Page 26
Page 26
Chu Hang's pupils shrank to pinpoints. The super soldier serum had catalyzed his senses to an unprecedented level. He could hear the teeth-grinding "crunch" of giant rocks rubbing against the mountainside, feel the faint groans of the ice beneath his feet due to the immense pressure, and even smell the biting, gritty scent of dust and snow being squeezed out of the air.
His brain, this enhanced biological computer, went into overdrive in an instant, but could only come to one conclusion: it's over.
The boulder was enormous, like a small truck, crashing down with unparalleled force. Steve, meanwhile, was pinned to the near-vertical ice wall by that damned belt. There were no escape routes in any direction.
You can't dodge it, you can't stop it.
Even if Dr. Erskine had devoted his entire life to creating a perfect human being, if he were to be hit head-on by such a behemoth, the only outcome would be to become a blotchy red and white mess smeared on the ice wall.
"Steve!"
A heart-wrenching roar came from the side. Logan's eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and his beast-like instincts told him that death was imminent. Without thinking, he strained his muscles and tried to pounce, but those few meters were now an insurmountable chasm. His speed couldn't outrun gravity.
Time stretched out infinitely in Chu Hang's perception. He watched helplessly as the enormous shadow completely enveloped Steve.
However, in that life-or-death moment of less than half a second, Steve, in the midst of the desperate situation, made a reaction that Chu Hang would never forget for the rest of his life.
He showed no panic, no fear, no despair. He abruptly looked up, his clear, azure eyes flashing with astonishing light. His gaze didn't linger on the massive rock above, but swept across the ice wall below with lightning speed. His brain pushed beyond its limits in that instant; countless streams of data flooded in and were processed in a flash. He wasn't waiting to die; he was searching—searching for that one in a billion chance—that could shift the balance of fate!
His roar was no longer gentle, but thunderous, filled with an unquestionable iron will.
"Three o'clock to the upper left! See that protruding black rock? Hit it! With all your might!"
What? Chu Hang's mind completely went blank. At a time like this, to hit a completely unrelated rock? Was he terrified?
Logan, however, did not hesitate for even a fraction of a second.
He didn't even consider whether the order was reasonable. The person giving the order was Steve Rogers, and that was enough.
This is absolute trust. It was forged in the hail of bullets on the European battlefield, forged with blood and lives, an unconditional obedience to the commander etched into their very bones!
A suppressed roar erupted from deep within Logan's throat; his body reacted before his brain could. He slammed his massive body against the ice wall, the ice beneath his feet shattering instantly, and he shot off to the side and upward at an incredible angle, like an enraged ape.
"clang--!"
Three stark white bones suddenly extended their fists, scraping against the ice wall with a screeching sound and a series of sparks. He practically glided across the ice, precisely plunging his bone claws into the black rock Steve had mentioned.
The rock was only the size of a basketball and was quite unremarkable.
But just as the bone claw sank in, Chu Hang's extraordinary hearing caught a crisp "crack" sound coming from inside the mountain!
It's as if something crucial has been broken.
That black rock was actually the hidden fulcrum supporting the base of the giant rock above!
With the fulcrum broken, the massive rock, crashing down like Mount Tai, instantly shifted its trajectory by a tiny deviation that was almost imperceptible to the naked eye.
It is this slight deviation that separates life from death.
The boulder no longer hurtled straight at Steve, but grazed his right side as it hurtled down with a tearing sound!
"Boom——!"
A deafening roar finally resounded as the giant rock crashed heavily against the mountainside below, unleashing a tremendous force. Countless fragments of rock and ice were thrown high into the air, forming a small avalanche that swept down towards the colossal structure at the foot of the mountain.
Although he avoided the direct hit, the violent wind pressure from the giant rock that brushed past him felt like an invisible giant hand slamming into Steve.
Steve grunted, the veins on his arm gripping the belt bulging, and he was blown away by the force, almost slipping from his grasp. Chu Hang's heart leaped into his throat.
Fortunately, Steve is still Steve.
