Chapter 22
Peter's Good Intentions Backfire
Of course, Uncle Long's predicament did not last too long.
The Shadow Legion's orders were to assist Tru in retrieving the shield. The moment the shield slipped from their grasp, Uncle Jackie naturally became insignificant in their eyes.
So, the Shadow Legion, which was just one step away from completely killing Jackie Chan and renaming "Jackie Chan Adventures" to "The Adventures of Saint Lord" or "The Adventures of Tara," spared him without exception at this critical juncture.
Instead, they jumped in an orderly fashion, using their teammates for leverage in mid-air to further increase their speed and head straight for the shield!
Uncle Long, who was also freed from his predicament, didn't understand why the Black Hand Gang was so obsessed with that ordinary shield, but he instinctively felt that he absolutely couldn't give it up. Without even getting up from the ground, he shouted a warning in Peter's direction.
"Ah! Watch out! Catch that shield—!"
"Don't worry! They can't do anything to me!"
Although Uncle Jackie Chan was in a hurry and didn't have time to aim carefully, causing the shield to be thrown too high and go directly over Peter's head.
But when Peter heard Uncle Long's call, he simply swung his arms wildly and threw a flurry of punches, using his superior strength to ruthlessly clear out the shadowy army around him, showcasing the beauty and skill of numerical manipulation.
He then raised his hand and fired a spider silk, precisely hitting the shield before the leaping shadow soldiers could even touch it, and pulled it back into his hand.
"Watch closely! I learned this move from Captain America! Hah ...
"Ah, that's great... Wait, what did you just say? Captain America?!"
"Drink! Take this, Shield Throw—!!!"
"No! Stop! Don't—!"
Unfortunately, Peter, who only joined the incident halfway through after receiving Riley's call, was clearly unaware of the importance of the shield.
So much so that even Uncle Long belatedly realized something was wrong based on Peter's words.
They could only watch helplessly as Peter, mimicking Captain America, forcefully threw his shield.
After piercing through the bodies of more than ten ninja soldiers, its power was almost completely depleted, and it was firmly held in the hand of one of the ninja soldiers.
Then, facing Peter's surprised and Uncle Long's despairing gaze, he took the shield and slid into the shadows.
They also spared no effort to send out a group of men to collectively hurl a large number of darts, like a barrage of bullets, forcing Riley to dodge.
Then, while throwing smoke grenades for cover, Tru, consumed by rage and determined to continue pursuing Riley, quickly slipped into the shadows and left the scene.
"Ha! Now you know fear, huh! As expected of Captain America's move, just one strike and they were scared out of their wits and ran away!"
At this moment, Peter, who had no idea what "good deed" he had done, mistakenly believed that the Mafia's retreat was due to being intimidated by the skills he and Riley had displayed.
So, after putting his hands on his hips and boasting smugly for a while, Peter noticed Uncle Long walking quickly towards him, so he naturally waved and cheerfully greeted Uncle Long.
"Don't be afraid, sir! I've driven the enemy away! No need to thank me too much, because I'm a friendly neighbor of New York City, the amazing Spider..."
"Thank you? Well, thank you so much! Do you know that shield is exactly what the Black Hand wanted? And you just handed it over to them so easily!"
Before Peter could finish speaking, Uncle Long, who had been simmering with anger after a day of bad luck, finally broke down under the provocation of Peter's smug tone, no matter how good-tempered he was.
After giving Peter a thorough dressing-down that completely shut him down, as if that wasn't enough, he turned to Riley, who was walking over at a leisurely pace, and complained irritably.
"Oh my God... Riley! Is this the helper you were telling me about? She seems even more unreliable than Jade!"
Peter: "Railley? How do you recognize him... cough cough, I mean, who's Riley? Sir, you seem to have made a mistake?"
Uncle Long: "A mistake? You really think that just because you're dressed in some strange clothes, no one will recognize you? Your size and voice haven't changed at all, and you didn't happen to be with Xiaoyu. How could I possibly mistake you for someone else!"
Peter: "Uh... this..."
"Hiss, this is supposed to be the world of American comics. Even if he just wears an eye patch, let alone a mask, no one should be able to recognize him. This isn't following the usual formula... Could it be that because Uncle Jackie is the 'protagonist,' his intelligence is on point?"
Of course, just like Peter, Riley was stunned when Uncle Long revealed his true identity.
Until Uncle Long gave a reasonable and well-founded explanation of why Riley's identity was exposed.
Riley, inwardly both amused and exasperated, decided that once this incident was over, he would take the suit back and urgently optimize and improve it to fix this "bug".
He removed the head mask, revealing his true face, confirming Uncle Long's guess.
Then, scratching his head, he forced himself to explain under the pleading gaze of Peter, who knew he had messed up.
"Well, Uncle Long, I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush. Listen to me, that shield isn't actually important, what's important is..."
"What doesn't matter! The shield is of course important! That's what the Black Hand has been looking for! God knows what they're up to! I'm starting to suspect that you guys might be in cahoots with the Black Hand... Oh! Dad? Sheriff Black? What are you doing...?"
But Uncle Long, who was in a fit of anger, wouldn't listen to Riley's explanation.
Before Riley could finish speaking, Riley retorted without any politeness, adopting a matter-of-fact tone.
Then, caught off guard, his father, who had somehow appeared behind Uncle Long, gave him a sharp rap on the head, forcing him to swallow back the words of argument that were already on the tip of his tongue!
"Hey! How can things go on without Dad? Remember Jackie Chan, no matter who you suspect, you can't suspect Riley and the others!"
But when faced with Uncle Long's pitiful expression, the old man rolled his eyes, made a face as if he couldn't bear to look, and walked straight past Uncle Long.
"And one more thing, were you even listening to Dad on the phone earlier?! The shield isn't important! What's important is the runes on the shield! You're supposed to be an adult, but you're not even as smart as Riley!"
"A talisman? What talisman?"
"It's the rooster talisman embedded right in the center of the shield! After you left, Dad remembered someone telling me that those talismans engraved with the twelve zodiac animal patterns possess magical power!"
As he continued talking to himself, the old man met Riley's somewhat guilty gaze and walked over to Riley's side.
Then, with an air of certainty and confidence, as if everything was within his grasp, he gave Riley no room for argument or struggle, and spoke to Riley, word by word.
"Alright, Riley, to give my foolish nephew a second look at this world..."
"It's time for you to show us the magic of that chicken charm."