10:30 p.m.
For a high school student, it wasn't exactly an early hour to return home, but it was still within the range that wouldn't make his guardians excessively worried.
Peter pushed open the front door.
There wasn't the slightest trace of gunpowder or blood on his body.
The Horse Talisman's power had already erased every sign of his activities that night. Even the black hoodie that had been torn to shreds during the fighting had been restored to its original condition.
It looked as clean and pristine as though he'd just removed the price tag.
As for the two briefcases filled with cash and Daredevil's entire set of equipment, Peter had already slipped them through his bedroom window before entering the house.
"Peter, you're back."
Uncle Ben and Aunt May were sitting together on the living room couch, watching television.
Both greeted him with warm smiles.
"Yeah. Sorry I'm home so late."
Without changing his expression, Peter casually invented an excuse, placing all the blame for his late return on Gwen.
"Today's material was pretty straightforward, but for some reason, no matter how many times I explained it, Gwen kept saying there were still things she didn't understand..."
Sure enough, his seemingly innocent explanation immediately caught his aunt and uncle's attention.
"Oh, you're not late at all. Gwen's just trying to keep up with her studies."
"Peter, you need to be more understanding. When you're dealing with girls, you should be a gentleman and show a little more patience."
The elderly couple began earnestly lecturing him.
During their little speech, they exchanged a knowing glance.
Both could see the same helpless amusement in each other's eyes.
'Goodness, when is this silly nephew of ours finally going to figure things out?'
After successfully fooling Uncle Ben and Aunt May, Peter quietly returned to his bedroom.
The first thing he did was open the two metal briefcases.
The distinctive scent of freshly printed currency filled the air, carrying that strangely intoxicating allure that seemed to accompany large amounts of money.
Peter quickly counted the contents.
Within moments, he arrived at an exact figure.
Four million dollars.
For someone in his current circumstances, it was undoubtedly an enormous fortune.
Of course, the money couldn't withstand official scrutiny, which meant he couldn't simply deposit it into a bank account.
But if he spent it gradually and in smaller amounts, it would be more than enough to purchase precision instruments, acquire essential equipment, and even discreetly improve his family's living conditions.
Peter took out a stack of bills, selected a dozen or so, and slipped them into his wallet.
Then he pushed both briefcases beneath his bed.
With the money safely hidden away, he turned his attention toward Daredevil's equipment.
He reached for the vigilante's specialized billy club.
The moment his fingers closed around the weapon, a system notification appeared in his mind.
[Blue-Rarity Sacrificial Item Detected: Daredevil's Multifunctional Billy Club]
[Item Description: Daredevil's signature weapon, manufactured from aircraft-grade aluminum alloy and equipped with a concealed high-strength cable. Daredevil has used this weapon to defeat numerous formidable opponents. It has accompanied him throughout his journey from an inexperienced vigilante to one of Kingpin's greatest enemies.]
[Sacrifice Reward: 1,000 Points]
[Would you like to sacrifice this item?]
"Only blue rarity?"
Peter frowned slightly.
He couldn't help feeling that the system was undervaluing the weapon.
However, after considering the matter more carefully, he understood the reason.
According to the information he'd gathered since arriving in this universe, Daredevil had only begun his vigilante career a year or two ago.
He was still far from reaching his future peak.
Furthermore, the billy club itself wasn't made from a rare material like vibranium or adamantium.
It was simply a sophisticated weapon constructed from relatively ordinary materials.
Its inherent value was therefore limited.
And unlike Captain America's shield, which had remained his signature equipment throughout most of his career, Daredevil's weapons had undergone several upgrades and replacements in the comics.
This billy club was essentially an early-generation piece of equipment.
The fact that it was worth a thousand points was probably due more to Daredevil's reputation than the weapon itself.
"Well, a thousand points is still a thousand points."
With that thought in mind, Peter chose to sacrifice it.
After all, with his extraordinary intelligence and the four million dollars he'd just acquired, recreating a weapon of this caliber wouldn't be particularly difficult.
But a blue-rarity sacrificial item worth a thousand points wasn't something he could obtain whenever he wanted.
[Sacrifice Successful!]
[Current Sacrifice Points: 3,000]
Peter smiled in satisfaction as he examined his updated balance.
Finally, his attention settled on the dark-red suit he'd taken from Daredevil.
Because the Sacrifice System imposed a six-month cooldown on items associated with the same character, the costume didn't trigger another notification.
The radioactive spider he'd sacrificed previously had been associated with Spider-Man, while the decay-rate algorithm manuscript belonged to Peter's parents. Therefore, those earlier sacrifices hadn't violated the cooldown rule.
Peter ran his fingertips across the fabric.
The material was remarkably tough, yet it retained excellent flexibility and elasticity.
It was a specialized fabric made primarily from Kevlar fibers.
Not only did it possess exceptional resistance to abrasion and punctures, but it also provided excellent breathability and freedom of movement.
For Peter's current needs, it was practically the ideal material for his first superhero suit.
"Kevlar, huh..."
Peter glanced at the wallet containing a little over a thousand dollars.
Without hesitating, he pulled his hood back over his head, opened his bedroom window, and jumped straight down from the second floor.
He headed toward a nearby industrial supply store.
Before long, Peter returned carrying a large shopping bag.
Inside were several rolls of finished Kevlar fabric, a tactical belt, and a pair of black combat boots.
With that, he'd finally gathered everything necessary to construct his costume.
Peter immediately got to work.
During one of his brief breaks, he switched on his computer and browsed several New York discussion forums.
It didn't take long for him to discover a thread that had climbed to the top of the trending discussions.
[Mysterious Masked Heroine Appears in Queens, Fighting Crime Under Cover of Night!]
An image was attached to the post.
The photograph had terrible resolution, and its awkward camera angle made the scene difficult to distinguish.
It had clearly been taken by an ordinary civilian who'd hurriedly raised a phone to capture the moment while still frightened by what was happening.
Despite the blurry image, Peter immediately recognized the unmistakable costume.
The iconic black-and-white bodysuit.
And, of course...
Those ridiculous emerald-green ballet shoes.
It was Gwen's Ghost-Spider costume!
Looking at the photograph, Peter couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from rising.
His smile held both amusement and genuine admiration.
'Gwen works faster than I expected.'
She'd managed to finish her entire costume, including the web-shooters, in just one day.
"Well, if she's already made that much progress, I can't afford to slack off either!"
With that thought in mind, Peter resumed working at an even faster pace.
By the time the first rays of morning sunlight filtered through his bedroom window, his superhero costume was finally complete.
According to his original design, the suit should have featured a black-and-gold color scheme.
However, because he'd incorporated portions of Daredevil's costume into the construction, Peter had been forced to modify the design.
The finished suit was black and red instead.
Peter put it on and moved around a little, testing the fit.
The elasticity was just right, and the material hugged his body securely without restricting his movements.
More importantly...
It was considerably more fashionable than Gwen's ballet outfit!
Satisfied with the result, Peter packed the costume into his schoolbag so he could use it whenever necessary.
After eating breakfast, he boarded the school bus as usual.
Gwen hadn't taken another day off.
However, she looked rather gloomy as she sat in her usual seat, holding a copy of the classic Daily Bugle.
Peter casually dropped into the seat beside her.
Then he glanced at the newspaper in her hands.
He nearly burst out laughing.
The front-page headline read:
SHOCKING GANG-ON-GANG MASSACRE AT PIER NINE!
MORE THAN A DOZEN GANG MEMBERS FOUND DEAD IN HORRIFIC CONDITIONS!