"Roar!"
The Lizard's healing abilities were nothing to scoff at. He had barely been on the ground for a second before he let out an indignant roar and lunged through the gaping hole he'd smashed in the wall.
This time, he'd learned his lesson. Instead of clashing head-on with Bumblebee, he used his superior agility and the mechanical arm as a foothold to leap onto Bumblebee's neck and attack his head.
Bumblebee had a combat program Li Si had written for him, but he was still a robot without true intelligence. It took him time to analyze his enemy's movements. Even if it was only a split second, the Lizard managed to rake him with several claws.
Fortunately, Gold-Titanium Alloy was extremely hard. Combined with its shock-resistant coating and the cushioning layer Li Si had designed, the claws had little effect. Apart from a shower of sparks, they only left a few more scratches.
Bumblebee reacted at last and toppled straight toward the ground, using his immense weight to force the Lizard to leap away.
"Li, your little toy doesn't look nearly as impressive as it seems!"
The Lizard wore a cruel smile, baring a mouthful of gleaming white teeth. He lunged again, relying on his agility to dart around Bumblebee. He couldn't do much damage, but for a while, they seemed evenly matched.
Every now and then, the Lizard tried to get past Bumblebee and attack Li Si directly, but Li Si anticipated him and dodged. Otherwise, Bumblebee or Peter Parker blocked his way.
"If I didn't want to avoid giving certain people an excuse to make trouble over my use of firearms, you'd already be scrap metal!"
Li Si watched with an amused smile. He paid no attention to the Lizard's taunts, hurled in frustration after each failed sneak attack.
He wasn't in a hurry to end the fight. If anything, he wanted to stall for time. The longer and more fiercely the Lizard and Bumblebee fought, the happier he was.
The two huge creatures wrestling with each other wreaked utter destruction. The floor, walls, tables, chairs, and bookshelves all became casualties of their tremendous strength. In just a few minutes, they had practically demolished the entire library.
"Damn it! What kind of metal is this? How can it be so hard?"
Frustrated by his inability to break through, the Lizard roared again and again. Bumblebee, meanwhile, was like a silent gladiator. He simply punched and kicked without a word, the faint sounds of moving parts the only noise he made.
But Spider-Man clearly couldn't stand Bumblebee staying silent in the middle of such an explosive fight. He started providing his own sound effects from the sidelines.
"Hey, ha... That's right, another heavy punch!"
"Take this—my super-heavy iron fist!"
"Yeah, that's it! Lift his tail and let me see his..."
Peter Parker had always been a cheeky smart-mouth. Once he put on the skintight suit, he seemed to develop the mindset that nobody knew who he was, and he let loose. His nonstop trash talk was as relentless as a buzzing fly.
"Peter, if you keep running your mouth, I'll make you take Bumblebee's place and fight that giant lizard!"
Li Si finally lost patience with Spider-Man's nonstop chatter beside him. A vein bulged on his forehead as he gritted his teeth and shouted at him, even calling him by name.
"Uh... Okay, buddy. I'm just really worked up..."
Peter Parker reflexively tried to defend himself, then suddenly realized what Li Si had said. "Wait... Li, you know it's me?"
"Obviously. Did you think to put a voice changer in that disgusting skintight suit of yours?"
Li Si glared at him, looking exasperated. "Do you think I'm some idiot who can't recognize your voice? Or one of those blind classmates who didn't see you rush over to fight that giant lizard?"
"..."
Peter Parker was stunned.
Were there really that many ways to figure out who I was?
"Uh... Well... I..."
Peter Parker stammered for a while, then simply took off his mask, revealing an awkward grin.
Since his identity was already exposed, he stopped trying to hide it. He slung an arm over Li Si's shoulder, acting like they were old friends, and asked, "Li, where did you get this awesome giant robot?"
He'd been curious for a long time. But while wearing the Spider-Man suit, he'd worried about exposing his identity and held back from asking. Now, after the shock of being unmasked, he couldn't keep the question to himself any longer.
Li Si gave him a knowing look. "You don't know? Didn't you beg to buy one before?"
"Buy one? Wait... Is this the design you drew earlier? Did you build it yourself?"
Peter Parker stared, dumbfounded, at Bumblebee, who was locked in a fierce battle with the Lizard.
"That's right. You wanted to buy one, didn't you? I've changed my mind. I'm feeling generous, so I'll sell you one."
Li Si gazed at him with an amused smile. "Transformer Bumblebee Model. It cost $370,000 to make. I'll sell it to you for $400,000, including labor."
The gaze of a truly rich man.
"..."
As one of the most famously broke people in the Marvel Universe, Peter Parker nearly went green in the face when he heard the figure of $400,000. He shook his head and waved his hands so hard he looked like he was having a fit.
"You don't want it?" Li Si continued to give him the rich man's gaze.
"That's right. I don't!"
Peter Parker nodded emphatically, his attitude firm.
"Oh, all right!"
Li Si put on a disappointed expression. "I was thinking I'd give you one, since we're classmates. But if you don't want it, then forget it."
"...I can't get excited. I can't get excited. Li's just joking..."
Peter Parker's face twitched as he forced himself to suppress the inexplicable pang of regret in his heart.
He knew it was just a joke, but no matter how he looked at it, he felt as if he'd missed out on $400,000. What was he supposed to do?
That was $400,000! Round it up, and it was a hundred million!
"Li, you did that on purpose!"
Peter Parker glared at Li Si through gritted teeth, his face full of misery.
"That's right. I did it on purpose."
Li Si looked completely unapologetic, as if to say, "What are you going to do about it?"
He had to admit, watching the chatterbox Spider-Man get the better of his own sharp tongue was pretty entertaining. Peter Parker's expression was priceless. Li Si even quietly signaled Bumblebee to glance over and record it while he had the chance.
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