"A platoon?" Peter was confused. "A platoon is about fifty people. The security department is only slightly larger than that. If they all went to guard the slab, what about the entrance?"
Lu Lin rolled his eyes: "Did you get stupid? Those are people dispatched overnight by the higher-ups, not Captain Ling's usual team."
"I see..." Peter nodded, deep in thought.
Stealth and infiltration were Spider-Man's specialties. While he wasn't a fully qualified Spider-Man (in terms of experience, though his rescue of Miles's world might qualify him in terms of merit), he had at least trained with Spider-Man Noir and Spider-Ham. He had some rudimentary ideas about infiltrating heavily guarded areas.
However, Peter hesitated about actually infiltrating the area. If he were exposed, it would be a major incident. It would not cause a public stir, but internally, the government would treat it with extreme seriousness. With the power of the state machine, his identity would be exposed eventually.
"It's a shame I don't have Miles's heat-suppressing invisibility ability right now," Peter muttered, envying Miles. Miles's powers were perfectly suited for espionage.
"By the way, Linzi, you have connections. Can you find out when I can get back to work?" Peter asked. He decided it was best to try to get back to the lab first and look for the spider that bit him. If he failed, only then would he risk checking out the suspicious stone slab.
Lu Lin shook his head: "I genuinely can't help you with that. While the slab is the real big deal, the Martian soil is the public priority. You smashed the soil sample, contaminating part of it. You're lucky Dr. Otto fought hard to keep you on. He was under immense pressure."
"Truly no way?" Peter frowned slightly.
"Truly none," Lu Lin spread his hands. "Why are you so obsessed with work? Are you that interested in Martian soil?"
Peter couldn't tell him the truth, so he sighed: "This is the project I've been following since day one here!"
"There's nothing to be done. You definitely have to serve the full fourteen days of confinement," Lu Lin said, pointing upward. "After all, this isn't just monitored by people here; others are watching too."
Lu Lin finished his meal, put down his chopsticks: "You should just stay put. Isn't watching movies or reading novels in your room good enough?"
... After eating, Peter and Lu Lin parted ways at the entrance to the Living Quarters. Lu Lin was genuinely busy. The soil samples were numerous, and there were few Soil Science researchers. Lu Lin probably only ate lunch in the main cafeteria to check on his friend.
Peter returned to his room in the Dormitory Block. He was confined, barred from leaving the base or entering the Research Institute, only allowed to move between the Dormitory and Living Quarters.
He locked his door and focused on his laptop. At the same time, the question Lu Lin's arrival had interrupted returned to his mind:
Why did he return exactly when the movie finished playing? A coincidence? Or was there a mysterious link?
Thinking this, Peter opened his laptop. The movie was paused. He moved the progress bar to the very beginning, deciding to rewatch the entire film and see what the "original plot" looked like without his interference.
Two hours later... Watching the end credits roll and listening to the closing song, Peter fell into deep thought.
The good news was that he wasn't recorded in the movie after his dimensional jump, even though it was a downloaded file. This confirmed that the movie and the computer were not the actual transport vessel and had no direct connection to his crossing. He had genuinely traveled to Miles's world, not into a film.
The bad news was that the time difference between the two worlds couldn't be verified reliably. He couldn't confirm the time flow rate between the universes. This created a major problem: What if he traveled to another world and returned to find a much longer period had passed here?
And... "Although the final outcome is largely the same—the Spider-People returned home, and Kingpin was neutralized—my involvement significantly altered the 'plot'."
Firstly, Miles's uncle, The Prowler, didn't die, making Miles the rare "Spider-Man with an uncle." This was a good thing. But Miles's identity was also exposed, meaning anyone motivated could now trace him through The Prowler. Peter was unsure how this would affect Miles's future.
Secondly, in the original plot, Kingpin didn't die; he was merely defeated by Miles and handed over to the police, allowing him to cause trouble again later. Peter's meddling resulted in Kingpin's direct "self-annihilation," completely eliminating the possibility of future schemes. This would also affect Miles's growth, as he lost a primary early-stage antagonist.
Finally, the relationship between Miles and Gwen was changed. In the movie, Miles and Gwen developed mutual feelings, but in reality, Gwen didn't seem romantically interested in Miles. Instead, she had established a unique, complex bond with Peter (Earth-616).
"Am I stealing Miles's chance at love?" Peter looked puzzled. "No, no, no. Miles and Gwen were never going to work out anyway, since neither of them can cross dimensions. I'm different..." Peter found a convenient excuse for himself.
Just as he finished his analysis, the movie's end credits finished. Peter clicked the close button, exiting the film. He looked at the folder on the screen, his mouse hovering over it with slight hesitation.
The folder contained several other films: the first-generation Tobey-Spidey'sSpider-Man 2 and 3; the second-generation Andrew-Spidey'sAmazing Spider-Man 1 and 2; and the Holland-Spidey trilogy: Homecoming, Far From Home, and No Way Home.
He still had one way to verify his theories...