If Hong Fei had a health bar above his head, it would probably only be half full right after returning home; it was only as he lay down to rest that "+1" symbols began slowly popping up above him.
Closing his eyes, he inexplicably thought of the look in Mei's eyes just now. The poor widow must have been shocked.
Opening his eyes, Hong Fei stared blankly at the ceiling.
Soon, feeling the chaotic thoughts in his mind, the R-rated images, and some indescribable change in his body, Hong Fei couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
Do I actually have the ambitions of a hero?
......
Downstairs, the bookstore doors were tightly closed.
Mei walked out of the elevator with a flushed face when her phone suddenly rang; she took several deep breaths to calm her heartbeat while looking at the caller ID.
"Peter, where are you?"
Peter asked anxiously, "Aunt May, we've already left the city. Where are you?"
Mei breathed a sigh of relief and reassured him, "I'm almost out of the city too. You must stay safe with your classmates. Don't turn back, you hear me?"
......
In the sky, Frank held his ground, clearing the battlefield for several hundred meters around him single-handedly. However, outsiders didn't know that Frank was currently chatting while grinding mobs.
"When exactly are you willing to come out?"
Hong Fei grunted twice while lying on the sofa, "I don't know either."
"Why are you whimpering like a little girl?"
"Bullshit! I'm a real man!"
Frank didn't take the bait and changed the subject instead: "There are too many Chitauri; this isn't a long-term solution. Do you have any other preparations?"
"Ha, don't worry. Working with me, you never have to worry about being under-prepared. I'm preparing right now, but you should be careful. I suspect someone might make a foolish move."
"What do you mean?"
"Literally. The military is still nowhere to be seen. Those fighter jets weren't slow when they were attacking us before, were they?"
Frank's expression changed as he heard this. As if knowing how he would react, Hong Fei followed up, "Just pay a little attention. I have everything under control."
Frank frowned deeply, "How much longer?"
"Soon, soon."
Ending the call, Frank thought for a moment and commanded, "Samuel, strictly monitor all surrounding aerial signals. Report any anomalies immediately."
Big Head: "Understood!"
......
As time passed, more and more areas of New York City were swallowed by the battlefield.
Loki hung high in the sky, frowning as he looked at the battlefield.
Although the Chitauri army was gradually expanding outward due to their numerical advantage, Thor, Tony, Steve, and the Seven were still causing significant trouble for them. For one, when the Seven coordinated, the Leviathans were no match for them at all.
Seeing this, Loki tightened his grip on the scepter.
The blue light at the top began to glow brightly, and in an instant, his consciousness traveled to a dark corner of space.
"The numbers are still too low. I need more soldiers!"
Hearing Loki's request, the Chitauri leader said coldly, "The entire army is waiting on the other side of the portal. They do not fear death, but the problem is the portal you prepared isn't large enough. That is your own fault!"
"That is already the current limit! Your soldiers are too weak; they are simply no match for those people!"
"Loki! Are you insulting the Chitauri?!"
Loki retorted without yielding an inch, "It's not an insult, it's a fact. Your so-called 'great army' is being held back by a dozen humans working together!"
"They aren't all human. Your brother is among them."
Loki: "I have no brother!"
The Chitauri leader sneered, "The scepter in your hand should have played a greater role, but you use it as a mere symbol of your power. Don't forget, as of now, the power that truly belongs to you is still zero!"
"You..."
Loki had only uttered one word when he suddenly snapped back to his senses because an arrow had already flown right in front of his face.
He reached out and caught the arrow shaft. Looking in the direction it came from, Antonia was rapidly approaching him with the assistance of her armor. The arrowhead flashed with red light, and with a sudden explosion, Loki was knocked downward.
Thor soared into the sky, grabbing Loki by the back of his collar and throwing him onto a rooftop.
"Loki! You've disappointed me too much. You hurt my friend!" Thor roared loudly with bloodshot eyes.
Loki coughed a few times, slowly rolled over and stood up, grinning as he said, "It seems you were the one who knocked him down. I suspect that as a Midgardian, he might have been killed by you already."
Thor became even angrier upon hearing this and stepped forward to grab his collar, "That's only because you controlled him with magic!"
Loki quickly raised both hands in a gesture of surrender, yet his smile didn't fade in the slightest: "You could have chosen not to hit him."
"But you made him try to kill me!"
"I was just saying it. Besides, he couldn't have killed you anyway."
Thor felt a tightness in his chest.
......
More Chitauri soldiers were pouring out of the portal, while the defenders on Earth's side were beginning to feel fatigued.
Steve's lips were dry: "Tony, why hasn't Banner arrived yet?"
