Amadeus's massive body traced a final parabola through the air before crashing heavily into a deep forest far from the city ruins.
"Boom--!"
The immense impact caused the ground to tremble violently, hurling up soil and decaying leaves like a small explosion.
The survivors tumbled off his broad shoulders, each finding a place to steady themselves, all covered in exhaustion and dust.
The green giant was panting heavily, his chest heaving violently. He maintained a half-crouching posture, and only after confirming that there was no direct threat around him did his massive body begin to shrink at a visible speed.
The muscles receded, the bones shrank, and the indestructible emerald green skin returned to its normal color.
A few seconds later, the mountain-like Hulk disappeared, leaving only Amadeus Zhao, dressed in tattered clothes. He knelt on the ground, his hands supporting him on the muddy ground, panting heavily, sweat soaking his black hair.
"We..." Luna Snow leaned against a thick tree trunk, her short, half-black, half-white hair clinging messily to her cheeks. She looked at the dappled shadows cast by the trees, her icy blue eyes filled with an unyielding despair.
"Should we still run? Where can we run to? The whole world... belongs to them."
Her voice was soft, trembling slightly, like an ice crystal that might shatter at any moment.
"If you want to die, you can stay here yourself."
A cold and mocking voice came from not far away. Moonstone Kara Sofen hovered half a meter above the ground, arms crossed, her long golden hair still dazzling in the dim forest.
She glanced down at Seol Hee, a hint of undisguised mockery playing on her lips.
"Enough!" Cyclone Lei Ling stepped between the two, her icy blue eyes staring directly at Kara. "We're in this together now! If either of us is missing, survival will be difficult! You'd better understand that, Kara!"
Moonstone said nothing more, only letting out a disdainful snort before turning and flying to the other side of the forest. It found a thick branch to sit on, clearly indicating that it no longer wanted to communicate with this group of "weaklings."
The Kraven the Hunter didn't join the argument. Like a seasoned old wolf, he crouched down, picked up a bit of soil, sniffed it to make sure there were no dangerous Beast, and then began to gather dry twigs and leaves from the ground. He took out a flint and steel and prepared to start a fire by friction.
" Nick Fury of Motherfucker!"
Steve Rogers plopped down on the ground, pulled a crumpled energy bar package from his combat suit pocket, roughly tore it open, took a big bite, and mumbled curses under his breath.
"Damn it! I should have died in that battle with Tony and the others! At least it would have been better than this! At least I would have died like a man! Instead of running around like dogs with you bunch of kids in front of those damn skeletons!"
"I'm not a child, Captain, with a sweet tongue." Moonstone's cold voice drifted over again.
Steve stopped chewing. He jerked his head around, a furious rage igniting in his cloudy blue eyes. He glared at Kara, extending a finger covered in food crumbs, and launched into a tirade:
"Motherfucker! You ultimate traitor, what are you arguing about?! Did I say something wrong? Damn it, those who deserve to die aren't dead, and those who shouldn't be dead are all fucking dead!"
Kara Sofion was thoroughly enraged by the term "ultimate traitor." She floated down from the branch, a faint golden aura surrounding her. "You want to fight me, Steve Rogers?"
"A fight?" Steve laughed, standing up and slamming the energy bar in his hand to the ground, his unshaven face contorted with a manic expression.
"You damn bitch! You think you can boss me around just because you got superpowers through dirty tricks?!"
He took a step forward, the Arc Reactor on his chest flashing an unstable blue light with excitement.
"Damn it! I'm telling you! If I wanted to, I could shove this tree into your ass in a heartbeat!"
Steve pointed to a huge tree nearby that required two people to hug, and roared at Kara, "Want to give it a try?!"
"You're asking for death!" Moonstone was completely enraged. Golden photon energy gathered in her hand into a dazzling ball of light, and she was about to make her move.
"Stop it, all of you!"
