More than ten?
Darian was slightly startled.
According to this number, excluding Miles, the local Spider-Man of this server, even if you include Spider-Man of the Apocalypse and Spider-Demon Patton, the two evil versions of Spider-Man, only eight Spider-Men have appeared so far.
In other words, there are at least two Spider-Men from other Universes who have not shown their faces from beginning to end?
Darian immediately asked, "Has Kingpin not found any traces of other Spider-Men either?"
Prowler shook his head: "No, he only found those two Spider-Man helpers. At the time, one of them was robbing passersby in an alley and brutally killing them, while the other broke into someone's home and ate a family of four alive."
Obviously, the former he referred to was Spider-Man of the Apocalypse, and the latter was Spider-Demon Patton.
As Prowler spoke, his tone carried obvious disgust.
He thought he was already a great villain, but he didn't expect that once these Spider-Men turned bad, they would be several levels more evil than him, a super villain!
In comparison, this Universe's Spider-Man could almost be called a modern saint!
As Prowler thought of this, a trace of relief welled up in his heart. Fortunately, their Spider-Man was not like these evil versions of Spider-Man, otherwise, their super villains would probably not have enough lives.
The Spider-Men frowned upon hearing Prowler's words.
Especially after hearing that a family of four was eaten alive, they clenched their fists in anger, wishing they could tear Spider-Demon Patton limb from limb!
Unfortunately, they were allies of justice, and vigilantism was not advisable.
Crack!
A dazzling magic sword slashed through, cutting off Spider-Demon Patton's left ear along with both arms, and dark red blood splattered everywhere.
"Ah—!!"
Spider-Demon Patton let out a heart-wrenching scream, his remaining body twitching violently.
Everyone's gaze simultaneously turned to Darian.
He nonchalantly dispelled the magic sword, his tone calm as if he were merely going through the motions.
"My apologies, my hand slipped."
Everyone: "..."
"Really, be careful. This time it's fine, but don't do it again next time."
Peter B was the first to react, stern-faced, severely criticizing Darian's carelessness.
"Exactly, exactly, how can you be so careless?"
"I'll speak for the other party, as long as you say sorry, oh no, just blink, and this matter will be over."
"Actually, both sides are responsible, it's not easy for either. Give me some face, let's just drop it, drop it."
"..."
The Spider-Men spoke one after another, seemingly condemning Darian's mistake, but in reality, every sentence was excusing him.
Miles, the least experienced among them, clearly needed to hone his acting skills, as the expression on his face was almost impossible to maintain.
Prowler watched this scene, his eyelids twitching incessantly.
So this is the style of Spider-Man?
"This is truly too careless!"
Prowler originally wanted to say 'too shameless,' but as the words reached his lips, a group of Spider-Men's Spider-Sense instantly activated, and several fierce eyes simultaneously looked over, forcing him to change his words out of caution.
He once again felt fortunate in his heart that their Universe's Spider-Man wasn't this style, otherwise, their super villains wouldn't be able to compete with them at all.
Thinking of this, Prowler couldn't help but miss the Spider-Man of his own Universe.
Cell Spider, I miss you!
This accident was thus hastily concluded under the Spider-Men's brief pronouncements.
Except for Spider-Demon Patton, the party involved, everyone else believed there were no doubts in the case, and the entire process was fair, just, and open.
Gwen cleared her throat, bringing the topic back on track: "Speaking of which, since at least two other Spider-Men were also teleported to this Universe, why haven't they appeared all this time?"
"Could it be that they don't know what's happening here?"
Miles scratched his head, offering a possibility.
"Impossible."
Peter B immediately denied it: "Even if they weren't aware of the situation when they first arrived, they would quickly be repelled by this spacetime just like us, and sooner or later they would actively seek clues."
Peni said, "What if they, like Darian, are not affected by the repulsion?"
Since crossing into this Universe, several Spider-Men have occasionally experienced spacetime repulsion reactions.
Especially Peter B and Spider-Man Noir, perhaps because they look exactly like this Universe's Peter Parker, the repulsion reactions they experienced were the most intense.
In contrast, Darian showed no reaction from beginning to end, as if he wasn't Spider-Man.
Spider-Man Noir said in a deep voice, "Highly unlikely. I'm more inclined to believe they deliberately hid themselves."
