Chapter 343

Three days earlier, while the Glory Project was in full swing within the Solar System, the Symbiote-Mutant team stationed at the edge of the Milky Way was far from idle.

Originally, according to plan, they were to return after collecting data and taking photographs, but humans have a peculiar mindset—psychologically complex to analyze, yet ultimately reducible to four words: "We're here already."

Leaving aside Venom, who inherited part of Batman's thinking and conjured a hundred more counterplans at the sight of the fleet, even Peter was struggling to contain himself.

Had he not entered that planetary warship, it would've been fine—but once inside, he wanted to examine every corner of it. This entire planet-sized vessel was a living exhibition of advanced civilization technology, and Peter had no intention of leaving.

Moreover, the cosmic agents had been helping humanity not out of pure kindness, but because their homeworld faced internal and external crises: internally, Nal constantly sought to escape, and externally, sulfur dwarves watched with hungry eyes.

If they could win Earth's favor, they'd gain another ally. Though Earth was underdeveloped now, its potential was limitless—perhaps one day it would soar. The more invested, the greater the return.

The three mutant students were young, fearless as newborn calves, and had no concept of whether a civilization was advanced or not—they simply thought the cosmic fleet was cool, and wished they could bring one home.

The parties quickly agreed: since they'd come, they couldn't return empty-handed. They needed to bring back some local specialty. The outer edge of the Centaurus Arm was barren, offering nothing valuable—so why not seize a Kree frigate?

The target was set, but execution remained difficult. Spider-Man rubbed his chin and said: "Last time, we slipped right into their planetary warship. Surely seizing a frigate won't be hard?"

"Last time, it was my invisibility spell. But to seize control of a frigate, we can't remain invisible the whole time."

"The Kree's supreme leader is the Supreme Intelligence—an artificial lifeform. Every camera in the fleet falls under its control. Any stranger's appearance triggers an instant alarm," Blue Spirit explained.

"So we must disable the surveillance systems first—ideally cut off all communication devices on the frigate," Spider-Man added.

"But we can't damage it too badly. We're still far from the Solar System—we must ensure the frigate can fly back. Otherwise, we can't transport something this large," Lei Ting said.

Peter turned and saw the Kree fleet hovering near the Sun, absorbing energy. Lei Ting was right—the frigate, though smaller than the planetary warship, was still the size of a regular satellite. Even Blue Spirit couldn't carry something this large away.

"Open theft is impossible," Venom concluded. "Their fleet is clustered together, drawing energy from the star. They're too close—any disturbance triggers immediate concentrated fire. If we're hit, we'll plunge into the Sun. No one survives."

"Actually, I noticed earlier—they patrol in rotating squads of three frigates, extending as far as the system's edge, far from the massive planetary warship. We can strike during one of these patrols…"

"At that distance, even the planetary warship would need time to react."

"But three frigates are still too many," Blue Spirit warned. "If one raises the alarm, we'll face attacks from the other two."

"What if two raise the alarm at once?"

Blue Spirit looked at Spider-Man. "You're thinking…"

About two hours later, beside an energy conduit on one of the Kree frigates in the patrol squad, Lei Ting told the Amplifier: "One of my abilities is to transform into an energy form—essentially, lightning."

"Soon, the second team will create a disturbance on another frigate on the flank. At that moment, the lead ship will pivot and aim its cannons at the other frigate."

"Then we turn into lightning, follow the energy conduit to the command center, and use our electromagnetic conversion ability to destroy all signal transmitters—cutting off all communication between this frigate and the lead ship and planetary warship."

The Amplifier continued: "Then we floor the accelerator…"

"Exactly. You get it."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Meanwhile, the so-called second team—the group tasked with creating the disturbance on the other frigate—stood on the lower deck. Blue Spirit's voice echoed in Shadow's mind: "You control shadows. It's an extremely powerful ability. You must learn to use it skillfully."

They were currently invisible, standing at a corner of the lower deck, facing the exit door—where two Kree guards stood.

