Chapter 189: Chapter 189: Spider-Woman Silk’s Loyalty! Gwen’s Memories!
Over the course of lunch,
Lorien and Wanda chatted idly, while Gwen had already brought Silk into the Spider Alliance.
Strictly speaking, though, it wasn’t Silk joining out of nowhere. She had already floated the idea of a Spider Alliance to Gwen herself.
The difference was that Gwen had taken that casual proposal and elevated it to a height Silk never could have imagined.
Just yesterday, she’d thought of it as nothing more than a self-organized group.
Everyone would agree verbally, maybe work together occasionally—but they wouldn’t live together.
And it certainly wouldn’t have any kind of official structure.
But what she saw today shocked her.
This wasn’t idle talk at all.
Gwen was thinking much bigger. She envisioned the Spider Alliance as something long-term, something solid.
Last night, the two of them had only talked about taking the first step.
But after Gwen went home, her man had already mapped out the third step—hell, even the fifth step!
It was outrageous, yet awe-inspiring.
So this is what people mean by vision.
Silk suddenly realized that she was just a Spider-Woman who hadn’t even been at it for three months.
Her thoughts were simple—have a place to stay, fight crime in the city, that was it.
But Gwen, after just one trip home, had already begun planning for the future.
The gap was clear.
But that was fine.
She would work hard to catch up.
...
Once lunch was finished, there wasn’t much else to do.
So Gwen turned to Silk with a smile.
"Let’s head straight to the base. See how you want your room arranged—we’ll set everything up today!"
Silk nodded, though she hesitated before asking,
"What about you? Or... you guys? Where will you be staying?"
Hearing the faint loneliness in her tone, Gwen glanced at Lorien and Wanda, then smiled warmly at her.
"Our base is inside Lorien’s tower."
"Even though Lorien, Wanda, and I live on the top floor, I’ll still set up my own room too. We’ll stay there for a few days first."
The moment Silk realized they’d all be living in the same building, a wave of reassurance washed over her.
Because honestly—suddenly arriving in a new universe, living alone in a massive, unfamiliar house...
Even with strong adaptability, could you really feel safe?
No way.
Think about it. Going penniless to a strange city—that’s tough enough. That’s Tier One.
Tier Two would be ending up in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language, only comforted by the fact that at least you’re still human.
And Tier Three? That would be an alien civilization. Nothing familiar. No recognition. No security whatsoever.
Fear comes from the unknown.
Insecurity comes from not understanding.
But when you have people like you—kindred spirits to band together with—suddenly, there’s at least a shred of safety.
That’s why Gwen said what she did.
Because she’d felt that way before.
...
Lorien settled the bill, added a little extra tip, and the staff respectfully escorted them to the door.
He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
"Snap~"
In the next instant, the four of them vanished.
The waiter froze for a second. Then, just as quickly, he forgot what had happened and went back to clearing dishes.
...
Back at the Northern Tower, the four went straight to the fourth floor from the bottom.
The moment they stepped inside, Silk stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes went wide at the sight of the swimming pool and the massive rows of training equipment. She couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.
"What do you think?"
Gwen grinned brightly.
"Wanna try it out?"
Silk nodded. The two of them walked over to the dumbbell racks.
But Silk froze, not sure which one to pick.
"These aren’t ordinary weights," Gwen reminded her. "I suggest you start with the smallest."
"The smallest?" Silk blinked in confusion.
Even if she’d only been Spider-Woman for less than three months, she knew how strong she was. Yesterday’s fight with Rhino not going her way was just a fluke. Normally, lifting a small car was nothing to her.
But then she caught Gwen’s amused smile and finally realized.
"These... aren’t normal weights, are they?"
"Mhm~" Gwen only gestured with her eyes.
Silk nodded, stepped up to the smallest dumbbell, and wrapped her fingers around it. Slowly, she lifted it.
"Whoa~!"
Her eyes widened in shock.
The dumbbell was unbelievably heavy. Not impossible for them, but under normal circumstances it would’ve been outrageous.
"How heavy is this?" she asked.
"Check the handle," Gwen said.
Silk turned it in her grip. Etched clearly on the bar was:
[0.2T]
"0.2T!?" Silk nearly shouted.
T stood for ton. Which meant 0.2T was 200 kilograms—almost 450 pounds!
A dumbbell that small weighing that much?
"Did you enchant these with magic?" Silk asked again, half in disbelief.
