High school is often the stage where young men and women first experience love, and the original Peter Parker was no exception. As the person destined to become Spider-Man in the Marvel Universe, he inevitably fell in love with the woman officially paired with him—Mary Jane.
Mary Jane was not only his neighbor but also his high school classmate. As the saying goes, "the near water tower gets the moon first," and with their proximity, she was naturally seen as Peter's official romantic match.
If everything had gone as expected, the original Peter Parker should have easily ended up with Mary Jane. But things didn't go according to plan.
Peter, who failed to become Spider-Man in this alternate world, had a rough time in love. Unlike in the mainstream Marvel Universe, he never managed to win over Mary Jane. In fact, he discovered that Mary Jane had only gotten close to him because of his best friend—Harry.
Yes, that Harry—Harry Osborn, the son of Norman Osborn, also known as the Green Goblin. In this universe, the Osborn Group is still one of the most powerful conglomerates in New York. Naturally, as Norman's heir, Harry became a prominent, wealthy, and handsome young man—an obvious upgrade compared to the commoner Peter.
In such a scenario, any sensible woman would know who to choose.
Unfortunately, Mary Jane not only had normal judgment, but she was also particularly selective. As expected, she gave Peter the proverbial "good guy" card and turned to Harry instead.
Peter didn't just lose in love—he never even had a chance. He was merely used as a stepping stone, a tool. This devastating blow made Peter desperate to improve himself and gain recognition, if only to escape his current social standing.
But fate was unkind. Not only did he fail to rise above, his family fell into ruin, and he eventually lost his life.
Thinking of this, Li Ran felt a twinge of anger. He lit a cigarette and took a long drag.
The previous Peter Parker didn't smoke, drink, or fool around. He was a law-abiding model citizen. But Peter was now dead. And Li Ran, the man who had taken over his body, was quite the opposite—he smoked, drank, and was well-versed in the ways of women.
As the white smoke rings floated around him, Li Ran's thoughts returned to the present.
The reason he hadn't immediately accepted Gwen's invitation earlier had nothing to do with Gwen herself. The main reason was her band members—specifically, one of them being Mary Jane.
For an unknown band to perform at a prestigious venue like the Broadway Theater was clearly unusual. The only plausible explanation was that someone with influence and financial resources had pulled some strings for them.
And the only person who came to mind was Harry Osborn, Peter's former friend from a very different world.
Accepting Gwen's invitation would mean facing both Mary Jane and Harry that night—an encounter he wasn't mentally prepared for. Even though he wasn't the original Peter Parker, the situation was still unpleasant.
Yet when he remembered Gwen's hopeful eyes, he felt a ripple in his heart. Gwen was the second person to care about him after his accident. The first had been Felicia Hardy—who had now been missing for three days.
For that, he truly felt grateful.
Taking another deep drag from his cigarette, he finally put it out with his fingers and tossed it accurately into the trash bin. Then, picking up his phone, he sent Gwen a text asking for the time of the performance.
She replied instantly:
"7 PM."
"Got it. See you then."
"Okay!"
On the bus, Gwen held her phone with a faint smile on her face.
After finalizing plans with Gwen, Peter stayed at home. It wasn't that he didn't want to go out—he simply had nowhere to go.
Originally, he had been Professor Connors' graduate student and visited Empire University daily for experiments. But after the incident, he was expelled from the university. Worse yet, even his bachelor's degree had been revoked.
Now, he only had a high school diploma, which made it nearly impossible to find decent employment. Even if he wanted to work, it wasn't safe—gang members were still hunting him down, and the police had recently discovered his whereabouts.
If the police knew, then the gang certainly did too. It wouldn't be long before they came knocking.
That was fine with him. He was tired of hiding. Better they came to him—less trouble.
In the meantime, he needed to use this window to improve his combat abilities. Though the Lizard Serum had physically enhanced his body to extraordinary levels, he still lacked actual fighting experience. That weakness was unacceptable for someone with a revenge plan.
Aside from enhancing his combat prowess, he also wanted to use technology from the NieR: Automata universe to build general-purpose combat robots.
