"Hey! Peter!"
Xu Wang raised his hand and called out cheerfully to Peter Parker, who was standing outside a pizza shop. Hearing someone call his name, Peter turned and spotted Xu Wang.
It had only been a few hours since they parted ways, but Peter still remembered Xu Wang vividly.
"Mr. Xu Wang," Peter greeted, looking somewhat confused.
After all, they'd only met once—basically strangers. Xu Wang's overly familiar tone made Peter a little uncomfortable.
Without his Spider-Man suit, Peter was a fairly shy and introverted teenager—not great at dealing with overly enthusiastic strangers.
"You working part-time here?" Xu Wang asked as he hopped off his bike, a large black trash bag slung over one shoulder. "I just finished work myself. Big payday today!"
"Huh? Oh! Yeah, I work here," Peter said quickly, finally catching up to the conversation. "Sorry, Mr. Xu Wang, I've got to deliver this order. Can we talk later?"
"No problem! Safe travels!" Xu Wang waved cheerfully and watched Peter load up boxes of pizza into the delivery bag and ride off on his bike.
As Peter disappeared around the corner, Xu Wang sighed dramatically. "What am I supposed to do? I really want to be killed by him… but this is harder than I thought."
As the moral compass of the Marvel Universe, Spider-Man dying at someone else's hands was practically unheard of.
Especially in The Amazing Spider-Man universe—the plotline and characters here were too grounded in virtue. If Xu Wang wanted Spider-Man to turn evil or dangerous enough to kill him, he'd have to find a darker, alternate timeline where things had gone off the rails.
Oh well.
Xu Wang wasn't one to dwell. "No room for internal friction! Start with me!" he said, grinning.
Then he looked down at the black plastic bag in his hand and thought aloud, "Maybe if Venom possesses Peter… yeah, that could work…"
Not far away, Peter, now riding through traffic, suddenly shuddered.
A cold chill ran down his spine, and he had a strange, creeping feeling he was being remembered—intensely.
A sudden image flashed into his mind: someone in a second-hand suit, dancing in the middle of the street.
He shook his head hard to clear the weird thought and pedaled faster.
Back at the pizza shop, Xu Wang entered, garbage bag in hand. First thing, he made a sweep through the dining area and collected all the discarded plastic bottles on the tables—professional as ever.
Only after that did he approach the counter and order a $5 pizza.
"Hold on a sec," the cashier said, taking the cash and heading to prepare the order.
They sold pizza by the slice here—$1 a slice, dirt cheap. Basically just crust and melted cheese. A poor man's dinner.
While waiting, Xu Wang casually asked whether the place was open 24/7. If it was, he thought he might spend the night here.
Restaurants that stayed open all night were common places for the homeless to take shelter. Other options included ATM vestibules, public hospitals, subway stations, ferry terminals, parks, or city shelters.
But for long-term survival, you really needed a tent and a piece of land to call your own.
Unfortunately, the clerk informed him that while the shop was open all night, they didn't allow people to sleep there.
Xu Wang sighed. Time to find another spot for the night.
Just then, Peter returned from his delivery. He parked his bike and walked up to the shop.
"Hi again, Peter!" Xu Wang called out.
Noticing Peter had a nearly empty bottle of water in hand, Xu Wang pointed. "You done with that?"
"Huh?" Peter looked confused, but still handed it over.
Xu Wang thanked him, twisted the cap off, dumped the remaining water, crushed the bottle with one practiced motion, recapped it, and tossed it into his trash bag—all in one fluid, practiced sequence.
Peter blinked, stunned. "What… what are you doing?"
"I'm a scavenger. Isn't it obvious?" Xu Wang sighed. "I don't want to do this, but I have no choice. My dad's a gambling addict, my mom's bedridden and needs medication, and I've got a younger brother in college. Someone's got to make ends meet."
Peter's eyes widened with sympathy. "Oh man, I'm sorry… I didn't know…"
"It's fine," Xu Wang waved it off. "Just don't tell anyone I'm doing this, okay?"
Peter nodded quickly, though something about the whole exchange felt… off.
Xu Wang talked about scavenging as if it were a noble trade, like he was an artisan or craftsman.
"Well, I've gotta go find somewhere to sleep," Xu Wang said, preparing to leave.
Peter suddenly stopped him. "Wait! I might know someone who could get you a job. A friend of mine—his family's loaded."
He was talking about Harry Osborn, of course.
But Xu Wang declined. "No need. Scavenging's a promising career. I've got it covered."
Peter didn't push further. He figured Xu Wang had too much pride to accept charity.
In truth, Xu Wang was just winging it and saying whatever popped into his head.
"Hang on," Peter said. "I'm done with work too. I know a place you can crash tonight."
Peter ran back inside, tossed his work vest onto a hook, and came back out to meet Xu Wang again.
He climbed onto the back of Xu Wang's Harley, though his expression remained a little awkward.
He figured Xu Wang's family must have bought the motorcycle back when they were better off. It was common for people who had recently become homeless to still have a car or bike.
But Xu Wang was proud. "Pretty sweet ride, right? I found it! Told you scavenging was a good gig."
Peter froze. Found it?
This guy picked up a Harley Davidson?
Peter had lived in New York his entire life and never heard anything like that.
He forced a smile and stayed quiet.
Following Peter's directions, Xu Wang rode to a nearby shelter. It was decent as far as shelters went, a large warehouse-like building with rows of single beds inside.
Peter had volunteered there before and was familiar with the place.
Since they arrived late, there weren't any beds left for Xu Wang. But that didn't matter—sleeping on the ground indoors was still better than being out in the elements.
"Sorry," Peter said, looking around awkwardly. "This is the best I could do…"
"I'm happy with it. Thanks," Xu Wang replied warmly. "Next meal's on me."
He patted Peter on the shoulder. Classic Peter—always the good guy, always doing his best. Marvel's conscience, through and through.
Peter skateboarded home shortly after. Xu Wang found an empty spot against the wall and sat down.
He was finally able to rest after a long day of travel, scavenging, and chaos.
Leaning against his backpack, Xu Wang raised his left wrist and opened his personal terminal.
This device, made by Shelter Technology, had undergone some odd changes after crossing through time and space.
Originally designed to monitor health stats like body fat and blood pressure, it now looked more like a video game interface.
Following the last few "death rewards," his attributes had apparently changed.
He opened the [Personal Attributes] panel to take a closer look…
(End of Chapter 5)