"Okay, thanks." Gwen took the porcelain bottle calmly, focusing on cleaning Peter's wounds. She didn't seem to notice the sewer smell clinging to Peter.
"If you want to sell it, I can make more, but not too much. I don't have that kind of time," Barry replied, moving a bit away to give them space.
But at that moment, Peter and Gwen were lost in each other's eyes, the atmosphere in the bedroom growing tender and charged.
"You know what? I'm worried about you, worried that you won't come back," Gwen whispered, her breath mingling with Peter's as she stroked his face, her voice laced with fear.
"I'll be fine. I have to stop him because I created him," Peter confessed.
"What do you mean?"
"I gave him the equation, and I'm the reason for all of this."
Barry felt the room grow warmer, but running outside would risk George's suspicion, so he turned his focus back to Gwen and Peter.
Resigned, Barry covered his ears and rolled onto Gwen's bed, pulling a quilt over himself to block them out.
Neither Gwen nor Peter noticed Barry's small retreat, too engrossed in their charged conversation. Peter continued explaining the incident's origin.
Peter's parents had secretly worked with Connors at Oscorp. During their research, they cracked the decay rate algorithm but hid the unstable elements. Peter later found the equation in his father's belongings and gave it to Connors, unwittingly turning him into a lizard monster.
Thus, the whole mess was, in a way, Peter's responsibility.
Under the quilt, Barry listened to their conversation, sighed, and turned his attention to his inner thoughts.
On the Williamsburg Bridge, he'd earned twenty destruction points and ten kindness points.
The kindness points likely came from stopping the lizard man, which earned seven points, and helping Peter rescue the child, which earned three points.
The destruction points were harder to gauge; Barry wasn't sure how much he'd actually destroyed during the fight.
He now had ninety destruction points, just ten short of evolving his martial arts value to 100%.
However, he had finally amassed a hundred kindness points, unlocking the invincible skill of "Blossom Fingers."
"Redeem Blossom Fingers!" Barry thought excitedly.
"Martial arts value insufficient for redemption."
Blossom Fingers, the first word is enlightenment. It comes from the tale of "Buddha holding a flower and Kasyapa smiling."
The Buddha held a flower, Kasyapa smiled, and without a word, he achieved enlightenment. Only in such a wondrous state can one grasp this skill.
"So I still need more martial arts progress?" Barry, initially excited, felt deflated. The lizard man had been formidable; Barry hoped to use a powerful skill to close the gap.
The system offered no further response, simply indicating the skill was non-transferrable.
"Do I have to wait until the Dragon Secret Book is accessible?" Barry mused, recalling the dreams that followed each martial arts advancement and forming a hypothesis.
After mulling over the system for a while, Barry decided it was time to rejoin the present. He assumed the romantic interlude outside had ended and emerged from his thoughts.
"Huh? Why is it so quiet?" Barry wondered from under the quilt, sensing the stillness outside.
He cautiously lifted the quilt, peeking out.
"I hope there aren't any inappropriate scenes," he murmured, scanning the bedroom. He was relieved to find both Gwen and Peter gone, along with Peter's discarded Spider suit.
It seemed they'd gone out.
Realizing he was alone, Barry left Gwen's bed and jumped onto his own, yawning widely before drifting into sleep.
Barry was content with his current life, with food, shelter, and care, as well as nightly escapades with Peter.
However, witnessing Gwen and Peter's tender moment stirred something within him, sparking thoughts of becoming human.
In his previous life, Barry had been single and never experienced love. Now, in this world, being a panda complicated things further, making romance seem out of reach.
As his thoughts wandered, the image of a fierce tiger from his dreams flashed in his mind.
"Crouch!" Barry jolted upright, eyes wide in disbelief.
"What's going on? Have I become a panda so much that even my aesthetics are changing?" He slapped his soft face, trying to shake off the thought.
However, the idea of fierceness mingled with delicacy didn't seem entirely implausible...
"Damn, stop thinking about it," he muttered, quickly shaking his head to clear his mind.
---
Barry wasn't sure how he eventually fell asleep, but he drifted between dreams of sleek tigers and elegant figures, merging them into one before succumbing to slumber.
---
"Barry, Barry, wake up. I'm taking you to school today, so get up," Gwen's voice roused him.
"Huh?"
"Dad wants you to come to school with me and then head to the police station in the afternoon," Gwen reiterated.
"Go to your school? And then the police station? Why?" Barry asked, bewildered. "Hasn't the statement gone out? Am I allowed out now?"
"The city council meeting is the day after tomorrow. Today, they want you to be seen by New York residents," Gwen explained, rubbing her face into Barry's furry body as usual.
"Okay, I'll go freshen up first," Barry yawned, getting out of bed and leaving the bedroom.
After washing up, he joined the family in the living room, where an array of fried pastries awaited. George and the others sat at the dining table, waiting for him.
As Barry sat down, George explained.
"Many New Yorkers are concerned about you possibly harming people or reacting poorly to stress in a new environment," George said. Even though Barry was a panda, he still had the potential for powerful bites.
"So, before the municipal meeting, you need to show yourself to the residents and demonstrate your harmlessness."
"You'll go to school with Gwen first, then to the police station in the afternoon, and make appearances."
Barry nodded, munching on a bun.
"Why can't he come to my school?" little John asked, dissatisfied with his father's plan.
EXTRA CHAPTER IS AVAILABLE IN PATREON
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