Capítulo 126: Restart, Spider-Man! [126]
The team stepped inside the spacious suite, immediately drawn to the panoramic view of the city's glittering lights beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.
"So this is what they call an open floor plan, huh?" Lizard Parker whispered, tears of inadequacy welling up.
Old Man Steve glanced around at the posh decor, thinking about his meager pension and the fact that, in nearly two hundred years, he'd never lived anywhere this nice. His resentment for his retirement fund deepened.
"I think we ought to look into Gwen's father's finances," he muttered, his tone dead serious.
Felicia rolled her eyes, "I'll give you all a tour of my castle sometime. Then you'll know what luxury truly means."
"Xia Luo says you're a thief. When I get the chance, I'm going to arrest you."
Old Man Steve paused, a twinkle in his eye. "And blow up your castle while I'm at it."
Felicia's face froze, but she decided arguing with the elderly wasn't worth it.
Xia Luo settled into the couch, taking a deep breath.
"So this is the smell of money."
"That's the smell of formaldehyde," Carter corrected, wrinkling her nose.
Xia Luo squinted, "This formaldehyde sure smells like happiness."
Carter: "…"
Turning on the TV, she remarked, "There's going to be a media storm over tonight's events. The Sinister Six are bound to realize something's off. If they go into hiding, it'll be hard to track them down for a while."
Nearby, Old Man Steve was fiddling with the coffee machine. "Don't worry about that. I have a feeling they'll make another move soon enough."
Carter looked at him, surprised. "What makes you so sure?"
Steve exchanged a glance with Xia Luo, quickly deflecting, "By the way, anyone know where the coffee beans are?"
Felicia, who was admiring the view from the balcony, replied, "They're in the cabinet under the machine."
"How'd you know that?" Steve asked, actually finding the unmarked coffee can.
"Got the same one at home."
"Perfect. I'll make sure to blow up the same model." Steve went back to tinkering with the grinder.
Meanwhile, Lizard Parker found a storage room where he stashed the weapons they'd taken from the Black Order in a hidden corner.
"There. That should keep them safe," he muttered with satisfaction.
He wandered into the living room just in time to see the news covering the Brooklyn Bridge incident.
Just as he was about to join Xia Luo and Carter's conversation, his phone began to ring, and he went pale.
"You gonna answer that?" Carter asked, raising an eyebrow.
Lizard Parker stammered, "Uh… I, um…"
"It's your landlord, isn't it?" Xia Luo guessed. "You're five months behind on rent, right?"
Lizard Parker glared at him. "Mind your own business!"
Scowling, he silenced his phone and shuffled over to join Steve at the coffee machine.
Not long after, a voice came from outside the window.
"Hey, everyone enjoying the place?"
Startled, they turned to see Gwen hanging upside down, clinging to the window by a web.
"Do Spider-People ever use the front door?" Carter muttered to Xia Luo.
Xia Luo shrugged. "I'm guessing she gave me her keys, so now she's stuck using the window."
"She could've just knocked…"
Old Man Steve muttered a complaint under his breath.
As Gwen flipped into the room, Felicia immediately spoke up.
"I'm taking the bedroom on the far left."
Gwen: "…"
That was her room. Sharp eye, that one.
"Anyway, we'll sort that out later. There's something important we need to discuss first."
She called everyone over to the table, casually tossing her mask onto the sofa.
"The bodies of the four aliens… have disappeared." Her tone was serious.
"Disappeared?"
Carter's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "They might've been eliminated."
"Eliminated?" Gwen echoed, confused. Lizard Parker took it upon himself to explain the mechanics of the revival tournament.
When he finished, Gwen's curiosity about the tournament had only deepened.
Carter, however, noticed something odd.
"Wait, if the Black Order was eliminated, why are their weapons still here?" She frowned.
At her words, Xia Luo and Old Man Steve exchanged a glance.
"This time, there's no time limit on the mission. The outcome hasn't been decided yet, so they're not technically out of the game," Xia Luo explained.
Carter still looked skeptical but didn't press the issue. If the so-called "veterans" of the tournament insisted on this, who was she to argue? She'd only won once herself, after all. Not much room to question.
Off to the side, Old Man Steve leaned over and whispered to Gwen, "Level with me. Is your dad in any way a criminal?"
Gwen: "???"
"Excuse me, what?"
"What he's asking," Felicia interjected, rolling her eyes, "is how exactly you afforded a place this big."
Understanding dawned on Gwen, and she chuckled.
"This has nothing to do with my dad. I developed a patent for synthetic spider silk, and the royalties from that paid for this place."
"Synthetic spider silk?"
