Chapter 468 Spider-Man and the Ice Cream Hunter

Peter Parker, also known as Spider-Man, was wearing his shabby homemade suit, hanging lightly on the wall of a dilapidated apartment, staring at a few thugs in the alley. The moonlight barely illuminated them, and they were surrounding a helpless-looking lady, making disgusting laughs and vulgar jokes.

"Hey, baby, stop struggling." One of the thugs, with a face full of flesh and a toothpick in his mouth, reached out to grab the lady's handbag. His accomplices followed suit, saying obscene words, "Have fun with us guys, maybe we will show mercy and let you go."

Peter shook his head at the top and let out a long sigh: "Really, will you guys never come up with new ideas? Robbery, teasing, and some lame sexual innuendo... What era is this? Can't you be a little creative?" He jumped down quickly, landing lightly on his toes without making any sound.

He snapped his fingers, and the thugs turned around and saw Peter Parker in a tight combat suit leaning leisurely against the wall with his arms folded across his chest, with that iconic, hateful, mocking smile on his face.

"Aha, it looks like you guys have found a treasure today - Spider-Man is here to save this beautiful lady!" Peter said with a smile, and drew a circle in the air with his fingers exaggeratedly, "Although to be honest, you guys... look a bit miserable."

The thugs obviously didn't take the young man in the red and blue uniform seriously. The leader shouted, "Who are you? Are you here to mess things up? Get away from me, little brat! Don't make things difficult for yourself!"

"Oh, brats?" Peter pretended to be deeply offended. "Wow, that hurts me! You know, I'm an 'official' superhero." He jumped lightly in front of them, his hands still in the pockets of his suit, his eyes roaming between them. "Well, I don't have time to waste on you. Honestly, can we have a good street fight soon? I have homework to do."

"You are looking for death!" Another thug rushed at Peter angrily and punched him in the face. Peter reacted quickly and dodged lightly, his fist brushing the tip of his nose and missing. Peter chuckled and then kicked the thug's ankle with his right foot. The thug's feet went weak and he fell forward unsteadily.

"Wow, who taught you this move? A judo beginner, right?" Peter teased, and then he nimbly rolled over to avoid the iron stick swung by another thug.

The thugs started to get angry, and several of them rushed forward together. Peter quickly adjusted his posture, and his hands threw out several spider silks like lightning, accurately sticking to the wrists of the two thugs and firmly fixing their weapons on the wall. Those who wanted to solve the problem with fists found that their fists fell into the air, and Peter always managed to dodge a second in advance, and then responded with a naughty flying kick or elbow.

"Uh, could you guys use some time? I'm beginning to doubt if you're giving me a massage, really." Peter kept on talking as he fought, his body moving nimbly in the narrow alley as if it were completely weightless.

One of the thugs shouted viciously: "Just wait until I kill you, and then I'll teach that chick a lesson tonight!"

When Peter heard this, his expression instantly turned cold. He rolled over to avoid the attack, then quickly attacked and punched the gangster hard on the chin. Although the force of the punch was controlled, it was enough to make the gangster lose his balance and fall to the ground.

"Hey, brother, I advise you to say less disgusting things." Peter's voice was no longer relaxed, but rather harsh. "You scumbags should really think about your future - no, don't thank me, I'm just reminding you that prison may be the best place for you."

Peter deftly went behind the last thug and pushed him, causing his back to hit the wall. He effortlessly tied everyone to the wall with spider silk, and watched them struggle to get free, with a smile on his face again.

"How's that? Feels like a 'Spider-Man package' now?" Peter clapped his hands and stood in front of them. "Freebies included - extra humiliation and an unforgettable trip to jail."

The gangsters cursed angrily and struggled desperately, but Peter was completely unmoved. He walked up to the frightened lady and handed her bag over, "Your bag, ma'am, today is a good day, right?"

She took the bag tremblingly, her face full of gratitude, "Thank you...thank you!"

Peter shrugged and waved goodbye. "You're welcome. This is Spider-Man's daily job!" He glanced at the hooligans and said jokingly, "Just enjoy your 'wall-banging moment'. The police will come to have tea with you soon."

As the words fell, Peter jumped lightly, spider silk sprayed out from under his feet, and he quickly disappeared into the alley in the night sky, leaving behind a group of thugs who were cursing but unable to resist.

Peter swung deftly to the top of a tall building. As soon as his feet landed on the ground, he saw Ned sitting leisurely on the edge of the rooftop, holding a huge ice cream in his hand and licking it slowly. Peter took off his mask, his face full of helplessness and complaints.

"Are you kidding me, Ned?" Peter walked towards him, panting, his mouth twitching. "I just beat up a group of robbers and was almost beaten with an iron bar, and you're here... eating ice cream?"

Ned glanced at Peter and shrugged, as if he didn't take his complaint seriously at all, and continued to enjoy the dessert in his hand. "Hey, man, ice cream won't eat itself." He licked a bite of chocolate ice cream and sighed with satisfaction, "This is really good, smooth and has a strong chocolate flavor. You should try it!"

Peter rolled his eyes and let his hands fall limply. "Are you serious? I don't have time for ice cream. I just stuck some thugs to the wall."

