Chapter 28: Perform a "Steel Flight" for Everyone! Hurry up, I've already started recording!
Just as Lin Zhen shoved that pair of original-flavor AJ sneakers into Peter Parker's arms, the phone in his pocket began to vibrate.
He pulled out his phone and glanced at it; it was a call from Tony.
"Hey, Boss, looking for a bodyguard in the middle of the night? Are you looking to add extra hours?" Lin Zhenanswered the phone, his tone extremely professional.
Deafening bass-heavy dance music came from the other end of the line, followed by Tony Stark's voice.
"Lin Zhen, come to my Malibu Villa tomorrow night at ten. I'm throwing a party, and all the hottest babes on the West Coast are here. You have to come."
Lin Zhen's eyes lit up, and a system prompt immediately popped up in his mind.
[Triggered Hidden Social Event: Tony's Last Revelry]
[Option A: Accept invitation (May unlock special plot and CG)]
[Option B: Decline invitation (You will miss an extremely absurd billionaire feast)]
"Boss, is there an appearance fee? You know my appearance fee is very expensive." Lin Zhen habitually haggled.
"As long as you come, name your price. And by the way, take off that chicken-head mask of yours; don't scare my girls!" Tony hung up the phone immediately after speaking.
Lin Zhen looked at the black screen and rubbed his chin.
"Motherfucker, an NPC inviting a player to a party? This must be a hidden event triggered by maxing out favorability. It'd be a waste not to go!"
The next night at ten, Malibu Coast, California.
Lin Zhen teleported to the outside of Tony's seaside Villaright on time.
As soon as he landed, he was blinded by the sight before him. The coastal highway was lined with all kinds of limited-edition supercars—Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Bugatti Veyrons—it looked like a luxury car show.
Lin Zhen stood in front of a red Aston Martin, his hand uncontrollably reaching for the door handle.
[System Prompt: This item belongs to a civilian NPC. Forcibly looting it will deduct Justice Points.]
Lin Zhen gasped and forcibly pulled his hand back.
"Motherfucker, the anti-theft mechanism in this shitty game is too strict. If I could shove all of these into my backpack and resell them to a used car dealer, I'd be financially free!"
He swallowed his saliva, reluctantly withdrew his gaze, and strode into the Villa.
The interior of the Villa was chaotic, with heavy metal music shaking the floor and the smell of alcohol and perfume permeating the air.
Lin Zhen squeezed through the crowd and spotted the DJ booth in the center of the hall at a glance.
Tony Stark was wearing the red and gold Mark IV armor, holding a martini in his hand, and twisting his waist crazily on the stage. His movements were as comical as could be.
"Ladies and gentlemen, get high with me!" Tony shouted into the microphone, and the armor's repulsor suddenly fired a weak energy pulse toward the ceiling.
The crowd below erupted into crazy screams.
Lin Zhen stood below the stage, watching this scene, and he was completely excited.
"Holy shit, this footage is so fucking precious. This is Iron Man's social death scene!"
He immediately opened the [Recording Function] on the system interface.
[Recording...]
"Create new album, name it 'Tony's Don't Laugh Challenge'."
"When this kid stops paying my salary later, I'll post this video online and charge him PR fees based on the view count!" Lin Zhen chuckled while recording.
Just as he was holding his hand up, frantically looking for the right angle, a hand suddenly tapped him on the shoulder.
"What are you doing here?" A female voice, carrying a hint of laziness and scrutiny, sounded in his ear.
Lin Zhen turned back, his eyes instantly widening.
Standing before him was a woman in a tight leopard-print dress, her red hair permed into large waves, her figure hot, holding a glass of champagne in her hand, her eyes deep.
Lin Zhen stunned for two seconds, then immediately struck a pose he thought was cool. "Yo, isn't this the Wid... Widowmaker, Ms. Natalie? Why are you dressed like this?"
Natasha frowned slightly, speechless at Lin Zhen's strange nickname, but she lowered her voice and said: "I'm here to execute a mission. Director Fury asked me to keep an eye on him."
Lin Zhen was immediately unhappy when he heard this.
He looked Natasha up and down, eyeing her leopard-print dress, and said with heartbreaking grief: "Motherfucker, Nick Fury is such a double-standard old bastard. Back then, I worked my ass off for S.H.I.E.L.D., but he turned around and sent you to use a honey trap on Tony. What's wrong with me, Lin Zhen? Am I not rich enough, or is my stamina not as good as his?"
Natasha's mouth twitched, suppressing the urge to stun this asshole with her shock baton.
"This isn't a honey trap; it's a close-range assessment," Natasha corrected, then glanced at Tony, who was acting crazy on stage, "You still haven't answered me. Why are you here?"
Lin Zhen shook the recording interface in his hand and said: "The Boss invited me. He called me in the middle of the night begging me to come. If I don't come, he'd lose face. Besides, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch a monkey show. As a high-quality player, how could I miss this kind of hidden plot?"
Watching Lin Zhen's face, which showed he was purely here to watch the chaos, Natasha sighed.
She pulled Lin Zhen into a corner, avoiding the deafening sound system, and her expression became extremely serious.
"Lin Zhen, listen. Things are much more serious than you imagine."
Lin Zhen put away the recording interface and raised an eyebrow: "What, is he bankrupt? If so, has he settled my salary?"
"It's not about money," Natasha stared into Lin Zhen's eyes and said word by word, "Tony is dying!"
