Battle of the Reptiles

[Regional Notice: A large-scale faction quest, The Amazing Spider-Man—Battle of the Reptiles, has been released. All players in the region may claim it through the quest panel.]

Side Quest: The Amazing Spider-Man—Battle of the Reptiles

Type: Faction Conflict

Available Factions: Spider-Man vs. Lizard

Lizard Faction Quests:

1. Assist Lizard in killing Spider-Man.

2. Assist Lizard in completing the Life Leap Project.

Spider-Man Faction Quests:

1. Assist Spider-Man in defeating Lizard.

2. Assist Spider-Man in stopping Lizard's conspiracy.

3. Inject Lizard with the Restoration Serum.

Quest Description:

Find the corresponding NPC to choose a faction. Once selected, your faction cannot be changed. Players on both sides will receive a variable number of faction points based on their quest progress. The winning faction can exchange faction points for rewards, while the losing faction's points will be reset to zero.

A regional notice from the game system arrived belatedly, but it sent hundreds of players in New York into a frenzy, and they began searching wildly for the NPCs mentioned in the quest.

It was clear that this night was destined to be anything but peaceful.

But none of this had much to do with Li Si. He knew exactly where Spider-Man and Lizard were; both sides were probably locked in battle on the Williamsburg Bridge.

He had no intention of getting involved. With the average player's current abilities, they couldn't even play the role of a bystander. Tonight's battle between Spider-Man and Lizard clearly wouldn't reach any conclusion.

The game system had released the quest now simply to make it easier for players to choose a faction. After all, the two of them were both hard to track down, and this was the one time they were easy to find.

There was no way he would choose Lizard's faction. Never mind that Lizard wanted to turn all of New York's residents into Lizard-men; Li Si couldn't possibly side with a villain. He didn't want to ruin his reputation.

As for joining Spider-Man's faction, he could do that tomorrow when he went to school. Besides, Lizard was bound to attack the school in the next few days, so he could just wait and complete the quest then.

Right now, he had a beautiful woman in his arms. Going off to fight Lizard at a time like this would be a surefire way to end up alone for the rest of his life.

He didn't have Spider-Man's idiotic sense of responsibility, as if the world would stop turning without him. Even if the world really was about to end, someone more capable would step up. There were plenty of hidden powerhouses in the Marvel Universe.

"Come on. You barely ate anything earlier, so I'll make you a sandwich."

After embracing Gwen on the balcony for a while, Gwen, her cheeks flushed, broke free.

"No need. I'm not that hungry, and I really enjoyed dinner tonight. It's just..."

Li Si smiled and caught hold of Gwen, pulling her back into his arms.

"Just what?"

Gwen's body gradually stiffened. She tried to find a topic to talk about, almost instinctively.

"We're missing one essential thing."

With a mischievous grin, Li Si slowly lowered his head.

He brushed her red lips, feeling the lovely body in his arms go from stiff to limp, and only then did he let her go.

"All right, that seals it. From now on, you belong to me!"

Li Si lifted his head with a beaming smile, though inside he was cringing.

Those cheesy words had nearly disgusted him too. It was his first time confessing his feelings, but no matter how naturally things had developed between them, someone still had to break through that barrier. He couldn't exactly wait for Gwen to make the first move.

As it turned out, cheesy lines like that would only disgust a girl whose feelings weren't there yet. But between two people who already understood each other without words, the cheesier the better.

"No, you belong to me!"

Gwen chuckled, her voice rich and warm, then wrapped her arms around Li Si and kissed him again.

After a long while, they parted and exchanged smiles before walking inside together.

They spent a little more time in the living room, chatting with Gwen's mother. Then Li Si got up to leave, and Gwen accompanied him down in the elevator.

"Gwen, do you remember what you said about Stark stocks?"

As he was about to leave, Li Si suddenly remembered something. He stopped and turned back.

"Of course. What is it?" Gwen asked, puzzled.

"Could you use all the money on this card to buy Stark Group stock for me? I'm not good at this kind of thing, so I can only leave it to you!"

Li Si took out a bank card and pressed it into Gwen's hand.

"All of it? How much money is on here?"

Gwen casually took the card and nodded to show she understood. Now that they were together, there was no need to be secretive about things like this. Besides, she assumed Li Si hadn't even been working for a month yet, so he probably didn't have much money.

But she had only asked offhandedly, and Li Si's answer left her stunned.

"Did you say how much?"

"Five million dollars. Is there a problem?"

Seeing Gwen looking as if she were dumbstruck, her mouth unconsciously forming an "O," Li Si couldn't help laughing.

"Oh my God, where did you get all that money? You didn't rob—"

Gwen still stared at him in shock and disbelief.

"What are you thinking? It's all from legitimate sources. I made it by selling some little gadgets I developed."

Li Si smiled and interrupted her, giving her a vague, simplified explanation.

Well... in a way, the money had indeed come from legitimate sources. After all, scamming people wasn't illegal, even if it was easier than robbery.

"Little gadgets? That robot toy design you drew a while ago? It was worth that much?"

Gwen looked surprised. Knowing there was a full five million dollars on the card, she felt as if she were holding a hot potato.

"Not that one. Something else. Anyway, just help me turn it into Stark Group stock!"

Li Si couldn't explain, so he sighed and pushed back the hand Gwen had already raised to return the card.

"This is all the money I have. I wouldn't trust anyone else with it, so I can only leave it to you!"

"Well... all right. But are you sure you want to buy Stark Group stock with all of it?"

Gwen agreed hesitantly, then asked uncertainly, "If Tony Stark doesn't come back, you'll lose a fortune!"

"Don't worry. I have inside information. I'll tell you when it's time to sell."

Li Si gave her a mysterious smile. "If you have some savings of your own, you could consider buying some too. I guarantee you won't lose money!"

"All right, I will!"

Gwen nodded.

"Oh, and remember not to go to school early tomorrow. I'll come pick you up in the morning!"

After finishing his instructions, Li Si was ready to leave. Still, he turned back to remind her, just to be safe, then drove away in Bumblebee.

Gwen watched until Bumblebee disappeared into the distance. Only then did she carefully tuck the bank card in her hand against her chest, a sweet smile—the kind only a girl in love could wear—spreading across her face.

"That young man's a catch!"

Gwen's mother had come up behind her without a sound. She smiled as she watched Li Si's retreating figure.

"Mom..."

Two red clouds bloomed on Gwen's cheeks.

"I'm serious. It's hard to find a young man who can get along with a stick-in-the-mud like your father, and I can tell George thinks highly of him."

Gwen's mother smiled.

"This is my business. What does Dad have to do with it?"

Gwen's rosy cheeks turned even redder, and she hurriedly trotted into the apartment.