After their conversation, Peter had a new understanding of Marcus's strength. He learned from Marcus that spider-sense couldn't always give him advance warning. Even with superpowers, he couldn't underestimate anyone—especially people with special abilities like Marcus.
Understanding this crucial point, Peter began training his abilities to make his senses sharper.
As for Marcus, he took a completely different approach. He spent his time buried in the library, researching nuclear energy. While Howard and Tony had given him some understanding of nuclear physics, he still needed to improve if he wanted to participate in Dr. Otto's nuclear experiment demonstration.
The good news was that his experience with advanced tech like amplitude crystals gave him an edge. This nuclear energy research, still in its early stages, wasn't too challenging for him.
It didn't take long for him to absorb the knowledge he needed.
After getting a solid foundation and combining it with his previous nuclear energy knowledge, Marcus had developed a decent understanding of the field.
Closing the last page of his book, Marcus leaned back in his chair. All this studying was just to get a ticket to the main event.
With a sigh, Marcus got up and returned the books to their shelves. As long as he could get those tickets, Marcus wasn't too worried. After all, he had ways to get what he needed.
Just as he finished putting the books back, Marcus noticed Peter walking into the library. These days, they mostly met here. The combat guidance Marcus had been giving made Peter—who usually relied on brute force and wild attacks—start to develop actual fighting technique under Marcus's instruction.
"You're still here!"
Peter dropped his backpack, pulled a book from the shelf, and flipped through it before asking.
"Where else would I be?" Marcus smiled back.
"Did you get that ticket for me?"
While the ticket wasn't absolutely necessary, Marcus still wanted to witness Dr. Otto's transformation into Doctor Octopus firsthand. After all, he'd only seen it in movies before. Now he could watch a legendary supervillain's origin story in person.
"Of course! Dr. Otto thinks highly of me!"
Peter pulled a pass from his backpack and waved it a few times.
"That's pretty efficient!"
Taking the pass from Peter, Marcus nodded with satisfaction. Soon he'd meet Spider-Man's most classic opponent—Doctor Octopus.
Before Marcus headed to see Dr. Otto's demonstration, Peter felt he had to give him a warning about Otto's research.
The two exchanged a few more words before leaving the library together. Marcus already had a solid enough understanding of nuclear energy. While it wasn't expert-level, it was enough to have meaningful conversations with Dr. Otto.
On his way back to the hotel, a group of people with hostile intentions appeared in Marcus's perception—and one of them was actually familiar.
"This guy got released already?"
Looking at the shifty homeless man in the distance, Marcus's mouth curved into a slight smile. This was his first time encountering gangster revenge. After all, most of his previous opponents had been dealt with permanently.
Observing the group's power level, Marcus felt slightly amused. With a light tap of his finger, he activated a tiny void portal and caught some falling leaves in his hand.
For ordinary people like these, he didn't plan to use much power. These leaves would be enough to give them a small lesson.
The homeless man hiding in the distance now had a resentful expression on his face. If Marcus hadn't interfered that day, he might have escaped instead of being dragged to the police station for a two-week stay.
"Boss Wild Dog, that's him! The day I got caught, I saw tons of cash in his pocket—had to be at least two inches thick."
Two inches thick meant Marcus was carrying at least ten thousand dollars.
"Alright, once we get that guy's money, I'll let you join the Dog Gang." Wild Dog looked at the thugs around him. "Everyone listen up—drive that guy into the alley, then we'll make our move."
Even though they were gangsters, they were still bottom-feeders. Even their boss wouldn't choose to fight cops openly in New York.
Their threatening appearance scared many people. When civilians saw these thugs, they immediately chose to keep their distance. After all, not everyone could escape danger unharmed.
But these guys really weren't enough to worry Marcus. Still, he didn't choose to act yet—he didn't have much going on lately anyway, so he might as well see what these guys were planning.
Marcus kept walking. Before long, a guy covered in tattoos ran straight into him, throwing a hard punch toward Marcus's stomach, trying to force him into the nearby alley.
"Good strength, but your massage technique needs work!"
Marcus commented casually, then grabbed the thug's shoulder, gave his hand a slight shake, and tossed the guy into the alley.
Since these guys wanted to drive him into the alley anyway, he might as well help them out. Marcus walked straight into the alley himself.
Seeing Marcus enter the alley on his own, the other gangsters got excited. They hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. It even looked like the other guy had started the fight, so if cops showed up, they'd have an excuse.
Marcus had no idea what these guys were thinking—he just wanted to see what they were capable of.
The thug he'd thrown into the alley was now lying in a pile of garbage, feeling like several bones in his body were broken. The pain made him terrified. The other guy didn't look much stronger than him, but had turned him into this mess with just one hand.
Could this guy have mastered some kind of mysterious fighting technique?