At the very least, he needed to create a YoRHa 2B unit—another layer of protection. Ideally, he'd develop an entire YoRHa squad to truly establish himself.
But building robots required massive capital. In his current state, he could barely afford basic living expenses, let alone the high-tech components for even a single artificial companion.
So, for now, that plan had to wait. His top priority was self-improvement.
With that in mind, he opened his computer and began searching for martial arts and mixed martial arts videos online. His method was simple—watch action-packed films, study their fight scenes, and mimic them.
This approach worked because Peter's brain had been enhanced to extraordinary levels by the Golden Finger and the Lizard Serum. His memory and reaction speed were now abnormally high.
So high, in fact, that he could remember movements instantly and replicate them effortlessly.
This ability had a name in the Marvel Universe: Photographic Reflexes.
As the name implies, like a camera, it allowed him to capture and replay an opponent's moves. The best-known user of this ability was the Marvel villain Taskmaster—Tony Masters.
Taskmaster had been a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who, after being exposed to a special serum, gained photographic reflexes. He could perfectly mimic others' fighting techniques—even by watching videos.
He mastered countless styles: Karate, Combat, Fencing, and various forms of martial arts. He eventually developed his own unique fighting style.
But Peter's abilities were even more advanced. His brain had been enhanced not once but twice. Compared to Taskmaster's single serum boost, Peter's capabilities were on another level.
With this talent and his strengthened body, Peter could learn any fighting style just by watching it.
Anticipation lit up his face as he immersed himself in fight scenes. He watched from morning until past 6 PM. Outside, the sky had darkened, but Peter had spent the entire day consuming nearly a hundred fight clips, matches, and real-world brawls.
After each viewing, he practiced briefly. In just one day, his fighting proficiency soared—far beyond what any normal person could achieve. He wasn't a combat master yet, but he could definitely be considered an expert.
Against the gang members he'd previously encountered, he now had the confidence to kill instantly.
Yes—instant kill.
His tests revealed astounding physical capabilities. He could leap ten meters in a single bound and lift up to 30 tons.
His neural response was equally impressive. He could track a fly's trajectory mid-air and catch it with ease.
With such strength and reflexes, a punch from him could easily send someone crashing through a brick wall. Against ordinary people, it would be like getting hit by a speeding car.
Peter clenched his fist, the sound of popping knuckles echoing like firecrackers. He felt like he could shatter concrete with one blow.
Just as he was preparing dinner in the kitchen, his enhanced hearing detected someone quietly tampering with the front door lock.
He made no sound, calmly pulled on waterproof gloves, and began chopping vegetables as if nothing were wrong.
Then, three men with tombstone tattoos on the backs of their hands entered, guns aimed squarely at Peter.
He feigned panic, raising his hands as if terrified.
"Don't, don't kill me! Take whatever you want! Please, just let me live!"
He recognized the tattoos. These men were from the same gang as the two who had chased him before. They weren't going to stop until they got what they wanted.
His act worked. Seeing his fearful demeanor, the gang members sneered with contempt.
"Shut up and come with us. Say one more word, and I'll break your leg. Got it?"
Peter nodded obediently. The more cooperative he seemed, the more the men underestimated him.
One of them placed a black cloth over his head, and another handcuffed him. Then they led him out of the house, chuckling among themselves.
"I still can't believe those two fools couldn't capture this weakling and even got themselves killed."
"You can't say that. I heard they ran into something... unnatural. Maybe the Punisher? Or Daredevil?"
"Could be. But Daredevil doesn't use guns, so I'd bet it was the Punisher."
"Ugh, enough bad luck talk. I'm sick of being hunted by cops and vigilantes. If I see one more guy in a mask, I'll put a bullet through him."
Peter remained silent. What they didn't know was that he wasn't blind inside that hood.
He had another power: telepathic control of all reptiles within a two-kilometer radius. With this, he received real-time intel from an entire network of scouts.
He knew they were taking him into a van.
And because of this advantage, he wasn't afraid at all.