"No." Wanda shook her head. "Lorien forged them with special metals—made specifically for the Spider Alliance."
Silk blinked, then quickly turned to Lorien. "Thank you!"
"No need. I understand you."
"Understand us?"
She was confused for a moment. Then, looking at Gwen, it hit her.
He’d known Gwen back before. Which meant Gwen’s strength used to be on par with hers.
And now, she was this strong.
Of course Lorien would understand Spider-Man.
In Marvel’s official rankings, Spider-Man’s strength level was a solid 4. His upper limit hovered around 25 tons.
But even that wasn’t the true limit. In the comics, he’d literally held up an airplane.
And that was just a regular Spider-Man. Symbiote Spider-Man or mutated versions could go even higher.
Silk’s gaze drifted to the other dumbbells and machines, checking the numbers.
The dumbbells ranged from 0.2T, 0.3T, 0.4T, 0.5T... all the way to 1T. Ton-level dumbbells.
And the barbells? Even crazier. Plates came in 0.5T, 1T, 2T, 3T...
Some machines had weights up to 5T.
That was like lifting an SUV just to work out!
Stack two of those plates, and you’d hit your training limit without breaking a sweat.
And if you really wanted to test yourself, there were even machines built for 10T and beyond.
Silk stared, stunned.
This was insane.
She tested a few pieces, then turned back to Gwen, eyes bright.
"This is perfect. More than perfect."
"Glad you like it." Gwen chuckled, turning toward the exit.
"Come on, there’s still a lot to see. If we finish early, we can set up your room today. You’ll be staying here tonight."
...
Next, the four of them checked out the pool.
Silk’s eyes glittered like stars.
A swimming pool with floor-to-ceiling windows!
It was almost too good.
Then they moved to the third floor from the bottom—the living quarters.
This level had entertainment areas, a communal dining hall, and shared utilities. Everything was spacious, wide open, and fully equipped.
The entertainment zone was exactly as planned: consoles, massive TVs, computers, comics, and more.
Silk was once again dazzled.
For her, all of this was brand-new.
Remember what Gwen had said earlier? In her universe, Silk’s life had been miserable. An orphan.
Forget Aunt May—she had no family at all.
So things like this? She’d never had the chance.
Now Gwen was showing her a life she’d never even dreamed of.
Finally, they toured the private apartments.
A hundred square meters each. Fully laid out with walls, water, and electricity in place.
All that was left was to furnish them, and they’d be move-in ready.
Silk’s eyes shimmered again.
It was like a dream.
She could hardly believe it.
She turned her head, glancing around.
"Is this real?"
"Of course it’s real." Gwen waved her hand in front of her face. "We’re the Spider Alliance. If we’re going to do this, we’ll do it right!"
"If doing good brought no sense of reward or enjoyment, how many people would keep doing it without expecting anything in return?"
"And our lives aren’t even built on doing good deeds. Strictly speaking, we’re still giving selflessly, without asking for anything back."
Silk listened, then nodded in agreement.
"I don’t need big rewards. I just want a home, a life—that’s enough."
"As for fighting crime in the city... I just don’t want my abilities to go to waste. I can’t stand having power yet doing nothing."
Gwen nodded.
"That’s the spirit."
Silk lifted her head, meeting Gwen’s eyes. Her gaze firmed with resolve, and she slapped Gwen’s hand hard.
"That’s the spirit!"
...
Watching Gwen and Silk high-five, Lorien and Wanda exchanged a look and smiled quietly.
That was it.
The Spider Alliance didn’t matter much to Lorien. But for Gwen, it was an important opportunity.
Even if it only developed on Earth, the moment another Spider-Woman arrived in this universe, there was a near certainty they’d be drawn into the Alliance. And right now, Gwen was the one running it.
Which meant that no matter what happened later, this would always be her team.
And by extension—Lorien’s support force. His auxiliaries, his backup.
Seeing this, Lorien waved his hand.
"I’ll head upstairs. If you need anything, ask Wanda. Don’t bother buying furniture—just sketch what you want and let Wanda craft it into solid wood pieces for you.
Solid wood furniture is expensive. And craftsmanship? It’s costly back in my country, and even more so here in the States. And honestly, none of it looks as good as what Wanda can make."
"Mhm!" Gwen and Silk both nodded.
Satisfied, Lorien was about to leave.
But before he did, he glanced at the floor, thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers.