Tony was panting heavily inside his armor: "He might have been beaten to death by Hong Fei."
"No, I see him. He's here," Natasha suddenly spoke up.
Dr. Banner arrived behind Steve and Natasha on a small scooter, putt-putt-putting along.
"Banner, how are you?"
Steve went forward to ask.
Banner got off the scooter and said with a helpless look, "I was thrown into an abandoned factory. Luckily, a kind soul was willing to give me a pair of pants to wear."
Tony suddenly landed from the sky.
Opening his faceplate, he sat on the ground and said, "I can't do this anymore. I'm too tired. It feels like these aliens just keep coming!"
Banner looked up at the sky: "Can we turn it off?"
Tony shook his head: "I don't know yet. I haven't had time to check, but the activation device is right on top of my building."
"Then... why don't you go check? I'll help out here."
Tony looked puzzled: "You can transform?"
Banner nodded: "Actually, I can transform at any time."
The next second, he clenched his fists, and his body suddenly turned green and grew massive. In the blink of an eye, he leaped high into the air.
On the other side, Abomination also spotted him. Frank said in a timely manner, "Bronski, stick to your own task."
"I know. I just hope he doesn't come and bother me," Bronski muttered, curling his lip.
......
Queens.
Hong Fei's brow suddenly twitched. The next moment, surging energy poured directly into his body from the void. The energy he had previously consumed was quickly replenished, and then his energy limit began to rise continuously.
At this moment, Hong Fei's body emitted a pure white light from the inside out. Beams of light bloomed, and in an instant, he seemed to turn into a being of light.
Elsewhere, Tony flew up to his rooftop, only to see Thor and Loki facing each other near the device holding the Tesseract. One glared angrily while the other wore a slight smile; Dr. Erik Selvig stood nearby, not daring to make a sound.
Tony glanced over and immediately said, "Dr. Selvig, tell me, how do we shut it down?"
Dr. Erik Selvig didn't dare speak at first, but just as he was about to lower his head, he suddenly heard a voice in his ear. He froze for a moment, then looked up and pointed at the scepter in Loki's hand:
"That thing can penetrate the Tesseract's energy field and shut down the Tesseract's self-activation."
Tony turned his head sharply, Thor looked over as well, and even Loki couldn't help but tilt his head up slightly.
The next moment, Tony raised his hand and aimed at Loki: "Hand it over."
Thor: "Loki, give it to me."
Loki grinned and laughed again: "Thor, you still haven't improved."
Before his voice could fade, Loki's figure vanished directly.
Loki stood triumphant atop a Chitauri Leviathan in the distance. Tony pivoted midair, locking onto his position.
"Steve, Natasha—Loki's got the portal device!"
His thrusters flared as he shot forward. Steve and Natasha craned their necks upward, but grounded as they were, Natasha relayed the intel to Yelena, who passed it to Frank.
Frank absorbed the information in silence before issuing his orders.
"Disregard. Stay on mission."
At S.H.I.E.L.D. Base, a voice crackled through the comms.
"Director Fury, the Council's reached a decision."
Fury's single eye narrowed to a slit.
"Of course they have. And I know exactly what kind of idiotic decision they'd make. Which is why I'm ignoring it."
The screen flickered to life with a suited official.
"Fury, your base is ground zero. Launch those fighters now—"
"That's Manhattan down there! Unless my team fails, I won't greenlight a nuclear strike on civilians."
"Fury, if they break through—"
"Drop a nuke and there won't be anything left to save."
Fury severed the connection—just as three fighters launched from a hidden hangar. He barely intercepted one. Storming back to the bridge, he slammed a fist on the console.
"Stark! Listen close—there's a nuke inbound. ETA five minutes!"
Tony hit the pavement hard, Chitauri swarming him. He rolled, repulsors blasting.
"How long?"
"Five minutes to citywide annihilation!"
Panting, Tony relayed the warning mid-combat before rocketing skyward without another shot.
Steve's shield caved in a Chitauri skull with a satisfying crunch.
"This is treason!" he roared. "They're betraying every citizen in this city!"
Big Head's voice crackled in Hong Fei's earpiece.
"Boss, jet's locked. Arthur's on its tail."
Hong Fei rolled off the sofa in one fluid motion. The white energy swirling around him condensed into his pores—third-stage breakthrough complete.
No new skill slots, but power thrummed through his veins, merging seamlessly with the Dragon Energy. Nanotech armor slithered over his skin like liquid mercury.
Hong Fei watched Tony's figure as he flew rapidly out of the city and smiled.
"Frank, have your team carpet-bomb my last position. Arthur—hack that jet's black box. Mission logs, comms, everything."
He cracked his knuckles.
"Time to make an entrance."