White Fox Ami Han flashed between the two, her silvery-white tail bristling, exuding a dangerous aura.
Luna Snow and Cyclone rushed up immediately, grabbing Moonstone's arms tightly from both sides.
"Don't be impulsive, Kara!" Cyclone cried out, "He's just... he's just crazy!"
"Let me go!" Kara struggled, but the ancient demonic aura emanating from the White Fox made her instinctively feel a sense of apprehension.
Kraven the Hunter slowly turned his head, watching the farce unfold. He grinned at the enraged Steve, revealing a set of white teeth. "To be honest, I prefer you the way you are now, Captain. Direct enough, savage enough."
"Bullshit!" Steve, unable to vent his anger, immediately turned to him, "You're a fucking gay, but I'm not! Fuck off!"
"Team leader!"
A weak but firm voice broke the chaos. Amadeus Zhao finally caught his breath, stood up, supporting himself on his knees, and looked at Steve, his face filled with a weariness and solemnity beyond his years. "Be quiet, don't attract those skeletons again."
Steve's gaze fell on the boy's thin face, and the anger in his chest seemed to be doused with a bucket of cold water, extinguishing most of it, leaving only choking black smoke.
He looked at Amadeus as if he saw the shadow of Bruce Banner, and also as if he saw Tony Stark's damn confidence.
Those two bastards, they're both fucking dead!
"Fine, fine, I'll listen to you, you brat." Steve waved his hand irritably, his voice deepening. "To be honest, I get annoyed just looking at you. Every time I see you, it reminds me of Banner and those two bastards, Tony!"
He walked away cursing and found a relatively clean rock to sit on. He ignored everyone and stared blankly at the trees in the distance with his empty eyes, lost in a lifeless daze.
The internal strife ended abruptly, with nothing to show for it.
The only sound in the woods was the "click-clack" of Kraven with a stone.
He quickly started a fire, then silently walked toward the nearby stream.
Not long after, he returned carrying several fish that were still jumping around, and in his hand he was also clutching a handful of edible wild vegetables that he had just identified from the woods.
He used a relatively flat stone as a makeshift pot, placed it over the fire, threw in the prepared fish pieces and wild vegetables, added stream water, and began to simmer fish soup.
The aroma of fish soup quickly filled the damp, chilly air.
"Come on, have a drink," Kraven said to the crowd in his deep, husky voice.
No one can resist the temptation of hot food.
White Fox, Cyclone, Seol Hee, and Amadeus all walked over silently. Even Moonstone, who had just been angry, hesitated for a moment before finally landing by the fire.
Luna Snow stretched out her fair hand, and cold air gathered in her palm, instantly condensing into several crystal-clear ice bowls, which she then distributed to everyone.
Everyone sat around the fire, sipping the piping hot fish soup from ice bowls, tearing off pieces of well-cooked fish and wild vegetables and putting them in their mouths.
The firewood was burning, making a soft "crackling" sound.
The piping hot fish soup slid down my throat, dispelling the chill and fatigue from my body.
Such a heartwarming scene, if they hadn't just escaped from a mountain of corpses, if everyone hadn't been covered in wounds and despair, they would almost have thought it was just an ordinary camping trip.
As she ate, Luna Snow looked at the flickering flames. Perhaps she remembered something, or perhaps she simply wanted to break the heavy silence, she softly hummed a melody.
It was a song without lyrics, with a very light and gentle melody, like sunlight filtering through a window in winter, or like the first snow melting under the eaves of a house in my hometown.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and listened silently.
The song echoed through the woods, dispelling the shadow of death and temporarily soothing the wounds and rage in everyone's hearts.
They were immersed in the brief song, as if it could help them escape this messed-up reality, even if only for a little while.
Steve Rogers remained seated alone on a distant rock, his back to everyone, like a stubborn statue.
But the gentle singing still drifted over and entered his ears.
His shoulders, which were as immovable as a rock, trembled almost imperceptibly.