In the center of the third, fourth, and fifth floors, a ten-meter-wide hole opened straight through, linking all three levels together.
Lorien chuckled.
"Doesn’t this feel more like a Spider’s style? Who needs doors?"
Gwen’s eyes lit up instantly.
"Right! From now on, we can just drop down to the lower floors and jump back up again!"
Each floor was only about four meters tall. For a Spider-Woman, that was nothing.
Once that was done, Lorien turned and headed upstairs.
Silk watched his back, her voice filled with awe.
"Gwen."
"Yeah?"
"He really understands Spider-Women..."
Gwen blinked, then turned to watch Lorien until he disappeared. Memories stirred in her mind.
Finally, she nodded.
"Maybe we don’t even fully understand ourselves. But Lorien... he really does."
Thinking back, Lorien had always guided her whenever she was lost.
Now that she thought about it... without him, who knew what state she’d be in?
Probably still confused.
In the comics, Gwen really was lost—so lost she nearly gave up.
After gaining her powers, she didn’t go out to fight crime right away. She stayed at home for two whole years.
Yes—two years as a shut-in!
Only then did she finally step out to fight crime.
Absurd, wasn’t it?
Seeing Gwen’s thoughtful look, Silk’s curiosity got the better of her.
"How did you and Lorien first meet?"
Gwen was more than happy to share.
And Wanda, sitting nearby, was just as curious—what exactly had happened between Gwen and Lorien back then?
So the three of them settled onto the sofa in the entertainment area.
...
Gwen finally spoke.
"My first time meeting Lorien Su was at a medical conference."
"He showed up with Stephen back then — the one who’s now the Sorcerer Supreme."
"They were both so well-known that everyone crowded around them."
"But in that sea of people, our eyes met—and that’s where the story began."
She had only shared the opening, yet Silk and Wanda were already hanging on every word.
When Gwen paused, Silk couldn’t hold back.
"And then? Come on, Gwen, hurry!"
Wanda nodded quickly as well.
Clearly, no matter where you were in the world, women loved gossip.
And if the gossip was about people you actually knew? Even better.
"Alright, alright. I’ll get through it quickly so we can go work on the furniture."
Gwen cleared her throat, gathering her thoughts before continuing.
"Later at the banquet, I suddenly realized Lorien was right beside me. So I gathered my courage and went up to him."
"Oh~!" Silk squealed. "You were the one who made the first move!?"
"Yes." Gwen admitted openly.
When it came to who should take the initiative in relationships, Western culture might lean toward men taking the lead—but if a girl liked someone, she wasn’t afraid to be proactive. There was no belief here that making the first move meant losing.
If you liked someone, you went for it.
So Gwen admitted it without hesitation.
"Come on, Lorien was handsome, talented, capable. I had nothing back then. If I didn’t take the initiative, was I supposed to just wait for him to be invited away by someone else?"
Silk thought it over. "You’re right, Gwen."
Wanda agreed. "If it were me, I’d have made the first move too."
"See?" Gwen lifted her chin proudly.
Not taking the initiative would’ve been foolish.
If Lorien had been taken away by another woman, she would’ve had nowhere left to cry.
But what they didn’t know—Lorien had already told Stephen his stance.
Liking was liking. Loving was loving.
He had long since decided that his heart was set on these beautiful superheroes.
As for other women?
Insignificant. He wasn’t interested.
Only heroines.
Gwen went on.
"After that, we got to know each other. We talked for a long time. Lorien was always warm, always patient, even when I asked about all sorts of unrelated things."
Silk sat cross-legged on the sofa, nodding as she listened.
Wanda crossed her legs, resting her chin on her hand, quietly absorbed.
"That was our first meeting. Lorien even gave me his business card."
"But by the second time we met, I’d already been bitten by the spider. I’d already changed."
Silk tensed immediately.
She knew that feeling all too well.
Hearing Gwen describe it, it was like listening to her own story.
Gwen continued.
"I was completely lost then, no idea what to do."
"Then I remembered the card and went to find Lorien."
At that, Gwen laughed.
"Lorien’s counseling fees were ridiculously expensive. Luckily, I’d saved up a lot of allowance."
"After that, he guided me through it."
"I even used a friend as an excuse to cover it up."
"Now that I think about it, Lorien must have seen through me instantly, but he never called me out."
"And I thought I was such a good actress, ha ha."