At the same time, Green Spike was instructing Crystal. In her mind, he said: "You can concentrate your power into a single point to create a larger, harder crystal cluster, trapping everything within its range…"

The Immortal Wood Miracle

"Now, do as I say," Blue Spirit and Green Spike's voices echoed simultaneously in both their minds.

Shadow slowly raised her hand. A thin black mist rose from her palm. She slowly rotated her hand until her palm faced the ground. The shadows of the two Kree guards and their weapons flickered slightly.

The two blue-skinned aliens sensed something was off. They glanced around—but saw nothing unusual.

Whether human or alien, all beings cast shadows when light exists. Most people habitually ignore their own shadows, never considering them obstacles.

When their shadows flickered, they didn't realize someone had taken control of them. The moment Shadow clenched her fist, every shadow in the corridor came to life, surging toward the two guards. In less than a second, they were entangled in layers upon layers of black shadow.

The two Kree struggled immediately—but Crystal flashed into view at the corridor's center. She opened her mouth and unleashed a silent scream. Instantly, brilliant crystals froze the entire doorway, encasing the two Kree and their shadows in eternal sculpture.

Kree individual combat capability was nowhere near Spider-Man's. They lacked such strength. Trapped inside a solid crystal, they couldn't break it from within.

The battle ended in three seconds. The two Kree guards never saw what attacked them.

Crystal exhaled, touching her chest. "This is my first time attacking an enemy. So nerve-wracking."

Shadow stared at her, wide-eyed. "Nerve-wracking? What's nerve-wracking about that? I thought it was too tame."

"There's no such thing as a useless ability—only people who don't know how to use it. I remember you told me your ability, Crystal's, and the Amplifier's don't work well together. But everything depends on how you use them." Blue Spirit's voice returned. With this live combat experience, his words carried more weight. Both mutant students nodded.

"Next, do the same—but make more noise. Draw the patrol squad's lead ship's attention," Green Spike instructed. Crystal didn't need reminding. Once she reached the upper deck, brilliant crystal clusters grew layer upon layer in her wake. Kree soldiers, hearing the commotion, rushed out with weapons.

Their individual weapons couldn't shatter the layered crystals, and with countless black shadows interfering, the first few Kree who charged were swiftly taken down. But more Kree arrived, pulling out communicators to report.

The lead ship received the alert and immediately pivoted. The formation of the three ships was disrupted. At that moment, one frigate's hull flashed brilliant golden lightning. Then, its engines roared to life, overheating almost instantly.

In a "whoosh," the frigate vanished.

The Kree in the lead ship's command center were stunned. Where did that frigate go? How did it disappear?

Meanwhile, Blue Spirit, aboard the other frigate, waved his hand during the chaos. The group ascended dimensions, leaving the Kree's reality entirely, unharmed by the assault.

"If only my dimensional teleport could carry more, we wouldn't need all this trouble," Blue Spirit sighed.

"You're not seriously thinking of hauling away that planetary warship, are you? If you had that power, why bother with sulfur dwarves? Just go move them out of the way," Green Spike laughed.

On the other side, Lei Ting, now piloting the stolen frigate, flew straight to the rendezvous point where Venom and Spider-Man waited.

Lei Ting had severed the ship's communications and seized the command center—but the frigate still held many Kree guards.

They had no idea what had happened. Some didn't even know where they were. Then, two figures—one black, one red—leapt onto the deck. What followed was brutal.

After the Nal buffet incident, Venom absorbed massive energy. His symbiote biomass had grown to absurd levels.

Black sludge surged like a tidal wave into every corridor, devouring all living things. Meanwhile, the Red Bee parasitizing Spider-Man moved with blinding speed, crashing through everything. With Spider-Man's strength and the Red Bee's velocity, not a single intact Kree remained in its path.

First, take the plate away. Then, eat the dish. Then, meet Blue Spirit. Finally, use magic to wash the dishes.

Thus, a brand-new human spacecraft was born.

————EXTRA NOTES————

Multilinear storytelling is killing my brain cells.

So hard—especially coordinating intersecting, parallel, and concurrent plotlines. It's enough material for a whole thesis…