America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

Peter asked Uncle Ben what kind of "power" he meant, and Uncle Ben replied, "The financial power of capital."

……

……

“It’s been a month since we last got together, hasn’t it?” Gwen asked, sipping her drink.

"I'm here to show you my results."

Li Qun opened his backpack and laid out all the licenses and certificates he had obtained after a month of training on the table.

“I got these.” Peter also showed the licenses he had obtained after passing the exam.

“Peter, how come you got less than me?” Gwen asked.

“I have my reasons; I’m busy with the Daily Bugle’s webpage,” Peter replied.

“Let Peter go. Jameson is Uncle Ben’s best friend. He’s been pressuring him. After looking at Peter’s old school assignments, he’s already paid Peter the deposit in cash,” Li Qun said.

"I think Jameson, that viper, is trying to teach Peter a lesson." Gwen was very unhappy with Jameson's frequent criticisms of Spider-Man on the front page of the Daily Bugle.

“I think Spider-Man needs someone like Jameson to remind him,” Li Qun said.

"Liqun, what do you mean? You're still the owner of Spider Cave, aren't you the most hardcore Spider-Man fan leader?"

“What? I mean, what is ‘Spider Cave’?” Peter turned to look at Li Qun.

"Hasn't Li Qun talked to you about this?" Gwen looked at Li Qun and Peter with a puzzled expression.

“Liqun never mentioned it to me,” Peter answered honestly.

“You didn’t call me every few days to ask what I was doing like Gwen did. Look at our call log, when was the last time we talked?” Li Qun asked Peter.

“I…” Peter took out his phone to check; it was from a week ago.

“It’s my fault. I should have called you more often like Gwen did,” Peter said.

“Look, I’ve already corrected my bad habit of not answering the phone,” Li Qun said.

"So, what is a spider cave?" Peter returned to his original question.

“Liqun created a Spider-Man fan website, which is updated with Spider-Man-related content every day, and provides the most comprehensive and objective coverage of every Spider-Man hero operation,” Gwen explained to Peter.

“Tell me the website address, I’ll go home and look at it.” Peter took out his notebook and placed it in front of Li Qun.

Chapter 338 She's Back

"Sorry, I'm late!"

Peter was stunned when Mary Jane Watson sat down. Was this really the Mary Jane he remembered?

"Sorry sorry."

"Is it really you, Mary Jane?" Li Qun was also somewhat shocked.

“I bet we’re late because Mary Jane spent an extra hour doing her makeup,” Gwen said.

“It’s been a year since we last met, and I’ve put a lot of effort into preparing for this reunion,” Mary Jane said.

"Would you like something to drink?" Peter asked.

“Anything is fine,” Mary Jane said.

"When did you get back to New York?" Gwen asked.

“It’s been about a week, and my aunt has moved to New York too,” Mary Jane said.

"Why did your aunt move from New Jersey to New York?" Li Qun asked curiously.

“Because, superheroes have appeared in New York,” Mary Jane replied with a smile.

“Peter was thinking you’d go back to your father’s house for a while. Mary Jane, are you living elsewhere with your aunt?” Li Qun continued to ask.

“My aunt has friends in New York, and she asked them to find an apartment for us well in advance. As soon as we arrived in New York, we signed a rental agreement with the landlord,” Mary Jane said.

Li Qun, Peter, and Gwen exchanged glances; the plan to share an apartment with Mary Jane had fallen through.

The plan to live under the same roof as Mary Jane fell through, but the group still had to rent an apartment.

Now that Mary Jane had a place to stay, Li Qun and Gwen both started thinking about the issue of finding a new roommate.

They had a backup option and felt very sorry for Stephanie, always making her their backup choice.

"What's wrong? You seem disappointed," Mary Jane asked.

“We were planning to invite you to share an apartment with us,” Li Qun said.

“My aunt’s rental contract is only for one year, so we can wait until next year.”

“Maybe in a year, my aunt will have a new boyfriend, and I’ll have to break up with her,” Mary Jane said.

“I’m a little worried that Mary Jane will find a boyfriend this year and that you will live with him,” Li Qun said.

“That’s not called sharing an apartment, that’s called cohabitation,” Gwen said.

