Chapter 687: U: The Infinite Event (3)

Peter had no idea what was going on; he shouted at the attacking Chiang Parker, "What are you doing?!"

Chiang Parker said nothing, only relentlessly attacking Peter with sharp tentacles; the two darted and leaped between the hall's pillars, Peter running while shouting, "I'll say it again! If you keep attacking, I'll fight back!"

"Stop attacking me—I'm really going to fight back!"

Peter continued shouting, "Can't you even hear me?!"

Spider-Gwen elbowed Amazing Spider-Man and said, "I never thought he'd be even more naive than you."

"I'm surprised too," Amazing Spider-Man said, arms crossed, watching the aerial battle. "Was I really like this when I first started college?"

At that moment, another Spider-Man stepped out from the crowd; his voice was utterly different from Peter's—older, wearier—his build less fluid, more like an ordinary man than a superhero. Yet the moment Amazing Spider-Man heard it, he immediately turned to look.

"You were exactly like this, Peter. Back then, you hated fighting and called football a savage sport. Your aunt and I were always worried you'd get bullied…"

Through the thick crowd, Amazing Spider-Man stared at the figure—but after a long silence, he quietly turned his head back.

Spider-Gwen glanced back at the figure, her fingertips twitching slightly, then said, "I know you think it's not him. But just like when I look at you, I know you're not him—but I can't help myself…"

Spider-Woman stepped forward, wrapping an arm around Spider-Gwen's shoulder, her gaze refocusing on the battlefield between Chiang Parker and Peter.

After yelling "I'm going to fight back" about a dozen times, Peter finally decided to actually fight back. Chiang Parker watched his movements closely, especially the web-shooters on his wrists.

He prided himself on being more cautious and tactical than other Spider-Men, who relied only on instinct; he had long developed a proven method to counter them.

Though not all Spider-Men used web-shooters, the timing of their web deployment was the most critical tactical clue—if you could predict that moment, you could anticipate their moves.

Chiang Parker fixed his gaze on Peter's wrist—but what he saw wasn't the web-shooter activating; instead, a streak of red crept across the Spider-Man's suit.

Red slime erupted from behind the Spider-Man; Red Bee went full throttle, a red poppy blooming from Peter's back, engulfing him in an instant—the suit turned red, and Peter's figure vanished from where he stood.

A thunderous crash echoed; barely as Chiang Parker's spider-sense triggered, his back slammed into the ground.

"Boom!" Cracks spread like a spiderweb. Lying at the center of the crater, Chiang Parker's tentacles tensed for a moment, then went limp. He looked up at Peter, who gripped his throat—his masked face impossibly young.

The next second, Peter released him, stood up beside Chiang Parker, arms crossed. "I told you—I was going to fight back. Why didn't you dodge? Why did you attack me? Do we have any grudge?"

"Of course not—we just met. I just wanted to test your strength. Now I see—you really do have the power to defeat the Heir…"

Peter smiled, about to be humble, when suddenly his spider-sense blared—a red meteor streaked past; he dodged behind Chiang Parker, and where he'd stood, four tentacles stabbed the ground at blinding speed.

Peter even had time to pat Chiang Parker's shoulder. "Don't even think about sneaking up on me—my speed's faster than you think."

Chiang Parker whirled and punched—his fist moving so fast it left afterimages. "What was that? Symbiote Massacre?!"

"You got it right—but only half right," Peter dodged again, circling behind Chiang Parker, staring at his tentacles. "I answered your question. Now answer mine—what the hell are those things on your back? Spider legs?"

"Kill the Spider-Men! Grab him!" Chiang Parker turned and ordered a Spider-Man behind him.

Instantly, a red figure burst from the crowd—white spider-eyes, a gaping mouth filled with blade-like teeth and a long tongue—the classic image of Symbiote Massacre from every comic and film.

Peter, clinging to a pillar on all fours, looked at the figure and shook his head. "He's uglier than you, Red Bee."

Xiashu Ba

As he spoke, his figure vanished again; three deep claw marks remained on the pillar he'd occupied. Symbiote Massacre leapt upward, claws slicing the air, leaving ripples in their wake.

Symbiote Massacre roared. Peter clung to the ceiling, released his grip, and hung upside down. His voice deepened, roughened, and as he spoke, two voices merged:

"Someone here wants to tell you—cursing is wrong."

Instantly, endless black slime erupted; when the monstrous black mass landed, the entire hall shook.

Venom opened his tooth-filled maw and roared at Massacre: "Nataru!"

Venom, entirely black with white stripes, bore a spider emblem on his chest—but unlike before, he was four times larger, his head pressing against the hall's ceiling, while all other Spider-Men reached only his knees.

Every Spider-Man in the hall's center scattered. Amazing Spider-Man ran while shouting, "What the hell?! Why is Venom so huge?! And why the hell did I meet him when I first started college?!"

Another black figure ran faster than him. Amazing Spider-Man stared, shouting, "Venom Spider-Man! What's going on?! Why is the other you so big?!"

