Chapter 187: Spider-Man's Legacy
Xi Nian left his aunt's room, a bit disappointed but regardless, still lost in his own thoughts.
Even after returning to his own room, her words still echoed in his ears.
Why was it that from Kara he received Kryptonian Physiology, and from Gwen he received Spider-Sense—yet not any of their other extraordinary Kryptonian or spider-related abilities?
If it wasn't random, then what exactly decided which permanent ability he gained?
It was indeed a question worth investigating. In fact, it might be the key to developing the Master of Affection's powers further—the most important factor of all.
But for now, it was only theory.
After all, the requirements for triggering the acquisition of a permanent ability were far too strict! Since Kara and Gwen, it wasn't like he could just find random superpowered girls to experiment with…
Xi Nian wasn't some breeding machine. He couldn't bring himself to do anything so shameless.
So.
He could only bury the question deep in his heart, for now.
…
Meanwhile, in the next room.
Diana was also reflecting on the very question she had posed earlier.
"If it's just for the sake of an experiment, I…"
The black-haired woman pressed one hand lightly against her chest, the other covering her flawless face that seemed sculpted by the gods.
Her divine eyes held no hesitation. She pondered seriously for a long time, before finally shaking her head.
The permanent abilities Xi Nian gained as Master of Affection were irreversible, and could not be triggered again with the same person. Without knowing the rules or deciding factors, experimentation carried far too many uncontrollable risks.
Besides, Diana herself had one particular extraordinary ability she wanted to preserve, to keep in reserve for Xi Nian as a safety net.
…
"Right. Tomorrow's Monday. Back to school…"
Xi Nian let out a weary yawn, almost forgetting he was still a student.
He was about to lie down in bed and drift off to sleep when a sudden thought jolted him awake.
Reaching into the pocket of his pajama pants, he pulled out a black USB drive. It bore a spider insignia on its casing, though the metal body was dented at one corner from the fierce battle earlier.
This had been Spider-Man's parting gift to him, after their successful mission in that parallel universe.
"Hope this still works…"
Dragging himself over to the desk, Xi Nian powered up his old computer—one he almost never used—and plugged in the spider-marked USB.
The monitor flickered to life, quickly pulling up the drive's contents.
Xi Nian's eyes flickered in surprise when a video file automatically opened, showing a young white man preparing to put on an advanced Spider-suit.
"Xi Nian, I'm Spider-Man, Peter Parker."
"If you're seeing this… then I'm already dead."
"…."
Xi Nian's lips twitched.
That troublesome guy really had predicted his own death all along.
Even so, Spider-Man had still charged into the underground base of five supervillains with him and Gwen—fully prepared to sacrifice himself to ensure the energy-collision device was destroyed.
But what Peter hadn't foreseen was—
That Xi Nian, with Gwen's help, would manage to take down three or four of those supervillains in such a short time.
Thinking back, Xi Nian recalled…
By the time he left, in that hollowed-out space of the parallel world, only Spider-Man remained—carrying an injured black boy in his arms. On the villains' side were a heavily wounded Kingpin, a Doctor Octopus stripped of her arms, and a Prowler with most of his weapons spent.
From the look of it, Spider-Man was still at a disadvantage while carrying extra weight. But it wasn't a certain death trap anymore.
Whether his fate had been death or a reversal of destiny—Xi Nian might never know.
That was something that had happened far too far away, in another dimension entirely.
On screen, Spider-Man shrugged at the camera.
"So… I'll pass down a few of my belongings as an inheritance. Since you two come from another world, I'm not really losing anything, right?
Hopefully, even in another dimension, my stuff might help you guys. Actually… wait, doesn't that mean I'm winning out here? Hahaha, I finally scored one!"
Xi Nian pressed his fingers to his forehead, speechless at Spider-Man's rambling antics.
The video cut off there.
A moment later, a new interface opened up on the screen.
"This is…"
Xi Nian's eyes widened as design schematics began flashing across the monitor.
A full set of Spider-suits. Twelve of them in total.
Spider-Man had stored every design he had ever made for his suits in this USB drive!
And not just that.
There were also dozens of unique, advanced tech inventions—far more than the suits themselves—research Peter Parker had personally developed during his decade as Spider-Man.
Of course.
Given that he had engineered the Iron Spider armor and the Spider-Armor Mk series on his own, Xi Nian had already known that this version of Spider-Man was easily on par with Iron Man when it came to scientific genius.
"Wait… this tech…"
Xi Nian's eyes widened in shock.
Among all the contents in the drive, one particular item's value far surpassed all twelve suit schematics combined.
…
The next morning.
Monday.
Because he had stayed up too late, Xi Nian arrived at school just as the bell rang.
Standing at the classroom door, he spotted Gwen already seated at her desk inside, her blonde hair slightly tousled—clearly she had only just made it on time.
She blinked playfully at him, her big eyes sparkling.
Xi Nian's mouth twitched.
Really? Couldn't she have been late with him, just once?
Should've asked Wanda to opened the mystic portal.
"Xi Nian, come to my office."
A pleasant, composed voice came from behind him.
Without even turning around, his Spider-Sense told him exactly who it was. Felicia Hardy, their assistant instructor, dressed in a blouse, jacket, and slim jeans, carrying a stack of files as she passed by in the corridor.
Xi Nian's gaze trailed after her flowing silver-white hair. In his mind, the image of the Black Cat thief he had seen with Jarro's help overlapped perfectly with hers.
He muttered under his breath.
"What's meant to be faced… can't be avoided."
Putting on an expression of slight nervousness, he followed after Teacher Felicia, blending in with the rest of the students.
…
At the same time, in a middle school in Washington.
In one classroom.
A red-haired girl sat quietly in the back row. With her grades being first in the school, she could have claimed any seat she wanted.
But Wanda had requested this seat herself.
For her, the back row was peaceful, quiet.
Besides, she often had to request leave, whether to go home for chores, or to study housekeeping and the arcane arts.
Her top grades, combined with the fact that the entire school belonged to Wayne Enterprises, meant every teacher—even the principal—treated her like a princess.
Just then.
As Wanda was quietly reading her textbook, the teacher walked in, leading another girl with striking green hair.
"Class, let me introduce your new transfer student."
"Her name is Lorna. Lovely name, isn't it?"
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