Restart, Spider-Man! [106]

After entering, Xia Luo calmly walked to the living room and poured himself a glass of water.

Near the fridge, Aleksei guiltily put down a carton of expired milk.

Seeing how calm Xia Luo was, Aleksei wiped his mouth and said, "Looks like you already know."

Xia Luo raised an eyebrow. This guy seemed… odd.

The chemical polymers on his skin had been shattered, yet he still dared to show up here so boldly—there had to be a plan behind it!

But what did he mean by that?

"What exactly do you think I know?" Xia Luo asked, glancing at Aleksei. He was referring to his own secret identity.

"Huh?" Aleksei scratched his head, confused about what Xia Luo was talking about.

Without thinking too much, he continued, "Actually, I'm sorry to bother you so late." He pointed to a small bouquet on the table. "But I brought a gift."

Xia Luo: "..."

"Still the polite one, I see," he said.

Aleksei nodded. "That's the last thing my mother taught me… but wait, you know me?" He looked at Xia Luo, surprised.

Xia Luo rolled his eyes. "And you don't know who I am?"

Aleksei looked confused, then seemed to understand.

"I get it. You must've known about all this. She must've told you everything."

"I didn't know before, but I do now," Xia Luo replied. He walked over to the window and pointed to the open space outside. "Let's talk over there. If we wreck the place, I'll have to pay for it."

"No need for all that."

Aleksei smiled wryly. "I know you want to kill me, but I still have to deliver her message."

He set down the key in his hand. "She told me to let you know she plans to steal what you treasure most. It was probably meant to get under your skin.

"But seeing how calm you are, I guess this is some twisted little game between you two. She really played me. Still, it was… interesting to do something this ridiculous before I go."

Xia Luo: "????"

"Who wants to steal what I treasure most?"

Aleksei looked at him, exasperated. "Didn't you already know?"

"When did I say that?"

"Just now."

Xia Luo: "..."

He had completely misinterpreted the situation.

"Alright, well… thanks for the gift," he replied, fingering the bouquet on the table, its stems still clotted with mud—clearly plucked from some park.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Yeah, Black Cat's boyfriend," Aleksei replied confidently.

Xia Luo held his head in his hands. What is this guy even talking about?

"I'm Xia Luo Parker," he replied.

"Xia Luo…?" Aleksei's face went pale. "So you—you're—"

Seeing this, Xia Luo smirked. "So, you're only now realizing who I am. Good to know."

Just as he was about to make a move, he noticed Aleksei clutching his stomach in pain.

"Oh, this is awful… I should never have drunk that expired milk from your fridge," Aleksei muttered, clutching his stomach and crossing his legs. He glanced up at Xia Luo with a pained smile.

"So Black Cat's boyfriend is named Xia Luo Parker. I bet if her enemies found out, you'd be in real danger."

At that, Xia Luo's eye twitched.

He couldn't even begin to respond.

What have we even been talking about?

Were they even on the same page?

But Xia Luo had more or less pieced it together—Black Cat had sent Aleksei here to find him, warning she'd steal his most cherished possession.

Black Cat, Felicia Hardy, was the daughter of the notorious cat burglar Walter Hardy.

The same father-daughter pair who had cleaned his apartment for him once.

He'd already figured out their identities but hadn't paid them much mind. After all, he didn't have anything particularly valuable on him.

Those two were probably so eager to help him clean because they had their eyes on something he possessed.

Back then, the only thing he had was a single black spine—which was now in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s possession.

So it probably wasn't that.

If that wasn't the reason, then Black Cat likely knew his true identity by now.

Stealing Spider-Man's most valuable possession would earn her instant fame in the underworld.

But what was Spider-Man's most valuable possession?

Family, friends, a loved one… what else?

Money?

Impossible—Spider-Man was the poorest guy around.

Or was it his innocent, pure-hearted yearning for love?

Ha! What taste.

Lost in thought, Xia Luo barely noticed Aleksei rushing toward the bathroom.

"Guest room's over there; the bathroom is next door," Xia Luo called out just in time.

