บท 136: Restart, Spider-Man! [136] [DDD!]
December Double Drop!
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Inside the glass displays were various versions of Cindy.
There was Goblin Cindy, embedded in green exoskeletal armor.
Octopus Cindy, extending four mechanical tentacles from her back.
Rhino Cindy, with dark, hardened skin like a thick armor.
Mysterio Cindy, cloaked in green with a fishbowl helmet.
Chameleon Cindy, with multicolored, lizard-like scales.
And finally, Lizard Cindy, fully transformed into a hulking reptilian.
As Xia Luo continued down the corridor, he passed by these Cindy variants, each encased and motionless as if frozen in time. They weren't just decorations.
According to the information on the displays, these were failed experiments—Hydra's discarded attempts.
The infamous Hydra… That explains a lot, Xia Luo thought to himself.
Cindy carried him through the corridors, and soon his vision was filled with a massive genetic experimentation lab. The grisly experiments being conducted were inhumane and hard to stomach.
Xia Luo quickly looked away.
Maybe he was a bit squeamish after all.
They eventually left the lab and entered a medieval-style underground fortress. Here, various Cindys lined the halls, watching him in stony silence as he was brought deeper and deeper into the fortress.
At the far end of the last hallway hung a green veil that draped to the floor.
"Mistress, we've successfully captured Spider-Man. Mission accomplished."
Cindy dropped Xia Luo unceremoniously to the ground and bowed toward the figure hidden behind the veil.
The silhouette shifted slightly, serpentine movements intertwining as though two large pythons were coiling together.
Xia Luo glanced over, and he couldn't help but notice her long, slender legs beneath the gauzy veil. Would've made a hell of a track star, he thought dryly.
The so-called "Mistress" of this Hydra base could only be one person.
Viper. Real name Ophelia Sarkissian, known as Madame Hydra, one of the highest-ranking members of Hydra.
Just the name "Viper" hinted at her expertise: poisons.
Judging by her ability to produce a gene-targeting toxin against Spider-Man, it was clear this wasn't any ordinary Viper he was dealing with.
His musings were interrupted by her voice from behind the veil, languid and authoritative.
"Mmm, excellent. Did you find the traitor?" she asked lazily.
"Not yet," Cindy replied, keeping her head bowed.
"Then keep looking," Viper commanded, stretching before sitting up. "She destroyed my most perfect test subject. You know what to do."
"Of course."
With a wave of Viper's hand, Cindy turned and exited the room, leaving Xia Luo alone with the shadowy figure.
Whoosh—
The veil stirred, and Madame Hydra emerged, shrouded in a sheer green wrap, with no other clothing underneath.
Xia Luo's gaze slid sideways, avoiding her intense stare as she approached with an ethereal, almost hazy grace.
She leaned forward, her chilly breath ghosting over him as she studied him intently.
A long, slender finger traced over his suit, her fingernail lightly scratching the nanotech fabric.
"Impressive technology."
Her voice was soft, revealing neither anger nor pleasure. Her finger drifted down his chest to rest on the spider insignia, and with a touch, the suit compressed back into his wrist.
"Oh? Quite the young Spider-Man, aren't you?"
Her lips curved, and she leaned closer, inhaling deeply beside his ear.
"Not like the others. Your scent… intriguing."
The forked tip of her crimson tongue slid from her mouth, flicking across his cheek with an unsettling slowness.
"Such a tempting flavor…"
Xia Luo kept his eyes locked on hers, unblinking.
With her pale skin, piercing green eyes, and perfectly sculpted features, she looked like something out of an ancient European painting, a noblewoman straight out of a dark fantasy.
And, Xia Luo thought, probably filthy rich.
But something in her eyes told him she didn't just want to admire him.
And indeed, her idea of "taste" didn't match what he had in mind.
"A flawless test subject may be lost, but in return, I've acquired an even more perfect Spider-Man from another universe. Today's a lucky day," Viper murmured, her tongue flickering once more as she extracted information from his genetic code.
"Guards," she called out, eyes flicking toward the door. "Bring me Steve. I'm sure he'd love to see his old friend again. And I owe him a little… gratitude for all the secrets he's shared with me."
"Yes, Mistress."
From outside the door, Cindy's voice confirmed the order before she hurried off.
As she left, Viper returned her gaze to Xia Luo, her long lashes fluttering as she smiled with wicked amusement.
"I know you're still aware, Spider-Man. Your eyes give you away."
