I Became Spider-Man's Cousin in Anime Crossover

Chapter 444 [Two Chapters Combined into One] Public Opinion Storm

The streets of New York in the early morning are like a giant crucible of public opinion, where different viewpoints collide, merge, and react fiercely.

People gathered in front of newsstands, and debated at tables and chairs outside coffee shops. Even at bus stops, strangers could engage in impromptu debates about a single topic before the bus even arrived.

"The New York Post's front page today says that Stark Industries' compensation, which seems well-intentioned, is actually just 'hush money,' nothing more than crocodile tears."

A man in a suit and tie, carrying a briefcase, flipped through a freshly printed newspaper that still smelled of ink, and spoke to his companion.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for passersby to hear.

"I actually agree with that. After all, if Stark had nothing to hide, why would he be in such a rush to throw money around? Does he think he has too much money and nowhere to spend it?"

His companion—a younger-looking woman—frowned and retorted, “Or is he just trying to take responsibility? A friend of mine texted me saying her dessert shop in Times Square was destroyed in yesterday’s accident. But before she could even file an insurance claim, she received a preliminary assessment email from Stark Industries late last night, and this morning a contractor contacted her to discuss rebuilding the shop. You call this efficiency and attitude ‘hush money’?”

"Too much efficiency is suspicious."

A third voice joined in; it was a young man wearing glasses who looked like he had just graduated.

At first, he scrolled through his phone screen, silently immersing himself in his own personal world.

But clearly, their conversation piqued his curiosity, and he couldn't help but join the debate.

"Look at this analysis post. The poster claims that Stark Industries may face a class-action lawsuit because of what happened last night. The advance compensation is to create the image that 'they are already trying to make amends,' so as to negotiate a lighter sentence in court."

"What punishment? If it's really about saving money, then the money they've spent could probably fund a dozen lawsuits!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a gruff voice broke in.

The speaker was a middle-aged man dressed as a construction worker, holding a hard hat in his hand.

"My sister and her family were in Times Square at the time! It was that metal robot that saved my niece's life! She was separated from the crowd and could have been trampled by the panicked masses at any moment! It was that robot that picked her up and brought her back to my sister! Without it, by the time those useless police arrived, my niece would probably be dead!"

As he spoke, the middle-aged man dressed as a construction worker held up his phone and showed a photo.

That was a candid shot of the Iron Monger bending down and gently stroking the little girl's head, enough to show that the ruthless killing machine in the eyes of outsiders also has a gentle side.

Even so, the young man who had spoken earlier didn't abandon his point of view. Instead, he adjusted his glasses, and with a smug sense of superiority, chuckled and retorted, "That's only part of the damage it caused. If it hadn't been there, the crowd wouldn't have panicked, and your niece wouldn't have gotten separated from her parents. So..."

"What if there weren't those crazy people who suddenly start shooting everywhere?"

Before the young man could finish speaking, some of the construction workers, who had gotten angry, immediately retorted.

"When those shady bastards were firing rockets at the crowd, you, this 'brilliant' one, never stood up to say they were suspicious!"

"That's also possible. Maybe Stark himself arranged for someone to do it, just to play the hero and clear his name of being a profiteer of human suffering. Besides, what's in the newspapers..."

"My niece is only five years old! She knows who's good and who's bad! You've been in school for so many years, and you can't tell the difference? Or are you willing to believe the fabricated stories in the newspapers, but not what a five-year-old sees with her own eyes? Newspapers, newspapers, does what's in the newspapers mean it's true? The Daily Bugle was shouting 'Spider-Man is harmful' every day before, what, do you dare to say Spider-Man is a bad guy in front of everyone?"

After his impassioned speech, several voices of agreement immediately rose from the crowd.

Just as the young man was unwilling to give up and tried to continue his sophistry.

An elderly woman carrying a shopping basket slowly delivered a fatal blow: "I really don't know what you're arguing about... I've lived for over seventy years, and I only know one thing: in times of crisis, those who are willing to protect children, no matter how scary they look, have kind hearts."

With this game-winning shot, coupled with the positive word-of-mouth surrounding "Spider-Man," the scales of the debate quickly began to tip.

This brought a smile of relief and satisfaction to Peter's face, as he had deliberately slowed down and quietly listened in.

Once upon a time, Spider-Man was, in the eyes of most citizens, an unidentified "wall-climbing nuisance."

But now, Spider-Man is a universally recognized superhero.

This is undoubtedly the best praise for Spider-Man, allowing Peter to be sure that their efforts have not been in vain!

At the same time, Riley was also using his hearing, which was clearly superior to that of an ordinary person after becoming Spider-Man, to quietly detect the movements around him.

……

Outside the coffee shop window, two young people dressed as students were pointing at their phones.

"Did you see that video on YouTube? That robot shielded a stroller with its body, and all the shrapnel hit its armor..."

"But the Global Times said it might have been staged to create a positive image..."

"Come on, the Global Times was saying Spider-Man can fly last week! Have you ever seen a spider that can fly?"

"Um... why don't you take a look at last night's footage? Spider-Man might, perhaps... really can fly...?"

"...WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Meanwhile...

At a hot dog stand, a mother bent down to hand her newly bought hot dog to her child. When the child kept asking, "Will the robot reappear?", the mother showed no impatience. Instead, she gently stroked her child's head and softly replied, "Since you think it appears to protect everyone, like firefighters, then Mommy hopes it will never appear again. Because that would mean there are no more bad guys in the world."

