Chapter 1103 Father and Son (Thirty-Two)

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Walking through the Portal located at MultiverseSpider-Armybase, the next moment, Peter found himself in another cramped space, which was clearly a Space environment, but it was nowhere near as bright and spacious as the newly built Spider-Armybase.

"Is this a space station?" Peter asked, surveying the nearby environment, noticing a lack of the futuristic feel of science and technology. Instead, there were exposed pipelines everywhere, giving an impression of technological regression.

"This is a small space station above New York Island, the only space station I control," explained Spider-Man 2099, leading Peter to the living quarters of the space station.

There was a small window through which Earth's scenery could be seen.

As Peter approached, he was stunned by the sight.

Outside the space station, instead of the familiar blue planet, there was a debris field of countless fragments.

Although Earth still maintained a spherical shape overall, it should be described more accurately as a spherical radiating form, like a burst cigarette flower, with countless fragments arranged in different orbits, having lost their original complete, round shape.

The edges of each fragment were embedded with mechanical facilities, seemingly used for maintaining gravity and orbits. It was evident that these facilities had various styles, likely coming from different companies.

Moreover, many fragments were connected by mechanical equipment, but the equipment used to connect the main island seemed more like energy chains rather than physical structures.

The number of energy chains was so numerous that they were indistinguishable to the naked eye, with many abandoned sections left unrepaired. The endless energy chains waved like terrifying tentacles nearby Earth, constantly cutting through it. The entire Earth seemed to be chopped into pieces, yet connected like chunks of flesh by iron wires, horrifying, ugly, and eerie.

And many small spaceships flying between the fragments were like flies seeing this rotting flesh. There was no aesthetic sense of order brought by science and technology. There was only a nauseating density.

Peter stood still, astonished by the scene, unable to speak for a long time.

Spider-Man 2099 stood by his side, also looking at his homeland through the small window. He said, "I'm sorry I didn't go directly to your Space to find you, because I'm really afraid to see Earth intact."

"Since I was born, my homeland has been like this. Until one day, I saw what Earth should have been like in another Space of the Multiverse. These greedy big companies destroyed our beautiful homeworld..."

What surprised him, however, was that the young Peter didn't dwell on negative emotions for too long. He turned to Spider-Man 2099 and asked, "You said this is your space station?"

"Correct. In this era, space stations are privately owned. As long as you have money, you can buy all kinds of luxury homes. Shareholders of big companies live in such space stations, with spacious rooms, beautiful conservatories, and fresh air, they have everything..."

"And on the surface, except for slums, there are factories established by big companies. Everything produced in the factories is for the wealthy people living in space stations. This is their planned conspiracy, the reason for destroying Earth."

Spider-Man 2099 led Peter further inside as he continued, "In the decades before Earth was destroyed, global industrial activities were booming. People believed that all of Earth's resources should be centralized and then evenly distributed."

"Of course, the wealthy families didn't want that. So they established big companies, started monopolizing history, culture, and science and technology. Eventually, they used the means of science and technology they possessed to directly destroy Earth."

"Only they have the ability to build space stations and live there. Those civilians who couldn't do that were left on the devastated surface. To survive, they had to rely on the companies."

"Thus, the whole Earth became a huge resource extractor. These big companies control the switches, and resources are continuously transported to the shareholders of the companies for their enjoyment. The poor on Earth, without means of resistance, can't even touch the high-rise space stations."

"However, people didn't give up. Under the high-pressure rule of the companies, there emerged a group of freedom fighters who wanted to reverse the current situation. I am one of them."

From Spider-Man 2099's words, Peter keenly noticed some key points, so he asked, "Why did freedom fighters emerge? Shouldn't all ruled civilians unite to resist?"

Spider-Man 2099 shook his head and said, "You're oversimplifying things. Big companies have robots that can completely replace human labor. In other words, giving civilians a job is already being merciful... or you could say, all the civilians who are still alive are actually there for the amusement of the wealthy, they are their entertainment projects, not necessities for survival."

"Big companies implant identity systems into civilians, and these systems upload all their privacy to the company's database. Shareholders can then select civilians they want to use for their entertainment from the database and send spaceships to bring them home."

"My daughter died like this..."

Peter felt his heart sink suddenly. He had already guessed why, Spider-Man 2099's jaw revealed when he drank earlier implied that he was actually very handsome, so his daughter might have been very beautiful too.

What surprised Spider-Man 2099 was that Peter didn't launch into a tirade against the companies, but said something that made Spider-Man 2099 shudder.

"What powers the flight in space for these space stations?"

"Of course, it's the power system of the big companies. But you'd better not mess with them. Even the most skilled hackers can't infiltrate that system..."

