A cold, damp underground corridor, each pool of light illuminating a glass display case.
Inside each glass display case, there are various versions of Cindy.
A Green Goblin Cindy embedded in green exoskeletal armor.
A Doctor Octopus Cindy with four mechanical tentacles extending behind her.
A Rhino Cindy whose skin is dark gray and keratinous.
A Mysterio Cindy wearing a glass dome helmet and clad in a green robe.
A Chameleon Cindy whose body surface bears brightly colored lizard scales.
And a Lizard Cindy whose form has contorted into that of a lizard.
As he "walked" along, Charlie saw numerous versions of Cindy, also noticing Hydra emblems scattered everywhere.
So, Hydra is behind this.
He understood immediately.
Meanwhile, the Cindys passing before him, as if museum specimens, remained motionless in their display cases. They weren't just decorations.
Information flashing on the glass told Charlie:
They were all failed, defective experiments.
Hydra's technology needed improvement.
Passing through the corridor—
Cradled in Cindy's arms, Charlie caught sight of a massive gene experimentation factory.
Inside, all sorts of inhumane human experiments were going on.
Charlie couldn't bear to look.
He seemed to get a bit dizzy at the sight of blood.
Before long, passing through the factory, Charlie was brought deeper underground, into a fortress with a medieval European style.
There, multiple Cindys watched Charlie in icy silence, not speaking a single word along the way.
At the far end of the fortress was a room draped in green gauze curtains.
"Madam, we have successfully captured Spider-Man. The mission is complete."
With no expression, Cindy tossed Charlie onto the floor, bowed toward the vague figure behind the curtain.
Behind the curtain, a figure lay on her side, and it looked as though two giant pythons were entwined in combat.
At a glance, Charlie spotted the graceful figure behind the gauzy veil, and he couldn't help admiring it inwardly.
Those legs are so long—what a shame if she doesn't do track and field.
And in a Hydra base, the so-called "Madam" must be that person.
Viper—real name Ophelia Sarkissian, also called Madam Hydra—she's a core leader in Hydra.
From her name alone, you can guess she's skilled in poisons.
But clearly, to be able to develop gene toxins against Spider-Man, this Ophelia before his eyes wasn't so simple.
Charlie's mind raced, and from behind the gauze came a languid voice.
"Mm, very good. Have you found that traitor yet?" Viper asked from behind the curtain.
Cindy kept her head low. "Not yet."
"Keep looking."
Viper slowly sat up in bed, stretching lazily.
"She killed my most perfect test subject. You know what to do."
"Of course."
Cindy still kept her head down.
After Viper waved her hand slightly, Cindy turned and left, leaving Charlie in the room.
"Whew~"
Suddenly, the gauzy curtain rippled despite the still air, and the Madam in a green, sheer robe rose and approached Charlie.
Aside from a thin layer of gauze, she wore no other clothing.
In Charlie's eyes, that swaying silhouette looked hazy.
It was all mosaic.
"Whew~"
At that moment, a chill-laced breeze whipped through the gauze.
Viper leaned down to examine the Spider-Man in front of her.
She extended her slender fingers, casually brushing over Charlie's nano-suit.
"Very nice technology."
Viper's voice was soft, giving no sign of anger or delight.
Her fingers slid slowly to Charlie's chest.
At a light tap on the spider emblem, the nano-suit instantly contracted.
"Hmm? Such a young Spider-Man!"
Viper's lips curved slightly, and she leaned toward Charlie's ear, taking a deep breath.
"Your scent is completely different from those test subjects."
She parted her lips; a crimson serpent's tongue flicked across Charlie's cheek.
"You must be delicious."
Viper narrowed her eyes in pleasure.
Charlie, on the other hand, stared at her without moving an eyelid.
Viper before him had slightly wavy green hair, pale skin, eyes glinting with a strange greenish glow. Her features were more delicate than any woman he'd seen.
Combined with her irresistibly seductive, fiery red lips—like a perfectly ripened apple—she truly resembled a noblewoman from medieval Europe.
Which meant, she was definitely loaded.
But it seemed she wanted to devour Spider-Man.
Yet, surprisingly, "delicious" here didn't match the scenario Charlie had envisioned.
"I lost the perfect test subject, but I've gained an even more perfect Spider-Man from another universe. Today's my lucky day!"
Viper chuckled lightly. Her snake tongue could easily extract Charlie's genetic info.
