The Reversal of Heaven Begins with The Smiling, Proud Wanderer

Just as Lin Mu was calculating how to maximize his profits, Peter on the other side paused for a moment, seemingly surprised to hear someone affirm him so highly.

He walked over hesitantly and sat down carefully.

"Thank you...thank you."

Peter adjusted his glasses, his tone a mixture of gratitude and slight confusion: "You just said you admired me?"

“There aren’t many students at Midtown High School who can publish articles in scientific journals.”

Lin Mu smiled slightly: "I have read your paper on radioactive materials, and the viewpoints are very novel."

Peter's eyes lit up immediately, as if he had finally found a kindred spirit: "You really read it? I thought no one would notice..."

Just as the two were talking, the school bus slowly drove into the Columbia University science campus.

Chapter 37: Super Spider

The school bus tires hummed softly as they rolled over the asphalt of Columbia University's science park before finally coming to a steady stop in front of a streamlined building.

This building, with its silver-gray titanium-zinc panels as a curtain wall, is the core laboratory building of Columbia University's Department of Science.

Beneath the glass dome, spiraling pipes and metal supports are faintly visible. Sunlight filters through the double-layered Low-E glass, casting dappled patterns on the ground, revealing both the rigor of a top-tier research institution and the unique mystique of the field of bioengineering.

"Stay close! Don't touch any equipment marked 'Prohibited,' and raise your hand if you have any questions!"

The teacher leading the group was a thin, middle-aged man with dark skin. He clutched the visitor's manual, and his voice betrayed his awe of the park.

"It is an honor for you all to be here. We hope you will study hard and cherish this opportunity to visit."

The students, unable to contain their excitement, crowded around the train door with their backpacks. Some stood on tiptoe to peek through the glass door, their chattering like a flock of sparrows just released from their cage.

Lin Mu mingled at the back of the group, his gaze calmly scanning the surrounding environment, especially the areas marked with words such as "bioengineering," "genetic technology," and "high risk."

The tour begins in the energy exhibition area.

The narrator was a dark-haired female scholar with an Asian face, wearing a name tag that read "Elizabeth Herman" around her neck.

"The next exhibit is the highlight of this visit – the Arthropod Gene Application Laboratory."

Elizabeth led the group through a curved corridor. Through the glass windows on both sides of the corridor, researchers could be vaguely seen operating microscopes, with blue experimental lights flowing across their faces.

The moment you push open the door, a warm breeze carrying the scent of damp earth rushes in—the central exhibition area of ​​the laboratory has been transformed into a miniature ecological environment, with a three-meter-high glass wall filled with thick humus, vines hanging from the top, and several brightly colored beetles crawling on the leaves.

The most eye-catching feature is a row of eco-boxes against the wall, one of which, about half a person's height, simulates the high humidity environment of a tropical rainforest.

Funnel-shaped spider webs hung from the tree trunk, their silvery-gray silk gleaming metallically under the light. Several palm-sized spiders lay on the webs, their abdominal patterns resembling meticulously drawn totems.

"More than 23000 species of spiders have been discovered in the world, belonging to the order Araneae, which are divided into the suborders Mesotheliformes, Metasotheliformes, and Archaeotheliformes."

Elizabeth walked to the terrarium and pointed to the spider in the glass: "The one on the left is a web-weaving spider of the Phrithecidae family in the Gukugia genus. Its silk has a tensile strength of 3.5 GPa, which is five times that of steel cables used in construction, and its toughness is twice that of Kevlar fiber."

“This type of spider has a reflex speed of 0.01 seconds per second, which is 50 times faster than that of humans. Our EEG monitoring shows that it can react 0.3 seconds before danger arrives. Researchers jokingly call this ‘spider-sense’.”

"The one on the far right is a mimicry spider that can change color by adjusting pigment cells on its body surface. Last year, it helped us complete the initial research and development of 'biological camouflage materials,' and the relevant results have been published in Nature Materials."

The students' attention was quickly drawn to the spiders in the terrarium.

Some people shrank back in fright, covering their mouths and gasping softly; others curiously moved very close, almost pressing their faces against the glass.

Frash Thompson, Mary Jane's boyfriend, a boy with short blond hair and wearing a baseball uniform, glanced sideways at Peter, who was seriously adjusting the camera settings next to him, and suddenly winked at his companion, a wicked smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Dr. Herman."

Peter, holding up his camera, asked nervously, "Excuse me, could I take a photo for the school magazine?"

As he spoke, he shook the camera hanging around his neck.

Elizabeth nodded gently and stepped aside to make way for them: "Of course, just be careful not to use the flash, it will disturb them."

