Hulk Hates Bugs

Tonight, the streets of New York were no longer the bustling thoroughfares they once were.

Gunfire, explosions, gangs scrambling to grab territory while the iron was hot, agents clashing with agents, the military rushing in anxiously, and the NYPD running around like ants on a hot skillet.

Countless factions had turned what was once an economic hub into a real-life Call of Duty.

And on those empty but perilous streets, a battered Grand Cherokee riddled with scars and bullet holes tore through at full speed.

Inside, Jessica cursed under her breath as she wrenched the steering wheel.

As the car swerved, her tirade finally spilled out.

"Fuck S.H.I.E.L.D., fuck Nick Fury, fuck New York—I fucking hate this city!!!"

With that, she drove the vehicle through a hail of gunfire and charged straight toward the Three-Winged Building.

Just as she got within forty meters of the entrance, six turrets materialized at the front gate.

The moment she saw those turrets spitting blue flames, Jessica felt another wave of curses rising in her throat.

"You better watch your own ass—we're ditching the car!"

She barked that at the alien Arida, then slammed her left fist into the door, blasting it clean off its hinges.

At the same time, she grabbed Arida with her right hand and hauled the poor alien out of the car as they jumped.

No need to roll and absorb the impact—Jessica's tough body let her land steady on her feet.

Right then, the turrets at the S.H.I.E.L.D. entrance opened fire.

The Grand Cherokee exploded instantly, and even more cannon rounds came screaming at Jessica.

She quickly tossed Arida to a safe distance while using her own body to tank the incoming shells.

Glancing at her shredded clothes from the barrage, she clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"I seriously need a set of armor to cover these two lumps of mine—something that won't get blown to bits!"

No sooner had she said that than she dashed over to Arida, yanked off the alien's jacket, and pulled it on over herself.

"I'm going in—stick behind me and point the way!"

As she spoke, Jessica zipped up the jacket, spun around, and sprinted forward, leaping in two bounds to land beside one of the turrets.

Grabbing the turret's frame with her bare hands, she twisted it violently twice, ripped it free, and hurled it into another turret.

Repeating the process a few times, she wiped out the gate's defenses, then charged ahead with Arida in a bloody rampage straight to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s command center.

When they reached the entrance to the command center, over forty agents were gathered outside the room, launching a relentless assault inside.

But that very assault meant the fake Nick Fury inside was still alive.

A flicker of hope lit up Arida's face.

"You sure your guy's in there?"

Jessica asked Arida, who nodded frantically.

Her answer made Jessica purse her lips in irritation.

Too many people outside—a real pain. Did she have to go on a killing spree?

A killing spree...

She'd already started one, hadn't she?

Boom!

She took a step forward—nowhere near Heisenberg's presence, of course.

But as a super-nerfed female Superman with a bench press exceeding eighty tons, Jessica had her own brand of presence.

With a single charge, she slammed over four agents into the corridor walls.

If Jessica had ever learned martial arts, she might have left behind that classic sight of hitting someone so hard they stuck to the wall like a painting.

Weaving and dodging, a tiger among sheep—a superhuman's recklessness was the ultimate terror for mortals.

All forty-plus elite agents managed was to scuff Jessica's clothes.

She casually stripped a jacket off an unconscious agent, pulled it on, then knocked on the sealed door in front of her, which was cracked but not yet fully breached.

Weighing her options, Jessica shook her head. Her strength was nowhere near the Hulk's—no way she could tear through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s custom security door.

"I'm here on Arida's call—is that Skrull alien inside?"

As her words faded, the door slid open, and a battered, tattered Nick Fury stepped out.

"Arida!!!"

The black Egghead didn't even glance at Jessica; he just called out Arida's name and rushed toward her.

The two embraced in the bloodstained air, the scene dripping with romance—but somehow, Jessica felt like throwing up.

After all, a black Egghead cuddling a green-haired egg, all lovey-dovey...

"Ugh—sorry, I think I drank too much tonight, ugh!!!"

Maybe it was all the booze from earlier, but Jessica actually leaned against the wall and puked.

Two Skrulls glanced at her, then casually embraced again without a care.

Just as humans found them ugly, they found humans equally unsightly.

Not a single wrinkle, not a hint of green—how could that compare to the mysterious creases on their own faces?

As they embraced, Arida was explaining her agreement with Heisenberg to Nick Fury.

"You have to die once as Nick Fury, in a public setting, and the real Nick Fury and Hill must be handed over to Heisenberg afterward!"

Nick Fury nodded decisively.

"Don't worry, I haven't blown my cover yet. I'll find a good spot to die soon. By the way, Arida, who's that female human over there...?"

"Heisenberg's subordinate. Very strong—probably even stronger than a Super Skrull's standard form."

"Earth really is full of hidden talents. Let's go—I'll die quickly, and then we go home."