"Thanks."

The sound of a toilet flushing echoed out, and Xia Luo shook his head, moving to the fridge to clear out all the expired food.

Two weeks away from home, and most of it was inedible.

Before long, Aleksei emerged from the bathroom, his face pale.

"Expired milk and moldy pizza—I used to be tougher than this, right?"

He sounded genuinely disappointed. Those things had never bothered him before.

Xia Luo glanced at him. "Looks like you're even worse off than me. Not even a dog would eat that stuff."

Aleksei gave a wry smile. "I used to be worse off than a dog."

"Well, now you can let me beat you to death. I won't resist."

"Not yet. I'm hungry. Want some food?"

Xia Luo headed toward the kitchen.

Aleksei shook his head. "I don't have much of an appetite."

"It's imported steak. A gift from my rich friend."

"Count me in!" Aleksei's eyes sparkled.

But almost immediately, his stomach started rumbling again, and he ran back to the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, Xia Luo brought two plates of steak to the table.

He slid one over to Aleksei.

"Eat up."

"Thanks! I've never had imported steak before!" Aleksei carefully cut a small piece with his fork, his face alight with enjoyment as he chewed.

Xia Luo raised an eyebrow. "Haven't even tasted it yet, and you're enjoying it already?"

"I can always imagine."

Aleksei swallowed the steak. "When you've eaten the world's worst food, you learn how to make even garbage taste good."

Xia Luo shook his head, mumbling, "What a poor soul."

Switching from fork to chopsticks, he picked up an entire steak, taking a hearty bite, juice dripping down his chin.

Ah, satisfying.

"So, how did you and Black Cat meet?"

Eating with one hand, Xia Luo asked casually.

Aleksei watched Xia Luo use chopsticks and tried to imitate, failing miserably before opting to use his hands.

"She showed up while I was waiting to die."

"First time meeting, and she asked for your help?"

"Yup."

"You don't seem the helpful type."

"She's beautiful. I was enchanted."

"Excuses. How beautiful could she be?" Xia Luo knew what Black Cat looked like, with or without makeup.

But thinking it over, he added, "All right, pretty damn beautiful."

Aleksei grinned. "I'm jealous you've got such a stunning girlfriend. She must be…"

"She must be what?"

"Oh, nothing. I don't swear when I'm off duty."

"By the way, this steak is delicious. Tastes like home."

"Thanks, Aunt May taught me. You could come over for dinner sometime."

"Really?" Aleksei's face lit up.

Xia Luo rolled his eyes. "Of course not. I'm about to beat you to death, remember?"

"Oh… shame."

Aleksei returned to devouring his steak. "But really, I'm envious of you. Having a normal life, that was always my dream."

Xia Luo put his chopsticks down. "Then why did you join an underground organization?"

Aleksei hung his head. "I didn't have a choice."

"I understand. Most people don't. But mistakes come with consequences," Xia Luo replied.

"No one taught me that."

Finishing the last of his steak, Aleksei licked his plate clean, looking genuinely content.

"Thanks for the meal. I'm happy. If I live through this, I'd like to be your friend."

"We'll see."

Xia Luo didn't agree just yet. He started clearing the plates.

"Ever heard the story of Spider-Man?"

"Of course! Wanna hear something cool? I fought him twice." Aleksei grinned.

Xia Luo's lip twitched. "Who won?"

"Oh, he beat me both times."

Aleksei didn't look disappointed at all.

"Because of him, I'm nearly dead."

"And you're still smiling?"

"That's called courtesy. Mom always said not to bring others down with my bad mood."

"She was a good mom."

"I think so too."

"And now, as a guest in my house, you get to do the dishes."

"Um… Mom didn't… Fine, I'll wash."

Aleksei headed to the sink, with Xia Luo standing right behind him.

"You know who Spider-Man is?"

"What?"

"I mean, does your boss, or anyone you know, know Spider-Man's true identity?"

"Nope. If the boss knew, he'd have blown up the guy's house by now."

Xia Luo let out a relieved sigh.

