The temperature in the valley dropped as night fell, and the bright moon slowly disappeared behind thick clouds.
Inside the Ten Rings camp, armed guards remained on constant alert.
Behind the ammunition depot, however, the ground silently caved in, revealing a perfectly round tunnel entrance.
By now, Charlie Parker was practically an expert at digging tunnels.
The entire process went unnoticed.
“Little Spider, how’s it looking?” Steve whispered from inside the tunnel.
Charlie gave the two people below an OK sign.
“All clear.”
He climbed out first before helping Natasha and Steve up.
The three of them lay flat behind the ammo depot, quietly observing the armed patrols moving through the camp.
“We’ll need two sets of their uniforms,” Steve said.
Charlie watched the passing guards.
“No rush.
Leave it to me.”
The moment he finished speaking, two strands of web shot out and latched onto the last two soldiers in the patrol.
“Urgh!”
The men were yanked backward with brutal force.
Their fingers instinctively squeezed the triggers.
Rat-tat-tat!
Gunfire erupted into the night sky.
The once-silent valley instantly exploded into chaos.
“Enemy attack!”
Charlie: “…”
Seeing the resentful looks from Steve and Natasha, he grinned awkwardly.
“My bad.
First time doing this.
Let’s try again.”
[You have been eliminated.
Revival unavailable.
Reward: +0.2 tons Strength.]
[Remaining Restarts: 7.
Restart?]
Seventh Revival Round.
Behind the ammunition depot, Charlie cautiously peeked over the edge, carefully watching another Ten Rings patrol.
Now!
Web!
Disarm!
Silence!
Capture!
Everything flowed together perfectly.
Unfortunately…
He still wasn’t fast enough.
“Enemy attack!”
The camp descended into chaos once more.
Charlie’s face darkened.
Eighth Revival Round.
This time, Charlie didn’t act recklessly.
He had finally realized…
Stealth missions simply weren’t his thing.
Frontline superheroes weren’t built for sneaking around.
“Hey, hurry and put these on.”
Moving quietly through the darkness, elderly Steve approached with two stolen uniforms.
He handed one over, only to notice Charlie’s strange expression.
“Little Spider, you feeling okay?”
Natasha guessed immediately.
“He probably fired too much webbing.
Exhaustion.”
Charlie: “…”
He glanced at the uniforms in Steve’s hands.
“How did you pull that off?”
Steve smiled bitterly.
“I’m getting old.
Took longer than it should’ve.
Sorry.”
Charlie twitched the corner of his mouth.
“It’s fine.
I forgive you.”
The two quickly changed into the stolen uniforms before smearing camouflage paint across their faces.
“All right, Ms.
Stacy.”
Charlie grabbed Natasha by the arm like a prisoner.
“You’ll be coming with us.”
With that, the trio casually walked out from behind the ammunition depot, Steve following closely behind.
“Stop!”
A nearby patrol immediately blocked their path.
“Who are you?
I’ve never seen any of you before.”
Before Steve could answer, Charlie calmly stepped forward.
He leaned close to the patrol captain’s ear and whispered a single sentence.
The captain’s expression instantly changed.
Without another word, he stepped aside.
“Let’s go.”
Charlie waved casually.
Steve immediately escorted Natasha forward.
“What did you tell him?” Steve asked curiously.
Charlie answered with a blank expression.
“All hail the Four-Legged Lizard.”
Steve: “????”
…Wait.
That line sounded strangely familiar.
Natasha lowered her head, struggling not to laugh.
“Captain Steve…
you’ve done something like this before.”
Remembering the past, Steve couldn’t help chuckling.
“That’s true.”
“Sometimes words are more effective than violence.”
“From their point of view, the Lizard is probably the most terrifying monster imaginable.
If we pretend to work for him, even if they’re suspicious, they won’t dare interfere.”
“Exactly.”
Charlie nodded.
“Next time, react a little faster.”
