Chapter 150: Weapons of Demigods and Gods

From the perspective of Zhong Shenxiu, standing slightly behind, he had just been watching the storm of metal unleash its fury.

In his eyes, the Hulk was like a demigod from ancient myths, towering and bound with bulging muscles. The impending torrent of bullets ahead resembled the fiery spears of divine retribution, utterly unstoppable.

Yet the Hulk showed not a shred of fear, proudly lifting his head and roaring defiantly at that spear of the God of War.

Ultimately, the demigod proved no match for the weapon of a true deity. Harboring deep regret, the Hulk collapsed heavily to the ground, every single wound on his body seemingly exuding tragedy and unyielding defiance...

Ahem. Zhong Shenxiu suddenly felt he was letting his imagination run a bit too wild.

This was not a theatrical performance of ancient Greek mythology.

What genuinely surprised Zhong Shenxiu was the storm of metal itself. It looked like an oversized, upgraded Gatling gun, but its caliber was frighteningly massive, and the number of its barrels was absurdly high.

This was the first time Zhong Shenxiu had witnessed such a violently destructive conventional weapon.

Most of the weapons he had previously seen at Stark Industries were standard firearms meant for ordinary humans, such as rifles, submachine guns, and pistols. The ones with higher destructive power rarely exceeded sniper rifles.

Everything else consisted of little more than hand grenades and landmines.

Such trinkets could not even scratch the magic shield Zhong Shenxiu had cast upon himself, let alone penetrate the powered armor crafted by Ivan that he had worn at the time.

Yet this storm of metal, to be frank, refreshed Zhong Shenxiu's understanding of conventional weaponry.

He had always assumed that, aside from nuclear bombs, modern conventional arms would hardly be capable of inflicting any significant harm upon him.

However, a weapon as densely packed and terrifyingly destructive as the storm of metal was promptly added to Zhong Shenxiu's mental list of hazards to watch out for.

After all...

If another thousand of those were to open fire simultaneously, wouldn't his magic shield fail?

Indeed! It was genuinely a rather dangerous weapon; he must remain cautious.

He wondered how many such metal storms those people possessed. He truly failed to understand why these terrorists needed weapons specifically designed to deal with monster-tier creatures.

Furthermore, being able to secretly nurture such a force in New York capable of briefly locking horns with the Hulk—

Who could it possibly be?

Zhong Shenxiu pondered briefly. At the very least, within the memories of his past life, he could not recall any record of such a specialized unit.

The known information was still too scarce to make a definitive judgment.

With these thoughts in mind, Zhong Shenxiu intended to let the Hulk go on another rampage to test the waters and see if the enemy would reveal any clues that might give away their identity.

Thus, Zhong Shenxiu took out the small container once more, planning to draw upon Wanda's chaotic magic to stoke the fires of the Hulk's rage once again.

Yet after a moment, Zhong Shenxiu paused.

Because...

Through the Eye of True Sight, which he had intended to use for positioning, Zhong Shenxiu saw the Hulk's combat power soaring exponentially.

When he had first transformed, his power level was 333; now it had jumped straight to 521. A few seconds later, when Zhong Shenxiu checked again, it had climbed directly to 777.

The sheer speed at which this combat power was increasing was enough to make men fall silent and women weep.

This was why Zhong Shenxiu halted his plan to add fuel to the fire. It was safe to assume the Hulk himself was already furious enough at the terrorists who had blasted him with the storm of metal.

That was precisely why his combat power had surged so dramatically.

After all, the fundamental nature of the Hulk was that the angrier he became, the stronger he grew!

And there was no upper limit.

As long as the Hulk set his sights on this group of terrorists, beating them black and blue would probably be getting off lightly. Therefore, Zhong Shenxiu's desire to probe the enemy's foundation would likely be realized sooner rather than later.

Consequently, Zhong Shenxiu put the small container of chaotic magic away.

Instead, he resumed watching the show.

The blockbuster of the year—The Hulk Violently Smashing Grubs.

......

Seeing that the monster had not moved for a long time, its green blood pooling like a lake that reflected the moonlight with a shimmering sheen, the Commander in Charge of Squad Eight finally regained his habitual composure.

He began to stroll leisurely toward the convoy of trucks, then raised his hand to rap against a truck door with a series of heavy thuds, signaling for them to open up and let him inside.

