In the narrow alley near the factory, the curly-haired young man, the target of the elite soldiers, Dr. Bruce Banner, was desperately fleeing.
*Dī Dī Dī!*
Due to the intense movement, Dr. Banner's face twisted with fear, and beads of sweat formed on it. His heart rate, displayed on his wristwatch, began to beep warnings, climbing from a little over one hundred to two hundred.
"Don't come out, don't come out. Just endure it a little longer!" Dr. Banner muttered to himself while taking deep breaths. His left hand pressed firmly on his chest, where his powerful heart pounded like an angry monster.
In his self-talk, the creature within was being persuaded to remain dormant.
But just then, two soldiers suddenly rushed out from the front, blocking his way. "Stop! Don't move!"
Dr. Banner's face changed, and he attempted to turn back. However, the sound of footsteps and more soldiers coming in quickly blocked his retreat.
"Hands up! Get down! You have nowhere to go!" Emil emerged from the rear of the group, aiming his gun at Dr. Banner and speaking coldly.
"Don't force me. If you keep pushing, it will come out..." Dr. Banner helplessly raised his hands and spoke with a frightened expression.
Faced with a dead-end situation, the heart rate on his wristwatch beeped once again. The numbers had silently crossed over two hundred.
"What's coming out?" Emil frowned but didn't think too much about it. To avoid any unexpected situations, he instinctively pulled the trigger.
Paralysis bullets from the gun hit Dr. Banner's neck accurately. His eyelids fluttered, and his entire body went limp due to nerve paralysis, collapsing on the dimly lit alley floor.
Only his wristwatch continued to beep a warning, but no one noticed that the numbers were now nearing the critical point of three hundred.
"Target down! Retrieving him now," Emil reported into the walkie-talkie. He gestured forward, and two teammates behind him holstered their weapons and approached with tools like handcuffs.
*Click!*
The two soldiers worked together, securing Dr. Banner's wrists with restraints. Up to this point, almost all the soldiers felt that the mission was completed.
Just as they were heaving a sigh of relief, a horrifying transformation occurred suddenly...
With a muffled sound, accompanied by piercing screams that tore through the night, two soldiers were thrown backward and crashed into a pillar behind Emil in mid-air, landing in a lifeless pile of flesh. They were as dead as could be!
Emil turned to look. In the darkness of the alley, where Dr. Banner had previously fallen unconscious, a massive, two-legged creature stood vaguely.
"Open fire, everyone!" Emil shouted calmly. They aimed at the massive figure and pulled the triggers. Paralysis bullets rained down, striking the creature's body. But without exception, all of them were deflected like rubber bullets, scattering on the ground.
"Roar!"
The creature let out a thunderous roar. Its colossal foot came down, crushing the paralysis bullets on the ground. In the glow of a streetlamp, its true form was finally revealed.
"My God!"
Emil gasped for a breath of cold air. What stood before his eyes was undoubtedly a monstrous being!
It had a pair of eerie green eyes, a hulking and somewhat bloated physique, dressed in a black loincloth. Its entire body had rough, ugly green skin, swollen with muscles and veins. No one would doubt the terrifying power it possessed!
It bared its teeth and roared furiously, appearing as though it was born for combat. Its aura was thick, fierce, and far exceeded any other lifeform.
"General Ross, what in the world is that green monster?!" Emil forcefully asked, trying to stay calm.
"That's our target for tonight, the Hulk," General Ross replied with a sigh coming through the comm. He had known that the mission of the elite soldiers was already a failure when he learned that Hulk had appeared.
"Hulk..."
Emil didn't have time to think much. The Hulk was already charging toward them, causing the ground to tremble as if a death threat far surpassed that of a rhinoceros.
"Fall back quickly!" Emil yelled as he turned and sprinted back. His teammates nearby reacted just a beat slower and were caught barehanded by Hulk.
Emil had seen his fair share of war scenes, but encountering a monster like this was a first in his life. He had barely covered a distance of ten meters when a roaring wind sounded behind him.
Turning to look, he saw that Hulk, driven by anger, had thrown a teammate's body toward him.
Emil had no time to dodge and had to put his hand up to block. The force transferred to his shoulder without any room to dissipate. He was instantly sent flying, crashing into the wall in a bloody, tumbling mess.
This was Hulk. His casual strength was measured in tons, and ordinary people were nothing more than ants in his presence, unable to withstand a single blow!
"Roar!"
Hulk roared angrily, approaching Emil, who lay twitching on the ground.
"It's not so bad to die at the hands of such a powerful monster..." Emil smiled with difficulty, reluctantly closing his eyes.
But a few seconds later, he didn't die as expected. He opened his eyes in surprise.
Hulk had stopped right next to him, casting his enormous shadow over Emil. However, Hulk didn't even glance at him. Instead, he lifted his head toward the night sky, and his furious expression was replaced by a mix of different emotions.
There was curiosity, realization, wildness, brutality, a chilling demeanor, and an intense battle intent.
In the night sky above, Kyle hovered in the air, his silver hair disheveled by the night breeze, and his golden pupils blazing like flames. Dark wings flapped gently, creating small hurricane-like waves.
Kyle stared at Hulk, and Hulk stared at Kyle. The two locked their gazes on each other, leaving no room for any other weaker lifeform.
Their auras were mutually entwined!
"It's you," Hulk said in a low, hoarse voice.
If Bruce Banner still had consciousness, he would have been astounded by the unbelievable fact that this creature, capable of nothing but anger and destruction, could suddenly speak.
"Come on!" Kyle smiled calmly. He clenched his fists, and Venom gave a joyful chirp as it covered his body like a dark, monstrous cloak, transforming into a figure not inferior to Hulk in terms of size.
This battle will have no technology and no spells, it will be just the extreme physical abilities of two mutated lifeforms!
This was the Earth's ultimate showdown in terms of strength, speed, and physical prowess!
It was like the battle between a stegosaurus and a tyrannosaurus in the Cretaceous Period, yet fundamentally different. Before this, both were ordinary human beings!
(End of this chapter)