Upon entering the Stark Building, Doctor Connors strode off with haste, leaving Peter trailing behind. Glancing back, Peter said, "Alright, Doctor, I've gotten you here safely. Now that you're in the Stark Building, there should be no danger. So, I'm going to leave first. There's something I need to attend to..."
"Have something to do? Of course, you do! What are you going to do? Put on that strange spandex suit and wander around aimlessly again?"
"I won't be wandering aimlessly. There's a creature creating havoc in the city which I need to stop..."
"But hasn't Stark already gone? Do you think he can't defeat that creature?"
"Er, it's not that, but surely he needs some assistance?"
"I need assistance too. Put down your backpack, get dressed in your lab coat, and we'll proceed to the lab. To solve this problem, we need to start with the serum."
"But I must join the battle. I can't just flee."
Doctor Connors halted his stride and turned to face Peter, placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked into Peter's eyes and said earnestly, "The front line isn't always out there."
Gesturing towards the window, he added, "The most important lesson I learned from my military experience is, the battlefield is not always where the bullets fly."
"Sometimes..." Doctor Connors pointed to the ground, "this... right here, is more important than any battlefield out there."
"You must understand, throwing punches is never nobler than using your intellect."
"You have to realize, even if you thrash that monster, it won't turn into a good Samaritan, and the military won't abandon their evil experiments. To fundamentally solve these issues, mere strength won't suffice – you must think."
"But what should I do? I don't understand..."
Peter willingly followed behind Doctor Connors, walking alongside while questioning, "Isn't what I've always done just that – stop the bad guys? What's wrong with it?"
"There's nothing wrong, but I believe you can do better."
"Peter, the sudden emergence of your body's mutation and the newfound power could have misled you into thinking that you went from being feeble to this mighty force, with enough power to change the world."
"But in reality, even without this mutation, you can accomplish the same."
"Haven't you realized? You are a prodigy. Even if you didn't possess this vast strength, this abundant vitality, even if you were to simply concentrate on studying, attending University, entering the Research Institute, one day you could change the world."
"Your mutation simply hastened this process, but it isn't everything. You need to break free from your inflated ego, and think about who you truly are."
"Who am I? I'm Spider-Man..."
"That is true, but you're also Peter Parker."
Doctor Connors entered the lab and gestured towards the lab bench, "See, this is your battlefield too. Here, you can achieve more than Spider-Man. You can, similarly and undoubtedly, change the world from here."
Peter stood at the doorway, tiptoeing a little, and rubbing his hands together, "Really? But no one has ever said such things to me. They all think I'm physically weak, bad at sports, always alone, an eccentric..."
"Anyone who evaluated you like that, do they possess three PhDs?"
"Er, they were just some high school students. They certainly didn't."
"So who do you think you should believe?"
After a while, he responded, "Alright."
The assurance from Doctor Connors gave him newfound confidence. Rubbing his wrists vigorously, he said, "Then I'll give it a try. I'll give Spider-Man a break for today. We'll do it here..."
As Doctor Connors was tidying up the materials, he remarked, "That's the right attitude. Spider-Man will have more days off in the future. New York doesn't lack a superhero swinging around. What the world forever lacks is a nominee for the Nobel Prize."
"I think Peter Parker can take a break too. I do enjoy swinging through the New York skyline," said Peter with playful nonchalance, shrugging his shoulders.
This was the first time someone told him, Peter Parker was more important than Spider-Man.
Formerly, all his confidence came from the persona of Spider-Man, who possessed superhuman strength. At school, he was often discriminated against. Thus, being Spider-Man, who had the power to help others, he found meaning in his life.
But he thought Doctor Connors made a profound point. The ones who looked down on and ostracized him were a mere group of high school students. However, the individuals who affirmed Peter's identity had a combined total of 7-8 PhDs. Peter wasn't a fool; comparing the two, of course, he believed the latter group more.
He knew his intellect was impressive. He could attain exceptional results without substantial effort.
But he never considered that with his intellect, he could change the world.
This is why, after he attained his spider mutation powers, he was so thrilled. He felt he went from a weakling to someone strong, not once considering that he wasn't a weakling in the first place.
In reality, Peter had many more strengths. Even without his intelligent mind and superhuman strength, his kindness and determination were ample to achieve impressive accomplishments in a common society.