Lin Zhen was stunned for a moment.
"The Arc Reactor in his chest, the core material is palladium. This element is slowly seeping into his blood. The palladium poisoning has reached the terminal stage."
Natasha pulled up a micro-scan report and handed it to Lin Zhen.
"He can only live for another seventy-two hours at most."
Lin Zhen looked at the red lines on the report, and some plot fragments flashed through his mind, but he still couldn't remember much.
After all, when he watched the movie before, his attention was entirely on Black Widow.
"Oh, so the main storyline has progressed to this point." Lin Zhen suddenly realized, then waved his hand indifferently, "So he's singing and dancing here, is he planning to hold his own funeral in advance, and save the 'dancing on the grave' part by the way?"
"He's indulging himself because he thinks he's beyond saving!" Natasha's tone was heavy, "My mission has changed from monitoring him to preventing him from committing suicide. If he continues to act crazy while wearing that armor, it's very easy for him to hurt civilians."
Natasha looked at Lin Zhen.
"You are the bodyguard he hired, and he seems to have a strange... tolerance for you. I need you to persuade him to take off the armor and stop doing stupid things."
After listening, Lin Zhen immediately straightened his back and patted his chest to guarantee.
"Don't worry, Black Widow, leave it to me. No problem. I'm best at doing ideological work."
"I'm also very good at physical-level ideological work. I guarantee I'll make him take it off until he's not even wearing his underwear within a minute!"
Natasha looked at Lin Zhen's confident appearance and always felt that something was wrong, but there was no better way at the moment, so she could only nod.
"Please, don't mess things up."
"Totally!" Lin Zhen made an OK gesture, turned around, and dove into the partying crowd.
At this time, Tony on stage was already so drunk he couldn't find north.
He was wearing the Mark IV, holding a microphone in his hand, walking unsteadily to the edge of the stage, and shouting at the crowd below.
"Do you know? Many people ask me, 'Mr. Stark, when you are wearing this armor, what do you do if you want to go to the bathroom?'"
The crowd below burst into laughter, and someone asked loudly, "Yeah, what do you do!"
Tony chuckled and pointed to the lower half of the armor, "This is a precision instrument worth hundreds of millions of dollars. It has a built-in state-of-the-art liquid filtration and circulation system. So, when I want to go to the bathroom..."
Tony paused on purpose, then, in front of everyone, closed his eyes, and a look of extreme comfort, even somewhat lewd, "release" expression appeared on his face.
"Just like this, solve it directly, and it can even be recycled!"
Boom!
The whole venue erupted into deafening screams and whistles, and the atmosphere was instantly pushed to its climax.
"So cool!"
"Stark, you're a genius!"
Just at this moment, a sound that was extremely abrupt and highly penetrating suddenly rang out from the crowd.
"What's the point of just peeing? If you've got guts, take a dump!"
This voice was like pouring a ladle of cold water into a hot pan of oil, and then it instantly triggered an even bigger explosion.
The crowd was quiet for a second, then, not knowing who started it, everyone began to shout frantically along with the rhythm.
"Dump! Dump! Dump!"
Hundreds of people were shouting "Dump" in unison at the billionaire Iron Man on stage. This scene was absurd to the extreme, so bizarre that it made one's scalp tingle.
Tony stood on the stage, listening to the deafening shouts below, and the expression on his face instantly froze.
Although he was drunk, and although he was indulging himself, he wasn't crazy enough to demonstrate how the armor handled solid waste in front of hundreds of people.
"Jarvis, find that asshole who started the 'dump' chant for me. I'm going to blast his ass with my repulsor!" Tonyroared through gritted teeth inside his helmet.
In the corner, Natasha watched the out-of-control scene in stunned silence.
She looked in the direction where the sound waves were most concentrated.
She saw Lin Zhen standing in the very front row of the crowd, his hands cupped around his mouth like a megaphone, shouting louder than anyone else, and even waving his signature frying pan to lead the rhythm.
"Perform a'Steel Flight' for everyone! Hurry up, I've already started recording!" Lin Zhen shouted while excitedly jumping up and down.
Natasha took a deep breath, feeling her blood pressure skyrocketing.
"Motherfucker!"
The usually calm Black Widow couldn't help but blurt out Lin Zhen's catchphrase at this moment.
"I actually counted on this lunatic to save the day; he's just here to stir up trouble!"
Chapter 29: Shock! Iron Man Actually Demonstrates the Internal Circulation of His Armor in Public
Lin Zhen was shouting enthusiastically when the sound system in the hall suddenly emitted a piercing screech.
A silver-gray Iron Man armor landed heavily on the stage; it was the Mark II.
Colonel Rhodes's voice came from the helmet, filled with suppressed anger: "Tony, have you had enough? Take off the armor!"
Tony turned his head drunkenly and raised the wine bottle in his hand: "Rhodes, you look pretty handsome in that suit. Do you want to fire a Repulsor blast too?"
Lin Zhen stood off the stage and rubbed his chin.
A system notification popped up.
[ Plot Event: The Breakup of Best Friends ]
Lin Zhen curled his lips: "What breakup? This boss clearly knows he's about to kick the bucket and is deliberately giving his equipment to the the military. This NPC sure knows how to write a will."
Natasha stood to the side, completely speechless as she watched Lin Zhen not only fail to break up the fight but even take out a handful of melon seeds from his System Inventory to snack on.
"Aren't you going to stop them?" Natasha asked.
