Midtown High School, chemistry laboratory.
When Alice walked into the classroom, a strange odor, a mixture of caramel and ozone, assailed her nostrils.
"Peter Parker, turn off that damn centrifuge! The rotation speed has already exceeded the critical limit."
A crisp, angry female voice cut through half the laboratory.
Alice looked in the direction of the sound.
In the corner of the lab, Peter Parker was staring with fanatical intensity at a glass reactor that was vibrating violently.
The liquid inside was an unstable silver-gray, churning frantically like a living thing, and even emitting crackling, popping sounds.
"Don't worry, Gwen, wait five more seconds. As long as it maintains this centrifugal force for five more seconds, the molecular chain will complete its shear recombination."
Peter shouted excitedly while quickly recording data, completely ignoring the terrified looks from the surrounding students.
Opposite him stood a tall girl wearing a neat school uniform.
She had a golden ponytail, wore black-rimmed glasses, and was clutching a notebook tightly, her face flushed with anger.
Gwen Stacy.
The top student at Midtown High School and president of the Science Club.
"Peter, are you crazy? This is a high-pressure polymerization reaction. The school's glassware can only withstand three atmospheres, and the pressure reading is already in the red zone."
The vibration in the reactor grew increasingly violent as Gwen tried to rush over and cut the power.
"I know, that's why I added an excess of stabilizer; theoretically, it can hold..."
"Crack!"
Before Peter could finish his sentence, a crack suddenly burst open on the glass wall of the reactor.
"Uh-oh, calculation error."
Peter's expression changed, but he didn't panic and run; instead, he instinctively tried to block the impending flying shards with his body.
"Get out of the way! The pressure valve has failed."
"Idiot, who told you to stand there!" Gwen gritted her teeth and rushed to pull him away.
At this critical moment.
A slender, fair hand suddenly reached out and grabbed a liquid nitrogen spray from the shelf.
Sss—
The next second, a blast of white, freezing air was precisely sprayed onto the bottom of the reactor.
Accompanied by rhythmic bursts of cooling, the violent molecular motion inside the reactor was instantly suppressed.
The silver-gray liquid solidified within seconds, turning into a tough, spiderweb-like solid that stuck to the bottom of the bottle.
The vibration stopped.
Crisis averted.
Alice casually placed the liquid nitrogen bottle on the table, glanced at the half-destroyed reactor, and said calmly, "Peter, you ignored the activity of this protease at high temperatures. Without a cooling cycle, this is just a small bomb."
The laboratory instantly fell silent.
Peter opened his mouth wide, looking at the savior who had descended from the sky, and then at his own lump of artificial spider silk, which, though solidified, was clearly a success.
"Alice, you figured it out?" Peter was as excited as a child with a new toy, completely forgetting the danger just moments ago. "That's right! It's biomimetic spider silk. I discovered that spider silk is five times stronger than steel cable. If it can be mass-produced, I can take first place."
Alice pulled a pack of wet wipes from her pocket and handed it to Peter.
"Wipe your face, future Nobel laureate; your eyebrows are almost singed."
After handling all this, Alice turned around and met a pair of eyes filled with scrutiny and surprise.
Gwen Stacy was pushing up her glasses, looking Alice up and down, and then glanced at the complex compound residue.
As an insider, Gwen knew exactly what Peter was doing.
That was not an experiment a high school student should be involved in; it was a doctoral-level project.
And Alice's handling method just now, that precision in temperature control, was nothing short of professional.
"Fast reaction, and very accurate judgment."
Gwen closed her notebook, her business-like tone now tinged with a hint of approval.
"Liquid nitrogen cooling is the only way to instantly terminate the reaction without destroying the molecular structure. How did you know he was synthesizing protein fibers? Most people would just think he was cooking some kind of disgusting soup."
"I just smelled the scent of heated amino acids."
Alice smiled slightly, polite yet distant.
"Besides, Peter Parker's 'genius brain' shouldn't be filled with boring recipes for cooking soup, right?"
Peter scratched his head in the back, chuckling, "Hehe, Alice, you really get me. Gwen only yells at me for wasting funds."
"That's for your own safety, you idiot!" Gwen glared at Peter, but her tone had clearly softened.
She turned her head, looked at Alice, and proactively extended her hand.
"I'm Gwen, Gwen Stacy, president of the Science Club. If you're interested in polymer materials science, the Science Club is always open to you. We need some real brains to balance out Peter's chaotic evil experimental style."
Alice extended her hand and gave a light shake.
"Alice Mason, nice to meet you, Gwen."
"Hey, looks like I missed some exciting explosion?"
A voice with a hint of laziness and teasing came from the back door of the lab.
Harry Osborn was wearing his expensive custom-tailored school uniform, spinning a basketball in his hand, and leaning against the doorframe.
Sunlight spilled onto his meticulously groomed blonde hair, making him look like a male lead straight out of a teen idol drama.
He sniffed the lingering scent of ozone in the air, his brow furrowing dramatically.
"Peter, if I'm not mistaken, are you trying to create some sort of World-destroying biochemical weapon again? Last time you turned the gym locker room into a swamp; this time, are you trying to turn the lab into a gas chamber?"
"It's high-strength biological fiber, not a biochemical weapon."
Peter Parker carefully cradled the reactor, which, despite having a crack, still had the precious spider silk sample stuck to the bottom, as if he were holding the Holy Grail.
"This is the trump card prepared for the Osborn Science Week, Harry. You, born with a silver spoon in your mouth, don't understand the struggle of trying to earn a scholarship."
"Fine, fine, future Nobel laureate." Harry walked over, laughing, and threw an arm around Peter's shoulder, completely unconcerned about the messy chemical stains on Peter rubbing off onto his high-end custom suit.
Immediately, his gaze fell upon Gwen and Alice, who were cleaning up the lab bench.
"Wow, these are rare guests."
Harry whistled, his gaze shifting back and forth between Alice and Gwen.
"Midtown High School's Science Queen, Gwen Stacy, is actually chatting with our mysterious transfer student, Alice. This scene is even rarer than Peter getting a perfect score in P.E."
"Shut up, Harry."
Gwen rolled her eyes at him, her cool, top-student aura instantly fully engaged.
"I was just warning someone not to cause more trouble for the janitors, and by the way, inviting Alice to join the Science Club. After all, we need some real brains to dilute someone's excessive destructive urges."
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