Chapter 696: U: The Infinite Event (Twelve)

Shi Ler came here to help Nal out.

He wanted Nal to devour Solus's power to break free, but the prison made of countless symbiotes was still quite sturdy—without extra effort, it would be hard to escape.

Shi Ler came here to ensure Nal could escape, and also to prevent him from being too weak upon release and unable to fight Solus, so he came to feed him something.

Shi Ler observed the situation inside the prison and realized his concerns were justified; he didn't know if Nal was naturally reckless or had become mentally dull from long confinement—he attacked the symbiotes trapping him relentlessly but failed to target any weak points, instead distributing force evenly, wasting immense energy with poor results.

Shi Ler took the form of gray mist, drifting in midair, pondering how best to help Nal escape; after thinking it over, he finally used the system's messaging function and began sending Nal constant messages.

"Hey, you awake? Can you snap out of it? Haven't you noticed the spot you're attacking is unusually strong? Look behind you—focus on the spot to your right rear; that area's power is extremely weak—you should strike there…"

"Can't you convert your chaotic energy before using it? This crude, poorly forged power has almost no destructive potential—you need to transform it into the most suitable form for your own attacks. Can't you even manage that?"

"The symbiotes don't use magic—after all these years, haven't you developed a teleportation technique? Fine, if I teach you how to teleport, can you learn it?"

"Why is your turning so sluggish? They attack left—you can't dodge right? Look, you missed again. If every demon god in the universe moved as slowly as you, it'd be wonderful…"

"Nal, I'm not saying this to be harsh, but you really need to train."

"Enough!"

"!"

""

A roar of fury erupted—Nal, already furious from repeated failed escape attempts and constant stimulation, could no longer endure Shi Ler's message harassment.

He began drawing massive amounts of chaotic energy, condensing it all into a single core, preparing to break free in one explosive burst.

The Spider-Men pulled into the planet's interior by the symbiotes also noticed the monster preparing to escape from the prison.

Though they hadn't seen Shi Ler or heard what he said, from Nal's movements they could tell this was a creature trying to break its chains.

"He looks evil," Spider-Gwen stared at Nal and said: "These symbiotes… are these symbiotes? Anyway, these slime creatures formed a prison with their own bodies—clearly to prevent his escape."

At that moment, Peter's mouth emitted a voice unlike his own:

"This is Krinta, the symbiotes' homeworld. The monster trapped here is our creator—the Symbiote God, Nal."

"He is a profoundly evil chaotic being. If he escapes, the entire universe will fall into peril—we must stop him."

After Red Bee finished speaking, the other Spider-Men exchanged glances, but Zhang Pak stepped forward and said: "We should first confirm Solus's location. Once we find him, we can devise a detailed battle plan."

"There's no time! Nal's about to break free! He's gathering energy for an explosion—once the prison shatters, his chaotic energy will engulf the entire universe!" Red Bee turned toward Nal's location—the core had grown intensely bright, teetering on the edge of detonation.

Hearing this, the Amazing Spider-Man turned to look, then, before all the Spider-Men's eyes, he spun around and flew toward it.

"What are you doing?!" Zhang Pak flew in front of him, blocking his path: "We're here to deal with Solus—he's our primary target. If we waste too much energy here, Solus will wipe us all out!"

"But I must stop this monster. If he escapes, destruction will follow—everyone in this universe will be in danger," the Amazing Spider-Man declared firmly.

"I won't allow you to waste our team's combat strength here," Zhang Pak's tentacles unfurled behind him, as if preparing to fight the Amazing Spider-Man, who drew a deep breath and said: "This is my decision—I won't force anyone to join me. If you won't come, get out of my way. I'll go alone."

Zhang Pak still blocked him: "Are you insane? This isn't a foe any single Spider-Man can handle—you're walking straight to your death!"

The Amazing Spider-Man took a deep breath, stepped back slightly, and said to Zhang Pak:

"You once told me everything I lost was because of my weakness—but at least those losses taught me one profound truth: With great power comes great responsibility."

"I have the power to be here, to witness this, to uncover the plot of an evil being about to break free—then I have the duty to stop it."

With that, the Amazing Spider-Man stepped back a few paces, then without hesitation flew toward the core.

Just as Zhang Pak opened his mouth, another figure darted past him—Spider-Gwen also flew toward the core, followed by more Spider-Men.

