Half an hour later.
In the desert town, the bodies scattered everywhere were slowly being consumed by flames.
By a truck, over a hundred surviving townsfolk huddled together, their eyes filled with fear. Despite surviving the onslaught, they couldn’t feel any relief, unsure if the demon who had slaughtered their enemies would now turn on them.
“Crack, crack…”
Not far away, the black suit began to shift, turning back into its red-and-blue colors, with not a trace of blood left on the surface of the nanometal.
Xia Luo leaned against a wall, panting heavily.
At his feet, the corpses of his enemies lay strewn across the rubble.
In Venom Mode, his strength had been boosted to around forty tons. While the power increase wasn’t as great as it had been during the revival tournament, it came with no side effects. He was also no longer vulnerable to sound waves or ordinary fire, and his physical defense was incredibly strong.
The existence of the symbiote’s spider legs compensated for the lack of variety in his attacks and the limited destructive power of his normal form.
However, the only downside was that Venom Mode put a huge strain on his body.
This wasn’t a true symbiote—it was a nano suit fused with symbiote cells. To access the symbiote’s abilities, he had to pay a price.
Luckily, Xia Luo’s body wasn’t weak. The exhaustion would soon be alleviated with food and sleep.
If it had been Harry, who hadn’t injected the serum yet, he’d likely be passed out from exhaustion by now.
“How are you holding up?”
Harry came over to help Xia Luo up. “You look like you can barely breathe. How about you take off the mask? I’m worried you might suffocate.”
Xia Luo shot him a look. “No need. My suit has a built-in oxygen system.”
“Wow, that’s pretty cool.”
Harry pointed to the crowd of refugees nearby. “What about them?”
Xia Luo waved his hand. “Let them drive to the nearest city on their own. I’ve done enough.”
“I thought you’d at least offer them a bit more help,” Harry said, surprised.
Xia Luo gave him a side-eye. “I’m the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, not a babysitter. Should I help them find jobs, buy houses, get married, and raise kids too?”
“Well… if you wanted to…” Harry teased.
“I don’t want to,” Xia Luo said, brushing off Harry’s hand before glancing at the message that popped up before him.
[You played the role of a friendly neighborhood hero and wiped out a terrorist force. Reboot chances +4.]
He fell silent.
What kind of “friendly neighborhood” hero takes out entire terrorist groups?
It seemed that the number of reboot chances depended on the difficulty of the task.
When he had dealt with the Green Goblin, he had earned nine reboot chances.
Now, despite taking down a heavily armed force, he’d only gained four reboot chances, likely because they hadn’t posed much of a challenge to him.
It was clear this desert was a good place to farm reboot chances, but he had no desire to stick around and play savior.
The situation in the desert was complicated. Numerous terrorist groups occupied the area, equipped with advanced weaponry and backed by powerful forces far beyond what a single Spider-Man could handle.
Who knew when a missile might land on his head again?
And that kind of pain… well, it hurt. A lot.
He didn’t really want to be a hero. Being a hero came with a price—a price he couldn’t afford.
In situations like these, it was better to act within his limits. There was no need to switch on the “savior” mode.
While Xia Luo rested, Harry went off to organize the refugees, helping them find their way to a nearby city.
It wasn’t long before Harry returned.
“Dawn is approaching. Should we keep going?” he asked.
Xia Luo thought for a moment. “Of course.”
“But you look exhausted.”
“It’s fine. I’ll find a place to rest.”
“Here?” Harry glanced around at the wrecked town.
“Of course not.”
Before dawn, at the Ten Rings’ valley stronghold.
In an abandoned bunker…
“Spider-Man, how did you know there was a bunker here?” Harry asked, surprised, as the two of them squeezed into the shelter. Harry blocked the entrance with rocks to keep the sandstorm at bay.
“I’ve been here many times,” Xia Luo answered truthfully.
Harry didn’t believe him. “That’s impossible. I’ve never heard of Spider-Man operating in this desert.”
“That was before.”
Xia Luo checked the time. “Let’s rest. We move at night.”
“You already have a plan?” Harry asked in surprise.
“Of course. I’ve planned this over a dozen times.”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying, but I’ve got some compressed biscuits and water. Want some?”
Harry opened the storage compartment on his glider, trying to act nonchalant.
“Yes.”
The moment Xia Luo answered, he knocked Harry out cold.
“Crafty Harry, I won’t let you trick me,” Xia Luo grinned, hiding the glider under some rocks.
It was to prevent Harry from using any cameras he might have hidden on it.
Haha, I’m so clever!
A short while later, Harry woke up, rubbing the back of his neck. He knew exactly what had happened.
“Spider-Man, you’re too sneaky,” he muttered, eyeing the now-sleeping Xia Luo, who had already eaten his fill.
Seeing no other option, Harry sighed, nibbled on some food, and then lay down to rest.
Time passed quickly.
That night, Harry was awoken by the sound of rocks being moved.
Groggy, he got up and saw Xia Luo clearing away the rocks that had blocked the passage.
“You’re awake.”
Xia Luo dusted off his hands and smiled. “To avoid alerting the Ten Rings, I plan to sneak into the valley through this bunker.”
“That’s a good plan.”
Harry glanced at the pile of stones. “Why didn’t you wake me up? I feel guilty letting you do all the work.”
“Do you think you could’ve helped?” Xia Luo asked.
Harry shook his head. “No, but I could’ve cheered you on.” He said this with utmost sincerity.
Xia Luo: “…”
He activated his suit’s built-in flashlight, illuminating the tunnel ahead. “The armory is just above this section.”
“Alright, I’ll help this time.”
Harry extended the blade from his glider, ready to assist.
“Wait, don’t dig there,” Xia Luo quickly stopped him.
Harry was puzzled. “Why not?”
“There’s a septic tank above us.”
Harry: “…”
“How do you know that?”
“It’s my superpower.”
Harry’s jaw dropped. “Your superpower lets you detect poop?”
“Shut up. You’re the second person to insult my superpower.”
Xia Luo’s face darkened as he switched into Venom Mode and began chiseling away at the wall with his symbiote spider legs.
Harry hurried to keep up. “Who was the first?”
“A dead old man.”
“No, Spider-Man, you shouldn’t insult the dead.”
“I didn’t insult him. He’s literally dead.”
“Oh…”
Before long, they found themselves behind the Ten Rings’ armory.
They emerged from the tunnel silently, and Xia Luo pointed at the armory in front of them.
“When the time comes, you set off the explosives, and I’ll use the chaos to find Tony.”
“You even know where Tony is?” Harry asked, his expression growing more suspicious by the second.
He was starting to think Spider-Man might have been the one to kidnap Tony in the first place.
Otherwise, how else could he explain all this?
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