The next day, Levi slept until the afternoon, grabbed a quick lunch, and rushed to work while yawning.
"Hey Levi, judging by your face, you must've had a fun night."
In the school's security room, his colleague Heige grinned and gave him a wink, flashing his white teeth.
Levi shrugged. "Yeah, last night was quite intense. I'm not sure how many people lost sleep because of me."
He changed into his security uniform and was about to head out when he ran into a middle-aged man with a serious expression on his face.
"Chief, good afternoon."
"Levi, something happened last night. You need to be more serious and do more night patrols."
"Got it, chief. I'll go take a look right now."
Levi nodded, knowing full well it was probably because of the screams caused by the students during the séance. He didn't take it too seriously and just planned to walk around and have a bit of fun.
When he stepped outside, the sun was shining brightly. Levi put on his sunglasses, lowered the brim of his cap, and walked around the campus with his hands behind his back and a slight smile on his lips. His gaze, hidden behind the lenses, observed the students moving about.
It was now the time for after-school activities. The campus was full of cheerful, laughing students. The atmosphere was lively, unaffected by the strange incident from the previous night.
"Tsk, are all Asians like you? Growing so tall at your age.."
Just as Levi was admiring the beautiful scenery, a book suddenly dropped into his field of view, blocking it.
Looking down, he saw a beautiful girl with long black hair.
Recognizing the familiar face, Levi shrugged. "Let me guess why you're here. You want me to help Parker, right ?"
The long-haired girl pouted and rolled her eyes. "If you already know, then why are you just standing there ? If you don't hurry, Parker's going to get beaten to death by those guys !"
"Why are you in such a hurry, Jessica? They're not violent criminals. Parker's just going to get roughed up a little."
"But that's not right !"
Jessica grabbed Levi's hand and dragged him toward the school building.
"Okay, okay."
Levi didn't resist and let Jessica pull him away.
That Parker, of course, is none other than our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
Peter Parker.
But at this point in time, he hasn't yet been bitten by the mutant spider and hasn't become the admired hero everyone looks up to.
Right now, he is just "Insignificant Parker."
The one bullying him is of course Thompson, Parker's former rival. Tall and brawny, he always enjoyed picking on Parker. The most ironic part ? He will eventually become one of Spider-Man's biggest fans, completely unaware that he once bullied his idol.
Jessica, the one holding Levi's hand, is not exactly an ordinary person either.
In the future, she would also gain extraordinary powers and join the Defenders under the name Jessica Jones. She had also once been used as a weapon by a despicable villain.
Of course, right now, she was still just a pretty, normal high school girl.
It was no coincidence that Levi had appeared in this seemingly average high school. He had deliberately placed himself near key figures in the story.
It had been proven that reputation points gained from such characters were far greater than those from ordinary people. The points granted by Parker alone accounted for a tenth of Levi's entire total.
That's why Levi showed up from time to time, creating various encounters to deepen their impression of him.
Unfortunately, Parker's other close friends like Harry Osborn, Gwen Stacy, or Mary Jane Watson weren't enrolled in this school.
Here, it was only Peter, Jessica, and Thompson. Which meant there were fewer people to exploit.
Levi and Jessica quickly entered the school building, one after the other. There were fewer students attending class at this hour of the day, and the narrow hallway didn't slow them down. They continued through a few corridors until they spotted several tall students gathered in a corner.
"Thompson ! It's you again! What are you doing here ? Trying to stir up trouble ?"
Before Jessica could say more, Levi pulled her behind him, walked toward the group, and placed a hand on the shoulder of the tallest among them.
Hearing that familiar voice, Thompson's heart trembled. He cursed inwardly, turned around, and, as expected, saw the face he hated.
"We're just talking. Are we breaking any school rules ?"
"Exactly."
"You're such a busybody. Even the principal isn't as strict as you."
The others echoed Thompson's words.
Levi snorted, too lazy to argue. He simply reached out and pushed them aside.
"Get out of my way."
These bold students, who were part of the same football team as Thompson, suddenly felt a tremendous force. They were shoved back with no chance to resist, revealing behind them a disheveled figure.
The boy was gentle and slender. His black vest and white shirt were wrinkled, his glasses were slipping down his nose, and his brown hair, which had been slicked back, was now a mess. It was clear he had been bullied.
This was Peter Parker before he took on the identity of [Spider-Man].
"Parker, are you okay ?"
"I'm fine."
Parker adjusted his glasses and murmured a reply.
He looked up at Levi and tried to force a crooked smile.
"It's okay."
Levi pulled Parker to his side and, without even glancing at Thompson, led him away.
He approached Jessica and gave her a wink. She understood instantly and followed the two boys.
As they watched their backs disappear down the hallway, someone frowned in dissatisfaction.
"We're just going to let them walk away like that?"
"What else? You want to get beat up again?"
Thompson's face was dark. He couldn't help but recall the moment he had been effortlessly defeated by that young security guard a few days ago. His arms still trembled whenever he saw him.
"Let's go. We need to train."
On the other side, as Jessica exited the school building, she was also clearly displeased.
"We're just letting them go like that?"
"What else? You want me to beat them up?"
Levi smiled and said, "I'm just a security guard. If I take the initiative and hit students, I'll get fired."
A few days ago, it was Thompson who had thrown the first punch, and Levi had taken the chance to subdue him in just a few moves. Thanks to that, he'd earned a reputation as a mysterious Eastern kung fu master among the students and gained a hefty amount of reputation points.
"But they bullied Parker!" Jessica was still indignant.
"It's fine. I'm used to it, and they won't go too far. I'll manage," Parker said, pretending to be indifferent. But his awkward and bitter expression didn't convince anyone.
"Parker, if you keep enduring this, you'll never solve the problem. In fact, it'll only make them more arrogant. Eventually, you won't be the only one they're picking on."
"So what should I do?"
"Simple."
Levi grinned, flashing his teeth.
"Parker, do you want to learn martial arts?"