As they talked, the two of them made their way toward the hideout Gabriel had mentioned.
After carefully analyzing the situation, Zhang Parker quickly figured out what he needed to do—mainly, where to "borrow" some useful equipment.
First, he paid a visit to Stark Industries of this era and "borrowed" a time-energy generator.
Next, he stopped by Alchemax and "borrowed" space-jump technology, matter-to-energy conversion tech, and a variety of related components.
By the time he had "borrowed" enough to nearly fill an entire warehouse, he finally stopped—not because he couldn't take any more, but because he already had enough.
The consequence? In this era, "Spider-Man" became a fully wanted criminal!
To deal with this, he had to defeat numerous Public Eye enforcers and quite a few superheroes of the time, demonstrating enough deterrent force to make them temporarily halt their pursuit.
Mainly, they needed to reassess Spider-Man's combat capabilities in order to formulate a more effective plan to capture him.
From having nothing to acquiring a setup rivaling that of any major laboratory, Zhang Parker had achieved it all in just a few weeks.
One had to admit, in some respects, Zhang Parker was indeed highly capable and action-oriented.
The real question was, when Spider-Man 2099 returned to this era, only to find himself immediately hunted down, what would he think?
After all, to the people of this time, Spider-Man was Spider-Man—they didn't know the difference between Zhang Parker and Spider-Man 2099.
Uh… to be honest, Zhang Parker himself felt a little guilty about this.
That guilt was mainly directed at Gabriel O'Hara.
So, to avoid dwelling on it, he decided to distance himself from the situation.
He left the hideout Gabriel had arranged for him and found an abandoned warehouse in the ruins of Old York City, where he could complete his designs.
One of those designs was a smart assistant wristband, which he named "Anna"—after the name of the girlfriend he had in this body after breaking up with Peter's original girlfriend, Mary Jane, in Universe 616.
The other was the device that would allow him to return to his own universe—a time-space travel machine.
"So this is future tech? Pfft!" After quickly analyzing the secrets behind the technology he had acquired, Zhang Parker didn't bother to hide his disdain.
"I guess this is the misfortune of being too far ahead of my time. In this vast world, there's nothing that can keep up with my thought process. Even in this future a hundred years ahead, these gadgets are barely passable. Sigh!"
With his hands in his pockets, Zhang Parker looked at the device he had built in just half a day, feeling quite pleased with himself. Finding superiority in future technology gave him a deep sense of satisfaction.
Fortunately, only Anna witnessed all of this, and she wouldn't mock his childish antics.
"Doctor, has your time tunnel been completed?" Anna asked in her usual meticulous tone.
Zhang Parker nodded. "Almost. And you—adjust your hairstyle. It should be a bit shorter."
"Adjusting." The AI assistant Anna quickly modified her appearance. "How about this?"
Zhang Parker couldn't resist reaching out and gently brushing her cheek. "Perfect. Alright, let's get down to business! Download yourself into my wristwatch and get ready for time-jump activation."
With that, Zhang Parker picked up his mask and put it on.
"Understood, Doctor."
"Run a check on the 'Flashback' command to avoid any accidents."
"All systems are functioning normally."
"Good. Then let's go—time to head home!"
Zhang Parker returned to the familiar passageway, feeling a surge of relief—his machine was indeed functioning properly.
The same physical sensations, the same inability to move, and ultimately, the same slightly nauseating way of being "spat out."
However, experiencing it a second time left Zhang Parker unfazed.
"Time travel is actually quite interesting. Maybe I should explore more worlds in the future?" Zhang Parker was already starting to make further plans for his future adventures.
Pop—
He quickly emerged from the time tunnel.
Yet, as he took in his surroundings, he realized that he had not returned to his own universe.
Not far away, a body was engulfed in raging flames. Amidst the fire, a humanoid figure could be faintly seen, but it was unclear whether it was a person who had self-immolated after playing with fire or someone who had been burned to death by another.
Zhang Parker looked around further.
Soon, he spotted a pile of rubble beneath a collapsed building over a hundred meters away. Among the debris lay the shattered remains of the "Thing," Ben Grimm, with only half of his body intact.
Nearby, he saw "Mr. Fantastic" Reed Richards, whose neck and torso had been stretched to unnatural lengths, and the "Invisible Woman" Susan Storm, who had two gaping holes pierced through her abdomen.
"The Fantastic Four? I've always said that Richards' arrogance would lead to their downfall. See? I was right. But, as much as I hate to admit it, those guys were a formidable team. Who could have taken them all down so easily?" Zhang Parker's gaze shifted between the corpses, his mind filled with suspicion.
"Doctor, I have detected an unusual energy signature. The most distinct readings are coming from behind that pile of rubble," his assistant, Anna, reported.
Zhang Parker immediately followed her guidance and soon came upon a slumped figure against the base of a wall.
A red and blue Spider-suit, with a large "5" emblazoned on the chest.
Seeing this suit, Zhang Parker froze for a moment.
Then, he stepped forward and removed the figure's mask.
A familiar face appeared before him.
It was none other than this world's Spider-Man—Peter Parker!
Zhang Parker stood stunned for another moment before finally muttering a single word:
"Interesting!"
"Anna, it seems our time machine has encountered a minor issue. It didn't send me back to my timeline but instead transported me to yet another world—one along a parallel timeline. In this world, Spider-Man was a member of the Fantastic Five."
"I agree," Anna responded. "There were indeed some instabilities in the vibration frequency during transit. It seems something interfered with the time tunnel. Doctor, I've also detected a new temporal signature nearby."
"What do you mean? What did you find?" Zhang Parker asked.
"A short while ago, another temporal energy signature appeared here. Its vibration frequency is slightly different from the surrounding disturbances, suggesting that it doesn't belong to this timeline. However, it didn't linger for long and vanished quickly," Anna explained.
"Doctor, be careful!"
"What!?"
Whoosh!
The corpse on the ground suddenly snapped its eyes open, and a pair of sharp, piercing eyes locked onto Zhang Parker's!
(End of Chapter)
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