Arrogance and narcissism can only take a person so far. After enough beatings, even the most self-assured learn caution.
A hundred meters away, Tony unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks. Despite the ferocity of his assault, he meticulously maintained the distance between himself and Hong Fei.
"You won't catch me off guard again!" he shouted.
"I'm not falling for your tricks. Not until I'm certain. I won't let you get anywhere near me," Tony muttered under his breath. "Even if you're being controlled right now, I'm not holding back. I know better than anyone—you're no saint."
His Pulse Cannon attacks, though relentless, lacked finesse. The blasts scorched the Helicarrier's deck with varying depths, but Hong Fei navigated the intricate, thread-like pulse energy effortlessly.
With his Eyes of Death activated, the trajectories of the energy spheres were crystal clear. They drifted lazily before him, like clouds reluctant to move in the breeze.
Hong Fei's enhanced physical abilities, amplified by the second stage, allowed him to move with astonishing speed. Even as the Pulse Cannon fire rained down like a storm, Hong Fei darted through the barrage, leaving behind a blur of afterimages.
Tony's attacks, however, weren't entirely his own. Jarvis, the AI, handled the rapid-fire precision, leveraging his superior analytical and decision-making capabilities—a key reason Tony had become Iron Man.
As Jarvis took control of the long-range assault, Tony frowned at the afterimages streaking across the deck.
"He's stronger than before. Faster, too."
"Correct, sir," Jarvis replied promptly. "His current speed has increased by approximately 20% compared to our last encounter."
Tony gritted his teeth. "Then I can't let him get close. Not a chance."
Fortunately, reinforcements arrived shortly after.
Steve emerged through the hatch, his uniform pristine despite the chaos. But the Helicarrier's deck was already engulfed in a violent gale, forcing him to crouch for stability. Gripping the door frame with one hand, he shouted:
"Lower the altitude, or I can't get out there to help!"
Behind him, Barton glanced at Natasha, who was clinging to the deck. Without hesitation, he fired an arrow into the cabin, attached a rope to it, and launched a second arrow toward Natasha. The rope between the two arrows tightened instantly.
"Natasha, get back here!" Barton called out.
Natasha glanced up, her eyes darting to Hong Fei, who was still locked in combat with Tony. Gripping the rope, she hunched over and began making her way toward the cabin.
The Helicarrier descended rapidly, the turbulent airflow growing fiercer with each passing second. Natasha moved cautiously, step by step. As she neared the cabin, Barton and Steve each grabbed one of her arms, hauling her inside from the chaos.
Meanwhile, Hong Fei continued dodging attacks, a soft sigh escaping him.
If you guys don't hurry up, I won't be able to keep this act going much longer.
The Helicarrier's descent was swift, soon plunging beneath the cloud layer. As its speed gradually stabilized, the deafening wind died down.
The cabin door burst open, and Steve, Barton, and Natasha rushed out together.
In the Helicarrier's main control room, Fury's expression was grim.
"Officer," Hill reported, "we've located Loki in New York."
Fury's voice was sharp. "Launch the fighters. Notify the New York City government to begin evacuations. And get the military on the line."
"Officer, the evacuation plan might not be effective enough—there are just too many people in New York."
"I know," Fury replied, his jaw tight. "But we'll do what we can. Right now, we've got no idea what's coming next."
A deafening roar erupted from the depths of the ship, shaking the air. Explosions rumbled in its wake, mingling with the panicked shouts and screams of agents scrambling for safety.
Fury's brow furrowed as he clasped his hands behind his back, fists clenched. "Notify everyone to board the aircraft and evacuate in stages. Have the Captain and the others lead Hong Fei to Hulk."
......
On the deck, Steve Rogers wasted no time.
His shield flew through the air the moment he moved, aiming straight for Hong Fei. With a flick of his sword, Hong Fei deflected the shield effortlessly.
But Steve's hand shot out, and the shield arced back onto his arm with practiced precision.
"How's my modification holding up?" Tony called out, his voice carrying over the chaos.
"Works fine!" Steve shouted back, already sprinting toward Hong Fei.
Barton, ever the sharpshooter, emerged from the cabin and immediately went on the offensive. His movements were fluid—reaching for an arrow, nocking it, drawing the bowstring, aiming, and releasing—all in a heartbeat.
His accuracy remained impeccable even with multiple arrows, and his speed barely faltered. He fired while moving, the arrows slicing through the air with a sharp whizzing sound, their trajectory deadly and precise.
Natasha stepped out of the cabin and paused, her gaze calculating. After a moment, she calmly drew a small pistol and fired with deliberate precision.
She knew Hong Fei wasn't under control, so there was no need to go all out like the others. Overdoing it might earn her his ire—a lesson she'd learned from Big Head and Alexei.
Hong Fei dodged the Pulse Cannon blasts, his sword flashing as he deflected Barton's arrows. The arrowheads glowed with an ominous red light—explosive, no doubt. Splitting them directly would've been a mistake, and Hong Fei wasn't about to end up like Loki, caught off guard by his own arrogance.
Steve closed the distance with long strides, suddenly dropping low and launching himself forward, his shield aimed at Hong Fei's legs.
The move disrupted Hong Fei's rhythm, but Steve seemed to forget one crucial detail: Hong Fei could fly.
With a burst of energy, Hong Fei shot into the air, the force of his ascent cracking the air like thunder. He lunged straight at Tony, moving so fast he became a blur.
Tony blinked, momentarily losing sight of him. Thankfully, Jarvis was on top of it. The AI monitored Hong Fei's position constantly, and as soon as he approached, the armor halted its attack and retreated at high speed. A hundred meters cleared in less than half a second.
