010. Snake Cannon

On the rooftop of the building where the wrestling arena was located, Su Ye leaped straight from the edge, crossing more than ten meters and landing on the neighboring building. He tossed the Iron Man helmet and the jacket into a trash bin, then, shouldering his backpack, walked out of the building as if nothing had happened.

Today’s endeavor had been successful in securing money, but the process had left much to be desired. The predatory face of the capitalist, sucking the marrow from the bone, made Su Ye realize that earning big money from such people through peaceful means was likely a fool’s hope. In the old movies, even when Parker went to sell photographs to the newspaper, he still ended up exploited.

In a society ruled by capital, every step without money is a struggle; only with wealth can one realize ambitions and earn a true voice. But apart from robbing the rich to aid the poor, apart from fighting violence with violence, was there really no way to make a fortune?

Su Ye had no experience living in such a society, and for now, could think of no suitable path. He could only pin his hopes on his girlfriend. After drawing Gwen, he had gained Spider-Man’s powers—his foothold in this world.

Who knows, maybe next time he draws ten green cards at once, he’ll land a rich heiress. Not the kind waiting to inherit a fortune, but perhaps a princess whose tears fall as pearls, or the White Queen, whose entire body can turn to diamond.

A girlfriend like that would be a walking mine—just one, and he’d be wealthy beyond nations.

Suddenly, he felt no desire to strive anymore.

With his mind racing, Su Ye soon returned home. Most of the materials he’d ordered had arrived; tonight, he could finish the suit and the web-shooter, finally bidding farewell to strange things like the Iron Man helmet and becoming Spider-Man in earnest.

Just the thought made him a little excited.

While Su Ye busied himself as a part-time tailor and craftsman, working on his suit and web-shooter, the Iron Man helmet and jacket he’d discarded in the neighboring building were discovered by a woman in a baseball cap.

There were many traitors in S.H.I.E.L.D., true, but no one could deny their professional abilities. This woman in the cap, following footprints and subtle clues, took less than two hours to find the items Su Ye had left behind in the adjacent building.

Unfortunately, the surveillance in that building hadn’t caught a glimpse of Su Ye, and the trail went cold.

The woman in the cap took out her phone, intending to report Su Ye’s situation to Coulson, but before she could, a message appeared on her screen.

“All agents, emergency assembly. We have a mission.”

The message was from Coulson. He had previously been in Los Angeles, in charge of making contact with Iron Man, Tony Stark. In recent days, however, he’d been reassigned to New York after some incidents occurred at a military-industrial firm called Oscorp.

It was said that a researcher had died under mysterious circumstances, and equipment and pharmaceuticals under development had been stolen. Judging by the message, it seemed the investigation had made some progress.

The woman in the cap replied with a simple “Received” and hurried off.

Upon arriving at the scene, she realized that the perpetrator hadn’t been caught—on the contrary, that person had struck again in a big way.

Exploration Aerospace Test Site Six—a testing ground for new military-grade equipment, jointly operated with the armed forces. Recently, they had begun a new project to test personal flight weaponry.

Such projects had existed even before Iron Man appeared, though progress had been slow. With Iron Man’s dramatic debut, not only had old projects accelerated, but many new ones had been launched.

Site Six was one such rushed project. Its prototype was ugly, resembling a vertical coffin on a stand, but its firepower and thrust were rumored to be formidable.

Just as the test began, an unidentified flying object approached rapidly.

A single missile struck—the prototype in testing exploded in a fireball, and the underground observation room nearby was also destroyed. All those present—from generals to researchers—were killed on the spot.

Investigators and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents analyzed the incident and concluded that the unidentified flying object was very likely the same culprit who had stolen Oscorp’s equipment and drugs.

Moreover, this individual was highly aggressive, violent and ruthless, and would need to be handled with the utmost caution.

“Based on the stolen Oscorp equipment, we have reconstructed this person’s general appearance.”

In the conference room, Coulson displayed an image on the large screen—a fully armed figure standing atop a glider, clad in green.

“Given the appearance and color, we have provisionally named this individual ‘Green Goblin.’ Offense: A. Danger: A. Temporarily classified as an A-level super-criminal. Everyone must treat this matter with the utmost seriousness.”

“Sir!”

An agent raised a hand.

“Can’t we ask Iron Man for help with this? After all, the Green Goblin’s flight and attack methods are similar to Iron Man’s. It shouldn’t be too difficult for him to handle.”

“That’s right, I also think we should contact Iron Man. In fact, we could just call this super-criminal ‘Green Iron Man.’ With Tony Stark’s personality, he’d never tolerate a criminal using a similar name.”

“So, would he go after the Green Iron Man first, or us—since we’re the ones who named him?”

“Well… he’d probably come after both.”

Coulson raised a hand to quiet the room.

“We are in contact with Tony Stark, but the cooperation agreement hasn’t been finalized, and as you all know, he’s difficult to work with. For now, it’s unlikely we can rely on his help.”

“So, for the time being, this investigation is our responsibility. You are all seasoned agents—have confidence in yourselves!”

“Yes, sir!”

In the corner of the conference room, the woman in the baseball cap clutched her notebook. Only one name was written inside—Ironhead.

Judging by Ironhead’s performance in the wrestling arena, his abilities were far beyond ordinary, and he showed the potential to become a superhero.

He was powerful, yet didn’t resort to theft or robbery—instead, he earned money in the arena with his skills. By that measure, he was at least on the side of order.

In this world, with Captain America and Iron Man, the concept of superheroes was already familiar—indeed, even admired.

If only Ironhead could be recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D. as an official superhero to battle super-criminals like the Green Goblin…

Unfortunately, she’d lost track of him, and the information he’d given at the wrestling arena was likely fake.

“Snake Cannon, resident of 14250 Brain-Dead Apartments, Chowfan Road, Uptown…”

That address looked obviously fake—how could anyone find him?