Chapter 120: Spider-Boy Comes Online

Embarrassed to have learned the truth, Rhodey didn't linger; he fled as if making a quick escape.

"He's a bit shy," Tony remarked.

Luke didn't stay much longer either. Since Tony had agreed to hand over the rare elements—iridium, rhodium, and palladium—his objective had been achieved.

"Send the materials over as soon as possible," Luke said to Tony before stepping into the elevator.

"Same goes for yours," Tony replied casually.

Upon returning home from Stark Tower, Luke immediately addressed Christina: "Assistant, investigate a man named Pierce who is associated with S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Alexander Pierce?" Christina’s voice responded instantly.

"That's the one," Luke said with a scoff. "Dig up his files and identify everyone connected to him. I want to know what color underwear he wears every single day. Root out every single mole in S.H.I.E.L.D. for me. I’m going to present 'Nick Fury' with a grand gift—let's set the price at ten, no, twenty billion dollars."

"Understood, Master," Christina giggled. "Alexander Pierce is a member of the World Security Council; he is the one who appointed Nick Fury to the position of Director. This investigation may take some time, as it involves many connections."

"How long?"

"It will only take an hour to extract the preliminary data. But if you wish to uproot them entirely, it will take several days to ensure there are no stragglers left behind."

"So, S.H.I.E.L.D. really has become a hornet's nest," Luke nodded. "I leave it to you."

"Rest assured, Master."

Luke lay lazily on his bed, hands behind his head, eyes fixed on the ceiling. The bedroom fell silent.

He wondered if Hydra’s attempt to capture him was driven by their interest in his so-called "super genius" label, hoping to exploit him to realize their ambitions. Hydra’s ambitions were vast, the greatest of which was world domination. To that end, they had tried everything—natural, supernatural, scientific, military, and even frequent acts of terror. They had infiltrated the mighty S.H.I.E.L.D. until it was riddled with holes. It had to be admitted that in the movies, Hydra had come close to success several times, only to be thwarted by Captain America and other superheroes.

Hydra wanted to capture him rather than kill him outright; they must have wanted him to work for them, to research something...

Against this group, Luke felt that scheming was useless. Hydra had already mastered the art of conspiracy. Overwhelming force was the most suitable way to deal with them.

"Cut off one head, and two more shall take its place? What if I cut off all the heads at once?" Lying on the bed, Luke snorted. At this moment, the childish naivety he had displayed in front of Tony and the others was entirely gone; his gaze was that of a mature adult.

Luke knew well how troublesome Hydra was in the films. With deep roots dating back to the Nazis of World War II, and even further back to the era of the Inhumans—the concept of Hydra had existed for millions of years. Cutting off one head to grow two was not just an empty slogan; it was a reality. That was why he needed to be fully prepared before taking down the Hydra faction within S.H.I.E.L.D. in one fell swoop.

Hydra had many branches across the globe; the one entrenched in S.H.I.E.L.D. was merely one of them. Dealing with Hydra would be a long and tedious battle, and he knew he had to prepare himself mentally.

"The warehouse project can start. Assistant, have the S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel cleared out?" Luke asked the empty air.

"Master, the project has been handed over to us. The new home is quite nice!" Christina’s cheerful voice replied.

Luke was also satisfied with this olive branch from "Nick Fury." S.H.I.E.L.D. certainly knew how to do things in style. He had checked it out; the warehouse had been expanded to three stories high—it could no longer be called a warehouse.

"It should be considered a formal research institute now. It has private rooms, a living room, a gym, a training room, and even a kitchen and bathroom. It's fully equipped for living."

He had already moved the Black Roses over, and they were likely familiarizing themselves with the environment by now. With the sudden addition of the Black Rose special forces, his manpower had increased. This was, naturally, something he was happy to see.

"Assistant, the Warlord is beginning the installation of the G-3 Predators. The blueprints have been provided to you. How long is the estimated completion time?" Luke asked.

"It will be finished within a week. Including your request for simultaneous networked combat for multiple Predators—that is not difficult to achieve."

"Once Tony returns the rare elements, we can begin manufacturing the Apocrypha. This will be a huge help for the Battle of New York. I will participate in this project personally; I consider it a major trump card," Luke nodded, speaking as if to himself.

"Master, the 'Little Bug' project is complete. The blueprints for the Spider-Generation One can now be delivered," Christina reminded him suddenly.

"Ahead of schedule? That’s great!" Luke sat up, a look of genuine joy on his face.

A few days ago, the Caliburn project had also been completed. The manufacturing of the Shadowless Sword-Eleanor, custom-made for the Warlord, could now begin. It seemed the newly arrived machine tools would be running at full capacity 24 hours a day.

Luke pulled out his phone to view the Spider-Generation One blueprints sent by Christina.

After a brief look, he nodded with satisfaction. This design by Christina was exactly what he had envisioned.

Spider-Generation One Suit: It resembled the appearance of the Spider-Man suit Tony had made in the movies, utilizing a form-fitting design. It integrated Iron Man suit technology with the Empyrean technology of the aerial mech "Gale," combining the strengths of both.

Luke laughed as he looked at it. "Little Spider is starting off with god-tier gear. He is definitely going to become the strongest Spider-Man ever in my hands."

...

Time flew by. A week later, at the research institute, the headquarters of the Hero Alliance...

"I've analyzed that ability of yours. I've given it a name: Spider-Sense. It allows you to sense everything around you through the vibrations of your fine hairs in the air, just like a spider."

Luke had summoned Little Spider for his routine special training, intending to gift him the freshly completed Spider-Generation One suit today.

Spider-Sense was truly useful; Luke had experienced it himself. With it, no one would ever be able to sneak-attack him again. Any schemes against him would be discovered before they could be executed.

Under Luke’s careful guidance, Peter Parker had mastered the majority of his Spider-Man abilities—at least in theory.

Luke felt that what Little Spider needed now was real combat experience. He was ready to debut.

Since the investigation into Hydra would take some time, he decided to take it out on Kingpin first. He would take Little Spider for a stroll through Hell's Kitchen.