At the bookstore entrance, the owner chatted with a regular customer: "If you ask me, all the Global Times does is fabricate stories all day long. Sales may go up, but isn't that just creating panic? They should learn from the Daily Bugle. Look at them, they used to work so hard to smear Spider-Man, practically wanting to send him to jail themselves. Now they've finally woken up and their evaluations are much more objective and fair! Providing the public with the latest news fairly and impartially—that's what a newspaper should be doing!"

Further away, two young people wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan "Supporting Clean Energy is Supporting the Future!" were handing out homemade flyers to passersby, their voices impassioned: "...Don't let vested interest groups distract you! Behind the Times Square incident was a conspiracy to stifle the new energy revolution! Supporting Stark Industries and Osborn Corporation's new energy projects is supporting real progress!"

……

"Hey guys! You guys are here too!"

Just as Riley was trying to filter out more useful information from the noisy street gossip.

A clear and familiar voice, accompanied by hurried footsteps, approached from afar.

When everyone subconsciously turned their heads and looked in the direction of the sound, they saw Gwen with half a slice of whole wheat bread covered in peanut butter in her mouth, her golden ponytail swinging in the morning light, catching up with them in a few steps.

Then, while grabbing Peter's arm and looking him up and down, he continued speaking with a sense of apology.

"I'm sorry, when I got the news last night, my mom was watching me so closely, it was like she was monitoring a suspicious person. I couldn't find a chance to sneak out... Are you all alright? Are you hurt?"

Only after confirming that Peter showed no signs of injury did Gwen breathe a sigh of relief. She then turned her attention to Riley and the others.

After receiving slight nods of approval from the crowd, Gwen lowered her voice, her expression becoming more serious, and continued to add.

"By the way, I heard from Dad that the police department's public opinion monitoring system started alerting in the latter half of last night. On social media platforms, the traffic for topics like 'Stark Industries openly massacred innocent civilians to test a secret weapon!' and 'Tony Stark is secretly developing a killing machine!' has increased at an abnormally high rate! Moreover, many of the accounts involved in stirring up trouble are newly registered, and the core content of their posts is to smear Mr. Tony."

"Organized manipulation of public opinion is actually quite normal... In fact, it would be problematic if Tony's enemies didn't take the opportunity to fan the flames."

Riley was certainly aware of the controversy surrounding him last night.

In fact, his so-called "catching up on homework" was not only about deploying strategies to deal with various crises, but also about leading the agents of District 13 to delete posts and control comments.

Upon hearing Gwen's worried words, Riley shrugged and calmly offered words of comfort.

"But interestingly, the opposing voices are also growing in tandem. Hashtags created by eyewitnesses, such as '#IronMongerProtectedMe' and '#TheTruthISaw,' are showing very healthy growth curves. User profiles show that these accounts are mostly long-term local users in New York, and the content they post—photos, videos, and text descriptions—can cross-reference each other, making them highly credible."

As he spoke, Riley's gaze swept over the news summary scrolling on the electronic GG sign on the street corner.

The headlines from different media outlets are displayed side-by-side, like a silent war:

Wall Street Journal: "Stark Industries shares are under pressure as investors worry about regulatory risks."

The New York Times: "Times Square Reconstruction Begins, Stark Industries Aid Fund Promises to 'Restore It to Its Original State'!"

City Voice: "Eyewitness Account: It was that steel giant who protected us!"

Global Times: "Internal documents leaked? Stark Industries repeatedly violated regulations by conducting urban environmental tests in order to promote so-called 'clean energy'!"

"Everyone is telling the story they want to believe," Riley said softly.

Peter nodded: "But fortunately, those who have the loudest voices and are the most vocal can no longer easily influence public opinion as they used to."

They continued walking and, as they passed a small park in the middle of the street, they saw a group of elderly people discussing something during a break from their morning exercise.

Compared to those young people who argue until their faces turn red and their necks bulge, as if they're about to come to blows at any moment.

The conversations among the elderly were noticeably gentler.

"My granddaughter was in Times Square yesterday," said an elderly Asian woman with silver hair, slowly practicing Tai Chi. "She said that at first, she was terrified, just like everyone else. But then she saw the big robot protecting the injured person, and she felt less scared."

"Therefore, you can't completely believe what the newspapers say."

Another old man chimed in, casually tossing the Global Times newspaper on the ground with a look of disgust on his face.

"My son works in the municipal department, and he said that the people at Stark Industries are surprisingly sincere, unlike those of a large company. They not only respond proactively to claims and compensation requests, but they also call merchants who are 'potentially affected but haven't yet filed claims'."

"Because Tony Stark himself almost died once."

The third elderly man said slowly, sitting on a bench with a copy of the Daily Bugle spread out on his lap, "People who have experienced life and death often change a lot... Do you remember how arrogant he used to be? But ever since he was kidnapped, he's completely changed."

"Things have changed, but they haven't changed either." The first old lady took a deep breath and slowly stopped. "She's still as impulsive and as fond of showing off, but... she's become more 'mature' and willing to take responsibility. You should know what I mean, right?"

The elderly people were silent for a while, seemingly pondering the meaning of these words.

Riley and his group had already walked through the park, but the conversation remained in the air.

Peter pondered for a moment: "'Responsibility'... Uncle Ben said last night that both we and Tony have taken on too much responsibility and given enough. So..."

"Therefore, we should continue our efforts."

Before Peter could finish speaking, Riley, who seemed nonchalant, smiled and said, word by word.

"Haven't we been working so hard all along to protect these wonderful people and make the world a better place?"

This simple statement silenced everyone for a moment.

Felicia looked at Riley's profile and suddenly realized that this assessment might also apply to the person in front of her.

This is an "ordinary high school student" who always uses jokes and "academic pressure" to cover up his heroic deeds.