"Someone come."
She looked to the doorway. "Tell Steve to come see me. He'll surely want to meet his old friend again, and I want to thank him properly for sharing so many secrets."
"Yes."
Hearing the order, Cindy outside hurried away.
Inside the room, Viper studied Charlie.
Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she said with a half-smile, "I know you're still conscious. Your eyes gave you away."
At those words, Charlie rolled his eyes.
He couldn't speak, so all he could do was convey his exasperation through his gaze.
The test subject she'd mentioned was presumably a Spider-Man.
From what Viper hinted, he suspected that Gwen-Spider in this world was also a test subject created by Hydra.
And there was more than one Spider-Man test subject.
For some special reason, Gwen "lost control."
But Madam Viper wasn't planning to kill Gwen immediately; apparently she was watching for something.
Because of the "traitor," Gwen had been killed ahead of time. Meanwhile, Charlie's appearance replaced Gwen's importance to Viper.
When he thought about it carefully, the Cindy with self-awareness might be that traitor.
That was the only explanation.
Viper wasted no words.
She picked Charlie up in one move, turned around, and placed him on a soft bed.
"I must say, your genes are strong. You can resist my gene toxin—far more perfect than the Spider-Men I've created. But that's still not enough.
If our genes could blend, we might create the ultimate Spider-Man with no flaws—a truly perfect super-being."
Talking to herself, Viper pulled the gauze curtains around them, while Charlie's eyes went wide.
What's she about to do?
Could she be—
Wait, if she has a gene factory, why resort to this primitive approach?
She's not just lusting after my good looks, is she?
Oh no, oh no—she's coming closer.
No—what are you doing? Stop flicking your snake tongue!
I'm scared.
Damn it, this body has no sense of touch—why is it cooperating so much?
This is too sudden. I'm not ready for this.
Wait, at least cure me of the toxin first!!
I have no sense of touch!!
——
[You have been eliminated, unable to obtain a resurrection slot, reward: +1% Spider mutation gene toxin resistance.]
[19 restarts remain. Restart?]
Inside the Cosmic Spider Web, when Charlie awoke, he was still in a daze.
"That's it?"
He shook his head helplessly. "Damn, there was no real feeling at all—it was like watching a movie, not the slightest actual experience."
Most importantly, he had no idea how he died this time.
Logically, his body had already withstood the first wave of the gene toxin. He shouldn't have been in mortal danger anymore.
Could it be...?
That thing must be poisonous!
Charlie was sure he'd been poisoned to death.
He couldn't think of any other possibility.
But no matter—that just means he'll keep going a few more times, and he should eventually get his sense of touch—cough—he'll get more toxin resistance, then he can land a killing blow and perfectly win the Resurrection Match.
As soon as he can withstand the gene toxin, Charlie's power alone will be enough to instantly kill Viper.
Kill Viper, and the world crisis will be solved.
Actually, maybe he doesn't even need that much toxin resistance.
After all, he has teammates.
Having made up his mind, Charlie lifted his hand to press continue—cough—pressed "restart."
The twelfth Resurrection Match.
At the end of the countdown, thanks to Charlie's precise "forecast," he assembled Old Steve and the rest, heading straight to the vicinity of Osborn Castle.
This time, he specially reminded Old Steve to summon Mjolnir.
"Look, it's Steve."
In the darkness, Carter pointed to Hydra Steve and Bucky, who were entering the castle, and frowned.
"They move quickly."
Old Steve nodded. "I suspect all Hydra networks in parallel universes are about the same, so he can find this place so fast."
Lizard Parker looked baffled. "Is that your younger self?" he asked Old Steve.
He hadn't taken part in the previous Resurrection Match, so he didn't know this "new pal."
Old Steve explained, "He's another me from another universe."
Gwen was confused. "If you're the same person, why would he join the Destroyer Squad?"
Old Steve shook his head. "You don't get it. He's an evil me—and like the previous Peter, he hates Spidey.
He found Hydra in this world and must be borrowing their power against us."
Charlie gave a small smile. "It seems the last failure made him realize how important connections are."
Carter's expression darkened. "You look proud—like this was all your advice to him."
"Sure. I look forward to the surprise he has for me."
Charlie didn't mind. "Not everyone can learn that trick."
He'd figured things out by now.
Because Hydra Steve leaked information, Madam Viper learned about Charlie and the others.
