Chapter 152: Head Held High

The figure in the sea of fire was remarkably thin.

It looked almost like a skeleton, covered merely by a layer of charred... something that could hardly even be called flesh—just blackened cinders.

Clearly, in the massive explosion and the intense heat, all of Hulk's skin, muscles, and soft tissues had been instantly reduced to ashes, leaving behind only those carbonized remnants.

Yet.

Hulk still walked forward, head held high.

Although the severe lack of muscle made his stride somewhat unsteady, causing him to move slowly like a brainless zombie, every step he took seemed to exhaust his entire body's strength.

Still, Hulk kept walking without stopping.

One step, two steps, three steps...

With each passing stride, the muscles all over his body regenerated a little more. Consequently, his gait grew steadier, and his speed increased.

Step by step, bit by bit.

Against the backdrop of the roaring sea of fire, Hulk's withered form gradually bulged, and the robust muscle fibers covering his body grew increasingly dense.

On his pale skull and cheeks covered with green muscle fibers, his two round eyeballs glowed a vibrant green. Even though his back was turned to the flames, a blazing fire still seemed to burn within those eyes.

This ferocious appearance was practically indistinguishable from an evil ghost that had just crawled out of hell.

Even though he had not yet fully recovered at this moment and was still covered in wounds.

What remained unchanged were those green eyes brimming with fury.

Inside the truck, the commander merely exchanged a glance with him before hastily turning his head away, barking orders in a rush: "Prepare to retreat! Prepare to retreat!

"Hurry up! If any of you want to keep dawdling, go right ahead!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the sturdy soldier defense line instantly collapsed. Soldiers who had already been itching to leave scrambled desperately into the trucks. At the same time, engines roared to life, ready to pull back the moment everyone was accounted for.

By now, they had deployed their most powerful weapon, yet this monster was still alive.

That meant one thing.

Their battle had ended in utter failure. Remaining here any longer would only invite the monster's ruthless slaughter.

Therefore, anyone with a shred of sense had already begun preparing for retreat, waiting merely for the commander's word.

This group of terrorists was as swift and decisive in their retreat as they had been upon arrival. While scrambling agilely into the trucks, the rest of the stabilizing jacks were yanked up in advance and retracted against the sides of the vehicles.

Within the span of just a few breaths.

The trucks instantly whipped their heads around, flooring the gas pedal to retreat along the backup route.

Naturally, they would not return directly to their base. Having caused such a massive commotion, going straight back would not only expose the base's location but might even lead the monster right to its doorstep.

However, since they still had some breathing room, if a situation arose where they truly could not hold out, these people would undoubtedly choose to fall straight back to the base, regardless of whether it meant luring the monster in with them.

After all, survival was paramount.

The firepower at the base was far beyond what they could currently muster. It boasted at least ten fixed metal storms—and not the mobile, stripped-down firepower versions they carried on their trucks.

These were the real deal, storms constructed entirely of metal (bullets).

Not to mention the abundance of heavy rockets.

After all... the original purpose for building their base was never meant for dealing with normal creatures in the first place...

On the other side, Hulk's formidable self-healing ability was now on full display. Before long, the muscles all over his body had finished regenerating, and his green skin had perfectly enveloped him once more.

In fact, his muscles were even more bulging and powerful than before.

Reflected in the glow of the fire, his ferocious muscles were sharply defined, with every single fiber clearly visible. Judging by the standards of bodybuilders, his body fat percentage had dropped to at most two percent—an absolute limit that normal humans could never easily attain.

Hulk gazed into the distance at the departing convoy.

Lowering his center of gravity once again like a majestic lion, he violently kicked off the ground with his right leg. His entire body launched straight into the air like a super-powered spring, bounding in pursuit of the truck convoy.

If previously Hulk had harbored hostility toward these terrorists due to Zhong Shenxiu's chaotic magic,

then right now.

After experiencing the baptism of the metal storm and the sea of fire.

Hulk felt a rage toward these terrorists that had reached absolute extremes—the kind where he would not rest until he had taught them a lesson.

To be fair, he hadn't been born very long ago, so having a bit of a childish temper was completely normal... right?

Well, a child who could easily flatten a building with a single punch.

......

"The rest of you stay here! I'll go after him myself."

Having witnessed Hulk's terror, the Deputy Chief understood that a monster like this must never be allowed to roam freely through the city, as it would result in an untold number of casualties.

Therefore, he had to keep close tabs on the monster's movements, firmly locking its whereabouts onto their radar until General Ross's army arrived to bring the creature to justice.

Yet, after witnessing the terrorists' ultra-high-leverage weapons fail to inflict any effective damage on this monster,

doubts began to plague the Deputy Chief.

Even if General Ross came, could he really subdue this monster?

Who could guarantee that this wasn't just a suicide mission?

And so... the Deputy Chief decided to go alone.

It wasn't that he possessed some grand sense of righteousness or was fearless of death.

He feared death, too; he felt terror just like anyone else.

It was simply that... with Chief George absent, someone had to bear this responsibility.

And right now, that person was only him.....

When the Deputy Chief drove his police cruiser in pursuit of Hulk, the rest of the officers stood in silence right where they were.

Some bowed in salute; others stood straight and removed their hats.

And there were others..... who got into their cars and followed!

One car, two cars.......

Gradually, every single police cruiser followed suit, just as they had stood by Chief George through countless bloody battles with drug lords.

Without hesitation, unsparing of life or death.

......

To be honest, watching Hulk's formidable healing ability, Zhong Shenxiu felt a twinge of envy.

It was simply an unreasonable power.

That potent self-healing combined with Hulk's trait of growing stronger the angrier he became made him a bug-tier existence.

This reminded him of the acquirable ability he had detected using the Eye of True Sight: Super Soldier Serum (Rage).

Did this mean he, too, could possess abilities like the Hulk's?

Or rather, the ability to transform into an enraged behemoth like Bruce Banner?

If it were the former, Zhong Shenxiu would gladly accept it. But if it were the latter, that was something he found rather unappealing. After all, while someone like Hulk was physically invincible, his mental faculties were far too weak.

No matter how invincible Hulk seemed right now, Zhong Shenxiu could actually control him easily with Wanda's chaotic magic.

If told to go east, Hulk would never go west.

This was the flaw of an irrational, enraged beast.

Naturally, Zhong Shenxiu had no desire for such a flaw, just as he had previously refused to touch Osborne's flawed Super Soldier Serum.

With mutated healing spells at his disposal, he had much better options available.

There was truly no need to saddle himself with such a massive handicap just for this.

Never mind....

Let's catch up to them first.

After all, judging by Hulk's current displays, as long as he didn't encounter mental-type mages, he was practically invincible.

Recruiting him as a muscle-bound enforcer would be the absolute definition of perfection.

With that thought in mind.

Zhong Shenxiu, much like the police cars, followed closely behind the Hulk.