Xia Luo's response was a silent, unimpressed eye-roll.
The "perfect test subject" she'd lost was probably another Spider-Man—likely Gwen, if he interpreted her hints correctly. It sounded as though Gwen, and perhaps other "Spider-Man" experiments, had been developed by Hydra.
Somewhere along the line, Gwen had broken free. And for whatever reason, rather than striking against her outright, Madame Hydra seemed more focused on… observing.
The "traitor" in question was probably a Cindy—one who had somehow developed self-awareness.
Yes, that seemed likely.
Viper didn't dwell on the details for long.
She grabbed Xia Luo by the collar and threw him onto the plush bed.
"Your genes are potent enough to resist my gene toxin," she said, watching him with a curious gleam. "Far stronger than any Spider-Man I've ever created. But it's still not enough.
"If our genes were to merge, we'd create a truly flawless Spider-Man—one who'd be the ultimate super-being."
She tugged the curtains shut around them, and Xia Luo's eyes flew wide.
Wait, what did she plan to do?
Surely, in a gene factory, there were better methods than… this?
And there's no way she was just mesmerized by his good looks…
Too late. She was right there. No, stop with the snake tongue already!
What was she doing?
Damn it, his body lacked touch sensitivity, yet somehow was cooperating all too well.
This was too sudden—he wasn't ready for this.
At the very least, cure the toxin first!
Without touch sensitivity, this wasn't helping anyone!
---
[You have been eliminated. No revival slot earned. Gene Toxin Resistance +1% gained.]
[19 resets remaining. Would you like to reset?]
In the cosmic web, Xia Luo awoke, completely bewildered.
"That's it?"
He shook his head, exasperated. "Come on. Absolutely no feeling at all—it was like watching a movie. No real payoff."
Most importantly, he had no idea how he had actually died this time.
His body should've already adapted to the initial wave of the gene toxin, so there shouldn't have been any real danger.
Could it be something else…?
He couldn't think of any other explanation.
But no matter—another few rounds should boost his toxin resistance high enough, and then, bam! One clean hit and he'd win this revival match without a hitch.
If he could fully resist the gene toxin, Xia Luo was confident he could take Viper down in an instant.
Taking out Viper would neutralize the world crisis.
No, maybe he didn't even need maxed-out toxin resistance.
After all, he still had his teammates.
With this strategy in mind, Xia Luo reached up to click—er, to "reset" once again.
Twelfth Revival Match
When the timer ended, Xia Luo immediately gathered Old Man Steve and the others, and they positioned themselves near Osborne's castle right on schedule.
This time, he had specifically reminded Old Man Steve to summon Mjolnir.
"Look, it's Steve."
In the darkness, Carter spotted Hydra Steve and Bucky entering the castle, a slight frown on her face.
"They're moving fast."
Old Man Steve nodded. "I'd wager Hydra's network isn't too different in this parallel world—that must be how he found the place so quickly."
Lizard Parker, who had missed the last revival match, looked lost. "That's… young you?" he asked, glancing at Old Man Steve.
"It's me from another universe," Steve explained.
Gwen furrowed her brows. "But if it's you… why would he join a group like the Destruction Squad?"
"He's an evil version of me," Old Man Steve said with a shake of his head. "And just like that other Peter, he hates Xia Luo. He must have joined up with Hydra to leverage their resources against us."
Xia Luo chuckled. "Looks like last time's defeat made him realize how important it is to have connections."
Carter rolled her eyes. "You sound proud of yourself, like it's a lesson you taught him."
"Of course. I'm curious to see what kind of surprises he has in store," Xia Luo replied nonchalantly. "Not everyone can pick up this particular trick."
It was becoming clear to him now.
With Hydra Steve's betrayal, Madame Viper knew about Xia Luo and his team's origins. Without a guaranteed chance of success, she had decided to bide her time and sent Kingpin as a test of their strength.
She hadn't expected Kingpin and his goons to be annihilated, making her even warier.
However, Cindy's betrayal also confirmed to her that Spider-Men—regardless of their universe—were susceptible to her gene toxin.
So Xia Luo had baited her with this information in his previous reset—essentially volunteering himself as cannon fodder.
If he hadn't, he'd have had no way to piece it all together.
"Enough talk! Just tell us what to do. I can't wait to save the world!" Lizard Parker's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Xia Luo turned toward the castle. "I bet they've already sensed Gwen and me—she has a particular instinct for Spider-Men."
"What do we do?" Carter asked.
