Inquiry

Spider-Man was so embarrassed he could have dug a hole with his toes—his suit had an audio function, so he had heard the entire conversation between The Amazing Spider-Man and Old Spider-Man.

Spider-Man felt as if he had betrayed the poor.

"Old Tony, I can’t be bothered to waste words with you."

Wang Bert said, "The two Spider-Men, Max, and Lizard Doctor are mine. The rest are yours. If you don’t like it, we can fight."

"Who the hell are you? What do you take us for? Spoils of war?"

Dr. Octopus shouted angrily. The other villains felt the same. Wang Bert glanced at Dr. Octopus and shook his head. "A pitiful man."

Dr. Octopus froze. Just as he was about to lose his temper, a figure identical to him stepped out of his body.

The figure was initially bewildered, but then came to his senses and roared at Dr. Octopus, "Give me back my body! You damned machines, stop controlling my body!"

Dr. Octopus asked in shock and anger, "Who are you?"

"I am Otto Gunther Octavius, Doctor of Nuclear Physics."

As the figure roared, he controlled the mechanical tentacles behind him and smashed them at Dr. Octopus. Dr. Octopus immediately counterattacked. The two identical men began a fierce brawl in the street, overturning vehicles one after another around them.

Everyone was stunned, and a little creeped out. That bald man’s power was far too terrifying, wasn’t it? He had only glanced at Dr. Octopus!

"Mental Projection?"

Old Tony silently took note of Blood God’s ability. Then, he said to Wang Bert, "These people appearing here was most likely Kang the Conqueror’s doing. So I agree to your earlier proposal. The two Spider-Men, Max, and Lizard Doctor are yours. The rest are mine."

Wang Bert nodded. "Fine. Old Tony, be careful. These people are probably only a sign of things to come. Kang the Conqueror’s methods won’t be that simple."

Old Tony said, "Don’t worry. I won’t underestimate any enemy, especially not Kang the Conqueror."

Wang Bert did not waste any more words. He said to the two Spider-Men, Max, and Lizard Doctor, "Come with me to Wakanda. Once we get there, I’ll explain everything properly."

Old Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man glanced at Spider-Man, then nodded. "If Spider-Man is willing to follow you, you must be a good person."

Wang Bert laughed. "Are you flattering yourselves?"

Old Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man both laughed. Max glanced at Wang Bert, transformed into electricity, and fled into the distance. Was this a joke? There were three Spider-Men over there. If he went with them, he would definitely die without even scraps left behind.

Lizard Doctor had the same thought. He ran toward the sewers like a cheetah. That was right—he was the legendary sewer Lizardman.

Wang Bert smiled, flicked his sleeve, and Max and Lizard Doctor vanished at the same time. He had stored them in the small space within his sleeve.

Then, Wang Bert nodded at Old Tony and left New York with the three Spider-Men.

After Wang Bert and the others left, Old Tony looked at Old Green Goblin and the others and said, "Surrender. I’ll find a way to send you back to your universe."

"I never planned on going back."

Naturally, Old Green Goblin and Sandman would not entrust their lives to someone else. They immediately fled outward.

Dr. Octopus wanted to flee as well, but his other self had him tangled up, leaving him no way to escape.

"Stubborn fools. Attack. Casualties don’t matter."

Old Tony spoke coldly. Upon receiving the order, the Drone Armors immediately fired lasers at the villains. Old Green Goblin and the two Dr. Octopuses were taken down in quick succession, leaving only Sandman still fleeing.

Sandman was made of sand, so lasers did little harm to him. Old Tony snorted and used the Space Stone to transfer a massive amount of seawater onto Sandman. Sandman quickly broke apart and reverted to his original form.

Sandman’s weakness was simple: water.

How did Old Tony know? Simple. He had watched the Sacred Timeline.

"Bring them all back. I want to study the energy from their alien universes."

Old Tony gave the order, and the Drone Armors obeyed. Then, Old Tony turned and flew toward the civilians, intending to say a few words, just as he used to.

When the civilians saw Iron Man flying over, they all backed away, their eyes filled with fear.

That was right, fear. Old Tony had first forcibly become president, then violently suppressed protests. In the eyes of the civilians, he had become a Tyrant.