Xia Luo groaned in despair. "Man, I am so envious of this universe… because there's no Tony Stark here."
He had no desire to continue with this conversation.
"I'm heading to bed," he muttered, moving toward one of the rooms.
"That's the one I wanted!" Lizard Parker called after him.
Xia Luo didn't even turn around. "I'm in a bad mood right now. Say one more word, and I swear I'll punch you." He raised a threatening fist.
"You—"
Lizard Parker was about to protest but was swiftly silenced as Old Man Steve clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Shh. You can't take him," he whispered.
Lizard Parker: "…"
As much as he hated to admit it, that did make sense.
But he wasn't happy about it!
Unfortunately, his night was about to get even worse.
---
The next morning, after breakfast, Xia Luo and the others were just about to head out in search of clues on the Sinister Six.
"Nooo!!"
The door to the bedroom burst open as a disheveled Lizard Parker stumbled into the living room, sliding to his knees in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Staring out at the bustling city streets below, he couldn't help but shed tears of despair.
Ever since Xia Luo had shown up, his life had been thrown into utter chaos.
He'd been broke before, sure. But now? Now he was unemployed.
Carter came over and handed Lizard Parker a warm glass of milk.
"You're not upset we didn't call you for breakfast, are you?"
"No, it's not that," Lizard Parker said, nearly tearing his hair out. "My boss just called—I've been fired!"
Old Man Steve looked at him with a sympathetic nod. "That's rough, kid. What was your job?"
"Pizza delivery."
Old Man Steve's face twitched. "Uh, you could… find another one, maybe?"
"You don't get it—they're holding half my paycheck!" Lizard Parker clutched at his chest, feeling the pain in his wallet.
Xia Luo's face fell. "What? Withholding wages? This is the end… The Parker family has fallen!"
Felicia and Gwen exchanged a glance, unable to understand the panic over missing pocket change.
"Peter, what's going on?" Gwen stepped forward, helping him up and asking in a soft voice.
Lizard Parker sighed deeply. "I'd already requested time off, but my boss called to say I'd been fired for 'stealing' a customer's pizza. They're holding my pay as punishment, and I've still got four months of rent due!"
Gwen frowned. "That's gotta be a mistake. You were here with us."
Lizard Parker shook his head miserably. "I don't know."
"Then let's stop by while we're out and clear it up," Old Man Steve suggested.
Xia Luo walked over and patted Lizard Parker on the shoulder.
"With us backing you up, you're getting every last cent owed to you." His voice was full of conviction.
Lizard Parker looked up at Xia Luo, eyes brimming with gratitude.
The sunlight streaming through the window bathed them in a golden glow, as if this moment symbolized the purest of friendships between two men.
Behind them, the others exchanged glances.
"What exactly are they doing?" Felicia asked, brow raised.
Gwen tilted her head thoughtfully. "Looks like they've made up."
Old Man Steve shook his head. "No, this is what happens when poor folks unite against a common enemy—the fear of losing what little they have. It brings out a brief, powerful alliance that overcomes even their usual grudges."
Gwen blinked. "Uh… that made no sense, but… I think I get it?"
Carter sighed, rubbing her temples. "This friendship will end the second they get the paycheck."
"Yep."
Old Man Steve glanced at her. "We should leave them to it and start tracking down the Sinister Six."
"Good idea."
Carter and the others slipped out, leaving Xia Luo and Lizard Parker behind.
Xia Luo straddled Lizard Parker's beaten-up, six-armed moped, and the two sped through the streets toward the pizza place.
"You go in first and talk to them. If anything happens, I'll jump in to help." Xia Luo encouraged.
Lizard Parker eyed him suspiciously. "You don't actually have any experience with this, do you?"
Xia Luo looked away. "I admit I might've acted a bit impulsively."
Turning back, he smirked. "Unless… you're too chicken to go in alone?"
"I—I can handle it! Watch me."
Taking a deep breath and summoning a fierce expression, Lizard Parker marched into the pizza shop.
"Peter Parker! I've already given you half a month's pay back. I don't ever want to see you here again—now get out!"
Under his boss's furious tirade, Lizard Parker retreated from the shop, shoulders slumped.
"Someone already collected my paycheck."
He walked out of the shop, defeated, a dejected shadow compared to the bustling scene on the streets.
Xia Luo raised an eyebrow. "Looks like we have another Peter Parker running around."
"Another Peter Parker?" Lizard Parker asked, bewildered.
"Yep."
Xia Luo gave him a reassuring pat. "He's another contestant. And while he may have a taste for brains and a hundred-ton punch strength, he's still a good guy. A big-hearted softie."
