The Green Goblin's machine gun roared relentlessly, trying to bring the Vulture down in one fell swoop. But the Vulture, with his masterful skills and formidable strength, dodged every attack and even managed to counterattack.
The Green Goblin's glider couldn't fly as high as the Vulture, making it difficult to attack from below.
Suddenly, the Vulture swooped down, his laser gun's beam striking the Green Goblin's machine gun and instantly destroying it. The Green Goblin's expression darkened; he knew he was facing a formidable opponent.
Seizing the opportunity, the Vulture launched a dive attack straight at the Green Goblin. Just as he was about to succeed, the Green Goblin vanished from his position, leaving the Vulture to crash into empty air.
When the Green Goblin reappeared, a gleaming dagger was in his hand. He lunged at the Vulture, the blade flashing with a cold light that made the Vulture break out in a cold sweat.
But at that moment, the Green Goblin abruptly halted his attack. His gaze toward the Vulture was filled with surprise and confusion.
It turned out the Vulture had used a special function of his flight suit to narrowly escape death at the last moment.
The Green Goblin stared coldly at the Vulture. "It seems you're not entirely useless." He holstered his machine gun and sheathed his dagger. "Since you have some skill, I'll give you a chance. Follow me."
With that, the Green Goblin steered his glider away.
The Vulture let out a long breath and followed behind. He knew that if the battle had lasted any longer, he would have been forced to flee for his life.
His energy was nearly depleted, so securing cooperation with the Green Goblin was a preliminary step toward achieving his goals.
***
Chen Ye brought Doctor Octopus to a small villa, a former residence of a pair of illegal operators. Now, it had become Chen Ye's trophy for ridding the world of evil.
After some cleaning, the place looked neat and tidy.
Chen Ye placed Doctor Octopus in an empty room and closed his eyes nearby, meditating on his next course of action.
During this time, Chen Ye had confirmed that the Doctor Octopus before him was from another universe. Using Observation Haki, he sensed four or five similar energy signatures.
This reminded him of the plot in *Spider-Man 3* from his previous life, where villains from various Spider-Man Universes crossed dimensions to eliminate Spider-Man.
The difference was that in this universe, Peter Parker hadn't even made his Spider-Man suit yet.
His Uncle Ben was still alive and hadn't uttered the classic line, "With great power comes great responsibility."
With Peter's current strength, he couldn't even defeat Doctor Octopus, let alone other villains.
If Chen Ye hadn't intervened in this universe, there would be no superheroes, and Spider-Man would undoubtedly be killed.
The future of this universe would be filled with darkness and terror, as the villains would run rampant with their evil deeds.
Chen Ye's top priority was to identify the remaining villains who had come to this universe and eliminate them.
This should perfectly resolve the mission and allow him to return home.
Besides, some of them could be won over. When it came to the villains of the Spider-Man Universe, Chen Ye couldn't help but laugh. They were mostly highly intelligent individuals who insisted on experimenting on themselves.
Either they were controlled by their own inventions, transformed into lizardmen, or simply lost control of their creations.
But these highly intelligent individuals were exactly the kind of talent Hell's Kitchen lacked. Chen Ye wasn't afraid of their reckless inventions.
No matter how the inventors tinkered, Chen Ye had the ability to prevent their creations from spiraling out of control.
Two hours later,
Doctor Octopus slowly woke up in bed and struggled to sit up. He was surprised to find his mechanical arms were gone. Tentatively, he felt his neck.
He discovered his neck was perfectly smooth, with no trace of the mechanical arms having been connected there.
Doctor Octopus's eyes widened. He slapped himself across the face and felt the sharp pain.
He muttered to himself, "Could everything that happened before have been a dream? Could it be that I was never controlled by the mechanical arms at all?"
Just then, a voice echoed in the room: "You're not dreaming. A distinguished professor like you, controlled by mechanical arms? That's truly embarrassing."
Doctor Octopus turned to see Chen Ye leaning against the wall. "My name is Chen Ye," he said slowly. "If I'm not mistaken, you don't belong to this universe, do you?"
"As for how I helped you break free from the control, you might not understand, but it was child's play for me."
Doctor Octopus's pupils widened. He hadn't expected Chen Ye to know he wasn't from this universe, let alone be able to help him.
"You're not from this universe either! Where is this place? Why am I here? Didn't I die?" A flood of questions raced through his mind.
"That's right. The difference is that I came here willingly, while you were brought here against your will. As for why you're all here... perhaps you have a common enemy?" Chen Ye left the question hanging.
"Who's there?!" Doctor Octopus demanded, his voice trembling with excitement.
"Spider-Man, Peter Parker," Chen Ye replied slowly.
"Peter?!" Doctor Octopus's face twisted in disbelief.
"That's right, Peter. The one you know. To put it simply, you've traveled back in time!" Chen Ye confirmed.
Upon hearing this, Doctor Octopus sprang to his feet, his eyes burning with anticipation and anxiety. "So you mean... there's a me and my wife in this universe too?"
His mind raced with complex emotions. He feared that his counterpart and his wife in this universe might suffer the same tragic fate as in his own, and he felt an urgent need to prevent it.
"Don't worry. The Spider-Man of this universe has only just been born. It'll be a long time before you complete the invention that causes the tragedy," Chen Ye reassured him.
Afterward, Chen Ye explained the concept of parallel universes to Doctor Octopus and revealed why he had saved him.
As Doctor Octopus listened to Chen Ye's explanation, he realized that Peter Parker was the key to protecting this universe from destruction. He never imagined he was merely a stepping stone in Peter's journey.
"Thank you for saving me," Doctor Octopus said sincerely. "When this is over, I'm willing to return to your universe with you. I have little left to tie me to this one. You can have this old life of mine."
After all, he was now a lonely man, his only remaining concerns being his counterpart and wife in this universe. Saving them would be his greatest wish and greatest comfort.
Once the crisis was resolved, Doctor Octopus was willing to join Chen Ye's team as repayment for saving his life.
He also had a selfish motive. Following Chen Ye might allow him to travel through parallel universes, saving more of his alternate selves and their wives.
For a physics doctor, the ability to freely traverse spacetime was an irresistible temptation.
Chen Ye was touched by Doctor Octopus's words.
He understood the man's determination and hope, so he nodded, agreeing to help him fulfill his wish.
A notification popped up on Chen Ye's system interface:
Congratulations, Host! Otto Gunther Octavius has become your friend.
...
Congratulations, Host! Otto Gunther Octavius's friendship level is now at maximum.