He Was Bitten by a Bug

"Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack…"

A rapid series of impacts rang out from the special training ground inside Little Rainforest. Two teenage figures darted and shifted across the field, fighting at high speed.

The older one was eighteen or nineteen, taking the offensive. His fists and kicks flowed with practiced mastery, dazzling the eye.

The younger one was fifteen or sixteen, incredibly agile, with reaction speed that was almost unbelievable. Still, despite already being quite impressive, his disastrous lack of combat experience and technique compared to his opponent kept the fight evenly matched.

"Stop!"

The two figures leaped apart and stood still, bowing to each other. Then the younger one plopped down on the ground, panting heavily.

"Hey! Not bad, Peter. Did you take some kind of drug, or did something suddenly click?"

Xu Shangqi took a deep breath, walked to the side of the training ground, picked up two towels, and tossed one to Peter Parker. He wiped his own sweat as well, his face full of astonishment:

"Your stamina, strength, agility, and speed—you’re practically a different person from the last time we trained…

My arms are practically swollen from blocking your attacks!"

He rubbed his arm in frustration, recalling how stifled he had felt earlier.

"In such an intense fight, you actually held on until I ran out of stamina. That’s practically cheating…

I almost feel like I wasted all those years practicing martial arts!"

"Uh… I don’t know what’s going on either…"

Peter Parker wiped the sweat from his forehead. Ever since he had been bitten by that mutated spider last time and fallen into a deep sleep, he had discovered that his body had undergone tremendous changes.

Just as Xu Shangqi had said, his physical abilities had improved across the board. His strength, endurance, agility, speed, jumping ability, and even his defenses had suddenly reached almost superhuman levels.

More importantly, he had not only gained a keen instinct for danger, but also the ability to cling his hands and feet to surfaces and even crawl across ceilings.

Although his clever mind had figured out that it was probably connected to the spider that had bitten him, he had no energy to think about that right now.

His mind was a complete mess. The sudden changes to his body had nearly left him unable to walk properly…

Fortunately, having trained in martial arts with Xu Shangqi for several years allowed him to quickly adapt to the drastic changes in his body. So he had immediately come looking for Xu Shangqi’s help.

Xu Shangqi’s solution was simple—

Sparring.

Intense sparring could help Peter quickly adapt to the sense of disconnection caused by his changed body and further uncover his abilities.

"I think your strength might not even be inferior to Director Steve’s. You may even be faster."

Xu Shangqi sat across from Peter, stroking his chin with a curious look on his face.

"I’ve fought Director Steve before, so I have some authority on that… You didn’t really take the wrong medicine, did you?"

"Uh… maybe I got bitten by a bug?"

Peter gave a wry smile and scratched his head. It sounded pretty cool when put that way, but he was not some clueless ordinary high school student.

Right now, he was in a rainforest created by a magical miracle.

Many of the people he had met here possessed special abilities.

There was Dr. Oaks, the Druid who could transform into animals and cast magic; Director Steve, the Super Soldier who had been injected with serum; Dr. Banner, who turned into a big green guy whenever he got angry; an invisible cat; a dog that could heal; and, oh yeah, Husky, who could fire energy cannons.

He had heard that there were other people with special abilities at the Avengers base as well.

Even Xu Shangqi across from him was a terrifying guy who could make Captain America feel ashamed purely through fighting technique…

So when he had suddenly become like them and gained special abilities, it seemed like… his sense of belonging to this organization had grown even stronger!

"I think I should ask the Chairman what’s going on."

Peter finally caught his breath. Although his stamina had skyrocketed, being suppressed by Shangqi in terms of fighting technique had forced him to expend several times as much energy just to avoid losing.

But accordingly, after exhausting his stamina, he recovered exceptionally quickly.

"Ring ring ring…"

Just as Shangqi was about to speak, the phone placed nearby began ringing.

He scratched his head, got up, and walked over. Picking up the phone, he waved it at Peter.

"See? The moment you mention the Chairman, the Chairman calls me…"

"The Chairman… what?!"

Shangqi froze, his mouth gradually falling open.

After a long while, he finally lowered the phone blankly.

Peter ran over to him curiously.

"What’s wrong? What did the Chairman tell you? He doesn’t know about what happened to me and want you to take me over there, does he? You’re so shocked, could it be…"

Peter’s imagination ran wild, and his face turned shocked.

"Could it be that the Chairman has finally turned into a mad scientist and wants to dissect me?!"

"…What nonsense are you thinking?!"

Shangqi snapped out of it after Peter’s stream of nonsense. He rolled his eyes with an odd expression.

"The Chairman doesn’t know about your situation yet, but he found information about my family… I’m going to see him now. I’ll tell him about your situation later."

"Oh… your family?"

Peter’s eyes lit up, gossip blazing within him.

