hotmtlnovel Chapter 14 Detective Segment Part 1
Chapter 14 Detective Segment Part 1
Chapter 14 Detective Section Part 1
The onboarding process for the detective agency was exactly as Jessica had described—besides filling out basic information, participants also needed to solve a meticulously designed mystery puzzle. The puzzle was incredibly detailed, with a level of professionalism comparable to a publishable detective novel.
Take, for example, the reasoning puzzle Peter encountered. I won't go into the specific details of the case, but the general description is that the victim's stomach was burned through, and the method involved replacing the granules in a drug capsule with metallic sodium. Putting aside the feasibility—the sheer absurdity of this scenario alone is enough to drive an average high school student crazy. Without using the process of elimination, you simply can't arrive at this answer.
"I've got it sorted out."
"Congratulations, Peter Parker, you've officially become a member of the Detective Agency." Jessica smiled and pulled a cardboard box from under the table. "This is your welcome gift—a stag antler hat from 221B Baker Street."
The cardboard box contained at least twenty hats, dust swirling in the sunlight. Peter picked one up and glanced at the label.
"Made in... Oh!"
"Believe me, even if you actually go to Baker Street and buy one, the label on the back will definitely be that one."
Peter actually had a genuine stag antler hat from 221B Baker Street that Gwen had brought back from London, and the label on the back said it was made in the UK, but he still didn't want to offend his senior.
Amadeus followed closely behind, completing the deduction and also receiving a "souvenir." Harry, however, was still deep in thought, only suddenly slamming his fist on the table ten minutes later:
"I understand! The killer used—"
"Shh!" Jessica held up a finger. "Write the answer down on paper. No spoilers."
Harry sheepishly handed in his answer sheet, and Jessica nodded in satisfaction after reading it: "The quality of this year's new recruits is really good; all three of you got full marks—usually, we only need to pass to get into the company."
"Does our club have very few people? It feels like nobody comes."
"Not a lot, but there are about twenty people. Mainly, if there are no activities, only the club members on duty are here—usually me. We do accept some requests, like if a classmate loses something, or if someone suspects their boyfriend or girlfriend of cheating and needs evidence... These requests don't count towards academic credits."
The only activities that count towards academic credits are undoubtedly the detective club's activities.
So Amadeus asked that question.
"So, what kind of activities does the detective club usually do?"
Jessica chuckled, picked up a remote control from the table, lowered the screen, and projected a pre-made PowerPoint presentation onto it, with a line of eye-catching text on it.
[The Ultimate Challenge: Find Spider-Man's True Identity!]
"What?!"
Surprised?
Misunderstanding Peter's surprised reaction, Jessica continued matter-of-factly, "Almost all superheroes have revealed their identities, with Spider-Man being the only exception. So, isn't finding Spider-Man's true identity the most important task for the detective agency? I know it's difficult, but that's what we're here to do!"
Peter began to doubt the wisdom of joining the detective agency. He stared at the scene with his mouth agape, completely at a loss for words.
Harry reacted quickly: "Doesn't that mean Spider-Man doesn't intend to expose his identity? In that case, he'll definitely protect his secret identity."
"And a detective's job is to find the truth."
"Wait, doesn't this infringe on privacy rights?"
Although he felt he had kept it relatively well hidden, Peter still decided he should say something. Jessica hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, then came to a conclusion.
"That's true, but we can't get Spider-Man to come and stop us."
Peter's vision went black as he leaned back, then sat up straight, took a deep breath, and tried to analyze the situation rationally.
"Okay, even if we were to investigate, what clues do we have? He's just floating around in the sky; we can't find any flaws."
Jessica simply smiled at the question.
"Indeed, generally speaking, it is very difficult for us to get similar clues. The only video of Spider-Man that we can get on social networks is of him dealing with a few robbers. It is very short and we can hardly find anything about it."
"but--!"
Jessica raised her voice and pressed the remote control again: "I have exclusive information here, and it should be the earliest known information on Spider-Man operations."
So Peter Parker raised his hand.
"May I ask where you're from?"
"I filmed it myself. My home is in Manhattan, and we were caught in the alien invasion. Spider-Man saved me." Jessica said, a little embarrassed, brushing her hair aside. "Personally, I wanted to find him and thank him. The school was also very interested in this activity, and the student council approved it as soon as I suggested it!"
