S.H.I.E.L.D. Trident Headquarters.
Nick Fury listened to Steve's voice coming from the battlefield over the comms and the analyst's report on how the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents were helpless. He leaned back in his chair silently, his hand hidden beneath the desk unconsciously tightening into a fist.
Facing a disaster of this level, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s proud Agent equipment and tactics were only fit for evacuating civilians on the periphery, without even the qualification to intervene.
This sense of powerlessness made the light in his single eye grow increasingly unfathomable.
As if he had made a decision, he suddenly pulled open a drawer beside him and took out a file marked Top Secret. The project codename on the cover was... [Avengers].
"It seems this project needs to be put on the agenda immediately," Fury whispered to himself.
Just then, Lin Huai's urgent voice exploded through the highest-priority channel, simultaneously inside the plane, within Tony's faceplate, Steve's headset, and Fury's office!
"Tony! Don't hit the green one! Hit the red one! Steal the kill!"
Hearing this, Tony, who was diving from high altitude while charging up, instinctively adjusted his direction.
"My Spirit Vision has seen it! Space is about to buckle under their power! We can't let Hulk keep attacking, or the consequences will be unpredictable!" Lin Huai spoke extremely fast.
"Don't worry about Hulk; I have a way to turn him back into Banner! Captain, though we haven't met, if you trust me, assist Tony immediately and take down that big red guy at all costs!"
"And you, Black Brine Egg!"
Fury's eyebrow twitched, but he had no time to argue about the nickname.
"Immediately pressure General Ross, who caused all this—that's your specialty! Tell him his daughter Betty is the key to breaking this situation! If all goes well, once Abomination is dead, have his daughter assist me immediately! I can turn Hulk back into Banner, but Dr. Banner is already a pre-selected member of our team. You must protect him from General Ross!"
Fury looked at the Avengers project file in his hand, and his mouth curled into a rare grin, revealing a row of stark white teeth.
"Mr. Lin, I will contact General Ross. Besides, even if you didn't say so, I would still protect Dr. Banner."
He cut the communication and immediately connected to the White House line, telling that background-character President about the situation with some added flair.
Before long, a cold and oppressive message was sent directly to General Ross on the battlefield through this lethal political channel.
"General, if you don't want to be court-martialed tomorrow for the massive losses in New York, you'd better cooperate with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s orders now... After all, someone has to be the scapegoat, right? And you're certainly not innocent."
On the battlefield, Tony received the command, and all his computing power instantly locked onto Abomination, who was pinned under Hulk with only half his head visible!
That massive Tungsten Warhammer, gathering all the remaining energy of the armor, lit up with terrifying electrical arcs at the hammerhead. It carved a lethal, air-tearing arc in mid-air and smashed down violently!
Boom!!!
This terrifying strike directly pulverized half of Abomination's skull, exploding like a rotten watermelon! Red and white matter splattered everywhere!
The violent shockwave even flipped Hulk, who was riding on him, over; he rolled once on the ground before stopping next to Abomination.
"Lin... did we succeed?" Tony's voice was full of exhaustion. The light from the reactor in his chest dimmed sharply, entering low-power mode. "I'm out of juice."
On the plane, Lin Huai's eyes were wide open, his gaze fixed on the smoke-filled center of the battlefield. In his Spirit Vision, the glow representing Abomination's life was only extremely dim, not completely extinguished!
"No! The big red guy isn't dead yet!" Lin Huai roared into the communicator. "He's still alive! Captain! Finish him off!"
Steve didn't hesitate for a second. On the battlefield, orders were everything!
"I can't see clearly, Consultant Lin! I didn't bring thermal imaging gear," Steve's voice came from the edge of the smoke. "Tell me the exact attack position!"
"From your current position, dash forward seven meters! His head is right there!" Lin Huai shouted, using Spirit Vision to precisely locate Abomination's remaining life signature. "Smash it!"
Steve placed all his trust in Lin Huai's ephemeral command. Holding his shield, he moved like an arrow released from a bow, resolutely plunging into the thick smoke that swallowed everything!
A second later, a tooth-gritting thud came from the smoke—the squelch of flesh and bone being crushed into pulp!
Then, an ear-splitting metallic "Clang!" exploded, accompanied by Hulk's thoroughly enraged roar!
"Roar—!!!"
Boom!
A figure was violently swatted out of the smoke by that terrifying force, crashing into a pile of rubble like a ragdoll. After struggling a few times, he failed to get up.
"Did it work?"
Everyone watching the battlefield through various screens had the same question pop into their minds.
Only Lin Huai on the plane felt his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, completely sink.
The smoke... gradually dissipated.
The scene at the center of the battlefield was finally revealed.
Hulk's massive body was in a pose as if he had just swatted a mosquito with a backhand. One of his huge feet was stepping on Abomination's head, which had been completely turned into a puddle of meat. Steve's star shield lay by his leg. On Hulk's knee, a clear indentation from the shield was slowly healing at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Crack!
An extremely faint sound, like glass shattering, abruptly exploded in Lin Huai's mind.
Alarm bells rang in his heart. He snapped his head up, opening his Spirit Vision fully to look at the sky.
In the air directly above Hulk's head, a hairline spatial rift—visible only to him—appeared out of thin air!
A wisp of grayish-black smoke, like a venomous snake come to life, quietly slithered out from that tiny rift!
Lin Huai instinctively mobilized all his spirituality, wanting to see more clearly.
The moment he focused, all his spirituality issued a frantic, soul-tearing warning! A thick gray mist suddenly surged, violently obscuring his eyes!
However, in the split second before the gray mist completely covered his vision, though he couldn't see any details, amidst the endless Darkness and grayish-white, he caught a glimpse of an indescribable... extreme... paleness!
"Ah—!!!"
A shrill scream erupted from Lin Huai's mouth, violently shattering the peace inside the cabin.
Lin Huai clutched his eyes in agony, a burning sensation originating from the soul level. He could do nothing but let the hot blood-tears flow uncontrollably from between his fingers.
"Lin, are you okay? What happened to you?"