Restart, Spider-Man! [95]

The Ferris wheel trembled, with shattered cabin pieces falling from above as Old Steve dodged them carefully atop the metal frame.

Meanwhile, a series of Loki's clones charged toward Venom Parker in the cabin.

"Get lost!"

Boom!!

A massive black fist formed from liquid struck, instantly dispersing the clones.

In the next moment, a green lizard climbed up the frame, with Xia Luo leaping from its back.

Hiss!!

Activating Venom mode, four black spider-spears extended from Xia Luo's back, guiding him as he zipped through the Ferris wheel's metal structure.

Swinging his staff, Xia Luo fired energy beams that exploded around Venom Parker.

Boom, boom, boom!!

Amid the explosions, black liquid splattered downward.

Seeing that Venom Parker was about to drop and escape, Old Steve activated all the nearby sonic devices once more.

Bzzzzz~

The area was quickly engulfed in sonic waves, causing Venom Parker's body to convulse as he fell from the metal frame.

Splat!

On the ground, a puddle of black sludge quickly reformed. The staff landed, embedding itself in the muck as a swarm of Loki's clones closed in.

"Got you."

Surrounded by the clones, Tuxedo Loki grabbed the staff, triggering his hypnotic spell.

Buzz~

A glow from the stone pulsed, and the black liquid abruptly ceased its movement.

"Success!" Tuxedo Loki breathed a sigh of relief.

Before this, Old Steve had described Venom Parker's terrifying abilities, which had made him apprehensive about the mission.

But now it seemed that Venom Parker's weakness was all too obvious, allowing Loki's hypnosis to succeed without much resistance.

"Watch out!"

Suddenly, Xia Luo shouted a warning. Just when they thought Venom Parker was hypnotized, he sprang back to life.

"What?" Loki gasped.

"Creee~ How interesting, this power…"

Splish!

The black liquid surged like a tidal wave, engulfing Loki in an instant, then spreading outwards as thick, black webs began to strangle everything in their path.

Seeing his teammates struggling in the black webbing, Xia Luo shook his head.

This mistake just handed Venom Parker the resurrection slot.

Restart!

[You have been eliminated. Resurrection not possible. Reward: Native Web Mode +1]

[15 retries remaining. Restart?]

Restart!

Fifth Resurrection Round.

Routine web check.

Black webs. Still useless. On to the next attempt.

Back to the amusement park battle.

Bzzzzz~

In the final moments, Tuxedo Loki tried using two successive hypnosis spells, but the black liquid continued to overwhelm everything.

"Still not working?"

Xia Luo frowned, realizing he might be missing something.

Then, sixth Resurrection Round!

Bzzzzz~

The staff glowed, and after a brief pause, the black liquid began to squirm and spread again.

"Still not working?"

Just as Xia Luo prepared to restart, the black liquid twisted and shaped itself into a giant heart.

"Wow, what a wonderful world this is! The air is so fresh, and everyone is so full of love!!"

Peter Parker, with a large heart over his head, stood up, behaving like a cute girl, his black liquid turning a bright pink with girly accessories.

"Venom Girl Abby, JJJ~"

Xia Luo: "..."

He glanced at Loki. "Is this magic of yours even serious?"

Tuxedo Loki looked utterly disgusted, turning away to gag. "Urgh—sorry, this was my first time trying this hypnosis spell. I aimed to make him believe he was a kind-hearted person, but clearly, I overdid it."

He hadn't expected this result from his first attempt.

"You didn't just overdo it. This is practically a magical miracle," Xia Luo muttered, his face twitching slightly.

The first failed hypnosis attempt had made him realize that symbiotes couldn't be hypnotized.

The second attempt involved indiscriminately hypnotizing both the symbiote and Peter Parker, but it also failed.

Loki's hypnosis caused Peter Parker to lose self-awareness, allowing the symbiote to control his body freely, unaffected by Loki's control.

For the third attempt, Xia Luo had Loki try a different type of hypnosis.

This spell didn't control the target's actions directly but instead made them adopt an entirely different personality.

He wanted Peter Parker to become an absolute beacon of kindness, without a single hint of darkness—a cheerful, sunny boy!

This guy was only corrupted by despair. Deep down, he was still a good person.

To his surprise, once the "good guy" buff was layered on, Peter's symbiote completely malfunctioned, turning him into a "benevolent" puppet.

Without a dark side, pure kindness became his sole defining trait.

Watching "Venom Girl" Peter Parker start to pester his teammates, Xia Luo quickly hid behind Old Steve.

"If he comes over, you take care of him."

"No, why me?"

"Seniority."

Old Steve: "..."

"Abby, JJJ~"

The next second, Peter Parker, pretending to be cute, bounded over and beamed at Steve. "Grandpa, let me give you a nice back rub!"

Old Steve's face twisted in horror as he backed away.

"No, don't touch me!"

"Ouch, my back!"

Listening to Old Steve's groans of misery, Xia Luo, hiding a safe distance away, patted his chest in relief.

"Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying."

Beside him, Tuxedo Loki looked as if he had discovered a new superpower.

"So this is Asgard's ultimate magic. I'll use this to become the greatest sorcerer in all Nine Realms!"

He raised his staff, brimming with ambition.

Xia Luo rolled his eyes. "Stop dreaming. Let's head to Stark Tower—Loki's bound to open a portal there."

Loki snapped back to reality, glancing between Xia Luo and Old Steve before giving a quiet nod.

"Alright, let's go now."

"Wait."

Xia Luo called out, continuing nonchalantly in a casual tone.

"There are three of us, but if we close the portal and prevent the Chitauri army from showing up, setting aside the task of defeating the Avengers, we'll only complete two objectives: defeating Loki and eliminating another contestant."

"What are you getting at?" Loki subtly tightened his grip on the staff, now on alert.

Xia Luo ignored the tension, going on, "I mean, there are only two resurrection slots. Not enough to share."

Buzz!

The instant he finished speaking, the staff lit up, but Xia Luo, prepared, sidestepped the attack, calmly watching the blade at the staff's tip swipe past his face.

"So when it's time to claim the rewards, you're really planning to ditch me," Loki spat.

Under his control, Norman and the other hypnotized contestants surrounded Xia Luo with blank stares.

"What's happening?" called Old Steve, still tangled up with Peter Parker.

"Nothing. You go ahead," Xia Luo replied with a wave.

Turning back to Loki, he said, "It wasn't my plan to leave you behind—you're the one who didn't trust us.

"Clearing things up now prevents unnecessary trouble later."

He didn't want to waste another restart because of Loki's mistrust.

As expected, Loki's eyes flickered at the remark.

"I don't distrust you."

"Of course you do."

"Alright, tell me how we can get a third resurrection slot, and then I'll fully trust you," Loki said.

Xia Luo didn't hold back.

He looked up at the night sky, a mysterious smile on his face.

"If the Chitauri army doesn't invade Earth, why can't we invade them?"

"What?"

Loki was stunned by the audacity of the idea.

---

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