However, no one answered him, and not even the dark, tinted windows were rolled down.

At that moment, the walkie-talkie on the Commander's chest crackled to life: "Where is the target?"

Hearing this, the Commander turned, pointed toward the green monster lying ahead in a pool of blood, and replied, "That is the target. I don't know what happened, but it turned into that kind of monster. Send someone over to haul its corpse back quickly. Even though it's dead, the body will surely still hold immense value."

Yet the person on the other end of the radio sounded deeply displeased. He interrogated, "You let me kill the target?! Don't you know the boss's explicit order was to capture the target alive?"

"I know, but against a monster like that, how could we possibly win without deploying the metal storm? Once the metal storm is unleashed, nothing survives its coverage, not even a monster," the Commander retorted.

He then continued, "The situation was critical. If it could have been captured alive, of course I would have done so. That is why I am telling you to hurry and send an empty truck to retrieve the target's body back to the base, so we can salvage whatever we can.

"Besides, those cops are lingering far away. If you don't move now, once they approach again under the cover of their own firepower, transporting it will become much more difficult."

The other end of the walkie-talkie fell silent. After a brief pause, the voice returned:

"Don't you still have men alive out there? Go drag the corpse back yourself. Once we're back at the base, I'll put in a good word for you with the boss."

Hearing this, the Commander's brow furrowed tightly. He knew the other man was trying to use him as cannon fodder. Although the commanders of the various combat squads all served the same boss, they generally did not get along.

However, because the boss always appointed a temporary overall commander for every major operation, and during independent squad missions the commanders rarely crossed paths, any friction had never once delayed a mission. Thus, the boss turned a blind eye to the mutual animosity among the squad commanders.

The person currently communicating with him was precisely the temporary overall commander of this support force, chosen by the boss from among the various squad leaders.

Naturally, such a person would resort to any means necessary to dump hazardous tasks onto other squads.

Yet at the moment, he had little choice. Even if he escaped punishment upon returning, his status as a squad commander would undoubtedly be stripped away. Therefore, he desperately needed the other man's intercession.

"Fine. Have an empty truck ready. If those cops charge in, you must provide reliable covering fire; only then will I go," the Commander stated.

The voice on the radio agreed, "Very well. The moment any emergency arises, I will have our forces provide remote support."

Reassured by this guarantee, the Commander confidently led the twenty-odd surviving squad members toward the corpse of the green monster.

He knew what the fellow sitting inside the truck was afraid of.

He was afraid the monster would suddenly "resurrect" and inflict heavy casualties upon his men.

Yet in the Commander's mind, such a thing was utterly impossible. Pierced through by the storm of metal, not even a god could survive!

Therefore, what the Commander had been constantly mindful of were the police officers maintaining their distance in the background; he feared they might suddenly fire a stray shot and place him in danger.

Thus, as he advanced toward the monster's corpse, the Commander kept his attention fixed on the police cruisers watching mutely in the distance.

Noticing that the police indeed showed no intention of making a move, he felt somewhat more at ease... They were probably frightened out of their wits by the storm of metal just now, he surmised.

The Commander silently mused that the sight of the metal storm firing at full capacity was indeed terrifying. Those fiery ribbons of light, upon first beholding them, had left even him stunned and rooted to the spot.

This was the grand achievement wrought by generations of ingenious craftsmen throughout centuries of human development in weaponry.

The Commander finally arrived beside the green monster once more, gazing down at the figure sprawled in the pool of blood like a dead dog—though it could hardly be called a figure anymore, as it was now thoroughly riddled with dense bullet holes into a mass of mangled flesh.

At the sight, the Commander felt an urge to mock the reinforcement commander over the radio for his cowardice, for lacking faith in the terrifying power of the metal storm.

This green monster was as dead as dead could be.

How could it possibly pose any further threat?!

Yet.

At that moment, a squad member who had accompanied him glanced at the corpse of the green monster and suddenly cried out in shock:

"Does it look like it's getting bigger?"

Hearing this, the rest of the members instantly cast their gazes in unison toward the monster's body.

And then, voices began to chime in one after another:

"It... it really does look bigger..."

"Damn, you're right! It's a whole circle larger than before!"

"Don't... don't try to scare us..."

