Chapter 188: I'm a Master of Investigation
"Finally relaxed~" After taking off his suit, Peter casually tossed the skin-tight outfit into the corner of the room.
"Mind your image, Peter," Silas said, unable to look. Was this the post-work life of Spider-Man?
Knock, knock, knock! There was a knock at the door.
"Uncle Ben's here!" Seeing his bare state, Peter hurriedly jumped out the window and retreated to his own room.
Click!
"I knew you weren't asleep yet, Silas." Ben Parker walked in with a smile on his face.
"Just getting ready for bed, Uncle Ben. Is something up?" Silas turned around to ask.
"Just wanted to chat. I thought Peter was in here with you." Ben Parker sat down on Silas's bed. He had just gone to Peter's room and found him missing, so he assumed he was with Silas.
"Come on, he can't sit still," Silas joked.
Ben Parker hummed in response. For a moment, he didn't know what to say, so he let his eyes wander around Silas's room.
"Hmm?" Ben's eyes suddenly caught a bundle of red clothing in the corner of the room.
Ben's eyes flickered, and he said, "Silas, I'd like a glass of water. Could you be a dear and grab one for me?"
"Of course, Uncle Ben." Silas's attention was on the table, and he didn't notice anything unusual about Uncle Ben. He stood up quickly and walked out the door.
Rustle!
Watching Silas exit, Ben Parker moved immediately. He walked quickly over to the bundle of red clothes, picked them up, and finally saw exactly what they were.
Feeling the texture of the suit and the spider emblem on the chest, Ben chuckled softly. "Bet you didn't expect this—I, Ben Parker, am still a master of investigation."
"What is this material made of? It's quite elastic. I wonder if the kids' allowance is enough?" Ben Parker set the spider suit back down, doing his best to make it look the way it did before. Having finished, he sat back on the bed calmly, waiting for Silas to bring the water.
Outside the Room
As Silas was walking past Peter's room with a glass of water, Peter's door opened.
"What are you doing with a glass of water?" Peter asked, adjusting the clothes he had just put on.
"You should at least take a shower after changing," Silas sighed. Didn't he feel sticky wearing regular clothes over skin that had just been in that suit?
"I was just about to go, but I thought it might be awkward if I ran into Aunt May midway," Peter explained.
"Go on then. Uncle Ben is in my room right now," Silas said, moving on with the water.
Peter hurried toward the bathroom.
Click!
Silas returned to the room and handed the water to Ben Parker. "Here you go, Uncle Ben."
"Thanks, Silas." Ben Parker took the glass and had a sip.
"I just saw Peter; he should be in the shower," Silas added.
"So that's why I couldn't find him. He was in the bathroom." Ben Parker smiled.
In reality, Ben had been in the bathroom right before coming to Silas's room. Since the bathroom was on the first floor and the boys had to pass the stairs to get there, it was impossible for them not to have run into him if they had gone down normally.
"In that case, I'll head out. Get some sleep, Silas. Goodnight." Ben pushed off his knees to stand up and strolled out slowly.
"Goodnight, Uncle Ben!" Silas called out after him.
Ben Parker closed the door.
"Time for sleep. There's a lot to be busy with." Just as Silas was about to lie down, the Black Shadow Corps appeared before him.
"What do you guys want?" Silas asked.
Without a word, the ninjas took the mattress off the bed, stored it in the Shadow Realm, and laid out a fresh one for him before vanishing back into the shadows.
"What loyal servants," Silas remarked. He flopped onto the bed, ready to sleep. He had school tomorrow, after all.
Inside a Skyscraper
"Get that useless fool out of there." The speaker was massive, exuding the powerful aura of a high-ranking ruler. This man was the Emperor of the Underworld—Kingpin!
"Yes, sir!" a subordinate replied.
Kingpin stroked his scepter, muttering to himself, "Daredevil... Spider-Man... two little red bugs."
"I want the true identities of these two red bugs." Kingpin tapped his scepter against the thick floor, producing a crisp sound.
"We'll get right on it!" the subordinate said hurriedly.
"Silas! Peter! Wake up, or you'll be late!" Ben Parker called out to the floor above while Aunt May helped him with his tie.
Thump, thump, thump! The sound of hurried footsteps down the stairs echoed. The Parker brothers came down while still getting dressed.
"Didn't hear the alarm, boys?" Ben Parker walked over and playfully rubbed their faces.
"We heard it, Uncle Ben. Didn't it just go off?" Peter said, rubbing his sore face.
Silas, meanwhile, was slumped on the table like a salted fish. "So sleepy..."
He had intended to go to bed early, but one toss and turn led his hand to the game console. Once he touched it, he remembered how a tiny mistake had led to a 'Game Over' against a boss. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, so he climbed out of bed for a new round of combat.
"Silas~ were you staying up late again?" Ben Parker pinched Silas's shoulder.
"No, no," Silas denied quickly. "How could I stay up late? I just had some insomnia last night."
"Insomnia?" Ben asked. "Are you feeling unwell?"
"Give it a rest, Uncle Ben. Silas was playing games; I heard the noise from his room." Peter ratted him out immediately.
Last night, just as Peter was about to sleep, he heard a commotion next door. He flipped through the window into Silas's room and found him gaming in the middle of the night. What was worse, Silas even invited him to join. Peter obviously refused; he'd been busy all night and needed sleep for school.
"Silas!" Ben Parker shouted.
Silas was prepared; he covered his ears and glared at Peter, the look clearly saying: You're dead.
Ten minutes later...
"Take it easy, Silas, Peter," Aunt May called out after them.
"Don't worry, Aunt May!" Silas said with a grin, pulling Peter out the door.
On the Street
"I just thought I should be a good kid, Silas," Peter chuckled nervously.
"That's fine. I've decided to be a bad kid," Silas said, pinching Peter's cheek through gritted teeth.
"Mm! The bus... is here!" Peter saw the bus coming like a savior.
"Get on!" Silas finally let go and waved the bus down.
On the Bus
As soon as they boarded, they saw an old acquaintance: Flash Thompson. When Flash saw Peter, he immediately turned toward the window, clutching a newspaper.
"Oh, look, there are seats." Peter didn't care about Flash at all. Now that he was Spider-Man, his past issues with Flash had vanished; as long as Flash didn't bother him, he was fine.
Flash spread open the newspaper. Inside was a report about Spider-Man.
"So cool... Spider-Man. Truly my idol." Flash swore to himself that if he ever got superpowers, he'd be just like Spider-Man—and he'd definitely ask for an autograph.
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