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Chapter 65: Little Spiders Grand Adventure (1)

In Peter's pursuit of Bullseye, things were not going as smoothly as he had hoped. His first obstacle was the simple fact that he couldn't locate Bullseye.

The truth was, Hell's Kitchen had a transient population, and even as Spider-Man, there was no way he could check everyone's identity in the area in such a short amount of time.

As Erica had mentioned, Bullseye was incredibly cunning, and he knew he had many enemies. Thus, his movements were erratic. Peter had recently tracked him down to a nightclub entrance, only for Bullseye to disappear overnight. With so many buildings and gangs in Hell's Kitchen, replaceing Bullseye's hideout proved to be an arduous task.

Now Peter understood why Matt had been so precise in dismantling Kingpin's criminal empire. It must have required tremendous effort.

Peter felt a bit disheartened. In the past, he had frequently patrolled Hell's Kitchen, occasionally dealing with muggers or thieves on the outskirts of the area. He had even taken down a few armed drug dealers. However, organized crime and lone criminals were entirely different. Some gangs and criminal organizations were difficult to eradicate because they had deep-rooted influence in the area, and everyone was their eyes and ears. This presented a significant challenge for Peter's investigation, and it was clear that Bullseye had become vigilant.

But Peter was not one to give up easily.

He was intelligent and recognized his strengths. After aimlessly wandering around Hell's Kitchen without results, Peter decided to seek assistance from modern science and technology.

One noon, Schiller watched as Peter placed a large box on the table with a resounding thud.

When he opened it, there was an oddly shaped computer inside, integrated with the box. The keyboard was unconventional, and there was no mouse, but it was connected to a complex web of wires and antennas.

Peter tinkered with it incessantly, the blue light from the screen reflecting on his face, while Pikachu watched from the side. Peter said, "Do you want to track mobile phone signals? Intercept communications in Hell's Kitchen?"

"Correct. People around here probably have little awareness of network and signal encryption. I got a bunch of outdated equipment from a friend's dad and assembled this. It may not be perfect, but it'll do the job."

"But with so many mobile phones and network signals, even if you intercept and decode them all, won't it still be a painstaking process to identify Bullseye among them?"

"That's what I'm working on now. I've already tested signal interception. It's not too difficult. Currently, I'm writing a program to intelligently extract communication content."

Schiller stood there, arms crossed, and asked, "So when did you two plan this?"

Pikachu, munching on a jar of peanut butter, replied, "Don't forget, I'm a detective, and this kid hired me."

"Correct. I needed someone to help me. I needed someone to watch my back."

"I'm grateful you chose a rat over me," Schiller said.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, doctor," Peter said somewhat embarrassed. "I just didn't want to trouble you all with this. I planned to handle it myself. Why else would I assemble this computer? Stark Tower has all the advanced computers one could imagine. Forget monitoring Hell's Kitchen; I could monitor the entire Manhattan area without any issues."

As Peter rapidly typed away on the keyboard, he continued earnestly, "I realized that I shouldn't rely too much on others. When I heard Matt talk about his experiences fighting criminals, it seemed like a simple matter—just beating up bad guys, right? How hard could it be?"

"But when I tried it myself, I discovered how challenging it actually is. It's not just about cutting one thread; it's about unraveling a tangled mess and pinpointing the one thread that could be lethal."

Schiller applauded him, saying, "Has anyone ever told you that you have a real talent for this?"

Peter seemed like he was born to be a superhero—strong, kind, and, more importantly, possessing a sharp wit that most people lacked.

Soon, the screen emitted a blue flash, and Peter stopped typing, saying, "It's done. Now I just have to wait a few hours. As long as he's sent any signals related to his identity during that time, I'll be able to capture his trail."

"What's your plan after that? A direct frontal assault?" Pikachu asked.

"No, no, no," Peter shook his head.

"Actually, Captain had given me a lot of tactical advice earlier. I didn't pay much attention at the time, but when I thought about it recently, I realized that much of it might come in handy."

With that, Peter took out a map from his backpack, unfolding it and pointing to a section. "Look here, this is Hell's Kitchen. Do you see these lines I've drawn?"

"I found an old map of New York's sewer system at a newsstand. I marked out the Hell's Kitchen section on this map."

"You can see that the sewers connect to most of Hell's Kitchen's main buildings, and the distribution of exits is quite even. From point A at the southernmost end to point B at the northernmost end, the distance between each manhole cover is almost the same, forming a uniform circular pattern."

"This is a natural approach route. I only need to start from here, see this red dot I marked? I'll enter from here. At my running speed, it'll take me less than 5 minutes to reach the central buildings of Hell's Kitchen, about 10 minutes for the second ring of buildings, and even the outermost ones will take less than 15 minutes..."

