The moment the voice echoed, Peter's mood felt like a roller coaster plummeting into hell only to be rocketed straight back to heaven.
Hell yeah!
Who cared if he couldn't be Spider-Man? This Uncle Peter... had a cheat code!
The haze in Peter's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a brilliance he had never felt before. He forced down the surge of adrenaline, his mind spinning as he quickly devised a cover story to keep anyone from noticing his odd behavior.
Without changing his expression, he reached into his backpack, pulled out a tissue, and gingerly wrapped the spider's corpse. He made a casual show of moving toward a nearby trash can, but the moment the tissue concealed the spider, he shouted in his mind:
"Sacrifice!"
[Sacrifice Successful!]
[Congratulations! Host has received 5,000 Sacrifice Points!]
The icy prompt rang out again. Simultaneously, a virtual interface appeared on Peter's retina—visible only to him—clearly displaying: Sacrifice Value: 5,000.
It worked!
The massive weight crushing Peter's chest finally lifted. He let out a long, slow breath. With points in the bank, he turned back to Gwen, leaning in close with a look of deep, sincere concern.
"Gwen, how are you feeling?" he whispered. "I checked it out—it didn't look like a venomous species. At most... well, you might run a bit of a fever. Just get some rest, and you'll be fine."
His voice was gentle, his eyes reflecting a worry so genuine it was almost tactile.
Gwen had been feeling a growing sense of unease after the bite, but hearing Peter's words sent a warm current through her heart. Today's Peter felt different from the slightly awkward, science-nerd boy she knew. He seemed softer, more attentive.
Without a shred of suspicion, Gwen nodded shyly, her face dusting with pink as she unconsciously leaned a little closer to him.
For the remainder of the tour, both were preoccupied.
Gwen kept stealing glances at Peter, her mind racing with uncontrollable thoughts. Why is Peter being so understanding today? Did he finally take a hint? Does he... like me? The mere thought made her cheeks burn.
Peter, meanwhile, had completely submerged his consciousness into the "Sacrifice System." After a bit of mental fumbling, he finally grasped the basic logic of his "Golden Finger."
The Sacrifice System was exactly what it sounded like: sacrifice items to gain points, then trade points for power. The core logic was brutally simple: any item associated with a named character from the Marvel Universe could be sacrificed.
The value of the points depended on the item's inherent energy grade and its "special significance" to the original owner.
For example, if Peter tried to sacrifice one of Gwen's socks, it would probably net him 1 point as a pity prize since it held no inherent significance to her. But if he got his hands on the Tesseract or Thanos's Infinity Gauntlet...
The points would likely be measured in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions.
The system had a built-in cooldown: items from the same character could only be sacrificed once every six months. The sole purpose of these points was to spend them in the System Shop.
The shop refreshed automatically every month, featuring eight random, mysterious items from across the Multiverse. These items were Peter's key to surviving the cutthroat world of Marvel.
The Oscorp field trip finally ended in a strange, heavy atmosphere.
On the bus ride home, Gwen felt her head growing heavier. Waves of dizziness crashed over her. Her breath became hot and shallow; her eyelids felt like lead. Finally, unable to stay upright, her head lolled over, and she slumped onto Peter's shoulder, drifting into a semi-conscious sleep.
A faint, clean scent wafted from her hair, and her soft locks brushed against his neck. In any other situation, Peter would have been distracted by the intimacy of the moment.
But right now, his focus was entirely on the dazzling virtual storefront floating before his eyes. Eight items, glowing with various hues, sat silently on the light-screen.
Item 1: Chakra Seed
Source: Naruto
Effect: Cultivate the Chakra within the body to perform Ninjutsu.
Price: 500 Sacrifice Points.
Item 2: Kagune (Random)
Source: Tokyo Ghoul
Effect: Generates a predatory organ. Grants high offensive/defensive power, but creates a craving for raw flesh.
Price: 500 Sacrifice Points.
Item 3: Makoto Kyogoku's Karate Insights
Source: Detective Conan
Effect: Instant mastery of all karate techniques and combat experience. Allows one to take on armed thugs barehanded and dodge bullets at close range.
Price: 500 Sacrifice Points. ...
Peter's eyes darted across the list. From "Gigai" (Bleach) to "Nichirin Sword" (Demon Slayer), every item made his heart race. These were power systems from other worlds! Most of them, if trained to a high level, would give him the foundational strength to survive Marvel.
He wanted almost all of them. However, when his gaze landed on the final item, his breathing stopped.
Item 8: Random Talisman (1 of 3)
Source: Jackie Chan Adventures
Effect: Randomly draw three of the Twelve Talismans. The Host can choose one to keep and gain absolute mastery over.
Price: 10,000 Sacrifice Points.
It's love at first sight!
Peter's eyes were practically glued to the "Random Talisman" option. The Twelve Talismans! These were the most iconic artifacts from Jackie Chan Adventures. Each one represented a unique, god-like superpower.
In the current list, this was easily the most valuable and high-potential option. Any single talisman could turn an ordinary high schooler into a powerhouse instantly. If he got lucky and pulled the Dog (Immortality), Dragon (Combustion), or Rabbit (Super Speed), he'd be set for life.
But then...
Peter looked at his balance of 5,000 and then at the 10,000 price tag. He felt a wave of helplessness. He was short by exactly half. Was he destined to miss this god-given opportunity?
Just as bitterness began to take hold, an icy mechanical voice rang out in his mind:
[Newbie Benefits are being distributed...]
[Congratulations! Host has received the 'First Order Half-Off' Privilege! You may purchase any single item in the shop at 50% off (One-time use only)!]