The Biggest Scapegoat

At the S.H.I.E.L.D. New York Branch, inside the brightly lit director's office.

Nick Fury sat alone behind his large desk.

Fury: (눈‸▼)

His brows were tightly furrowed, his gaze conflicted as he stared at the old-fashioned pager in his hand, caught in an intense internal struggle.

He was debating whether to call Carol back to Earth.

After considering it for a long time, Fury ultimately decided to observe a little longer.

After all, based on the recent reports, that mysterious Lucifer seemed to be on the side of Order.

He had shown neither any ambition to rule the world nor any sign of wanting to destroy it.

If he rashly summoned Carol back and caused some additional conflict, the losses would outweigh the gains.

Just then, a rhythmic knock sounded at the door.

"Come in," Fury said in a low voice.

Coulson pushed open the door and strode into the office, a file in hand as he reported the latest intelligence.

"What?"

After hearing him out, Fury's eyes widened in surprise. He could hardly believe his ears.

"You're saying he made a round trip between New York and Sokovia in just one minute?"

Coulson nodded solemnly.

"Yes, Director. And he brought two people with him. They are currently staying at his villa."

As he spoke, he placed photos of Wanda and Pietro before Fury and continued.

"We ran checks on them. The results were strange—they are completely absent from our database."

At that, Fury's brow immediately furrowed.

S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database was linked to population records from countries all over the world.

Yet there was no record of these two in such a massive database.

That could only mean they had no public identities and were very likely people secretly cultivated by some faction.

After thinking for a moment, Fury said decisively.

"Keep investigating. We need to find out where they came from, but be careful not to disturb Lucifer too much. Understood?"

"Understood, Director," Coulson replied with a nod.

Just then, the tablet on Fury's desk suddenly emitted a series of urgent warning alerts.

Fury's expression changed, and he hurriedly opened the tablet.

When he saw what was on the screen, he could not help swearing.

"Motherfucker. Can't these people go even one day without causing trouble?"

On the screen, a massive yellowish-brown monster covered in bone spikes was smashing through a bustling street in a frenzy.

The shops and vehicles lining both sides of the street were being wantonly destroyed, leaving devastation everywhere.

In the distance, police officers and soldiers were continuously firing at the monster.

Yet the bullets striking its tough skin were like bullets hitting steel plates. They did not even leave a white mark.

The monster seemed enraged by the attacks. It threw back its head and let out deafening roars and howls.

Then it began destroying everything around it with even greater force, causing numerous innocent casualties.

Fury stared at the footage, his brows knitted tightly as he barked.

"Where the hell did this monster come from now?"

As he spoke, he quickly pulled up the relevant files, which already contained records compiled by field agents.

"This yellowish-brown monster is called Blonsky. He was originally a U.S. military soldier, then joined the military's Super-Soldier Program and was injected with a knockoff Super-Soldier Serum."

Fury read as he examined the file.

"But Blonsky was not satisfied with that. He secretly injected himself with the Hulk's blood as well, which caused him to mutate into the monster he is now."

When Nick Fury saw this, he could not help swearing again.

"Fuck, shit. I knew none of the things General Ross messed with were reliable."

Beside him, Coulson watched Abomination rampage through the streets and asked worriedly.

"Director, based on the current assessment, the military's existing weapons will probably have a hard time subduing this monster."

"But large-scale weapons cannot be used in the city. Shouldn't we be handling this kind of supernatural incident?"

Fury stared at the tablet and pondered for a moment before speaking.

"No. Intelligence says Dr. Banner intends to step in. Let's see if they can handle it themselves first."

The reason was simple: even S.H.I.E.L.D.'s weapons would probably be useless against that big guy, so they would inevitably have to call in outside help.

And asking Lucifer to intervene as that outside help would certainly cost S.H.I.E.L.D. a great deal of resources.

He had no intention of rushing to clean up the mess General Ross had created.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in Lu Xi's villa living room was relaxed and comfortable.

Daisy lounged against Lu Xi's side, feeding him fruit as the two watched the news on television.

Wanda and Pietro sat somewhat stiffly on the sofa beside them, their eyes likewise fixed on the television screen.

On the television, Abomination's terrifying figure appeared before everyone.

Daisy wrinkled her nose and said disdainfully.

"That monster is so ugly. Just looking at it makes me uncomfortable."

Lu Xi nodded as he looked at the screen.

"Leaving aside Abomination's shit-yellow color scheme, that body proportion and all those bone spikes are enough to seriously drain your sanity."

Wanda and Pietro, however, were more focused on Abomination's chilling destructive power.

They exchanged a glance and silently calculated how much chance they would have if they faced that monster themselves.

However, the conclusion was obvious.

At their current level of superhuman ability, their odds of winning were practically zero. Abomination would most likely swat them to death with one slap.

At that moment, a figure leaped down from a helicopter on the television screen and slammed heavily into the street, creating a huge crater.

Daisy covered her mouth in surprise and cried out.

"What is he doing, committing suicide?"

Lu Xi recognized him at once. It was the Hulk—Dr. Banner.

The corners of his lips lifted slightly. "The good part is starting. Just watch."

Sure enough, a massive green arm slowly extended from the crater in the ground.

Then the Hulk's enormous body rose from the pit, officially appearing before everyone's eyes.

The way these two hulking brutes fought was simple and brutal, clumsy and primitive—nothing but fists and kicks trading head-on.

However, the two monsters shared the same origin, and their traits were almost identical. Both had tremendous durability and defense.

They traded blows back and forth, locked in an evenly matched battle.

Yet aside from completely plowing through the entire block and reducing the once-bustling street to an unrecognizable wreck, neither managed to inflict any obvious damage on the other.

The Hulk had only recently been injected with a transformation suppressant.

It prevented him from fully unleashing his strength, and he gradually began to lose ground in the fight.

Seizing the opportunity, Abomination grabbed Hulk by the throat and pinned him down completely.

Hulk struggled with all his might, but he gradually ran out of strength, his hands futilely slapping at Abomination's arm.

General Ross, watching from the helicopter, was frantic when he saw this.

Abomination had originally been one of his soldiers, and the operation to capture Hulk had also been commanded by him from beginning to end.

If things got completely out of hand, he, as the person most responsible, would definitely end up carrying the biggest blame.

Thinking of this, General Ross ignored his own safety and urgently ordered the soldiers in the helicopter.

"Quick! Use the cannon on the yellow one! Take some pressure off the green one!"

The soldiers obeyed at once, operating the cannon and unleashing a fierce barrage on Abomination.

In pain, Abomination indeed released Hulk. He raised his head toward the helicopter and let out an earth-shaking roar.

Then he kicked off with both legs and lunged through the air, grabbing directly onto the helicopter.

Abomination strained with both hands, seemingly intending to tear the helicopter down by force.

With the huge brute hanging from it, the helicopter immediately lost its balance and tilted sharply.

General Ross felt the world spin around him, terror surging through his heart.

Tossed about inside the cabin, he dialed a number and shouted into the phone.

"Nick Fury, send someone to help immediately!"

On the other end of the line, Fury was completely unhurried as he drawled.

"General Ross, this is your own affair. S.H.I.E.L.D. has no obligation to interfere."

General Ross cursed furiously.

"Stop talking bullshit! You just want a budget increase, don't you? I'll definitely support it when the time comes!"

The moment Fury heard that, his spirits rose.

"Then this is easy. Hold on for a moment. Support will be there soon."