"Didn’t you say you ran away from home? Did your dad finally find you? He’s not going to drag you back, is he? Oh right, I heard your country used to have customs of early marriage. You’re considered an adult now, so your dad isn’t some old-fashioned fossil trying to drag you back to get married, is he? Could there be a girlfriend back in your hometown who’s been waiting for you all this time? A childhood betrothal? Or a child bride… mmph mmph mmph!"

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Veins bulged on Shangqi’s forehead, and he had no choice but to reach out and cover Peter’s mouth—

This kid was not only a super chatterbox, but also a quick-witted imagination monster!

Damn it, now he could not even knock him out cleanly and efficiently. A chatterbox imagination monster with superpowers—who could stand that?

"There’s nothing like that!"

He looked at his phone, where an email had arrived.

"The Chairman… found information about my little sister."

Nature Guardian, conference room. Xu Shangqi met with Chairman Oaks.

"Chairman."

Xu Shangqi respectfully bowed to Oaks.

By now, Xu Shangqi had completed all his high school credits and could apply to university. In other words, he could be considered a high school graduate.

Aside from his own considerable intelligence, Peter’s tutoring had contributed greatly to that.

At the Benevolence Society, he had also become one of the young generation’s core members and was responsible for matters involving cooperation with schools.

Previously, when Secretary-General Zhang Shuren had gone to China to lead the Asia Branch, Oaks had asked him about it. But after hesitating, he had still given up on going to China with Zhang.

But this time, things were different.

"You’ve already read the information. What do you think?"

Oaks motioned for Shangqi to sit down.

"Your father’s influence is no small matter… Not only in China, but elsewhere in the world as well, he is not someone to be underestimated.

And it appears that neither you nor your sister ever escaped his watchful eye—

The information indicates that he should already know you’re in my Benevolence Society, yet he has never made any move… That does fit the pattern of certain great families tempering their descendants."

"I… don’t know what’s going on."

Xu Shangqi took a deep breath and shook his head in confusion. His father knew about him, yet had done nothing?

But now was not the time to dwell on that!

"I don’t know what my father is thinking, but how old is my sister?"

Xu Shangqi clenched his fists, his expression grave.

"Lingling actually went alone to such a chaotic place as Macau, and Dad knew yet did nothing to stop her… That’s too much!"

"You never mentioned having a younger sister before."

Oaks’s expression became strange.

"And weren’t you even younger than your sister when you left the country? You even ran all the way to the other side of the world. All I can say is that you two really are siblings…

But how is your relationship with her? Did you tell her when you ran away?"

"We’re very close…"

Xu Shangqi blurted it out, then suddenly froze.

After a long moment, he covered his face dejectedly.

"But when I ran away, I lied to her and told her I’d be back in three days…"

"…"

Oaks’s mouth twitched as he earnestly lectured the young man before him.

"Even though she’s your sister, that behavior of yours perfectly fits the definition of a ‘scumbag.’"

"…"

Xu Shangqi looked like he was about to cry.

"Chairman, I… I didn’t think that much at the time. But Lingling is alone in Macau now, and she could be in danger. Could you… could you have Brother Zhang bring her to the Benevolence Society?"

"Of course she can come to the Benevolence Society, but for a girl with that much personality, I don’t think Zhang can handle her."

Oaks spread his hands, looking helpless.

"This is something you need to resolve yourself.

If you don’t show up, even if Zhang can handle her, on what grounds would he go?

The information also says that your sister’s martial arts skills are far from ordinary. If we send someone from here who can handle her, it could cause an international dispute—

And I absolutely will not allow members to be brought here by kidnapping."

"Uh…"

Xu Shangqi froze for a while, remembering that detail.

"That’s strange. My dad clearly told me he wouldn’t teach Lingling martial arts…"

"Heh, with that girl’s temperament, even if your father didn’t teach her, she probably wouldn’t have stayed obedient."

Oaks smiled. He had heard this sort of story countless times; it was perfectly normal.

"Besides, I remember that when you joined the Benevolence Society, we made an agreement."

"…Yes, Chairman."

Xu Shangqi’s gaze sharpened as he took a deep breath.

"I… have not forgotten."

"Mm… when you turn eighteen, go back to China and have a proper talk with your father. If you don’t dare go, I’ll take you."

Oaks supported his chin with one hand while the fingers of his other hand tapped the table.

"Your father’s identity is also far from simple… And your hometown seems to be in Hunan as well. For the development of our Asia Branch, I’ll have to personally pay him a visit."

He looked into Xu Shangqi’s eyes.

"I can’t leave during this year’s Spring Festival. If you’re worried about your sister, we can go to Macau after the holiday."

"…Please, Chairman!"

Xu Shangqi fell silent for a long time before finally making up his mind.

Then, he remembered something.

"Oh, right, Chairman. It seems something happened to Peter…"

"What?"

"He was bitten by a bug."

"…"