I'm not Spider-Man, even though I'm parasitized by an alien!

Christine gave Peter an apologetic look and then quickly walked towards the ward.

Pushing open the ward door, she quickly began examining Ms. Weber.

After confirming that there was nothing seriously wrong, she put down the stethoscope, exhaled, and couldn't help but look up at the outside of the ward.

Peter was nowhere to be seen outside.

Strangely enough, although Peter looked young, she didn't treat him like a teenager.

Instead, I felt like I was communicating with a man my age, or even a man who was more mature than me.

Moreover, the other person exuded an aura that made her feel somewhat strange.

It wasn't the sickly aura of a patient, but rather a strange and intimidating quality.

She shook her head, banishing the strange feeling from her mind, and focused her attention on her work.

the other side.

Gwen is enjoying her coffee alone in the coffee shop.

She said she was drinking coffee, but she didn't really know much about it.

Her favorite food is milkshakes.

The reason she went to the coffee shop was that a friend gave her a voucher for a free coffee tasting.

The reason she chose to come alone instead of with her friends was that she was very agitated and wanted to be alone.

She had another nightmare last night.

She dreamt that Josh's horrifying face appeared before her, his empty eyes whispering in her ear, repeating the same phrase over and over: "Peter is the murderer!"

No matter how she explained, she couldn't get rid of that face.

"Okay, I need to catch the real culprit quickly, otherwise Peter's situation will get worse and worse, and I'll become more and more nervous."

After stirring the coffee for ages, she dejectedly put the spoon down on the table and let it swirl around.

But what should I do?

I'm not a fan of detective novels; all I learned from my policeman father were some fighting skills, the kind used to deal with petty thieves.

Just as she was getting into a daze, she suddenly saw a familiar figure coming out of the hospital across the street.

"That looks like Peter?!"

Gwen blinked, somewhat unsure.

Chapter 17 We will all be buried in a tomb called the universe.

Peter stood in front of the Kelly Fruit Shop and spoke to the owner.

This place is a mix of a grocery store, a beverage counter, and a gas station.

In addition to selling cold drinks, they also sell beer, cheap wine, Little Yellow Uncle cigarettes, and various off-brand cigarettes.

"Alright, you don't need to keep following me, Gwen, I can see you now."

While the boss was preparing the soda, Peter turned around and spoke to the person behind him.

Gwen stood out somewhat awkwardly at a corner.

"Good afternoon, Peter."

Gwen was dressed very casually today, with her golden hair tied up with a clover-green headband and a tight-fitting Basque shirt that accentuated her prominent bust.

She tried to make her expression look natural, coughed, and said to Peter, "I saw a figure that looked like you at the coffee shop, so I followed it. I didn't expect it to be you."

"Hmm, what a coincidence."

Peter pretended not to see through Gwen's little scheme and took the large frosted glass from the 1990s from the boss.

"I remember you liked root soda, Gwen."

As he spoke, he handed the cup to Gwen.

"For me?"

Gwen blinked.

She was somewhat surprised that Peter remembered that he liked root juice soda.

"Well, consider this my way of thanking you for speaking up for me in Vice Principal Morton's office yesterday."

As Peter spoke, he placed a five-dollar bill on the marble counter and pushed it toward the boss.

Gwen took the soda, exhaled, took a small sip, and looked up, saying, "I thought you would blame me. Maybe I did something stupid yesterday."

Peter shook his head and said, "No, some people don't even have the courage to do something foolish."

Gwen's mood instantly brightened when she heard Peter praise her courage.

She wanted to ask Peter why he had left the Presbyterian Hospital, but felt it would be presumptuous and impolite to do so.

And so, as she hesitated, the atmosphere fell silent.

“I believe Josh’s death has nothing to do with you, Peter.”

After a long pause, Gwen, holding a glass of soda, looked at Peter with a determined gaze and said, "Peter, you are the victim."

"Actually, Gwen..."

Peter calmly accepted the change from the shopkeeper and said to her, "Neither the bullying I experienced before, nor the suspicion I was placed on after Josh's death, matters to me."

"Isn't it important?"

"Some people lack the ability to empathize."

Peter said slowly, “They don’t realize that their actions will really hurt others. Humans have never gotten better, they’ve just gotten smarter.”

Even when you become smarter, you'll still try to pluck the butterfly's wings, and you'll find even better reasons for doing so. Principal Morton said he would feel sorry for what I'd been through, but he wouldn't, and I also believe that no one can truly understand the feelings of an unrelated person every single day, every hour, every moment, and they don't care anyway.

Gwen was speechless after hearing Peter's words.

She felt a little sorry for Peter.

“I’m that kind of person too, Gwen.”

Finally, Peter added something to Gwen.

"Therefore, I cannot empathize with others, and naturally I don't care about what others think."

Gwen wanted to say that you're not that kind of person, but she swallowed her words.

"Thank you for buying me a root juice soda."

She handed the frosted glass to Peter and whispered, "I can feel you."

Would you like another drink?

Peter asked her.

"No, I think my stomach can't take it anymore, even though I really like root juice soda."

"Do you think something like Josh will ever happen again, Peter?"

She still wanted to discuss the "Josh" incident with Peter.

"I always felt that things weren't that simple."

Gwen, frowning, voiced her thoughts: "Perhaps the killer will continue to commit crimes. Hiding the body in the storage room might be a provocation."

Peter nodded. "Maybe. Maybe that guy is arrogant and likes to show off his death."

"Death, what a hateful word."

Gwen frowned and said with some annoyance.

Peter, who was standing nearby, listened to Gwen say that she hated death and suddenly thought of Ms. Webber's description of herself as "the Hand of Death".

After a while, he turned his gaze to the vehicles passing by on the road.

It's unclear whether he was talking to himself or to Gwen.

"Death may not be so terrible. Entropy increase is irreversible, and heat death will most likely be our end."

From ancient times to the future, all people we can imagine, all people we cannot imagine, all species, living and non-living, everything, will eventually die.

In a sense, we will all be buried in a tomb called the universe.

Gwen stared blankly at Peter's profile as he listened to his words.

Bathed in the rising sun, the lines of Peter's profile suddenly struck Gwen as somewhat mysterious and handsome.

Her heart started beating faster.

After parting ways with Peter, Gwen took the subway home.

Although she was still feeling a bit down, her conversation with Peter at the fruit shop cheered her up considerably.

The only pity is that I still don't know why Peter is at the Presbyterian Hospital.

Inside the room, she turned on her computer.

An email from the school postponing the regional rugby tournament appeared on the first page of my inbox.

Gwen opened the email, glanced at it briefly, and then deleted it.

This is the first time in ten years that Midtown High School has made it to the regional championships, and the school was originally going to hold a grand event on the day of the competition.

Unfortunately, the match was postponed due to Josh's situation.

"But that has little to do with me. I'm neither a member of the rugby team nor a cheerleader."

Gwen shook her head and continued browsing her email.

She soon discovered another boring email.

It was a rather strange love letter.

As a member of a "well-known" band at school, it shouldn't be strange for him to have fans confessing their feelings to him.

But confessing your feelings via email seems rather strange.

You should know that your email address is not public.