Restart, Spider-Man! [205]

Ninth Resurrection Match

In the Hell Arcade, Xia Luo selected a particularly tricky opponent.

"Buzz~"

Hellfire spread across the room as Xia Luo’s figure materialized in the altar space.

The spectators yawned in boredom, with some even choosing to leave early.

Spider-Man versus Ant-Man? Completely uninteresting.

After all, you couldn’t see anything.

As expected, a flash of light erupted from the altar, and Xia Luo’s figure disappeared in its wake.

No—he hadn’t vanished.

He had been shrunken, thanks to the power of Pym Particles.

From Xia Luo’s perspective, the altar now resembled a vast expanse of craggy mountains, with a massive swarm of ants charging toward him from the “valleys.”

At the forefront of the ant army, a colossal ant served as a steed for Scott Lang, who removed his helmet and examined the now-tiny Spider-Man surrounded by the swarm.

“Spider-Man?” Scott squinted suspiciously.

Xia Luo’s mask retracted, revealing a youthful face.

“Hey, I just want to talk.”

Seeing that this Spider-Man wasn’t the one he knew, Scott relaxed slightly.

“Sorry, this isn’t the place for a chat. Only one of us is leaving here.”

“One?”

Xia Luo gestured at the massive ant horde around him. “You sure it’s only one?”

Scott scratched his head awkwardly. “Uh, don’t mind the details. Anyway, I can’t lose. I don’t want to die in this hellhole.”

“Relax, you’re not going to die. Can we talk now?” Xia Luo tried again.

Scott shook his head, his guard still up.

“Sorry, I swore never to let Spider-Man talk me into losing again. So, no, I’m not listening.”

With a loud shout, the swarm of ants charged at Xia Luo, their countless legs stirring up a whirlwind of dust.

"Crack, crack, crack!"

The rumble of ant feet echoed like thunder, sending waves of sandstorm-like debris into the air.

Xia Luo chuckled. “Wow, are ants really the natural enemies of spiders?”

Leaping into the air, he fired spatial webs and activated his electric arc form.

"Zzzt~"

"Boom!"

Electric arcs zigzagged through the sky, rapidly closing in on Scott.

“What the—?!”

Scott’s eyes widened in shock. “What kind of Spider-Man is this?!”

In a panic, he tapped his wrist device. Pym Particles glowed faintly, and his body began to expand dramatically.

"Buzz~"

"Boom!"

Scott, now in his giant form, raised a foot the size of a skyscraper and stomped down.

The sky darkened as a massive shadow enveloped Xia Luo.

Reacting swiftly, Xia Luo transformed into an electric arc, darting into the "mountain range" below.

"Boom! Boom! BOOM!"

The ground quaked, resembling the end of the world.

From the safety of an altar crevice, Xia Luo perched on the back of a large ant, patting its metal-like armor.

“Buddy, when’s the last time you bathed?” he quipped, before leaping off the ant’s back and zipping through the altar crevices as a streak of lightning.

Using his webs, Xia Luo latched onto the hem of the giant Scott’s pants and began climbing up his towering form.

Meanwhile, Scott returned to his normal size and knelt to inspect the ground.

“Huh? Did I flatten him? Amen...”

Kneeling, Scott clasped his hands in mock prayer.

"Zzzt~"

Suddenly, sparks crackled from his wrist device, and Scott’s expression shifted.

“Oh no!”

A burst of light engulfed him, shrinking his body to the size of an ant.

“No!!”

Scott plummeted to the ground, but before he landed, Xia Luo’s electric arc snatched him up.

“Oh, come on. There’s no way you’re activating that Pym device at this size. It’d take at least a hundred tons of force.”

Flying through the air, Scott stared at Xia Luo in disbelief.

Meanwhile, Xia Luo casually plucked the wrist device from Scott and landed in a nearby valley.

“Sorry. I’m Spider-Man. And the Hulk.”

To punctuate his words, Xia Luo kicked a nearby boulder into pieces, leaving Scott visibly shaken.

“D-Don’t do anything rash. I-I was just joking!” Scott stammered, immediately surrendering.

Xia Luo smirked, tossing the Pym device in his hand.

“Now, can we talk?”

Scott sighed and slumped to the ground. “Fine. But there’s not much to discuss. I lost, and my time’s up.”

