Restart, Spider-Man! [76]

The red and blue metal suit—it had to be him.

Wait, who was it that called out Spider-Man’s name just now?

Mary Jane finally snapped out of her daze.

In front of her, Xia Luo casually blocked the iron fist of the Rhino mech with one hand, leaning his head forward to peer at the man inside.

“Hey, Big Rhino, is it the rainy season or dry season on the African savannah right now?”

“How the hell should I know, you jerk!”

Aleksei, suddenly aware of his situation, increased the power output of his Rhino mech’s engines, his fists surging with several tons of force.

Vrrrmm!

The roar of engines filled the air, mechanical noises grew louder, but Xia Luo remained calm, effortlessly holding off the massive punch with just one hand.

“Alright, it seems you didn’t watch much Animal World as a kid.”

With that, Xia Luo deftly sidestepped the iron fist, sliding beneath the mech and ending up behind it.

“What?!”

Before the mech could adjust, Xia Luo leaped onto its back, climbing the metallic structure like an agile bug. Aleksei lost sight of his target.

“Get off me, you pest!!”

Aleksei flailed desperately, trying to swat Xia Luo off his back. The bulky mech’s movements were clumsy, and there was no way he could touch Xia Luo—especially since he was wearing his mask.

Crack!

Moments later, the red and blue figure flipped off the mech, pulling tight on the crystal-clear web in his hand.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

The entire surface of the Rhino mech sparked as metal plates rattled, snared in Xia Luo’s web trap. The mech shuddered violently, unable to move freely.

“Damn it! What did you do to me?!”

Aleksei’s furious curses echoed from inside the mech, his struggles only tightening the webs around him. With metal plates tearing off under the strain, realization dawned on Aleksei.

He’d seen this trick in online videos—the one that had taken down that giant red octopus.

It was the web!

The Black Spider-Man had to be him all along.

Seeing the Rhino stop struggling, Xia Luo turned with a smile. “If you don’t have an Arc Reactor, don’t try to play with power armor. It’s way too easy.”

The Rhino mech was huge, but it was too slow. Its punches only packed around ten tons of force and lacked advanced weaponry. It could barely handle some of the mutated wannabes.

With the Rhino restrained, Gwen and Mary Jane finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Spider-Man, thank you,” Gwen said gratefully.

“It’s too early for thanks,” interrupted a voice from inside the mech, just as the cockpit door cracked open a few inches. A web immediately shot out to block it.

“Hey, Spider-Man! Can I come out now?” Aleksei’s muffled voice echoed.

Xia Luo hesitated for a moment. “Surprisingly polite, huh.”

In the next second, he yanked hard on the web, forcing the cockpit door to snap shut.

“You’re better off staying inside,” he said, then tapped his wrist device.

“Captain, I’ve got a situation here. Trace my location and send a team over.”

“Understood.” On the other end, Carter’s voice was brisk.

After ending the call, Xia Luo tore a chunk of metal off the cockpit, revealing Aleksei’s face.

“Alright, why were you after those mutants?” he asked.

Aleksei peeked out from the hole, glancing around. “To hand them over to Kingpin, of course.”

“And then?” Xia Luo pressed.

“I’m just a hired thug. I don’t know much,” Aleksei grumbled, retreating back into the cockpit as if searching for something.

“Care to tell me why?” Xia Luo asked again.

“They want something important from their bodies. That’s all I know.”

“You’re surprisingly honest.”

Xia Luo hadn’t expected him to spill anything.

“Found it!” Aleksei suddenly burst into laughter. “Haha! Spider-Man, this is your end!”

“Huh?”

Boom!

Crack!

Sparks flew, metal shards scattered, and Aleksei’s exposed body was quickly bound tight by the crystal-clear webs.

But it seemed like it was already too late.

Aleksei’s lips curved into a grin, half of a mutated spider’s body dangling from his mouth. With a disgusting slurp, he sucked down the entire spider, its fluids bursting out before he swallowed it whole.

“What?!”

“He actually ate a mutated spider!!” Gwen and Mary Jane were dumbfounded, staring in disbelief.

Meanwhile, Xia Luo’s Spider-Sense was screaming.

Not wasting a second, he tightened the web trap around Aleksei’s body, his arm muscles swelling.

Squelch!

“Argh!!”

The webs dug into Aleksei’s flesh just as his body began to mutate—bones cracking, skin stretching. Black blood oozed out, dissolving the web on contact.

Snap! Snap!

The mutation continued, his face splitting into grotesque spider-like mandibles, his limbs twisting unnaturally. A thick layer of black hair sprouted from his skin, and bony, spiked spider legs burst from his back.

A monstrous spider-beast had been born.

Pure terror and malevolence emanated from the creature. Gwen and Mary Jane both shrieked and retreated. Even Xia Luo’s expression darkened.

This abomination had absorbed the mutated spider and gained acidic blood that could dissolve his webs. It was as if the creature had been created to counter Spider-Man’s powers.

Hiss!!

The mutated Aleksei screeched, glaring at Xia Luo with hunger. “Spider-Man, let me eat you!”

Splurt! Splurt! Splurt!

No sooner had he spoken than streams of white webbing shot from his mouth, blanketing the area in a flash, engulfing Xia Luo and several trees.

Reacting instantly, Xia Luo switched to his synthetic web mode.

Bang!

In explosion mode, the webs clashed mid-air, creating a tangled mess. With only a brief moment of delay, Xia Luo had already swung to a nearby tree branch.

Looking back, he saw Aleksei’s acidic webs dissolve the synthetic strands, taking down multiple trees in the process.

Hissss~

Smoke rose as the trees melted away.

“Wow, acid webs!” Xia Luo shouted, giving the monstrosity a thumbs up while holding tight to his web-slinging line.

Boom!

The red and blue blur shot past Aleksei’s side in a blur of motion. In the blink of an eye, Xia Luo grabbed one of the grotesque spider legs protruding from the monster’s back.

“Time to fly~”

“No!”

In the moonlit forest, the mutated creature was hurled dozens of feet into the air, falling helplessly in a free-fall back toward the ground.

“Damn bug!” Aleksei roared, twisting mid-air, his six spider legs gleaming with deadly intent.

“You’re a bug too, now.”

Without another word, Xia Luo shot from his web-slinging slingshot, rocketing toward the falling creature.

“Die!” Aleksei lunged, thrusting his sharpened spider legs downward.

“Sorry, not today.”

Xia Luo’s eyes flashed crimson, black liquid rapidly enveloping his body as four deadly web spears extended from his suit.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A chaotic clash ensued mid-air, metal screeching as webs snapped and sparks flew. Black blood splattered like rain as severed spider limbs fell to the ground.

And then, with a resounding thud, Aleksei’s mangled form was sent soaring even higher into the air.

“Friendly Neighborhood Uppercut!”