章節 115: Restart, Spider-Man! [115]
"Betty, what are you doing? Bring the chair over already!"
"Coming!"
Betty lugged over a chair with visible strain as a pudgy "Spider-Man" dropped down onto it without a second thought.
"Hahaha, first place is as good as mine," crowed Jonah Jameson, yanking down his mask halfway and taking a cigar Betty handed him. He lit up with a smug grin.
Betty scowled in disgust. "I don't get why you scored so high; this whole thing's rigged."
"Betty, I can hear you."
Jonah glanced her way. "Congratulations—you figured it out. All the judges are my friends, which is how I got a whopping thirty-nine points. Just one more, and I'd have a perfect score."
Betty: "..."
"Boss, that's just underhanded. It's not fair," she huffed.
Jonah chuckled, unfazed. "You're right; it isn't fair. The moment I entered this competition, it became unfair. No one understands Spider-Man better than me. I'm the expert, so of course, the rest of these contestants don't stand a chance."
Betty rolled her eyes. "I meant you bribed the judges."
Jonah just laughed it off. "Who cares? The results are all that matter. Looks like I've got first place in the bag—one hundred grand and a Spider-Man movie contract. I'm going to be a superstar!"
"Don't get cocky," Betty replied. "That last guy was way more convincing than you."
"But he was eliminated." Jonah's grin widened. "Like I said, no one understands Spider-Man better than me."
"Then why don't you just be a judge?"
"Ha, if I were a judge, how would I take home first place?"
Blowing out a cloud of smoke, Jonah turned to Betty. "So, Betty, ready to become my agent?"
"Brother-in-law, I'm not interested in being your agent," Betty replied, crossing her arms.
Jonah stiffened, nearly dropping his cigar. His eyes darted around before he leaned in, hissing, "For Pete's sake, keep it down! Don't let anyone know about that. I'm about to be famous—I've got to keep my marital status under wraps!"
Betty sighed. "Brother-in-law, nobody here even knows who you are."
"They're about to when I go up there and collect my award first."
"The contest isn't even over yet."
"The outcome's already decided."
"Fine, brother-in-law."
"Will you stop calling me that! You're getting a pay cut."
"I'm telling my sister."
"Okay, okay! My bad..."
Reluctantly, Jonah mumbled an apology, clearly aware of his wife's ironclad authority at home. Before Betty could get another word in, screams erupted from the crowd outside.
"Oh my gosh! It's the armored Spider-Man suit!"
"Look, it's Spider-Man! The real Spider-Man!"
"Is he here to compete, too?"
"No way—he's probably here as a judge!"
"Look! His webs don't even touch anything; he's just hanging there!"
"Oh my god, that's… not even possible…"
"Spider-Man, I'm your biggest fan!!"
"This is amazing!"
Betty pulled open the curtains and stepped outside, wide-eyed.
"Brother-in-law, it's Spider-Man! Look, he actually showed up!"
She called excitedly, and Jonah quickly flicked his cigar to the ground, grumbling, "Typical, that show-off. Can't resist the limelight, can he? Figures. A guy that vain couldn't pass up this opportunity."
His words were mocking, but his actions betrayed him. He hurried to join Betty, staring up at the real Spider-Man as he swung over the crowd, suspended in the air by thin, gleaming strands of web.
"That webbing…" Jonah's eyes narrowed with intrigue. "Well, guess I know tomorrow's headline—'Spider-Man Updates His Web Tech.' This time, I'll give them a real story."
"Wait, what am I saying? I'm taking first place here, which means I don't even need to pay to be on the show anymore; they'll be paying me appearance fees. Betty, your brother-in-law's going to be a rich man, hahaha!"
Betty sighed. "Whatever you say. I have nothing to do with that."
Jonah: "..."
Suddenly, new screams rose from the crowd.
"Hey, what the—Spider-Man's webbed me up!"
"Oh my god, he's going after us!"
"Stop! Don't do this!"
Without a word, Xia Luo—having arrived at the scene—began firing webs, binding every Spider-Man look-alike he spotted.
Meanwhile, his mini-spider companion darted onto each of the would-be Spider-Men, swiftly extracting their mutant cells, sending waves of panic through the crowd.
