brick wall.
“I know this might sound a bit rude, but I have to ask,” Kenji said as he stepped out of the darkness.
“Why do you guys always insist on standing on walls?” Gwen didn’t answer.
Her gaze remained vigilant.
“Are you one of Kingpin’s men?” “That bald guy?
He doesn’t have the qualifications to order me around.” Under Gwen’s astonished gaze, Kenji levitated until he was at eye level with her.
“I’m Kenji Nakamura.
I know another Peter Parker—not the Spider-Man of this world.
He’s just like me, newly arrived in this dimension.” “You mean…
Wow!” An intense wave of Spider-Sense collided between them.
Gwen frowned, waiting for the stinging sensation at the back of her head to subside before exclaiming in surprise.
“You’re like me!” x2 “Actually, you aren’t the first person with Spider-Sense I’ve run into, though that other guy…
never mind, let’s not talk about him right now.” Recovering her composure, Gwen pulled back her hood and removed her mask, revealing her blonde hair and youthful face.
“I’m investigating the real cause of this world’s Spider-Man’s death.
My intuition told me that coming here would bring me closer to the answer, and it seems I was right.” “At least you don’t have to fight entirely alone anymore, right?” Kenji extended his hand, forming a fist and holding it out toward Gwen.
“Now there are three of us.” “Alright, you’ve convinced me.” After a brief moment of thought, Gwen reached out and bumped her fist against Kenji’s.
“Gwen Stacy.
I’m in.” As their fists met, a purple fantasy card materialized out of thin air, which Kenji expertly caught using his telekinesis.
[Fantasy Card: Spider Agility] [Card Type: Ability Card] [Rarity: SR] [Description: A spider superpower providing the agility of an apex predator.] [Effect 1: Super Agility] [Superhuman levels of agility and speed, allowing the user to easily dodge or catch bullets.] [Effect 2: Silent Movement] [Produces almost no sound while sneaking, greatly reducing the chances of being detected.] Having successfully collected his third spider superpower card, Kenji silently thanked nature for its bounty.
If he managed to meet the remaining Spider-heroes, he might just be able to officially switch careers and become Z-City’s Friendly Neighborhood Hero.
“By the way, I have a question.” “Yeah?” “Your hairstyle…
how should I put it?
It’s very unique.
Is it a punk style?” “…” Gwen’s face fell.
Why did this guy have to poke right at her sore spot?
Glancing sideways at Kenji, she asked, “Where’s your suit?
Do you normally do hero work looking like that?” “Where I come from, there are no strict rules about that.
But as for a suit…
you’ll get a chance to see it eventually.” …
Manhattan, Central Park.
“Hey, Kenji!
We need to get something straight!” Peter clenched his fists, shaking with indignation for a moment before finally letting go.
“If you ditch me at a burger joint to wash dishes and pay off your debts one more time, our team-up is completely over…
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Hold on a second, who is she?” Seeing the blonde girl following closely behind Kenji, Peter’s first reaction was pure surprise.
But then he noticed that she wasn’t wearing some trendy designer brand, but rather a familiar spider suit!
The stinging sensation of his Spider-Sense quickly followed, cementing his understanding of the girl’s true identity.
“You’re also…” x2 Rubbing the back of her aching head, Gwen let out a long sigh.
Including Miles Morales back at Visions Academy, this was now the third person she had met with spider powers.