Chapter 440: Captain Universe Spider-Man
The farther Ethan went into the Spider-Society, the darker his face grew.
There were far more wounded Spider-People here than he'd expected. One after another they sat or lay there, wrapped in bandages, their faces full of exhaustion and pain. Some had already been covered with white sheets, declared dead.
The whole situation was far more complicated and serious than he'd imagined.
Ethan had assumed Spider-Man 2099 had called him urgently because the headquarters had come under sudden attack and needed help. But the scene in front of him said it was nowhere near that simple.
He looked around. The headquarters' buildings were all intact, its sections neatly organized, with no sign of damage from any outside force.
That made him think. If these Spider-People hadn't been hurt in an attack on the headquarters, then why?
A few possibilities crossed his mind. Either the Spider-People had joined together in a collective operation against a powerful enemy and lost, or these Spider-People from different worlds had each fought alone in their own territory and run into enemies they couldn't withstand.
Given everything he'd seen and heard, Ethan leaned toward the latter.
Either way, he was sure of one thing: the Spider-People had been targeted.
Weighed down by the thought, Ethan pressed on until he reached the deepest part of the headquarters.
There, Spider-Man 2099 stood before an enormous holographic screen, completely focused on directing operations, his fingers flying across virtual keys as if racing against time.
All around him, the other Spider-People were busy at their own posts, some analyzing data, others allocating resources. The entire headquarters ran like a precision machine at full speed, responding to the crisis.
Ethan didn't interrupt right away. He waited quietly to one side, ears pricked to catch the conversations around him.
Finally he caught the key information: Spider-People across the multiverse were under unprecedented attack and suffering heavy casualties.
The enemy was unbelievably strong. Even the multiverse's Spider-People could only barely rescue their comrades, never truly drive the enemy off.
Many Spider-People had even fallen trying. The number they could save was far lower than the number lost, roughly one to five.
In other words, rescuing one Spider-Man cost five more.
That was more than Ethan could sit still for. He walked straight up to Spider-Man 2099, clapped him on the shoulder, and said, "Let me help."
He was a member of the Spider-Society in name, after all, an ally at the very least.
Spider-Man 2099 had clearly noticed Ethan's arrival. But his eyes held more than exhaustion. There was also an unspoken anger and helplessness.
He took a deep breath, his voice low and drained. "You can't go."
"Why not?" Ethan frowned. Was there something he didn't know?
"What exactly happened?" Ethan still wanted to know.
Spider-Man 2099 was silent for a moment, as if weighing his words. At last he spoke slowly. "Three days ago, a group of unknown enemies suddenly appeared across the multiverse. It was like they walked out of nothingness, carrying an endless thirst for slaughter. At first we didn't pay much attention, until more and more Spider-People started falling. That's when we realized how serious it was."
"We organized rescue operations fast, but the enemy was far stronger than we'd expected. Every clash came at huge cost. We started digging in, trying to find out who they really were, but it was like they'd left no trace anywhere in the multiverse, as if they'd jumped straight here from another dimension."
"At first we thought we were their target. But after some investigation, we discovered something shocking. From survivors, we learned that we weren't the target at all. They were after someone else. And that someone..." Spider-Man 2099 stopped there. His expression suddenly turned grave, and the look he gave Ethan was full of complicated emotion.
His voice had gone low and heavy, and his eyes were locked on Ethan.
Watching Spider-Man 2099 hesitate like this, Ethan felt a sense of foreboding rise in him. He waited quietly, hoping Spider-Man 2099 would say the shocking truth himself.
But Spider-Man 2099 seemed to choke on it. He couldn't bring himself to say the name. The air grew awkward and tense, as if time had frozen.
About thirty seconds passed.
Then a voice came from behind Ethan.
"I'll tell him."
Ethan spun around. A Spider-Man he'd never seen before stood behind him.
Yet even though he'd never seen him, Ethan recognized him at a glance. It was the strongest Spider-Man in the entire multiverse: Captain Universe Spider-Man.
His suit was nothing like the traditional red and black. The lower half was all white, the upper half a deep navy so dark it was almost black, as if the depth and vastness of the cosmos had been woven into it.
White lines patterned it like constellations, glittering with a mysterious brilliance.
This Spider-Man wasn't supposed to have joined the Spider-Society. What was he doing here?
What surprised Ethan even more was that Captain Universe Spider-Man was injured.
His power was multiversal in scale. He had beaten Galactus. He was at demigod level. And he'd been hurt?
The suspicion in Ethan's mind grew more and more certain.
Just then Captain Universe Spider-Man spoke. His voice carried a trace of fatigue, but it was still firm and strong. "These people call themselves Reincarnators. They have two goals. One is to wipe out Hell's Kitchen. The other is to find someone named 'Chen Ye.'"
At that, Ethan's brow knotted tight. His heart burned as if on fire, anger and guilt tangled together.
He'd long expected the Reincarnators to come for him. But he'd never imagined they'd use methods this extreme and cruel.
Thousands upon thousands of innocent people had died horribly at the Reincarnators' hands because of him. The pain and self-blame were almost unbearable.
Without looking back, he opened a portal.
Just as he was about to go, Captain Universe called after him.
"Ethan, don't go yet. I have more to tell you. If you want revenge, you should at least know something about the enemy's strength."
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