Tony reopened the distance, but Hong Fei didn't press the attack. Instead, he descended abruptly, landing just three steps away from Barton.
Barton's eyes narrowed. He twisted his arrows and retreated while firing, but Hong Fei closed the gap with eerie ease. His lower body moved steadily forward while his upper body swayed lightly, dodging arrows that whizzed past his ears.
In an instant, the distance between them shrank to less than a step.
Barton abandoned his arrows, snapping his bow straight in a defensive move. But it was too late. Hong Fei's leg hooked around Barton's shoulders, his calf pressing firmly against Barton's neck.
Barton's mind raced, a single thought flashing through his head: 'Again?!'
Hong Fei used his core abdominal strength to drive his upper body to rotate horizontally for a full turn. Barton, trapped by his legs, didn't want his neck twisted, so he could only passively follow his movement and flip vertically.
With a dull thud, Barton lay flat on the ground, motionless. Hong Fei released his legs at the last second and landed steadily with a clean and neat posture.
At this moment, his movement perfectly replicated the scene that Natasha had performed many times before.
He turned his head abruptly to look at Natasha not far away, only to see her holding her small pistol in a daze, looking as if she were at a loss.
Hong Fei turned his hand and pointed his long sword, the blade cutting sharply toward Natasha's chest.
Clang!
The shield flew in and knocked the sword blade aside. Seeing the long sword about to fall off the deck, Hong Fei reached out with a claw and easily retrieved it back into his hand.
At this time, all three received Fury's order: Lead Hong Fei to Hulk.
Steve and Natasha frowned slightly, hesitating, but Tony just went straight for it. He spread his arms, the reactor on his chest rapidly charging. The white light instantly became extremely dazzling, followed by a thick beam of energy blasting directly at Hong Fei.
Hong Fei flipped into the air; the spot where he had been was instantly blasted into a scorching hole, and the metal at the edge of the deck was burned bright red by the high temperature.
Eye to eye across the armor, Hong Fei reversed his left hand and drew his Cross-blade.
Seeing this, Tony immediately said: "Captain, Natasha, are you guys just taking a stroll?"
Hearing this, both were startled awake. Steve gritted his teeth and stopped hesitating. He first threw his shield, then ran toward the inside of the ship with large strides, followed closely by Natasha and Tony.
The three launched attacks one after another, retreating while fighting, constantly using their own bodies to lead Hong Fei closer to Hulk.
Hong Fei followed them inside, complying with the flow, while secretly heightening his vigilance.
Unlike Abomination, Hulk had possessed an extremely high baseline since his birth, and throughout the entire movie universe he was referring to, he had never once unleashed his true upper limit.
As for the time he was defeated by Thanos, perhaps it was because Hulk had been too rational on Sakaar before, to the point where he lacked the most critical element: rage.
In short, the current Hulk was not someone to be trifled with.
But since he had to participate in the Battle of New York, he had to fight Hulk. There was basically no need to stop him in advance, because Hulk would appear sooner or later, and he would face him sooner or later. He could not be afraid and hesitate just because of insufficient strength.
Veronica was in Earth's satellite orbit, and its position followed Hong Fei's movements; he could quickly call upon the entire Veronica system.
Additionally, Hong Fei had also prepared the purple skill card "Equal Match" in advance; once the situation turned bad, he would immediately pull Hulk onto the same level as himself.
Roar!
In an instant, a dragon's roar echoed.
Hong Fei kicked out, and the golden air current attached to his leg like a dragon, colliding with the Vibranium shield. Steve was immediately slammed into the metal wall, shield and all.
After falling, a clear human-shaped indentation appeared on the wall. Steve lay on the ground, coughing repeatedly, unable to lift his head for a long while.
Hong Fei no longer paid attention to skill card drops at this moment. Facing a group of agents who suddenly rushed out, his long sword and Cross-blade rotated at high speed, blocking all the bullets that were fired in a swarm.
Roar!
The roar made his eardrums ache. Steve quickly turned his head and shouted to the group of agents: "Get out of here quickly!"
The agents didn't waste time on formalities—they turned and bolted.
Tony grabbed Steve and took to the air, but the ship's cramped interior forced him to slow abruptly. Hong Fei seized the opening, hurling his Cross-blade to intercept.
The armor's speed plummeted.
Hong Fei's sword flashed upward as he leaped. He soared like an eagle, closing the distance in an instant. His blade thrust forward, aimed straight for Tony's chest.
Clang!
Steve, dangling from Tony's grip, swung the Vibranium shield just in time to deflect the strike. The impact reverberated through the corridor.
The wall at the far end exploded inward. A massive green figure charged through the debris, each thunderous step shaking the floor.
Caught between Hong Fei and the Hulk, Tony's head snapped up. His arm lashed out, a red laser slicing through the metal ceiling above.
Hong Fei snatched his Cross-blade from midair and launched another attack, wielding both weapons in a deadly flurry.
Behind Tony, the Hulk roared, his enormous fists swinging forward with crushing force.
At the last possible moment, Tony cut the laser and grabbed Natasha's wrist. The armor surged upward, hauling Steve and Natasha clear as the attacks converged.
Hulk's fists smashed into the floor, blasting two gaping holes. Hong Fei's blade and sword plunged deep into the metal, their hilts quivering from the force.
The two warriors locked eyes.
Hulk bared his teeth in a snarl of rage. Hong Fei's faceplate remained dark and unreadable, betraying nothing but calm.