Chapter 7: Empire State Building (Revised)
2022-10-19 Author: Great Demon Spirit
I am Spider-Man, the superhero of New York City.
I am New York's good neighbor, a role model for primary and middle school students worldwide. I enjoy helping people, I like fighting thieves and robbers, and I especially like helping old ladies cross the street—and I've never been scammed by one.
Some time ago, I participated in an academic exchange group organized by Xavier's School, traveling to the neighboring state of Pennsylvania. As a result, something big happened in New York, and the Daily Bugle started trashing me like crazy, calling me a coward who fled from a fight, even though I was completely innocent.
The Boss of the Daily Bugle is an out-and-out miser. He docks my pay and relentlessly slanders me—Spider-Man, the publicly acknowledged good neighbor of New York City.
I like standing on top of the Empire State Building and looking out over the entire metropolis. This place is rarely visited, and the wind is cold and bleak. I think of it as a spot God specifically reserved for me to contemplate life.
A beautiful, pure, and peaceful sanctuary.
Until I met *that guy*. From then on, this place was no longer my private retreat.
He told me I was still too young.
...
"Smells so good."
Holding a freshly bought hot dog in one hand, Spider-Man quickly climbed to the top of the Empire State Building. He loved it here. Every time he went out as Spider-Man, whether he was excited, dejected, or lost, he would come here to gaze silently into the distance, and his mind would miraculously calm down. This was his sanctuary. Very few people ever came up here, and he liked to save beautiful things for a place that suited his mood.
Like this hot dog.
The shop next to the Daily Bugle building sold the most delicious hot dogs. It had the most affordable prices and the best service in all of New York.
"So good, so good!"
Tossing the hot dog from his left hand to his right, then back to his left, Spider-Man repeated his daily ritual, never tiring of it.
Then he suddenly noticed someone else on the other side of the building's edge and was taken aback. Aside from the occasional tours or cleaning crews organized by schools and staff, this was the first time he had seen someone come up here all alone.
He scratched his head and slowly approached. He felt he should go over and say hello, to share insights on life philosophies and display the friendliness of the good citizen, Spider-Man.
"Hey, buddy... What are you doing???" Spider-Man moved closer to greet him, but the scene that met his eyes left him a bit bewildered.
This person was taking out photos, one after another, folding them into paper airplanes, and sending them flying into the distance.
The fierce winds at this altitude were beyond a normal person's imagination, easily carrying these paper airplanes, laden with special meaning, toward an unknown fate.
Tony threw the paper airplane he had just folded. Hearing the voice, he turned his head indifferently and saw a weirdo in a red bodysuit. He instantly knew who it was, and his tense body gradually relaxed.
"This is the Empire State Building, the famous New York Empire State Building, a world-renowned symbol of New York City! How can you just throw things around... Did something happen?" Spider-Man cozied up to him as if they were old friends.
"I know this is the Empire State Building."
Tony's face was expressionless as he looked the costumed eccentric up and down. He then turned his head away and said coldly, "There's no rule that says you can't fly photos from the Empire State Building."
"But no one's ever done this before..." Spider-Man spread his hands.
Tony ignored him, straightened his clothes, and squinted into the distance. It was said that from the top of the New York Empire State Building, you could see five other states.
As a symbol of New York City on par with the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building stood tall, overlooking the entire city. With its commanding view and magnificent, powerful design, it truly had a unique quality that could soothe the soul.
Spider-Man had calmed down by now, realizing that there was something unusual about the person before him.
How did he get up here? The door to this rooftop was clearly locked tight—he just had to turn around and look to confirm it.
"Hey, how did you get up here? It's so high, and you're so short... I mean, compared to this building, you're tiny, just a little dwarf... even if you're over six feet tall, you're still a little dwarf..." Spider-Man leaped over, asking curiously.
"How did you get up here?"
"I climbed."
"What a coincidence. I climbed up, too."
Tony told him seriously that this building was very, very tall. He could take the elevator to a high floor, then squeeze out through a ventilation shaft and climb the rest of the way up the wall.
Spider-Man's response was a simple "Nonsense." Does your family own the Empire State Building or something? And tell me, how did you climb up a wall? Don't tell me you were also bitten by a spider and can now scale walls?
A pack of lies.
"It's not that I don't believe you, it's just too incredible. If only your ability to make up lies was half as thick as your skin... Okay, fine, I just don't believe you..." Spider-Man rambled on.
"Can you get back down?" Tony suddenly asked.
Spider-Man was a bit stunned and answered subconsciously, "Of course I can. It's easy. If I can climb up, I can definitely jump down. Anyway, you still haven't told me the truth. You're so rude."
Tony couldn't be bothered with him and continued folding one photo after another, each one carrying his longing.
Spider-Man groaned, completely at a loss for words. He didn't even have the energy to punch him. How could such a shameless person exist in this world?
Not far from the Empire State Building, a small drone flew brazenly, taking in the entire scene.
Tony had spotted it long ago. At first, he thought it was a probe released by some organization or agency. If he wanted to, he could have turned the little thing into a Transformer.
But he realized he had guessed wrong. The drone was following Spider-Man. Wherever Spider-Man went, the drone followed, acting incredibly arrogant and not even bothering to hide.
Far away, at the Daily Bugle headquarters, the newspaper's Boss, Jameson, watched the transmitted video, his eyes gleaming. He was thrilled and burst into loud laughter.
Although the footage was silent, he had already automatically filled in all the dialogue in his mind. This was the most basic skill for a media professional.
Spider-Man, you scum! I've finally got some real dirt on you!
"Parker! Parker! Peter Parker! I have an important job for you... Where is he? Did that bastard skip work again? I'm docking his pay!" Jameson yelled.
With a series of orders issued at lightning speed, the decisive and ill-tempered big Boss, Jameson, summoned a large group of people, gave his commands, and, in a rare move, personally wrote the article. He already had the headline ready.
*The Shock of Spider-Man!*
(end of chapter)