"As long as I catch the signal, I can be inside the building where Bullseye is in no more than 15 minutes," said Pikachu.

"I guess he won't choose the closest or the farthest ring, but rather the middle layers of Hell's Kitchen, just like us," Pikachu continued.

"I agree. While the central part is Kingpin's territory, Bullseye knows he'd be closely watched there. He must have his own stronghold on the outskirts," added Pikachu.

"Capturing him there would be much easier than infiltrating a place full of Kingpin's goons," Peter chimed in.

Peter had a natural talent for computers, and in less than twenty minutes, the screen suddenly lit up again. He hastily began typing on the keyboard, then stopped, jumped up, grabbed his backpack, and shouted, "Keep an eye out for me! Use the walkie-talkie if there's any activity!"

Pikachu gave him an assuring gesture.

Peter quickly made his way to the nearest sewer entrance. Just as he expected, the New York sewer system was a labyrinth, but he followed the map and arrived a few minutes earlier than anticipated.

When Peter emerged from a manhole cover, he found himself on a street south of Hell's Kitchen. Schiller's Psychological Clinic was to the north, a few streets away from Matt's apartment.

Bullseye had a knack for choosing strategic locations, and the signal led to a junkyard—a place seldom frequented by ordinary folks.

But this place was remarkably suitable for Peter. The junkyard featured uneven terrain, various objects that could be used as weapons, and several junk trucks that could serve as cover against projectiles.

Though Peter wasn't well-versed in terrain tactics, he instinctively felt that this place would be advantageous for a fight.

Silently skirting the edge of the junkyard, Peter's Spider-Sense heightened as he concentrated. He even had a vague three-dimensional map of his surroundings within a few meters in his mind.

On a two-story building behind the junkyard, Peter scaled the wall effortlessly. He used a strand of spider web to dangle headfirst and peered into a window.

Sure enough, Bullseye was inside, chatting with someone and smoking a cigarette. Peter's nose twitched as he caught a whiff of marijuana in the air. He retracted his spider web, retrieved a red and blue combat suit from his backpack, and muttered, "I forgot to ask Mr. Stark for a gas mask. Damn Hell's Kitchen."

After donning his Spider-Man suit, Peter didn't hesitate. He swung in through the broken window.

Bullseye's henchman, who was closer to the window, hadn't turned around yet and was promptly knocked out by Peter's kick. Bullseye dropped his cigarette, cursed, and blocked Peter's punch with his arm.

If Peter were an ordinary person, Bullseye's move might have been an effective defense. But the strength from his spider mutation, though not fully developed, was beyond that of an ordinary person.

Bullseye took Peter's punch head-on and was sent flying.

However, he proved himself as a master acrobat. In mid-air, he twisted his body, executed a somersault, and landed smoothly.

He sprinted toward the back door, with Peter in pursuit. But the stench in the room and the lingering cigarette smoke made Peter's senses less acute. It wasn't until a "click" sound as the back door opened that Peter chased after Bullseye, only to be met with three flying darts.

Peter couldn't afford to take them head-on and rolled to the side. He shot his spider web, swinging from the back door's wall, and landed in the junkyard, where Bullseye stood atop a small mound of garbage.

"Hah, who's this reckless fellow? Thinks he can cause trouble in Hell's Kitchen just by wearing a weird suit?" Bullseye taunted.

Peter paid him no attention, landing and delivering a swift kick.

Steve had once taught Peter an effective tactic during tactical training, and Schiller had endorsed it. When facing a villain, never let them talk too much. As soon as the adversary opened their mouth, deliver a decisive punch. There was plenty of time to talk after they were down. What honor was there in conversing with villains?

This tactic seemed to work brilliantly. Before Bullseye could even finish his sentence, Peter unleashed a flurry of punches. Bullseye was forced to roll and dodge.

Peter resisted the urge to speak and continued his relentless assault. Bullseye struggled to withstand Peter's immense strength; even a glancing blow was painful. When Bullseye punched Spider-Man, the latter barely budged, but when Spider-Man struck back, Bullseye was sent flying.

If it weren't for Bullseye's excellent balance and agility, he would have been down for the count long ago.

Seeing the unfavorable situation, Bullseye hurled a set of darts. While Spider-Man dodged to the side, Bullseye pulled a small spherical object from his pocket and tossed it to the ground. A faint hiss followed, and a cloud of tear gas filled the air.

It wasn't a smoke screen to obscure vision; rather, it was a mini-tear gas grenade. The noxious fumes left Peter gasping for breath, and he coughed violently. When he regained his composure, Bullseye had vanished.