This Gamble Paid Off

At this moment, time stretched infinitely, then compressed into an imperceptible singularity in the next.

There was no sound.

The instant Carol pulled the trigger, the entire world sank into absolute silence. Every explosion, gunshot, and roar was instantly devoured by an invisible yet domineering force, as though they had never existed.

Then came the light.

It was an indescribably pure, profoundly blue radiance that erupted from the Lightspeed Engine on the verge of collapse. It was not illuminating the world—it was devouring it. Everything in sight—the burning wreckage of spacecraft, soldiers exchanging fire, agents running for cover, even the stunned and furious expression on Yon-Rogg's face—lost its original color and shape beneath that blue light, becoming distorted silhouettes before completely dissolving.

Chu Hang hid behind a shipping container, yet the blue light seemed to pierce through the thick steel plating and burn directly into his retinas. He felt as though he had not been struck by light, but by a train speeding straight at him at the speed of light, his body and soul both shattering beneath the soundless impact.

Boom—!

The horrifying energy shockwave finally arrived. The several-ton shipping container sheltering him was kicked away like a soda can by a mischievous child. With a piercing metallic groan, it was shoved more than ten meters backward and slammed heavily into the hangar wall, leaving a massive dent in the sturdy structure.

Chu Hang was pinned between the container and the wall, every bone in his body seeming to cry out in agony. An ordinary person would have been crushed into a puddle of flesh by that impact. But the bones strengthened by the Super-Soldier Serum and the tenacious restorative power of his Healing Factor allowed him to endure it.

However, that physical impact was insignificant compared to the