Julian took a shower and changed into clothes Uncle Ben had laid out earlier.
Feeling much better, he moved around the room for a while and flipped through a few books, confirming the year: early September 2007.
Hearing footsteps downstairs, Julian opened his door and stepped out.
Uncle Ben saw that Julian was up and didn’t say much, simply gesturing for him to come down for dinner.
At the dinner table, he was formally introduced to Aunt May.
Seeing how young and beautiful she was at this point in time, Julian finally confirmed that he was in the Avengers timeline rather than a standalone Spider-Man movie series.
That meant this version of Spidey was Tom Holland’s iteration.
He couldn’t be sure whether this particular timeline was the Sacred Timeline, but fortunately, New York would remain peaceful for the next couple of years.
The major factions were operating in the shadows for now, not yet disrupting ordinary civilian life.
Iron Man wouldn’t debut until 2008 to kick off the MCU era, a full year away, and cosmic battles wouldn’t truly break out until the Battle of New York.
That gave Julian plenty of time to figure out his options—or head back home if things went south.
After dinner, they went to the police station.
The outcome wasn’t too bad: his background check showed his parents were decent people who had gone bankrupt and passed away.
Julian had taken a leave of absence from school.
After his family fell apart, his belongings and affairs should have been scattered, so the fact that he was currently safe and sound was entirely thanks to Uncle Ben.
It was also during this time that Julian confirmed one of the functions of the Wenqu system: a photographic memory.
The books he had skimmed in his room earlier were now neatly stored away in his mind.
This gave him a sense of reassurance.
Worst-case scenario, he could handle anything short of fatal consequences.
Of course, having a clean identity made things much easier to navigate.
As they left the police station, they bumped into several officers escorting a burly man through the entrance.
Uncle Ben pulled Julian aside to let them pass before leading him outside.
Julian had grown even quieter than before entering the precinct.
Uncle Ben clapped him on the shoulder.
Anyone who had lost their memory only to learn how dire their situation was would naturally be in low spirits.
Little did he know that when Julian had locked eyes with that burly man, Wenqu had activated.
[Superior gene template detected.
Recorded: Divine Strength?
Insufficient data.
Unable to parse.
Unable to optimize.
Submitting Divine Strength gene template.
Martial Saint receiving…
Insufficient data.
Martial Saint refused transmission.] What Wenqu could do was even more impressive than Julian had anticipated.
Speed-reading, retention, and comprehension were merely foundational functions.
Realizing this, Julian looked up at the sky; it seemed far vaster than it had before.
Still, his immediate priority was survival.
He needed time—at least a month—to study and gather enough knowledge to parse and optimize the Divine Strength gene template.
The question was where he could access such specialized technical books.
Julian looked up at Uncle Ben.
Right now, Benjamin Parker seemed to be his only reliance.
“Uncle Ben, I know this is sudden, but now that I know my situation, I need some time to figure out my next step.
Maybe I should get a job, save up some money, and go back to China.
I vaguely remember having relatives back there, but as you know, right now I’m…” Julian was gambling on Uncle Ben’s innate kindness.
Having recently taken in his own orphaned nephew, Benjamin had natural empathy for a child who had lost both parents.
Besides, regardless of which universe they belonged to, Ben and May Parker were good-hearted people.
“Don’t worry, son.
You can stay with us until you figure out your path,” Benjamin replied gently.
“I understand how you feel.
My brother and sister-in-law just passed away, too.
You’re so much like Peter.
Even if you hadn’t asked, I wouldn’t have let you leave on your own right now.” At this point, Benjamin wasn’t worried about whether Julian was a good person; he was worried about whether this Chinese boy, who shared the same tragic fate as Peter, could lead a normal life without sinking into despair.
Somehow, he instinctively sensed that this kid was a bit different from ordinary people, and he reached out to lend a helping hand.
Standing beneath the awning, Julian was enveloped in shadow.
He stared with blood-red eyes at Benjamin Parker standing in the sunlight, dazed for a moment.
A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, but ultimately, any ruthless impulses faded away.
Stepping out of the shadow, he grasped Benjamin Parker’s extended hand in the sunlight.
“Thank you, Mr.
Parker…” “Son, call me Uncle Ben.” “Okay.
Thank you, Uncle Ben!” …
Earning his first pot of gold proved extraordinarily difficult.
After becoming Julian’s legal guardian, Uncle Ben sorted out his school registration, successfully getting him re-enrolled.
Julian immediately buried himself in the school library, only resurfacing from the mountain of books two months later.
His outstanding straight-A+ report card brought Uncle Ben and Aunt May immense joy.
Given his family circumstances, the school also granted him a scholarship, ensuring he could study comfortably as long as he maintained his grades.
In the blink of an eye, Thanksgiving 2007 arrived.
Right before dinner, after absorbing a textbook on genetic algorithms, Julian finally completed the last piece of the Divine Strength gene puzzle.
[Wenqu: Divine Strength parsing…
Enhancing physical strength by ten-fold…
Divine Strength optimizing…
Data incomplete; perfect optimization failed.