Ned nodded thoughtfully and said nonchalantly, "Wow, it sounds like you're busy." He then licked his ice cream again and suddenly commented seriously, "But seriously, next time I plan to try the new mint chocolate chip dessert. I heard it's super delicious. Also, I heard there's a new dessert shop nearby, and their strawberry cheese ice cream is also great."

Peter looked at him speechlessly, feeling extremely helpless. "Really, Ned? Are you only thinking about ice cream now? I seem to be saving people."

Ned made an innocent expression, and after swallowing the last bite of ice cream, he clapped his hands slowly, "Okay, Peter, you don't have to be so angry. It's your job to save people, and my job is to find the best ice cream in this city. Someone has to do these important things."

Peter couldn't help laughing. "Oh, that's so important. You've worked so hard, buddy." He sat down next to Ned and leaned his head weakly on his shoulder. "It's not easy, Ned the Ice Cream Hunter."

Ned turned his head with a sly smile on his face, and said mysteriously: "But, Peter, to be honest, I find that you are now... well, how should I put it, you are not as 'pure' as before." He deliberately emphasized the word "pure", his eyes full of ridicule.

Peter looked up and looked at Ned in surprise, "What are you talking about, man?"

Ned shrugged with a wicked smile, "Oh, don't be silly. I know you've been getting close to some people recently - you're no longer the little Spider who only wants to be a good student, right?"

After hearing this, Peter instantly understood Ned's hint and a helpless blush immediately appeared on his face. "Ned! Please, don't talk nonsense. I'm still very 'pure', okay?" He said while rolling his eyes exaggeratedly.

Ned spread his hands, with an expression that said "You can't hide it from me", and smiled even more proudly, "Okay, okay, keep pretending. But, Peter, you are Spider-Man now, with a heavy responsibility, don't forget that you have a little partner."

Peter shook his head helplessly and patted Ned's shoulder gently. "You are hopeless."

Ned covered his chest in mock hurt. "Wow, Peter, you are so cruel."

Ned approached Peter with a sly smile and said with full of teasing: "Hey, Peter, tell me, if Liz Allen knew that you were actually Spider-Man, would she immediately abandon her boring basketball teammates and throw herself into your arms?"

Peter was choked by this, and his face flushed instantly, but he was not so easy to admit defeat. He rolled his eyes and quickly hit back: "Oh, Ned, don't think I don't know that you have something going on in school, right? How is that girl you secretly wrote love letters to in the lab class? She is still waiting for you to 'confess'."

Ned was instantly embarrassed and scratched his head. "Hey, hey, let's not talk about this, okay? And that's not a love letter, it's just a note accompanying the lab report!"

Peter couldn't help laughing and waved his hands. "Oh, of course. A note like 'I think you're cute' on the lab report? That's genius, Ned."

Ned rolled his eyes and tried to act nonchalant. "Huh, I don't need a love letter. Look at my charm, girls will discover me sooner or later." As he said this, he pretended to be a "cool guy".

The two looked at each other for a second, and suddenly couldn't help laughing. The laughter seemed particularly relaxed and happy in the night breeze on the roof. Ned leaned on the edge of the roof and wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes with a smile, "Peter, you know, sometimes complaining with you is really more fun than playing video games."

"Hey, I'm not some 'complaining machine'," Peter said, pretending to be serious. "I'm Spider-Man - this is a serious job."

Ned shrugged, still looking nonchalant, "Yeah, yeah, super serious. But having said that, I have something to tell you."

Peter raised an eyebrow, "Hmm? What is it?"

Ned's expression suddenly became a little mysterious. He moved closer and said in a low voice, "Next week, I will go to...Umbrella to undergo genetic modification."

Peter's eyes widened instantly when he heard this, "What? You're going to Umbrella? For genetic modification?" He seemed not to have fully digested this information.

Ned nodded proudly, put his hands in his pockets, and said mysteriously, "Yes, Peter, I am also going on the road of super powers. I will undergo the transformation next week, and then your friend will no longer be an ordinary person."

Peter was stunned for a few seconds, then smiled and punched Ned's shoulder gently with his fist. "That's great, Ned! You're going to be awesome, I can't wait to see you fly! But... what ability are you going to choose? Flying? Invisibility? Or super strength?"

Ned blinked and said with a mysterious smile, "Hey, well, keep it a secret for now. I don't want to reveal too much to you right now."

"Oh, come on, brother! You've got to give me a hint?" Peter shouted in mock disappointment.

Ned put on a "never tell" look and changed the subject: "But I have already started thinking of a name for our superhero team. 'Spider-Man and...' Can you guess what I should call it?"

Peter smiled and rubbed his forehead. "Oh my god, Ned, you are really a man of action. But I am sure that whatever name you come up with will be very...'interesting'."

Ned smiled smugly. "Right. I'll tell you when I think of it, but it's definitely going to be a cool name." He patted Peter on the back and stood up. "Anyway, Peter, wait and see. A superhero team is about to be born."

Peter smiled helplessly, his heart full of anticipation and curiosity, “Okay, okay, wait for you to become ‘Super Ned’.”