Lizard Parker's face drained of color. "Wait… you mean…?"
He remembered the monstrous teammate he'd encountered in his second tournament—a teammate who was anything but soft-hearted.
Xia Luo nodded knowingly. "The very same."
Lizard Parker trembled. "So… what do we do now?"
Xia Luo thought for a moment. "Let's start with your place. Maybe he's already been there."
"There's no way he knows where I live."
"Oh, if he's capable of messing up your job, he's definitely capable of trashing your apartment."
"Then what are we waiting for?!"
They jumped onto the moped and sped off toward Lizard Parker's old, rickety apartment.
Half an hour later, they arrived.
"Peter Parker, you damaged my door last night! You're ignoring my calls, and now you owe me five months of—"
Before the landlord could finish, Xia Luo pulled out his wallet, handing it to him with confidence.
"Count it up. Every cent."
The landlord paused, surprised. "What's this?"
"Peter's rent is on me!" Xia Luo declared, standing tall.
At that moment, Lizard Parker gazed at Xia Luo, awestruck, as though he were bathed in holy light.
Right now, Xia Luo was nothing short of his personal hero.
As the landlord counted the money, Lizard Parker leaned in to whisper, "Where did you get all that cash?"
Xia Luo gave him a sidelong glance. "Couldn't sleep last night, so I took on an extra shift."
"Extra shift? Man, you find work fast."
"I've always had a job."
After settling with the landlord, Lizard Parker headed inside to check the apartment, relieved to find no intruders—only the usual crowd of roaches and rats.
Xia Luo turned to the landlord. "You said Peter was here last night?"
The landlord squinted at Lizard Parker in confusion. "Yeah, he came back with a woman. Gave me her business card."
He handed the card to Xia Luo. "He seemed a bit out of it, like he'd been drinking. She said she was a friend, even asked me to help track down his other friends."
The landlord pointed at Lizard Parker, chuckling. "Not bad, kid. That lady's totally into you. You really fooled her!"
Lizard Parker clenched his fists. "You mean I actually have a shot?"
"Were you really drunk?"
"…Yeah."
The landlord shrugged. "Well, it's a shame, then. What happened after you went back with her is anybody's guess."
"Went back with her?"
Lizard Parker's eyes went wide, and he turned away, practically sobbing.
"Why?! How does even a monster get a girlfriend while I'm left single and miserable?! This hurts… so much…"
Meanwhile, Xia Luo studied the business card thoughtfully.
Betty, The Daily Bugle.
Maybe she hadn't been eaten… yet.
"Hey, can I borrow your phone?" Xia Luo asked.
Lizard Parker, still hunched in despair, shook his head. "I'm out of credit."
Xia Luo: "…"
The landlord, ever-helpful, handed Xia Luo his own phone. "Use mine. No charge."
"Thanks."
Xia Luo dialed the number on the card.
"Hello, this is Peter Parker's friend."
"Peter's friend? Oh, thank goodness! He's here with me, but he's not doing well. Please come pick him up."
"Give me the address."
——
An hour later, Xia Luo and Lizard Parker found themselves back at the same high-rise where Gwen's apartment was located.
"So this Betty woman lives here too?" Lizard Parker muttered, seething with jealousy. "Even that creature got lucky…"
He clutched his head in frustration. It had been a brutal day.
"Pull yourself together, man." Xia Luo clapped him on the shoulder as they stepped into the elevator.
By sheer coincidence, Betty's apartment was on the floor just below Gwen's.
As soon as they reached the door, Xia Luo could sense the subtle, unmistakable aura of money.
Wait—was this world's Betty a trust-fund kid? Did that mean… his Betty could be…
He shook his head and rang the doorbell.
Ding-dong!
"Coming!"
When the door opened, a woman wearing a face mask froze as she stared at Lizard Parker.
"Peter Parker?"
Her face mask dropped to the floor as she gaped.
"Are you two… twins?" She glanced over her shoulder at the Peter Parker currently playing with her cat in the living room.
At the sound of her voice, that Peter turned around, his brows knitting as he saw Lizard Parker.
But then his eyes met Xia Luo's, and his face split into a warm, lopsided grin.
"I know you. You're my friend, aren't you?"
He smiled goofily, stepping toward Xia Luo.
Betty blinked in confusion. "Wait, so you guys are…?"
"We're triplets," Xia Luo replied smoothly.
"But you look…"
"A bit more handsome, yes."
---
Thanks for reading! Let me know if you spot any mistakes or inconsistencies!
Posture and water check! Remember this is a fan translation!
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