Chapter 340: Playing Ranked All Night Together
"Following a unanimous decision by the school board, all faculty and students will have a one-week break for psychological recuperation. Students with more severe injuries will have their leave determined based on their recovery," the principal announced from the podium, speaking into a microphone.
A week-long break sounded great in theory, but not a single student below showed a smile. The Green Goblin's bombing was too catastrophic; many of their friends had been injured. It would be inhuman to cheer and laugh lightheartedly after such an event.
After the principal and other board members offered a few words of comfort, they left the stage. The students returned to their respective classrooms to pack their bags and head home.
"Goodbye, everyone. See you next week," Ned said as he finished packing first, forcing a small smile before preparing to leave.
"Wait! Ned!" Peter called out.
Ned turned back in confusion. "What is it, Peter? Something wrong?"
"Let's go visit Frieda together tomorrow," Peter said with a gentle smile.
Ned froze. He never expected Peter to suggest that.
"Yeah, Ned. we're all Frieda's friends. We should all go see her," Gwen added, standing up and exchanging a look with Peter.
"Thanks. See you tomorrow then." Ned smiled again, but this time it was a genuine expression of gratitude, not a forced mask.
Watching Ned leave, Peter felt a bit more at ease. The memory of Ned asking him to kill the Green Goblin earlier had truly shaken him.
"Poor Ned," Felicia sighed, shaking her head.
"No, Ned isn't the one to pity. It's Frieda," Silas Parker interjected. The Goblin's bombing had been most intense where the music club was located; while casualties elsewhere were minor, that specific spot was hit the hardest.
"True... I wonder how she's doing now," Felicia mused. She could only imagine that the medical bills would be astronomical.
The four of them packed their bags and left the classroom. Their usual group of six had shrunk to four, and with Ned—the usual mood-maker—missing, it felt like something vital was absent.
Gwen and Peter walked ahead, while Felicia and Silas walked side-by-side behind them.
"What are your plans for this week?" Felicia asked casually.
"Not sure. Maybe I'll try to hit Grandmaster rank. If I can, I might even push for Challenger," Silas replied with his typical 'salted fish' lack of ambition. "I don't really want to do anything else."
"Rank? Are you talking about that super popular game, League of Legends?" Felicia asked, surprised.
"Yeah. You've heard of it?" Silas nodded.
"Of course!" Felicia said proudly. "It's a game from Parker Industries, so I made sure to check it out. I'm actually Platinum rank right now."
"Impressive," Silas said, giving her a small, silent round of applause.
Since he had grown bored of standard consoles, Silas had instructed the Shadow Ninjas to recreate PC games from his past life like League of Legends and CrossFire. Leveraging the influence of Parker Industries, these games quickly became global sensations, generating significant revenue.
"Pretty good, right? Want me to carry you?" Felicia asked, tilting her head up confidently.
Silas's expression didn't flicker. "Do you know what my rank is?"
"Uh... no." Felicia figured it probably wasn't as high as hers.
"I'm just Diamond. Nothing special," Silas said flatly.
"..." Felicia fell silent for a moment before suddenly clinging to Silas like a needy kitten, begging him to carry her through some games over the next few days.
Feeling the weight of the beautiful girl on him, Silas pulled her slender arms away from his neck.
"Fine, but don't feed," Silas said. He didn't want anyone ruining his climb.
"Don't worry, I promise!" Felicia beamed, her smile as refreshing as a spring breeze.
In contrast to their lighthearted banter, the atmosphere between Peter and Gwen was much heavier.
"Ned told me Frieda's condition isn't good. The surgery only has a 10% success rate. That means when we visit tomorrow, we might..." Peter trailed off.
"...I believe Frieda will pull through. Didn't she say she wanted to see Ned lose weight?" Gwen was determined to believe that Frieda would hold on.
"I hope so." As they reached the school gate, they saw Ben Parker waiting anxiously for them.
"See you later," Peter waved to Gwen. She nodded back as Peter climbed into the car.
"Is that Gwen? She's quite the looker. I definitely support you pursuing her," Uncle Ben teased with a grin. Seeing both Peter and Silas safe, the weight on his heart finally lifted.
