Three minutes later, Xia Luo walked out of the room, holding a basket filled with fiery red Hell coins.
Seeing this, Old Steve couldn’t help but cover his face, tears streaming down.
“Wahhh! Little Spidey sacrificed so much… just to save Tony.”
Barton’s expression shifted. “Wait… he didn’t actually—did he?”
Natasha, meanwhile, was full of curiosity.
“The witch’s stamina doesn’t seem all that great. Three minutes and she’s done? Or could it be…”
She glanced at Xia Luo with a peculiar expression.
Xia Luo rolled his eyes, handing the coins to Peter Parker before heading toward the VIP section.
“I simply knocked her out and took the coins. You guys are so impure,” he said with a shake of his head.
“Knocked her out?”
Old Steve followed closely. “And then what?”
“Then I took the coins. Like I said.”
“No, I mean, what happened during the two and a half minutes between knocking her out and stealing the coins?”
“That’s none of your business.”
Xia Luo casually entered one of the private rooms. Spotting the projection equipment inside, he began tinkering with it.
—
“Buzz~”
The room went dark as the screen lit up, displaying a familiar altar.
Xia Luo squinted. So it’s this thing again.
Old Steve, curious, tapped the virtual interface, bringing up a menu of options.
[Challenger Mode]
[Spectator Mode]
“Little Spidey, how does this work?” he asked.
Xia Luo casually selected Spectator Mode. The screen transitioned to the next interface.
[Today’s Matches: 4]
Hell Time 10:30: Steve Rogers (Earth-199998) vs. Ultron (Earth-1999998)
Hell Time 11:20: Tony Stark (Earth-199999) vs. Inheritor Karn (Earth-001)
Hell Time 13:10: Wade Wilson (Earth-199999) vs. Logan Howlett (Earth-199998)
Hell Time 15:50: Thanos (Earth-199999) vs. Peter Parker (Earth-939)
Xia Luo’s eye twitched at the sight.
So that jerk’s been participating in these matches… No wonder he looked so exhausted lately.
Meanwhile, Old Steve and the others were visibly taken aback.
“This is…?”
“Mephisto turned Tony into some kind of gladiatorial beast,” Natasha muttered.
“There really is a Thanos match,” Barton added.
“Wait, look at these universe numbers,” Old Steve said, frowning. “Thanos and Tony share the same designation.”
Natasha glanced at him. “First of all, we can rule out Earth-199998 Steve, because you’re right here in front of us.”
Peter Parker’s gaze fell on his own name, and he gulped.
“Peter Parker from Earth-939… is fighting Thanos? That doesn’t seem fair.”
Xia Luo’s expression turned thoughtful. “Looks like we’ve got confirmation.”
“Of what?”
Old Steve raised an eyebrow. “Little Spidey, can you tell which universe we’re in?”
Xia Luo nodded. “Yes. Earth-199999. That’s your universe.”
The Marvel Cinematic Universe, designated Earth-199999, was distinct from the primary Marvel Universe (Earth-616), the Ultimate Universe (Earth-1610), and Sony’s Marvel Universe (Earth-688B).
As for Earth-199998…
From the numbering, it likely wasn’t far removed from the cinematic universe.
Xia Luo glanced at the Hell clock on the wall and frowned slightly.
“13:08… That guy’s fight with the wolfdog is about to start.”
He had only about forty minutes left—not enough to stick around for the Thanos vs. Peter Parker match.
And since he’d already missed Tony’s match against the Inheritor, he’d have to restart his timeline eventually.
Still, this trip hadn’t been a complete waste; there were some interesting discoveries.
With that thought, Xia Luo fed the Hell coins into the machine and selected the Deadpool vs. Wolverine match.
—
“Buzz~”
The altar projection shifted, and Wade, holding Baby Fisk in his arms, appeared on-screen.
“Little Spidey, that guy—he kidnapped your kid!!” Old Steve exclaimed.
Xia Luo’s face darkened. “Don’t spout nonsense. That baby is Fisk, reverted to infancy by the Time Monolith.”
“What?!”
The group was stunned.
“Fisk? The guy who runs New York’s largest criminal underworld?” Barton asked.
Natasha tilted her head. “Does this count as two against one?”
“Not really. The baby has zero combat capability,” Peter Parker replied.
Old Steve shook his head. “It might even be a negative value.”
On the other side of the altar, a hulking figure with explosive muscles flexed his steel claws, his gaze radiating hostility.
He locked onto Wade, his killing intent boiling over.
“DIE!!”
With a roar, Wolverine leaped into the air, his claws gleaming menacingly under the light.
In Wade’s arms, Baby Fisk looked utterly terrified.
“Wahh~!”
No! I’m just a baby!
“Oh my gosh. Looks like my plan to use an adorable baby to earn my enemy’s sympathy has failed. This is one heartless Wolverine.”
Wade shrugged helplessly as the wolfdog charged toward him.
“Well, guess I’ll have to do it this way.”
He strapped Baby Fisk to his chest, dodged Wolverine’s claws, and pulled two web-shooters from his pants.
“Hey, Deadpool-Spidey is here!”
“Thwip! Thwip!”
To cheers from the Multiversal Deadpool fan section, Wade swung around the altar using his webbing, occasionally tangling Wolverine with the sticky strands.
“ARGH!! DAMN YOU!!”
Wolverine slashed through the webs furiously, but Wade was already firing twin pistols in a relentless barrage.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Bullets tore into Wolverine’s body, drawing spurts of blood—only for the wounds to heal almost instantly.
Unfazed, Wade drew a pair of baby-sized katanas and closed in for a melee.
“Clang! Clang! Clang!”
Steel claws clashed with twin blades, sparks flying in every direction.
Wade’s superior combat skills allowed him to land precise strikes, embedding his blades into Wolverine’s body. Unfortunately, this left him weaponless.
“Wahhh!!”
Baby Fisk watched in horror as Wolverine’s claws narrowly missed his face and plunged into Wade’s chest.
“Whoa! That went in smooth!” Wade exclaimed, pulling one of his baby katanas from Wolverine’s shoulder and slashing his throat.
“Slash!”
Blood sprayed, and Wolverine’s gaze grew even fiercer.
The two immortals settled into a gruesome rhythm of trading blows in what quickly became a brutal game of stab-and-heal.
—
The altar’s battle grew increasingly monotonous.
Up in the stands, Old Steve pointed at the betting screen on the wall.
“The odds are pretty even. Wanna place a bet?” he asked Xia Luo.
Xia Luo shook his head. “Not interested.”
Instead, his gaze wandered toward the Asgardian section of the audience, landing on Loki.
“Hey, is that you?” he called out.
Loki, sensing the attention, turned to look at Xia Luo and Peter Parker—both wearing identical nanotech suits.
“You…”
Loki hesitated, unsure which one was the Spider-Man he knew.
—
T/N: I think he knocked her out with…
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