Restart, Spider-Man! [7]
"Spider-Man is a pest, a coward who doesn't dare to show his face. But that masked Green Goblin is the same. The difference is, the Green Goblin is more arrogant than Spider-Man. Over the past few days, he has attacked Oscorp, Hammer Industries, and Stark Tower, claiming he has killed Spider-Man. During this time, Spider-Man hasn't appeared, which suggests that what he said might be true."
The host then chimed in with a timely question: "Mr. Jameson, could Spider-Man have been kidnapped or injured, which is why he hasn't shown up these past few days?"
J. Jonah Jameson burst into laughter. "Hahaha, impossible! He's definitely dead."
"How can you be so sure?"
"It's my sixth sense."
The host: "..."
This guy wasn't following the script.
This was turning into a disaster.
Xia Luo: "..."
Looking at J. Jonah Jameson's smug face on the screen, Xia Luo couldn't help but grumble inwardly.
This guy really lived up to his reputation as Spider-Man's lifelong nemesis. If Xia Luo remembered correctly, he didn't even know this guy personally. Was it really necessary for Jameson to be this happy about Spider-Man's supposed death?
He glanced at the time. Eight days had passed in the real world while he'd been in the resurrection match, which pretty much confirmed the time flow.
Despite his long disappearance, Uncle Ben and Aunt May didn't seem worried about him.
Something felt off.
Could it be…
Was the TV show just too funny?
Xia Luo scratched his head.
But soon, he figured out the real reason.
"Ben, our little Xia Luo shared some more of his vacation photos with us. He met a beautiful girl in Bali. He'll need some courage," Aunt May said with interest, holding her phone up to share Xia Luo's "vacation life" with Uncle Ben.
Uncle Ben glanced at it, looking a little puzzled.
"A girl? Liking someone as talkative as him?"
Aunt May gave Uncle Ben a glare. "Old man, if even someone like you—a stuffy bore—can find love, then it's no surprise that our Xia Luo could too. He's quite charming."
"Yes, very charming. His endless chatter has driven more than a few of his classmates insane," Uncle Ben teased, though his face softened with a warm smile.
"It's about time he started dating."
Uncle Ben glanced at the TV and changed the subject.
"They say Spider-Man's dead. I wonder if it's true."
"Don't listen to that guy's nonsense. Jonah is famous for hating Spider-Man."
"Hmm, I hope he's still alive. Our little Xia Luo really likes that cute bug. His room is full of Spider-Man posters."
The couple continued their conversation while Xia Luo lay on the roof, hands behind his head.
The stars twinkled in the night sky, and he gradually felt a sense of calm.
Norman Osborn already knew his identity, and it wouldn't be long before he discovered that Xia Luo was still alive.
That meant he would continue using Xia Luo's family to threaten him.
This had to be dealt with quickly.
Target: Oscorp!
With that, Xia Luo stood up, shot webs from both hands, and swung onto the treetops.
Sling-shot launch!
Swish!
His red-and-blue figure shot through the night sky toward the city, where the darkness revealed the hidden sins and filth below.
In a chaotic district, bonfires flickered, and a group of delinquents noticed the figure overhead.
"Wow, it's Spider-Man!" The crowd immediately grew excited.
The gang leader's face darkened as he cursed at his followers.
"We're criminals! Are you really excited to see Spider-Man?"
"Sorry, I just got a bit carried away."
"Shut up! You want to draw him here?"
"Boss, his voice is louder than ours."
"I know."
"How does he know we're here?"
"I thought he was dead?"
"You believe what they say on Global News? Hurry, grab the stuff and get out of here."
"Move!!"
Instantly, the group fell into chaos, which naturally caught Xia Luo's attention.
"Hey, have you guys heard the story of Spider-Man?"
"Wow, smells like money."
Xia Luo opened the bag and took a glance. If he wasn't mistaken, this was an extremely dangerous chemical toxin.
Worth a lot of money.
The gang leader's face turned pale, and he started cursing uncontrollably. "You damned bug, give me my stuff back, or I'll twist your head off and fry it!"
"I know, protein content is six times higher than beef." Xia Luo hung the bag on a wall, then started using his web as a jump rope to stretch his muscles.
As expected, next came the righteous brawl.
"What are you waiting for? Get him!" the gang leader shouted, snapping his men into action.
"Get him!"
"He's only one guy—ow!"
Before the guy could finish, he was hit in the head with a brick and collapsed, groaning in pain.
Looking over at Xia Luo, they saw him toss the brick aside and leap to the ground, boldly charging toward the crowd.
"Go, go, do something!"
Bang bang.
Clang clang clang.
The gang frantically pulled out their guns and opened fire, but the bullets merely sparked off the nano suit, and shells clattered to the ground, completely unable to stop Xia Luo's movements.
The nano-metal defense was solid, and with his twelve tons of strength, Xia Luo could easily shrug off the bullets' impact.
He weaved through the crowd with a light step, grabbing them one by one and hanging them upside down under streetlights. The growing number of web cocoons hanging from the lampposts was enough to make anyone's skin crawl.
Simple, brutal, and direct.
There was no finesse involved.
"Ah! Damn bug!"
"Damn Spider-Man."
"Please, let us go."
The gang alternated between begging and cursing, while Xia Luo casually cleaned his ears, then used one of their phones to call the police.
Before the resurrection match, his speed and strength wouldn't have been this exaggerated. It would have taken him quite some time to deal with these low-level thugs.
Grumble grumble.
At that moment, his stomach rumbled awkwardly, and Xia Luo sighed in resignation.
He had used too much webbing and needed more energy to synthesize the web proteins.
Then, a system prompt appeared before him.
[You played the role of a friendly neighborhood hero punishing crime. Restart opportunity +1.]
Seeing this, Xia Luo grinned.
The nine restart opportunities from his first resurrection match had all come from his hard work over time.
Afterward, he began to loot the gang's ill-gotten gains.
This was an important source of income for him.
Every Spider-Man fan knows that Spider-Man is broke.
And Xia Luo was no exception.
Before long, the sound of sirens approached from the distance.
Swish!
The red-and-blue figure swung overhead, and the police officers looked up in surprise.
"George, it's Spider-Man. He's not dead."
"I see him."
George narrowed his eyes and glanced at the loot his officers had recovered, but there was no trace of satisfaction on his face.
"Spider-Man, I'll catch you myself," he muttered coldly before ordering the officers.
"Take them to the car."
"Yes, sir."
The police officers busied themselves, exchanging whispers as they worked.
"I think George really doesn't like Spider-Man."
"You're not wrong. He's got something against him."
"Why? Spider-Man's helped us deal with a lot of trouble."
"Maybe George thinks Spider-Man's behavior is a provocation."
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