Restart, Spider-Man! [38]
The refugees had already left.
"I'm tired," Tony suddenly said.
Harry, driving the off-road vehicle into the ruins, responded, "I don't think this is the time for rest. The Ten Rings can't pursue us, but Yinsen's associates might be able to." He suggested cautiously.
Tony glanced around at the surrounding wreckage and then pointed at Xia Luo, who was snoring loudly in the backseat.
"What about him?"
Harry sighed, "He's tired; that's normal."
"I just escaped. It's normal for me to be tired too."
"You can sleep in the car."
"My sleep quality is terrible."
As Tony spoke, he borrowed Harry's watch to check the time.
"My people will be here soon. Don't worry about those guys."
Hearing this, Harry instinctively hit the brakes.
"That soon?" he asked, surprised. "It takes at least ten hours to get here from New York, and it's only been three hours."
Tony got out of the car and stretched. "I have friends here."
Harry realized, "Ah, I see. Well, can you trust your friends?"
He got out, locked Yinsen in the vehicle, and found a relatively intact set of steps to sit on.
"Want something to eat? I have some rations."
"I don't usually eat these things, but I'll make an exception for you today."
Tony took the offered rations and stuffed them into his mouth, chewing slowly.
"They're a bit dry. Got any water?"
"We're out of water."
Tony frowned. "..."
He was beginning to suspect Harry was doing this on purpose.
"I have a little left."
At that moment, Xia Luo woke up and handed Tony half a bottle of water.
"Thanks."
Tony chugged the remaining water, then laid back on the ground, feeling more at ease.
"Much better," he said with satisfaction.
Harry, curious, asked, "I thought we ran out of water earlier. Where did you get this?"
Xia Luo proudly patted his nanotech suit. "This suit is equipped with a urine filtration system."
"What?"
Tony froze. "So the water you just gave me was...?"
Xia Luo grinned. "Don't worry about it. Think of it as purified water; you can't even taste the difference. Hey, why are you vomiting? That's such a waste. Hold on, let me filter it again with my suit so it won't go to waste."
Tony looked at Xia Luo in disbelief, eyes wide with disgust. "You're unbelievable. I'm never drinking water from you again."
"Okay, okay, I shouldn't have told you. How about I knock you out? If you're lucky, you might get amnesia. That's how it works in movies, right?" Xia Luo joked as Tony turned away in silent frustration, refusing to engage with him further.
Just then, the rumbling of helicopter blades grew louder from the distance.
The searchlight swept over the off-road vehicle, and moments later, a black helicopter descended from the night sky, stirring up dust with its rotor blades.
"Thwack-thwack-thwack…"
As the helicopter landed in the ruins, Tony stood up and waved to the cockpit.
"My friends have arrived," he said, visibly relieved.
Perched on the roof, Xia Luo frowned. "That's a transport helicopter, but there are only a few of us here."
Harry grabbed his glider, speculating, "Maybe they've brought security. We're still in hostile territory, after all."
Before he could finish his sentence, Xia Luo's Spider-Sense flared up intensely.
"Get down!"
In an instant, Xia Luo leapt and tackled Harry to the ground just as the off-road vehicle behind them exploded in a massive fireball.
"Boom!!"
Flames and a scorching heatwave consumed the ruins, sending Tony flying through the air. Meanwhile, the helicopter's doors opened, and an armed squad poured out, advancing toward the trio.
"Damn, it's an ambush!" Harry shouted as he scrambled to his feet and rushed toward Tony.
"Go!" he yelled.
"You're not going anywhere," a masked man's voice echoed.
"Ratatatatat!!"
Gunfire erupted once again, and another rocket was fired, engulfing their surroundings in another fiery explosion.
"Boom!"
The masked man watched the explosion with furrowed brows. "They escaped. Pursue them!"
"Yes, sir!"
Immediately, dozens of armed soldiers fanned out, searching for any trace of Xia Luo and his companions.
In the corner of the ruins, Xia Luo looked over at Tony, whose shoulder was bleeding from shrapnel. Without hesitation, he fired a web to seal the wound.
"Mr. Stark, is this what you meant by 'friends'?" he teased.
Tony, sweating profusely, didn't respond before Harry, still shaken, spoke up, "This isn't the time to discuss that. Yinsen is still in the car!"
"He's already dead," Tony said through gritted teeth, his eyes filled with anger.
Yinsen's tragedy had been indirectly caused by Tony, and though Tony didn't hate Yinsen, he had never intended for him to die. He had even considered helping Yinsen rebuild his life, feeling a sense of responsibility. But now, it was too late for that.
Harry peeked out from behind a wall, then quickly ducked back. "They're getting closer," he warned.
Xia Luo quickly swapped out his web-shooter cartridges. "I'll go distract them. You take Tony and get out of here."
"My glider is out of power. It can only fly for three minutes max," Harry said in frustration.
"Where's your backup battery?"
"I already used it."
"Use mine," Tony said, pointing to the arc reactor in his chest. "Three minutes is enough to recharge it."
"Can that thing even work?" Harry asked, skeptical as he eyed the glowing device in Tony's chest.
"Of course it can," Tony reassured him.
"Alright, I'll trust you this once."
As the two continued working on the glider, Xia Luo had already slipped into the ruins.
"Hey! Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is here!" Xia Luo shouted, drawing the attention of the surrounding soldiers.
"Ratatatatat!!"
Bullets sprayed in his direction, but Xia Luo somersaulted behind a wall and returned fire with webs.
"Splurt-splurt!"
Switching to explosive web mode, he fired a blanket of webs that ensnared the soldiers in front of him.
"Get over here!"
With a mighty yank, the gunfire ceased, and the soldiers were dragged toward him.
At that moment, his Spider-Sense flared again.
"Hm?"
Reacting instinctively, Xia Luo flipped backward, narrowly avoiding an incoming punch that smashed into the spot where he had just been standing, sending debris flying.
Turning around, Xia Luo saw the attackers' sleeves had torn open, revealing a row of identical metal arms.
"No way, is this place a Winter Soldier factory?"
His eyes glinted as he darted back into the ruins.
Meanwhile, the masked man in charge calmly watched the green trail of Harry's glider as it streaked across the sky, but made no move to pursue. Instead, he stepped toward the burning wreck of the vehicle. With a swift movement of his metal arm, the remaining wreckage scattered like paper in the wind.
Kicking aside Yinsen's charred corpse, the masked man bent down to retrieve the scorching-hot metal suitcase, unfazed by the heat.
He opened it, revealing the black spinal implant inside.
Seeing this, he nodded slightly. His target had been secured.
But…
Spider-Man must die!
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