Spider-Man, the first generation: super strength.
Spider-Man, the second generation: lightning-fast reflexes.
Spider-Man, the third generation: high-tech suit.
Tang Tian had now taken one C-rank side-story and two D-rank side-stories to continuously strengthen his mutated spider bloodline over two rounds. He hadn't gone all in, which might have meant he wasn't entirely confident in this path.
Or perhaps he had other plans.
In Fang Xiu's view, if someone could combine all the strengths of the first, second, and third generations, surviving until the later stages of the Samsara would be no difficult feat.
Besides... the most orthodox enhancement path in the Main God Space—the Gene Lock—could raise one's potential, accommodate bloodlines and even every other style, and allow for infinite possibilities.
As his thoughts turned, the light of enhancement had already fallen.
After all, Fang Xiu's silence meant he had no objection, and Tang Tian wasn't someone without ideas of his own. He clearly had his own plans! His attributes were rising rapidly!
At that moment, Tang Tian felt that none of his six attributes would be below C-rank, and his neural reflexes were increasing dramatically.
He could sway his body slightly and dodge successive supersonic bullets... This time, he'd definitely be able to handle them.
Besides that, Tang Tian could vaguely sense that his strength was also growing. Agility wasn't his only strong point.
"Through the Main God's optimization, the strengths of the first- and second-generation Spider-Men have been consolidated. I can even fire high-strength silk from my wrists without any equipment."
—Next, he'd have to exchange for thirty days to get used to his new abilities and master his body after its rapid improvement. But for now, his enhancements weren't finished yet.
Tang Tian, feeling that his enhancements were fairly standard, stepped out of the enhancement beam. Of his total of one B-rank and one D-rank side-stories, he'd already spent one C-rank and two D-ranks. Naturally, next came the equally impressive third-generation Spider-Man.
The poor relied on mutation; the rich relied on technology!
C-rank exchange: Intermediate Spider-Suit!
It was one D-rank side-story more expensive than Emir's enormous high-tech armor.
In the blink of an eye, Tang Tian had changed outfits without a hitch:
A skintight red-and-blue suit, a mask with white lenses, and a spider emblem on the chest.
It came equipped with a small spider-shaped drone, normally hidden beside the logo. It could detach from the suit at any time and carry out reconnaissance missions on its own, tracking the enemy's movements and sending information back to the suit.
It also had a high-tech GPS tracking system developed by Marvel's Iron Man. It could quickly detect where enemies were hiding and listen in on their conversations, while being extremely difficult to detect.
One thing worth mentioning: Spider-Man's mask was indeed airtight, but Tang Tian's suit could enlarge and shrink its lenses at will. They were also known as:
Expressive eyes.
When he switched to combat mode, the frames of the lenses would narrow, providing the corresponding assistance.
"I've got webbed wings hidden under my arms. I can use them to leap through the air or glide."
"The web-shooters are here."
Like a child showing off a new toy, Tang Tian was as lively as a monkey. He pointed to the things wrapped around his wrists, which looked a bit like sports wristbands. "Although the ability to shoot webs comes from my bloodline, the shooters let me layer on all kinds of properties."
"Explosive web traps, web grenades, spread nets, electric webs, web parachutes, web shields, web boats..."
An intelligent AI system was a given.
He couldn't even be bothered to mention it.
"Guys, the important thing is the material!"
"It's made of liquid metal and has several layers of protection. Its physical defense is crazy high. Against minor mobs like those, I can fight while watching videos and listening to music. They won't be able to break through my defenses at all."
"That double-D-rank electromagnetic cannon summoner I prepared for the Ghost King last time never got used. Since its penetration power is terrifying, it can still serve as a trump card in the Clover scenario."
Fang Xiu: "..."
Emir: "..."
The group fell silent.
Maybe Reincarnators who chose the Spider Lineage tended to become chatterboxes, more or less.
Still, Tang Tian's straightforward, consistent enhancement path was beyond reproach. He wasn't the one who'd be facing the giant Clover head-on, after all. As long as he didn't have terrible luck against elite enemies, he had a decent chance of surviving.
"Kid, in that regard, we're not so different. The Spider Lineage is pretty good, actually. There's even a totem path later on." The Black man spoke up, hinting that he preferred to stick with one path.
"Among the divine-type exchanges offered by the Main God, there's one called Giant Weapon Affinity. It costs one C-rank side-story plus 1,500 reward points. It lets you make a leap in strength alone, so you can smash an enemy head-on with a blunt weapon."
