Chapter 686: U: The Infinite Event (Part 2)

"I don't understand what you're saying," Zhang Zui replied.

"That's fine—it's still an answer," Xieler smiled again, patted Zhang Zui on the shoulder, then stepped past him toward the spot where he had just landed.

At that moment, a very short spider-man with a pig's nose ran in, clutching a child, shouting: "Spider Girl! Go manage your brother! He won't stop crying!"

"Oh! Benjamin! He… he probably needs a diaper change—wait just a second…" The Spider Girl immediately leapt down from the pillar, no longer paying attention to the Amazing Spider-Man, and rushed over to the short spider-man, taking the child from his arms.

The Spider Girl held Benjamin, soothing him constantly; hearing the child's cries, the other spider-men fell silent, gathering around her, teasing her brother, trying to calm him and stop his tears.

The Spider Girl held Benjamin and sighed. "Alright, let's get down to business—where were we?"

The Amazing Spider-Man stood beside her and said: "I'm sorry. I know you loved your father—he…"

"Don't." The Spider Girl cut him off. "I said—we need to focus on what matters now. That's the best tribute to him!"

On the other side, Xieler saw several shadowy figures appear behind Zhang Zui. Soon, more spider-man silhouettes emerged—far more than Xieler had imagined.

Behind Zhang Zui stood at least a dozen spider-men: some in vests, others entirely black, some resembling Deadpool, others crouching on the ground with monkey tails.

Xieler couldn't fully identify all of them, but he stepped back, making way for Zhang Zui. Only then did the Amazing Spider-Man notice the arrival of this other group.

The Amazing Spider-Man stepped forward, while Zhang Zui stood before the other group of spider-men. As the two factions faced off in the hall, the Amazing Spider-Man narrowed his eyes and asked: "How's your investigation going?"

Zhang Zui snorted. "Better than yours. You sent me to investigate the Heir family, while you stayed here recruiting new spider-men—so where are these new recruits?"

The Amazing Spider-Man turned to Xieler. Xieler cleared his throat and said: "First, I'm not a spider-man. You've got the wrong person. I have a spider-sense-like ability, but it's different from yours."

"Second, I can return to my universe and help you contact the spider-man from this universe… I know him, but there's a condition."

Instantly, every spider-man turned to him. Dozens of spider-eyes fixed on Xieler. He remained expressionless. "Before I contact my universe's spider-man, shouldn't you tell me what you plan to do here?"

Xieler scanned all the spider-men. "What brought you together? What are you investigating?"

The Amazing Spider-Man opened his mouth, but Zhang Zui spoke first: "None of your business. Get that spider-man here fast—or we can't guarantee his safety."

"Then at least tell me what the danger is?"

"Mo Lun," the Amazing Spider-Man cut in. Clearly, his relationship with Zhang Zui was terrible—the air between them crackled with tension. He stepped forward, speaking solemnly to Xieler:

"If you truly aren't a spider-man, you'd better summon your universe's spider-man quickly. This isn't for us—it's for his safety."

"It may sound unbelievable, but in the multiverse, there exists a family called the Heirs—they feed on spider-men. Many of our comrades have died at their hands."

At that moment, Zhang Zui spoke: "Due to a lab accident, I traveled to 2099. There, I found the corpse of a spider-man—killed by a member of the Heir family."

"I developed a transporter capable of traveling between universes. In other universes, I found more spider-man corpses," Zhang Zui said.

His suit, primarily black and red, radiated a stronger aura of oppression than any other spider-man's. Behind him, most of the spider-men wore blank expressions—clearly, like Zhang Zui, they weren't strictly lawful.

"I encountered a Heir who called himself Khan. He wore a mask and was immensely powerful. He revealed that Heir family members feed on spider-men. We also encountered two other Heirs. We barely escaped by activating the transporter in time." Zhang Zui's tone remained calm, concise, devoid of fluff—his style too terse to resemble a typical spider-man.

Xiashu Ba

"The Web found me and invited me to join the Spider Legion. Because I once defeated Mo Lun, the spider-men saw me as their hope against the Heir family. So I came here—and became their leader," the Amazing Spider-Man continued.

"Yeah," Zhang Zui crossed his arms. "You sent me out to gather intel while you caused chaos here, Peter Parker. What exactly are you doing? Did you come just to hold us back?"

"It was an accident," the Amazing Spider-Man explained. "The Web's broadcast has been received by many spider-men. They're on their way. Soon, the Legion will have more hands."

