Restart, Spider-Man! [17]
Xia Luo froze in place, "Lizard Parker?"
One of the Peter Parkers was an old acquaintance. But who was the other Peter Parker?
"It's me."
Lizard Parker cracked his knuckles, the sound of bones popping echoed intensely, his eyes gleaming with cold fury.
"I gave you a chance, but you wasted it, threw away your opportunity for revival.
You worthless piece of trash, I should've never left Gwen with you! Now die!!"
Lizard Parker exploded with uncontrollable rage, pouncing toward Xia Luo, whipping up a violent sandstorm as he charged. He looked far more monstrous in a universe without Gwen Stacy, revealing the most terrifying side of himself.
As the beast came at him, Xia Luo knew he wasn't strong enough to take him head-on. A direct confrontation was out of the question.
Whoosh!
He fired webs from both hands, covering Lizard Parker's eyes. Taking advantage of the brief moment his enemy lost sight of him, Xia Luo sidestepped the incoming strike, leaping onto Lizard Parker's back and using the momentum to vault off.
Whoosh!
His webs shot out, locking onto the observation tower within the valley, propelling Xia Luo up and into the air. He landed with a swift kick, knocking down the guard on the tower.
"Open fire! Open fire!" came the command below.
The armed guards below received their orders, and immediately unleashed a barrage of firepower at the red-and-blue figure zipping through the air.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
Gunfire from the heavy machine guns tracked Xia Luo's movements, occasionally managing to strike his body, sending sparks and pieces of his nanometal suit flying.
The suit's defenses were strong, but they could only withstand small-caliber bullets for so long.
Bullets dug into his flesh, and though the nanometal quickly bled out the wounds, Xia Luo's movements were gradually slowing.
Boom!!
Suddenly, the Green Goblin, riding his glider, shot into the scene. His custom-made Goblin blades whizzed through the air, relentlessly raining down on Xia Luo.
Swish, swish, swish!
The barrage of blades left Xia Luo overwhelmed. One misstep, and the Green Goblin slammed into him at full speed, sending him crashing through a wooden shelter on the ground.
Boom!
Crack!
Amid the rubble and swirling dust, the Green Goblin hovered above Xia Luo, extending a blade from his wrist.
"Ha ha ha, my boy, we meet again so soon. What a delightful surprise!"
Hearing those words, Xia Luo, despite the intense pain coursing through his body, froze in shock.
"That tone…"
The next moment, there was a flash of cold steel, and he lost all consciousness.
[You have been eliminated. No revival quota earned. Strength reward +0.2 tons.]
[Remaining 12 restart opportunities. Would you like to restart?]
On the giant web, Xia Luo regained consciousness and frowned.
He was almost certain now—the Green Goblin in this revival game was none other than Norman Osborn, who had died in front of him just two days ago.
Norman had regained some clarity before his death, but after entering the revival tournament, his second, darker personality had taken full control.
Even if Harry Osborn were here, Norman probably wouldn't hesitate for a second.
Lizard Parker and the Green Goblin were both formidable foes for Xia Luo.
Not to mention, there was still another Peter Parker who hadn't shown up yet.
Whoever made it onto the "Ruthless and Cruel" team was bound to be trouble.
And as for his own team… well, he had a Black Widow without superhuman abilities and an elderly Captain America whose strength had seriously diminished.
No matter how you looked at it, their chances were slim.
Fortunately, Xia Luo still had twelve restart opportunities. There was hope yet.
Feeling the small boost in his strength after being passively awarded an additional 0.2 tons, Xia Luo clenched his fists and nodded slightly.
Even though he had been eliminated, the double-strength reward was still something. A little boost was better than nothing.
With a glance at the prompt in front of him, he raised his hand and clicked on "Restart."
Once again, the void swallowed him.
[You have entered the revival scenario!]
Back in the scorching desert, Xia Luo glanced at his two companions.
"Natasha?"
"Steve?"
If his guess was correct, the other team had likely commandeered the Ten Rings' missile launchers at the start of the mission. Their "spawn point" must be somewhere inside the valley.
As for how they got the Ten Rings to obey them, that would be no challenge for supervillains.
From the start, the other team had the upper hand in both strength and the environment.
Using the Ten Rings' network, it would be easy for them to locate Xia Luo's team.
Xia Luo's first priority now was to prevent Natasha and Captain America from being taken out by a missile strike.
With two teammates, their odds of winning would at least increase a little.
He couldn't take on all three villains alone.
As he scanned his surroundings, his eyes landed on a desert jeep parked just outside the valley. An idea began to form.
The three of them were about five hundred meters from the valley—close enough to make this plan work.
Beep!
The mission timer began.
Before the two could continue their conversation, Xia Luo swiftly backflipped, shooting webs from both hands to latch onto their bodies, forcibly cutting their reunion short.
"What are you doing?" the two gasped.
"Getting you out of here. Let's go!" Xia Luo replied.
With that, his muscles tensed, and with a burst of strength, he swung them both into the air.
His twelve-ton strength kicked into full gear, whipping up a sandstorm as they were lifted off the ground, spinning like they were in a theme park ride.
Whoosh!
The wind blasted into their faces, filling their mouths with sand. Old Steve, unable to adjust to the intense sense of weightlessness, was flung hundreds of meters away.
"Shit!" Steve cursed as he flew through the air. Though he wasn't sure what was happening, his battle instincts kicked in. He curled up behind his shield and used it to skid across the sand, sliding over a hundred meters before coming to a stop.
Just as he lifted his head, he saw Natasha flying toward him.
She was still connected to the red-and-blue blur that was Xia Luo.
"Natasha! Peter!" Steve called out, just in time to see Xia Luo yank the web line, pulling Natasha into his arms.
Thud!
The two of them tumbled down a sand dune, and just as they hit the ground, an explosion roared in the distance. A terrifying wave of heat and sand engulfed them all, burying them instantly.
Hovering above, Norman Osborn stood on his glider, stunned by what he had just seen.
"Strange, how did he know about my plan?"
At the mouth of the valley, Lizard Parker leaped down from the ridge, ignoring the storm of sand. He was already too eager to begin.
"Xia Luo Parker, you worthless insect, where are you?"
He prowled through the sandstorm, searching for Xia Luo, who was now buried beneath the sand.
Meanwhile, hiding behind the jeep nearby, the trio lay low, watching as Lizard Parker drew closer.
"Xia Luo—no, Parker, how did you know they'd use a bomb?" Old Steve asked, still shaken.
After this experience, neither he nor Natasha were in the mood to reminisce anymore.
Without taking his eyes off Lizard Parker, Xia Luo replied, "You didn't know Spider-Man has a spider-sense?"
Hearing this, Steve and Natasha exchanged puzzled glances.
"Does Peter have that?" Natasha asked, confused.
Steve thought for a moment. "I think I heard something about it. After Mysterio beat him up, he developed it."
"Okay, but what about this big guy?" Natasha asked, watching as Lizard Parker came closer.
"We can't take him head-on," Xia Luo said, shaking his head. "There are still two other dangerous guys in the valley. We're no match for them. There's still a full day left until the mission ends. We should hide first and come up with a plan."
"I know a place," Steve said, as if remembering something. He pointed toward the other side of the valley.
"Tony once told me about it. After he escaped and upgraded his suit, he came back for revenge but couldn't find the Ten Rings. He searched the area and discovered an abandoned bunker. We can hide there."
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If you spot any mistakes let me know so I can fix them.
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