He roared, unleashing terrifying power from his waist and abdomen, forcefully pulling his swung body back, and reattaching it to the ice wall like a magnet.
Chu Hang's body went limp, he gasped for breath, his entire body drenched in cold sweat. He stared blankly at Steve above him, then at Logan adjusting his position on the other side, only two words echoing wildly in his mind.
Steve's extraordinary, critical judgment and Logan's absolute execution, transcending all thought, showed a level of understanding between them that surpassed language. Compared to them, all I did was yell "Watch out!" and I was utterly useless.
"Don't just stand there! Get on here!"
Steve's roar was like a wake-up call, pulling Chu Hang out of his self-doubt.
At the foot of the mountain, the monster was struck hard by the avalanche. Countless tons of ice, snow and rocks poured down, but it only made a series of "cracking" sounds, as if it had just been drenched in hail.
It angrily shook off the snow, and its single eye, burning with rage, locked onto the three small insects on the mountain wall once more, letting out a deafening roar.
Another punch! The entire mountain ridge trembled violently, and more cracks spread wildly across the mountainside like black lightning. If we don't leave now, it will tear the mountain apart!
The three of them dared not delay any longer and, using both hands and feet, frantically climbed upwards at the fastest speed they had ever seen in their lives.
Finally, feeling like his lungs were about to burst, Steve was the first to climb to the top of the ridge. He immediately turned around, grabbed Logan, and pulled him up. Together, they pulled the exhausted Chu Hang up as well.
The three of them lay sprawled on the snow like dead dogs, greedily breathing in the icy air.
Having survived the ordeal, Chu Hang turned his head to look at the two people beside him. Steve was inspecting his shield, a shallow scratch from the boulder grazing its edge. Logan, on the other hand, nonchalantly flicked his hand, the blood seeping from his knuckles instantly freezing into dark red shards, his face showing only the excitement and exhilaration of the battle.
Being able to team up with these two monsters doesn't seem like such a bad thing...
"Are we... safe?" Chu Hang asked, panting.
Steve walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down. The enormous creature stood at the foot of the ridge, pacing restlessly, its claws occasionally scratching at the ground. With its heavy body, it was impossible for it to climb this nearly ninety-degree cliff.
It seems they've shaken it off for now.
Chu Hang breathed a long sigh of relief, but Steve's expression remained serious.
"Something's not right," he suddenly whispered.
"Something's not right?" Logan leaned closer, his animalistic instincts also making him uneasy.
“It’s too calm.” Steve’s voice was chilling. “Given its previous brutality, if it lost its target, it should have gone on a rampage, destroying everything around it. Instead, it’s like it’s waiting for something.”
Chu Hang's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition instantly welled up inside him. He quickly closed his eyes and strained his hearing to its limit.
His heartbeat was steady, and his footsteps had stopped. But then, a completely new sound entered his ears.
A high-frequency, sharp buzzing sound, like countless bees flapping their wings simultaneously beside your ear, grew louder and more piercing, almost puncturing your eardrums! The source... was its head! It was that wildly spinning turbine engine!
"Oh no!" Chu Hang screamed, his face turning deathly pale. "That turbo is accelerating! It's accumulating energy!"
At the foot of the mountain, the monster slowly raised its head. Its head, half of which resembled a turbine engine, was spinning wildly at a terrifying speed, emitting a piercing shriek that tore through the air. Large amounts of air were forcibly sucked in, converging at the front into a blindingly bright red point, like the core of a sun!
The surrounding temperature soared instantly, and the snow on the mountaintop began to melt at a visible speed, sending up plumes of white steam!
It had no intention of climbing up! It wanted to... wipe them, along with this mountain, completely from this world!
Steve only had time to shout those two words before he pounced to the side like a cheetah!
At almost the same time, Chu Hang and Logan scrambled and crawled in opposite directions.
The moment they left the spot.
A thick, dark red beam of energy, seemingly capable of melting everything, accompanied by a terrifying shriek that ripped through the soul, suddenly shot out from the monster's mouth!
