Chapter 10: Uncle Ben! The Dragonfly Hero!
“Hiss—!”
Startled by the bite from a mutated dragonfly on his neck, Uncle Ben instinctively waved his hand to shoo it away. He couldn’t understand how a dragonfly had flown into the house.
But Uncle Ben had no time to deal with the insect now. He was crouched beside Xu Wang, along with Aunt May, both wearing expressions of intense worry. They feared that this unfamiliar young man might have actually died in their home!
Nervously, Uncle Ben reached out carefully to check Xu Wang’s breath, his fingers hovering just above Xu Wang’s nose. The moment he did, his already pale face drained completely of color.
“W-What is it?!” Aunt May’s voice trembled as she saw her husband’s expression.
Her mind immediately jumped to the worst possible conclusion, and her breathing quickened.
“He’s not breathing…” Uncle Ben said, his voice filled with disbelief.
No matter why this stranger had ended up in their house, in Uncle Ben’s eyes, Xu Wang was still a young man who looked barely out of his teens. To lose such a life so suddenly was truly heartbreaking.
“Quick! Call an ambulance! I’ll give him mouth-to-mouth!”
Suddenly, Uncle Ben raised his voice, unwilling to give up on such a young life and determined to try to save him.
“All right!”
Aunt May, relieved to have a plan, quickly pulled out her phone and dialed for an ambulance.
Uncle Ben took a few deep breaths to steady himself, then placed his hands on Xu Wang’s chest, preparing to perform CPR.
But just as his hands touched Xu Wang’s chest, the supposedly “dead” young man suddenly burst out laughing, a soft “Haha, that tickles!” escaping his lips.
“Ah?”
Uncle Ben froze, wide-eyed and dumbfounded, utterly unprepared for Xu Wang to speak at that moment.
Xu Wang managed to open his eyes slightly and, seeing Uncle Ben’s bewildered look, felt a sense of satisfaction.
“Haha, don’t be scared, I’m just teasing you…”
His voice gradually faded as he finally lost consciousness.
In truth, he should have passed out long before. But just before succumbing, he had the sudden, mischievous idea to play this prank, using sheer willpower to hold on a little longer.
He really wasn’t an easy person to deal with!
“Damn it! This kid!”
Seeing Xu Wang lose consciousness again, Uncle Ben couldn’t help but curse under his breath.
He reached out once more to check for breath.
This time, it was normal breathing.
Xu Wang had been holding his breath deliberately to play dead—now he had truly fainted.
No one knew how long he had been unconscious.
When Xu Wang woke again, he found himself in a hospital room.
He was registered as an emergency case; otherwise, under the American healthcare system, he would have faced a long wait for an appointment.
“An unfamiliar ceiling…”
Xu Wang opened his eyes and murmured as he looked up at the ceiling.
The distinctive scent of the hospital confirmed to him that Peter’s uncle and aunt must have brought him here.
He was well aware of how exorbitantly expensive medical care could be in the U.S. without insurance.
Playful as he was, Xu Wang knew he’d have to find a way to repay Uncle Ben and Aunt May for this.
But right now… he felt dizzy, almost feverish.
A sudden thought struck him: could the bites from those mutated creatures be taking effect? Was he about to awaken some fiery superpower?
Just then, Uncle Ben, Aunt May, and a Mediterranean-looking doctor entered the room.
The doctor noticed Xu Wang’s eyes were open and asked, “How are you feeling?”
“I feel a bit feverish. Maybe I’m about to awaken fire-based superpowers? My vision is a little blurry; I suspect I might get laser eyes. Can you get me some sunglasses?”
Xu Wang replied in a hoarse yet obedient tone.
The doctor immediately recoiled in disbelief, then glanced at Uncle Ben and Aunt May, sighing, “Looks like he hit his head pretty hard. We’ll need to have psychiatry take a look.”
The mention of psychiatry instantly triggered Xu Wang’s nerves.
Lying in the hospital bed, he raised his left hand cheerfully and said, “No need for that. I already went. My psychiatrist says I’m mentally ill, but I think I’m pretty normal.”
