A Green Meteor on the Streets of New York

New York, Manhattan.

The afternoon sun spilled lazily over the shop windows of Fifth Avenue as usual, the air filled with the burnt aroma of coffee.

Jiang Li snapped his eyes open. Before he could even register the Starbucks logo in front of him, a violent palpitation nearly made him crush the iced Americano in his hand.

"BOOM--!!"

A deafening roar, as if it were shattering eardrums, instantly broke the tranquility of New York.

Then came the earth-shaking tremors. The massive floor-to-ceiling glass window in front of Jiang Li instantly filled with spiderweb-like cracks, then shattered completely with a loud crash! Countless sharp shards of glass poured down like a rainstorm, tearing through the peaceful afternoon.

"AH!!"

"God! What kind of monster is that?!"

"Run! Run for your lives!"

Screams, wails, and the screeching of tires erupted instantly. The New Yorkers who had been elegantly enjoying their afternoon tea were now pushing and shoving toward the exits like a panicked herd of antelope.

Ignoring the small cuts on his face from the glass, Jiang Li instinctively rushed out of the cafe and followed the terrified gaze of the crowd.

In the direction of Harlem, a few blocks away, billows of black smoke rose into the sky.

Amidst the ruins, two figures as massive as small hills were locked in a frenzied battle.

One was entirely a sickly green, his muscles bulging as if inflated—that was Hulk.

The other was even more hideous, covered in yellowish bone armor with protruding spinal spikes, looking like a demon from hell—Abomination!

"The Battle of Harlem? The timeline of The Incredible Hulk?"

Jiang Li's brain buzzed.

Transmigration was one thing, but to the Marvel Universe? And if that wasn't enough, starting right at the scene of a brawl between Hulk and Abomination?

This was a hell-difficulty start!

"Run! I have to run immediately!"

Jiang Li didn't hesitate, turning to blend into the fleeing crowd. He was just an ordinary person; in a clash of gods like this, even a single flying piece of debris could cost him his life.

However, just as he took two steps, an unbearable burning sensation suddenly flared on his left wrist.

"Hiss--!"

It felt as if a red-hot branding iron had been pressed firmly against his skin. Jiang Li gasped in pain, subconsciously raising his left hand to check.

At the sight, he froze, his steps coming to a complete halt.

On his left wrist, a strange watch had appeared out of nowhere.

It was a deep black-green, made of a material that was neither metal nor jade, exuding the texture of alien technology. The wide dial resembled an hourglass, with two fluorescent green lines in the center forming a unique geometric pattern.

As a veteran otaku, Jiang Li was even more familiar with this thing than he was with Marvel.

The Omnitrix!

The most powerful individual device in the omniverse! It contained the DNA of over a million intelligent species from across the universe, allowing the wearer to transform into various alien heroes!

"Is this my golden finger?"

Jiang Li's heart began to race, the mix of terror and ecstasy making him tremble.

Just then, a cold, emotionless, synthesized mechanical voice rang out directly in the depths of his mind:

[Ding! The omniverse-level gene bank, Omnitrix, has been activated.]

[DNA sequence binding complete. User: Jiang Li.]

[Initial DNA library unlocked: Heatblast, Four Arms, XLR8, Grey Matter, Diamondhead, and 5 other heroes.]

[Newbie mission issued: First Appearance.]

[Mission description: Since you've arrived in the world of superheroes, how can you be content with being ordinary? Please survive the upcoming battle and make S.H.I.E.L.D. feel the shock of alien technology.]

[Mission reward: Unlock one-time trial access to the "Ultimate" evolution function.]

"Ultimate evolution?!"

Jiang Li's breathing turned ragged. That was a feature exclusive to the Ultimatrix, a weapon capable of evolving alien heroes into their war-form states!

"Wooo--!!"

Reality gave Jiang Li no more time to study the system.

A piercing sound of air being torn apart suddenly struck.

The monster known as Abomination seemed to have lost his mind in the slaughter, grabbing a yellow taxi from the roadside and hurling it like a baseball toward the crowded area where Jiang Li stood!

The tons of steel roared through the air, carrying the shriek of death.

"Look out!!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Jiang Li saw a young white mother not far ahead, shielding her little girl tightly in her arms, already paralyzed with fear on the ground. The taxi hurtling toward them was aimed directly at the mother and daughter!

At this moment, everyone around was fleeing for their lives; no one could save them.

The mother closed her eyes in despair, pressing her daughter's head into her chest.

Time seemed to slow down in that moment.

Jiang Li stood his ground, watching the massive shadow loom over him. If he kept running, given his current distance, he might survive. But that mother and daughter would certainly die.

Damn it... I never thought about being any kind of superhero.

Jiang Li gritted his teeth, the confusion in his eyes vanishing in an instant, replaced by a streak of unprecedented determination and fervor.

Since heaven gave me this watch, how could I be a coward at a time like this?

He jerked his left hand up, pressed his right index and middle fingers together, and skillfully hit the activation button on the side of the Omnitrix.

"Zzz--!"

With a unique mechanical sound effect, the hourglass symbol in the center of the dial popped up, revealing the green holographic core inside.

Jiang Li did not hesitate for a second, turning the dial directly to lock onto the figure that looked the most explosive.

Watching the taxi about to crash down, Jiang Li curled his lips into a wild arc and roared:

"It's Hero Time!"

He slammed his hand down onto the dial!

Bang!

A dazzling emerald light erupted instantly, its brightness even outshining the afternoon sun. Centered on Jiang Li, a powerful energy wave rippled outward, blowing away all the shattered glass in the vicinity.

The taxi plummeted with the force of ten thousand tons, leaving less than two meters between it and the mother and daughter's heads.

The mother let out a desperate scream.

However, the expected agony and death did not arrive.

A scorching wave of heat rushed toward them, followed immediately by a deafening sound of vaporization.

"Sss--!!!"

That multi-ton taxi seemed to strike an invisible wall in mid-air, instantly swallowed by a pillar of fire that shot into the sky!

The steel melted into molten iron under the thousands of degrees of heat, scattering like red raindrops, yet they were blocked by an invisible heat wave, not harming the mother and daughter in the slightest.

The scene fell into dead silence.

The crowd that had been screaming and fleeing now looked as if they had been hit with a pause button, staring dumbfounded at the scene before them.

The smoke slowly dissipated.

A humanoid creature composed entirely of dark red rock, with its head and hands burning fiercely, stood in front of the mother and daughter. The asphalt road beneath its feet softened due to the high temperature, leaving two deep, charred footprints.

Jiang Li lowered his head, looking at his own large, flaming hands, feeling the seemingly endless fire energy within his body.

He clenched his fist, and the fire elements in the air cheered and gathered toward him.

He turned around, his flaming face—looking like both a skull and a mask—seeming to reveal a confident smile. He spoke to the mother and daughter, who were still stunned with fright:

"Although the weather is already hot enough, you wouldn't mind if I turned up the heat on this party, would you?"

After saying this, he raised his head, his burning eyes piercing through the sky full of smoke and dust, locking firmly onto the Abomination, who was rampaging in the distance.

"Heatblast!"

At the same time, aboard a S.H.I.E.L.D. stealth fighter a few blocks away.

"Sir! We've detected an extremely high-energy heat source reaction in Harlem! The readings are off the charts!"

Maria Hill exclaimed.

Nick Fury's single eye snapped toward the screen.

There, amidst the ruins, a green flame shot into the sky, like a meteor flowing against the current, charging straight at the arrogant Abomination!