"What are you staring at?"
Helen approached Peter with curiosity as she noticed him focused on his phone.
The two were seated at a cafe located near a forested hill.
Seeing Peter lost in his phone, Helen couldn't help but ask, "Are you into spying on people's privacy? Teacher Helen?"
Peter put his phone down and reached for his coffee cup.
"I'm just frustrated with you always being glued to your phone when others are talking."
Helen adjusted her sunglasses, giving Peter a sideways glance.
She was dressed in a wool jacket, dark blue denim wide-leg pants, a peaked cap, and high waterproof heels. With her striking appearance, she drew the attention of several customers inside the cafe.
"I've watched the video you sent me," Helen said, quickly shifting the conversation.
Peter had used the Gem Wasp to explore the tunnels beneath a mine. The high-definition footage captured a variety of things, from murals and ancient structures to human remains.
By analyzing the clothing and decomposition of the bodies, it appeared that these were hired security personnel working for Warren Mining or the Stark Group.
Helen cut some footage from the video and printed it into photos. She handed one over to Peter. "Take a look at these rocks. Beneath the sandstone, there are Comanche limestone veins. The fossils here include cephalopods, corals, spiny sea urchins, lithonids, and occasionally silicified sponges and marine vertebrate bones—likely fish, sharks, and scaly fish."
Using her biology knowledge, Helen continued, "These vertebrate fossils are highly valuable. They likely formed in an ancient tropical climate when this area was much warmer."
Peter picked up the photo, inspecting it closely.
"The cave is only about seven to eight feet deep, but it expands in all directions. The slight airflow suggests there's a larger underground space here."
Helen added thoughtfully, "The stalactites and stalagmites are dense, some of which have formed stone pillars over the years. This could be leading us to a deeper, long-forgotten place."
Peter raised an eyebrow. "How long would you estimate?"
"I can't say for sure," Helen replied, sipping her coffee. "But look at the murals in these photos. One depicts a spaceship landing on Earth, releasing species that could wipe out humanity. There are also images of creatures resembling vampires."
Helen shot Peter a sidelong glance. "Is it true that you were chosen by those space knights on Earth?"
Peter quickly shook his head. "Of course not. Do you really trust people that easily?"
Helen paused, considering Peter's strange story. "I may not believe others, but with you, it's different. A lot of extraordinary things have happened to you."
Her mind wandered back to what she had seen in the Ghost Swamp days earlier.
If that was truly Peter's future, then it seemed like she would be by his side—possibly as his partner, or subordinate. Either way, their bond seemed to be growing stronger.
She pictured the two of them standing amidst the ruins of New York, looking like masters of the apocalypse. Could that future be real?
Helen stole a glance at Peter. Despite her growing admiration for him, was the intimacy between them really necessary?
Clearing her throat, she refocused. "I believe these spaceships might be the space knights you've mentioned. They may have unleashed these creatures—the ancestors of the 'Queen'—on Earth, only for them to be stopped by bloodsuckers."
Helen showed Peter another photo. It depicted what seemed to be a bloodsucking creature.
"This species is about six feet long and three and a half feet wide in the middle. The ridges along its sides are damaged, and there appear to be thin stems growing in the middle. The structures in the grooves between the ridges resemble toothed combs or wings that can expand like a fan—very different from modern vampires."
Helen offered her theory. "These creatures likely evolved into the vampires we know today after many changes over time."
She continued, "However, we need to investigate the tunnels firsthand to confirm."
Spreading the photos across the table, Helen picked up her cold coffee. "What's certain is that these two species—the vampires and the aliens—have fought for ages. And the war likely led to the near destruction of both groups."
Peter nodded thoughtfully. He had to admit, he was impressed by Helen's deduction skills. Just from the murals and architecture, she could infer a general timeline of events.
"Do you have a plan to get into the tunnels?" he asked.
"If you want to do this without raising suspicion, you might want to try my method."
"Of course," Peter responded, nodding.
Helen raised an eyebrow. "What's better than mind control?"
Peter didn't respond. Instead, he activated the mind watch that Mr. Fantastic, Reed Richards, had given him. The watch projected images of firefighters onto the cafe table.
The firefighters, wearing full suits, entered through the door, and their leader shouted, "There's a fire in the mall just 300 meters away. Evacuate immediately for your safety!"
Helen and the other patrons looked up in surprise. Outside the window, they could see white smoke rising, accompanied by faint flickers of flames in the distance.
Upon hearing the firefighters, everyone in the cafe hurried to exit. Several firefighters moved aside to let the crowd through.
The entire cafe became silent, with only Peter and Helen remaining. Helen started to stand up, but as she glanced at the door, she noticed something odd.
The glass door had been opened by the firefighters, but now it was shut.
Confused, she turned her gaze back to Peter, who was calmly sipping his coffee.
Was this his doing?
Suddenly, the firefighters walked over to the coffee table, smiling at Peter.
"Thank you!" Peter said, raising his coffee cup.
In the next moment, the firefighters began to fade away, becoming transparent before vanishing entirely.
Helen gasped. "What just happened? Are these ghosts?"
Though she had encountered ghosts before—mainly in hell—she couldn't fathom how such entities from another dimension could manifest here, in broad daylight.
Helen had sensed ghosts through the "beast" in her body during her encounter in the Ghost Swamp, but now Peter was summoning them? How?
"Peter, are you a demon?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Peter shrugged nonchalantly. "Perhaps."
Helen was still in shock. "Then summon a ghost for me now."
Peter grinned and complied. Drawing from the Wendigo spirit he'd seen in the swamp, he focused and summoned a massive Wendigo ghost into the cafe. The ghost's eerie form nearly filled the room, and Helen stared in disbelief.
"How is this possible?!" she stammered. "Are you really a devil, Peter?"
Peter couldn't help but chuckle at Helen's astonished reaction. "I could be."
With a mischievous smirk, he altered the vision in his mind. Suddenly, the entire cafe transformed. The bright lights vanished, replaced by flickering flames. The walls morphed into a smoky mountaintop, with distant lightning flashing through the sky. Cracks appeared in the ground, from which black flames erupted.
An ominous aura filled the air, and Helen instinctively stepped back, sensing the overwhelming unease.
She looked around frantically, her heart pounding. Had Peter just sent them to hell?
Before she could react further, she realized something was wrong.
She didn't smell sulfur or decay, and the temperature hadn't changed. She crouched to touch the blackened ground, feeling only the soft texture of carpet.
Confused, she looked around in disbelief.
"Peter!" she shouted. "What did you do?!"
Peter was nowhere to be found.
Helen could feel her blood run cold. She had been tricked by Peter—the bastard had made her think she was in hell.
But the mystery was far from over.
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