Old Tony fell silent. After a moment, he said, "I will protect you, just as I did before."

With that, Old Tony left with the Drone Armors. The civilians let out huge sighs of relief. Looking in the direction Old Tony had gone, they could not help shaking their heads. Their feelings toward him were complicated. There was fear, but also a certain degree of hope.

Iron Man was, after all, the first Super Hero, and he had saved Earth several times.

In Wakanda, Wang Bert led the three Spider-Men toward a royal villa. Old Spider-Man stared at the mansion ahead, whose roof was made of thatched huts, and looked utterly incredulous. "This design is a little too… abstract, isn’t it?"

Wang Bert smiled. "It’s Wakandan style. Oh, you can take off your masks. No one in this world knows you."

"Oh, right."

The two Spider-Men removed their masks. Old Spider-Man looked somewhat old, while The Amazing Spider-Man was very handsome—the kind who could easily pick up beautiful women just by walking down the street.

"Both of my seniors look so reliable."

Spider-Man felt a little restrained and somewhat inferior. Compared to his two seniors, he had performed terribly. Not long ago, Mysterio had fooled him completely.

The Amazing Spider-Man asked Wang Bert somewhat uncertainly, "Wakanda? Mr. Wang, I’ve heard of this country. Isn’t it some backward country in Africa?"

"That’s right, a backward country that even collects welfare from the United Nations."

Wang Bert smilingly explained Wakanda’s situation. The two Spider-Men finally understood. To be honest, they simply could not comprehend Wakanda’s behavior. It was clearly the strongest nation on Earth, yet it collected United Nations welfare. What kind of thinking was that?

Soon, the four arrived outside a house. As Wang Bert knocked on the door, he said, "Peter Parker’s aunt lives here. Don’t be too surprised."

"Why would we be surprised?"

Old Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man were baffled. At that moment, the door opened, and Aunt May ran out excitedly to hug Spider-Man. "Thank goodness you’re all right! They kept telling me you were carrying out a special mission. You have no idea how worried I was."

Spider-Man felt a little embarrassed and guilty. Although he had called Aunt May before, compared with how much she cared about him, he cared far too little about her.

"That’s Aunt May?"

Old Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man were dumbfounded. Why was Aunt May so young and beautiful? Had something gone wrong somewhere?

"Peter, they’re yours now. Give them a proper introduction to this world."

Wang Bert smiled and said, "Also, to prevent anything from happening to Aunt May, all three of you are staying here for the time being. Don’t leave."

Aunt May released Spider-Man and asked in confusion, "Something happening? What could possibly happen to me? Uh, and who are you?"

"I’m Neighbor Wang."

Wang Bert waved his hand and vanished before everyone’s eyes. Aunt May blinked. Neighbor Wang? What did that mean? Spider-Man scratched his head, unsure whether he should reveal Blood God’s identity—he was afraid of frightening Aunt May. That was the Creator God of a neighboring universe, even if he was a little unserious.

Aunt May did not dwell on it. She turned around and sized up Old Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man, then asked in surprise, "Are you Spider-Man fans? Uh, where did you buy that merchandise? The quality is terrible."

Old Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man were extremely awkward, and so was Spider-Man. He coughed and said, "Aunt May, they’re my seniors. Let’s go inside and talk slowly."

Elsewhere, Wang Bert released Max and Lizard Doctor in the hall. Knowing they were no match for Wang Bert, Max and Lizard Doctor did not try to flee again. Max asked, "Why did you choose to take me with you? I don’t even know you."

Lizard Doctor looked at Wang Bert with the same confusion. Wang Bert smiled. "I chose to bring you away because, in another universe, you are my subordinates.

"Max, you are my loyal friend. You gave a great deal for me during my rise. Lizard Doctor, in my universe, you never turned into a lizard. You have always served me with your intelligence."

"Another universe?"

Max and Lizard Doctor were somewhat surprised, but did not find it absurd. After all, they had just crossed through universes.

Max hesitated for a moment before asking, "What do you want us to do?"

"I want to know why you crossed into this universe."

Wang Bert said, "But there’s no rush. Let’s cure Lizard Doctor first. To be honest, I’m not used to seeing you like this. In my mind, you have always been a wise and witty doctor."

