The beautiful scene Red Guardian imagined—a family reunion with tearful embraces—did not happen.
Natasha moved away with a look of disgust.
Yelena was even more direct, jabbing an elbow into Red Guardian's chest:
"Fake! You're nothing but an impostor! Don't think I've forgotten who was the one that brought us back to this loathsome country!"
Only Red Guardian's 'wife,' Melina Vostokoff, winked at him.
The meaning was clear: the irresponsible father still had a lot of work to do.
...
With Natasha's personal issues resolved, Peter finally welcomed a long-awaited period of peaceful life.
Over the next week, he spent almost all his time busy with the Parker Foundation's affairs.
Because he was the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and his father-in-law was the future Mayor of New York City, the foundation's establishment faced no obstacles.
Though previously unheard of, the foundation had ample funding thanks to generous donations from Parker Tech, Oscorp, and Stark Industries.
Uncle Ben and Aunt May finally had a place where they could put their value to use.
The elderly couple now practically wanted to live at the foundation twenty-four hours a day.
Despite a heavy daily workload, there wasn't a trace of fatigue on their faces; instead, they looked radiant, as if they had grown ten years younger.
As for Peter himself, after finishing the foundation's setup, he stepped back onto a school campus for the first time in a long while.
That's right—he, Gwen, Felicia, and Harry had all been admitted to Empire State University.
The trio of Peter and his friends, along with Harry and his girlfriend, were inseparable every day, attending classes, going on dates, and enjoying campus life filled with the breath of youth.
Sif and Daisy hadn't forgotten Peter either; the two women would occasionally send messages to share their lives with him.
One frequently complained about Earth's excessive red tape, while the other shared her training progress with Peter every day.
Daisy was now among the top performers in the Agent training camp; it wouldn't be long before she grew into an elite Agent capable of standing on her own.
Peter also planned to give her the terrigen crystal when the time came.
Additionally, it's worth mentioning...
Yelena would also occasionally send Peter some strange photos, always captioned: "I'm much better looking than my sister."
Peter said nothing, simply taking screenshots and sending them to Natasha, sitting back to watch the two sisters bicker whenever they had time.
Peaceful times flew by, and in the blink of an eye, another half-month had passed.
After class today, Peter was about to ask Gwen and Felicia to go see a movie, hoping to find an opportunity after the film to test whether a triangle truly possesses stability.
But just then, the multi-functional watches on his and Gwen's wrists suddenly vibrated.
The two exchanged a look and immediately went to a secluded spot to open their watches.
Felicia felt quite helpless about this... who told her to be Black Cat instead of a member of the Spider family!
The moment the watch connected, a virtual projection popped up. Punk Spider-Man's distinctive black face appeared before them, his expression more solemn than ever before:
"Boss, something's happened."
"Otto Parker's research had a breakthrough recently, allowing us to more accurately pinpoint the coordinates of those the hunter."
"Just yesterday, we conducted an exploratory crossover, and then... we actually ran into a hunter."
Hearing this, Gwen and Peter looked at each other, both reading a hint of curiosity in the other's eyes:
"How is the situation?"
"Much worse than we imagined."
There was a faint, imperceptible tremble in Punk Spider-Man's voice:
"The opponent killed a Spider-Man right in front of us."
"That monster... he really can drain power from a Spider-Man. When we saw him, he was clearly covered in wounds, but once he finished absorbing that Spider-Man, all the wounds on his body healed!"
"Furthermore, his strength is exaggerated."
"There was only one of him, but... but we were completely outmatched! That guy's strength is staggering, his speed is ridiculously fast, and the most terrifying thing is..."
At this point, Punk Spider-Man's voice paused before he spoke again with a heavy face:
"Our Spider-Sense completely failed in front of him!"
Hearing this, Gwen's expression couldn't help but change.
As Ghost-Spider, she knew all too well what Spider-Sense meant to a Spider-Man!
Without Spider-Sense, the various attributes of the Spider-Men wouldn't be much different from villains like Dr. Lizard.
It was precisely because of the existence of a miraculous power like Spider-Sense that Spider-Men were often able to turn defeat into victory in battle.
In the silence, it was Peter who spoke up:
"So what is your situation now? Is anyone injured?"
"Three Spider-Men are down to their last breath. If Otto Parker hadn't opened the portal in time, they probably wouldn't have made it back alive."
"Now, the equipment has detected another hunter appearing in the Universe designated Earth-1261. We... need your strength."
Peter's eyebrows quirked, and a long-suppressed excitement clearly flickered in his eyes.
To be honest, after living these peaceful days for so long, his hands were indeed itching for some action.
He instinctively looked at Gwen beside him, and Gwen gave him a sweet smile, casually tossing away the movie tickets in her hand:
"Fighting is much more interesting than watching a movie."
Peter gave her a kiss on the cheek, then spoke to Punk Spider-Man, who had just been inexplicably stuffed with a face full of 'Cringe':
"Send me the coordinates."
...
Light and shadow flickered as Peter and Gwen arrived once again at the Spider Alliance headquarters.
Peter first used the horse talisman to heal the three dying Little Spiders, then quickly determined the members for this mission's squad.
For this operation, Peter only intended to take four people.
Gwen, Otto Parker, Punk Spider-Man, and Number One Good Neighbor.
"Let's head out."
With Peter's command, a portal opened, and the five of them stepped together into the passage leading to an unknown Universe.
Earth-1261—this was a World with a somewhat cyberpunk style.
On the streets of New York here, a man over two hundred and thirty centimeters tall, as burly as a black bear but dressed in classical noble attire, was currently clutching a Cyber Spider-Man by the neck with one hand as if he were slaughtering a chicken.
Half of this Spider-Man's body was composed of machinery.
At this moment, his mechanical limbs had been torn into a pile of parts on the ground, and the wires on his body were still constantly throwing off sparks.
The little bit of flesh he had left was an even more gruesome sight, bloody and mangled all over.
He was breathing weakly, trying to make a final deathbed struggle, but this last counterattack seemed utterly laughable to the opponent.
Just as the large man opened his bloody maw, aiming for the Cyber Spider-Man's carotid artery...
Suddenly, his movements froze.
Because a spatial portal was slowly opening in front of him.
The noble brute stared blankly at the five people who had delivered themselves to his door, his gaze finally fixing on Peter, who wasn't wearing any Battle Suit. An unprecedented light suddenly erupted in his crimson eyes!