Peter had just raised his camera and adjusted the focus when Flash suddenly bumped into him from the side.

He deliberately bumped Peter's elbow with his shoulder, not with much force, but enough to make the camera lens shake to one side.

"Hey, Parker."

Flash chuckled, his voice not loud but just loud enough for those around him to hear: "Your hands are shaking so much, and you're trying to take pictures like others? Don't drop the camera, your parents' inheritance isn't going to last you any longer."

Peter's face flushed instantly. He gripped the camera strap tightly, his fingertips turning white, but he didn't dare to argue.

Frash always caused him trouble, and today, being ridiculed in front of so many people, he felt his ears burning and didn't even dare to lift his head.

Lin Mu ignored the farce unfolding here; his attention was entirely focused on the corner of the wall above the eco-box.

Just as Frash bumped into Peter, he caught a glimpse of a red and blue shadow flash by out of the corner of his eye.

It was the super spider that changed Peter's fate.

It is still weaving its web in the corner, and apart from Lin Mu, no one has noticed the little guy.

It has star-shaped red spots on its abdomen, and its eight legs are covered with fine hairs with a metallic sheen. It is a size larger than an ordinary spider, and it moves extremely fast when it crawls, yet it is unusually quiet.

Lin Mu did not disturb it, but quietly waited for fate to arrive.

Elizabeth continued her explanation.

"After five years of unremitting efforts, Columbia University's Gene Research Center used these spider gene samples for experiments."

"In this recombination lab, we use synthetic transfer RNA to encode a completely new genome."

"By combining the genes of these three spiders, 15 genetically modified super spiders were created."

Mary Jane, who was closer, silently counted them and answered directly, "There are only 14."

Upon hearing this, Elizabeth walked over, adjusted her glasses, stared at the eco-box and counted them carefully, her brows furrowing slightly: "Strange, there were 15 when we counted them this morning... The researchers probably took them for temporary testing. Sometimes they take samples directly from the display cases."

As the other students left, Peter, whose heart was beginning to flutter, was drawn to Mary Jane.

Lin Mu glanced at her. Mary Jane was just average-looking, not particularly beautiful, but she had a rather voluptuous figure. Her low-cut top revealed a small portion of her milky-white breasts, which was quite attractive to an inexperienced young man.

However, Lin Mu had no interest in this "Queen of the Sea".

Peter was completely captivated and racked his brains to come up with an excuse. He raised his camera and said in a slightly stammering voice, "Jane, could you... could you stand next to the eco-box? I'd like to take a picture of you. The school magazine needs photos of students visiting the site."

"No problem at all."

Mary Jane preferred the feeling of being the center of attention, and upon hearing that she could appear in the school magazine, she immediately smiled and nodded, then walked to the glass and struck a pose.

Peter nervously adjusted his focus, completely unaware that the giant spider above him was silently crawling along its web toward his hand.

Chapter 38: Superpowers Acquired

Just as the super spider appeared above Peter Parker's head, Lin Mu suddenly moved.

With a wave of his hand, he quietly activated the Star Absorbing Technique in his palm, and a powerful suction force instantly enveloped the super spider.

The super spider seemed to be pulled by invisible threads, flying straight towards Lin Mu's palm.

The price of becoming Spider-Man is the random sacrifice of a close relative, most likely Peter Parker's uncle Ben Parker.

Lin Mu planned to seize Peter Parker's opportunity, thinking that compared to Ben Parker's life, Peter Parker probably wouldn't mind being an ordinary person.

Although life may not be so exciting, a simple and peaceful life is a blessing, and for Peter Parker, it may not be a bad thing.

At worst, we can work around to get Peter Parker a good job later. With Peter Parker's scientific talent, he might just be able to make a name for himself.

At this moment, Peter Parker was unaware that his fate had changed; he only felt a gust of wind blowing over his head and paid no attention.

The super spider in Lin Mu's palm seemed to be frightened. As soon as it landed in Lin Mu's palm, it suddenly opened its mouth and bit down.

Lin Mu originally had a protective aura that made him impervious to swords and blades, but in order to obtain the super spider's abilities, he allowed the super spider to bite his hand.

[Ding! Contact with a creature of destiny has triggered the side quest: Kiss of Fate.]

[Mission Requirements: Within one month, get the Super Spider to bite Cindy Moon and Gwen Stacy.]

[Task Reward: Randomly selected.]

At the same time, the system notification sounded.

A slight stinging pain came, slightly worse than being bitten by an ant, and two small red spots quickly appeared on my palm.

Unlike the spider in The Amazing Spider-Man, Boss Spider-Man's super spider does not die after biting someone.

