The Rampaging Boar

It was not a complete fusion, merely the most basic connection.

But as long as Quill's mother wore it, she could gain part of the talisman's power: the ability to transform into any animal.

But it required guidance.

If she triggered the power by accident, the consequences would be unthinkable.

And now, if he wanted to take back the Monkey Talisman, the two humans before him would be utterly unable to stop him.

But S.H.I.E.L.D. definitely knew of his and Quill's whereabouts. They must have agents watching them somewhere outside right now. The moment he did anything unusual, S.H.I.E.L.D. would intervene.

Shendu's fingers curled slightly, and the tip of his tail twitched. He forcibly suppressed his craving for the Monkey Talisman.

"Mom, why don't you try putting it on?" Quill said expectantly.

The woman smiled and hung the pendant around her neck.

Nothing happened.

Shendu let out a breath of relief, his tail relaxing again.

It seemed that without deliberate guidance, the talisman would not activate easily. But the faint connection of power had already been established, and he could clearly sense the link between the talisman and the woman.

But at that moment, a tremendous boom came from outside the window.

Everyone froze.

Quill rushed to the window, with Shendu close behind.

In the distance, flames shot into the sky from the direction of the town's gas station.

"Oh my God."

Quill's mother covered her mouth. "That's... that's the gas station!"

Another explosion rang out.

Shendu narrowed his eyes, firelight flickering in his red vertical pupils.

He saw something moving amid the flames. The figure did not look human, but more like some enormous creature.

"What is that?" Quill's voice changed.

Shendu did not answer. He sensed a familiar aura from that creature—the aura of Chitauri wreckage.

Some wreckage had fallen near this town, and some creature had devoured it.

"I have to go check it out." Quill started to rush outside.

"Wait," Shendu stopped him. "That's no ordinary beast."

Quill turned around, his gaze resolute.

"I know. But there's a gas station there, residents, and stores I used to visit all the time as a kid."

He paused, his voice dropping. "More importantly, this is my home."

Shendu looked at him and fell silent for a moment.

If something really happened, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s people would definitely step in.

Shendu nodded and said in a low voice, "I'll go with you."

The gas station was already unrecognizable.

Flames devoured the ruins as thick smoke billowed upward.

The creature could be seen clearly now. It was a gigantic boar, more than ten times the size of a normal one, rummaging through the wreckage.

Its skin was covered in metallic scales, and an eerie blue glow flickered in its eyes.

Clearly, the boar had been affected by Chitauri biotechnology.

Fragments of wreckage had landed nearby and been swallowed by this boar.

The Chitauri's genetic modification technology was taking effect inside its body, mutating it into such a monster.

"It's still growing." Quill stared at the creature.

Shendu nodded, his tail tensing behind him. If it was not stopped, it would grow larger and more dangerous.

But the problem was that all their weapons were in the car, which was parked in front of Quill's house.

"I'll draw it away." Quill began moving as he spoke.

"Wait." Shendu stopped him.

His mind raced.

In his current form, although he had regained his physical body, his strength was far from what it had been at his peak. Dealing with this monster alone would not be easy.

If Quill got involved, Shendu risked exposing his strength.

But if they did not deal with it quickly, the town would be destroyed.

As for the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents observing from the sidelines, they had most likely let this boar loose. Otherwise, how could there be such a coincidence?

A boar risked becoming roast suckling pig to precisely eat wreckage containing Chitauri genetic modification technology, then blow up a gas station.

Quill looked at the monster in the distance, then at Shendu.

"I have an idea," he suddenly said.

Shendu looked at him.

"I need you to buy me some time."

Quill spoke urgently. "I'll get a vehicle and lure it out of town. There's an abandoned quarry out there. We can trap it there."

"And then?" Shendu asked.

Quill paused, then pulled a small device from his pocket.

"I swiped this from the cleanup station."

"It's a detonator for a Chitauri energy core. As long as we drive it into that thing's body, it'll blow it apart from the inside."

Shendu looked at the device and slowly nodded. "But you'll only get one chance."

"I know."

Quill took a deep breath. "That's why I need your help. You can sense energy fluctuations, right? Tell me where its core is when the time comes."

Shendu was silent for a second. "All right."

Quill turned and ran toward a pickup truck in the distance.

Shendu stood amid the firelight, watching the mutated boar. It was devouring the ruins of the gas station, completely unaware of them.

He closed his eyes and sensed the energy around him. Aside from the faint fluctuations of the Monkey Talisman in the distance, there was only radiation from the Chitauri wreckage here.

Then he opened his eyes, his red vertical pupils locking onto the inside of the mutated boar's left foreleg.

The energy fluctuations there were the strongest.

The core was there.

"Left foreleg, inside." Shendu's voice was decisive.

"Thanks!"

Quill drove the pickup toward it, the engine roaring.

The boar raised its head and looked at him.

"Come on, idiot!"

Quill leaned out the window and shouted, "There's something tasty over here!"

The boar let out an earthshaking roar and charged at the pickup.

Quill yanked the steering wheel, sending the pickup in an arc through the ruins before it sped out of town.

The boar chased relentlessly, every step making the ground tremble.

Shendu remained where he was, watching them disappear into the distance.

Then he moved—not by running, but in a motion somewhere between gliding and flying. His body left the ground and swept silently through the night.

He needed to keep his distance so Quill would not see him, yet remain close enough to act at the critical moment.

They reached the quarry.

It was a mine pit abandoned for many years, with steep walls and hard rock at the bottom.

Quill's pickup charged into the center of the pit, then stopped with a sharp brake.

The boar followed close behind, its enormous body blocking the entrance.

Quill jumped out of the truck, gripping the detonator.

His eyes searched the boar's body for the place Shendu had indicated—the inside of its left foreleg.

The boar moved quickly, its massive hooves pounding the ground again and again, each step bringing it closer.

"Damn it." Quill clenched his teeth, trying to find an opening.

At that moment, the boar suddenly turned, seemingly looking in another direction, and its left foreleg happened to lift.

Quill saw it. The blue-glowing core was right there.

He did not hesitate. He activated the detonator and hurled it with all his strength.

The device struck the core precisely and embedded itself in it.

The boar let out a pained screech and turned to flee.

But it was too late.

The light of the explosion swallowed everything.

Shendu stood at the edge of the quarry, looking down at the fire below.

Quill lay prone on the ground, his arms shielding his head as the blast wave swept over him.

The flames gradually died down. Quill climbed to his feet, covered in ash, a smile of survival on his face.

"It worked!" he shouted upward. "Did you see that? I did it!"

Shendu stepped out of the shadows and stood at the quarry's edge, looking down at him. "I saw."

Quill panted heavily, then suddenly remembered something. "When that thing turned just now, I was worried I wouldn't make it in time..."

Before he could finish, he cut himself off and grinned. "What good luck."