Lie to You

After using the Goblin Pacemaker XL to pull Uncle Ben back from death’s door, Kraft took out an injection gun from his bag and pressed it against Uncle Ben’s neck, giving him a shot of adrenaline.

Uncle Ben, whose breathing had been weak just moments ago, immediately perked up.

"Kraft?"

Feeling strength surge through his body, Uncle Ben sat up slightly.

"Did you save me?"

"Don’t move! You’re still injured!" Kraft pressed Uncle Ben back down, making him lie still. "The ambulance will be here soon. Tell me immediately if you feel uncomfortable anywhere!"

"Don’t worry. I feel pretty good right now."

Uncle Ben smiled and obediently lay back down.

"That’s because I gave you adrenaline, so you can’t feel the pain. But your body hasn’t actually improved much."

Naturally, Kraft was making that up. The original version of that adrenaline shot had also come from Swann’s world. Its intended effect was indeed to trade the body’s condition for combat power, but Kraft had long since used technology from other worlds to reduce its side effects to a minimum, and had even added a trace amount of body-repair serum.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t add more, but in many cases, things like bullets and shrapnel were still lodged inside the body. Adding too much repair serum would only make things worse.

"Thank goodness, Kraft. It’s lucky you were here…"

Peter Parker, crying so hard that his face was a mess of tears and snot, walked over and repeatedly thanked Kraft with lingering fear written all over his face.

"Hmph!"

Kraft shot him a fierce glare, then turned his head away, unwilling to speak to him.

"Uh…"

Peter, who had originally wanted to ask why Kraft was here, paused and swallowed his question.

Already in the wrong and having just received such a huge favor from Kraft, Peter Parker didn’t dare provoke Kraft when he was obviously in a bad mood.

The ambulance arrived quickly. Kraft and Peter got in with Uncle Ben and accompanied him to the hospital.

After waiting anxiously outside the operating room for a while, they and Aunt May, who arrived afterward, finally received word from the doctor that Uncle Ben was out of danger. Only then did Kraft breathe a sigh of relief.

"It’s all thanks to you, Kraft."

Aunt May wiped away her tears as she hugged Kraft, refusing to let go while thanking him over and over.

"If Ben were gone, I really don’t know whether I could keep going."

"It’s all right, Aunt May. As long as Uncle Ben is okay."

Kraft patted Aunt May on the back and comforted her softly.

"Sorry to interrupt."

At that moment, a Black man in a police uniform approached and pointed at Kraft and Peter.

"I’ll need you two to come with me and give statements."

"Sure, no problem."

Kraft nodded. This police officer had arrived long ago and had merely been waiting for them. Since he was being so considerate, Kraft naturally wouldn’t make things difficult for him. Besides, he really did need an explanation for all the gadgets he had displayed earlier.

Since Kraft and Peter weren’t suspects, the Black police officer didn’t take them back to the station. Instead, he found an empty room in the hospital and began taking their statements there.

Kraft glanced at the earpiece in the man’s ear. If he remembered correctly, the officer hadn’t been wearing that earlier. It seemed America’s intelligence agencies might have already become involved. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a good time to contact Angela again.

After adding an inconspicuous bone-conduction headset to his plans, Kraft sat down across from the Black police officer alongside Peter.

The Black police officer first asked Peter Parker, who had witnessed everything, about what had happened. Peter Parker truthfully described how he had watched the robber take the cash without stopping him, only to nearly get his uncle killed as a result. His words were full of regret.

However, when asked why he had been at the underground boxing venue, Peter merely said he had gone there out of curiosity. The Black police officer didn’t doubt him and instead offered him a few words of comfort, saying that it was only natural not to step forward when facing an armed criminal.

Kraft, who already knew Peter Parker was no longer the same as before, gave a disdainful snort. If Peter were still the frail bookworm he used to be, Kraft wouldn’t have been this angry. Still, the two were close, so although he was unhappy, he didn’t expose Peter.

After questioning Peter Parker, the Black police officer turned to Kraft.

"Hello, Kraft."

The Black police officer flashed a row of gleaming white teeth and took the initiative to offer his hand.

Kraft shook his hand with a puzzled expression. Then the Black police officer explained with a broad smile, "My two sons are both loyal fans of the Mechanical Pets you invented. They even joined their school’s team. Once we’re done with the statements, you have to give me an autograph. Hawk and Andy will be over the moon!"

"Sure, no problem."

Kraft had that much patience for fans of his products.

"Ahem, then let’s begin the statement."

The Black officer tilted his head slightly. Someone in his earpiece was probably prompting him, so he cleared his throat and addressed Kraft seriously.

"First, how did you know Benjamin Parker had been shot? According to the information received by our police department, you should have come racing here from your laboratory on a skateboard the moment Mr. Parker was shot."

"Because of him." Kraft pointed at Peter beside him and followed the response plan Angela had prepared for him earlier. "Back at the FEAST shelter a while ago, he was acting a little strange. I got curious and put a listening device on him. I happened to have nothing to do today, so I listened in and heard that he’d gone to watch a boxing match. I was about to turn it off when I heard the sound of a robbery…"

Kraft shrugged and said thankfully, "Luckily, Uncle Ben had good luck."

"Wait! When did you put a listening device on me?! How come I didn’t know?!"

Peter Parker believed him completely and had no idea how much of his secret Kraft had overheard.

"You’re violating my privacy!"

"What? Are you going to sue me? If I hadn’t planted that listening device, Uncle Ben would’ve been killed because of you!"

Kraft glared back at him. Peter Parker, who had been full of indignation just moments ago, immediately deflated. He also knew Kraft was covering for him, since he hadn’t gone to watch some underground boxing match—he had entered it himself.

"Uh… you two can settle the privacy issue privately afterward, but may I ask where your listening device is now?"

"Take off your shoe!"

Kraft kicked Peter Parker’s left foot and ordered him bluntly.

Peter, full of grievances but not daring to protest, obediently took off his shoe and handed it to Kraft.

Taking the shoe with obvious disgust, Kraft peeled a button-sized disc from the sole and showed it to the Black police officer.

"There. This is it."

This listening device, which had also come from Professor Agasa, had naturally not been attached long ago as Kraft claimed. He had secretly stuck it to Peter’s shoe sole only while rescuing Uncle Ben. Peter had been so panicked at the time that he hadn’t noticed Kraft’s small movement at all.

"It’s so small?!"

The Black police officer widened his eyes, revealing a large expanse of white that looked somewhat unsettling.

He hesitated, then asked tentatively, "Would you be interested in selling this kind of listening device to our police department?"

Thanks to Doubi Sect Master Yueyan Yalun Longhaomiao, Being a Chinese Teacher Is Too Hard for Me, Serenade Remix, Uncle Zhang San, Reader 20170525203433891, and What to Do When You Have No Books to Read? Just Write One Yourself for the tips.

This week’s recommendation seems pretty decent. You can see it as soon as you enter the light novel section… I just don’t know how effective it’ll be.

I caught a cold again, damn it. I already have rhinitis, and having a cold makes me miserable… I hate winter…