Twelve is the Duck Detective.

At the sound of "Harry," at least four or five people turned around, both men and women, yet the one Peter recognized remained completely unmoved. Peter didn't have time to wonder if Harry still remembered him; he rushed forward, even overshooting his mark, and blocked the other's path. "Harry!"

Harry didn't have time to stop and crashed right into Peter. He felt like he had hit a truck, the impact sending a jolt of pain through him. He looked up, furious. "What is wrong with you?"

His neatly combed golden-brown hair was slightly disheveled from the sudden collision, and his gray-blue eyes held both anger and cold unfamiliarity. Peter confirmed that this was indeed his childhood friend, Harry Osborn.

But the look in Harry's eyes made Peter stammer. "I... I'm Peter Parker. We were best friends when we were kids, back in New York. Do you remember?"

Ten-year-old Harry had stood by Peter through the painful time after his parents passed away. Later, Harry had transferred schools and vanished without a trace. They hadn't seen each other for ten years, but Peter had recognized him instantly.

Harry paused. He had absolutely no impression of the name, yet looking at Peter’s face now, he felt a strange sense of familiarity.

Seeing that Harry didn't speak, Peter felt awkward. He lowered his head and slipped away, pretending nothing had happened, his sensitive little heart feeling like it was about to shatter.

However, after he had taken a few steps, he heard Harry's voice. "Hey!"

Peter turned back, his expression cautious.

Harry was slightly annoyed with himself. He had no memory of Peter at all, but seeing him walk away so dejectedly, he felt compelled to call him back. "I don't remember anything from when we were kids, but if you have time, perhaps we could talk."

Peter’s eyes lit up instantly.

Without even looking, he grabbed a stack of flyers for the Physics Club, Robotics Club, and Computer Club. "Where should we talk?"

Harry glanced at his stack of flyers in confusion. "If you're looking to socialize, these clubs aren't the best choice."

"I don't want to socialize," Peter replied quickly. He had no time for socializing anyway, childhood friends notwithstanding. "I just want to learn."

"A nerd, then," Harry muttered. "You can come check out our Genetics Research Group."

"Okay!" Peter answered in a second, completely unbothered by the "nerd" label.

And so, Peter followed Harry, leaving his club choices far behind. As Harry led the way, he tried hard to recall when exactly they had become friends. After thinking it over and coming up with nothing, he gave up in frustration.

Just then, Peter caught up, moving from a step behind to walk side-by-side with Harry, and showed him his phone. "Look!"

On the screen was a scanned photograph of two ten-year-old boys. One was a young Harry, the other clearly a young Peter, with the house Harry lived in before leaving New York in the background.

Harry froze, re-examining the curly-haired boy before him. It really was his childhood friend. But he had no memory of this photo either.

"You were already using hair gel even back then," Peter said, beaming at his phone screen. "But you look so handsome now!"

Harry didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Not knowing how to respond, he just walked on in silence.

There was a reason the Genetics Research Group called itself a "group" rather than a "club." Their numbers were tiny; there were only seven members in total. Only two were here to recruit today, not counting Harry, who was just dropping by.

Although he held no official position, Harry was still the core of the group. The reason was simple: the Osborn Corporation, which stood behind Harry, was financially powerful. It was the second-tier force in Gotham, right after Wayne Enterprises. The group was heavily funded by the Osborn Corporation, and they even had an exclusive laboratory equipped with the latest technology, protected by iris-recognition security.

Peter suddenly understood why Harry wasn't guarding against this friend who had appeared out of nowhere and had brought him straight to the lab—he was confident in the lab's security.

Inside the lab, there were already three young faces in white coats. With seven members in total, having six present today was a remarkably high turnout.

Among the three, the girl had albinism, one boy showed obvious symptoms of systemic lupus erythematosus, and the other boy showed no outward signs of illness.

Peter scanned the lab, keenly noticing that on the posted safety guidelines, the key points weren't marked in red but were instead bolded and enlarged. It was possible that the boy was colorblind.

*Genetics Research Group.* Peter chewed on the name again, a question popping into his mind: *Harry, what illness does he have?*

Peter always wore his heart on his sleeve. His frequent glances at Harry and his worried expression made Harry feel both amused and exasperated. "Don't worry, I won't be dying anytime soon."

As he spoke, he tucked his slightly trembling right hand behind his back.

"Harry, where did you pick up such a sweet newcomer?" the girl with albinism asked with a mischievous grin, openly scrutinizing Peter.

"Shut up, Eliza," Harry replied expertly. "He’s not a newcomer yet. Get back to your experiment."