In the end, only Zhang Pak and Peter remained—Zhang Pak believed they lacked tactical sense and were simply throwing themselves to die, while Peter's mind remained hazy.

Inside Peter, the two symbiotes were locked in a furious argument: Red Bee roared, "Venom! Are you insane? Why are you holding me back? You know better than anyone what will happen if Nal escapes!"

"I'm stopping you from walking into your death," Venom said coldly. "No plan, no strategy—charging in like this, we'll be torn to shreds by Nal's power."

At this moment, Peter's mind was unfocused—he wasn't controlling his body, and the two symbiotes argued, neither able to prevail.

In terms of raw power, Venom held the upper hand—not only due to his innate superiority, but because he had already digested far more energy; his symbiote factor count vastly exceeded Red Bee's. He kept Peter's body immobilized, and Red Bee couldn't wrest control away.

Still, Venom also wanted to stop Nal—he just planned to pause and devise a strategy first. In Peter's mind, he said: "We can't approach from this direction. We need to find the weakest point of his energy surge—the symbiotes will guide us. Follow me…"

He then controlled Peter's body to circle around, arriving at the diagonal opposite of their original position.

There, they saw Shi Ler skulking.

Peter and Venom froze—Shi Ler was using a gray mist ribbon to recharge Nal, and the refined energy he was feeding was the true cause of the core's growing brightness.

Just as they reached that spot, Shi Ler clapped his hands and muttered to himself: "... hould be enough energy now? Hey, blow it already—if you're going to escape, do it now…"

Nal didn't answer, but his actions confirmed he heard—the core grew brighter, its energy waves trembling violently.

And one second before the core exploded, another terrifying tremor came from behind Shi Ler.

Shi Ler turned—and a monstrous creature covered in spikes appeared in his vision, jaws wide open, lunging at the energy core.

A few minutes earlier, Helene, while facing off against Solus, realized her opponent was formidable—but the hunger for power inside her grew stronger.

She bit Solus several times but couldn't tear off much flesh—then, a scent drifted from within Krinta.

The Destroyer was extremely sensitive to energy signatures; she instantly recognized the power inside Krinta wasn't crude chaotic energy—it was richer, more delicious, refined energy.

Starving and desperate, the Destroyer didn't hesitate—she bit straight into Krinta.

Krinta wasn't a normal planet—it was made of symbiotes, but due to limited numbers, its structure wasn't dense. The Destroyer crashed into it, scattering the outer layer of symbiotes entirely.

Thus, the Destroyer entered the planet's interior, beyond the prison holding Nal—and she went further, biting directly into the prison itself, tearing a hole in it.

Earlier, Shi Ler had fed Nal energy precisely because he feared Nal couldn't break the prison, and to prevent excessive damage to the Andromeda Galaxy, he'd calculated the energy input: just enough to shatter the prison, but not enough to cause widespread destruction.

The prison, though the target, also served as a buffer—absorbing most of the explosion's energy, preventing it from radiating outward.

But Helene burst in, and before the explosion, she bit through the prison—so when the core detonated, the only point with no barrier was the hole she'd made.

Unfortunately, that hole was exactly where Shi Ler stood.

Meaning, everywhere else, the prison filtered the shockwave—but Shi Ler had no such protection; he faced the full force of Nal's detonating energy core.

Peter saw—in an indescribably brilliant flash—a solid beam of light shot out from the prison's breach, piercing Shi Ler before he could even turn to mist.

"No!"

"!"

"!"

"!"

In Peter's desperate scream, Shi Ler's figure was fully swallowed by the ensuing explosion.

When a pair of crimson eyes ignited in the depths of the cosmos, the spot where Shi Ler had stood was empty.

Peter stood frozen—the terrible vortex swallowed him, and the voices returned to his ears:

"This is a curse…"

"It's the Spider-Man curse!"

"You will lose them…"

"Uncle Ben is dead…"

"Gwen? She's dead…"

"They're all dead…"

"Dead…"

Peter staggered backward, clenched his fists, and slowly closed his eyes—unstoppable despair and grief overwhelmed him.

The next second, Shi Ler suddenly fell from midair, landing right beside Peter, his posture as if someone had grabbed him by the collar and tossed him out—Peter stared at him, eyes wide.

He saw Shi Ler rise, inhale deeply, then rage at the air:

"Death! You've got the nerve to rack up kills! Now open the door already!"

"!"

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