Ch.28 Nano Suit, Venom Upgrade

"It's over."

Under the scorching desert sun, the spread of black webs had finally disintegrated. Half of Venom Parker's body lay buried in the yellow sand. The shattered black liquid around him wriggled and surged back into his body, repairing the damaged form.

At this moment, half of his gruesome head had been blown away. Black "tendrils" were rapidly growing back, and Peter Parker's half-exposed face could now be seen.

Peter raised his hand, tearing off the black tendrils from his face. His eyes were no longer clouded and dull. The symbiote inside him had taken severe damage during the fight, giving him a brief moment of regained consciousness.

Looking at the black-suited Spider-Man before him, Peter's eyes filled with a hint of gratitude.

"Thank you, Charlie Parker."

Charlie slowly walked up to Peter, his black suit just as damaged. The black liquid from his suit crawled and repaired his nano suit, though much slower than before, clearly showing it had suffered considerable damage in the battle.

Both being Spider-Men, Peter's abilities were naturally stronger than Charlie's. If not for the symbiote growing stronger with each generation, it would've been difficult for Charlie to defeat Peter with his base stats.

Seeing that Peter wasn't taking the chance to break free now that Venom was weakened, Charlie was puzzled.

"Need help?" he asked.

Peter shook his head. "No, letting it replace me is fine. All my struggles were meaningless."

"Why?" Charlie frowned.

Peter looked at the failed mission prompt before him and then tore off a piece of the black tendril from his head, handing it to Charlie.

"Spider-Man is destined to be lonely. We need to find a way to defeat fate. I've failed, but you still have a chance.

"Good luck, Charlie Parker. If we meet again…"

As Charlie took the symbiote fragment from Peter's hand, Peter Parker's body was consumed by the void.

And as the symbiote merged into his body, Charlie suddenly found himself back in New York.

Under the night sky, in the bustling city, a red and blue Spider-Man swung between skyscrapers, his every appearance a beacon of hope for the ordinary people.

"My name is Peter Parker, just a regular high school kid."

"Until I was bitten by a strange spider."

"Overnight, I gained the kind of superpowers you only see in movies."

"Because of my Uncle Ben's last words—'With great power comes great responsibility'—I've always tried my best to be better."

"I became the hero everyone looks up to."

"But no one knows... I never wanted to be a hero."

"If I don't come out every night, this city will be consumed by its own evil. Criminals will strike, and the innocent will suffer."

"But if I continue being Spider-Man, I'll lose everything."

"I've defeated many terrifying enemies, but they've also taken away what's most important to me."

"My Uncle Ben, Aunt May—they lost their lives because of me."

"My best friend Harry, he became the evil and insane Green Goblin, also because of me."

"Mary Jane, the woman I love, is constantly in danger because of me."

"We've broken up and gotten back together many times, but she still chose to stay with me."

"But one day, her life was forever frozen in time."

"Just as we were about to get married, enemies I'd once defeated returned. They killed Mary Jane." They killed so many people."

"Everyone around me suffered because of me."

"Now, I think I understand."

"Being a hero means being alone. That's the price of being Spider-Man."

"I've got nothing left to lose."

"I can only be Spider-Man."

"Until my true identity was finally exposed."

"They never expected the city's savior to just be a down-and-out journalist."

"People's faith in Spider-Man was shattered."

"And the recognition I'd hoped for never came."

"They began criticizing everything Spider-Man did. Even if I accidentally damaged a bicycle while fighting crime, I had to pay for it out of pocket."

"I got even poorer."

"The worst part is, Officer George was never satisfied with me, forbidding me from taking part in fighting crime."

"But whenever he couldn't solve a problem, he'd call on me."

"I always helped."

"But my efforts didn't always lead to perfect results."

"As a result, people became more and more critical of Spider-Man—some even started to hate me."

"I didn't understand why."

"With great power comes great responsibility."

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Being a hero is lonely. Spider-Man loses family, friends, and lovers."

"Even the public's trust in Spider-Man is now completely gone."

"Not only that, I lost my superpowers too."

"Without them, I became just an ordinary person, unable to fight evil anymore."

"Finally, I could live a normal life."

"Spider-Man gradually faded from the public eye."

"I wasn't Spider-Man anymore, so I wouldn't lose anything else."

"Even though I already had nothing left."

"But then I met Gwen. I fell in love with her, and she became my girlfriend. I had family again."

"But when disaster suddenly struck, Gwen was in danger."

"I was terrified, anxious, and scared."

"I didn't want to lose Gwen."

"So I decided to become Spider-Man again."

"To become a stronger Spider-Man!"

"If I'm strong enough, I can defeat Spider-Man's tragic fate!"

"I accepted the help of an alien being called Venom. At that moment, I felt like a god."

"I was unstoppable. But I still couldn't save Gwen."

"She died right in front of me."

"I was a failed Spider-Man."

"I was completely hopeless."

"I was tired... Let it all be destroyed!"

"With great power comes great responsibility?"

"What a joke."

"From now on, I don't care about anyone."

"The symbiote is a wonderful thing. It freed me completely."

"I started doing whatever I wanted. I became the city's worst nightmare."

"My old self was so stupid—sacrificing everything for those ungrateful people."

"Now, I'll take revenge on them a hundredfold!"

"The most ironic thing happened."

"The former hero became a demon, while the real demons became the people's heroes."

"A group of evil guys calling themselves 'The Inheritors' came to the city. Their target was Spider-Man."

"They were too powerful."

"I wasn't their match. In the end, I died at their hands."

"In my final moments, I finally understood the helplessness and despair of the weak."

"They needed a hero... they needed the person I used to be."

"But in the end, those evil guys became their heroes…"

——

After a long time, Charlie slowly opened his eyes and found himself once again in the Web of Life and Destiny.

That was the tragic life of Peter Parker.

It took just one Gwen, the final straw, to push a hero into becoming a demon.

Unable to bear Spider-Man's fate, the only outcome was being devoured by his own self.

In essence, the symbiote doesn't make people good or bad—it simply releases the host's most suppressed emotions.

And Venom Parker was born from Spider-Man's overwhelming despair.

But why did he share that memory with me? Charlie frowned, recalling the group that killed Venom Parker.

The Inheritors?

Interesting.

Then, the rewards from the resurrection match appeared before Charlie.

[Congratulations to Team Old and Weak for winning the resurrection match. Reward: 3 Resurrection Slots]

[Reward earned: Strength +10 tons]

[Congratulations to Team Old and Weak for rescuing Dr. Yinsen. Mission overachieved, extra rewards granted.]

[Bonus Reward 1: Power of the Spider Totem x1]

[Bonus Reward 2: Nano Spider Suit (Venom Upgraded Version)]

[Remaining Restart Chances: 2 (carried over to next resurrection match)]

"Venom Upgraded Version?"

Charlie frowned. "This thing hasn't left me yet?