Charlie halted in his tracks. "Lizard Parker?"
One of the Peter Parkers was a familiar face, but who could the other Peter Parker be?
"It's me."
Lizard Parker cracked his knuckles, his bones popping loudly as his eyes gleamed with cold menace.
"I gave you a chance, but you didn't appreciate the opportunity to revive. You're worthless. I never should have trusted you with Gwen. Now, die!"
Lizard Parker roared with fury, leaping toward Charlie with a violent gust of sand, his ferocity terrifying.
In this universe, without Gwen Stacy, Lizard Parker had become completely unhinged.
As the monster attacked, Charlie knew he wasn't strong enough to face him head-on. He had no intention of fighting directly.
"Swish!"
Charlie fired webbing from both hands, covering Lizard Parker's eyes. As the Lizard lost his target for a brief moment, Charlie dodged the monster's attack, sidestepped, and leaped onto Lizard Parker's back, using the momentum to spring into the air.
"Swish~"
He shot webbing toward a lookout tower in the valley, soaring through the air and landing gracefully on the platform. With a swift kick, he knocked the guard off the edge.
"Open fire! Open fire!"
On the ground, the armed men received their orders and immediately unleashed a barrage of bullets at Charlie's darting figure.
"Rat-a-tat-tat~~"
The intense machine-gun fire tracked the red-and-blue blur that was Charlie. Occasionally, a bullet would hit him, chipping off fragments of his nano-metal suit. It was clear that the suit could only withstand small-caliber bullets.
Bullets lodged into his flesh, and blood began seeping through his suit. Charlie's movements grew slower.
"Boom!!"
Suddenly, the Green Goblin swooped down on his glider, launching his custom-made pumpkin bombs.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~~"
Sharp, glowing projectiles flew through the air. The pressure on Charlie increased dramatically, and before he could react, the Green Goblin slammed him into a wooden shed on the ground.
"Boom~~"
"Crack~"
Amidst the dust and debris, the Green Goblin stood over Charlie, his wrist blade extended.
"Ha ha ha, good kid! We meet again so soon. What a pleasant surprise!"
Hearing the Goblin's words, Charlie momentarily forgot the pain wracking his body. His expression froze.
"This tone... is..."
Before he could finish his thought, a sharp gleam flashed, and Charlie lost consciousness.
[You have been eliminated. You did not earn a resurrection token. Reward: Strength +0.2 tons.]
[Remaining restart opportunities: 12. Would you like to restart?]
Back on the cosmic web, Charlie regained consciousness and frowned.
He was almost certain now that the Green Goblin he had encountered in this resurrection game was none other than Norman Osborn, the same Norman who had died in front of him two days earlier.
Norman had regained some clarity before dying, but after entering the resurrection game, his darker, second personality had completely taken over. Even if Harry were present, Norman wouldn't hesitate to strike.
Both Lizard Parker and Green Goblin were formidable opponents for Charlie. And there was still another Peter Parker who hadn't shown up yet.
Whoever made it onto the "Villainous Team" was certainly no slouch.
Meanwhile, his two teammates—a Black Widow with no overt superpowers and an old, frail Captain America—didn't exactly inspire confidence.
The odds were stacked against them.
But with twelve restarts remaining, Charlie still had a chance.
His body had just passively gained another 0.2 tons of strength. Clenching his fists, Charlie nodded slightly.
Despite being eliminated, he had been rewarded with double the strength. Every bit helped, no matter how small.
Looking at the message before him, he reached out and clicked "Restart."
The void swallowed Charlie once more.
[You have re-entered the resurrection game!]
Standing under the blistering sun in the desert, Charlie glanced at his two companions.
"Natasha?"
"Steve?"
Seeing the two begin to catch up on old times, Charlie didn't interrupt. He kept his focus on the valley ahead, waiting for the mission to begin.
If his guess was correct, the other team had likely started in the valley, giving them access to the Ten Rings' missile weapons at the start of the mission.
For supervillains, making the leader of the Ten Rings follow orders would have been a breeze.
From the outset, the other team held every advantage: superior strength, a favorable environment, and control of the Ten Rings' resources.
With their spies in the Ten Rings, they could easily locate Charlie and his team.
Charlie's first objective was to prevent Black Widow and Captain America from being blown up by missiles.
Having two teammates alive increased their slim chances of victory.
There was no way Charlie could take on three supervillains alone.
His mind raced, and he spotted some desert jeeps parked outside the valley, formulating a plan.
They were about 500 meters from the valley. It should work.
"Beep~"
The mission began.
Before Steve and Natasha could continue their conversation, Charlie jumped back, firing webs from both hands to ensnare them and cut their reunion short.
"What are you doing?"
Both of them were startled.
"Taking you for a ride! Let's go!"
With that, Charlie's arm muscles tightened, and in a flash, he spun them both into the air.
Twelve tons of force erupted, sending sand flying as Steve and Natasha were launched into the sky like they were on a theme park ride.
"Boom~"
The wind howled as it filled their mouths and noses. Steve was the first to be thrown several hundred meters.
"Shit~"
Cursing under his breath, old man Steve didn't know what was happening, but with his battle-hardened reflexes, he curled into his shield, skidding across the sand for another hundred meters when he landed.
Once he came to a stop, he looked up just in time to see Natasha flying through the air toward him.
She was still tethered by Charlie's web, with the red-and-blue figure soaring behind her.
"Natasha! Charlie!"
Steve yelled just as Charlie yanked on the web, pulling Natasha into his arms.
"Thud~"
The two of them tumbled down a sand dune, just as an earth-shattering explosion erupted. A terrifying blast wave of heat and sand engulfed the three of them.
Up in the sky, Norman, gliding on his board, was caught off guard.
"Strange, how did he anticipate my plan?"
At the mouth of the valley, Lizard Parker ignored the storm of sand as he lunged forward. He was growing impatient.
"Charlie Parker! Where are you, you worthless coward?"
As Lizard Parker closed in, the three of them crouched behind a dune buggy, watching him approach.
"Charlie... no, Parker, how did you know they would use bombs?" Steve asked, still shaken.
The near-death experience had erased any thoughts of small talk.
Charlie kept his eyes on Lizard Parker's movements. Without turning, he said, "Spider-Man has spider-sense. Didn't you know?"
Steve and Natasha exchanged glances.
"Does Peter have that?" Natasha asked, confused.
Steve thought for a moment. "I heard he developed it after Mysterio beat him up."
"Okay, what do we do about this big guy?" Natasha asked, watching Lizard Parker get closer and closer.
Charlie shook his head. "We can't fight him directly. There are two more dangerous guys in the valley. We're outmatched. We've got a full day until the mission ends. We need to hide and come up with a plan."
"I know a place."
Old Steve suddenly recalled something and pointed toward the far end of the valley.
"Tony told me about it once. After escaping, he upgraded his suit and came back for revenge. But he never found the Ten Rings. While searching the area, he discovered an old, abandoned bunker. We can hide there."