47. The Lizardman with the Essence of Hawk (Midnight Chapter!)

Peter swung smoothly and landed squarely on the rooftop of Hawk’s apartment building.

"Woah, Spider—"

"Peter?"

Hawk, who had just been about to speak as he watched the spider-man touch down, wore an expression of astonishment as he watched Peter pull off his mask to reveal his true face.

After removing the mask, Peter offered a shy, sheepish smile.

He now completely agreed with something Gwen had said earlier.

"Hawk, your acting skills really aren't that great."

"Is that so?"

Hawk paused for a moment, looked at Peter who was nodding earnestly, and shrugged. "Alright, then I'll keep working on it."

If one person told him his acting was bad, it might just be a reflection of that person's taste.

But if two people said so...

Hawk began to reflect on whether his acting truly was that terrible.

Peter chuckled softly, then shifted the topic to the Lizard, whom he had just tangled with moments ago.

"By the way, Hawk, did you see what just happened?"

"Part of it. But just as I was about to watch, you and that lizard-man vanished."

Hawk spoke the truth.

He had seen the beginning, and he had seen the end, but he had missed the middle entirely.

No matter, though; it would all be on the news tomorrow.

As everyone knew.

The media in New York City reacted with incredible speed. Less than three minutes after the Lizard appeared on the Williamsburg Bridge, he had already spotted three news helicopters from different television stations whirring and circling high above the bridge.

Hearing Hawk's words, Peter blinked in surprise, subconsciously glanced around here, and then looked off in the direction of the Williamsburg Bridge, which was barely visible to the naked eye.

From *here*?

Peter looked at Hawk with a hint of shock.

Hawk smiled and said, "My eyesight is pretty good. But your eyesight isn't bad either."

Peter nodded again, almost instinctively.

Indeed.

If he really concentrated, he could indeed see the Williamsburg Bridge clearly from this distance.

A thought crossed Peter's mind, and his eyes lit up.

"Then did you see where the lizard-man went?"

"No."

"Oh, well."

Hearing this, Peter let out a sigh. "I didn't expect him to be that strong. He threw me away, and by the time I recovered and got ready to counterattack, he had already jumped into the river."

Curious, Hawk asked, "How would you rate his strength?"

Peter glanced at Hawk, thought about it carefully for a moment, and then frowned as he said, "He's stronger than me, but not as fast, nor as agile. However, his speed underwater is faster than mine."

Understood.

He was a one-punch kind of guy.

He wouldn't even need to ignite his seventh sense for this.

Listening to Peter's evaluation, Hawk muttered to himself inwardly, nodded, and prepared to head back inside to sleep.

But...

Right at that moment.

Peter seemed to remember something, and he turned to Hawk. "By the way, that lizard monster gave me a familiar feeling. I was trying to figure out what that feeling was when he threw me off."

Hearing this, Hawk looked at Peter.

"And did you figure out where that feeling came from?"

"Yeah."

Peter nodded, then looked straight at Hawk.

Hawk remained silent, waiting for Peter to continue. But when he saw Peter just staring at him after nodding, he was slightly startled before realization dawned on him.

"You mean me?"

"Yeah."

"No way."

Hawk felt a strong sense of absurdity.

How could the Lizard possibly carry his aura? He had only ever visited Dr. Connors' laboratory a single time.

Even if it was residual aura from shaking hands back then, more than two months had passed; there was no way it could still be lingering now.

He wasn't a goddess, and Dr. Connors certainly wasn't a simp; he wouldn't be like those fanboys who refuse to wash their hands for days after shaking hands with their goddess.

Yet Peter looked at Hawk and said with absolute seriousness, "I had contact with you at the old gymnasium last time, so I have a particularly deep impression of your aura. But the aura on that lizard monster just now was very faint, almost imperceptible—otherwise, it wouldn't have taken me so long to remember."

Looking at Peter, who spoke with such conviction, Hawk frowned.

"Are you sure?"

"I can't be wrong."

Peter nodded, then thought about it once more. "That lizard monster gave me the feeling as if he had been in contact with you, leaving behind traces of your aura—much like how Gwen also carries traces of your aura. Though Gwen's aura is much stronger than that lizard monster's."

With this description, Hawk's expression cleared up in sudden understanding.

He had been wondering what Peter was trying to get at.

So that was it.

Hawk gave a soft chuckle and looked at Peter. "Then I大概 (roughly) know who he is."

Peter's eyes lit up.

"Who?"

"Curtis Connors, from the Oscorp Biotechnology Regenerative Laboratory. Gwen went over there yesterday, and Dr. Connors has been researching regeneration through lizards."

If Peter had simply claimed that the Lizard carried his scent, Hawk would have been utterly clueless.

But once Peter brought up the comparison with Gwen, everything clicked.

If his own aura was a value of one, then Gwen, who spent time with him, would carry a residual aura of zero point five. And the morning before yesterday, Gwen had made a trip to Oscorp Biotechnology and had personal contact with Dr. Connors.

Therefore, theoretically speaking, the faint, nearly imperceptible aura Peter had detected on Dr. Connors must have originated that way.

Hearing Hawk reveal the true identity of the lizard monster, Peter dropped his jaw in shock.

"It's him?"

"You know him too?"

"Yeah, I remember seeing him with my dad a few times."

"Alright then."

Once he figured out how Dr. Connors' residual aura came to be, Hawk felt completely at ease.

He let out a yawn.

"Alright, it's too late. I'm going to sleep."

"……Fine."

Peter had still been planning to discuss the hazards of the lizard monster further with Hawk, but seeing Hawk's sleepy state, he had no choice but to let it drop.

"Good night, Hawk."

"Good night, Spider-Spirit!"

"Uh, I'm not a spirit."

"Are you sure?"

Hawk, who had already turned halfway around to walk back, paused, tilted his head, and looked at Peter with a half-smile. "Go on, tell me loudly: where do those webs of yours shoot out from?"

Peter opened his mouth, his expression turning solemn.

"Good night, Hawk."

"Good night, Peter."

This time, Hawk didn't tease him any further.

Soon enough.

Peter swung away into the night on his webs.

As for Hawk, after returning home, finishing off his leftover fried chicken drumsticks, taking a cold shower, he crawled under the covers and drifted off to sleep.

Meanwhile.

Deep beneath the streets of Queens, within the sprawling network of sewers that could serve as a haven for countless homeless people when winter snowstorms struck—

A beast-like roar echoed from the deep recesses, gradually growing lower and softer.

Until finally.

The roaring vanished entirely.

Replaced instead by the distinct groans of a human being!