"Yo, what kind of day is it that you actually showed up for class?"
Harry Osborn looked surprised when he saw Luke.
Luke nodded. "I've got some free time these days, so I figured I'd drop by."
Harry's mouth twitched slightly. How is it that you act more like a rich heir than I do?
I don't even skip class, yet you're more carefree than me.
Luke scanned the classroom and noticed that a few familiar faces were gone, replaced by several new ones.
"Did someone drop out?"
Luke asked curiously.
Harry shrugged. "Not really. It's just… some people died."
"Remember Daley?"
"Last weekend, he and his sister Trisha went to California. They supposedly disappeared on the way to a farm. And nearby, a serial killer showed up—over a dozen people went missing."
"There are even rumors that someone saw a vampire there, but no one knows for sure."
Luke vaguely remembered Daley mentioning that he was going to experience farm life during the break.
He hadn't expected that instead of experiencing farm life, he would lose his life.
As for the vampire Harry mentioned…
It wouldn't be foolish enough to keep committing crimes in the same place.
If it were a werewolf, maybe.
"And Jack and Locke—they went to Derry, Maine last weekend for some coming-of-age ceremony. Never came back."
"Another guy went to Jurassic Park, said he wanted to ride a Mosasaurus. You can guess how that ended—he got swallowed whole."
"The unluckiest one was Davidson. Supposedly ran into a giant wolf, and only his legs were found."
"Because of all this, the school brought in a few transfer students to fill the spots."
Harry clicked his tongue in disbelief as he finished.
The school hadn't released any of this information. Harry had learned it through Norman Osborn's connections.
With just this bit of news, he had managed to draw quite a lot of attention over the past few days.
In any case, it all sounded absurd.
"Oh, right, there's something else. New York State recently introduced a policy encouraging childbirth—they've completely lost it! I don't know what those people are thinking, but now city hall is surrounded by a group protesting about reproductive freedom…"
Luke took a deep breath after hearing this. Living in this world was genuinely dangerous for ordinary people.
Wait… was he even considered an ordinary person anymore?
Then never mind.
Luke chatted with Harry for a bit. Not long after, having gotten a sense of the recent situation—Hmm?
Peter Parker walked into the classroom with a backpack slung over his shoulder, wearing a self-satisfied expression.
The moment he entered, Peter immediately looked toward Mary Jane's seat.
Seeing it empty, he felt a slight sense of disappointment.
Then he noticed Luke, and his eyes lit up. He quickly walked over.
"Luke, I heard Mary Jane went to your place last night?"
Luke nodded and answered calmly, "About a dozen of us played poker all night. Everyone had a great time. She's pretty tired today, so she won't be coming in."
Hearing that they had only played poker, Peter let out a breath of relief. Thankfully, it wasn't what he had imagined.
Thinking about it, how could anyone handle a dozen people at once?
If someone really could, wouldn't that make him Superman?
Wait… I'm basically Superman now too!
Thinking about the abilities he had grown familiar with over the past two days, Peter felt a surge of confidence.
He could finally stand tall in front of Luke.
Luke was impressive, but he wasn't inferior either.
Watching Peter's demeanor, Luke was certain—he had already been bitten by the spider.
In the Marvel universe, the rich rely on technology; the poor rely on mutation.
Only through mutation could someone like Peter Parker truly rise.
At that moment, Harry Osborn quickly stepped in and pulled Peter aside.
Compared to Peter, who was still naive, Harry clearly understood the implication behind "playing poker."
My friend… Mary Jane isn't the same Mary Jane you think she is anymore. She already belongs to Luke.
Why are you still going up to him?
No, he needed to find a chance to tell Peter the truth.
He couldn't bear to see his friend kept in the dark. If this continued, he was afraid Peter would be completely crushed when the truth came out.
Just as Luke was thinking about finding an opportunity to test Peter—
the homeroom teacher walked in with a blonde girl.
The moment Luke saw her, his expression froze.
"What… isn't that Gwen?"
[Anomaly Object: Ghost-Spider Gwen detected. Gained 100 Anomaly Points. Current Anomaly Points: 1300/4400]
Ghost-Spider?
Two Spider-people in the same world?
Could it be that the spider was so potent it bit two people in a row?
"Class, this is our new student, Gwen Stacy…"
Gwen stood at the front with a faint smile, her gaze sweeping across the classroom.
When her eyes landed on Peter Parker, they paused briefly before moving on.
But when she saw Luke—who was looking directly at her—she hesitated slightly.
Her spider-sense was warning her.
This person was dangerous.
Could he be some hidden villain?
