The gang war at the pier didn't affect most New York residents' daily lives. Even though the pier battle hadn't been reported in major news outlets, it just gave New Yorkers something new to talk about.
However, this didn't include Dr. Otto and Peter, who had inspected the scene. They both knew this wasn't something ordinary people could accomplish—unless they weren't human, or had access to special technology.
"...The incident occurred at an abandoned pier in New York. Most of the time, this location is used as a warehouse. Relevant experts believe this was a firefight caused by competition between gangs. However, experts could not provide a definitive explanation for how this bent metal sphere was formed..."
Watching the TV reporters at the scene, Dr. Otto spoke angrily.
"It must be those guys who stole my mechanical tentacles!"
As the creator of the mechanical tentacles, he knew better than anyone that they could not only resist heat and magnetic attraction, but also possessed tremendous strength. The four mechanical arms could easily lift nearly a hundred tons. Creating that metal sphere would be simple for the mechanical tentacles—barely requiring any effort at all.
"Alright, Dr. Otto, at worst we'll make new mechanical tentacles. Our current goal is developing the artificial sun and entering a new era. Let the Osborne Group handle this kind of thing!"
Harry said with a smile. While the mechanical tentacles were valuable, whether the Osborn Group could restart depended entirely on the artificial sun.
Hearing this, Dr. Otto calmed down. Compared to his life's work on the artificial sun, the mechanical tentacles that merely assisted the experimental process were indeed insignificant.
"Then I'll leave it to them. The artificial sun project must never fail."
Dr. Otto threw himself back into research. Harry turned to look at Peter, spread his hands, and smiled. He'd long grown used to dealing with research fanatics like Otto.
"Peter, what are your plans next?"
"Me?" Peter thought for a moment. Dr. Otto's next research phase wouldn't need much help from him, so this was a perfect opportunity to train his fighting skills. "I recently met a fighting instructor. Want to come along?"
The fighting instructor Peter referred to was Marcus. Over the past few days, he and Marcus had become quite familiar, and Marcus often gave him guidance.
"Fighting instructor? Is he any good?"
Harry looked at Peter curiously. As heir to the Osborn Group, he had vast wealth and could even invite world boxing champions to teach him personally. He was curious about what level of fighting instructor Peter was talking about.
"His fighting ability is incredible. After this period of training, I think I could even go out and be like Spider-Man."
Peter casually revealed his other identity. After all, everyone knew he was an avid Spider-Man fan, just like their classmate Flash Thompson.
"Really? How do you think you'd compare to Flash?" Harry asked curiously.
As the school bully, Flash always liked picking on the seemingly harmless Peter. It could even be said that Peter had few friends at school besides Harry.
"Flash? If he still bullies me like before, I'll give him a serious beating!"
Peter raised his fist and shook it in front of Harry, his face full of confidence.
His performance sparked Harry's curiosity. He really wanted to meet this guy who'd given Peter so much confidence.
"You seem very confident. Then lead the way—let me see who this person really is."
"Why isn't the little spider coming today?"
Marcus sat casually on the steel beams of the abandoned warehouse. It would take some time before Wild Dog showed any results, so he was genuinely bored here.
As he spoke, two figures appeared within his perception range.
"Did this kid bring a friend?"
Marcus got up from the steel beam and looked toward the warehouse entrance with interest, waiting for the two to arrive.
Soon after, Peter walked in with Harry, both of them looking around for signs of Marcus.
"Where's this instructor you mentioned? Besides various abandoned containers, there doesn't seem to be anything here, right?" Harry asked.
"He's definitely here—I always come at this time!"
Peter said quietly, also searching everywhere for Marcus's shadow.
Watching the two focus intently on looking for him, Marcus's figure flashed and appeared behind them.
"You two, are you looking for me?"
Marcus's voice suddenly sounded, startling both young men.
"Ah! There you are. Let me introduce you—this is my friend Harry. You should have met him at Dr. Otto's laboratory."
Peter calmed down while introducing Marcus.
"I know him—the heir to the Osborn Group. Hello, little Osborn. Just call me Marcus."
Marcus looked at Harry with a knowing smile. This guy was also a tragic figure—or rather, he and his father were both tragic.
His father Norman had been forced to conduct human enhancement experiments on himself to secure military contracts and save the Osborn Group's financial situation. The untested enhancement drug had given him a split personality, turning him into the extremely evil Green Goblin who destroyed Osborn's board of directors.
Their battle had ended with Norman being killed by his own weapon in a sneak attack. And Harry would eventually discover Peter's identity, leading to their own conflict.
"A rich guy like you shouldn't need to learn fighting skills, right?"
"Of course not." Harry nodded. "But Peter said that under your training, he feels like he's becoming Spider-Man. I want to try it too."
While Harry spoke, Peter smiled nervously at Marcus. His identity couldn't be revealed, and he hoped Marcus would help keep this secret.
"Spider-Man? That guy who swings around all day?" Marcus raised his eyebrows and smiled, patting Harry's shoulder heavily. "While I can't make you swing like that little spider in New York, I can make your fighting skills better than his. To be honest, that little spider's fighting technique is worse than street thugs. If you had his strength, it's hard to say who would win."
Hearing Marcus's words, Peter couldn't help feeling ashamed. He wanted to argue with Marcus, but he knew what Marcus said was true—his fighting skills really were terrible. Even Flash Thompson could bully him at school.
Harry didn't know about Peter's thoughts. Now that Marcus had sparked his interest, he was ready to learn fighting skills that supposedly could defeat Spider-Man at equal strength levels.