The doctor ignored Xu Wang’s ramblings and approached him, pulling out a stethoscope. He placed the cold chest piece against Xu Wang’s chest.
“Forget about superpowers. You have a lot of bite wounds. We just gave you a rabies vaccine.”
As he spoke, the doctor’s brow suddenly rose.
He heard something extraordinary through the stethoscope.
“Doctor? Is he okay?”
Uncle Ben noticed the doctor’s expression and grew anxious.
“Doctor? Am I going to be all right?”
Xu Wang also looked nervously at the doctor.
The doctor’s face turned alarmed as he scrutinized Xu Wang and Uncle Ben.
“I’ve never heard such a chaotic chest sound before.”
“What?!”
Uncle Ben was taken aback.
“It’s Justin Bieber’s ‘Baby’!”
The doctor stared at Xu Wang with eyes wide as if he had spotted an alien.
“What?!”
Uncle Ben was shocked again.
“Oh, you heard that? Then it’s nothing serious.”
Xu Wang said nonchalantly, pulling his personal device from his collar.
Music was playing from it—the strange chest sound the doctor heard had come from this.
Silence filled the room.
Seeing everyone’s disapproving glances, Xu Wang blinked innocently.
“As a patient, I just want to listen to some music while I recover. Isn’t that normal?”
Nobody had a response to that.
“Uncle Ben! Uncle Ben! Are you okay?!”
Suddenly, the eerie atmosphere was broken by an unexpected visitor.
Everyone turned their heads in unison.
It was Peter Parker, who had just rushed over.
He’d been at Oscorp and, after receiving a call from Aunt May, had thought Uncle Ben was hospitalized, prompting him to hurry here.
Seeing the scene in the hospital room, he realized he had misunderstood.
Uncle Ben and Aunt May were perfectly fine.
“Uncle Ben? What happened?”
Peter entered the room, his face full of confusion.
Before Uncle Ben could answer, Peter spotted Xu Wang on the bed and was dumbfounded.
He never imagined he would see Xu Wang here.
“Hey, Peter!”
Xu Wang greeted him warmly, waving.
“Mr. Xu Wang?! What are you doing here?!”
Peter blurted out his question.
“Peter, you know this young man?”
Uncle Ben asked, surprised.
“He’s my friend.”
Peter, still confused, answered reflexively.
Upon hearing this, Uncle Ben suddenly had an epiphany.
He had been wondering why this young man had suddenly come to his house, initially suspecting a burglar.
Now it seemed he was merely a mischievous youngster looking for Peter.
Knowing Xu Wang was Peter’s friend, Uncle Ben and Aunt May’s gazes softened considerably.
Peter’s circle of friends was indeed very small.
So, Uncle Ben left Aunt May to look after Xu Wang while he pulled Peter outside the room to explain why Xu Wang was hospitalized.
Though Peter heard the full story, he remained baffled, not understanding why Xu Wang had come to his home in the first place.
At that moment, a nurse entered with a tray of medication and syringes, ready to give Xu Wang an injection.
Uncle Ben quickly stepped aside to let her through the door.
But suddenly, the nurse’s high heel twisted awkwardly as she stepped in, and she almost fell!
Uncle Ben’s eyes widened, and everything seemed to slow down in his perception.
He reacted with lightning speed.
In an instant, he caught the nurse around her waist with one arm, while the other hand seized the tray flying through the air.
Then, with remarkable precision, he used the tray to catch the falling objects mid-air.
Having done all this, Uncle Ben finally realized what had just happened, like waking from a dream.
The hospital room fell silent once more.
Everyone stared at Uncle Ben’s agile movements as if witnessing Superman himself.
“Wow! Amazing! Uncle Ben, you’re literally Superman!”
Xu Wang suddenly burst into applause, almost leaping from the bed in excitement.
Seeing this, he knew Uncle Ben had truly acquired the powers of the Dragonfly Man.
His little amusement mission was a complete success!
He was filled with a sense of achievement and eagerly anticipated what would happen next!