"Ah! What is that thing!"
"A spider—it's so weird!"
"Something's wrong—I feel like… something's missing."
"My powers—no, I've lost my powers!"
"It's that spider; it's taking away our powers!"
"Run! Spider-Man's coming for us!"
"No way! We're his fans! He wouldn't do this to us!"
"That Spider-Man rumor must've been true! He can't stand the idea of another Spider-Man!"
"My friend told me about this after he got out of the hospital. I didn't believe him, and now I regret it…"
"Run, he's coming this way!"
"No, don't come any closer! Stop!!"
Chaos erupted as Spider-Man look-alikes scattered, frantically dodging Xia Luo, who swung overhead, raining webs down on them.
Thwap, thwap!
Each web snagged its target, pulling them to the ground. His mini-spider buzzed with excitement, scurrying from one fallen contestant to the next, absorbing cells, its magical energy intensifying with each feed.
On stage, the host watched, stunned, unsure how to proceed. Finally, he turned to the camera, switching to a live broadcast.
"Ahem. Ladies and gentlemen, we're witnessing an unexpected event. Spider-Man himself appears to be webbing up our contestants. He has a strange, giant spider with him."
"Oh, my—he's just captured John! I remember his green Spider suit. He scored a thirty-seven earlier; he was set for third place!"
"Wow… third place just got bitten. Camera, zoom in! He can't shoot webs anymore. He's lost his shot at the podium."
"This is… incredible! Spider-Man seems displeased with tonight's competition. Maybe he sees it as an infringement on his likeness rights."
"He's still going! Looks like he won't let any contestants off the hook."
"I hereby declare that our fourth-place contestant is also… bitten. He's lost his spot in the contest!"
"Oh, look! He's closing in on first place! I recognize that beer belly…"
Click.
Amid the frenzy, cameras flashed endlessly. Reporters scrambled, capturing the havoc Spider-Man was wreaking on the look-alike contestants—a media goldmine.
"Get as many shots as you can!"
"Yeah, right there—that's perfect."
"This angle's priceless."
"Spider-Man attacking innocent fans—this'll be a headline that rocks all of New York!"
"No! Don't come any closer!!"
From behind the curtain, Jonah thrashed in terror, webbed up tight as Xia Luo's mini-spider jumped onto his beer belly. The spider paused in disdain, then moved to a cleaner spot to begin its bite.
Jonah's face twisted in horror as he screamed and struggled.
"Betty, help me! Get this thing off me!"
But Betty only knelt beside him, smiling down at the little spider.
"Aw, it's so cute! You don't need to be scared."
Betty held Jonah's mouth shut with one hand, while the other gently stroked the mini-spider's head.
"Chirp, chirp."
"It even makes little noises! Spiders can make sounds?" she said, delighted.
"Chirp, chirp."
The mini-spider shot a look at Betty, then hopped to its next target.
"Come back! Let me pet you!" Betty called, chasing after it.
"Chirp, chirp!"
Watching the spider disappear, Jonah lay sprawled in tears.
"I'm first place… I'm first place…"
At the far end of the stage…
Xia Luo moved swiftly through the chaos, subduing yet another group of escaping mutants.
The high-frequency web blasts had started to overheat his web shooters, smoke curling from the devices. Replacing them with a backup set, Xia Luo pressed on.
"No one gets out of here," Carter ordered firmly from the perimeter.
"Leave the rest to Spider-Man!"
"Yes, ma'am," Coulson acknowledged, leading his team to block every possible exit, ensuring no mutant escaped.
"Damn it! We've been set up! This is a trap!"
Finally, someone caught on.
"What?"
The remaining mutants looked horrified.
"That bastard Spider-Man—he's trying to take us all down in one sweep!"
"Screw him! I'm done being his fan!"
"Selfish Spider-Man! Just couldn't let anyone else have a bit of spotlight."
"There's no escape…"
"Then let's take him down!"
"Spider-Man, we hate you!!"
"Down with Spider-Man! We have the right to be free!"
"Down with Spider-Man!"
Fueled by rage, the mutants tossed aside their masks, banding together as they charged straight at Xia Luo.