Before he could continue, Aleksei went on. "But I'll tell you a secret: I saw the boss working with some mysterious group.

"They're called Hydra, I think. Supposed to be really scary. They know Spider-Man's identity, but they won't tell the boss.

"Thing is, they recently ran into some trouble."

Turning, he whispered, "Their leader died. Wanna guess who it was?"

"No clue."

"Haha, I knew you wouldn't know."

Aleksei looked smug. "I do, though. It was Captain Steve, that legendary guy from the last century. Turned out he wanted to take over the world.

"He got killed by Spider-Man, and all Spider-Man's secrets died with him."

Xia Luo frowned. "Hydra's massive. There have to be backup files with Spider-Man's identity."

Aleksei scratched his head. "Maybe. I wouldn't know; I'm just a grunt."

Xia Luo dismissed the thought. "If—hypothetically—you met Spider-Man after death, what would you do?"

"Meet Spider-Man?"

Aleksei's face twisted in a nasty snarl, and Xia Luo couldn't help a laugh.

"Quit the act."

"Uh… you caught that. Yeah, this face is why I'm the boss's top enforcer."

Aleksei gave an awkward chuckle. "I know what you mean. They say Spider-Man doesn't die, and I believe it now.

"If I see him again, I'll make sure he remembers what pain feels like."

"Noted. You're not going to die."

Xia Luo smiled and sent a quick message on his phone.

Rather than face him in another revival match, maybe it was better to let Carter handle putting Aleksei away.

He'd had this plan in mind for a while.

Unaware, Aleksei carefully dried each plate, tidying the kitchen as he went.

"Getting late, and you haven't had the chance to kill me. My boss's hitmen are probably already here."

He looked toward the darkened window. "Rain's stopped. I'd better go; I don't want them wrecking your stuff."

Just then, a shadow flickered outside, and Xia Luo tensed.

"You're not leaving," he said.

"Why?"

"He's right. You're not going anywhere."

At the mocking voice, the window shattered with a crash.

Aleksei's face went pale, but before he could turn, a green tail lashed through the air, wrapping tightly around his throat.

"Wait…"

He barely choked out a word before the tail jerked, suspending him midair.

Xia Luo quickly jumped back, dodging the deadly tail.

A lizard's tail…

Could it be?

Xia Luo's pulse quickened.

"Rattle-rattle-rattle…"

Sure enough, a monstrous green lizard crawled in through the shattered window, cold eyes fixed on Aleksei, trapped in his tail.

"Well, well, shiny head. Your boss wants you dead. Ready?"

"Kkk… you…"

Aleksei's face flushed as the tail tightened, preventing him from saying more.

"Trying to beg for mercy?"

The Lizard sneered, clearly savoring his control over Aleksei.

But then his eyes flicked to the corner, spotting Xia Luo. His pupils shrank, and he quickly looked away.

"Why are you hiding here?"

The Lizard glared at Aleksei. "I get it. You wanted to use him as a hostage, you scum."

Aleksei: "…"

I didn't say anything.

Without an answer, the Lizard's anger flared. He swung his tail violently, throwing Aleksei straight into the bedroom wall. Bricks tumbled over him, burying his figure.

"Crash!"

"No! I'll have to pay for that!" Xia Luo yelled in frustration.

The Lizard ignored him, striding over to Aleksei.

Passing Xia Luo, he murmured, "Don't worry. He can't hurt you."

Xia Luo: "????"

That voice…

It was Dr. Connors!

"Cough… cough…"

Aleksei's weak voice emerged from the rubble. "You can't… cough… please…"

"Begging?" Connors sneered. "Pointless. You die tonight."

"Oh my god. Did I just hear you want him dead?"

A grappling hook shot in from the window as a dark figure swung in, using the hook's momentum to land on the windowsill.

"Sorry, he's mine. You're not killing him."

Black Cat, wearing her iconic mask, winked at Xia Luo. "No need to thank me too much."

Xia Luo: "…"

Villains saving Spider-Man.

This world had officially gone insane.

---

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