The night in Queens, for Peter Parker—or rather, the newly registered hero "Spider-Man"—was a mix of familiarity and an unprecedented sense of novelty and… tension.
He was no longer the carefree "vigilante" who struck and ran; he was now "an organized man."
The cheap smartwatch on his wrist (a second-hand purchase made with his last savings), simply modified to receive encrypted communications and mission information from the Association, vibrated slightly, showing the last tracked location of the target robbers.
The mission itself wasn't complicated.
Two clumsy thieves had robbed a convenience store, taking not too much cash, and were driving a stolen, beat-up car erratically through the alleys of Queens, trying to evade the Police.
For Spider-Man, this should have been a piece of cake.
But tonight, it felt completely different.
Before, he only needed to consider how to subdue the bad guys fastest and safest.
Now, his mind involuntarily replayed the clauses from the Association's "Hero Conduct Code Handbook":
[Article 7: During operations, damage to public and private property should be minimized.]
[Article 12: After subduing the target, ensure they are incapacitated and perform initial restraint, awaiting subsequent processing.]
[Appendix C: Heroes are advised to use the Association's standard issue restraint equipment (such as high-strength restraint straps) in non-emergency situations…]
"Standard issue restraint equipment? Where would I get that?" Peter muttered as he swung rapidly between buildings.
"Isn't web-fluid the best restraint equipment? All-natural, biodegradable, and sticky!"
He felt like a wild horse suddenly bridled, a bit constrained.
Soon, he locked onto the beat-up car weaving through the alley.
He could even hear the two robbers inside laughing triumphantly, thinking they had shaken off the Police cars.
"Alright, time to work," Peter took a deep breath, aimed for the right moment, and leapt from the top of a low building, landing precisely on the roof of the speeding car like a preying Spider!
"Thud!" A dull sound.
"What was that sound?!"
"Someone's on the roof!"
The robbers inside the car were startled, frantically swerving the steering wheel, trying to shake Peter off.
Peter's feet were as if welded to the car roof, using his adhesion ability to stand steadily, while simultaneously shooting a large blob of webbing onto the front windshield!
"Whoosh!" With his vision obscured, the driver panicked and sharply turned the steering wheel, causing the car to swerve out of control and crash towards a fire hydrant on the roadside!
"Oh no! Property damage!" Peter's heart tightened.
Almost instinctively, the moment the car was about to hit, he quickly shot several strands of webbing to the side, sticking to the walls of the buildings on either side, and pulled back with all his might!
"Screech—!" A piercing metallic scraping sound rang out.
Just before hitting the fire hydrant, the car was forcibly pulled off course by the webbing, only sideswiping it and avoiding the most severe impact.
Water squirted from the side of the scraped fire hydrant, but at least the main body was intact.
"Phew… that shouldn't count as serious damage, right?" Peter sighed with relief, feeling like he was taking a rigorous exam.
He quickly slid off the roof and pulled open the car door.
The two robbers inside were still disoriented, and he easily wrapped them in webbing, turning them into two White cocoons with only their heads exposed, completely incapacitating them.
"Done!" Peter clapped his hands, quite satisfied with his "standardized" operation.
He pressed his communication watch, ready to report mission completion and, as per procedure, await handover by Logistics Department or Police.
However, just then, something unexpected happened.
Perhaps the commotion had attracted attention, or perhaps someone recognized his iconic red and blue suit, but several young people who had been jogging nearby, and a few residents peering out of windows from adjacent apartment buildings, suddenly gathered around excitedly!
They were even holding up their phones!
"It's Spider-Man!"
"It really is him! I just saw him flying in the sky!"
"Spider-Man! Look over here!"
"Can we get a photo?!"
Click! Click! Flashbulbs flared.
Peter froze instantly.
He was used to immediately retreating after a battle, disappearing into the night, hiding his achievements.
Being surrounded by the public at close range, even asked for photos, was extremely unfamiliar and extremely… dangerous to him!
His identity absolutely could not be exposed!
"Uh… this… hello everyone? Thank you? But… I'm still working, the procedure…" He stammered, instinctively backing away, wanting to jump onto a wall and leave.
