A Sorry State

(Thanks to Zhulu Between Cliffs for the 1,500 reward.)

"This is really annoying. A proper villain finally showed up, but we still can't confirm his identity..." Xiao He complained as he ran forward, feeling like nothing good had happened since he joined this department.

But right now, he was the only one who could stall the enemy head-on.

"Turn right at the intersection ahead, and you'll see the target," Cui Man reminded him through his earpiece.

"You'd better confirm his identity quickly!" Xiao He said irritably. "I'm in serious danger if I face him in my current state!"

After all, he had not activated his Superpower yet, so he barely counted as an LV1 Mutant. That giant spider, setting aside its appearance, was at least an LV2 Mutant. It was simply not something he could handle.

Xiao He sped up and turned right at the intersection ahead, just in time to see a dark figure sweep through the air. He looked up, but with the figure directly against the light, all he could make out was the Mutant's outline. It was basically a two-meter-tall spider.

The sight made Xiao He's scalp tingle, but for some reason, a spider that large was less frightening than one smaller than a fist...

The Mutant was about four or five stories up. He clung to the wall like a spider, and clearly his hands and feet were sticky like one's as well. He was climbing up the wall.

"How am I supposed to stop him like this? I can't even get close," Xiao He said with a frown. Cui Man replied through the earpiece, "Do something to get his attention. Throw something at him. You're an LV1 Mutant, at least."

Xiao He looked around and spotted a possible route. He lowered his body and leaped, landing on the sign of a flower shop on the first floor. After several jumps, he reached a fourth-floor balcony.

At that moment, the Spider-Man seemed to notice him too.

"Hello, what's your name?" Xiao He asked, waving at him. "I'm here to help you."

But the Spider-Man ignored him completely, making a strange clicking sound from his mouth. He seemed unable to speak human language anymore. Then the Spider-Man lunged at Xiao He, his six arms flailing wildly.

"Just like that...?" Xiao He was startled and quickly backed away. But the balcony was too cramped, and the other party had six arms. Although he retreated immediately, one fist still came at his face.

Xiao He raised his right arm to block the punch. The other man's bristle-covered fist struck his upper arm, and the heavy impact sent him flying off the balcony. He quickly grabbed the railing of the balcony below, barely stabilizing himself before dropping to the ground.

"That hurt like hell!?" Xiao He clutched the spot on his right arm that had been hit and roared through gritted teeth. "I think my arm is broken! Why does it hurt so much?!"

The pain far exceeded his imagination. Tears were practically coming to his eyes. Only now, in reality, did he realize television shows were all lies. There was no way someone could have their arms and legs broken and still endure the pain to keep fighting!

"Bear with it. You're a man, show some backbone," Cui Man said impatiently.

"Oh?! Why don't you try getting punched by two tons!" Xiao He snapped angrily, clutching his arm.

"If you can move it, it isn't broken! He's already focused on you now. Stall for time, don't fight him head-on! Keep moving and circle around him!" Cui Man instructed from the other end of the earpiece. "We're already communicating with the people on site. It'll be done soon!"

"It'd better be..." Xiao He sighed as he looked at the giant spider before him.

The enemy was much harder to deal with than he had imagined. Though their mutation levels differed by only one, there was a whole ton of punching force between their energy levels. Not to mention that the Spider-Man had six arms. Getting hit by even one of them felt like it would hurt him to death.

In any case, he had to find a way to stall for time. The giant spider had already shifted its attention to him and jumped down from the building. Xiao He looked at the monster before him, thought for a moment, then turned and ran. Since he only needed to stall for time, there was no need to fight head-on. If he could not beat it, he could at least run, right?

But after taking only a few steps, Xiao He felt something catch around his foot. He stumbled and fell to the ground. Looking down, he saw a strand of spider silk wrapped around his ankle, connected to the Spider-Man's abdomen.

"That's disgusting..." Xiao He said with revulsion. He struggled twice, but the spider silk was far too tough to tear apart.

The Spider-Man grabbed the spider silk with his six arms and dragged Xiao He toward him.

The immediate sensation that he was about to be eaten made Xiao He's survival instinct explode. He wrapped his arms tightly around a roadside lamppost, doing everything he could to stop himself from being dragged over.

"This is way too pathetic..." Cui Man frowned as she watched the battle through a drone beyond the cordon. "This kind of footage can't be used to promote Yinglong... Looks like we really need to strengthen practical combat training."

With that, Cui Man turned to the busy armed police and public security officers behind her. "Well? Do you have the results yet?"

"Not yet, but we have a lead." Zhang Liang pointed at the screen and explained, "Look, when this Mutant fell from the building, some clothes hanging on racks fell with him. We investigated and found that they came from a brand-name store on the sixth floor of this office building. The Mutant should have been inside at the time."

"Then what are you waiting for? Go check the surveillance footage! Can't you see this is urgent?" Cui Man asked impatiently. The SWAT team leader nodded repeatedly. "Yes, I've already sent people to retrieve the surveillance footage, and we're contacting the store owner to ask about what happened."

"Sister Man, things don't look good," Ye Wanqing said as she watched the footage sent back by the drone.

"What is it?" Cui Man immediately leaned toward the monitor. The lamppost Xiao He was holding suddenly snapped under the Spider-Man's tremendous strength, and Xiao He was dragged right in front of him. The Spider-Man raised all six arms and began hammering wildly at Xiao He below.

The rain of fists shattered the road under the impacts, and clouds of dust swallowed both figures.

"This is bad..." Cui Man frowned and turned to Zhang Liang. "Have your people provide long-range fire support! Snipe him from a safe distance. Find a way to stop the Mutant from moving!"

"B-but what if the Mutant dies?" Zhang Liang asked nervously.

"I'll take responsibility!" Cui Man said angrily. "That's still better than having both Mutants die, isn't it?!"

"Snipers, provide fire support!" Zhang Liang ordered, grabbing his radio.

Boom! Boom! After two gunshots, the Spider-Man's body visibly staggered back two steps, and his attack temporarily stopped.

But the two shots did not seem to injure the Spider-Man at all. Zhang Liang could not help saying in surprise, "We didn't use anti-materiel sniper rifles, but ordinary sniper rifles are still plenty powerful. They can't even hurt him..."

"Same principle as Spider-Man, I guess? His body became tougher," Cui Man said with a frown. Looking at Xiao He lying on the ground, already barely alive, she grew increasingly agitated. "What about his identity?! Hasn't it been confirmed yet? You useless lot, it's been four hours since this happened, and you still haven't found out who he is!?"

"We have it!" At that moment, a young woman raised her hand, then hurried over with a laptop in her arms. "Officer, his identity has been confirmed!"