Chapter 68

"Are you a classmate of Ymir's?" Kathleen seemed very pleased, smiling at Peter Parker. In her memory, her younger brother had never made friends other than studying, let alone played with his peers.

"Hmm, I guess you could say we're friends."

Seeing his sister turn around, Ymir couldn't keep his usual deadpan face and forced a smile. Peter put his arm around Ymir's shoulder and added, "Very good friends!"

With a stiff smile on his face, Ymir was thinking about how to get rid of this annoying little bug.

This guy, who never knew how to be polite in front of him, was now acting very courteous in front of Kathleen: "You must be Ymir's sister, Kathleen. He mentioned you to me. We used to go to the same school."

"New York University?" Kathleen was pleasantly surprised.

Peter nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, I should call you Senior Kathleen. I listened to your graduation speech last year, and I know you're a recipient of the National Scholarship!"

His flattery won Kathleen's favor, and she instructed Ymir to find a chair for Peter to sit on. Then she picked out two jelly candies from Ymir's snack pile and handed them to Peter.

Ymir didn't mind; he also liked hearing others praise his sister. This was the first time he hadn't glared at Peter for eating his snacks.

"Actually, Ymir and I planned to go to a masquerade ball tonight, so I came to visit him," Peter made up a reason on the spot to prove how close he and Ymir were.

"Yes, yes," Ymir echoed, if wearing a Spider-Man mask counted as a costume: "But I still think staying home to read is better. I just remembered I have some assignments to finish. Masquerade balls aren't really my thing."

Peter didn't say anything, but he looked at Kathleen, knowing who was in charge here.

"Hmm, I think studies are important, but social interactions are also necessary," Kathleen pointed at Ymir, waving her delicate hand, "Don't worry, I'll take care of your assignments. You should go out and have fun with your friend."

She looked at Peter, who quickly introduced himself, "Peter Parker, you can call me Peter, Senior."

"Alright, then I'll leave Ymir in your care tonight. Please take good care of him," Kathleen smiled beautifully, her eyes narrowing into crescent moons.

Peter was a bit dazed, nodding dumbly, "Sure, Senior Kathleen."

"..." Ymir felt the atmosphere was a bit off and waved his hand in front of Peter's face, "If that's the case, let's get going. It's getting late."

Peter was still hesitant but was pulled up from the chair by Ymir. He had no choice but to say goodbye to Kathleen, "Good night, Senior Kathleen!"

His words were a bit jumbled, and he felt a bit awkward, but he didn't mind being with Ymir. Ymir closed the door and, instead of going downstairs, they went directly to the rooftop of the apartment building to change.

Peter put on his Spider-Man suit, while Ymir simply made himself invisible. He planned to put on the Spider-Man mask when they got to Dr. Connors' place. After all, as long as he was invisible, it didn't matter whether he wore the mask or not.

"My powers are failing more and more often. I don't know what's happening," Spider-Man shot a web and swung forward, with Ymir, now in his ghostly form, following beside him.

Because he had to keep his identity hidden, Peter hadn't set a time to meet Dr. Connors, "But the doctor is usually still in the lab at this time. We can just go there and find him."

"We should have taken a taxi," Ymir responded, increasingly feeling that his speed was a weakness. He had to concentrate all his ghostly energy just to keep up with Spider-Man.

He couldn't imagine how this speed would be in a fight or during a chase.

It was really terrible. Dr. Connors' lab was in New York University, not far from Ymir's home. Spider-Man was silent, "..."

Compared to taking a taxi, it was more cost-effective to use his web to travel.

"Wait!" As they approached New York University, Spider-Man's body tensed, and he jumped down from a street lamp, "I feel something's wrong!"

"Really? Because your arms are tired?" Ymir said sourly.

Spider-Man shook his head, "No, my spider-sense is telling me there's danger ahead. Do you think someone is trying to sabotage New York University?" New York University wasn't just a place where Dr. Connors worked late; many researchers worked around the clock.

Sometimes, there were special projects being studied here, so some forces liked to manipulate New York University in the shadows.

Ymir didn't seem worried. After hearing Spider-Man's explanation, he said, "Don't worry about it. We just need to find Dr. Connors. Unless you have a better biologist to recommend."

He had a vague feeling that the danger Spider-Man sensed might come from Dr. Connors. Maybe tonight, he would see the Lizard from the movie.

"Why is the power out now?" As Ymir and Spider-Man entered Dr. Connors' lab, the lights suddenly went out, adding to the sense of danger.

Spider-Man jumped, "Don't scare yourself. It might just be a coincidence."

Spiders liked darkness and heights, so the sudden darkness didn't make Peter nervous; it excited him. As for Ymir, he wasn't afraid at all.

What should he be afraid of? Ghosts in the office? Come on, he was a ghost himself!

But before they took a few steps, they heard a long, drawn-out scream: "Ahh..." Spider-Man immediately recognized the voice, "It's Debra Whitman. She's my friend. Let's go check it out!"

"Dr. Connors, what's happening?" Debra, already a bit panicked due to the power outage, saw Dr. Connors suddenly disappear in the dim light from outside.

In the place where the doctor had been standing, a large, green-glowing shadow replaced him, with a thick tail still writhing. Debra could hear Dr. Connors' voice, "Whitman, get out of here, don't come any closer!"