"Stop what? You can't skip CG animations; that's common knowledge." Lin Zhen spat out a melon seed shell: "If you're bored, we can start a betting pool. I bet ten bucks on Tony winning."
Natasha took a deep breath and turned to leave; she had to report the out-of-control situation here to Director Furyimmediately.
On stage, the two armors were already fighting.
They smashed from the stage to the bar, then through the wall, fighting all the way into Tony's private gym.
Various expensive pieces of equipment were smashed to pieces.
Finally, both armors raised their hands simultaneously, aiming their Repulsors at each other.
Boom!
The violent energy shockwave shattered all the surrounding glass.
Rhodes steadied himself, took one last deep look at Tonyon the ground, activated his foot thrusters, and shot into the sky with the Mark II, disappearing into the night.
The hall was a mess, and the guests had long since fled.
Tony lay sprawled in the ruins, his face mask open, looking utterly dejected.
Lin Zhen walked over slowly and squatted down beside Tony.
The system panel popped up.
[ Target: Tony Stark ]
[ Status: Palladium Poisoning (Severe), HP continuously draining, estimated survival time: 71 hours ]
"Boss, your HP bar is dropping a bit fast. Did you come with a continuous damage BUFF?" Lin Zhen poked Tony's shoulder.
Tony ignored his nonsense and stared blankly at the ceiling: "Lin, you know, I created this armor. I thought I could change the world, but I can't even save myself."
He pointed to the shimmering Arc Reactor on his chest.
"This thing kept me alive, but it's also killing me. The palladium has already entered my blood. I've tried every known element, and none of them can replace it." Tony's voice was filled with deep despair: "I'm dying."
After listening, Lin Zhen was silent for two seconds.
"Boss, I have a question, but I don't know if I should ask."
"Go ahead, I won't be able to hear it for long anyway."
Lin Zhen pointed at the Arc Reactor on Tony's chest, his tone extremely puzzled: "Since you know this thing is poisonous, why do you have to stuff it into your flesh? Can't you just mount it directly on the armor?"
The air suddenly went quiet.
Tony's eyes froze instantly.
He stared blankly at Lin Zhen, as if a bolt of lightning had struck his brain.
That's right!
Why did it have to be mounted on his chest!
Initially, in the cave, it was to keep the shrapnel in his heart from moving, but he had clearly already undergone surgery to remove the shrapnel later!
He could have completely made the Arc Reactor an external energy module and embedded it directly into the armor; that way, he wouldn't have to worry about palladium poisoning at all!
Tony's lips trembled: "I... I actually didn't think of that..."
"That's why you science types are so prone to getting stuck in a rut," Lin Zhen sighed. "Not knowing how to switch equipment slots in a game—you deserve to lose HP."
Tony gave a bitter smile: "It's too late to say that now. The palladium has already seeped into my bone marrow. Even if I remove the Arc Reactor now, I won't live for many more days."
"What a small matter," Lin Zhen pulled a small glass bottle containing green liquid from his crotch—oh no, from his System Inventory: "Drink this."
[ Primary Antidote: Removes standard poisoning status, restores a small amount of HP ]
Tony looked at the bottle emitting an eerie green light, his brows tightly furrowed: "What is this? A new type of poison? Do you want to make my death more painless?"
"Motherf***er, this is a precious item I got after grinding a dozen street thugs. Take it or leave it!" Lin Zhen made a move to take it back.
Tony snatched the bottle, pulled out the stopper, and downed it in one gulp.
"It tastes a bit like expired apple juice..."
Before he finished speaking, Tony suddenly felt a cool sensation surging within him. The chest tightness and stinging pain that accompanied him at all times actually vanished without a trace within a few seconds.
"Jarvis, scan my blood!" Tony shouted.
"Sir, the palladium content in your blood is dropping rapidly. It has now returned to normal levels. Your body is completely healthy." Even Jarvis's voice carried a hint of disbelief.
Tony sat up abruptly, looking at Lin Zhen with a face full of shock.
The terminal illness that had plagued him for months and left him in such despair that he was preparing to die—it had just been cured by a bottle of green juice of unknown origin?
"You... what exactly did you give me to drink!"
"Just a game item, don't make a fuss," Lin Zhen rolled his eyes, then took out a miniature projector: "Boss, I've saved your life. Now let's talk about another deal."
The projector turned on, and the image showed exactly what Tony had been doing on stage just a moment ago—eyes closed, narrating the armor's excretion system with a lecherous look on his face.
"I think major media outlets would be very interested in this recording. I've already thought of a title:'Shock! Iron Man Actually Demonstrates the Internal Circulation of His Armor in Public'." Lin Zhen grinned.
Tony's face turned green: "Name your price!"
"One million, cash."
"Deal!" Tony gritted his teeth.
Just then, a series of orderly footsteps came from outside the hall.
Nick Fury, wearing his iconic black trench coat, strode in, followed by Natasha, who had changed back into her black combat uniform.
Tony was stunned when he saw Natasha: "Natalie? Aren't you from the Legal Department? Why are you dressed like that?"
"Tony, let's reintroduce ourselves. S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 7 Agent, Natasha Romanoff." Fury walked to the ruins and stared at Tony with his one good eye.
Tony looked at Natasha, then at Fury, and finally turned his gaze to Lin Zhen.
