Restart, Spider-Man! [18]

As soon as Old Steve finished speaking, Xia Luo made his decision.

"Alright, let's go with that plan. You two take the car and find the bunker. I'll keep him busy."

Natasha furrowed her brow. "Driving straight there might be too obvious. They'll easily track us."

"Trust me, don't worry about anything else. The faster you find it, the better. I have a plan," Xia Luo replied confidently.

He knew he couldn't hold Lizard Parker off for too long. Finding the bunker quickly was key to setting up the next restart.

Seeing Xia Luo's determined expression, Old Steve decided to trust him.

He hadn't led a team in years, and ever since entering the revival tournament, his mind felt blank, making it hard for him to offer any meaningful suggestions.

Natasha wasn't much better in this area but still voiced her concern. "Little Spider, you seem to have a lot of experience with this revival tournament."

Xia Luo nodded. "Yeah, I've been through one before. And with that guy." He pointed at Lizard Parker. "I won last time."

"And then you died again?" Steve's expression was curious.

Xia Luo shrugged with a smile. "As you can see, I'm a bit of a risk-taker as Spider-Man. If you run into a green goblin later, don't doubt it. He knows me too."

Steve: "..."

Natasha: "..."

"Alright, Little Spider, you seem to be even better at getting into trouble than the Peter I know," Steve said with a wry smile just as Lizard Parker sniffed the air, finally detecting life in the dry environment.

"Found you!" Lizard Parker sneered, launching himself at the Jeep with incredible speed.

In an instant, a vibranium shield shot through the air, bouncing repeatedly off Lizard Parker's face.

Thud, thud, thud!

With a series of dull thuds, Lizard Parker crashed to the ground, stunned.

"What the hell was that?" he snarled, clutching his bleeding nose.

Old Steve caught his returning shield with a deep breath. "Still got it. Thanks, old friend," he muttered.

"I saw you sneak a breath in there," Natasha teased as she started the Jeep.

"Show some respect for the elderly," Steve retorted with an awkward chuckle as he quickly climbed into the passenger seat, tossing the shield to Xia Luo.

"Here, Little Spider. Use this. I already showed you how."

"Thanks, Grandpa Cap."

"Hey, I feel like you're insulting me…"

Steve chuckled as he pointed in a direction, and Natasha hit the gas, speeding away.

Xia Luo weighed the shield in his hand. "This feels way better than the one I 'borrowed' last time."

"You worthless scum, you finally showed yourself."

Lizard Parker spat out blood, eyes blazing with fury as he charged at Xia Luo, his claws cutting through the air with a deadly whistle, radiating an icy glow.

Seeing this, Xia Luo dug his right foot deep into the sand and spun with all his strength, hurling the shield forward.

Whoosh!

In the movies, Steve Rogers' strength was around five tons. Xia Luo was much stronger, and the shield whistled through the air with a deafening roar, clearly packing more power.

But this time, Lizard Parker was prepared. He swatted the incoming shield aside and continued his charge toward Xia Luo.

"Die!!"

Lizard Parker's eyes blazed with murderous intent, but the next second, the ricocheting shield slammed into his head.

Thud!

Boom!

With a powerful strike, Lizard Parker staggered and fell to the ground.

"Impossible!!" he roared, clutching his head as a large bump formed.

Xia Luo fired a web from his wrist, pulling the shield back to his hand before flinging it again. The shield whizzed through the air with a deafening roar, just like when Steve used it himself.

"Ah! Damn it, I'll tear you apart!!"

Enraged, Lizard Parker kept lunging at Xia Luo, only to be knocked back again and again by the shield. His brute-force approach allowed Xia Luo to take full advantage of the situation.

This shield was proving to be more useful than he'd imagined.

Soon, Lizard Parker was on his knees, covered in cuts and bruises, unable to withstand the sharp edge of the shield any longer.

"Dammit, how long are you going to stand there watching?!"

Suddenly, Lizard Parker looked up, roaring at the Green Goblin hovering above.

"Aren't you going to help me?!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, poor little lizard man, you really are an idiot. You've exposed my position, making it hard for me to pull off a sneak attack," Norman Osborn sneered, zooming down from the sky on his glider, tossing pumpkin bombs as he passed overhead.

"Dammit!"

Cursing at Norman for his reckless disregard for their safety, Lizard Parker leaped toward him, while Xia Luo, copying Steve's move, curled behind the shield.

Boom, boom, boom!

A series of explosions ravaged the sand dunes, sending waves of sand and debris flying in all directions, swallowing the entire area.

After a while, with the sandstorm swirling around him, Norman hovered in the air, scanning the area for Xia Luo's body.

"Strange… Where is he? That shield shouldn't have been enough to protect him," he muttered, descending and circling low as he searched for Xia Luo.

Elsewhere, Lizard Parker's head emerged from the sand.

"Norman Osborn, I'll kill you!"

Enraged, Lizard Parker sprang from the ground, lunging at Norman, who laughed as he tossed more pumpkin bombs.

"Hahaha, little lizard, just because we have the same skin color doesn't mean I'll go easy on you."

"Same here! I'll tear you apart!"

Boom!

Another explosion rang out as Lizard Parker darted through the blast, leaping onto Norman's glider and knocking him off.

Meanwhile, beneath the sand, Xia Luo peeked out from behind the shield, watching the battle unfold. He couldn't help but smile.

These two maniacs, fighting among themselves before the mission was even over. The "Ruthless and Cruel" team really didn't care who they hurt—not even their own teammates.

This could be useful.

While the fight between Norman and Lizard Parker grew more intense, Xia Luo crawled away, slipping behind a dune and heading in the direction Steve and Natasha had gone.

Steve's shield had absorbed most of the explosion's impact, and Xia Luo couldn't help but covet vibranium even more.

If he had a vibranium Spider-suit, he wouldn't have to be so cautious in this revival tournament.

With that kind of gear, he could take on everyone by himself.

As he ran along the trail left by the Jeep, thoughts swirling in his head, the wind picked up, sending sand flying everywhere.

Whoosh!

Before long, the trail was completely buried by the sandstorm.

At the same time, Xia Luo's unreliable spider-sense suddenly kicked in, flashing a warning.

"Hm?"

He stopped in his tracks, eyes scanning the jagged rocks outside the valley.

Behind him, the sound of something wet and slimy slithering sent chills down his spine as a dangerous presence loomed closer.

Slowly, Xia Luo turned around, and what he saw made his blood run cold.

Standing before him was a figure with spider-like features, its eyes shaped like downward triangles. Blood vessels crisscrossed its sickly white eyes, and its mouth stretched open, revealing razor-sharp fangs dripping with saliva. A long, snake-like tongue flicked out, dripping venom.

Encased in an ink-black spider suit, the figure's muscular form radiated an ominous and terrifying aura.

Venom Spider-Man!

This was Peter Parker, now possessed by the symbiote Venom. But he seemed far more dangerous than the Spider-Man turned villain Xia Luo had ever imagined.

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If you spot any mistakes let me know so I can fix them.

Read up to Chapter 51! [P@treon.com/WiseTL]