The beam of light outpaced the sound and struck the mountaintop where they had just been standing with pinpoint accuracy!
There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a sickening "hiss" sound.
Then, Chu Hang watched helplessly as the mountaintop, composed of hard rock and millennia-old ice, was melted, vaporized, and directly erased from this three-dimensional space the instant it came into contact with the beam of light, just like a piece of butter thrown into a steel furnace.
A huge circular gap, more than ten meters in diameter, with smooth, mirror-like edges and still emitting billowing heat, appeared on the mountaintop.
Chu Hang lay prone dozens of meters away, feeling the scorching heat beneath him, smelling the strong sulfur odor in the air, and looking at the terrifying gap that seemed to have been erased by a god. He felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head, making his blood almost freeze.
How the hell are we supposed to fight this?
Chapter 34 Opportunity!
The dark red beam of light appeared without warning and disappeared just as abruptly.
Chu Hang felt a wave of scorching heat rush towards him, as if he were standing at the door of a giant oven that had just been opened.
He instinctively raised his hand to shield his face, but felt a sharp pain on his exposed skin.
The surrounding air was heated to a terrifying temperature, and each breath felt like swallowing a ball of scalding coals, burning his throat and lungs.
He struggled to lift his head and look at the mountaintop where they had just stood.
Then, he froze, his mind seemingly gripped tightly by an invisible hand, going completely blank.
A large chunk of the mountaintop, composed of hard, millennia-old rock and thick ice, vanished into thin air. In its place was a nearly perfect circular gap, over ten meters in diameter.
At the center of the gap, the rock was completely melted, forming a bubbling, dark red pool of magma, with billowing hot air rising and distorting the surrounding air.
Chu Hang's mind completely went blank. In his previous life, as a modern office worker who was heavily influenced by science fiction movies and video games, he had witnessed all sorts of world-destroying special effects scenes.
He considered the Death Star main cannon, the positron cannon, and the Kamehameha to be nothing more than code written by programmers and light and shadow painted by artists.
But now, when this irrational and destructive power, which only existed in his imagination, was vividly displayed before him, he truly understood what it meant to be insignificant and what it meant to be desperate.
"I... grass..."
A phrase that encapsulates the essence of human language's limitations was unconsciously uttered from Chu Hang's chapped lips.
He felt that his worldview, along with his pitiful courage, had been shattered by this sweeping attack, leaving not even a trace.
Oh no, this is really the end. Barbie Q is here, time to prepare for the feast.
What's the point of even fighting? One big move from them and they can even change the map for you.
A chilling sense of powerlessness instantly shot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, making the blood in his body almost freeze.
He stiffly twisted his neck, like a rusty robot, trying to see if Logan, that fearless brute, was still thinking of rushing up and fighting to the death.
The result, wow.
Wolverine, who is usually full of energy and wants to scratch anyone he sees, was completely deflated at this moment.
He knelt on one knee in the snow, one hand supporting himself on the ground, the other hand clenched into a fist that made a cracking sound, his knuckles turning pale from excessive force.
Clearly, this attack, which exceeded the limits of his understanding, directly blew the fuse out of his beastly, belligerent nerves.
Chu Hang then placed his last hope on Steve on the other side.
Captain America's face was as white as if he'd just been pulled from a flour sack, his lips were tightly pressed together, and his chest heaved violently, almost as fast as an old-fashioned sewing machine. Clearly, even this battle-hardened super soldier was quite stunned by the miraculous scene before him.
His prized physique, the pinnacle of human physical prowess, would likely be completely obliterated by such a blow. His prized vibranium shield? Perhaps only a small fragment would remain as a souvenir.
The three individuals, the strongest fighters in their respective teams, fell into a deathly silence at that moment.
The atmosphere was so oppressive it was practically freezing.
However, just when Chu Hang thought everyone could lie down and see who could be more at ease, Steve Rogers, a man who radiated the light of righteousness, suddenly gritted his teeth!
Two small flames suddenly reignited in his blue eyes, which had been somewhat unfocused due to shock!
Seriously, officer?
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