"Skill: Guardian Emblem.
"It costs two D-rank side-stories and 1,200 reward points. It increases the physical defense, magical defense, stamina, and spirit of one teammate within a certain range. It also slowly restores all attributes at a certain rate, and lasts for a set amount of time."
"Also, so I don't cause trouble for everyone, I'll put all my remaining resources into protection. I'll make a suit of heavy armor by plating high-strength metal with a small amount of Secondary Adamantium."
Granted, every member had chosen a different bloodline or path, but nearly all of them had settled on something similar: raising their defenses.
Adamantium was an alloy from Marvel Comics. It had been used for Wolverine's bones after his evolution and as a weapon material. Formed by mixing elements from an extraterrestrial meteorite into a carbon alloy, it was indestructible and the hardest metal known on Earth.
The comics' lore was even more outrageous. Once Adamantium ore had been smelted and cooled, it wouldn't show even the slightest sign of melting, even at temperatures of 500,000°C...
During the Chaos War, the universe-level boss Chaos King destroyed 98.6% of the multiverse. He casually obliterated the realms of the gods of Earth—including the heavens, divine realms, and other places—and killed many deities, such as Amaterasu and the gods of ancient Egypt.
Just as he was about to attack Amadeus Cho and the others, Heather, who could transform any tissue, said, "I'm trying to make a wall of Adamantium. That way, we'll still have a chance to survive!" Could it withstand the power of a single-universe-level combatant? Never mind how many attacks it could take. If it managed to block even one, its defensive strength would be enough to make every member of the Shazhou Team look up to it.
So... Uncle Odubiao's trump card was high-strength metal plated with Secondary Adamantium, made into a safe little tortoise shell. He had Giant Weapon Affinity for offense, along with a few basic skills for support.
And who would get the buffs?
Obviously, the person on the team best at carrying them.
Fang Xiu glanced at Odubiao, who was rising into the air and bathing in the light of enhancement. He couldn't help wondering:
How powerful would the boost be?
He'd have to test it later.
Now that all the veteran members except the captain had finished their latest round of enhancements, the newcomers began showing what they'd chosen.
Fang Xiu's attitude was practically an open book: he wouldn't interfere with their decisions, as long as they weren't too outrageous. They were free to go into the scenario and get themselves killed.
To be frank, if anyone wanted to die... he wasn't going to stop them. Someone was bound to meet their end in a future scenario.
Otherwise, what pressure would there be to unlock the Gene Lock?
"I'm going to exchange for the Empyrean bloodline, raise my six attributes, and get iron knees along with various high-energy weapons for long-range attacks and cleanup..."
Like Tang Tian, Yuan Meng—another man in construction—had chosen his target. He split one D-rank side-story off his budget to exchange for a Storage Ring that could hold equipment. "There's so much good stuff in the Main God Space. I really want to keep boxing and get Joe Higashi's enhancement template from Fatal Fury."
John, the Golden Belt winner, looked regretful. "But the next world is too dangerous. I don't have much time to train step by step. I'll get some cybernetic modifications as a stopgap.
"C-rank plus 1,000 reward points for Qian Ti 4 and Sandevistan.
"C-rank plus 1,000 reward points for skin and organ upgrades.
"C-rank plus 1,000 reward points to buy Ripple from the JoJo world, along with one random Stand awakening. Hahaha, I don't think my luck's that bad."
Fang Xiu didn't need John to say anything more to know what the last 1,000 reward points would be spent on: this man, who championed hard-nosed fighting, would exchange them for time.
Everyone had their own ambitions. Choosing not to follow the traditional strategy of raising defenses meant he had confidence...
The Main God Space was a place where miracles could happen.
"I hope you can surprise me, like Haida, who chose the Eldar Combat Path. You both seem like people with the potential to unlock the Gene Lock."
He said it silently to himself, then turned his gaze to the last person besides himself—the one he had the highest hopes for—
Someone with a mind of her own.
Talent.
An air of mystery. She shouldn't be short on luck, either.
Ye Mei didn't disappoint him.
"Spiritual power is my strength, so I need to make good use of it. But I don't want to overlap with the captain's role."
"Now that Uncle Odubiao's taken the support position, I want to try taming beasts. Well, you could call it summoning, too."
"C-rank skill: Soul Domination. I'll pit my spiritual power against the target's and take complete control of them, making them absolutely loyal combat servants. They can protect me, or we can work together to attack."
