Thud, thud, thud...
As Bumblebee walked down the school building's corridor, every step sent a rhythmic rumble through the floor beneath his heavy frame.
Fortunately, school buildings usually had much higher ceilings than ordinary apartment blocks. Otherwise, moving around inside would have been difficult for Bumblebee, who stood over four meters tall.
The building was already empty. Everywhere, the battle between Spider-Man Peter Parker and the Lizard had left behind heaps of rubble.
Holes gaped in the walls, and thick smoke billowed from the lab classroom. It looked as if a violent explosion had just taken place; scorch marks covered the walls.
"Not here?"
Li Si followed close beside Bumblebee. He frowned at the empty building, thought for a moment, then led Bumblebee toward the school library.
At last, they had found the right place. Before they even reached the library, they heard roars and the crash of objects being smashed inside.
Li Si quickly ordered Bumblebee to pick up the pace, then hurried after him to the library entrance.
As soon as he reached the doorway, he ran into a man who made his head hurt. The two stared at each other for a moment, and Li Si's expression grew increasingly strange.
White hair, enormous over-ear headphones, a white shirt, a black vest...
"Sir, at a time like this, could you please stop getting lost in your world of music?"
Li Si looked at the librarian, whose face was identical to old Stan Lee's, and couldn't help laughing helplessly.
Spider-Man and the Lizard were fighting fiercely inside, but the old man was still absorbed in his music, wearing his huge headphones and oblivious to everything around him. He hadn't even noticed what was happening behind him, and he didn't have a single scratch on him. Just what you'd expect from a character the author had made a cameo as, huh?
"You... you..."
The old librarian gaped. His head slowly tilted back as he looked up at Bumblebee, who was blocking the entire entrance. He was so frightened that he couldn't even speak.
He instinctively started to retreat into the classroom. But the moment he turned around, he froze again. A red-suited weirdo was fighting a giant lizard-man behind him, and the entire library had been trashed.
"Looks like I really have been listening to too much music lately. I'm hallucinating. Should've listened to the missus and worn my headphones less!"
The old librarian quickly regained his composure. He shook his head from side to side, muttered calmly, and started walking out, completely ignoring Bumblebee's enormous body blocking the door.
Bang!
Just as expected, the old man walked straight into the Gold-Titanium Alloy armor on Bumblebee's leg.
"..."
"Sir, this isn't a hallucination. You'd better run!"
Li Si said, unable to bear the sight. He also signaled for Bumblebee to move aside.
"Huh?"
The old librarian saw the person in front of him moving his mouth but heard nothing. He stared blankly for a moment, then realized what was wrong and took off his headphones.
"Crash! Bang! Crash..."
A barrage of smashing noises and collapsing walls reached his ears.
Gulp!
The old librarian swallowed.
"Ah!!"
A hearty scream rang out. The old man suddenly moved with speed and agility that put a rabbit to shame. Like a fish, he slipped through the narrow gap Bumblebee had left in the entrance and ran straight outside.
"Li?"
The librarian's scream caught the attention of the two combatants. The Lizard and Peter Parker stopped fighting at the same time and stared at Li Si in the doorway, both crying out in surprise.
Crash!
Li Si motioned for Bumblebee to smash through the wall with one punch, widening the opening enough for him to pass through. Then he led Bumblebee into the library.
"Doctor, stop this!"
Deliberately pretending not to hear Peter Parker's startled cry, Li Si stared expressionlessly at the Lizard, Curt Connors.
"Was this your doing?"
The Lizard looked at the giant steel machine beside Li Si, which stood half a head taller than him. A trace of wariness showed in his eyes.
"I told you, I've always been pretty good at mechanical engineering!"
Li Si shrugged. "Doctor, you need to come to your senses. Or maybe I should use a little physical force to help you."
"Li, even you're going to stop me?"
The Lizard was already showing signs of a split personality. As soon as he heard Li Si's words, he flew into a rage. He roared, his face twisted with fury, and swiped at Li Si without hesitation.
Riiip...
Li Si simply stepped back behind Bumblebee. The Lizard's claws scraped across Bumblebee's leg armor, leaving only faint white scratches.
"All right, looks like I'll have to persuade you physically!"
Li Si reluctantly retreated behind the door and gave an order through his headset. "Bumblebee, activate close-combat program. Target: the Lizard Monster in front of you!"
"Command received. Close-combat program activated!"
Bumblebee spoke in a synthetic voice as he carried out the order without hesitation. He raised his right arm high, then brought it crashing down from above.
Crash!
Caught off guard, the Lizard was sent flying by the punch.
The wall collapsed, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Bumblebee's arms could exert a full ten tons of force. Combined with the many professional combat moves Li Si had programmed into the close-combat system, the machine's power from its legs, waist, and other parts transferred perfectly into its fist. The blow had struck with at least seventeen tons of force.
When the punch hit the Lizard, Li Si even heard the clear crack of bones breaking. The Lizard flew through the air and smashed through two walls before finally coming to a stop.
"Yikes, that looked like it hurt!"
Peter Parker stared at the Lizard, hidden beneath a cloud of dust, and couldn't resist making a sarcastic quip. Then he glanced at Bumblebee and wisely backed into a corner.
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