Lin Zhen immediately raised his hands, acting like a drama queen, and said with a pained expression: "Boss, I'm sorry, I'm an undercover Agent too. I'm a Level 0 Agent sent by S.H.I.E.L.D. to monitor you, codename 'New York Ji Ba'."
Tony's mouth twitched wildly: "Shut up! Your codename sounds like someone who sells fried chicken!"
Fury glared at Lin Zhen, then looked at Tony: "Tony, we need to talk about your father, Howard Stark."
Tony frowned: "My father? What does he have to do with you people?"
"Come upstairs with me." Fury turned and walked toward the reception room on the second floor.
Tony followed, and Natasha remained in the first-floor hall.
Lin Zhen walked to the bar, casually picked up an unbroken bottle of champagne, and poured himself a glass.
Natasha watched him: "What did you give him to drink? He looks much better."
"Liuwei Dihuang Wan. It can treat kidney deficiency, impotence, and menstrual irregularities." Lin Zhen took a sip of wine, his gaze fixed directly on the direction of the second-floor reception room.
Although separated by a wall, rows of white subtitles were clearly jumping in Lin Zhen's field of vision.
[ Player Privilege: Plot Subtitles Enabled ]
[ Nick Fury: Your father was one of the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D. ]
[ Tony: That's impossible. He never told me. ]
[ Nick Fury: He left you something, right there in the StarkExpo model. It's a new element that can replace palladium. ]
Lin Zhen looked at the subtitles and clicked his tongue twice.
He turned his head to look at Natasha: "Black Widow, you guys at S.H.I.E.L.D. hide things pretty deep."
Natasha frowned: "What do you mean?"
"Tony's dad was actually a founder of S.H.I.E.L.D.? You guys kept that pretty well hidden. And that 'new element' thing, hidden in the Expo model? That old guy sure knew how to play puzzle games." Lin Zhen said casually.
Natasha's pupils constricted sharply, and her hand instantly reached for the shock baton at her waist.
This was Level 8 classified information for S.H.I.E.L.D. Even she, a Level 7 Agent, only vaguely knew a little bit about it. How did Lin Zhen know!
"Where exactly did you get this intelligence!" Natashastared at him intensely.
Lin Zhen pointed at his own eyes and said righteously: "Read the subtitles. You NPCs don't have subtitles when you talk, but as a player, I have subtitle prompts. This is called a game mechanic, get it?"
Natasha: "..."
She now only felt that staying in the same space as this lunatic was a huge insult to her career as an Agent.
Lin Zhen finished the wine in his glass and clapped his hands.
"Alright, the main storyline is finished, and I've got the one million. I need to go grind some daily quests. Black Widow, see ya."
After saying this, Lin Zhen directly activated his teleportation skill.
The air twisted.
Bang!
Lin Zhen disappeared from the spot, leaving behind only an empty wine glass on the bar and a Black Widow who was doubting her life.
Chapter 30 Hulk
The next day, at night.
The air twisted for a moment.
Lin Zhen slammed half a bottle of champagne onto Nick Fury's desk.
"Director, you're still working late at night? Your hairline deserves to recede."
Nick Fury stared at Lin Zhen with his one good eye, his expression grim.
"How is the situation with Tony?"
"Done. I've already collected the one million in PR fees. The kid is lively and kicking now; I reckon he can ruin a few more cover girls."
Lin Zhen pulled out a chair and sat down, casually picking up a classified document from the desk to browse through.
Fury snatched the file away.
"Since you're free, there's an urgent mission here."
Fury brought up a virtual screen, which displayed a haggard-looking man wearing glasses,
"Bruce Banner, a fugitive from the the military. He is currently located at Midtown High School in Queens. General Ross's men have already surrounded the place."
Lin Zhen glanced at the screen.
The system prompt sounded right on time.
[Main Mission Triggered: The Green Monster at Midtown High School]
[Mission Objective: Contact Bruce Banner, monitor General Ross's capture operation, and ensure civilian casualties are kept to a minimum]
[Mission Reward: EXP + 2000, Mission Points + 15, Random Purple Equipment × 1, S.H.I.E.L.D. Faction Reputation + 100]
When Lin Zhen saw the words "Purple Equipment," his eyes instantly lit up.
"Director, you should have said there was such a lucrative job earlier! I, Lin Zhen, hate those terrorists who cause trouble in schools more than anything. I'll take this mission!"
Lin Zhen stood up and adjusted the chicken mask on his head.
"Remember, your mission is to monitor and evaluate. Do not have a direct confrontation with the the military, and definitely do not provoke Banner. Once that thing inside him comes out, the entire Queens will be razed to the ground."
Fury warned sternly.
"Don't worry, I'm the most reliable when it comes to getting things done."
Lin Zhen snapped his fingers and initiated the teleportation directly.
His figure vanished.
Fury breathed a sigh of relief and picked up the coffee pot on the desk, preparing to pour a cup to refresh himself.
His hand hovered in mid-air.
The black mug that had been next to the file was gone.
Fury took a deep breath, his chest heaving violently.
"Motherfucker!"
The roar shook the office glass until it was humming.
"Hill! Go to the logistics department immediately and buy one hundred mugs. Deduct the bill entirely from Lin Zhen's salary!"
...
On the streets of New York.
Lin Zhen was driving a black sports car with internal S.H.I.E.L.D. license plates, pedal to the metal, the engine emitting a deafening roar.
He ignored red lights, drove against traffic, and overtook cars on curves.
