I'm grinding for Marvel attributes

Chapter 197 Am I really Spider-Man?

The Ancient One didn't ask about the trip to the Blinking Realm to challenge Sithon. She even stopped Russell when he brought it up.

In the words of the Ancient One, seeing Russell's expression, she knew what had happened in the Blink Field.

There's no need to hear Russell say it again.

After finishing his morning tea, Russell took his leave and returned to his residence on the seventh floor of the New York Reading Room. He also packed some breakfast to take back to Gwen for a late-night snack.

Although eating at night is bad for the stomach and intestines, and can easily lead to obesity and insomnia.

However, as long as you exercise properly, you can help food digest faster and prevent fat from accumulating in your body.

As for insomnia, staying up late is harmful to your physical and mental health, so go all night.

The night ends and the day dawns.

It turns out that for extraordinary individuals, staying up all night does not negatively impact their physical or mental health.

At the dinner table, Gwen and Russell talked about recent events.

"The Avengers haven't had a good public relations campaign these past few days; several newspapers in New York are still criticizing them."

As she spoke, Gwen took out a stack of newspapers and handed them to Russell.

Russell took it and quickly flipped through it.

The newspaper articles mainly focused on Tony Stark and the Hulk.

Tony Stark, a billionaire, playboy, and the most famous superhero Iron Man, was already hated, and this time he was the most criticized.

Some newspapers even claimed that he should take full responsibility for the incident and compensate several Manhattan companies and individuals for the economic losses they suffered as a result.

Hulk, on the other hand, was criticized simply because he caused too much destruction during battles, with the question, "What have you been protecting?"

Hawkeye Barton, Quicksilver Pietro, and Black Widow Natasha, on the other hand, were completely absent from the newspapers due to their lower destructive power.

Besides the Avengers, Thor, Loki, Wanda, Gaya, and other Kamar-Taj sorcerers who also appeared on the battlefield were only briefly mentioned, fully demonstrating the United States' bullying of the weak and fear of the strong.

After all, Thor and Loki have Asgard behind them, and Wanda and Gaya have Russell behind them.

"Hmm, it's a small matter, don't worry about it, Tony will handle it himself."

Russell put down the stack of newspapers in his hand and picked up another stack to continue reading.

Finally, reports about Gwen and her squad were found.

"Phantom Spirit Team? Gwen, is that the name of your team?" Russell asked, looking at Gwen.

"Well, actually calling it a band might be better." Gwen's tone was indistinct as she tried to eat and replenish her energy.

After carefully reading through the papers, Russell said, "The newspapers have pretty good reviews of you; they're mostly praising you."

Thanks to Gwen and her team's frequent appearances in various parts of New York to fight evil and promote good, they had long since built up a good reputation.

Furthermore, the combat power of the remaining members was far inferior to that of Orochi's Heavenly Hammer Venerables. In this incident, the members of the Phantom Spirit Team mainly participated in the rescue work.

Therefore, their public opinion situation is much better than that of the Avengers.

This saved Russell a lot of trouble.

Tony can handle his own troubles; Russell won't get involved in anything that doesn't result in death.

But if Gwen is wronged, Russell won't stand idly by.

"By the way, Gwen. You just said that calling them the Phantom Band would be better. So, are you guys ready to perform?"

"Yes, this Sunday, which is tomorrow."

Gwen put down her knife and fork and extended an invitation to Russell.

"Our band is having rehearsals today, Russell, would you like to come and watch?"

"certainly."

After clearing the table together, Gwen pulled up her hood, opened the window, and leaped out. In mid-air, the web-shooting device on her wrist fired webs that swung away into the distance. Only a voice echoed from afar.

"Follow me."

Russell arrived at the balcony, his figure flashed and transformed into a stream of white light, soaring into the sky and hanging far behind Gwen.

Spider-Man never takes the usual path.

A short while later, the two arrived at a park in the suburbs.

There were only two or three pedestrians jogging in the park, and I didn't see any electronic devices. It didn't look like a venue for a band performance the next day at all.

"Hey, Russell, what brings you here too?"

Suddenly, the air trembled where the sound came from, and several figures suddenly appeared.

It was Eileen who greeted Russell, and after greeting Russell, Eileen introduced the remaining people to him.

These individuals are all members of the band Gwen Stranger; they are:

Daredevil - Matt Murdoch;

Jewelry Girl - Jessica Jones;

Wonder Man - Luke Cage;

Iron Fist - Danny Rand;

And a new member, Mysterio - Quentin Baker.

"Mysterio is our team's special effects artist, specializing in using high technology to create incredibly realistic illusions. The reason we can rehearse here without being discovered is thanks to his illusions."

In fact, besides creating incredibly realistic illusions, Mysterio is also skilled at manufacturing hallucinogenic chemical gases. The combination of these two techniques is what truly makes it difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion.

"I see, that's amazing." Russell nodded with feigned appreciation, exclaiming in amazement, "I had no idea that the outside scene was fake and that there was a hidden world inside."

"With such amazing special effects artists, I'm sure your performance will be spectacular."

"Thank you for the compliment, Russell," Mysterio replied shyly. "I'm just an ordinary Hollywood special effects artist with no superpowers. I'm very fortunate to be able to join this team of extraordinary individuals."

Although he is middle-aged, Mysterio is still as shy and humble as a young man.

But Russell will not be fooled by his appearance.

In the Earth-199999 timeline, he would become a formidable foe to Spider-Man, completely outmaneuvering him. He even managed to steal the legacy Iron Man left to Tom Holland's Spider-Man.

He also harbored ill intentions on Earth-404.

Although he didn't consciously try to sense it, Russell could still tell that Russell's thoughts were far more chaotic than the others'.

However, Russell was not interested in his schemes.

The most pressing matter is Gwen and the Phantom Band's upcoming performances.

Anyway, Mysterio won't cause much of a stir; at most, he'll cause some damage in New York.

As long as the Earth doesn't explode, everything will be fine.

Even if the Earth explodes, it's just a minor problem as long as the universe doesn't completely collapse.

Russell, however, looked at the mysterious figure and suddenly felt a surge of excitement, thinking to himself:

"Why do I always seem to run into Spider-Man? Am I really Spider-Man from Earth-404?"

First the Vulture, then Mysterio. If this happens a few more times, Russell will have encountered all the Spider-Man villains in the Earth-404 universe.

Afterwards, the members of the Phantom Spirit Team began rehearsals to prepare for tomorrow's performance.

They were determined to put on a grand and perfect performance to inspire New Yorkers who had suffered repeated attacks during the Battle of New York and the Manhattan Incident, and to rebuild their confidence in life.

(End of this chapter)