American Comics: The Girl Next Door is Spider-Gwen

Defeating a supervillain comes with rewards?

Are you kidding me? I'm just someone who got tied to a superhero by association.

As an "associated individual," shouldn't my job be to remain a powerless bystander, help out with chores under the superhero's glow, or provide them with a warm haven? What's with this vibe of forcing me to be a superhero myself?

Ye Li, who had just beaten the Vulture half to death, thought this with absolutely no self-awareness.

Think about it: if Iron Man were about to dive into battle in his precious suit, and Pepper said, "Hey Tony, I've already dealt with the enemies. Stop parading around in your suit and get back to work!"

Oh my God, then Iron Man would have to be renamed Iron Woman.

This "Extraordinary Connection System" is clearly not serious and is pushing me to overstep my role.

Despite his complaints, Ye Li still seriously reviewed the rewards.

Hmm… It's probably like the difference between doing NPC-assigned quests and grinding mobs in an MMO. Compared to triggering rewards through Gwen's tasks, this self-initiated grinding seems to yield subpar rewards.

One million dollars? A lot for ordinary people, but he didn't care much about money.

Captain America collector's figurine?

S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Coulson would probably love it.

The Vulture's absolute loyalty?

What do I need the loyalty of a sleazy old man for?

Fine, at least it's an extra handyman.

After much deliberation, Ye Li made his choice.

"Option Three"

At least Toomes, as a former electronics engineer, was far more useful than the other two options.

..

The Vulture, who had just sighed in relief, saw Ye Li suddenly stop and turn back, and his heart leapt again.

"You..."

The Vulture was about to say something, but his consciousness began to blur.

Then, he and his suit turned into a stream of data and vanished.

"What's this?"

Following the system's instructions, Ye Li opened the console on his suit's wrist and pressed a button.

He saw the data stream reassemble, and the Vulture reappeared, with his suit completely intact.

This wasn't what he expected...

So "absolute loyalty" meant turning him into a summonable entity?!

...

A few days later.

Ye Li sat in front of a laptop, browsing some information online.

That night, Kingpin indeed changed his activity area. Ye Li searched all the locations the Vulture mentioned but found nothing.

So, slacking as usual, he decided to put it aside for now and wait for another chance to give the underground king a hard time.

After all, they hadn't even met face-to-face, so the grudge didn't feel personal to him.

"Oh, big bro, you're following this news too?"

Jessica, carrying a small black handbag, leaned over to Ye Li's computer and said, "That Black Spider who appeared the other day—his outfit looks a lot like Ghost Spider's. I think they're a couple or something."

Ye Li felt helpless.

He had clearly said he was Spider-Man, but somehow the media started calling him Black Spider.

He wasn't Miles, that little Black Spider.

Jessica kept chattering beside him, "But he's really mysterious. That day, the supervillain Vulture who almost crushed us mysteriously disappeared. Some people say Black Spider killed him."

"I heard Gwen say her dad has a big problem with this. He thinks criminals should be handed over to the police and that no one else has the right to interfere..."

"Jessica, if you don't leave for school now, you're going to be late. You wouldn't want that on the first day of school, right?"

Ye Li lifted the black band on his wrist, which displayed the time.

"Alright, your new watch is pretty nice."

Jessica tilted her head and gave him a light peck on the cheek before smiling and leaving.

"Alright then, I'm off. Don't forget the party tonight! Gwen will be there too~"

"Don't worry, I'll definitely be there!"

Ye Li waved at her.

After seeing Jessica off, he glanced through the recent news again.

"Stark hasn't even become Iron Man yet. Supervillains are so scarce these days."

He hadn't found any fated enemies for Gwen or Jessica.

Disappointed, Ye Li closed the screen and decided to abandon his plans for grinding villains.

Rather than exhausting himself fighting supervillains for rewards, wasn't it better to build connections with future superheroes, join their simple tasks, and maybe grab a template or two? Being a laid-back "connected guy" sounded much better.

That's right, he was just that lazy.

Maybe he had just gotten used to slacking off in the past few years.

.....

Midtown High School.

"Gwen, why do you look like you're in a bad mood?"

"Do I?"

Gwen took out a small mirror, smiled at it, and said, "It's normal, no frowning."

"It's your appetite! Your appetite has been huge lately. It's almost like mine. I heard people eat a lot when they're in a bad mood."

Jessica warned seriously, "Don't eat too much at tonight's party, or you'll ruin your figure, and it won't look good."

"..."

Gwen looked innocent. Fighting crime was exhausting, okay? What's wrong with eating a bit more?