"How's your investigation going?" Web stepped forward, looking at Zhang Zui—he clearly sided with the Amazing Spider-Man.

Another spider-man in red-and-blue armor stepped out from behind Zhang Zui. "I tracked the Heir family's base, went there, and found nothing."

"And you haven't made any progress either?" The Amazing Spider-Man stepped closer to Zhang Zui, glaring. "Fake!"

As the two faced off, Xieler carefully observed every spider-man present in the hall.

In the comics, many spider-men were already dead when the Spider Legion found them—all killed by Heir family members like Mo Lun, Khan, and Demons.

But here, many spider-men who were supposed to have died at the Heirs' hands were alive and well.

Xieler suspected this was due to the Bat Totem's influence. After discovering the new totem, the Heir family tried to seize it using faith energy—but to generate faith, they needed members stationed at the base to pray.

This reduced their hunting time, allowing many spider-men to escape death.

Xieler hadn't directly participated in Stark's battle with Solus, so he didn't know if any of the Heir members killed in that war included the famous ones from the comics—like Mo Lun or his brother Demons. But clearly, the current plot had diverged entirely from the comics.

The enemies the spider-men had gathered to fight—the vampire Heirs—had either died in the earlier civil war caused by the Bat Totem's infection, or been brought to Stark's universe by Solus and killed by Stark, then devoured by Helen. They were gone for good.

Some may have been out hunting and failed to return to base in time, surviving by chance—but they were no longer a threat.

The only truly powerful one, Solus, was now busy searching for his vanished home across the infinite multiverse. He was unlikely to cross paths with this group of spider-men.

The troops had barely assembled at the dungeon entrance—and the final boss had already been defeated. Watching these spider-men act as if facing a dire threat, Xieler sighed inwardly.

This wasn't entirely good. The war against the Heir family was one of the few brutally bloody conflicts in the Spider-Man comics. Too many spider-men died in it. That trial by blood and fire pushed each one beyond their limits.

Previously, Xieler had fought the Heir family not to help the spider-men, but because they'd targeted him first.

The Heirs had plotted the Bat invasion of New York to devour the spider-man from Xieler's universe—and ended up destroying themselves, triggering the birth of the Bat Totem.

Then, greedy for more, they tried to control the Bat Totem and lost everything. Now the entire family was shattered. The Heir family that once slaughtered spider-men in rivers of blood was history. All that remained was a lonely, broken old man: Solus.

Thinking of this, Xieler formed a plan. He spoke: "You're right. Every universe's spider-man is in danger. The Peter Parker I know won't escape this fate."

"If so, you must unite. Send me back to my universe—I'll bring him here."

Hearing this, the Amazing Spider-Man exhaled in relief. He waved his hand, easing the tension. "Thank you for your understanding, sir. I haven't felt this tense in a long time."

"No problem. Peter and I get along well. I don't want him in danger. You'll protect him, right?"

"We'll do our best," Spider-Gwen said. But Zhang Zui interrupted: "War always brings bloodshed. Everyone risks injury or death. If he's a coward who can't accept that, he shouldn't come at all."

The Amazing Spider-Man yanked Zhang Zui's arm hard—he clearly disapproved of his tone—but Xieler said nothing. He vanished in a flash of teleportation light.

Shortly after, another figure in a spider-man suit entered the hall. When the light faded, Peter stared at the crowd of spider-men, mouth agape.

The Amazing Spider-Man, standing at the front, also froze. "Wait—you're younger than me. How old are you???"

Peter replied instinctively: "I just started college. What's wrong?"

All the spider-men fell silent. Zhang Zui sighed, turning to Web: "You're sure he defeated a Heir family member?"

"Maybe… we should just bring back his teacher," the Amazing Spider-Man murmured to Spider-Gwen.

"Uh, hi. I heard the Spider Legion was recruiting, so I came. What do you need me to do?" Peter scratched his head.

"First, we need to know what you can do," Zhang Zui said, staring at Peter. "Don't tell me your best skill is doing homework—or using webbing to cheat when you miss the school bus."

"I never miss the school bus!" Peter retorted.

Just as he opened his mouth to introduce himself, a sharp tendril lashed toward him. His spider-sense flared—he twisted sideways, leaping and sticking to the nearby pillar.

"What are you doing, Ultimate Spider-Man!" the Amazing Spider-Man shouted.

Zhang Zui leapt up, using his four rear tendrils to grip the pillar behind him, coiling his body downward before launching himself at Peter. "Let's see what this kid who beat a Heir is really made of!"

"Let me see just how strong this kid is who dares to defeat the heir!"