Spider-Man has already received your thanks, senior. Please don't violate Spider-Man's right to privacy.
Peter forced himself to watch as Jessica clicked on the video. The video began outside the window of an apartment in Midtown Manhattan. A massive portal opened in the sky, and the Chitauri army poured out like locusts. The camera shook violently, and Jessica's voice could be heard:
"What is that? An alien?!"
In the scene, only the trail of flames could be seen as Iron Man charged towards the enemy ranks, followed by a series of explosions in the air. Peter tried hard to recall what he had done during the Battle of New York, but he couldn't remember anything, so he could only sigh and shrug.
"So, an entire alien army descended from the sky and started shooting everywhere, and all you had to do was turn on your phone and start recording."
Fortunately, it's only 2012. If it were 2020, Jessica would probably be starting a live stream.
Jessica just gave an awkward smile.
"There's no Spider-Man here, let's fast forward to this part."
A few minutes into the video, a massive Chitauri behemoth emerged from the portal, launching Chitauri soldiers that stormed into building after building, landing squarely in Jessica's window. It's unclear how Jessica, who was filming, managed to dodge, but her phone flew out and landed right against the wall, the camera still able to film the room.
What about Jessica? Oh, Jessica in the video has already collapsed on the ground and passed out, so the aliens don't even need to fire.
The Chitauri soldier, weapon in hand, aimed at the unconscious Jessica, preparing to fire. At the critical moment, a red and blue blur flashed into the frame, kicking the enemy off-screen and then disappearing from the screen itself. A few seconds later, the Chitauri soldier was blasted out of the window and plummeted from a great height.
"He was there, right there when I was injured and lost consciousness."
Jessica's eyes lit up as she became engrossed in the scene, completely oblivious to Peter's slightly tense expression. In the video, Spider-Man saw Jessica lying on the ground, picked her up, and laid her flat on the ground. He then spread his hands, seemingly in a difficult position, but quickly began standard CPR.
Peter wasn't sure whether he remembered it or not; he was just too tired that day, but he spoke up for himself before anyone else.
"Spider-Man has basic medical knowledge, and the entire CPR procedure is very standard."
"But he seems unfamiliar with it, like he only has a basic understanding." Harry, for some reason, seemed quite knowledgeable about CPR: "He's definitely not a medical professional. Oh, wait, he's bandaging the upperclassman's head, why isn't he using his spider silk?"
That must be because it's inconvenient. Look, he has a bracelet on his wrist, which means Spider-Man uses a mechanical device to shoot webs.
Harry was incredulous when he heard Amadeus's explanation: "Wait, Spider-Man can't shoot webs himself? I thought his webs came from his veins."
Peter sighed helplessly.
"Humans don't have organs for producing silk, Harry. If we were to produce silk like spiders, it would have to come out of our abdomens."
Seemingly due to CPR, Jessica coughed twice unconsciously. Spider-Man then grabbed Jessica with one arm, wrapped her with his webs, and jumped out of the window.
Amadeus shook his head in disbelief.
"He just...held you like that, and then from... about how high?"
"The 33rd floor took me to a safe place and settled me in, away from the dangerous battlefield."
"Carrying someone, thirty-three floors, and considering acceleration, Spider-Man's strength surpasses Captain America's." Amadeus sighed, "That's outrageous."
"Alright, we're not here to marvel at the power of superheroes. Has anyone found any clues?"
"The shoes, even though Spider-Man is wearing a suit, his shoes are a pair of red sneakers, and I have a pair exactly the same."
Peter proactively introduced the problem Gwen had discovered, but he had already made himself a pair of shoe covers and used them when he went out that day, so it was already an outdated clue.
The group talked a lot in bits and pieces, but in the end, they reached the same conclusion as Jessica had: they didn't get any results.
As they finished their first day at the detective agency and were leaving, Harry suddenly turned back and asked, "By the way, senior, what's your full name?"
"Jessica Miriam Drew." She smiled and waved. "But just call me Jessica."
Peter, who was drinking water, almost spat it out. Others might not know what the name represented, but he definitely did.
The original Spider-Woman, Jessica Drew.
(End of this chapter)