He held the steering wheel with one hand while rapidly tapping on the car's central console with the other, hacking directly into the the military's communication channel.
"Team A is in position, block the school's east gate."
"Team B, control the library. The target is moving toward the laboratory building."
"This is General Ross. Don't worry about the students. Use of live ammunition is authorized. You must capture Bannerand bring him back to me!"
Listening to General Ross's cold orders in the channel, Lin Zhen curled his lips.
"This old geezer really doesn't value the lives of NPCs."
Ten minutes later, the sports car performed a beautiful drift and stopped steadily in front of the cordon outside Midtown High School.
Two heavily armed soldiers immediately stepped forward with their guns raised.
"the military restricted area, leave immediately!"
Lin Zhen rolled down the window and tossed his S.H.I.E.L.D. special consultant ID over.
"Senior Inspector of the Federal Chicken Head Administration. I've been ordered to take over security here. Tell that old man named Ross to get out here and see me."
The soldiers looked at the eagle emblem on the ID and exchanged glances.
Taking advantage of their moment of daze, Lin Zhenpushed open the car door, strutted across the cordon, and strolled into the campus as if he were taking a leisurely walk.
Midtown High School was already in chaos.
Students were being driven out by the the military, with screams and cries filling the air.
Lin Zhen walked against the flow of people, his gaze rapidly searching through the crowd.
Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
Turning around, he saw a teenager wearing a plaid shirt and carrying a backpack, looking at him with an anxious expression.
"Mr. Mask! Why are you here?" Peter Parker lowered his voice, his eyes full of surprise.
Lin Zhen looked at the kid and chuckled.
"Why are you everywhere, Spider-Man? Not wearing your spandex today?"
Peter nervously glanced at the soldiers around them.
"This is my school. Those soldiers suddenly rushed in to make arrests. I was just about to go change into my suit to save people."
"Save it. You're not high-level enough to even be a snack for the big monster inside." Lin Zhen pressed down on Peter's shoulder and pushed him toward the school gate. "Hurry home and do your homework. I've contracted the EXP pool here; no one is allowed to steal my mobs."
"But it's dangerous in there..."
"The biggest danger is me."
Lin Zhen couldn't be bothered to talk to him anymore and turned to walk toward the laboratory building.
Second floor of the laboratory building.
Bruce Banner was covered in sweat, stumbling back to the end of the corridor.
Four fully armed soldiers held their assault rifles, closing in step by step.
"Dr. Banner, raise your hands and get on the ground!" the lead soldier shouted sternly, the tactical flashlight on his gun barrel blinding Banner.
Banner raised his hands, breathing rapidly, his face pale.
"Don't come any closer, I beg you. You don't know what you're doing. Let me leave here, otherwise, he will come out!"
"Cut the crap, get down!"
An eager soldier rushed forward, swung his rifle butt, and smashed it hard into Banner's back.
Banner let out a muffled groan and fell heavily to the ground.
The heart rate monitor on his wrist began to emit a harsh beeping sound.
The numbers were skyrocketing crazily.
120... 140... 160...
Lin Zhen was squatting on the ceiling ventilation duct at the end of the corridor, holding a bag of chips he had just swiped from a vending machine, watching the scene below with relish.
"Did the developers eat the IQ of these the military NPCs as kickbacks? They know the target is a powder keg, yet they insist on lighting it with a match. This is what you call forcing the plot forward."
Lin Zhen crunched on a chip, his eyes fixed on Banner's wrist.
180... 200!
The alarm sound turned into a continuous blare.
Banner curled up on the ground in pain, his hands clutching his head tightly.
His skin began to turn an eerie deep green at a speed visible to the naked eye.
His shirt was instantly torn apart by his rapidly bulging muscles, and his bones let out a teeth-grinding popping sound.
"Fire! Open fire immediately!"
The lead soldier sensed that something was wrong and shouted loudly.
Four assault rifles spat tongues of fire simultaneously, and dense bullets poured onto Banner.
But when the bullets hit that layer of green skin, it was like hitting a thick steel plate; sparks flew everywhere, and not even a white Mark was left behind.
"ROAR!"
A wild roar, like that of an ancient beast, exploded in the corridor.
The violent sound wave, mixed with a materialized Shockwave, instantly swept through the entire floor.
The glass windows on both sides of the corridor shattered all at once, and countless glass shards splashed outward like a rainstorm.
The teachers and students still evacuating downstairs erupted in extreme panic, screaming and fleeing in all directions, covering their heads.
The four soldiers who had fired were instantly blown away by the sound wave, slamming heavily into the wall and passing out on the spot.
The dust settled.
A green giant, nearly three meters tall with muscles as knotted as rocks, slowly stood up from the ruins.
Hulk pounded his chest with his fists, looked up, and let out a roar that was enough to shake the entire campus.
Chapter 31: Thor Lin Zhen!
Hulk strode forward with his thick legs, sprinting deep into the corridor.
His massive body smashed directly through the pillars along the way, and the load-bearing walls emitted a teeth-gritting cracking sound.
The ceiling collapsed with a roar, and large chunks of concrete mixed with steel rebar came crashing down.
At the staircase at the end of the corridor, two students who hadn't managed to evacuate stood frozen in place, watching the giant boulders falling from above, forgetting even to scream.
In the corner, Peter Parker, wearing a plaid shirt, narrowed his eyes.
He didn't hesitate at all, raising his wrists, and two sturdy lines of spider silk shot out, precisely sticking to the belts of the two students.