"I’m applying to join your group!" Peter raised a hand high.

This move made everyone laugh, and even Harry curled his lips into a faint smile.

"You might want to rethink that," Harry explained slowly. "We aren't just a student club. This is semi-commercial. You have to meet attendance requirements and..."

"I’m joining!" Peter didn't hesitate.

"You don't have to join this group for my sake," Harry reasoned, not knowing why he was being so patient with Peter, and completely unaware of the strange looks his members were exchanging. "With that photo, I won't ignore you again."

Eliza mouthed something to the other two boys: *Boyfriend?*

The boys rolled their eyes.

Peter was deeply moved. He hadn't expected to gain Harry's trust so quickly, which made him want to help even more. "I want to join. I'm very smart; I can do whatever the group requires!"

Harry looked at him helplessly and gave a slight nod.

Eliza mouthed to the others again: *Definitely a boyfriend.*

Harry's chilling voice sounded behind her. "Eliza, if you have so much free time, why don't you go perform fifty-eight DNA extraction experiments?"

Eliza shut her mouth and lowered her head, staring into the microscope and pretending to be busy.

Because he was a newcomer, Harry didn't actually assign Peter any work, but instead introduced him to the members and the work they usually did.

Perhaps because of their childhood bond, after the initial awkwardness wore off, the two became increasingly engrossed in conversation. They soon filled each other in on what had happened since they parted—though Peter kept his Spider-Man identity a secret and claimed he had only received an acceptance letter from Gotham University, forcing him to study there.

This made Harry's expression turn strange; anyone from out of town coming to Gotham for university could only be described as having immense courage.

As they wandered around campus, Harry also took the time to show Peter around. According to Harry, due to business and his father's health, his family had moved to Gotham when he was twelve. The Osborn Corporation's biotechnology was world-class and was thriving in Gotham.

"Is your father doing okay?" Peter asked with concern.

When he was a kid, he had often visited Harry's home, and his memory of old Norman Osborn was that of a kind uncle.

"Not really," Harry forced a smile. "He's dying."

Peter went silent, not expecting such an answer.

Feeling he had asked something he shouldn't have, he was at a loss for how to apologize when he suddenly heard someone call his name.

"Peter! Peter Parker!"

The call broke them both out of the heavy atmosphere. Peter looked up to see a young man he didn't recognize walking toward him.

The boy looked very young, yet he was dressed in a suit and tie, holding a briefcase like a CEO of some company.

Peter didn't recognize him, but Harry narrowed his eyes, his expression turning cold.

As the boy approached, he first nodded toward Harry. "Osborn."

Harry lifted his chin. "Drake."

"Do you two... know each other?" Peter looked between them.

"Alumni," the young man called Drake said with a polite smile, though there was an unmistakable weariness in his eyes. "You must be the boarder at my house."

Harry looked at Peter, a question mark seemingly hovering over his head.

He had just been considering letting his childhood friend stay at his own home; he didn't feel comfortable letting a pure, innocent boy like Peter stay in the school dorms. He might get eaten alive.

"I'm Timothy Drake, everyone calls me Tim," Tim continued his introduction, ignoring Harry's presence. "Bruce is my adoptive father."

The stiff, formal introduction made Harry roll his eyes.

Peter suddenly realized. "Oh! You're the third one."

Tim nodded. He looked up at the sky and said to Peter, "It's getting dark. Club recruitment is over for the day. You should head back to Wayne Manor; the nights in Gotham aren't safe. I'll take you back."

Tim was also a student at Gotham University. He was a senior, so he didn't have many classes, and he spent most of his time at Wayne Enterprises and on his vigilante work.

He had no interest in joining clubs, but he had come today specifically after his meeting to track down his new brother and fulfill his duties as an older sibling.

Seeing Peter among the students had made Tim very happy. But he hadn't expected that the person next to Peter would be the only son of the Osborn family!

Tim knew Jason had been with him yesterday, and he hadn't expected that after just one day away, Peter would be falling into a villain's trap!

—Some of the suspicious funds Tim was currently tracking were linked to the Osborn Corporation.

The Osborn Corporation had been operating in Gotham for nearly ten years, maintaining a neutral stance. They didn't cooperate with enterprises like the Penguin's or Black Mask's, nor did they invest heavily in charity like Wayne Enterprises.

But Tim had been watching Osborn for a long time. They definitely had dark secrets; Tim just hadn't found the evidence yet.

Even though he hadn't caught the Osborns in the act yet, he could never let his new brother hang out with a potential criminal.

Tim was full of fighting spirit, his eyes burning like two small flames.