As a famous detective in his Universe, he was more perceptive in logical reasoning than the others.
Miles worried, "That doesn't sound like the style of good people. Could those Spider-Men also be corrupted versions of Peter?"
Peter B: "..."
What do you mean 'corrupted version of me'? I have nothing to do with them!
"Anyway, let's find them first."
Darian naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity to find the remaining Spider-Men, as this was related to his dungeon rewards.
The Spider-Men all expressed their agreement.
If the other party were friendly, orderly Spider-Men like them, then it wouldn't matter.
But now that they had witnessed extremely dangerous entities like Spider-Man of the Apocalypse and Spider-Demon Patton, they dared not risk assuming whether other unrevealed Spider-Men were similar.
If there were more evil versions of Spider-Man, it would undoubtedly be a disaster for the ordinary people of this Universe.
As superheroes, the Spider-Men absolutely could not turn a blind eye to potential threats, pretend nothing happened, dust themselves off, and go their separate ways, each returning home and finding their own.
After a brief discussion, they formulated a new action plan.
Darian, Peni, and Spider-Man Noir formed a team, responsible for tracking down other Spider-Men.
Peter B, Gwen, and Pork formed another small team. Their mission was to capture Kingpin and seize control of the super-particle collider device.
Now that Kingpin's super villains were almost wiped out, he only had himself and Lady Octopus as combatants. Three Spider-Men were more than enough to deal with them, not to mention Pork, a comedic character, was also among them.
As for Miles, his sacrifice of his uncle to awaken his powers failed, so he had to stay behind to guard the two evil Spider-Men.
Of course, leaving Miles, a rookie Spider-Man, to guard them was still not very reliable.
Therefore, Darian specifically arranged for Prowler to assist. Prowler's affection for Miles was unquestionable, and he wouldn't stand by and watch Miles fall into danger.
Moreover, Prowler also had the 'Spider-Man's Uncle' debuff; even if danger arose, he would automatically take damage for Miles.
It could be said that Miles was essentially safe until Prowler died.
Prowler: "..."
With the intelligence provided by Miles, the Spider-Men had already pinpointed the exact location of the super-particle collider device.
Peter B didn't hesitate and immediately set off for the target location.
At the same time, Darian's team also began searching for traces of other Spider-Men.
Peni and Spider-Man Noir fully utilized their respective expertise; one hacked into the city's surveillance network with superb hacking skills, while the other used his years of detective experience to find clues.
Darian also utilized his unique skill, which was slacking off, leaving the task to the two of them.
Just as Prowler was successfully treated, his system also chimed with a notification.
"[Task 'Life and Death Line' settlement complete]"
"[Rewards: 1000 experience points, 30 Miles's favorability, Anchor Shard * 1, Item 'Pout · Learning Machine']"
"[Item: Pout · Learning Machine (Can only be used on Pokémon. After use, it will automatically learn the skill 'Pout', which can significantly reduce the opponent's attack desire and intensity, with the effect lasting for a period of time)]"
The good news was that this was an item that could teach new skills.
The bad news was that this item was limited to Pokémon, and it was a skill like 'Pout' which sounded useless.
The even worse news was that his only Pokémon at the moment was Max.
Darian: "..."
Making Max, this burly black man, learn to pout and act cute?
Just imagining that scene was terrifying!
As a normal player, Darian naturally... went for it!
"Come out, Max!"
Darian threw out a pure iron poké ball, summoning Max.
Before the other party could figure out what was happening, he directly threw the newly acquired skill learning machine over.
"Use this."
Max subconsciously caught the item, but then found that the learning machine in his hand suddenly transformed into a stream of light and disappeared.
The next moment, a method for using the 'Pout' skill inexplicably appeared in his mind.
Max: "???"
It was as if something unclean had forcefully entered his mind!
Darian crossed his arms and said with interest, "Max, try using Pout."
"I refuse!"
Max shook his head desperately, preferring death to submission.
"If you go back, I'll put you on the front page of the newspaper for a week."
"Pikachu~!"
Max let out a strange cry, revealing an indescribable expression.
Max: (≧≦)
It hardened!
His fist hardened!
Darian couldn't help but clench his fist, his aura skyrocketing, feeling an urge to kill the other party.
Didn't it say it would greatly reduce the opponent's attack desire and intensity?