Peter exerted force with his arms, giving a fierce tug, and pulled the two people back from the brink of death.
After saving them, Peter took a deep breath, turned around, and dove into the dust-filled men's restroom.
Inside the ventilation duct, Lin Zhen crunched the last potato chip and brushed the crumbs off his hands.
"This kid really knows how to steal the spotlight; he actually went to change his skin right in front of me." Lin Zhen curled his lip, pulled the satellite phone he had just swiped from his backpack, and dialed the number for S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
As soon as the call connected, Nick Fury's voice, suppressing anger, came through.
"Lin Zhen, report the situation on the scene!"
"Director, your NPC subordinate activated the big boss. Now that green fatty is tearing down the building. In an online game, this level of destructive power would definitely be a 'hundred-ton king' level." Lin Zhen looked at the floor beneath his feet, which had been stomped into a giant crater by Hulk, his tone relaxed.
"Damn Ross!" Fury gritted his teeth, "Lin Zhen, listen, your primary mission is to protect Bruce Banner. He is a key figure in the Avengers project. You absolutely cannot let him fall into the hands of the the military, and even more so, you must not let him harm any innocents!"
"Gotta pay extra."
"I'm not joking with you!" Fury roared, "And another thing, that new black Mark mug on my desk—did it end up in your pocket again?"
Lin Zhen's eyes blinked beneath his mask, and he casually patted the cup inside his backpack.
"Hello? Hello? Director, what are you saying? The signal is bad here; this dungeon has area shielding. Static... static..."
Downstairs, the the military's reinforcements had arrived. Two RPG rockets trailing exhaust flames shot into the building, exploding with a roar on Hulk's back.
Fire soared into the sky, and thick smoke billowed.
Hulk was blasted into a stagger, completely falling into a berserk state.
He clasped his fists together, raised them high, and smashed them fiercely onto the floor beneath his feet.
Boom!
The entire floor collapsed instantly, and Hulk's massive body, accompanied by countless rock fragments, smashed directly through the second floor, landing heavily in the central hall on the first floor.
Before the smoke and dust had dispersed, a red and blue figure suddenly swung down from the chandelier at the top of the hall.
Peter Parker kept his legs together, and using the momentum of the spider silk swing, his size 42 shoe sole kicked fiercely into Hulk's massive green face.
Bang!
The immense impact force made Hulk's massive body take two steps back.
Peter landed steadily with a backflip, taking the opportunity to strike an extremely flashy half-squat pose.
"Hi, big guy!" The voice from beneath Spider-Man's mask was filled with excitement and mockery, "Is your skin color because you ate too much moldy spinach, or did you wear too many green hats? Do you need me to recommend a reliable psychological clinic for you?"
Hulk steadied his figure and shook his dazed head.
He stared fixedly at the bug in the tight suit before him, let out a deafening roar, and punched the ground.
The stone slabs shattered, and huge cracks spread out like a spider silk.
Peter exerted force with his legs, leaping backward to the limit, dodging this fatal blow.
While in mid-air, he fired continuously with both hands, and several thick lines of spider silk instantly wrapped around Hulk's arms.
"Calm down, buddy. This is high-strength eco-friendly material; it can stop a truck..."
Before Peter could finish his trash talk, Hulk violently shook his arms outward.
Rip!
The sturdy spider silk, like fragile cotton thread, snapped inch by inch.
The white eye-lenses on Peter's mask widened instantly.
Hulk waved his large hand, precisely grabbing the half-broken piece of spider silk in mid-air, and his thick arm exerted sudden force, yanking it fiercely.
"What the f*ck!"
Peter let out an exclamation, his whole body uncontrollably yanked flying over.
Hulk didn't attack him directly but instead treated him like a human ball and chain, grabbing the spider silk and swinging him crazily in mid-air twice.
The whistling wind rushed past Peter's ears, and he felt like his internal organs were about to be flung out.
The next second, Hulk let go.
Like a cannonball leaving the barrel, Peter smashed through the brick wall on the side of the hall with a boom, flying into the school library and crashing through over a dozen rows of solid wood bookshelves before stopping.
Amidst the pages flying everywhere, Peter lay in the ruins in pain, his hands clutching his lower back tightly.
"Oh, my waist... my kidney..." Peter gasped, sucking in cold air.
Rumble!
The hole in the wall was widened again, and Hulk charged into the library like a violent bulldozer.
He looked at the Spider-Man lying on the ground, his legs bent suddenly, his massive body leaping high, fists clenched, smashing toward Peter like Mount Tai pressing down on top.
A shadow instantly shrouded Peter's vision.
Peter closed his eyes in despair.
"God, I want a cooler way to die..."
At the critical moment.
Boom!
A thick bolt of blue-white lightning tore through the outer wall of the library.
A silver-gray warhammer, carrying terrifying kinetic energy, broke through the air, drawing a dazzling trail of electric light in the air, and accurately smashed into Hulk's chest in mid-air.
Bang!
A dull impact sound resonated throughout the entire library.
Hulk, weighing several tons, was forced by this hammer to change his downward trajectory.
His massive body halted suddenly in mid-air, then flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing through the load-bearing wall on the other side of the library, smashing all the way into the playground outside, and plowing a deep trench into the lawn.
The lightning dissipated, and rubble tumbled down.
Peter opened his eyes blankly, looking at the incredible scene before him.