Peter said nothing, remaining silent, leaving Spider-Man 2099 unable to read him. So, half-jokingly, he said, "I thought only Shadow Spider-Man would be so taciturn..."

After saying that, he pushed open a door, revealing a small shuttle inside, resembling a fighter jet but without such large wings, instead relying on rear-space thrusters.

Spider-Man 2099 opened the cockpit door and got in. Peter promptly took the co-pilot's seat. With the roar of the engines, the small aircraft flew towards one of the celestial fragments.

After landing, the scene here made Peter feel even more surprised. The ground was not very broken, nor was it desolate. On the contrary, there was a city that looked quite advanced in science and technology, and it was very prosperous.

"Before Earth was destroyed, we already had quite advanced science and technology. Those shareholders claimed to have withdrawn from the city to deceive the civilians and give up their properties."

"So, many people moved into the skyscrapers in the city center. However, all of this was just a scam. People thought they were getting what they wanted, but the next moment, disaster struck."

Spider-Man 2099 pressed a button, and the shuttle disappeared on the spot. He led Peter into an alleyway, saying, "Miracle Lady should be in the Nord Tower. It's not a territory of the freedom fighters there. It's a mixed bag, with company employees, mercenaries, and wanderers. We need to trick the identity recognition system to get in and then find her."

"Wait a minute," Peter stopped Spider-Man 2099, then said, "It's not me who's looking for the female Loki, it's another Loki. Since we already have a solid lead, I'll call him over now. He's also the God of Mischief, maybe he can help..."

Spider-Man 2099 sighed, saying, "If it weren't for my condition, I wouldn't need help from anyone else. We're all Spider-Men, don't think that only you can do scientific research."

Peter reached out and patted Spider-Man 2099's shoulder, asking him to rest for a while in place. Then he contacted Loki and explained the current situation to him.

Soon, with an orange square portal appearing on the ground, Lady Loki holding Helen appeared in front of the two Spider-Men.

At this moment, she still had a female form, but after seeing the shocked look of Spider-Man 2099, she transformed back into male Loki.

But quickly, Spider-Man 2099's gaze fell on Helen's face. Before Loki could speak, Spider-Man 2099 looked at him and asked, "Is this your daughter?"

Loki hadn't answered yet, but Helen yelled first, raising her hand high and saying, "Correct, this is my dad, oh, sometimes also my mom..."

Spider-Man 2099 was about to step forward, but hesitated, seeming afraid of scaring Helen. He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Don't be afraid, little girl, it's just... you look a bit like my daughter."

Just as Loki was about to speak, Peter signaled to him with his eyes, so he voluntarily changed the subject.

"I heard that you've found the clue to Hillve. Where is she? I hope we can find her soon."

"She's in the Nord Tower, but it's no longer a bustling commercial center. You can understand it as a large market, a heaven for brokers. If we want to get in, we must first crack the identity recognition system..."

"That's easy," Loki snapped his fingers, saying, "As long as I can see someone who can get in, I naturally have a way to disguise us."

"Disguising won't work," Spider-Man 2099 shook his head, saying, "The chips of the identity recognition system are implanted in the human body. Just imitating the appearance won't fool the security system."

"I didn't plan to just imitate the appearance. What I use is not illusion," Loki shook his head, saying, "Let's go over first. Soon, you'll know..."

Spider-Man 2099 seemed to disagree with Loki's approach, but Peter stood by Loki's side. This was their mission, so Spider-Man 2099 led the two of them through the alleyway to an abandoned station.

The transportation here made Peter feel somewhat surprised because it was somewhat similar to the shuttles in the Earth of his space, which were flourishing.

"Are you very surprised? In fact, there's nothing astonishing about this. The Earth of my space also once flourished, but unfortunately..." Spider-Man 2099 shook his head, saying, "In the end, all the achievements of human civilization belong to the big companies, with no relationship with ordinary people..."

The closer they got to the depths of the station, the thicker the darkness became. Here, Peter saw traces of countless pedestrians passing through. There was a time when this place was as vibrant and prosperous as his hometown, full of civilization and vitality.

"Who is development really for?" Peter asked softly, murmuring, "If not everyone can enjoy the fruits of civilization's development, then what is the meaning of all this that we're doing?"

Spider-Man 2099 led the way into the darkness. In the darkness, he turned to look at Peter, his eyes filled with the melancholy and helplessness that Peter felt.

"Big companies took everything away, including my children, and the children of many others."

"If I, like you, were born at the beginning of a flourishing civilization, I would also have such doubts as you."

"And after experiencing all this, I can only tell you, my inner answer — Spider-Man is always born for ordinary people."

"No matter how high or far others fly, I will always be the same, determined to defend the interests of ordinary people, like me."

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 1104 Father and Son (Thirty-Three)