“Spider-Kid, you…”
At this moment, both Steve and Natasha stared at Xia Luo in shock, with a hint of wariness in their eyes.
They had seen firsthand how terrifying the symbiote was. And now, it seemed like Xia Luo had been “infected” by it.
They didn’t know what would happen next—Xia Luo might open his mouth and devour them at any second. They didn’t dare get too close to him.
Seeing their expressions, Xia Luo clenched his fist, feeling the immense power coursing through his body. He didn’t care about their reactions.
Boom!
With just one punch, the cave shook violently, and rocks began to crumble. Steve and Natasha struggled to keep their balance and nearly fell.
“Shit…”
“Steve, you just swore.”
“No, I didn’t.”
They held onto each other for support, steadying themselves. Then they saw that the cave walls were now covered with cracks resembling spiderwebs, each at least the width of a hand.
It was hard to imagine such overwhelming strength.
“If I hadn’t seen it myself, I’d have thought Hulk did this.”
“I get it now. After being bonded with the symbiote, the host’s strength increases—this was Spider-Kid’s plan all along.”
“Incredible! Make him stop! If this keeps up, the entire cave is going to collapse!”
As Natasha finished speaking, the cracks expanded further, and even a slight disturbance could cause the cave to collapse completely.
Seeing this, Xia Luo slowly pulled his fist out of the wall, not caring whether or not the others might be buried alive if the cave came down.
He felt more powerful and free than ever before.
It was as if…
Wait… what the hell?!
Xia Luo suddenly snapped out of it, jolting awake as he looked around at the unstable cave. He nearly slapped himself for being so reckless.
With only two retries left, why was he messing around?!
He was well aware that the symbiote amplified its host’s darker side.
Xia Luo had thought that bonding with the symbiote might make him evil or devious, but he hadn’t expected it to turn him into a wanderer—someone who was reckless for no reason.
He could admit he wasn’t the strongest, but he definitely wasn’t reckless. He’d been trying his best this whole time.
Yet, with the symbiote’s influence, Xia Luo started doubting himself.
Fortunately, though he had become more impulsive, the looming danger of having only a few retries left forced him to restrain his wild tendencies and regain clarity.
If the cave collapsed, Tony would definitely be done for.
Uncertain how long he could keep this self-control, Xia Luo didn’t have time to explain. He immediately rushed toward Tony’s chamber.
Bang!
With a kick, the iron door flew off its hinges, narrowly missing Tony as it crashed into the wall with a loud clang, sending debris flying everywhere.
Tony’s body trembled slightly from the impact.
In that moment, Xia Luo felt a chill run down his spine.
Don’t be reckless, don’t be reckless, you idiot!
He constantly reminded himself, keeping a tight grip on his actions. Rushing to Tony’s side, he didn’t hesitate to tear off a small part of the black liquid from his chest.
The black liquid writhed in his hand, occasionally forming spider-like tendrils. It looked eerily alive.
The symbiote evolves with each new host, and part of its power comes from copying the abilities of previous hosts.
Xia Luo had stolen the symbiote from Venom Parker, and now he was going to separate a portion of it and give it to Tony.
The symbiote Xia Luo held already had the abilities of two different Spider-Men.
He didn’t know if giving Tony the symbiote would turn him into Iron Man again. For now, his only goal was to keep Tony alive.
Under Yinsen’s shocked gaze, Xia Luo brought the black liquid to Tony’s ear.
In an instant, the symbiote quickly slithered into Tony’s ear, and then…
Nothing happened.
Just as Steve and Natasha arrived, they witnessed this scene.
“Spider-Kid, what are you doing?” Steve exclaimed in alarm.
Natasha, now even more wary, held her sonic device, ready to activate it at any moment.
“I need an explanation,” she said coldly.
Xia Luo rolled his eyes. “I’ve never liked explaining to—wait, wait, okay, I’ll explain. Turn that thing off first.”
He clutched his forehead, exasperated.
Seeing this, Natasha cautiously turned off the sonic device, letting out a sigh of relief.
Luckily, the sonic waves still affected him.
Xia Luo rubbed his temples. The sonic waves had some effect on the symbiote inside him, but not a very strong one. After all, the symbiote evolved with each host.
He could have easily powered through the sonic waves and dealt with Natasha if he wanted to.
But there was no need.
In fact, the sonic waves helped calm the reckless side of him for a while.
Taking advantage of this brief window of clarity, Xia Luo explained, “The symbiote has incredibly powerful regenerative abilities. Even a small portion of its cells can grow rapidly within Tony’s body and heal his injuries in a short time.”
“What?”
Steve and Natasha both looked shocked and exchanged glances.
“Is that why you risked bonding with the symbiote?” Steve asked.
Xia Luo nodded. “Yes. Tony’s injuries are severe. Without the symbiote, no one could save him.”
“How do you—” Steve started to question, then answered his own question.
“Right, your ‘superpower,’ of course.”
By now, Steve had grown used to Xia Luo’s seemingly prophetic abilities.
With a teammate like this, it seemed impossible to lose.
With that, Natasha also lowered her guard. She turned to look at Tony’s still form and frowned. “But he doesn’t seem to be reacting.”
“I didn’t give him much of the symbiote. It needs time to grow stronger inside him before it can take effect.”
Sure enough, right after Xia Luo finished speaking, Tony’s body began to convulse. His gruesome wounds turned black as the iron spikes embedded in his back were slowly pushed out by more of the black liquid.
Wherever the black liquid spread, Tony’s wounds healed rapidly, and even the blood was absorbed by the symbiote.
Seeing this unfold, Natasha’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Oh my God, this is incredible.”
Steve looked equally shocked. “I can’t believe a creature like this actually exists.”
Behind them, Yinsen, who had appeared numb and lifeless before, now seemed to regain a spark of hope.
“This creature not only has incredible regenerative abilities but also can heal its host’s injuries rapidly. If it could be used in medicine, it could save humanity!” he exclaimed in awe.
Xia Luo quickly poured cold water on that thought.
“The symbiote amplifies the host’s darker side. If it were allowed to grow unchecked, the world would be doomed. This is no joke.”
“What?”
Yinsen’s face fell, and Steve and Natasha exchanged uneasy glances.
“Spider-Kid, what’s your dark side?” Natasha asked. She hadn’t noticed much change in Xia Luo after the symbiote bonded with him.
Xia Luo shrugged. “As you’ve seen, my dark side is…”
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