"Yifang, think of a way to get her to the hospital! Katie will die if this continues!" Director Emma said anxiously.
"There's no time." Looking at Katie's deathly pale face, Lu Yifang knew she wouldn't last half an hour. Traffic in the area had already ground to a halt because of Hulk and Abomination.
Lu Yifang could have taken her to the hospital at high speed, but moving that fast would almost certainly kill her. So for now, he could only give Katie emergency treatment.
Looking at the rusty iron rod embedded in Katie's abdomen, Lu Yifang told Director Emma to hold her steady. He took a deep breath, then grabbed the rod without hesitation and yanked it out.
Bright red blood gushed out like a fountain. In that instant, Lu Yifang quickly touched the spray with his other hand.
"Vector Reflection!" Lu Yifang activated his ability.
The blood that had sprayed out now flowed back into Katie's body as if the film were rewinding. Using Vector Control to guide the blood back into her vessels was effortless for Lu Yifang.
But this was no long-term solution. Even though Lu Yifang was only reversing the flow in some of the blood vessels and not affecting her heart, the backward-flowing blood clashed with her normal circulation. At this rate, her blood vessels would rupture within seconds.
But those few seconds were enough for Lu Yifang to map out the damaged arteries and veins. When he stopped the reflection, the blood didn't spray out of control again. Instead, it flowed like a gentle stream from one end of the wound to the blood vessels at the other.
By manipulating vectors, Lu Yifang had rebuilt the blood circulation around the wound, even though the section of blood vessel there was gone.
But that wasn't all. He couldn't forget that scrap metal had caused Katie's injury, and it was covered in rust. Even an ordinary person pricked by a rusty nail could get tetanus, let alone Katie, with all the rust still inside her abdomen.
Every extra minute the rust remained inside Katie increased the risk of infection. Even surgery would be difficult. Although doctors could use instruments to help, they couldn't guarantee they'd remove every bit of rust.
But just because doctors couldn't do it didn't mean Lu Yifang couldn't.
Everything in the world was in motion, and all moving things contained kinetic energy. That energy made up the real world inside Lu Yifang's mind.
By touching Katie, he could sense every movement of energy inside her in his real world: her beating heart, her churning stomach and intestines, and the rust moving along with the pooled blood in her abdominal cavity.
The rust differed greatly in composition from the human body, so it stood out clearly in Lu Yifang's real world. All he had to do was sense it, then manipulate the pooled blood and draw it out along with the rust.
Cold sweat trickled down Lu Yifang's forehead. Ever since the day his ability awakened, he'd known it was made for destruction, not for saving lives.
He only needed a thought to reverse the flow of blood and tear blood vessels apart, but removing the rust took all his concentration.
After a full five minutes, some blood mixed with a small amount of rust finally flowed out. Those five minutes had taken several times more effort than fighting Abomination.
Lu Yifang let out a long breath. He knew he hadn't removed all of it, but he'd done his best. He'd reduced Katie's risk of infection as much as he could. The rest was up to the doctors.
Just as Lu Yifang began to relax, an uncertain voice came from behind him.
"Hey, I'm Coulson, a Level 7 Agent with S.H.I.E.L.D. You seem to be in a bit of trouble. Maybe... I can help." Coulson swallowed and cautiously pulled out his ID.
When Lu Yifang turned to look, Coulson stepped back like a startled bird. Melinda reacted even more strongly, instinctively drawing her gun and pointing it at Lu Yifang.
Both of them were senior S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who had seen their share of danger, but what they'd witnessed today was unlike anything they'd ever seen.
Abomination had already been an unprecedented monster. But now the monster had been brutally stomped to death beneath someone's foot. Coulson and Melinda wanted to believe the horrifying scene they'd just witnessed had been a hallucination, but the crater dozens of meters across—and Abomination lying inside it—kept assaulting their eyes.
How could Coulson and Melinda not be afraid when facing such an unknown being?
"Coulson, it's me. Lu Yifang!" Without saying anything more, Lu Yifang lifted one corner of his mask, letting Coulson see his face.
"Lu Yifang? My God, this is... I mean... it really is you." Coulson looked utterly disbelieving, and could barely get the words out.
"I know what you're thinking. I'll come with you and cooperate, on one condition: get her treated." Lu Yifang stroked Katie's long hair as he spoke.
Coulson froze at Lu Yifang's words, then smiled and nodded. He signaled for Melinda to lower her gun. There was no doubt that Lu Yifang was powerful—far more powerful than they'd expected.
But hearing what this young man asked for, Coulson felt their assessment of Lu Yifang's character had been right. He was powerful, but... he wasn't dangerous.
"Director Fury!" Coulson connected to Nick Fury.
"Coulson, I'm very relieved to hear that you're still alive," Fury said. Coulson thought he could hear the relief in Fury's voice.
Fury had apparently already seen the footage of Lu Yifang stomping Abomination to death. Faced with a Mutant this insanely powerful, Fury didn't know whether he'd been right to have Coulson approach him in the first place.
"Sir, that's not what I wanted to hear." Coulson pursed his lips. So you knew I might get killed, and you sent me on this assignment anyway?
No way. When I get back, I'm going to make that dark-faced, even darker-hearted Baldy approve my application to become a Level 8 Agent. I took on a job this dangerous. Does he have to let me die first before he'll promote me?
"Coulson, did you call because you need assistance?" Knowing Coulson must be in a foul mood, Fury immediately changed the subject.
"Yes, sir. I need a Quinjet to pick us up, equipped with emergency medical personnel. I also need you to find an excellent doctor experienced in traumatic surgery within twenty minutes and have them prepare for surgery. Someone here is injured and needs emergency surgery immediately."
When Coulson finished, he handed the communicator to Melinda. Melinda understood and walked away with it. Lu Yifang could guess without asking that Melinda was reporting on what to do with Abomination, though he himself had no interest in the matter.
"Thank you," Lu Yifang said, lowering his head.
"We should be thanking you. You killed that monster and, in a way, saved New York. I don't know how the people in charge will handle this, but as far as I'm concerned, you're a hero," Coulson said earnestly.
"But when you saw this hero just now, you were so scared you could barely speak," Lu Yifang said with a laugh.
"That was just... You know, anyone would be like that after seeing..."
Coulson's face stiffened as he started to explain. But Lu Yifang didn't seem to mind, and Coulson soon laughed along with him. Then he said sincerely, "We parted in such a hurry last time that I think there are still plenty of misunderstandings between us. Maybe this time we can have a proper talk."
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