A man wearing a center-parted chicken mask and casual clothes was standing in front of him.
The man slowly extended his right hand, and the silver-gray warhammer that had sent Hulk flying traced an arc in the air, landing steadily in his palm with a "clack."
Blue-white electric arcs jumped crazily on the surface of the warhammer, making the man's figure appear like a god descended to the world.
Lin Zhen turned his head, looking at the Spider-Man lying in the ruins, and a chuckle came from behind the mask.
"Spider-Man, stand aside quickly; don't steal your big brother's monster!"
...
At the same time.
New Mexico, Puente Antiguo town.
In a dimly lit, extremely romantic Mexican restaurant.
Thor had changed into a clean plaid shirt and was sitting at the dining table, looking affectionately at Jane Fosteropposite him.
His right hand was tightly gripping that Mjolnir that had been recovered.
"Jane, do you know," Thor's voice was deep and magnetic, "This hammer, it is not just my weapon; it is a part of my soul. As long as I have a breath left, it will never leave me. We have an unbreakable bond."
Jane cupped her chin with both hands, looking at this exotic prince radiating hormones before her, her eyes full of intoxication.
"Thor, I know..."
Before she could finish her sentence.
On the surface of the Mjolnir in Thor's hand, a blinding flash of lightning suddenly erupted.
"Hum!"
An irresistible, massive force came from the hammer handle.
Mjolnir broke free directly from Thor's palm, and with a sharp sonic boom, instantly smashed through the restaurant's huge floor-to-ceiling glass window.
Crash!
Glass fragments fell all over the floor.
The warhammer turned into a silver-blue meteor, rushing into the night sky without looking back, disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.
There was dead silence in the restaurant.
Jane stared blankly at the window with the large hole.
Thor maintained his affectionate hammer-holding pose, his right hand still suspended in mid-air.
He widened his eyes, looking at his empty palm, then looked at the night sky outside the window, the expression on his face instantly changing from affectionate to extreme confusion and bewilderment.
"What the f*ck???"
Chapter 32: Robbing the the military
"Roar!"
Amidst an eardrum-shattering roar, several tons of concrete slabs were violently sent flying.
Within Lin Zhen's field of vision, the system panel instantly popped up a string of glaring data.
[Target Status Update: Enraged (Defense +300%, Health Recovery Speed +500%, Immune to standard physical knockback)]
Looking at the prompt, Lin Zhen's eye twitched violently, and he cursed out loud, "Motherfucker, what kind of shitty mechanic is this? Locked health with infinite regeneration? The game developers must be orphans!"
Hulk's eyes were bloodshot as he locked onto Lin Zhenstanding on high ground. He took a large stride, uprooted a thick metal lamppost nearby, and swung it at Lin Zhen with a whistling wind, just like wielding a baseball bat.
Instead of retreating, Lin Zhen advanced. He instantly pulled a frying pan from his System Inventory with his left hand and blocked the blow in front of him.
"Clang!"
The massive sound of metal colliding made one's eardrums ache. Lin Zhen slid back half a meter on the ground, seized the momentum to swing Mjolnir with his right hand, and, aided by the speed of lightning, struck Hulk precisely on the forehead.
"Dong!"
An extremely crisp echo.
Hulk's head only tilted back slightly, and an extremely pitiful red number floated above his head: "-15".
Hulk shook his head, his eyes becoming even more berserk, having taken absolutely no substantial damage.
Lin Zhen looked down at Mjolnir in his hand. The system prompt indicated that this artifact's durability had actually dropped by one point, causing him to gasp in heartache.
"It's one thing that you don't drop gold coins when defeated, but you're also wasting my legendary gear's durability. The cost-effectiveness of this monster is too low; it's a total loss!" Lin Zhen immediately made the wisest judgment of a veteran player and decisively abandoned the idea of fighting this tanky boss to the death.
Lin Zhen rolled his eyes, his gaze passing over Hulk to lock directly onto the the military armored vehicles and soldiers manning heavy machine guns rumbling into the campus on the perimeter.
"Grandson, come chase your grandfather!" Lin Zhenslapped his butt at Hulk, turned around, and sprinted toward the the military position.
Hulk let out a roar, opened his thick legs, and chased relentlessly from behind like an out-of-control heavy tank.
Lin Zhen ran extremely fast, deliberately weaving in an S-shaped path around the the military armored vehicles.
Hulk was enraged to the extreme. He didn't care what was blocking his way, leaping up with a huge fist like a falling meteorite, smashing a the military Humvee armored vehicle with one punch until the roof caved in and it was completely totaled.
The soldiers inside the armored vehicle screamed as they scrambled to escape.
The moment the armored vehicle was totaled, Lin Zhenperformed an extremely smooth slide along the ground and rushed over, running his hand over the scrap metal.
[Obtained: the military Heavy Machine Gun × 1]
[Obtained: Armor-Piercing Ammo Box × 3]
[Obtained: High-Strength Armored Track × 2]
While leading Hulk on a chase, Lin Zhen frantically scavenged, his movements fluid and natural. Wherever he passed, any the military equipment smashed by Hulk was stuffed into his System Inventory.
Inside the command vehicle, General Ross stared fixedly at the surveillance screen. Watching that man wearing a ridiculous chicken mask not only fail to help but also take advantage of the chaos to steal the military property, he was so angry that he crushed the walkie-talkie in his hand.
