Xia Luo quickly walked past Lizard Parker, casually shooting webs to retrieve the fallen shield into his hand.
“What kind of low-tier villains come at you one by one like this?”
He patted Lizard Parker on the shoulder, saying, “Next time, remember to wear an iron jockstrap,” before raising the shield to block the incoming bullets and charging into the cave.
Lizard Parker, his eyes bloodshot and sweating profusely, pounded the ground in frustration. The pain from his injury made it impossible for him to stand and stop Xia Luo.
“Damn it! I’ll rip you apart!!”
Amidst his enraged roar, Xia Luo rushed into the cave, throwing his shield at the armed guards, knocking down a large group of them.
As the echoes of their screams filled the air, Xia Luo grabbed one of the Ten Rings members by the throat.
“Take me to Tony.”
“Guhhh…”
The man’s eyes bulged, his face turning red as he desperately clawed at Xia Luo’s hand, unable to speak.
Seeing this, Xia Luo nodded in admiration. “Impressive. Even the lowliest members of the Ten Rings are fearless in the face of death.”
With that, he tossed the man aside and shot webs to grab a rifle, pointing it at the remaining guards.
“Now, can anyone else tell me?”
“Over there,” the group quickly pointed in the same direction.
These guys were crazy, and they didn’t want to mess with him.
“Thank you.”
Xia Luo discarded the rifle and turned, only to find the tunnel blocked by pitch-black webs.
The black liquid spread rapidly across the rough stone walls, and sinister white eyes glowed larger in the darkness.
“Wow, what a dramatic entrance.”
Xia Luo said with admiration, tossing aside his shield.
“Come on, we’re both Spider-Men. Let’s be friends.”
“Friends… taste good!”
——
[You have been eliminated. You failed to obtain a resurrection slot. Strength +0.2 tons.]
[You have 9 remaining restart opportunities. Restart?]
Fifth Resurrection Match—Back at the Bunker.
“I’m done for, help me rub my back,” groaned Old Steve, turning and leaning against the wall.
Xia Luo ignored him, looking up at the ceiling and calculating the distance.
“Should we dig here?” Steve asked.
Xia Luo shook his head. “No, above us is a latrine.”
“How do you know that?” Steve asked, puzzled.
“Don’t ask—just call it a superpower.”
“A superpower that detects poop?” Old Steve looked shocked.
Xia Luo: “…”
Ignoring the mischievous old man, Xia Luo closed his eyes, envisioning a comparison map of the bunker and the Ten Rings camp.
Twenty meters ahead was the ammo depot, and ninety meters to the right was the cave entrance. The tunnel wouldn’t lead directly there, so they’d have to dig.
The exact cave route was unknown, and digging through the hard rock beneath would take a lot of time and energy.
Being a mole wasn’t going to be easy.
There were only 18 hours left. He needed to pinpoint Tony’s location before he could accomplish anything.
With the shield in hand, Lizard Parker and Norman wouldn’t be much of a threat.
And although the Venom symbiote was powerful, it had a fatal weakness.
Sound and fire!
Venom hadn’t appeared right after the ammo depot explosion last time, likely because of these vulnerabilities.
With a plan forming, Xia Luo strapped a gas canister to his waist and began digging.
Once again, the target was the ammo depot.
“What’s that?”
“Intruder!”
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Bullets flew, and the ammo depot exploded, plunging the area into chaos.
“Cackling madly, Norman called out, “Little Xia Luo.”
Not even turning around, Xia Luo hurled his shield, hitting Norman’s glider dead-on.
With a startled cry, Norman plummeted into the flames as his glider crashed.
“Not much of a challenge.”
Xia Luo reeled the shield back with webs, waiting for the familiar roar to follow.
“Xia Luo Parker!!”
Lizard Parker leapt from the cave, but before he could land, the shield was already whizzing across the ground, leaving sparks in its wake.
Splat!
“Ohhhh!!”
As Xia Luo walked past the kneeling, howling Lizard Parker, he offered a piece of advice.
“I already warned you about the iron jockstrap.”
“Huh…”
Watching Xia Luo disappear into the distance, Lizard Parker gritted his teeth.
“When did he ever warn me…”
Inside the cave, Xia Luo took out several armed guards with a single throw of his shield.
Turning to face the pitch-black webs, Xia Luo remained expressionless as he threw the gas canister toward Venom Parker.
Boom!
The shield scraped against the stone, sparking an inferno that roared to life in the cave.
“Screeee!!”
The flames quickly spread over the black webs, and the black liquid writhed and twisted in agony, letting out a shrill, ear-piercing screech.
Seeing this, Xia Luo’s confidence soared.
It worked!
But soon, the black liquid began spreading through the flames, and the fire began to fade.
“What?!”
Xia Luo was shocked. Venom was nearly overcoming its natural weaknesses.
Without hesitation, he dashed into the tunnel, banging on metal pipes to create loud, rapid clanging sounds.
Clang, clang, clang!
“Screeee!!”
The black liquid twisted and writhed again under the soundwaves. Seizing the opportunity, Xia Luo darted through the webs and into the darkness of the cave.
At the far end of the cave, he finally found a room sealed off by an iron door.
Bam!
He smashed the lock with the shield and kicked the door open, revealing a battered figure tied to a metal frame.
Tony Stark!
Xia Luo instantly recognized him.
Tony was unconscious, his face covered in blood. The arc reactor in his chest was dim, his body covered in severe injuries, and his arms and legs were twisted at odd angles—clearly broken.
Explosives were strapped to his feet, and the countdown matched the time remaining on the mission.
Seeing this, Xia Luo’s face darkened.
To make the rescue mission harder, those three maniacs had gone to insane lengths.
At that moment, a thin, bald man appeared, holding a cup of water and bringing it to Tony’s lips with a blank expression.
“You’re here to save Tony. I know you’re not with those other lunatics,” he said.
Xia Luo retracted his nanotech mask and nodded. “Are you Dr. Yinsen?”
Yinsen’s eyes flickered. “You know me?” He looked surprised.
“Of course.”
If it weren’t for Dr. Yinsen, Tony would never have transformed into Iron Man.
Xia Luo stepped closer, inspecting the unconscious Tony. “How is he?” he asked Yinsen.
Yinsen shook his head. “They want me to keep him alive for 24 hours. He’s not doing well.”
He pointed to Tony’s back. “Tony’s a goner. So am I. We’re both going to die here.” He sighed.
At Yinsen’s prompting, Xia Luo noticed the barbed metal spikes embedded in Tony’s body.
“Those spikes have barbs. Any movement will trigger them, and he’ll die instantly.”
Yinsen’s words made Xia Luo’s heart sink.
He thought this was already nightmare mode, but no—it was hell mode.
Tony was doomed.
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