Why did it feel like his attack desire was even stronger now!
Was this pouting or mockery!?
But it had to be said, this skill really had something to it.
Putting everything else aside, the sheer mental pollution-level visual impact alone was enough to cause indelible damage to enemies.
Darian suppressed the impulse in his heart and quickly recalled Max into the pure iron poké ball.
Meanwhile, Peni and Spider-Man Noir seemed to have found a clue.
Peni said seriously, "I've found that multiple disappearances have occurred in Brooklyn and Hell's Kitchen recently, precisely after the super-particle collider device was activated. The police haven't found the culprit yet, but a large amount of blood and bones were found at multiple scenes."
Spider-Man Noir continued, "These are definitely not ordinary murders. From the state of the bloodstains, the victims had no time to put up any effective resistance, indicating that the culprit possesses extraordinary skill and speed."
"But strangely, all the scenes lack complete bodies, as if the flesh was taken away by the culprit, or rather... eaten by the culprit!"
Darian asked, "You believe these disappearances are very likely the work of other Spider-Men?"
"That's right!"
Spider-Man Noir nodded: "The traces left at the scene all point to a culprit with extraordinary power. Considering the timing of the incidents perfectly matches, it's highly possible this was caused by Spider-Men from other Universes."
His tone was somewhat serious.
If this speculation was true, they would have to prepare for the worst.
These remaining Spider-Men could very well also be evil versions of Spider-Man, perhaps even more cruel and dangerous than Spider-Man of the Apocalypse and Spider-Demon Patton!
"Even if they aren't Spider-Men from other Universes, we can't ignore it," Peni added.
This Universe's Spider-Man had already sacrificed himself, and Miles, as the new Spider-Man, needed time to grow, fighting a few super villains to gain experience, and was temporarily unable to bear heavy responsibilities.
At present, only experienced Spider-Men like them had the ability to stop this superhuman culprit from continuing to harm innocent citizens.
"[NPC Spider-Men have issued you a new quest]"
"[Quest: Source of the Plague]"
"[Objective: A terrifying plague is about to spread in New York. Please investigate the truth as soon as possible and prevent this cross-dimensional plague from continuing to spread]"
"[Rewards: Experience + 3000, Anchor Shard 3, Random Equipment 1, Random Item * 1]"
Plague?
Darian saw this quest prompt and suddenly felt that things were not simple.
"Follow me, I've already found clues with magic."
Darian suddenly spoke, turning and walking out.
Peni and Spider-Man Noir exchanged glances. Although they were a bit puzzled, based on their trust in their companion, they didn't ask further and immediately followed suit.
Following the quest guidance, Darian used the web-shooters built into his Spider-Suit, and with the two Spider-Men, they swung their way to a slightly dilapidated meat processing plant in Hell's Kitchen.
"Are you sure it's here?" Spider-Man Noir asked.
"Positive."
Darian narrowed his eyes.
In his vision, on the minimap that only he could see, dense red dots were flashing.
He didn't hesitate and directly kicked the rusty factory door.
Bang!!
A huge impact sound rang out, and the door was forcefully broken open!
Accompanying it was an intensely nauseating smell of blood and decay, instantly assaulting their nostrils!
Darian and Spider-Man Noir immediately covered their noses. Peni, hidden inside her Spider-Mech, wasn't affected much.
The factory interior was extremely dim, with only a few incandescent lights hanging high above providing weak illumination. Faint, strange, fragmented sounds emanated from the shadows, creating an atmosphere straight out of a horror film set.
It felt like at any second, some hideous monster would leap out from the shadows.
According to normal horror movie tropes, Darian and the others should slowly explore inside and then be attacked by monsters hidden in the shadows.
But Darian never liked to play by the rules, and a magic sword instantly materialized in his hand.
Light Spell!
In an instant, a dazzling light erupted, dispelling the surrounding gloom completely!
Everything hidden in the darkness was immediately exposed.
Where the light reached, twisted figures were illuminated one by one.
They were in rags, their bodies covered in blood and gore, their skin a deathly grayish-blue.
Terrifyingly, these corpse-like things were still moving!
They were hunched over the ground, frantically tearing and gnawing at the corpses on the floor, emitting chilling chewing sounds.
Zombies?
Seeing this scene, a word involuntarily surfaced in Darian's mind.