“Got it.”
Soon, the three arrived at the cave entrance.
As expected, the guards stopped them.
Before Charlie could speak, Steve stepped forward first.
“All hail the Four-Legged Lizard!”
Charlie: “…”
His reactions really had gotten faster.
The guards stared blankly.
“????”
Was…
that the new password?
Inside the cave…
Lizard Parker and Norman Osborn walked out of the prison chamber one after another.
“Now everything’s absolutely perfect.”
Norman burst into hysterical laughter before tossing the blood-soaked knife onto the ground.
The scales on Lizard Parker’s face twitched slightly.
He still hadn’t recovered from what he’d witnessed earlier.
“The Green Goblin…”
“HAHAHAHA!”
Norman spread his arms proudly.
“I like hearing people call me the terrifying Green Goblin.”
“Because I am terrifying!”
Lizard Parker silently pointed toward the shadowy corner.
“More terrifying than him?”
Norman turned around.
From the darkness came the occasional sound of someone noisily slurping…
His smile froze instantly.
“Damn it…”
“He’s actually scarier than I am.”
“No…”
“I have to become like him too…”
“…Blegh!”
Halfway through his declaration, Norman suddenly leaned against the wall and started vomiting.
He simply couldn’t imitate that level of “terrifying.”
That lunatic…
Liked eating people’s heads.
Lizard Parker instinctively took another step away from the corner where Venom Parker sat.
He had never seen such a savage Spider-Man before.
Thankfully…
That monster wasn’t on the enemy’s team.
Otherwise, he’d already have been eliminated again.
Thinking back to his previous defeat made him grit his teeth.
That despicable Spider-Man named Charlie Parker…
Actually used his feelings for Gwen against him.
What a shameless bastard.
Did sacred, genuine love mean absolutely nothing to him?
This time…
He would tear Charlie Parker to pieces.
He swore he’d never fall for the same trick again.
He wasn’t an idiot.
“ALL HAIL THE FOUR-LEGGED LIZARD!”
The sudden shout from outside instantly darkened Lizard Parker’s face.
“I hate people calling me a four-legged lizard.”
“If anyone adds ‘handsome’ to it…”
“I’ll rip them apart.”
He stormed toward the cave entrance.
“Damn you…
who the hell—”
His furious roar stopped halfway.
He froze.
His mouth slowly opened in disbelief.
Curled up on the ground before him was a fragile blonde woman.
The green ballet shoes on her feet instantly dragged countless memories back into his mind.
Through countless nights filled with Spider-Men…
Those green ballet shoes had never left her feet.
Steve’s voice finally pulled him back to reality.
“My lord.”
“We’ve brought you dinner.”
“Dinner?”
Lizard Parker looked at Steve without recognizing him.
The sandstorm outside the valley earlier that day had been too intense.
He’d never gotten a clear look at Steve or Natasha.
As for Charlie…
His head was lowered.
Lizard Parker wasn’t yet at the point where he could recognize Charlie even if he were reduced to ashes.
Then…
He suddenly thought about Venom Parker.
He swallowed nervously.
“I-I don’t eat people.”
He glanced uneasily toward the darkness behind him.
Apparently worried that the terrifying monster inside might still be hungry…
He quickly grabbed Natasha and led her away from the cave.
Steve and Charlie exchanged a glance before silently following behind.
Inside a crude wooden shack outside the cave…
Lizard Parker had completely lost his previous ferocity.
He gently draped a coat over Natasha’s shoulders.
Natasha truly lived up to her reputation as a master spy.
Looking terrified, she stared at him with trembling eyes.
Fear…
Weakness…
Yet a faint trace of stubborn determination remained hidden beneath them.
In an almost inaudible voice, she whispered,
“Gwen…”
“Gwen Taddei.”
Lizard Parker’s body shuddered violently.
A Gwen…
From another universe?
The thought immediately flashed through his mind.
(End of Chapter)