PFC Chapter 4237 Possession by Evil Spirits (7)
Chapter 4237 Possession by Evil Spirits (7)
Chapter 4237 Possession by an Evil Spirit (Seventeen)
Peter looked around in shock. They had gone to the cemetery close to nightfall, so how come it was suddenly daytime? Was he hallucinating?
Spider-Man Noir lived in an earlier era, before the advent of advanced video games and the more limited imagination of science fiction. Despite learning as much modern knowledge as possible after encountering the multiverse, he still lacked the rich associative abilities of people in the information explosion era. He simply thought it might be a series of flashbacks before he lost consciousness due to blood loss. He had experienced something similar before.
Studies have shown that the experience of fainting due to excessive blood loss is different from other times, and is known as "the closest moment to death." Many people also experience a flashback during this time; it's only a brief moment, but it feels like an extremely long time has passed.
But Peter quickly dismissed his guess, because the slideshow was too real; it didn't feel like a dream at all. He pinched himself and found it hurt; he jumped around, and his control over his body was no different from that in the real world.
He touched his forehead again and was surprised to find the wound was gone. Just then, a person walked by and looked at him with concern, asking, "What happened to you?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I just...excuse me, where is this place?"
"Here? This is Daxi Valley Town. Are you a tourist? You're not lost, are you? Why don't you get in my car, I'll take you for a drive around the valley?"
“No, no need,” Peter said, shaking his head. “I’m just a little dizzy.”
"Oh my goodness, you must be exhausted from traveling all night!"
Peter found it odd. First, the man was being far too enthusiastic; this wasn't typical of the people in the American interior states. The interior states are very xenophobic; even if someone is white, as long as they're a stranger, they'll be looked at with hostility. It's been like this for years, and it's never changed.
Another issue is that the other person's questions are somewhat leading, sometimes saying he's a tourist, sometimes saying he's exhausted from traveling all night. This kind of questioning, which assumes someone's identity and behavior, is clearly something a trained person would use.
Spider-Man Noir is an agent himself, so how could he not know this? If someone is truly in a state of confusion, and you ask them this question, they might follow this line of thought and fall into your trap.
And for some reason, Peter felt somewhat weak after entering this place. Moreover, everything around him seemed to move faster. When the other person reached out to stop him, he didn't even have time to react.
A sense of emptiness churned within him, causing Peter's mood to plummet, even making him feel somewhat depressed. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, but it didn't help much.
"Are you alright?" the person asked again. "My home is nearby, would you like to come in for a while?"
Peter nodded. He wasn't being fooled; he just wanted to see what this guy was up to and what was so strange about this odd world.
The house was indeed very close, just across the street; it was a very new blue house. Stepping into the living room, the furniture was also brand new, and it was spotless, almost immaculate.
Peter sat down, trying to calm himself down. Just then, the other person brought him a cup of hot water. Peter glanced into the cup; it was boiled tap water again. Good, it seems this is also Mormon territory.
Peter took a sip of water. He knew there might be something wrong with it, but he still took a small sip. He found himself feeling much more refreshed. Could it be some kind of colorless and tasteless tea?
So he took two more sips, but the cup wasn't big, and he finished it in two sips. Peter wanted another cup, but didn't know how to ask, so he could only sigh.
"I have some juice here, would you like a glass?" the man asked again.
Peter nodded quickly. Whatever this guy had added to the water, it did seem to help with his unusual condition. Soon, the man brought over another glass of juice, which looked like freshly squeezed orange juice and tasted a bit sour. But Peter took a sip and found he felt a little better.
"I'm actually a little hungry, but it's not mealtime now. Do you have any milk? Could I have a cup of hot milk?"
The man hesitated for a moment, but still went to the refrigerator, took out a glass of milk, heated it up, and handed it to Peter.
After drinking, Peter felt a little better. He racked his brains trying to think of what other drinks he could get, but this wasn't a bar, and he couldn't just chug drinks like a drunkard; that would be too strange.
Fortunately, after those drinks, Peter felt much better. He took a deep breath and said, "Thank you so much. I haven't even asked your name yet."
“My name is Famillo, you can also call me Famen. I’m the pastor of this town. I just came back from prayer and saw you standing by the roadside shaking your head. Are you really alright?”
Peter shook his head and said, "You're right, I just got lost. But do your town get a lot of tourists?"
"Of course! Our town is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Utah, attracting tens of thousands of visitors every year. You're probably here to see the falls too, right?"
"Oh, yes, that's exactly why I came to see the waterfall."
"Shall I take you for a walk? The roads over there are really difficult to navigate, I'm afraid you'll get lost again."
"No, thank you," Peter hesitated. He hadn't fully recovered and still felt somewhat weak and dejected. He figured it was this strange world's doing, and it wasn't a good time for any exploration; rest was the best option.
"Is there a hotel here?" Peter asked.