Black slime engulfed the Spider-Man; another Venom opened his mouth and said, "How the hell should I know?! Maybe he's my dad!"

In the center, Venom had seized Symbiote Massacre by the throat; endless black slime wrapped around him. Massacre could barely resist, and soon half his symbiote essence was devoured by the upgraded Venom.

Just as Venom was about to swallow Massacre whole—*bang bang bang*—gunshots rang out. Venom turned to see a mechanical Spider-Man firing at him. He raised his arm to fling the mech away—when a terrifying sonic wave swept through the entire hall.

Chiang Parker activated an oscillator from his research device; instantly, all black slime retracted into Peter's body. The mechanical Spider-Man seized the opening, switched weapons, and fired lasers.

But it seemed he wasn't truly hostile—the lasers only blocked Peter's movement, striking the floor. The real attack came from another Spider-Man.

Peter spun around—*zing zing*—two sharp metallic screeches rang out. He performed a backflip, evading the attacker's strike.

Landing, Peter knelt, squinting. The Spider-Man who'd attacked him wore a suit of gold and red interwoven—identical to Iron Man's color scheme. Iron Spider had moved.

Missing his first strike, Iron Spider punched again. His armor propelled him into the air, diving down to deliver a killing blow.

Peter snorted, leapt backward, and executed Iron Man's signature pose.

He spread his limbs, clenched his fists, muscles taut—mechanical armor like scales crawled over his Spider-Suit.

Thin as cicada wings, the mechanical armor covered his entire body, then compressed and expanded—suddenly, a suit even more Iron Man than Iron Man appeared on Peter.

But unlike Iron Spider's, his suit was blue and silver—invisible before deployment, then Peter directly absorbed Iron Spider's laser blast and punched him square in the jaw. When he flew back, the suit's molten steel surface showed not a scratch.

At that moment, a purple web shot through the air. Peter rapidly ascended; the red cloak spiraled through the air, then flew toward him. Peter kept climbing—but the cloak clung like a parasite, trying to bind him.

Hovering midair, Peter looked down and saw the familiar glow of magic. Doctor Strange's Spider-Man raised two circular runes in his palms; beams of light shot toward Peter.

Flames erupted on Peter's body; white spider-eyes revealed a massive demonic silhouette. Doctor Strange's Spider-Man gasped, "Mephisto?! Did you make a pact with Mephisto?!"

Suddenly, the flames halted and retracted into Peter. He froze midair, then said, "Wait—wrong one! Not this power!"

After the flames died, black mist spread. The white spider-eyes darkened, growing terrifying. Doctor Strange lowered his runes, staring at the figure above. "You're connected to Dormammu too?!"

Peter looked down at his hands, studying the black mist. "Wait—this isn't right either. Go back!"

Then red light flared again. Amazing Spider-Man turned to Doctor Strange's Spider-Man. "Whose power is this now?"

"The Crimson Dimension's Master—Set." Doctor Strange crossed his arms, watching Peter above, his expression saying, "I wonder what else you've got."

Then he saw Peter, glowing like a spotlight—flashing red, then green, then blue, then purple. Finally, Peter sighed, floated slowly down, and said, "I told Doctor Strange—I'm just not cut out for mysticism. What's the difference between all these powers? They're all the same!"

Just as Chiang Parker, unwilling to give up, prepared another ambush, a full moon suddenly glowed above Peter's head. Kong Su's figure appeared. "How could they be the same? Didn't I tell you? Differentiate by color. My symbol is the moon—so my power's color is silver, like moonlight. Black energy means darkness. White energy means light. And remember—every power has multiple facets…"

Chiang Parker lowered his stance, arms crossed, watching Peter in the center. All the Spider-Men who'd just failed to attack now approached, arms crossed, squinting at Peter.

No sooner had the Moon God Kong Su vanished than a giant serpent's shadow erupted from Peter's head. It flicked its tail. "Ignore that guy—he's using black magic. Listen to me: merge all powers, kill them all!"

At that moment, Peter looked at his left hand. "This hand is the info panel." Then he looked at his right hand. "This hand is the distress signal."

"Left hand: info panel. Right hand: distress signal. Left… right… don't mix them up… what else was it?"

Then he looked up—and saw countless pairs of spider-eyes staring fixedly at him.

In Stark's lab on Earth, Shearer, Stark, Strange, and Loki gathered. Loki sighed. "Molten steel armor, demon energies, Moon God Kong Su, Jormungandr… what else?"

"That's all," Shearer, Stark, and Strange said in unison.

Loki snorted. Instantly, the other three either looked up at the ceiling or down at the table.

Loki crossed his arms, exasperated. "You've turned Spider-Man into this. Are you sure this multiverse trip will still train him?"

"Ah, so that's what you're worried about," Shearer leaned back comfortably on the sofa, smiling. "That's precisely why I'm planning to…"

"…strengthen the enemies."