Just as that thought crossed her mind, Luke gave her a faint smile.
She didn't have time to think and returned a polite smile.
Before long...
Gwen was temporarily assigned the seat next to Luke.
Once everyone had arrived, the seating would be rearranged.
This was mainly because there had been many transfer students recently, making the previous arrangement unsuitable.
"Hi, I'm Gwen. What's your name?"
As soon as she sat down, Gwen took the initiative to start a conversation.
Luke turned his head and noticed Peter Parker and Harry Osborn glancing over repeatedly.
It was obvious that Gwen's arrival had stirred something in Peter again.
"Hello, I'm Luke. As you can hear my accent, I'm from the UK."
Hearing this, Gwen silently repeated the name Luke in her mind, searching through her memory, but couldn't match it to any known villains.
Luke noticed her subtle reaction and began to form a guess.
Gwen was probably not from this world… but from another one.
"What are you thinking about?" Luke suddenly asked.
Gwen snapped back to her senses and gave an awkward smile. "Nothing. I've just heard that the UK is really interesting. I've always wanted to visit and experience the culture."
"If you want to go, you can tell me. Don't worry, I won't charge you a guide fee."
Luke didn't expose her, simply playing along. "Why wait? How about this summer?"
Gwen forced a smile and nodded. "Ah… that sounds great."
"Do you need to inform your parents?" Luke asked, his tone carrying a hint of meaning.
Gwen's smile stiffened, and her expression grew unnatural.
Luke immediately caught the sadness in her eyes and quickly said, "Sorry, I didn't know about your situation."
Gwen looked at him in surprise, taken aback by his perceptiveness. She shook her head. "It's not your fault. My parents… had an accident not long ago."
The scene from that day flashed through her mind.
A brutal, inhuman slaughter.
The Earth in her universe had been overrun by an army of evil symbiotes.
Even though she fought with everything she had, she still couldn't change the outcome.
Everyone died… Only she, with the help of others, managed to escape that apocalyptic world…
As the painful memories resurfaced, Gwen clenched her fists, her heart burning with rage.
"It seems like you need help. If you don't mind, you can tell me what you went through."
Luke took out a tissue and handed it to her.
"Thank you."
Gwen pressed her lips together, took the tissue, and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Sorry… I just can't let it go yet. Accepting reality takes time."
She didn't mention what had happened.
What was the point of talking about it? Nothing could be changed.
Besides… she didn't want to drag innocent people into it.
This was her battle—a war that belonged to Spider-Man.
Luke quietly observed her, his gaze drifting to her wrist, where a corner of a futuristic-looking bracelet was visible.
"What's that? It looks pretty cool."
Gwen hurriedly pulled down her sleeve to cover it, her tone slightly stiff. "N-nothing. Just a normal bracelet."
Seeing this, Luke shook his head slightly.
Gwen was far too cautious.
If he kept approaching her in a normal way, she would never reveal the truth.
The class ended quickly.
Under Peter Parker's surprised gaze, Gwen called him outside.
Peter felt as if his luck with girls had finally arrived, and inside, he was already struggling over whether to choose Mary Jane or Gwen.
Although he was immediately captivated by Gwen—the beautiful, tall girl—Mary Jane was, after all, his longtime neighbor, and she was both mature and charming.
First love was always hard to forget.
Peter Parker even began to worry that Gwen might confess to him directly. How was he supposed to choose?
Ah, this was too difficult!
How great would it be if he didn't have to choose at all?
Just as Peter's thoughts were spiraling out of control—
"Peter Parker… or should I say, Spider-Man."
"What?!"
Peter was stunned. He had never told anyone about his abilities, and even the name "Spider-Man" was something he had only just come up with.
"How do you know I'm Spider-Man?"
Gwen didn't answer. Instead, she asked, "How long have you been Spider-Man?"
Peter wanted to point out that she hadn't answered his question, but when he saw her cold expression, he instinctively replied, "Half a day—no, I mean three days!"
In truth, although he had gained his powers three days ago, the name Spider-Man had only been decided half a day ago.
And he hadn't even started doing anything yet—he was a complete beginner.
Gwen frowned deeply. "It's too late…"
"Too late for what?"
"The end of the world is coming! That terrifying army of symbiotes has already descended upon Earth! You have to prepare for battle, otherwise—"
As she spoke, Gwen noticed Peter's confused expression and suddenly realized something was off.
Wait… that voice just now… it didn't sound like Peter.
It sounded more like..
Gwen abruptly turned around and saw the tall figure who had appeared behind her at some unknown point.
"Luke?!"
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