"I'll use all my remaining resources to focus on spiritual power..."
There was a hint of madness in her words.
Tang Tian, one of the veterans, hadn't had the courage to go all in. Yet the newcomer, who'd gained more in the previous world, had greater nerve.
At first, a name flashed through Fang Xiu's mind: Zhan Lan.
The original Infinite Terror: the Zhongzhou Team's mental controller.
Before entering the Samsara worlds, she'd been a writer with a fairly meticulous mind and a talent for analyzing supernatural horror films. Her beloved boyfriend had been killed while catching a robber, but the victim and the culprit had joined forces to frame her boyfriend as the robber. Disillusioned with the real world, she entered the Samsara worlds.
Her role: supporting combatants like Zheng Zha and Chu Xuan, and serving an indispensable purpose.
Known skills: Wind Spirit Acceleration, Stamina Enhancement, Mental Scan, Mental Shielding, Mind Link, and Mind Lash. She could control monsters whose spiritual power was weaker than hers.
How similar were they? The difference was that Ye Mei was more extreme. She leaned toward reconnaissance, leaving everything else to Fang Xiu, the captain.
"It's been too long, and some details are fuzzy, but I think Zhan Lan's death had something to do with a flying rock caused by an explosion... Before she died, she clearly comprehended the Light of the Soul and broke through to the initial fourth stage."
"She was so fragile it didn't feel real, like a glass doll."
Thinking of this, Fang Xiu couldn't help warning her: "Exchange for a life-saving skill or item. Taking a gamble is good, but you still need something to fall back on."
—Letting his teammates do as they pleased meant taking responsibility for the consequences.
—The Clover scenario was the turning point after the team's grace period. He could use it to sift out some members.
—Luck, character, strength: either have all three, or stand out in one.
—Hand-holding would never work. Under my leadership, the Shazhou Team couldn't repeat the same mistakes and end up wiped out, only to restart and become a cautionary tale for those who came after!
Those were the cruel thoughts deep in Fang Xiu's heart, the ones he didn't want to tell anyone present.
"Looks like I'm lucky."
Before Ye Mei could answer, John, the outgoing white boxer, successfully opened his blind box—
Stand awakening!
His Sharingan spun, letting him see what stood behind him.
Its body was white, and it looked like a robot. It wore a blue sleeveless garment with spike-shaped protrusions, and the symbols "$" and "¥" were on either shoulder.
The important part was its right hand. Web-like lines ran across it, and two protrusions grew from its palm.
The Hand
It was exactly what its name suggested.
With its special markings, it could swing its right hand and erase a section of space. The matter on either side would automatically join together, as if it had always been that way.
—Long-Distance Retrieval: Use The Hand to erase the space in front of you and instantly move a distant object to you. You can pull an enemy over to attack them or draw a desired item toward yourself.
—Instant Movement: Erase the space beside you to instantly move yourself to a distant location.
"In JoJo, people who awaken related Stands sometimes pull in the wrong objects. Especially in battle, they might pull over a flowerpot and knock themselves out."
"Mastering this ability will definitely take talent and time, but I'm confident, and I'll develop more uses for it."
Listening to all that self-encouragement, Fang Xiu nodded slightly, feeling a little moved—
He'd actually obtained a space-type ability just like that! His own Mangekyō Sharingan, a pair of wish-granting-machine eyes, didn't even touch that field.
Of course, he was only moved for a moment. As John himself had said, everything depended on how well one developed their power.
Ye Mei, who'd had high hopes placed on her, nodded to Fang Xiu as well, showing she'd taken his warning to heart.
Well then... they'd gather again before the teleportation light descended.
Keep the best and discard the rest!
With that thought in mind, Fang Xiu, having finished everything, headed for his private space. His system had become a little haphazard and bloated. He needed to streamline it, shore up specific weaknesses, try to fuse multiple systems, and think it through on his own.
"Three targeted enhancements have tentatively been decided."
"First, Sharingan Genjutsu, to interfere with the perceptions of intelligent creatures."
"I don't need to control the big guy completely. Even making it dazed at a critical moment would be great. Besides, Clover clearly isn't a machine or a mindless life-form. It's most likely intelligent, but not very clever. Genjutsu might even be more effective than expected."
"This is a mistake I thought of after reviewing the Iron-Blooded Trial. During the post-battle debrief, I should've tried to control the Xenomorph... But it doesn't have a visual system. Unless I used sound-based Genjutsu."
Before you continue