"I’m fine like this! I am the direction of human evolution…"

Lizard Doctor shouted, but Wang Bert could not be bothered to argue with him. He condensed Leech with Mind Power and shot it into Lizard Doctor’s arm like a flying needle.

Lizard Doctor froze. Then, his body visibly began reverting to human form. The process was extremely painful, so he collapsed to the ground and curled up like a shrimp.

Once Lizard Doctor had completely returned to human form, his right arm gradually dissolved and vanished—he had originally been a "lefty." The reason he had researched the lizard serum was to regenerate his arm.

"No!"

Lizard Doctor cried out in pain. After a while, he completely recovered. Confusion flashed through his eyes at first, then turned into fear.

Then, Lizard Doctor climbed to his feet, adjusted his clothes, and said gratefully to Wang Bert, "Thank you for saving me. The person I was before was not the real me at all. He was merely a beast."

"I know."

Wang Bert smiled. "Dr. Connors, I’ll have someone take you to rest first. We can discuss everything else later."

"Thank you."

Lizard Doctor became even more grateful. At the same time, his heart was filled with envy. His counterpart in another universe had actually been able to work for such a boss. That was truly fortunate.

After Lizard Doctor left, Wang Bert turned to Max and asked, "Max, can you tell me how you crossed over here?"

"I can," Max said. "But I have one condition. No, it should be a request."

"Go ahead."

Wang Bert was very tolerant of Max. After all, Max, Electro Thor of the Main Universe, was one of his fiercest generals, and Max was extremely loyal.

"I want to serve you."

Max said expectantly, "I don’t want to return to my universe. I want to follow you."

"Why? Did I awaken some kind of kingly aura?"

Wang Bert asked with a smile. In truth, if he fully unleashed the aura of a Creator God, it would be far stronger than any kingly aura. But he did not like doing that. It was boring, and it would interfere with his flirting.

The essence of flirting was in the flirting itself. The process mattered.

"Kingly aura?"

Max clearly did not understand the reference. He answered, "The version of me from another universe is so loyal to you. You must be a boss worth serving."

Max did not know how to flatter people. Otherwise, he would not have had such a miserable time at Osborn Corporation. Those words came entirely from his heart. However, if it later proved that Wang Bert was not worth serving, he would definitely turn on him. There was no doubt about that.

Max simply wanted a place to belong. It was that simple.

"Fine. Follow me for now. When we return to the Main Universe, I’ll introduce you to Electro Thor."

Wang Bert did not refuse. He ordered, "Now answer my earlier question."

"Yes, BOSS."

Seeing Wang Bert accept him, Max was excited and moved. He took a deep breath and said, "Before this, the people from Osborn Corporation had locked me in a basement. Then, somehow, I was suddenly transported to an extremely dark place.

"That place was very dark. Not the kind of darkness where you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face, but a darkness filled with despair and negative emotions, like the deepest part of Hell.

"To be honest, BOSS, even though I was only there for a short time, I nearly went insane."

"Despairing darkness?"

Wang Bert narrowed his eyes. The place Max described seemed to be the dark region between universes. The problem was, that region had no despair or negative emotions. It was complete nothingness.

"Darkness? Could it be Hell, or perhaps the Dark Dimension?"

Wang Bert said, "Max, continue."

"Okay." Max continued, "I hadn’t been in that dark world for long when images from the future suddenly appeared in my mind. In the future, I would become friends with Harry Osborn, then die at Spider-Man’s hands."

As he said this, Max’s gaze flickered. Wang Bert said, "I won’t help you kill Spider-Man, so give up on that idea. But I will ensure that you stay safe.

"Even if something really happens to you, I’ll revive you."

"Revive me?"

Max was somewhat stunned, then said, "Thank you, BOSS. Don’t worry, BOSS. I will never do anything you tell me not to do."

Wang Bert nodded. "Good. Continue."

"After I saw those images, light suddenly returned around me. I eagerly opened my eyes and found myself in Times Square, with Spider-Man and a group of strange people standing nearby."

Max continued, "I was filled with anger at the time. The moment I saw Spider-Man, I attacked him. Old Green Goblin and the others did the same. So, we fought in Times Square until you and Iron Man arrived."