“What I’m trying to say is that I’m focused on my career right now, and I don’t want to be in a relationship,” Mary Jane said.

“Prioritizing our careers is good, and so are we,” Peter said to Mary Jane with a smile.

“We are preparing to register a company called Parker Industries, and the initial business will focus on digital services,” Li Qun explained to Mary Jane.

“We’ve obtained many certifications, and our company’s business spans multiple fields.” Peter opened his backpack and took out the certifications he had shown earlier.

“Wow! Peter, you’re amazing!” Mary Jane exclaimed.

“Peter’s documents are all unremarkable. Look at mine.”

Li Qun took out a uniquely shaped ID card from his backpack and placed it on the table.

"Justice League Membership Card".

Mary Jane picked up the card and examined it carefully. The membership card had the hero logos and membership numbers of several Justice League superheroes on it.

"Does that mean you can call Batman?" Mary Jane asked.

“No, I can just pre-order Justice League comics and accumulate membership points by buying merchandise,” Li Qun replied.

“Hi Mary Jane, what do you think of Spider-Man, New York’s first superhero?” Gwen asked.

“I hope he’s not the last,” Mary Jane said.

Li Qun put away his Justice League membership card and suddenly felt someone was watching him.

Li Qun secretly observed his surroundings and spotted Wade Winston Wilson, dressed in a red and black special operations uniform, across the street.

"Look over there."

“People have already started imitating Spider-Man.” Li Qun pointed at Wade, who was peeking at him.

Wade's combat suit included a dagger, a tactical knife, and darts, but he wasn't equipped with the two longswords Dr. Banner gave him or his pistol.

Passersby on the street noticed Wade's strange attire, but they only glanced at him briefly before quickly walking away; no one stopped to chat with him.

Li Qun couldn't understand what Wade was trying to do by showing up like this.

“He’s probably waiting for someone,” Peter said.

Peter's attention returned to Mary Jane, and the four of them continued their conversation.

“This is the address where I live with my aunt now.” Mary Jane took out a pen and paper from her handbag, wrote down the address, and handed it to Peter.

“Should I tell your father?” Peter asked.

“There’s no need for that. He doesn’t even know I’m back in New York,” Mary Jane said.

"I recently found a job as an assistant to a makeup artist on Broadway, and I'm also learning makeup skills along the way."

"Is your dream still to become a star?" Gwen asked.

“I haven’t given up,” Mary Jane said.

"Do you want to become an internet celebrity?" Li Qun asked.

"What does 'internet celebrity' mean?" Mary Jane asked Li Qun curiously.

“Traditional stars need to appear on television; they must participate in one of the following: singing, television dramas, or movies, to showcase their charm to the public.”

"The internet has lowered the barrier to showing your face. As long as you stay active online, you will be noticed."

“Network infrastructure doesn’t require as many resources as traditional methods; we can operate it ourselves,” Li Qun said.

"Just like you run 'Spider Hole'?" Gwen asked.

“That’s right.” Li Qun smiled at Gwen.

What is a "spider hole"?

Mary Jane asked Li Qun the same question as Peter, and Li Qun answered the question about the "Spider Cave" again.

“You absolutely have to check out ‘Spiderhole.’ The website Liqun made is better than any other website,” Gwen said.

“I don’t have a computer,” Mary Jane said.

“Want to come to my house now? Uncle Ben and Aunt May are at work, no one’s home,” Peter said.

“…Let’s go take a look.” Mary Jane hesitated for a moment.

“Uncle Philip should be sleeping at this time,” Peter said.

"He sleeps during the day?"

“He works in the middle of the night. He gets up at five in the afternoon to have breakfast, goes to the bar at eight in the evening, goes home after ten, sleeps for two hours and wakes up in the early morning.”

Peter knew Philip Watson's daily routine very well.

“Peter, how do you know so much?” Mary Jane asked.

“Uncle Philip would come to me before going to the pub and slip me some money so I could buy things for him at the supermarket during the day,” Peter replied.

“He’s getting more and more outrageous,” Mary Jane said.

“He paid me for running the errand, so I was happy to help,” Peter said.

“My car is parked over there,” Gwen pointed in the direction.

After paying the bill, the four of them drove to Peter's house with their unfinished coffee.