Restart, Spider-Man! [22]
"Wait!"
Before Yinsen could stop him, Xia Luo had already reached out and slightly moved Tony.
"Urgh..."
Instantly, the spikes embedded in Tony's body triggered his nerves, causing him to tremble violently. Blood gushed from his nose and mouth, and his wounds reopened.
The next moment, Tony coughed up a large amount of black blood and went completely still.
Xia Luo: "..."
The phrase "give it a try" apparently meant "die trying."
[You have been eliminated. You failed to obtain a resurrection slot. Strength +0.2 tons.]
[You have 8 remaining restart opportunities. Restart?]
Back on the cosmic web, familiar strength surged into Xia Luo's body. He got up, stretched, and pondered.
Tony's body had been tampered with, making it almost impossible to move him without causing fatal damage. Rescuing him seemed nearly impossible.
No wonder Lizard Parker and Norman had been so confident, not rushing him from the start.
It proved that when villains are ruthless enough, no one can beat them—unless...
You're even more ruthless than they are.
After thinking it over, Xia Luo decided to abandon the tunnel rescue plan. That method had completely failed.
The Marvel universe had unimaginable advanced tech, so it wasn't impossible to remove the spikes from Tony's body. The issue was time.
Digging the tunnel had already wasted a significant amount, and time was the one thing Xia Luo couldn't afford to lose.
He would have to try something else.
Determined, Xia Luo clicked restart again.
Sixth Resurrection Match.
Under the blazing sun, the three of them appeared in the desert.
Hearing the same conversations for what felt like the hundredth time, Xia Luo's ears were numb.
"Time to fly~"
Whoosh!
With the sound of the wind, the three of them dove behind the SUV to avoid the explosion's fire.
Dust clouds and debris flew as Lizard Parker searched for them in the sandstorm.
"Xia Luo Parker, you worthless insect! Come out here!"
"Give me the shield. I'll stay behind and hold him off. You two head for the bunker and wait for me."
Behind the SUV, Xia Luo handed the gas canisters to Steve and Natasha.
"Pour the gasoline on yourselves."
"What?"
Natasha frowned. "That's dangerous in this heat."
Xia Luo patiently explained, "We're being hunted by a monster. The gasoline can mask your scent. If he's picky, it might just save you this time."
After multiple retries, his patience had been thoroughly tested.
Without their prior memories, explaining things was necessary. And he wasn't entirely sure this method would work, which is why he hadn't relied on it earlier.
But now it was time for Natasha to show her worth.
Natasha and Steve exchanged glances and quickly decided to trust Xia Luo.
Betraying teammates wouldn't benefit anyone.
Without hesitation, they poured the gasoline over themselves and then ran toward the bunker.
The next moment, Lizard Parker caught a whiff of the strong gasoline scent and immediately grinned as he lunged toward the SUV.
"Got you now..."
"Well, if you found me, you're out of luck."
By now, Xia Luo didn't need to aim. His muscle memory, developed over several retries, guided him as he threw the shield backward.
As expected, Lizard Parker, now unable to match Xia Luo, called for help.
"Aren't you going to help, damn it?!"
The Green Goblin soon swooped in, with the same familiar lines and scenes.
Boom, boom, boom...
As the Pumpkin Bombs exploded, Lizard Parker and Norman began to bicker and fight, giving Xia Luo the chance to slip away.
Near the rocks, he found the gas canister Steve had left behind. After applying some gasoline to himself, he made his way to the bunker.
Perhaps Venom Parker didn't like the smell of gasoline, as Xia Luo encountered no trouble on his way.
"Success!"
When Xia Luo entered the bunker, Steve's face lit up. He quickly began piling rocks to block the entrance.
In the dim bunker, the spider symbol on Xia Luo's chest glowed, casting a bright light.
After glancing at Steve and Natasha, both unharmed, Xia Luo let out a sigh of relief.
"Good. That guy may be hungry, but at least he's picky."
With plenty of "food" available in the camp, Venom Parker wasn't hunting them just because they were enemies.
Ordinary humans weren't nearly as appetizing as superheroes.
Once they smelled less like delicious prey and more like something rotten, Venom Parker would lose interest.
Now that Natasha had survived, they had an extra pair of hands to help clear the rubble from the bunker.
Three hours later, most of the stones had been removed.
As Natasha and Steve rested against the wall, Xia Luo deactivated his nanotech suit, tossing his clothes to Natasha.
"Kid, what are you trying to pull?" Natasha looked at him with suspicion.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not into... elderly smells." He stopped himself mid-sentence, realizing he should break this bad habit.
Putting his nanotech suit back on, he turned to them and said, "The next step is to use the bunker to infiltrate the Ten Rings camp. You two are better at blending in than I am."
When it came to infiltration, Natasha's confident smile appeared.
"You're right. But I don't need your clothes." She pulled out a professional makeup kit from her collar.
Contestants carried the specialized tools they had before they died.
Xia Luo had his Spider-Man suit, Steve had his shield and uniform, and Natasha, of course, had her own tools.
Xia Luo was astonished as Natasha continued pulling out an assortment of specialized gear from her tight suit, revealing her well-stocked supply of spy gadgets.
Where on earth had she been hiding all that stuff?
One word: impressive!
"Wait, who am I supposed to be disguising myself as?"
About to start working, Natasha paused, instinctively asking Xia Luo for advice.
After all, under his guidance, they'd already survived several brushes with death.
Xia Luo tapped his nanotech device, projecting an image of a blonde woman.
"Make yourself look as close to her as possible."
"No problem."
Without hesitation, Natasha began applying makeup, tearing parts of her bodysuit and using her tools to patch it together, transforming herself into a refugee.
During the process, Natasha made no effort to hide herself, leading to some rather suggestive scenes.
Xia Luo swore he wasn't enjoying it, but to ensure her disguise was flawless, he had no choice but to keep watching carefully.
"Oh, by the way, can you make a pair of green ballet shoes out of that fabric?" Xia Luo suddenly asked.
Natasha looked confused. "Do they have to be ballet shoes?"
"Not necessarily, but it'd be nice if you could."
"Alright, I'll give it a try."
With that, Natasha continued sewing.
Beside them, Old Steve frowned, unable to comprehend what the ballet shoes were for.
"Could you explain your plan in more detail?" he asked.
"Of course," Xia Luo replied.
---
If you spot any mistakes let me know so I can fix them.
Read up to Chapter 54! [P@treon.com/WiseTL]