Ch.35 Tony Was Kidnapped by Me

Half an hour later.

In the desert town, the scattered bodies were slowly consumed by flames.

By the truck, hundreds of surviving townspeople huddled together, their eyes filled with fear, not a trace of relief from surviving the ordeal.

They were uncertain if the demon who had slaughtered their enemies would also turn on them and kill them too.

Click, click~

Not far away, the black suit shimmered as it reverted back to its red and blue colors, not a drop of blood left on the surface of the nanometal.

At this moment, Charlie Parker leaned against a wall, gasping for breath.

At his feet lay bodies, strewn about and buried in the rubble.

In Venom mode, his strength had been amplified to about 40 tons—not as much as during the revival battle—but it had no side effects, and it wasn't vulnerable to sonic attacks or regular flames. The physical defense was incredibly strong.

Additionally, the symbiotic spider legs compensated for his otherwise limited offensive methods, providing extra firepower.

The only drawback was that Venom mode placed a significant burden on his body.

After all, it wasn't a true native symbiote, but rather a suit infused with symbiote cells. Accessing the symbiote's powers came at a cost.

Fortunately, Charlie's body was strong, and the exhaustion could be replenished through food and sleep.

If it had been Harry, who hadn't yet received the gene serum injection, he would probably have collapsed from exhaustion by now.

"How are you doing?"

At that moment, Harry approached, supporting Charlie. "You look like you're about to pass out. Why don't you take off the mask? I'm afraid you might suffocate."

Charlie: "..."

"No need, my suit has an oxygen supply system."

"Wow, that's cool."

Harry pointed to the nearby refugees. "What about them?"

Charlie waved his hand dismissively. "Let them drive themselves to the nearest city. I can only help them this far."

"I thought you'd personally escort them," Harry said, surprised.

Charlie gave Harry a sidelong glance. "I'm a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, not a babysitter. What, do you want me to help them find jobs, buy houses, get married, and raise kids?"

"Well, if you wanted to..."

"I don't."

Charlie shook off Harry's hand and glanced at the notification in front of him.

[You played the role of a friendly neighborhood hero and eliminated a terrorist group. Reboot chances +4.]

He fell silent.

What kind of "friendly neighborhood" hero deals with terrorist groups?

It seemed like the number of reboot chances he gained was tied to the difficulty of his actions.

Solving ordinary crimes only earned him one reboot chance.

Killing Norman Osborn earned him nine reboot chances.

And this time, despite the large number of well-equipped enemies, he only gained four reboot chances.

After all, these guys weren't really much of a challenge for him.

It became clear that this was a good place to farm reboot chances, but he had no intention of staying here and playing savior.

The situation in this desert was too complicated, with numerous terrorist factions lurking around. They weren't just well-armed; they had powerful backers that one Spider-Man alone couldn't handle.

Who knows when another missile might come crashing down on his head.

That pain… was unbearable.

He didn't want to be a hero. Being a hero came with a price, and that price was something he couldn't afford.

In these situations, it was best to weigh his options.

There was no need to activate savior mode every time.

After resting for a while, Charlie stayed put while Harry went to organize the refugees, sending them to a nearby city.

Not long after, Harry returned.

"The sun's about to rise. Are we still going?"

Charlie thought for a moment. "Of course."

"But you seem really tired."

"No worries. I can find a place to rest."

"Here?" Harry glanced around at the ruins.

"Of course not."

Before dawn, at the Ten Rings' valley base.

In an abandoned bunker.

"Spider-Man, how did you know there was a bunker here?"

The two of them squeezed into the bunker, and Harry blocked the entrance with stones to fend off the sandstorm.

Charlie leaned against the wall and exhaled slowly. "I've been here plenty of times," he said truthfully.

Harry looked incredulous. "How is that possible? I've never heard of Spider-Man operating in this desert."

"That was before."

Charlie glanced at the time. "Let's rest for now. We'll move at night."

"You already have a plan?" Harry asked, surprised.

"Of course, I've planned this out over a dozen times."

"I don't understand what you mean. By the way, I have some compressed biscuits and water. Want some?"

Harry opened a storage compartment on his glider, his mind racing.

"Sure."

As soon as Charlie answered, he knocked Harry out cold with a swift motion.

"Clever Harry, you won't fool me."

Charlie grinned, then buried the glider in a pile of rubble.

This was to avoid any hidden cameras on the glider.

Haha, I'm so smart!

A short while later, Harry woke up, rubbing the back of his neck. He knew exactly what had happened.

"Spider-Man, you're too cunning," he muttered, casting a reproachful glance at Charlie, who was already asleep after finishing his meal.

Seeing no response, Harry sighed, ate something small, and lay down to rest.

Time passed quickly.

At night, Harry was woken by the sound of rocks shifting.

Groggily, he sat up to see Charlie clearing the rocks that had blocked the entrance.

"You're awake."

Charlie dusted off his hands, smiling. "To avoid alerting the Ten Rings, I plan to infiltrate the valley through the bunker."

"That's a good idea."

Harry glanced at the pile of rocks. "Why didn't you ask me to help? I feel guilty letting you do all the work."

"Could you have moved those rocks?" Charlie asked.

Harry shook his head. "No, but I could've cheered you on," he said seriously.

Charlie: "..."

Charlie removed the spider emblem from his chest, and it illuminated the deeper part of the tunnel.

"Up ahead is the Ten Rings' camp."

"Great, let me help you this time."

Harry raised his glider, triggering a hidden blade to begin digging.

"Wait, not there!" Charlie quickly stopped him.

Harry looked confused. "Why not?"

"That's where the latrine is."

Harry: "..."

"How do you know that?"

"It's one of my superpowers."

Harry was shocked. "Your superpower lets you sense… waste?"

"Shut up. You're the second person to insult my powers."

Charlie's face darkened as he activated Venom mode, his black spider legs extending to quickly dig into the stone wall.

Harry hurried to follow him, still curious. "Who was the first?"

"An old man who's now dead."

"You shouldn't insult the elderly, Spider-Man."

"I wasn't insulting him. He's literally dead."

"Oh."

A short while later, at the Ten Rings camp, behind the ammo storage.

The two emerged from a hole, and Charlie pointed at the ammo dump in front of them.

"Soon, you'll set fire to the ammo storage. During the chaos, I'll head into the cave to find Tony."

"You even know where Tony is?" Harry's expression grew more suspicious.

He was starting to suspect that Charlie might have been the one who kidnapped Tony all along.

Otherwise, how could any of this make sense?