Two and a half hours later.
Ophelia was utterly spent. Despite her deadly toxins, her physical stamina wasn't exactly top-tier.
Charlie, meanwhile, had held on thanks to his steadily climbing toxin resistance.
"Well done, Spider-Man. Thanks for the gift," Ophelia said, wiping sweat from her brow with a silk scarf, her tone tinged with regret.
"You're no use to me anymore. I don't need a father stealing my child's perfection. As my first man, I'll make sure you go out with some dignity."
Charlie rolled his eyes at that.
He could feel a faint sting creeping through his body.
Another toxin, no doubt.
The same stuff that kept killing him over and over.
But it didn't stop his little scheme.
His body was sluggish, but he could move—just barely.
Two and a half hours was enough. He'd finally scratched out a magic circle, summoning his tiny spider.
"Chitter-chitter-chitter~"
A burst of dazzling light bloomed from the void, and a weakened little spider plopped onto Ophelia's shoulder.
The critter's state was tied to Charlie's—also vulnerable to the gene toxin—so he'd never planned to use it for a sneak attack.
Killing Ophelia that way was near impossible.
But this time, he wasn't aiming to kill her.
One bite might just wrap this up.
In an instant, the spider's tiny fangs pierced her skin, injecting a stash of spider mutant cells.
"Argh!!"
Ophelia shrieked, collapsing onto the bed.
Outside, Cindy didn't budge.
She wasn't some kid—she knew those sounds were par for the course.
Back inside, Ophelia writhed in agony, voiceless.
Weird green patterns snaked across her skin as the red-and-blue mutant cells invaded, briefly crashing her toxin system.
Soon, her toxins made a choice.
Instead of fighting or devouring the spider cells, they let them spread, reshaping her body toward a spider-mutant form.
Their job was just to punish "Spider-Man."
As silk proteins formed in her system and wrist glands popped up—classic Spidey traits—her senses started fading fast.
The gene toxin targeting Spider-Man was tearing her apart.
Finally, Ophelia fully transformed into a Spider-Man, and her toxin-secreting glands vanished.
The glands were gone, but leftover gene toxin lingered.
She slumped into a daze.
Charlie blinked, waiting for the mission-complete ping.
No dice. Not even when Cindy called out from the door.
"Madame?"
"Madame?"
After a few unanswered shouts, Cindy cautiously pushed the door open.
Seeing Ophelia's blank stare, her expression shifted.
That state…
"You're not seeing things. She's Spider-Man now," Charlie said.
Cindy jolted, then tested it herself before losing it completely.
"Hahaha! Perfect! Damn you, Ophelia—you finally got what's coming!"
Right in front of Charlie, she throttled Ophelia's neck until the woman was dead.
Charlie frowned. Madame Viper was gone, but still no mission success alert.
Did he mess up?
Nope—he was on the right track, he realized soon enough.
"Spider-Man, thank you for everything," Cindy said, cutting loose.
Her face twisted with unmasked venom and swelling ambition.
"From now on, everything Ophelia had is mine!!"
Charlie: "…"
Great. One more to take out.
...
Twentieth resurrection round.
Charlie wrapped up as Old Man Steve timed it perfectly, wiping out all the toxin-carrying Cindys.
"Little spider, I'm coming in!"
"Wait! Deal with every Cindy packing gene toxin first—don't come in yet!" Charlie yelled.
No way he'd let anyone see his victory trick.
Too embarrassing.
Old Man Steve, though puzzled, respected and trusted him enough to wave Carter and the others off.
In the underground base, Lizard Parker chucked Cindy corpses into the incinerator.
"That loser's got some chops. Took down a monster like her—how'd he do it?" he wondered aloud.
Felicia shook her head nearby. "No clue, but a win's a win. I can finally see my dad again." She was pumped.
Old Man Steve stroked his chin, thoughtful.
"Contestant Loki didn't even show, and the resurrection game's over? Feels unreal."
Carter clapped his shoulder. "What're you brooding over? Toss that black symbiote in the fire—it's a toxin carrier too."
"On it."
Steve headed to the next lab, tossing the weakened symbiote into the incinerator.
"It's split off now. Next time we see Peter, will he still be Venom Parker?" he mused.
"Hey, where's that guy anyway? Haven't seen him," he asked Carter.
"Who?" she replied, confused.
"Hydra Cap. Your old pal."
"He's got nothing to do with me."
Hell's Kitchen, Kingpin's villa.
"Mr. Steve, Madame's envoy just reported in—they nabbed Spider-Man. Some guy named Charlie Parker," Kingpin said.
Hydra Steve lit up like a kid on Christmas.
"They got him? Awesome!"
Ecstatic, he made to bolt for Osborn Castle.
"Hold up. Our plan needs some fine-tuning. Can't underestimate the other players," Kingpin called after him.
Hydra Steve scoffed. "Besides Spider-Man, the rest are nobodies. We've got this in the bag."
The second he said it, a mission failure alert flashed before his eyes.
Hydra Steve: "…"
"Mr. Kingpin, I've got a question."
"What?"
"When'd you hear they caught Spider-Man?"
"Two hours ago."
"Two hours…"
Hydra Steve's face soured.
"Two hours is enough to flip the game. Charlie Parker, nice one. Next time—"
Before he could finish his threat, Bucky cut in.
"Steve, there's no next time. I've got a feeling we'll never beat him."
"What?"
"Ever since we crossed that guy, I've been stuck in his shadow. No chance of winning," Bucky said, deflated.
"Bucky, you're already dead. You can't live in anyone's shadow."
"I'm not kidding."
"Neither am I."
Hydra Steve gazed at the night sky, pulling an old pocket watch from his coat.
The faded photo in the lid was of the woman he'd once loved most.
For some reason, despite the baffling loss, he felt a weight lift.
One person falling into the abyss was enough.
Cosmic Web.
After nailing the mission, Charlie didn't restart to grind more toxin resistance.
Ten restarts weren't a ton, but they'd cover emergencies.
This win hinged on having enough retries.
Without the resistance, he'd have been shut down hard.
So he needed those restarts—like the West needed more Jerusalems.
Now, the resurrection round rewards:
[You've successfully won this resurrection round!]
[Reward 1: Resurrection Slot x1]
[Reward 2 (Pick One): Titan Body (Stage 2), Strength +30 Tons]
[Bonus Reward 1: Spider Totem Power x1]
[Bonus Reward 2: Spider-Man Exclusive Spell: Summon Little Spider (Youth Edition)]
[Remaining Restarts: 10 (Carried to Next Round)]
Staring at the options, Charlie picked Titan Body (Stage 2) without hesitation.
With nearly 20% gene toxin resistance and the Stage 2 Titan Body, his strength would jump by at least 30 tons, plus boosts to defense, stamina—everything.
Most crucially, Spider-Man-specific gene disruptors couldn't touch him anymore.
From now on, killing the invincible Spider-Man would take raw, overwhelming power.
As for the Youth Edition Summon Little Spider spell…
Charlie mulled it over.
Then the void swallowed him.
When his eyes opened, he was in a trashed lab.
Looked like a brawl had just gone down.
And there—shiny as ever—was a big bald head.
"Are you OK?" Charlie waved.
The bald guy tensed, forcing a stiff grin.
"OK."
Next second, he spun and shouted, "Spider-Man's back! Hit him with the gene disruptor!"
Charlie: "…"
Word's out that gene disruptors can kill Spider-Man, huh?