"Yeah, home."

The two aliens quickly aligned their thoughts, then headed toward the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy with Jessica.

If there was one place with the highest concentration of S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel right now, it was the New York S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy.

Over three thousand elite reserve agents were stationed there, and ninety-nine percent of them hadn't yet been corrupted by Hydra.

That made it a prime target for Hydra agents.

"Simmons, where are you, Simmons!!!"

Leo Fitz, a S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 3 agent and a double-doctorate graduate from the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, kept calling out his friend's name.

The war had come too suddenly, and the orders had only been given to one side.

The poor souls in S.H.I.E.L.D. who still clung to justice hadn't managed to mount any effective resistance.

Within ten minutes, the defensive line the students had thrown together was shattered.

Hydra stormed the academy, looting it for talented recruits.

Leo Fitz was still alive only because Hydra valued and needed talent.

Fitz searched frantically, holding up his degree certificates as he wove through the edges of various local skirmishes.

He wanted nothing else—just to find the person he dreamed of and make sure she was still alive.

But he never expected...

Boom!

When he reached Lecture Hall 3, a violent tremor erupted from underground!

The shaking was intense, and the ground swelled into a mound over 1.3 meters high and 25 meters in diameter.

"What the hell is that?!"

Fitz scrambled away, knowing something was about to burst out from below.

But what kind of monster?

What creature could have such immense power?

This wasn't the first time such terrifying tremors had come from beneath the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy!

What was hidden down there?

Even in this emergency, Fitz couldn't help but wonder—it seemed curiosity was the common flaw of all research scientists.

Luckily, he kept running while thinking. After he'd fled over eighty meters, the ground shook again.

This time, a massive green monster over six meters tall leaped out from the mound!

Its jump reached nearly eighty meters high—and that was after breaking through the ground!

From that single leap, a stunned Fitz concluded that this green giant could definitely lift over ten thousand tons.

Maybe even more.

Meanwhile, Nick Fury had charged into the center of the academy square. He fired his gun while shouting at the still-resisting student groups.

"I'm Nick Fury, everyone—!"

"BANG!!!"

Just as both Hydra and the S.H.I.E.L.D. students were drawn by Nick Fury's name, something shocking happened.

With that fatal gunshot, a massive spray of blood erupted from Nick Fury's chest.

The next instant, a hole appeared in his chest, and he collapsed limply to the ground.

Forget the students' sudden grief or the Hydra agents' instant elation.

The Hulk, who had just leaped into the sky, saw Nick Fury fall.

The Hulk was furious.

"Hulk... hates liars, ROOOOAR!!!"

He roared wildly as he charged at Nick Fury's corpse like a madman.

From the look of it, he seemed intent on smashing Nick Fury's body into a pulp.

This made Jessica, who had thought her work was done, nearly drop dead on the spot—she was so frustrated she almost spat blood.

"What the hell is that monster? Fuck, I'm going all out!!!"

She charged at Nick Fury just as crazily, and right as the Hulk's massive foot was about to stomp on Nick's corpse, Jessica's slender, pale foot slammed viciously into the Hulk's side.

Boom!!!

The Hulk tumbled sideways over twenty meters, but he scrambled back up in an instant.

Jessica's strength was nowhere near enough to hurt him—it only made him angrier.

"HULK IS ANGRY!!!"

"I'm pretty damn angry too! Damn it, Heisenberg, I guess this repays your kindness!!!"

Jessica actually took the initiative to charge at the Hulk, narrowly dodging one of his punches while rolling twice to get close to his side.

She got up and drove two hard punches into the Hulk's shins.

It wasn't that Jessica liked targeting the lower body—it was that unless she jumped, she could only reach his shins from there.

But jump in front of the Hulk?

She wouldn't dare.

If she messed up and he grabbed her, few people could escape from that grip unscathed.

Just look at the Nordic rice-grinding duo for reference...

After those two punches, Jessica fled without looking back, dodging over a dozen furious attacks before she found a second chance to land a few more hits on the Hulk.

And so, she managed to stall him for over three minutes before he finally caught an opening and sent her flying with a heavy slap straight into the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy library!

With just that one blow, Jessica—whose reinforced bones were already a weaker version—lost nearly all strength to fight back.

She struggled for a long time before barely getting up, but by the time she managed to stand, the Hulk was already blocking her path.

"HULK HATES LITTLE PEOPLE!!!"

With his roar, the green fist grew larger and larger in Jessica's vision, and so did her pupils.

She thought she couldn't dodge this punch, that she might even die from it.

But the next second, a flippant voice reached her ears.

"Isn't this Superman's little bed buddy? Why are you taking him on alone? Did that bastard Heisenberg ditch you?"

The voice came from above, and as Tony taunted, he also unloaded two-thirds of the missiles stored in his armor's shoulder and back compartments straight at the Hulk's head.