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"Oh! Look who it is!" Grandmaster exclaimed dramatically, "He is the playboy of Titan! The dream lover of countless young women across the Universe! Thanos's own brother... Starfox, Eros!"
A wave of screams erupted from the audience, mixed with cheers from many female aliens.
Starfox walked into the preparation area amidst the cheers, waving to the audience with great enjoyment, and even blew kisses at several cameras.
"And his opponent..." Grandmaster drew out his tone.
The big screen shifted, and a photo of Peter Parker appeared before everyone's eyes.
"The young masked man from Earth! The bug boy who can swing between buildings—Spider-Man! Peter Parker!"
The reaction from the audience was clearly not as enthusiastic as before; there were even boos.
"What the hell? Is there no one left on Earth? Sending a kid up here?"
"With those skinny arms and legs, can he even take a single punch?"
After all, in the eyes of these bloodthirsty cosmic thugs, this slim Earth kid didn't look like enough to even serve as an appetizer.
Grandmaster ignored the boos and continued to shout, holding the microphone high: "Now, the voting channel is closed! Let's see what kind of environment these two warriors will be fighting in!"
A few seconds later, the arena information appeared.
"Oh! Whoa!" Grandmaster exclaimed dramatically, "Terrain confirmed: Lost Light City—Beast Hunting Grounds!"
Click, click, click—!
As his voice fell, the gladiator arena began to rapidly reconfigure.
Dilapidated skyscrapers rose from the ground one after another.
The streets cracked, and rusted car wrecks were scattered everywhere.
In just over ten seconds, a modern Metropolis filled with the atmosphere of a post-apocalyptic wasteland was perfectly presented to the audience across the Universe.
"This is truly interesting."
Grandmaster lowered his voice, acting mysterious.
"Foxes and spiders are both natural hunters. But in this arena, I must remind you... you are both prey."
The countdown ended.
Swoosh!
A strand of web shot out, sticking to a tilted utility pole.
Peter Parker swung down with the momentum.
He had intended to strike a classic Spider-Man landing pose and make a cool entrance.
But just as his hand touched the ground.
Boom!
The ground beneath his feet suddenly swayed.
"Whoa!"
Peter lost his balance and landed straight on his butt on the dusty concrete road.
"This is a bit embarrassing. I hope Mr. Homelander didn't see that start." He muttered, patted his butt, and scrambled up, "What's going on? Is there an earthquake?"
He looked around, the white lenses on his mask widening slightly.
Just then, he heard a complaint from across the way.
"Damn it! I hate dust."
Peter looked in the direction of the voice.
At the other end of the street, about a dozen meters away from him.
An elegant figure was standing on the roof of a wrecked yellow taxi, frowning and brushing off his high-end dark red combat suit.
"This is Tharian cold-silk. Couldn't you have chosen a cleaner venue? Like a beach, or a ballroom?"
Starfox complained while looking at the surrounding environment with disgust.
Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, and he saw Peter looking at him from not far away.
The two stared at each other across the street.
Peter immediately became nervous.
He immediately lowered his center of gravity, struck a fighting pose, and aimed his wrists at Eros.
"H-hello! I am Spider-Man!" Peter said rapidly, "I don't want to hurt you, but if you want to fight, I'm actually quite tough!"
Eros paused for a moment and looked Peter up and down.
Not only did he not adopt an attack stance, but he relaxed his shoulders and shrugged.
"Relax, kid." Eros spread his hands and walked forward a few steps, "I have no interest in hurting others. My name is Eros, you can call me Starfox."
Peter didn't dare to lower his guard: "You are Thanos's brother! You are on the same side!"
"Correction, half-brother." Eros sighed, his tone filled with helplessness, "And, I didn't come here voluntarily. My brother is a paranoid."
Peter blinked, and his white lenses narrowed.
"Forced? He made you?"
"Of course!" Eros began to vent his grievances, "I was on the Planet Contraxia, vacationing on the beach with four of my girlfriends. Then that guy threatened me with the survival of twenty Planets."
"The point is, on those twenty Planets, live another forty-plus of my girlfriends. Do you understand that feeling, kid?"
Peter was stunned.
"F-forty girlfriends?" Peter's voice cracked, "Is that legal? No, I mean, how do you manage your time?"
"Time management is an art, my friend." Eros waved his hand seriously, "So you see, I don't want to fight at all. I just want to end this farce quickly and go back to be with my girls."
"Whoa." Peter slowly lowered his hands, "Actually, I want to go back early too. I have an algebra final next week."
"Algebra? Final exam?" Eros looked at Peter with the expression one might use for a rare animal, "You're still in school?"
"Uh, high school." Peter scratched his head, "But I've already finished college physics in advance."
"That bastard Thanos actually forced me to duel with a high school student who is still in school. If this gets out, my reputation in the Milky Way Galaxy will be ruined."
Eros walked forward a few steps, and the distance between them shortened to less than ten meters.
He examined Peter's suit, "This uniform is nice. The red and blue color scheme is classic, and the material looks high-end."
"Yes! Mr. Stark helped me upgrade it!" Peter excitedly patted his chest, "It integrates over five hundred web-shooting modes, plus built-in AI and a temperature control system. Yours is nice too, the red and white combo is very retro."
"Thanks, I designed it myself." Eros smiled.
...
Meanwhile, the audience, who were looking forward to an exciting battle, were dumbfounded, with heads full of question marks.
"What are they doing?!"
"Is this a blind date? Why aren't they fighting yet?"
"Is that alien trying to seduce our Spider-Man?"
"Rush up and punch him, Spider-Man! Why are you chatting with him!"
On the preparation platform.
Thor pointed at the screen, puzzled: "What is this kid doing? Making friends?"
"This is a good opportunity." Star-Lord Quill's eyes lit up, "If this kid Peter can launch a surprise attack while the enemy is letting their guard down, maybe he can win this round directly."
"He won't," Steve shook his head, "Peter won't sneak attack. He's too kind."
Homelander watched all this, a cold sneer curling on his lips.
Starfox's ability is to stimulate the pleasure centers in others' brains, making people lower their guard.
A kid with a simple mind like Peter is most easily deceived by such appearances.
However, Homelander wasn't worried.
Because Grandmaster won't let them keep chatting like this; don't forget the name of this arena.