Ch.21 Nightmare Difficulty? No, It's Hell Difficulty!

Charlie quickly walked past Lizard Parker, shooting a web to retrieve the fallen shield into his hand.

"What kind of villains come one at a time?" he muttered, patting Lizard Parker on the shoulder. "Next time, remember to wear iron underwear." He raised the shield to block incoming bullets as he charged into the cave.

Lizard Parker, eyes bloodshot and drenched in sweat, slammed his fists into the ground in frustration. He tried to stand but the pain from his injury was unbearable, preventing him from stopping Charlie.

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

Amidst the angry roar, Charlie threw his shield as he rushed into the cave, knocking out a group of armed Ten Rings members.

With a swift motion, he grabbed one of the men by the throat. "Take me to Tony."

The man's eyes bulged in terror, his face turning red as he tried to pull Charlie's hand away, but couldn't speak.

Seeing this, Charlie admired his resolve. "Gotta give it to the Ten Rings; even their random goons have an admirable fearlessness." With that, he casually tossed the man aside, then used his web to yank up a rifle and point it at the group.

"Anyone else want to tell me where he is?"

"There, that way," they all pointed in the same direction in a panic.

"Thanks," Charlie said, dropping the rifle and turning, only to find the passage ahead blocked by thick, black webbing.

The dark liquid webbing spread quickly across the rough stone walls, and a pair of eerie white eyes began expanding out of the darkness.

"Wow, cool entrance," Charlie said in awe, then dropped the shield.

"Hey, we're all Spider-Men here. How about you cut me some slack, buddy?"

"Buddy... delicious!!"

——

[You have been eliminated. No revival slot earned. Strength +0.2 tons awarded.]

[9 remaining restart opportunities. Restart?]

On his fifth resurrection, Charlie returned to the bunker.

"I can't do this anymore. Help me with my back," groaned old Steve, leaning against the wall.

Ignoring him, Charlie looked up at the ceiling and calculated the distance.

"Should we dig here?" Steve asked.

Charlie shook his head. "No, that's a cesspit above."

"How do you know?" Steve asked, surprised.

"Don't ask. Just trust me—it's my superpower."

"Your superpower can sense poop?" Steve looked at him in disbelief.

Charlie: "..."

Ignoring the old man's teasing, Charlie closed his eyes, mentally mapping out the bunker's layout compared to the Ten Rings camp.

Twenty meters ahead was the ammo depot. Ninety meters to the right was the cave. But the bunker's passage didn't lead directly there—they would need to dig.

The cave's route was unknown, and the ground was solid rock. Digging through would take a lot of energy and time.

Digging like a mole wasn't easy.

With only 18 hours left, Charlie needed to find Tony's exact location first to have a chance of saving him.

With the shield in hand, Lizard Parker and Norman weren't much of a threat to him.

And while Venom was powerful, it had a glaring weakness.

Soundwaves and extreme heat!

Venom Parker hadn't shown up right after the ammo depot exploded, probably because of this weakness.

With a plan in mind, Charlie hooked a gasoline canister onto his belt and started digging.

Once again, the ammo depot.

"What's that?"

"We're under attack!"

Rat-tat-tat~

Bullets flew, and the ammo depot exploded, sending the area into chaos.

"Ha-ha-ha, Charlie," Norman laughed as he flew out of the cave, but Charlie didn't even glance at him as he threw the shield, hitting Norman's glider squarely.

"What?"

Green Goblin gasped as his glider crashed into the fire below.

"No challenge at all," Charlie said, pulling the shield back with his web. The familiar roar of anger came right after.

"Charlie Parker!!"

Lizard Parker followed, pouncing toward him. Before he could land, the shield skidded across the ground, sparks flying as it reached under him.

Thwack!

"Oh no!!"

As Charlie walked past the groaning Lizard Parker, he couldn't help but offer some advice. "I told you to wear iron underwear."

"What?"

Watching Charlie walk away, Lizard Parker gritted his teeth. "When did he ever warn me?"

Inside the cave, Charlie knocked out the remaining armed guards with a sweep of his shield.

Facing the inky black web blocking the passage, Charlie's expression remained calm as he hurled a gasoline canister at Venom Parker.

Boom~

The shield struck the stone wall, sending sparks flying, igniting a roaring fire in the cave.

Shriek!!

The flames spread quickly across the black webbing, and the dark liquid writhed and twisted in the fire, emitting ear-piercing screams that made Charlie's eardrums ache.

Seeing this, Charlie's confidence soared.

It was working!

But soon, the black liquid began spreading even in the flames, making the fire dim as it consumed the light.

"What?" Charlie was shocked. This thing was almost overcoming its natural weakness.

Without hesitation, he charged through the tunnel, rapidly hitting the metal pipes to create a sharp, clanging noise.

Clang, clang, clang~

Shriek~

The black liquid twisted again under the soundwave assault. Taking advantage, Charlie slipped past the webbing and dove deeper into the dark cave.

At the end of the cave, he finally found a room sealed with an iron door.

Boom~

He used the shield to smash the lock, kicking open the door. Inside, he immediately saw a battered figure tied to an iron frame.

Tony Stark!

Charlie recognized him at a glance.

Tony was unconscious, his face covered in blood. The light in the arc reactor on his chest was dim, and his body was covered in severe injuries. His arms and legs were twisted unnaturally, clearly broken in multiple places.

Strapped to his feet was a bomb, the red countdown matching the time left for the mission.

Seeing this, Charlie's expression darkened.

To make the rescue even harder, those three maniacs had gone completely overboard.

At that moment, a frail bald man walked up to Tony with a cup of water, his face emotionless as he tried to get Tony to drink.

"You've come to save Tony. I know you're not with those guys," the man said.

Charlie's nanotech mask retracted as he nodded. "You're Dr. Yinsen?"

Yinsen blinked in surprise. "You know me?"

"Of course."

Without Dr. Yinsen, Tony could never have transformed into Iron Man.

Charlie approached Tony's motionless body. "How is he?" he asked Yinsen.

Yinsen shook his head. "They kept me alive to take care of Tony, but only so he could last the full 24 hours. He's not doing well."

He gestured toward Tony's back. "Tony can't be saved. Neither can I. We're both going to die here."

Charlie looked closer and noticed the nails embedded in Tony's body.

"These things have barbs. Any movement will trigger them to sever his nerves and kill him instantly."

Yinsen's words made Charlie feel completely hopeless.

He thought the nightmare difficulty was already insane, but this? This was hell difficulty.

There was no way Tony could survive.