Familo shook his head and said, "It's peak season now, and the hotels are already fully booked. But I have a guest room at my house, you can stay there if you don't mind."
“No problem,” Peter said. “I’m really tired and I desperately need a bed to rest.”
“Come with me.” Famil led him to the guest room next door. Peter lay down on the bed and quickly fell asleep.
But when he woke up again, he didn't see the man who called himself Familo, but a familiar face.
"Dr. Schiller?"
“I’m not a doctor.” The other person sat on the edge of the bed and then said, “Are you feeling any discomfort?”
“It’s really uncomfortable.” Peter briefly described his feelings, then said, “I feel like there’s some kind of curse here, even worse than outside. I feel terrible.”
“I see,” Peter said upon hearing this. “If you are feeling very unwell, drink more water and take deep breaths several times. I’m here to tell you that he has found you and you must go back as soon as possible.”
"What do you mean?"
Before Peter could hear an answer, there was a knock at the door. Peter turned to look at the door and saw that the figure from before had already climbed out the window and left.
Peter immediately deduced more clues from his words. This world really was fake; it must be a trick played by evil spirits. But what did he mean by "he's already discovered me," and that I had to go back as soon as possible?
Peter disliked people who only spoke halfway through, but there was nothing he could do if he was interrupted. He trusted ordinary people even less than Schiller, especially this pastor named Famillo. He wasn't a very clever person; his face practically screamed, "I have a problem."
Familo came in carrying a plate of food—a Caesar salad. Peter wasn't hungry, but remembering the extra benefits of the food Familo had provided, he picked it up and started eating.
After eating, he felt much better, almost back to his peak condition. He said, "Thank you so much, I feel much better. What time is it now?"
"It's already afternoon, do you still want to rest?"
"No need, let's go see the waterfall."
So the man named Familo took him to the waterfall next to the town. It was indeed beautiful, the water vapor sparkling in the sunlight. Remembering Schiller's earlier advice, and seeing how fresh the air was, Peter couldn't help but take a few more breaths.
Familo watched his movements, smiled, and said, "The air here is really nice, isn't it? You look like someone from a big city, but the air there isn't as good as in our small town."
“Indeed, the air in New York isn’t very good,” Peter continued, then walked to the other side of the lake, looked at the fish, and said, “There are quite a lot of fish here. Do you know how to fish?”
“Sorry, hunting fish is not allowed here,” Famillo said. “However, this is a water source for a fairly large mineral water company, so you can take some water with you.”
Peter was also somewhat tempted. After all, he couldn't keep drinking the water the other party provided; although the water in the wild wasn't very clean, it would do. However, judging from Familo's words, the water here was probably problematic as well. But Peter insisted on taking a bottle back to see what was going on.
Famillo gave him a water bottle. Peter filled it up, took a couple of sips, and then discovered that the water was even more potent; he was completely back to his peak condition.
Peter couldn't resist and took two more sips. As he drank and walked down the mountain, he instinctively turned to the side and looked back. With a whoosh, an arrow flew past his nose, but he caught it with his hand.
Peter's eyes widened abruptly, and he turned to look at the lake in disbelief. He wasn't looking to see who had shot him; he suddenly realized it was his spider-sense!
Previously, he thought he had returned to his prime, referring to the version without superpowers, that is, the ordinary version of Peter Parker restricted by the Battle World System—only having the strength and reaction ability of an ordinary person, at most having better attributes such as flexibility and balance that are associated with physical data, and being inferior to Spider-Man in other aspects.
While Spider-Man Noir isn't one of the strongest Spider-Men—his physical strength isn't particularly high, hence his need for firearms—he's still far superior to the average human. His spider-sense, in particular, ranks among the top Spider-Men in terms of that ability alone. This ability was originally completely nerfed in this instance.
But now, he felt that his sensory abilities had partially recovered. Although he was still not fully recovered, he was already much stronger than an ordinary person. And this was most likely due to the two mouthfuls of lake water he had drunk.
Familo, standing nearby, looked like he'd seen a ghost. Peter reacted immediately, pretending to look in the direction the arrow had come from. He exclaimed, "Damn it, this is murder! Who's there?!"
After saying that, he chased after them in that direction. And the man named Familo couldn't stop him at all.
As soon as Peter started running, he sensed that he might have actually regained some of his abilities. With the aid of his sensory abilities, no obstacle was a problem, and his agility and speed had more than doubled. If he had had this kind of reaction speed before, a mere car accident wouldn't have been able to injure him at all.
Because he caught the arrow and gave chase without hesitation, the archer didn't have a chance to get far. Peter caught up to the waterfall in a few strides and immediately saw the man sneaking away.
"Halt!" Peter shouted. He reached for his waist and discovered that he had brought his gun with him. Without hesitation, he drew his gun, aimed, and fired.
"Bang! Boom!"