Chapter 020 Incomplete Transformation

"How did you provoke the White Witch yesterday?" Wang Bo asked.

"The White Witch, that name really fits—not only does she wear all white, but she's also a witch. God, why didn't I think of such a vivid name? I was going to call her the Ice Woman, but now it seems terrible. The White Witch is much more suitable for that vicious woman."

Peter Parker's goofy nature finally showed itself.

Wang Bo rubbed his temples and said, "I asked you how you provoked the White Witch. Don't give me that useless stuff. If I hadn't saved you last night, you'd have been beaten to death."

Peter Parker couldn't argue with that.

So he honestly gave a brief account of the matter.

The whole process wasn't complicated. In the past few days, ice sculptures had been appearing frequently on New York streets. Peter Parker found it interesting and did some investigating.

Last night, while wandering around New York, he discovered a preaching scene.

So he sneaked in to investigate.

At the preaching site, the White Witch was seducing a group of people. She showed them her power and told them that if they submitted to her, she would not only grant them power but also promise that if they were willing to conquer the world with her, they would become elites.

At the time, Spider-Man didn't think the White Witch could conquer the world, because although the power she displayed was magical, it wasn't enough to conquer the world.

Of course, he didn't intend to turn a blind eye either.

After all, these people were innocent. If they were fooled by the White Witch and risked their lives for her world-conquering cause, only to be killed or imprisoned for life, that would be truly tragic.

"So you jumped out, right?" Wang Bo couldn't help asking at this point.

Peter Parker nodded. "Yes, I jumped out and stopped the preaching."

At the time, he thought he had the upper hand. Although the White Witch had some skill, she shouldn't be a match for him. So after jumping out, he went straight at her.

Then he was sent flying.

The White Witch, enraged that he had disrupted her preaching, began to hunt Peter Parker.

Then came the scene Wang Bo had witnessed.

If Wang Bo hadn't intervened, Peter Parker would probably have been killed by the White Witch once she got bored. But it was precisely because of Wang Bo's intervention that Peter Parker saw the White Witch's true power.

That kind of terrifying strength was truly beyond his ability to match.

The initial chase was just a cat playing with a mouse. If she had been serious, he would have been dead long ago. That was why he was grateful to Wang Bo.

Last night, when he saw Wang Bo kill someone, he felt terrible and didn't sleep well all night.

That was why Wang Bo found Peter Parker listless when he saw him.

But Wang Bo didn't know the details.

"Peter Parker, I came to you today not only to ask about last night but, more importantly, to propose that we join forces to deal with the White Witch."

Wang Bo thought that, given Spider-Man's character, he wouldn't refuse.

So he straightforwardly stated his purpose.

However, to Wang Bo's surprise, Peter Parker didn't immediately agree upon receiving the invitation. Instead, he looked incredulous. "Fight the White Witch? Are you crazy? She killed you instantly yesterday. Don't you know her strength? She's an enemy we can't handle together."

Wang Bo was taken aback, then asked, "So you're giving up?"

"Of course. I don't want to die," Peter Parker said, uttering the least Spider-Man-like line.

Wang Bo frowned. "But you should understand, Peter Parker, that besides a few of us, no one else in the world can deal with the White Witch."

"So what?" Peter Parker remained unmoved.

"Don't you think that with great power comes great responsibility?" Wang Bo tried to provoke Peter Parker with that line.

But he remained indifferent. "What you said sounds like something my uncle would say, but I don't think so. 'With great power comes great responsibility' is just talk for kids."

Wang Bo: ...

Damn.

What went wrong? Why had Peter Parker turned out like this?

This wasn't Spider-Man at all.

Seeing Peter Parker's indifferent expression, Wang Bo sighed and turned to leave. Since the other party was unwilling, Wang Bo would have to find someone else.

But on his way back, Wang Bo had Friday investigate why Peter Parker had gone astray—it didn't make sense.

However, the investigation results shocked Wang Bo.

Peter Parker's transformation into Spider-Man was triggered by his Uncle Ben's dying words.

With great power comes great responsibility.

Uncle Ben's death had a huge impact on Peter Parker, teaching him through his own life the preciousness of life and what responsibility meant.

From then on, Peter Parker officially transformed into Spider-Man.

But what Wang Bo didn't expect was that, as of now, Peter Parker's Uncle Ben was still alive.

Of course, he was originally supposed to die.

However, just as Uncle Ben was about to be killed by a robber, a passerby saved him. Because Uncle Ben was still alive, Peter Parker hadn't suffered a huge shock.

Admittedly, the fact that the robber he let go nearly killed Uncle Ben did cause Peter Parker to change somewhat, making him willing to help those in need.

But this help was limited.

In short, Peter Parker was willing to help others as much as possible while protecting himself, but once the danger involved him personally, he would back off.

That was why Peter Parker had fled last night.

Because he had never thought of sacrificing himself to defeat criminals.

So far, Peter Parker could only be considered a vigilante, not a self-sacrificing Spider-Man.

By the way, the person who saved Uncle Ben was none other than a mechanical soldier created on Wang Bo's orders.

Disguised as a taxi driver, he happened to step in and save Uncle Ben just as he was about to be killed, which also prevented Peter Parker from fully transforming.

In other words, it was Wang Bo's own fault.

Wang Bo felt helpless too.

To make Peter Parker transform was simple—dramatically kill Uncle Ben or Aunt May.

But Wang Bo wasn't cruel enough to kill innocent people just to make Peter Parker transform.

Besides, even if Peter Parker was unwilling to deal with the White Witch, Wang Bo wasn't without people.