#15 - Spider-Man Origins

Yang Le and Gwen were not far from the biology exhibition area, and within a few minutes, they arrived in front of a bunch of glass display cases.

"Wow!" Gwen looked at the various strange animals and plants in front of her with surprise. "It feels like I'm watching 'Evolution'."

"I didn't know you even watched old movies from 2001, Ms. Trendsetter," Yang Le teased Gwen, who always mocked him for being old-fashioned.

"That's because I have to take care of the old antique's feelings. Your lonely expression when no one responds to your old jokes reminds me of the old people in public service advertisements."

Faced with the teasing, Miss Gwen's counterattacks were always sharp. Seeing Yang Le raise his hands in surrender, Gwen smiled triumphantly.

Amidst the banter, Gwen and Yang Le strolled to the front of several mini display cases. A tour guide machine in front of the display cases was constantly playing a video introduction.

"To date, approximately 42,751 species of spiders have been discovered in the world..."

"Look at these little guys." Gwen approached the display case with interest. "They look beautiful, don't they?"

"I didn't expect you to be interested in these things." Yang Le leaned close to Gwen, looking surprised. "Most girls don't like these."

"Gwen Stacy isn't a typical girl." Gwen glanced at him proudly. "What? Is the old man afraid of these?"

Yang Le smiled noncommittally. Gwen ignored him and continued to admire the spiders.

While observing the spiders, Gwen quickly noticed an unusual one.

This spider was covered in fine yellow fluff, with two slender red stripes on its abdomen. Its eight legs were composed of three colors: red where they connected to the body, yellow in the middle, and purple at the ends, making it look very enchanting.

"Experiment 65B?" Gwen read the label in front of the display case. The labels in front of the other display cases stated the spider's species, but this one didn't.

"Habit, do you know this kind of spider?" Gwen looked at Yang Le, only to find him looking around, searching for something. "Habit, what are you looking for?"

"Oh, I'm looking for Peter. Our bookworm might know what this is," Yang Le explained, turning back.

Of course, Yang Le wasn't looking for Peter because he wanted to know the spider's species. The big 'Experiment' label was a clear indicator of Spider-Man's origin. So, where was our protagonist?

"Clearly, our bookworm is currently in a gentle embrace, but we have a stronger substitute."

"Uh, what?" Yang Le's mind was full of Spider-Man's origin story, and he didn't immediately understand what Gwen meant.

"The tour guide machine." Gwen pointed to the tour guide machine next to her, saying it word by word.

After speaking, she sighed and walked alone to the tour guide machine to search for information, ignoring the absent-minded Yang Le.

Seeing Gwen looking a little angry, Yang Le quickly walked over to comfort her.

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry isn't enough, Alexei." The man in the coat who had bumped into Yang Le earlier was growling into the phone in the exhibition's restroom. His hand gripping the phone was shaking with excessive force.

"Those big companies never bother to look at us. The so-called apology is just a notice that we've been kicked aside. My results are being taken over by them, and you participated in the experiment but didn't get your reward. We're always just pawns in their hands."

"I know, Adrian." Alexei gritted his teeth, his muffled voice like a war drum. "I won't listen to their nonsense again. The plan continues."

"That's right, let's give those high and mighty people a heavy punch." Adrian's tone was strange, with anger mixed with excitement, like a poisonous snake about to drag Adam and Eve into hell.

But his twisted face and prominent hooked nose made him look more like a vulture about to devour a corpse.

Alexei on the other end of the phone didn't reply, but Adrian heard it.

"Boom!" Accompanied by a loud noise and the screams of the crowd, Adrian knew that Alexei had set off, his powerful footsteps making the ground tremble.

"Habit, look, this spider looks very restless." Gwen pointed to Experiment 65B. Unlike the other spiders that were quietly huddled in the corner, 65B seemed to have sensed something and was constantly crawling around in the display case, looking very uneasy.

"Call Mary Jane, Gwen. I think we'd better leave here." Yang Le frowned at the restless 65B. If this spider was indeed that radioactive spider, then it would definitely possess Spider-Man's divine skill—spider-sense, commonly known as Peter-tingling.

"What's happening?" Although Gwen was puzzled, she still took out her phone, but instead of dialing, she waited for Yang Le's explanation.

"I think…"

"Boom!"

Before Yang Le could explain, a huge sound came, even drowning out the chatter of the crowd, followed by earth-shattering tremors.

"Earthquake!"

Someone shouted, and the word was like water dripping into a hot oil pan, and the crowd exploded. With screams, the visitors started running towards the exit.

Display cases were knocked over, equipment was pushed down, and these valuable items fell under the feet of the irrational crowd.

Faced with the surging crowd, Yang Le immediately hugged Gwen and followed the crowd towards the exit.

At this time, you can't be a rebel against the crowd; that's just pure foolishness.

Yang Le, with his sturdy 1.78-meter frame, perfectly protected the petite Gwen, who was around 1.5 meters tall, in his arms.

Resting her head on Yang Le's chest, Gwen could hear Yang Le's strong and powerful heartbeat even in the noisy crowd.

The complacent Gwen didn't notice a small yellow creature crawling up her arm along a spider silk…

Fortunately, the biology exhibition area was not far from the entrance, and Yang Le and Gwen quickly ran out of the exhibition.

The exhibition was surrounded by police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks. Outside the police cordon, a large crowd had gathered.

"Gwen, did Mary Jane answer the phone?" Yang Le asked Gwen, who was on the phone.

"No one's answering." Gwen put down her phone and shook her head. She had called both Peter and Mary Jane, but neither of them answered, indicating that they were both busy and likely still trapped inside the exhibition.

"Gwen, you go to a safe place first."

"You're going to find them? Don't do anything stupid, Habit!" Gwen tried to grab Yang Le, who was turning to go back into the exhibition, but he ran too fast and she didn't catch him.

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon."

"What's wrong, Gwen?"

Gwen was about to chase after him when someone grabbed her. She turned around and saw her father, George Stacy.

"Peter and Mary Jane are inside and haven't come out. Habit just ran in to find them."

Gwen immediately explained the situation clearly and logically.

"That little rascal!" George gritted his teeth and picked up the radio. "Attention, attention, someone has run inside…"

Gwen looked worriedly at the exhibition, not noticing the spider crawling on the back of her hand.