Not fully confident, she chose to watch for a while, letting Kingpin test their strength.
Never expected Kingpin and company would die in the attempt, which made Viper even more cautious.
But Cindy's betrayal also taught Viper that no matter which Spider-Man from any universe, they can't escape her gene toxin.
Charlie, in his subsequent restarts, deliberately exposed this info.
Basically, he courted death.
But if he hadn't, he'd have had no chance to uncover it all.
"Stop rambling and tell us what to do already. I can't wait to save the world!" Lizard Parker prompted excitedly.
Charlie looked toward the castle. "I bet they've already sensed me and Gwen. They have a special radar for Spider-Men."
"So what do we do?" Carter asked.
Charlie grinned. "Simple. I'll give you all a map. As soon as you reach the designated spots and kill the people inside, this should all be over."
"A map?" Gwen froze. "How do you have a map of the place?"
Without waiting for Charlie to explain, Old Steve spoke up first.
"Haha, what's a map? Spidey's superpowers can sense—"
"Shut your mouth!" Charlie snapped, scowling and clamping a hand over the old man's mouth.
But he only had two hands.
"He can sense poop." Lizard Parker jeered.
Charlie: "..."
He hadn't seen that coming.
Gwen was astonished.
"Ahem, we should get moving," Carter reminded them.
"Yes, the sooner we finish, the sooner we're done."
Charlie warned, "Among them, there'll be enemies disguised as our own allies. Remember your code word—don't be fooled."
Felicia nodded. "Got it."
"What's the code word?" Charlie asked.
"Got it," Felicia replied.
Charlie smiled in approval. "Great."
Gwen blinked. "Wait, so what exactly is the code word?"
Carter answered, "Got it."
Gwen: "..."
That sure fit this bunch's style.
"All right, move out!"
At Charlie's command, Old Steve took the lead.
"Boom!!"
Lightning flared, and Old Steve streaked like a thunderbolt into the castle.
Carter and the others followed close behind, and chaos broke out within the fortress.
Charlie merely watched from outside, observing the castle.
Armed with a map, Old Steve's team wouldn't be fumbling around like last time; soon, they fought their way toward the underground base entrance.
Before long, a battered Old Steve was blasted out of the castle by an explosion.
"Help me..."
With Old Steve crying out for help, Charlie wore a strange look.
"This move again?"
He signaled to the little spider perched on his head, which then fired magic webs. Their successive bursts instantly swallowed the Chameleon Cindy.
"This round should be secure,"
Charlie grinned.
Half an hour later, Charlie's grin turned awkward.
"This round is tanking again."
Under his gaze, Hydra Steve strode out of the castle, blood-red tendrils coiling around the corpses of Carter and the others behind him.
Clearly, Old Steve had been defeated.
"Hahaha, Charlie Parker! I win this time!!" Hydra Steve laughed triumphantly.
At the sight of Lizard Parker's body, Gwen turned pale.
"How could this be... they..."
Charlie merely frowned.
He seemed to have overlooked something.
With a map of the underground base, it shouldn't be that difficult for Old Steve—wielding Mjolnir—to break into Madam Viper's chambers.
After all, not even Thanos could easily defeat Old Steve with Mjolnir.
Could it be that Madam Viper had some other trump card?
If so, even if Charlie built up enough toxin resistance, he still might not be able to kill her.
Plus, thinking hard, he still didn't understand exactly what world crisis Madam Viper would bring.
Getting perfect Spider-Man genes to conquer the world?
No, even if Viper could copy another Charlie immune to the gene toxin, that wouldn't necessarily let her rule the world.
She'd still be a long way off.
Creating a Spider-Man army?
That sounds more plausible, but it still doesn't necessarily destroy the world.
As the "Cindy Legion" poured out of the castle, Charlie was already plotting his plan for next time.
——
The thirteenth restart.
At the very second the countdown ended, Charlie dashed straight to Osborn Castle.
Moments before Hydra Steve could arrive, he chose to walk right into their hands.
To the Spider-Man who delivered himself to their door, Madam Viper once again opened up to him.
But Hydra Steve's sudden request for help disrupted her plans.
"Madam, Steve Rogers wants to see you," Cindy came to report.
"Steve?"
Just as she pulled the curtains shut, Madam Viper's eyes gleamed with interest. Her red lips curved upward.
"A man I once killed is resurrected again? Interesting. Let him in."
"Yes."