In the comics, after escaping the lab, it bit Cindy Moon and gave her the same abilities as Spider-Man, turning her into—webs!

As for Gwen Stacy, she was also bitten by the super Spider-Man and turned into Spider-Woman.

However, in that version of Spider-Woman, it wasn't Uncle Ben who was sacrificed, but Peter Parker.

Is this a necessary plot revision, or was the creation of Spider-Man inevitable?

According to the virtual memories provided by the system, Cindy Moon and Gwen Stacy both attend Midtown Middle School, but they are not in the same class as Lin Mu and his classmates, so they were not present at the scene.

Thinking of the side quest, Lin Mu quickly clenched his fist, holding the super spider in his palm. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, he quickly walked behind the display case.

There are several thick pipes blocking the view, which happens to be a blind spot for the surveillance cameras.

With a thought, he used the system space to retrieve a small, breathable bottle, then quickly unscrewed the cap, put the spider inside, and then quickly tightened the cap again.

After doing all this, he put the small bottle in his pocket, then raised his hand and looked at the small red dot in his palm.

A strange burning sensation was spreading along my blood vessels, from my wrist to my arm, and then to my heart, as if a small fire was burning inside me.

[Ding! Reversible substance detected—super spider venom.]

[Super Spider Toxin: Developed by Columbia University's genetic lab, this toxin is secreted by a heavy-duty super spider and contains highly active cross-species gene fragments. It has a 37% probability of promoting human genetic evolution, allowing them to acquire the core abilities of the super spider.]

[Side effects: Cross-species gene fragments may trigger immune rejection, leading to gene breakdown, systemic muscle spasms, spider hairs on the body surface, and other abnormalities...]

[Negative Reversal: Congratulations, host, you have gained the following abilities:]

1. Spider-sense (the ability to foresee danger and warn the host of potential immediate dangers);

2. Extraordinary Strength (normal maximum of 25 tons, which can be increased with physical enhancement);

3. Exceptional agility (agility, balance, and body coordination are all greatly improved);

4. Exceptional endurance (can sustain high-intensity combat for a full day);

5. Superior defense (can withstand close-range fire from 9mm pistol bullets);

6. Extraordinary self-healing ability (50 times faster healing speed for surface wounds, 10 times faster repair speed for internal organ damage);

7. Extraordinary reaction speed (nerve reflex speed exceeds that of ordinary people by 30 times);

8. Adsorption capacity (can use mental control of the interatomic interaction forces at the molecular boundaries (such as electrostatics) to allow the body (especially hands and feet) to adhere to the surface of objects for rapid movement; currently, the upper limit for each finger is 5 tons).

9. Organic spider silk (can be produced organically by glands in the forearm and released through the fingertips. A single strand of spider silk can bear a weight of up to 8 tons. The amount of spider silk produced is limited by the body's health and nutrition; shooting too much will cause weakness).

10. Poison Sting (The palms of both hands can secrete paralyzing toxins, which are 300% more effective against genetically modified individuals).

11. Spider camouflage (its surface pigment cells can mimic environmental colors, providing superior stealth compared to military camouflage and resisting thermal imaging detection).

As soon as the system notification sound ended, a powerful force suddenly erupted from Lin Mu's body.

Lin Mu felt his blood boiling.

His five senses were suddenly amplified and became extremely sharp. He could even clearly hear the crackling sound of electricity flowing in the distance, see the dust floating in the air, and feel the slightest vibration of the ground beneath his feet.

The whole world seemed to be slowed down.

The expressions on Frash's face as he mocked Peter, the way Mary Jane adjusted her hair, and Elizabeth's fingers as she checked the tablet all became slow and clear.

At the same time, Lin Mu could sense subtle changes taking place within Peter Parker's body.

However, compared to his own immediate results, Peter's changes were much slower, more like a seed quietly sprouting.

Lin Mu quietly clenched his fist, feeling the power flowing through his body. The muscle lines on his arms became smoother, and his physique improved several times over.

His normal strength already exceeded 25 tons, but this was not Lin Mu's limit. He felt that there was still a lot of room for improvement in his strength.

It's worth noting that among the three Spider-Man movie versions, the original Spider-Man was the strongest, with his highlight being stopping a speeding train.

Lin Mu's physique was several times stronger than that of an ordinary person because he cultivated by taking poison.

After being bitten by the super spider, he gained abilities that were more powerful and diverse than those of the original Spider-Man.

It's like an enhanced version of Spider-Man.

"Your visit is over! Please return to the school bus in an orderly manner. We are about to return to school!"

The teacher leading the group interrupted Lin Mu's thoughts.

The group gradually left Columbia University and boarded the school bus.