Four Arms’ Unlock Condition Activated!
4: Chapter 4: The Dreaded Wildvine!
Four Arms’ Unlock Condition Activated!
What else could Owen Vance do?
Have some fun, of course.
As a transmigrator dealt a nightmare starting hand, Owen was not about to turn into a full-blown villain—he still could not bring himself to commit murder or arson.
Yet with the looming threat of getting obliterated by Dormammu at any moment, shouldn’t he find some amusement to pass his otherwise bleak and boring days?
And in this world, what could be more entertaining than getting up close and personal with a gorgeous superheroine?
Owen’s voice echoed alongside the whipping vines.
“Don’t worry, I’m not a good person…
wait, I mean I’m not a bad person.” Gwen twitched her lip, sneering inwardly.
*Freudian slip, huh?* Facing the incoming vines, Gwen resumed dodging and weaving.
With her agile movements and web-slinging, she managed to evade every single strike.
Beneath her mask, however, her knitted brow did not ease in the slightest; instead, it tightened further.
Only one question occupied Gwen’s mind: *How does he know my secret identity?!* The chilling implications branching off that single question sent a shiver deep into her bones.
Gwen fled ahead while the vines pursued.
Seizing an opening as she ran, she gritted her teeth and demanded, “How do you know who I am?” For Gwen, the only stroke of luck right now was the absence of bystanders.
The thick glass windows of the buildings also provided soundproofing, so even if anyone was watching, they could not hear a word.
Wildvine stretched and yawned, lazily repeating himself like a broken record.
“Like I said: those who know, know; those who don’t wouldn’t get it even if I told you.” Now Gwen was not just gritting her teeth—she was grinding them.
What in the world was this guy spouting?!
Was there a single shred of useful information in anything he said?!
Frustration clouded her face.
What did this plant-man who knew her identity actually want?
Suddenly, a glint sparked in Gwen’s eyes.
No, she had not figured out Owen’s motives—she had thought of a way to deal with Wildvine.
What were plants most afraid of?
Fire!
With a clear plan in mind, her actions grew decisive.
As she darted between the buildings, her gaze swept downward, scanning for anything related to fire.
Soon, an idea took shape.
She could grab a propane tank from one of the restaurants below and burn Wildvine.
Once that Asian youth dropped out of his mutant form, she would interrogate him thoroughly!
No sooner said than done, Gwen adjusted her trajectory.
She did not expect this to be very difficult.
Through their brief clash, she had deduced that Wildvine’s primary attack method relied on his own physical body.
For instance, after launching those vines, he had to retract them.
And as basic science dictated, the law of conservation of mass meant matter could neither be created nor destroyed.
Based on this, Gwen reasoned that no matter how Wildvine transformed, his attack range could not exceed the physical mass limit of his own body.
In plain terms, his body could only supply so much mass and energy, which could never support an infinite expansion.
With that realization, Gwen’s confidence soared.
*All I need to do is treat him like a monster with wide-area attacks.* Seeing Gwen shift from evasive maneuvers to a beeline toward a specific spot, Owen instantly guessed she was making a move.
And knowing Spider-Man’s typical style, it was not hard to deduce that she had come up with a countermeasure.
“Well, true, Wildvine is weak to fire.
But before that, let me demonstrate…” Accurately locking onto Gwen’s rapidly retreating back, Wildvine drew one arm back, gathering power.
“…a palm strike falling from the heavens!” *Whoosh!* Having charged up, he thrust his left hand forward.
The instant it extended, his arm and palm expanded exponentially!
The incoming assault triggered Gwen’s Spider-Sense.
Just as she registered the danger behind her, her peripheral vision caught sight of a vast expanse of emerald green!
The shocking spectacle forced her to look up.
And what Gwen saw made her breath catch.
The sky above was completely blotted out by a canopy of green wood and foliage…
Spanning hundreds of meters in every direction, it stretched as far as the eye could see!
In an instant, Gwen’s face drained of all color.
A horrifying realization took root.
Time seemed to grind to a halt; she could hear the heavy thudding of her own heartbeat.
Stiffly, millimeter by millimeter, she turned her head.
Her worst nightmare was confirmed.
The green canopy blotting out the sky belonged to Wildvine!
He remained standing right where he was, his extended arm merging directly into the sky-covering thicket.
At that moment, Gwen’s brain completely short-circuited!
If Wildvine firing explosive seeds defied botany, then this scene defied the very laws of physics!
How could someone with a relatively modest physique stretch a single arm hundreds of meters to blanket the entire sky?!
It made zero scientific sense!
Just what was this guy’s superpower?!!
In the brief moment Gwen froze, the sky-blanketing mass of wood snapped shut without warning.
Her Spider-Sense shrieked, but her body remained rigid in shock.
With effortless ease, the colossal wooden hand clamped around Gwen, reeling her back toward Wildvine.
Throughout the entire process, Gwen’s mind remained completely blank.
From start to finish, Wildvine had not taken a single step!
He had crushed her just by lifting a hand.
The sheer chasm in power, combined with the fact that he knew her identity, filled her with overwhelming helplessness.
She suddenly felt that she might actually die here…
Yet even facing death, Gwen wanted to ask: *What is your power?!* If there was one thing she knew for certain, it was that a mutant of Wildvine’s caliber was far beyond what she could handle right now.
Reeling Gwen in front of him, Wildvine raised an eyebrow, his tone somewhere between teasing and provocative.
“Weren’t you running pretty fast just now?” Gwen drew a deep breath, vigilance radiating from every pore.
“Can you tell me who you are?
And…
what do you want from me?!” At the same time, she struggled with all her might.
But the moment she wriggled open a sliver of space, the giant plant hand constricted even tighter.
“Me?” Several thick vines behind Wildvine began swaying again, snaking around Gwen like serpents catching the scent of prey.
Combined with Gwen being gripped tightly in Wildvine’s massive hand…
all in all, the scene gave off an unspeakably bizarre vibe.
Owen murmured to himself, “I just arrived here and know next to nothing about the place.
I need a servant to arrange a place to stay and cover my living expenses.” The word “servant” made Gwen curl her lip in distaste, but ignoring the rest, she zeroed in on the key phrase.
“New to New York?
Are you from out of state, or another country?” Wildvine rubbed his chin with his other hand.
“As for who I am…” Grinning at Gwen, Owen said, “You can call me Otto!” Gwen frowned.
“…Otto?” What kind of name was that?
“Yes, Otto.
Am I handsome or what?” Confronted with such a question while looking at that bizarre plant face, Gwen felt utterly repulsed.
But driven by her instinct to survive, she gritted her teeth and muttered with deep reluctance, “Yeah, you’re handsome, Otto.” His twisted sense of humor satisfied, Owen was just about to make his next move when the Omnitrix suddenly pulsed, flashing the silhouette of another alien hero in his mind!
*Huh?* Owen turned his head, scanning the surroundings.
What just happened…
did something trigger the condition to unlock Four Arms?!