"Yeah, her name is Gwen Stacy," Peter replied, his face lacking its usual bashfulness.
Uncle Ben noticed something was off. He stopped teasing and asked, "What's wrong? You look terrible."
"It's nothing. Just a classmate I'm on good terms with... she's in the hospital undergoing a surgery with only a 10% chance of success," Peter explained.
"She'll be fine," Uncle Ben said, reaching back to pat Peter's shoulder.
At the school gate, a slightly late Silas said to Felicia, "Uncle Ben is here, I've gotta head out."
"Okay! Remember to carry me in ranked!" Felicia waved happily, feeling that the distance between them had closed just a little bit more.
As soon as Silas got into the car, Uncle Ben stared at him blankly.
"What is it, Uncle Ben?" Silas felt the gaze was a bit odd.
Uncle Ben glanced at Felicia outside the car and then back at Silas. "Who is she?"
"Felicia, a classmate," Silas answered simply.
"You two seem... close." As someone who had been through it all, Uncle Ben could see that the look in Felicia's eyes wasn't just 'classmate' affection.
"Yeah, we get along better than most," Silas said without overthinking it.
"Oh~ I see." Uncle Ben put his hands back on the wheel. "Silas... you know, I used to be quite the lady-killer back in my day. I could share some of my experience with you."
"..." Silas was speechless. How did the conversation turn into 'lady-killer' advice?
The three returned home, and after being comforted by Aunt May, the brothers went up to their rooms. Peter was in a complicated headspace and didn't feel like talking; he stayed in his room staring at the wall, skipping his usual crime-fighting patrol.
Silas, however, heartlessly summoned the Shadow Ninjas to assemble a high-end PC in his room.
"Get online, Felicia. I'm taking you to Platinum I tonight," Silas messaged her.
He opened a three-man queue, inviting Felicia and his Shadow Ninja, 'Big Black.' As for the rank disparity preventing them from queuing? Silas owned the company; he just had the Shadow Ninjas in the back-end tweak his permissions.
"Leave it to me, Master. With me here, we'll definitely climb," Big Shadow said, cracking his knuckles. Silas had discovered that while this ninja lacked talent in other areas, he was a natural at e-sports. Most of Silas's fast climbing was thanks to duo-queuing with him.
Soon, the match began...
Morning
Beep! Beep! Beep! The alarm on the nightstand went off.
Silas heard the alarm and looked toward the window in surprise. Sunlight was streaming in.
"It's morning already?!" Silas looked back and forth between the screen and the window. He hadn't even noticed the time passing while they were playing.
"Felicia, it's 8:00 AM. Let's call it a night—well, a morning. We'll play again later." Silas quickly logged off and shut down the computer.
Big Shadow immediately packed up the PC. "Master, contact me next time you need a carry." With that, he vanished into the Shadow Kingdom with the equipment.
"Sigh..." Silas had intended to sleep before midnight, but the winning streak had kept his adrenaline high. Before he knew it, the sun was up.
After a quick tidy-up, he went to wash his face. Fortunately, with his Spider-Man constitution and the Yin-Yang balance of the Tiger Talisman, he didn't actually need much sleep to function.
"Morning, Peter," Silas said as he stepped out, seeing Peter opening his own door at the same time.
"Morning, Silas," Peter said weakly. He had been up all night thinking, and he looked exhausted.
The Parker brothers went downstairs, had a quick breakfast in the living room, and headed to the park where they had agreed to meet the others. Upon arrival, they saw a familiar, chubby figure sitting there: Ned.
"Hey, Ned!" Peter checked his phone. It was only 8:30, and they weren't supposed to meet until 9:00. Ned had clearly arrived very early, and his face looked haggard.
"Hi... Peter, Silas," Ned greeted them, looking exhausted.
They sat on the bench for a few minutes until Felicia and Gwen arrived.
"Let's head out then," Gwen said.
The group was quiet; it was clear Ned wasn't in the mood for conversation.
In the Car
Felicia sat next to Silas, leaning her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes. Like Silas, she hadn't slept a wink and was exhausted.
Gwen looked around at everyone. It seemed she was the only one who looked rested. Why did everyone else look like they were about to collapse from sleep deprivation?
The car drove all the way to the entrance of the hospital.
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