Sensing that the atmosphere was turning sour, the Commander immediately barked a reprimand: "Stop scaring yourselves! How could it possibly be getting bigger? It's thoroughly dead. You lot were just in a panic earlier and didn't get a good look at its actual size."

To instill courage in the others, the Commander retrieved a sturdy mountaineering rope from his waist pouch and walked toward the corpse of the green monster.

He called out to the other members, "Hurry over here. Once we rope this monster up and drag it away, we can head back to the base with the reinforcements."

"When we get back, I'll take you all to the Carla Nightclub for the VIP package, my treat!"

At the mention of the Carla Nightclub, the men almost instantly conjured images of sultry, graceful curves and swallowed hard. That was a place only the truly wealthy could afford to frequent in New York.

With those words, their enthusiasm was instantly ignited.

Following the Commander's lead, they took out their own mountaineering ropes from their waists and walked toward the monster's corpse.

Meanwhile, the Commander had already tied a rope around the monster's wrist, securing it with a slightly complex knot. Finally, bracing his foot against the ground, he gave it a hard yank to test the firmness of the knot.

Naturally, the result was that it remained completely motionless.

The Commander then cast his gaze toward his men. Once they finished tying their knots as well, he would give the signal for everyone to pull together and drag the monster's carcass back.

However...

Because of this, he failed to see the Hulk's finger suddenly twitch!

"It... it moved!! It moved!"

Hearing the exclamation, the Commander instinctively wanted to turn his head and scold them for being so jumpy all the time.

Yet, before he could put that action into effect, he suddenly experienced a sensation of weightlessness.

He was abruptly yanked upward!

As he realized he was rising higher and higher, he mechanically turned his head... to look forward.....

It was precisely that blood-soaked green monster!!

It had actually stood up.

There truly was a creature that could survive the onslaught of a storm of metal!

Because the rope was bound to its wrist, the Commander was hoisted off the ground along with it, filling his heart with sudden terror and shock.

He hurriedly loosened his grip on the rope, intending to drop back to the ground and flee far away just as he had before.

But...

At the very instant he floated down to land, the Commander suddenly caught sight of those green eyes—eyes wherein the green burned like raging flames.

Their gazes locked.

*Whoosh—!*

The next moment, a fierce rushing sound tore through the air directly beside the Commander's ear.

Before he could even react, the Hulk's massive palm descended from above his head.

*Slap—*

*Bang—*

Like a kite with a severed string, the Commander was struck violently to the ground by that single blow, sending up a flurry of dust with a muffled, thunderous thud.

Commander Number Eight achieved honorable ultra-evolution~~~ Paste Number Eight!

"ROAR!!!!! "

The Hulk let out a furious roar toward the direction of the metal storm, his entire body's muscles suddenly rippling.

*Clatter, clatter...*

One golden armor-piercing shell after another was squeezed out of his flesh by his contracting muscles, tumbling onto the ground with crisp, metallic chimes.

The horrifying bullet holes were likewise closing up at a speed visible to the naked eye; the green muscles gradually regenerated, and the green skin grew back anew.

In no time at all, he was as good as new.

As if he had never been injured at all.

Upon witnessing this scene, the terrorists inside the truck convoy immediately reactivated the storm of metal.

Those dense spears of the God of War tore through the night once again, completely unconcerned that their own teammates were still standing right beside the Hulk.

The roaring gunfire painted the desolate night in dramatic, explosive strokes.

The struggle between the demigod and the weapon of a true deity recommenced.

And this time.

It was the indomitable demigod who won!

As the unstoppable armor-piercing rounds cleaved through the air and reached the Hulk, he held his head high, refusing to dodge even an inch.

Yet, unlike before, the moment these armor-piercing rounds contacted the Hulk's emerald skin, their momentum abruptly slowed, ultimately becoming completely wedged within his resilient muscles, unable to advance a fraction further!

In stark contrast to him were the abandoned terrorists standing by his side.

Struck by the formidable storm of metal, they were instantly obliterated into bursts of crimson mist, exploding brilliantly against the backdrop of the dark night!

This blood inevitably splattered across the Hulk's body.

Far from making him look disheveled, the wash of crimson only heightened his towering aura into something even more terrifying.

Just like.....

A demon stepping forth from a sea of blood!

......Of course, this demon was green.