Optimization baseline: 50%.
Submitting Divine Strength gene template.
Martial Saint receiving…
Received.
Saving Divine Strength gene template…
Saved successfully.] [Martial Saint: Divine Strength gene template received…
Adjusting Divine Strength gene template…
Warning: Insufficient energy.] Julian froze.
Immediately after, a staggering wave of hunger struck him.
His limbs turned to jelly, vision blurred, and violent stomach cramps brought him to the verge of retching.
But with his stomach completely empty, nothing came up.
Summoning his remaining strength, he pushed the door open and weakly called out for Uncle Ben, though his voice was barely louder than a mosquito’s buzz.
Fortunately, Uncle Ben was already coming up to call him for dinner.
Seeing a hand reach out from the doorway, Ben received a fright.
Julian was no longer the stranger he had been two months ago.
Though he was a ward, over the past two months he had proven to be kind, enthusiastic, dedicated to his studies, and sincere.
Uncle Ben had long come to view him as his own nephew, and Peter usually called him Jay as well.
Seeing Julian collapsed on the floor, Uncle Ben rushed forward in panic.
Hearing him weakly mumble that he was starving, Ben quickly carried him over to the dining table and helped him into a chair.
The moment the aroma of food hit Julian’s nose, manners went out the window.
Devouring the food like a tearing whirlwind, he cleared his plate in two minutes flat.
Ignoring the stunned gazes of Uncle Ben and Aunt May, he demolished every dish on the table one after another.
It wasn’t until a notification echoed in his mind confirming that basic adjustments were complete that he let out a long breath and stopped eating.
Looking at the bare, messy table, he flushed with embarrassment.
Uncle Ben looked at Julian with a hint of concern in his eyes, but smiled and pointed at the half-eaten turkey remaining on the table.
“You should’ve started with the turkey,” Ben joked.
“It never tastes great and always ends up leftover every year.
I actually thought we might avoid wasting it this time.” He turned to grab his heavy coat from the rack behind him and jerked his chin at Julian.
“Come on, son.
Hopefully that pizza place down the street is still open.
As the men of the house, we can’t let your Aunt May and little brother go hungry on Thanksgiving.
Time to go hunting with me.” Julian wiped his mouth, nodded, and pushed himself up from the chair to grab his jacket.
The moment he exerted force, a loud snap echoed as one of the wooden slats on the back of the chair sheared off in his grip.
Something was terribly wrong.
Even ten times normal human strength shouldn’t snap a chair back like twigs so effortlessly.
The issue lay in the optimization—how had that 50% baseline been calculated?
What direction had the optimization taken?
Physical body or raw power?
Julian carefully stood up, only for his bones to pop and crack in a series of sharp snaps, accompanied by the tearing sound of fabric.
His height had quietly shot up from around five-foot-nine to over six feet, settling around six-foot-one.
Coupled with his swelling musculature, the clothes he wore—which looked fine while seated—shredded completely under the tension as soon as he stood up.
He looked like the Hulk mid-transformation, reduced to nothing but his briefs.
“Wow!” Aunt May gave Julian a thumbs-up!
Blushing furiously, Julian scrambled to grab his jacket and wrap it around his waist to tie a knot, only to rip off both sleeves in the process.
Left with no choice, he clutched the ruined jacket against himself and leaned pitiably against the wall, covering his vital spots.
He didn’t dare move another inch.
Realizing they weren’t going anywhere for now, Uncle Ben paused.
Having only focused on Julian’s voracious eating earlier, he hadn’t noticed the physical transformation.
He needed to have a serious chat with the boy—though thankfully, the change seemed strictly physical.
“Relax, son,” Ben reassured him first.
He turned to May.
“May, could you run out and grab some food?
Peter’s still hungry.
Take him along and see what he wants.
Get plenty—our big guy here might still need a second helping!” Aunt May nodded, scooped up a wide-eyed Peter who was watching the spectacle, and headed out to grab food.
“Don’t be nervous.
Here, sit.” Uncle Ben guided Julian back to the table, helping him sit down slowly.
“Are you going through a growth spurt, Julian?” “Uh, Uncle Ben…
it’s hard to explain, but it’s a kind of Chinese kung fu, like Bruce Lee’s…
When you reach a certain level, it makes your body stronger.
I guess mine worked a little too well.
But I’m sure it’s not harmful to my health.” “Kung Fu?” This was the cover story Julian had prepared long ago.
He had been waking up early every day to practice martial arts, having scavenged Chinatown to find an authentic manual on Bajiquan.
It was finally paying off.
Before, his fragile physique made his strikes look like child’s play, but now?
He’d love to see someone take a full-force Iron Mountain Shoulder Strike from him.
Looking at the lean, defined muscle on Julian’s arms, Uncle Ben was willing to accept the explanation.
Yet seeing how cautious the boy was, he remained somewhat worried.
“You can’t control it properly yet.
This power came on too suddenly, son.
I’m worried, because you see…” “With great power comes great responsibility!”