Li Ang looked down at Abomination's desperately struggling face.
To kill or not to kill-the choice was already obvious.
"Can you keep him under control?" Tony asked from behind him. "Or do you need all of us?"
"No need."
Li Ang stepped in front of Abomination, raised his hands, and grabbed his massive head. Then he exerted force with both hands!
Abomination's eyes widened. As Li Ang's arms flexed, his neck snapped with a crack!
The burst of force even crushed the concrete beneath Li Ang's feet. Abomination's body stiffened, his pupils lost focus, and thin trickles of black blood seeped from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
The Gravity Capture Net's effect had yet to fade. He remained kneeling there, motionless.
Two seconds later, his body tipped forward, and his face struck the broken bricks with a dull thud.
The entire street suddenly fell terrifyingly silent.
The first to react were the survivors across the street. A fat shopkeeper in an apron crawled out from under his checkout counter, glanced at the grayish-green corpse kneeling on the ground, then at Li Ang. His mouth hung open for a long time.
Then he shouted, "He killed the monster!"
Next, the young Asian man at the mouth of the alley, who had dropped his phone and never picked it up, retrieved it.
His screen was still recording. He held it up toward Li Ang, his voice shaking uncontrollably.
"I told you that thing with Hong Xiuxian was real!"
Li Ang's foot twisted when he heard that, and he nearly fell. What the fuck did that have to do with anything?!
More and more people stood up from behind cover. Some held children, their faces covered in dust.
They looked at the figure standing in the alley, his suit coated in dust, his cape snapping in the night wind, Abomination's corpse at his feet.
First came scattered applause, then whistles, followed by cheers.
"That monster's dead!"
"It's Li Ang! The guy who punched straight through Iron Monger!"
"Shit, I didn't get that on camera!"
An old woman emerged from behind a half-demolished newsstand, leaning on a cane. She stared at Abomination's corpse several times. "Well done, young man. That bastard smashed up my flower shop."
Across the street, Tony stood atop a fire engine, his faceplate closed again, saying nothing.
He stared at the corpse in the alley and the man who straightened up and brushed off the dust as though nothing had happened. He remained silent for a full five seconds.
"JARVIS."
"Sir?"
"Record all the combat footage we just witnessed. I think our assessment of Li Ang's combat capabilities needs to be completely scrapped."
"What about the anti-Li Ang armor?"
"I think we can keep that around..."
Banner pushed himself upright against the wall. He looked at Abomination's dead form from behind, then at his own hands, before his gaze settled on Li Ang.
He said nothing, simply watching. Something indescribable filled his eyes, something like release.
The monster who might once have become something like him was dead.
At the Quinjet's hatch, Nick Fury lowered his communicator. He stared at the live footage on the screen for a long time. There was neither shock nor anger in his lone eye, but something deeper.
"Director, aren't we arresting him? What do we tell General Ross?" The agent beside him seemed somewhat at a loss.
"Arrest who?" Nick Fury turned his head. "You go arrest him. If you can catch him, you'll be Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. tomorrow."
The agent shut his mouth and shook his head like a rattle drum.
Nick Fury turned back to the screen. Li Ang was walking out of the alley, and the crowd pressed toward him as though they were at a concert. Someone held up a child for a photo together.
Nick Fury exhaled, his voice so low only he could hear it.
"Now this is trouble."
As he spoke, the corner of his mouth tugged upward slightly. It was hard to tell whether he was smiling or sighing.
This time, Nick Fury agreed to let the videos circulate online without even negotiating with Li Ang.
It wasn't that he didn't want to stop them. He simply couldn't afford to openly fall out with Li Ang now.
Ever since the Iron Monger incident, people with superpowers had been popping up like mushrooms after the rain.
Right now, the only person they could rely on was Li Ang.
As for the elusive Avengers Initiative and Captain Marvel, distant water could not quench an immediate thirst. After weighing the pros and cons, Nick Fury decided to simply let Li Ang gain some more fame.
Li Ang said that suited him perfectly.
At the same time, he demanded that Abomination's corpse be destroyed to prevent any further mishaps.
After Nick Fury agreed, Li Ang froze Abomination with Freeze Breath, shattered him, then used the Rooster Talisman to throw the remains off Earth before considering the matter finished.
He certainly didn't want Hydra pulling any more stunts.
After the news spread overnight, Li Ang's Presence surged once again.
Now he could do another ten-pull.
Compared with last time, Li Ang had clearly received less exposure this time. The Presence he gained ultimately settled at 100,000.
Another morning arrived.
Li Ang woke up in his large bed. Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows nearby, illuminating the entire bedroom.
The moment he opened his eyes, he saw the thin blanket in front of him slowly rising and falling.
Li Ang rubbed his head, recalling the female student he had gotten in touch with a few days earlier-the generously endowed one.
Last night, Li Ang had said he was truly amazed by how warm and outgoing the students from across the ocean were.
This morning's greeting lasted particularly long.
It wasn't until noon that Li Ang had someone take the student home.
Feeling refreshed, Li Ang went to the bathroom and opened the system panel as he washed up.
[Master: Li Ang] [Presence: 102345 (each upgrade costs 5,000 Presence)] [Abilities: Man of Steel lv:22, Heat Vision lv:8, Super Senses lv:8, Gravity Capture Net (cannot be upgraded)] [System ability upgrades (unlocked), Conscientious Slot Machine (unlocked)]
"Those numbers line up pretty neatly," Li Ang remarked, opening the slot machine again.
Gambling addicts deserved no pity!
Li Ang rubbed his hands excitedly. After opening the slot machine, he spent thirty thousand Presence and went straight into a ten-pull!
Disappointment flashed in Li Ang's eyes as the first gold coin landed.
Sure enough, all three were gold coins. After a flash of white light, what floated on the slot machine's panel this time was an Ultraman transformation device...
"Seriously, why is it a knockoff?!" The corners of Li Ang's mouth twitched as he looked at the bootleg toy.
Couldn't you at least give me a genuine one?
He rolled his eyes and pulled the lever again.
It wasn't until the second-to-last pull that the first reel actually stopped on a diamond, only for the second and third to land on gold coins.
Blue light flashed across the screen. This time, however, he wasn't lucky enough to get attribute points. It was a vial of serum: Temporary V5 Compound!
A vial of serum appeared on the panel. After picking it up and reading its information, disappointment flashed in Li Ang's eyes.
[Temporary Compound V5: Grants an ordinary person superpowers for 15 minutes after use, but after those 15 minutes, the user's body will explode, killing them!] [This item cannot be dismantled or analyzed]
The corners of Li Ang's mouth twitched. You fucking die after using it. Who would dare use this?
But on second thought, it was still a good thing to have.
"Looks like my luck's run out..." Li Ang sighed. Both had come from blue light, but this Temporary V5 couldn't compare with the Rooster Talisman.
But since he had already spent the money, he might as well finish the pulls.
So Li Ang pulled the lever once more. This time, as the reels slowly stopped, the first landed on a diamond, and the second actually landed on a diamond too!
Li Ang's previously listless eyes instantly widened.
Unlike the blue light before, this time, purple light appeared!