Chapter 182: The Doomed Spider-Man
The operation had begun.
The beginning was also the end…
Brooklyn, New York. Beneath an abandoned subway station lay a massive hollow chamber. At its ceiling rested the central mainframe.
A boy in a black stealth Spider-suit hung upside down from above. His feet clung to the energy-panel ceiling as if it were flat ground. The green glow from his mask lenses and chest emblem pulsed faintly in the dark. No one but Spider-Man knew when he had arrived, but he had not only infiltrated unnoticed—he had made it all the way to the most critical spot.
It was Xi Nian.
Right now, he was wearing Spider-Man's modified Stealth Suit.
The Stealth Suit, also called the Big Time Suit.
It had been crafted to counter sonic attacks, made from a material that distorted sound and light waves. It could weaken sound-based assaults and even provided a degree of camouflage.
The perfect choice for Xi Nian.
After all, his Kryptonian physique was already the strongest defense on Earth—there was no need for bulky metal suits that sacrificed mobility for armor. A light, practical, stealth-capable suit was far better for him.
Reaching this place undetected owed much to the suit's abilities.
"Damn it!!!"
Inside the control room.
Kingpin's rage boiled as he looked from the boy hanging above the hollow chamber to Spider-Man below, who was still locked in battle against the Green Goblin and the Prowler.
Now Kingpin finally realized—
Spider-Man hadn't come alone. He had drawn all eyes and hatred to himself as a decoy, luring the Prowler away from the central mainframe… leaving it undefended for his hidden partner to destroy.
This was the exact battle plan Xi Nian had proposed.
If Xi Nian and Gwen hadn't crossed into this world, the Spider-Man of this universe would have faced Kingpin's collider alone. That future ended with failure and dimensional collapse.
Xi Nian had simply allowed history to replay.
Let Spider-Man stand alone in the open, just as he had in the original timeline, while Xi Nian—an outsider who shouldn't exist in this world—seized the chance to destroy the collider's mainframe.
"Lady Octopus, what are you doing?"
Kingpin's body trembled with fury. Guarding the mainframe wasn't only the Prowler—it should have also been Lady Octopus in the shadows…
At that moment, inside a side tunnel.
A blonde woman in sunglasses and a white shirt stood firm. Four mechanical arms extended from her back like the claws of an octopus. Her beautiful face was tense, her gaze locked on the darkness ahead. "Who are you?"
Out of the shadows stepped a lithe, graceful girl.
"You can call me… Spider-Woman."
She winked playfully.
Her black-and-white suit shimmered like a metallic coating, hugging her figure perfectly. The glowing web-patterns flowed like circuitry across the arcs of her body, gleaming with cold, futuristic light.
Yes—
Xi Nian had chosen Gwen's gear: the Iron Spider Armor.
It was for defense, of course.
Spider-Man had many armored suits, some capable of withstanding missile fire, but they were bulky and slowed their wearer's agility.
The Iron Spider Armor was different. Forged from lightweight yet durable metal, it was strong enough to stop bullets, yet flexible enough to feel nearly as light as fabric.
And truthfully, Xi Nian had another reason for picking this one—
Gwen's… chest was simply too large.
Only a suit like the Iron Spider, capable of molding itself seamlessly to the wearer's body, could be quickly fitted to her in time.
…
Lady Octopus sensed the commotion in the chamber and tried to rush over, but a strand of web blocked her path.
On the other end, Gwen tightened her grip. "I won't let you through… huh?"
Spider-Woman froze. She looked down at herself—and saw her body, along with the armor, shimmer with iridescent, unreal colors.
The same rainbow shimmer that had once appeared on the floor of Xi Nian's room—the barrier of dimensions.
A strange, delicate sensation stirred in her heart.
"Xi Nian… did we succeed?" Gwen whispered. "We're going back… back to our real world…"
…
"Xi Nian! We did it, I knew you could—"
Spider-Man's words cut off. He too noticed it now.
The boy hanging above, after inserting the USB into the mainframe, was glowing faintly with prismatic light. His body flickered between reality and illusion.
Spatial waves rippled outward.
The virus-loaded USB was in. The collider system was ruined. The original future had already been altered. The catastrophic collapse that once doomed this dimension would no longer happen. Which meant Xi Nian and Gwen, as anomalies, would soon be erased from this world.
"It really worked." Xi Nian stared at his glowing hand.
"You're going back… that puts me at ease. I'll stay as this world's only hero."
Spider-Man smiled weakly, still breathing hard. Then he remembered something. From his belt, he pulled out another USB and tossed it upward.
Xi Nian snatched it instantly. He looked down at the black USB, marked with a spider emblem.
"Think of it as a parting gift," Spider-Man said casually. "I hope you'll be a great hero in your world, too."
"Who said I want to be a hero?"
Xi Nian shrugged and tucked it into his suit's inner pocket.
There was no time for more words. The ground shook as the Green Goblin roared, his monstrous body charging at Spider-Man like a mountain in motion.
Boom!!
But before impact, a rainbow-lit figure fell from above, stomping down hard on the Goblin's skull and slamming the beast's head into the floor.
Spider-Man froze, stunned. The boy flipped nimbly and landed in front of him.
"You'd better leave."
Xi Nian said casually, his eyes locked on the Goblin. "While I'm still here, I'll hold them off."
Spider-Man gave a bitter smile. "So… you figured it out?"
"Guessed it."
Without looking back, Xi Nian's voice was steady as steel: "In the original future—you were meant to die here."
In this world's history—
Spider-Man was doomed.
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