But the fans (?) were too enthusiastic, surrounding him in an instant, phone cameras almost poking his mask.
"Spider-Man, have you joined the Association?"
"That was so cool just now! Pulling the car with your web!"
"How's the Association's benefits? Do you have social insurance and housing fund?"
Questions rained down like a barrage.
Peter felt sweat forming on his forehead (though through the mask).
He awkwardly tried to fend off overly close cameras while anxiously looking at his communication watch, hoping the Association's handover personnel would arrive quickly to "save the day."
"Please everyone… keep your distance! Be careful! The mission… the mission isn't completely over yet!" He tried to maintain order, his voice slightly strained from tension.
Just then, a patrol car with the NYPD logo finally arrived, lights flashing.
Two Police officers got out, and seeing the robbers wrapped like tamales and Spider-Man trapped in the crowd, their expressions were a bit odd.
"Spider-Man?" A slightly older Police officer recognized him, his tone a bit uncertain, "Did you subdue the robbers? Uh… thank you for your assistance.
We'll take it from here."
"Okay! Okay! They're all yours!" Peter felt a huge weight lifted, quickly pointing at the "web cocoons" on the ground, "These two… targets, subdued!
The stolen money should be in the car!
There's minor property damage on site, that fire hydrant… I tried my best to control it!"
He rattled off the details, continuously trying to squeeze through gaps in the crowd.
"Spider-Man, don't go!"
"Sign an autograph!"
The fans remained persistent.
Peter felt like he was about to suffer social death.
He finally used a bit of cleverness to break free from a gap, hastily shot a web, and swung away awkwardly, quickly disappearing between the buildings, his retreating figure looking very much like he was fleeing in disarray.
The two remaining Police officers exchanged glances, then began to process the scene and the two still-cursing "web cocoons."
The onlookers, still not satisfied, discussed their experience of "capturing" Spider-Man live, and eagerly posted videos and photos online.
A few minutes later, Spider-Man's Association account received a system notification:
[Mission "Apprehend Convenience Store Robbers" completed! Reward points 25 issued.]
[Mission Performance Evaluation: Qualified.
Successfully subdued targets and recovered stolen funds.
However, there were flaws in the subsequent mission handover process, with insufficient experience in interacting with the public, leading to a small-scale crowd.
It is recommended to strengthen relevant procedure learning and response training.]
[Hero Rating Preliminary Assessment: D+ Rank.]
Peter hid behind a Water tower on a tall building, looking at the evaluation report, and let out a long, long sigh of relief, then buried his head in his knees.
"Social death… definitely social death…" he muttered to himself.
He could imagine the discussions those videos would spark online.
Sure enough, soon after, related videos and topics began to ferment online.
"Close-up Shot! Spider-Man Allegedly Joins the Hero Association!"
"Quirky Style: Spider-Man "Besieged" by Fans at Mission Site, Flees in Embarrassment!"
"On the Awkward Collision Between Traditional Vigilantes and Professional Heroes…"
The comments were even more varied:
"Hahahaha, I'm dying of laughter! Spider-Man being surrounded is so cute!"
"He seems so nervous? Does Spider-Man get shy too?"
"This handover process is indeed a bit awkward, doesn't the Association provide training?"
"Anyway, welcome to the Association, Spider-Man!"
Fisk Tower, Command Center.
Wesley also saw the relevant reports and online feedback.
He rubbed his temples and said to his assistant, "Add 'Hero Public Image Management and On-Site Response' as a mandatory course for the next batch of new hero training.
Also, notify the Logistics Department to consider designing more convenient non-contact mission handover solutions for heroes like Spider-Man who need to hide their identities."
Although the process was somewhat comical, Spider-Man's first Association mission was completed without major incident.
And for Peter Parker, this "social death" debut made him deeply realize that becoming a "professional hero" involved learning far more than just how to fight.
He looked at the 25 points that had just been credited to his account, receiving a tangible reward for his "hero work" for the first time, and that subtle feeling somewhat diluted the embarrassment.
"At least…" he comforted himself, "the money for the calculator will be earned back soon."
It's just that the process was a little… more convoluted than he imagined.