Chapter 98: Unchanging Justice
"Mmm~ I'm really tired today," Silas said, sitting on a lounge chair. A Shadowkhan ninja was massaging his shoulders and back, while a larger Shadowkhan, Big Black, sat nearby, playing an arcade fighting game with Silas.
Hadouken!
The character controlled by Big Black was instantly defeated by Silas's move and collapsed to the floor.
"You're too weak, Big Black, no challenge at all," Silas said, turning to Big Black.
Big Black gave a thumbs up. Worthy of Master, that maneuver could not be performed even by the world's top masters. My admiration for you is like the surging river...
"That's enough, Big Black. I've noticed your intelligence hasn't increased, but your flattery has gotten much better," Silas said, annoyed. Little Black is still the one who causes less trouble.
"What are you playing, Silas?" Peter, wearing his Spider-Suit, jumped in through the window.
Silas looked at Peter's attire and asked, "Why are you back so early today?"
"Nothing much happened. It seems our efforts to punish crime are working pretty well," Peter said with a satisfied smile. Peter hadn't been to Hell's Kitchen yet, only patrolling within Queens, so he wasn't aware of the terrifying crime rate in Hell's Kitchen.
"Want to play the fighting arcade game?" Silas said, holding up the game controller.
"Of course, but I need to change first," Peter said, pointing at his Spider-Suit.
Peter flipped back out the window to change clothes. Soon after, Peter returned to Silas's room. Big Black courteously gave up his seat and returned to the Shadow Realm to find Little Black.
Peter took the controller and began playing against Silas. Click!
Ben Parker pushed the door open. Seeing the two young men playing games, he immediately said, "Hey! Playing games? I was quite the gaming expert back in the day."
Night Falls, at Klein's Home
Klein looked at the test tube in his hand. He had reached this final step. Unlike Connors, who chose the lizard serum, Klein had been wavering between several animal genes.
This had led to him already injecting three animal genes. Today was the fourth, which he considered the final, complete version. This gene serum had actually been ready for several days, but Klein had constantly hesitated. Every time he was about to inject it into his body, Connors' lizard-man face would flash in his mind, scaring him away.
Currently, only the skin on his arms had turned into a carapace, his fingernails were sharp, and his thighs were a little thicker. Otherwise, he looked like a normal person. As long as he wore long sleeves and pants, he looked no different from anyone else; no one could tell.
"Keep going, Klein. You are the students' best teacher. You cannot let down their expectations. You must be able to protect them." Klein muttered to himself, cheering himself on. He took a deep breath, raised his wrist, gritted his teeth, and plunged the needle in. Then, he pushed the plunger.
The gene serum in the syringe was completely injected into Klein's body. Circulating with his blood, it began to modify the genes in his body.
Thump! Thump! Thump-thump!
"Ugh..." Klein could clearly feel his heart rate accelerating, his breathing becoming rapid, and a tightness in his chest.
"Ah!"
The pain in Klein's heart was unbearable. He clutched his chest with both hands and fell to his knees. Soon, Klein's vision faded, replaced by a world of darkness.
"My eyes!" Klein fearfully groped around, knocking over many things in his home.
The pain in his heart was too much for Klein to withstand. He only managed to hold on for less than a minute before passing out completely.
Time passed...
Klein slowly regained consciousness. The world in his eyes was like a shattered mirror, broken into a thousand pieces.
He stretched out his hand, and a bone blade appeared on the back of his hand. He lightly grazed the corner of the table. The wooden table corner was severed by the bone blade without any resistance, as easily as cutting tofu.
Controlling his stiff body, Klein used his senses to navigate to the mirror in the bedroom.
His reflection in the mirror showed his entire body covered in a green insect shell. His eyes had become composite eyes, like an insect's, made up of thousands of small facets. He had a pair of tiny antennae on his forehead, and two serrated mandibles at the corners of his mouth that could retract at will.
"I really turned into a monster." Although Klein had mentally prepared himself for failure, he didn't want to be this ugly.
"No, I have to go find Connors." Klein thought long and hard. He must find Connors. Hadn't Connors turned back into a human from the Lizard? He must have a way to change Klein back!
Klein easily lifted the wardrobe, testing his strength. He was indeed much stronger, but the price was turning into an ugly insect.
Klein selected a loose black outfit, put on a baseball cap, and added sunglasses to cover his unusual features, concealing the strange parts of his body.
After confirming that nothing was exposed, Klein set off. Before Connors left, Klein had specifically asked him for his current whereabouts. Connors hadn't hidden anything, as they were still friends, and he told Klein where he was wandering.
Stepping out of the house, he looked at the empty street. Only the streetlights on both sides illuminated the last shred of light in the vicinity. This light was like the light in Klein's heart, illuminating the way forward for everyone in this dark world.
After Klein walked past the street, the streetlights began to flicker, then went out with a bang! The entire street plunged into darkness.
Klein, having left, didn't know the streetlights had gone out. Following Connors' instructions, he arrived at this street.
"Connors!" Klein tried calling out.
"Connors!"
"Connors!"
"Connors!"
But no one responded to him. Helpless, Klein kept calling several times, but still got no reply.
"Did he already leave here?" Klein slumped in disappointment. His last hope was gone. He had thought Connors might have something that could turn him back into a human, but now he couldn't even find Connors. Since Connors no longer had a fixed address and was wandering, Klein didn't know when he might run into him, unless Connors decided to visit him again.
"Don't move! Hand over all your money!" A voice reached Klein's ears.
Without a word, Klein pulled out the pistol in his jacket and walked toward the source of the sound.
He saw a bulky man in a dark corner holding a small knife and threatening a young man to hand over money.
"You don't move either~ or you'll find out what a bullet tastes like," Klein said, pointing the gun at the homeless robber.
The robber saw the gun in Klein's hand and was so startled that he dropped his knife. He raised his hands. "I won't move~ I won't move, absolutely not."
When the young man saw someone had come to save him, his first reaction was not gratitude, but to run away as fast as he could, leaving only Klein and the robber.
"See? Was it really a good idea for you to save him?" the homeless man said stubbornly.
"What I choose to do is my own business," Klein said, watching the retreating back of the young man, feeling a little disappointed.
However, since the young man was safe, Klein didn't mind. He put away the gun and said, "You better not do this kind of thing again. With working hands and feet, you should go get an honest job."
"Take this money. It should be enough for you to live on for a while. Use this time to find a job."
Saying this, Klein pulled out his wallet, took out a fifty-dollar bill, placed it on the ground, and weighed it down with a rock.
"Hey! Looks like we really caught a big fish!"
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