"There's so many of us—no way he can stop us all!"
"We'll make Spider-Man pay for what he's done!"
"Charge!!"
Swish, swish, swish!
Hundreds of mutant Spider-Men shot webs as they surged forward, a wave intent on crushing Spider-Man with sheer numbers.
Watching them approach, Xia Luo stopped his pursuit and simply stood his ground, waiting for them to reach him.
It was time to show these fake fans just what a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man could do.
The air suddenly seemed to thicken, and a chill spread through the crowd.
The host's face twisted with horror, as if he were witnessing something beyond comprehension. Even Betty, who had been chasing the little spider, felt something was terribly wrong. She stopped, turning wide-eyed toward Xia Luo, a shiver running down her spine.
"Is that…"
At that moment, Jonah, who had been wallowing in his own misery, froze.
Time itself seemed to halt as he watched in stunned silence.
Amid the flurry of flashing cameras, Spider-Man's lone figure stood defiantly as hundreds of mutants charged toward him, their faces lit with anger, desperation, and an uncontainable hatred for Spider-Man.
He was just one man.
How could one person take on so many?
This had to be Spider-Man's last stand.
The cameras zoomed in on the enraged faces of the mutants, capturing every bit of fury, insanity, and resentment etched into their features—all directed at a single figure.
All because he dared to take their powers away.
They didn't care about Spider-Man's reasons.
All that mattered was their power—and nobody could take that from them.
Yet…
Why wasn't Spider-Man running?
Damn it, was he really planning to take them on alone?
That arrogant jerk.
Let's show him what it costs to mess with us.
"Crush him!"
"Teach him he can't mess with us!"
"Spider-Man, it's too late to regret this now."
They laughed and jeered, voices dripping with malice.
Xia Luo ignored them.
He simply bent his knees and positioned his hands at his waist, palms open.
Vrrrm!
Suddenly, an intense blue light flared to life between his hands.
The dazzling light cut through the darkness, outshining even the stage lights, filling the night with an unearthly blue glow.
"What's… that?"
"Oh no, my eyes…"
Stunned cries spread as the mutants shielded their eyes from the brilliant light, which only continued to grow stronger.
Boom!
In an instant, Xia Luo thrust his hands forward, unleashing a powerful wave that swept through the crowd. The intense blue light radiated outward, casting the entire night sky in a sea of blue.
"Friendly Neighborhood… Energy Wave!!"
Thud, thud, thud!
"Ahhh!!"
Caught in the blast, the mutant Spider-Men were thrown from midair, crashing to the ground with screams of agony. The wave swept them up in a blinding tempest, trapping them beneath a torrent of debris.
"What…"
"No way… we…"
"This has to be a nightmare!"
"My God… This can't be happening."
Before long, the glow faded, and silence fell over the stage.
Blue strands of webbing drifted gently down, trailing wisps of light as they floated to the ground, covering every inch of the scene.
The mutants lay scattered, struggling to move. Blue webs wound around them, clinging tightly to their bodies; their efforts to break free were in vain, leaving them with nothing but helpless fury.
Huff.
A gentle breeze stirred as Xia Luo straightened, surveying his handiwork with satisfaction.
After countless rounds in the revival rounds testing different webbing modes, he had finally found the perfect opportunity.
The blue-tinted webs contained vast reserves of spider silk protein, enhanced by a flash effect that covered everything. The stronger his body, the more protein he stored, producing greater web output.
When he first unlocked this mode, he'd thought it was just another bizarre gimmick.
Back then, he hadn't given it much thought, dismissing it as absurd.
But now, it seemed even those quirky upgrades had potential he hadn't realized.
In a word?
Epic.
The host, finally shaken from his stupor, raised his mic to announce breathlessly, "Oh my god! We're witnessing an unprecedented display of power from Spider-Man himself—singlehandedly defeating a swarm of sinister foes. He's our hero!!"
The director's voice crackled over the intercom.
"Wait, wait! That's wrong! Spider-Man didn't take down villains—he attacked innocent civilians!"
"Huh? Oh, sorry—I got a bit too excited. I'll fix it… Oh no… This is live!!"
---
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