“No, you still have time,” Xia Luo said, waving dismissively. “I told you—I’ll forfeit later.”

“Wait, you were serious about that?”

“Of course. Spider-Man never lies.”

“I’d believe you... if I hadn’t met my Spider-Man. That guy lies all the time,” Scott muttered, rubbing his sore neck.

“So, what do you want to talk about?”

“Quantum Realm,” Xia Luo said simply.

Scott froze. “Who told you about that?”

“Not important.”

“Fine. But what do you want with the Quantum Realm?”

Xia Luo sat down beside him. “If we can enter the Quantum Realm, we can escape this hell.”

Scott’s initial excitement faded into unease.

“No. That’s impossible. The Quantum Realm is worse than hell.”

“How bad could it be?” Xia Luo pressed.

Scott sighed. “I don’t know.”

“What?”

“I mean it—I don’t know,” Scott admitted, shaking his head.

“I’ve never fully entered the Quantum Realm, but even the little I experienced was horrifying.

"There’s no concept of time or space. Everything around me kept shifting, and I couldn’t even perceive myself.

"It felt like I’d lost all meaning of existence, like my mind had become one with that place.

"If I hadn’t been lucky, I’d still be stuck there.

"No, not stuck forever—because there’s no ‘forever’ in the Quantum Realm. I’d just exist endlessly in nothingness.”

Scott’s voice trembled as he described the experience, his body shaking.

Xia Luo gave him a serious look. “Alright, I won’t force you. The choice is yours. I’ll find another way if I have to.”

“I’m not going. Ever,” Scott said firmly.

“That’s fine. Just let me borrow a few vials of Pym Particles. Don’t worry—you’re not getting them back.”

Xia Luo took several vials from the device before tossing it back to Scott.

Scott didn’t protest. “I’ve got plenty more.”

“You learned to synthesize Pym Particles yourself?” Xia Luo asked, intrigued.

Scott nodded. “To make the game fair, Mephisto provided the tools and time for me to figure it out.”

“Guess the Scott I know isn’t there yet,” Xia Luo mused.

Scott smirked. “I’ll teach you how to make them. If you get out, you know what to do.”

“Sure. I’ll take care of your wife and daughter.”

Scott’s face darkened. “No. Give the formula to another universe’s Scott Lang. He’ll handle it. Don’t meddle.”

Xia Luo: “...”

“Fine. Makes sense. Anyway, can you enlarge me? I need to get up there.”

“Where’s ‘up there’?”

“Thanos. I’m fighting him again.”

“You won’t win.”

“I already have.”

“Then why fight him again?”

Xia Luo wagged a finger. “You don’t understand. The more teammates we have entering the Quantum Realm, the better our chances of finding an exit.”

Scott nodded thoughtfully.

“Alright, I’m in. Let’s convince Thanos to join us.”

Xia Luo groaned. “So you weren’t scared of the Quantum Realm—you just didn’t trust me!”

“Glad you caught on. So, how do we get up there?”

“Simple. I fight my way up.”

“That’s insane.”

Moments later, flashes of light signaled Scott’s return to normal size.

Meanwhile, Xia Luo’s body rapidly expanded under the influence of Pym Particles.

"Boom! BOOM! BOOM!"

As his body grew, Xia Luo’s strength soared past thousands of tons.

Watching the towering red-and-blue giant stretch ever larger, Scott gulped.

“Your body won’t hold up. You should stop.”

Xia Luo waved him off. “Not yet.”

While Ant-Man’s initial maximum height was around ten meters in Civil War, by Endgame, Scott could reach over thirty meters. Given Xia Luo’s enhanced physique, his growth potential far exceeded that—likely hundreds or even thousands of meters.

His suit’s nanotechnology began emitting a red mist, mitigating the strain of his massive size with Hydra’s power.

Scott, impressed, added more Pym Particles.

To the gasps of the audience, Xia Luo’s enormous head broke through the altar’s ceiling.

"Buzz~"

Hellfire erupted as the crowd’s view was obscured by flames.

Meanwhile, in the upper altar space, Thanos, lounging with closed eyes, felt the ground quake beneath him.

As the fire roared, a massive head smashed through the floor, glowing blue eyes locking onto the Titan.

Thanos stared, his face a mix of awe and alarm.

“That’s... one massive bug.”