"Simple," Xia Luo said with a grin. "I'll give you a map. Follow it to certain targets and take them out. That should end this."
"A map?" Gwen looked puzzled. "How do you have a map of the place?"
Before Xia Luo could explain, Old Man Steve cut in.
"Haha, what's a map? This little Spider has a superpower that can sense…."
"Shut up!" Xia Luo hissed, clamping a hand over the old man's mouth.
Except he only had two hands.
"Sense poop," Lizard Parker snickered.
Xia Luo: "…"
Miscalculation.
Gwen looked at him, wide-eyed.
"Alright, focus!" Carter urged. "Time to get this done."
"Exactly. The sooner we finish, the sooner we're out of here," Xia Luo agreed. "Watch out for any doppelgangers—they might disguise themselves as one of us. Remember the code phrase, and don't fall for their tricks."
Felicia nodded. "Got it."
"Alright, what's the code phrase?" Xia Luo asked.
"Got it," Felicia replied.
Satisfied, Xia Luo grinned. "Perfect."
Gwen's brow furrowed. "Wait, what's the actual code phrase?"
"'Got it,'" Carter answered.
Gwen: "…"
Exactly their style.
"Let's go!"
Xia Luo waved them forward, and Old Man Steve charged ahead.
Boom!
Lightning flared as Steve dashed through the castle gates like a bolt of thunder.
Carter and the others followed closely behind, a chaotic battle breaking out inside.
Xia Luo remained outside, watching the commotion unfold.
With the map in hand, Steve and the team moved with direction instead of blindly rushing in like before. Soon enough, they had forced their way down to the underground lab entrance.
After a short time, a very disheveled Steve was blasted out of the castle by an explosion.
"Help me…"
Watching his plea, Xia Luo raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"Seriously? This move again?"
He signaled to the little spider above him, and a volley of magical webs launched, bursting in an explosive barrage that engulfed the Chameleon Cindy in seconds.
"This should be a lock," Xia Luo grinned confidently.
Half an hour later, his grin faded.
"Yeah… we're in trouble."
To Xia Luo's dismay, Hydra Steve had emerged from the castle, carrying the bodies of Carter and the others, their remains wrapped in blood-red tendrils.
Evidently, Old Man Steve had lost.
"Ha! Xia Luo Parker, this time, I've won!" Hydra Steve crowed triumphantly.
Seeing the lifeless Lizard Parker, Gwen paled.
"No way… they…."
Xia Luo frowned, deep in thought.
Something wasn't adding up.
With the map of the underground base, Steve should have been able to reach Madame Viper's quarters.
After all, even Viper wouldn't stand a chance against an old man wielding Mjolnir.
Could Viper have another ace up her sleeve?
If that were the case, even if Xia Luo built up enough toxin resistance, he still might not be able to kill her.
And he still didn't understand what world-ending crisis Viper posed.
What was she planning? Gaining "perfect" Spider-Man genes to conquer the world?
Even if she managed to replicate his immunity to the gene toxin, that wouldn't be enough to conquer the world.
Not even close.
Creating an army of Spider-Men?
Maybe, but that still didn't spell global catastrophe.
As he watched the "Cindy army" flooding out from the castle, Xia Luo's mind raced, plotting his next move.
---
Thirteenth Reset
The moment the countdown ended, Xia Luo rushed to Osborne's castle.
Just before Hydra Steve could arrive, Xia Luo threw himself right into the lion's den.
For a Spider-Man who offered himself willingly, Madame Viper once again opened her arms.
However, the arrival of Hydra Steve seeking an audience disrupted her plans.
"Madame, Steve Rogers wishes to see you," Cindy reported.
"Steve?"
Viper's eyes flickered with intrigue as she was about to draw the curtains. A hint of a smile curled her red lips.
"How fascinating. The man I once killed has come back to life. Let him in."
"Yes, Madame."
---
✧ New Story Announcement! ✧
Introducing: The Weapon Master Shall Never Die Bare-Handed in Genshin Impact! ⚔️ This isn't like the misunderstanding fun of Unreliable Harbinger or the calm, slow-paced journey of Incense Burner. Oh no, this one is action-packed, laugh-out-loud funny, and full of feel-good moments that'll leave you grinning like (๑>ᴗ<๑).
Thanks for reading! Let me know if you spot any mistakes or inconsistencies!
Posture and water check! Remember this is a fan translation!
If you wish to support me or read ahead here's a link! [patreon.com/WiseTL]
oh i didnt drop this oops
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