"What is that bastard doing? He's stealing our equipment! Fire at will, hit him too, dead or alive!" General Ross roared madly.
The peripheral soldiers received the order and immediately turned their muzzles. Dense bullets poured down like a rainstorm, shrouding both Lin Zhen and Hulk in a net of gunfire.
Bullets hit the frying pan, sparking countless embers.
The moment the the military opened fire, the system panel in front of Lin Zhen flashed violently.
The hundreds of green names surrounding him, representing the the military NPCs, all turned a glaring red in unison!
Lin Zhen was stunned for a second, then burst into arrogant, wild laughter.
"Motherfucker, you guys started it. This is self-defense. System, did you see that? No deduction of Justice Points!"
A just cause for action, the Red Name delight!
Lin Zhen instantly felt as if some seal had been broken. He grabbed Mjolnir, gave up on leading Hulk around, and dove straight into the the military formation.
He didn't kill anyone; he targeted only the valuable heavy weapons.
Lin Zhen rushed to a heavy machine gun position, smashed his hammer onto the sandbags, stunned the two machine gunners, and with a wave of his hand, that valuable heavy machine gun vanished into thin air.
He turned around and kicked over a soldier who was preparing to fire a rocket launcher, then casually stuffed both the portable rocket launcher and the ammo pack into his System Inventory.
The the military position was instantly thrown into chaos. The soldiers watched as the weapons in their hands were there one second and gone the next, all of them screaming as if they had seen a ghost.
Peter Parker had just climbed out of the library ruins while clutching his waist when he saw Lin Zhen running over, holding a pile of still-steaming gun barrels.
"Spider-Man, take this!" Lin Zhen shoved a brand-new M4 assault rifle into Peter's arms and earnestly lectured him, "When you're out in the world, you have to know how to scavenge to recover your losses. This is all money; it'd be a waste not to take it. Otherwise, when you graduate from high school, you'll only be able to deliver takeout. Understand?"
Holding the heavy rifle, Peter's eyes under the mask widened, his simple worldview receiving a tremendous shock.
"But… this is the military property. Doesn't this count as robbery…" Peter stammered.
"Robbery? This is called loot recovery. They attacked me, so they're Red Name monsters. Items dropped by Red Name monsters naturally belong to the player!" Lin Zhenrolled his eyes righteously and turned to charge toward an intact troop transport vehicle.
...
At the same time.
New Mexico, the town of Puente Antiguo.
In a romantic Mexican restaurant, the evening breeze blew in through the floor-to-ceiling window that had a huge hole in it, kicking up glass shards on the floor.
Jane Foster stared blankly at the huge hole.
"Thor, where… did your hammer go?"
Jane's voice was filled with confusion.
Thor's cheek twitched uncontrollably twice. He took a deep breath, forced a smile full of divine majesty, and pretended to be calm as he said, "It… it went to patrol the Nine Realms. This is a daily routine for an artifact. It's very normal; we don't need to worry about it."
Jane nodded as if she understood, though she felt something was off. But after all, it was a god's weapon, so some special functions were normal.
Thor picked up the water glass on the table and took a sip to hide his extreme embarrassment, then stood up, "Sorry, I'm going to the restroom."
He walked quickly out of the restaurant and into an empty alley. The majesty on his face vanished without a trace, and his expression was as dark as the bottom of a pot.
He pulled out the satellite phone Coulson had left him when he departed, his fingers pressing so hard he almost crushed the buttons.
"Coulson, it's me. Arrange the fastest plane for me immediately. I'm going to New York. Yes, to find my so-called 'big brother.' I'm going to twist his chicken head off and shove it up his ass!" Thor growled into the phone, his voice filled with pent-up frustration.
Chapter 33: Subduing the Hulk.
New York, Midtown High School.
Under the baptism of the the military's artillery fire, the Hulk's physique actually surged in size once again.
Veins bulged on his green skin, and his berserk aura made those around him unable to breathe.
Lin Zhen looked at that bottomless-pit-like health bar and felt he couldn't keep dragging this out.
By then, all the armored vehicles in this map would be smashed to pieces, and there would be nothing left to scavenge.
He opened his System Inventory, scanned it quickly, and finally locked onto an inconspicuous corner.
[Special High-Potency Sleeping Pills (Sow Version): Ignores constitution to force sleep, has an extremely significant miraculous effect on large mammals, requires twelve hours of deep sleep after ingestion]
Looking at this bizarre item that had dropped unintentionally while farming street thugs earlier, a wicked smile curled at the corner of Lin Zhen's mouth.
"Spider-Man, use your thickest spider silk to trip him up!" Lin Zhen shouted at Peter in the distance.
Although Peter hadn't figured out what Lin Zhen was planning, his body reacted reflexively. He fired from both hands, shooting out two of his thickest spider silks, which stuck firmly to the ankles of the running Hulk. He braced his feet against the wall and pulled back violently.
The Hulk's massive body instantly lost its balance and he crashed forward heavily.
"Now is the time!"
Lin Zhen seized the opportunity, performing a perfectly standard ground slide, sliding directly in front of the Hulk's face in the direction he fell.
With one hand, he unscrewed the medicine bottle and dumped the entire bottle—containing over a hundred White pills—straight into the Hulk's roaring mouth.
The Hulk instinctively sensed something was wrong; his throat moved as he tried to spit these things out.
Lin Zhen wouldn't give him the chance. He swung the frying pan with his left hand, whistling through the air, and with a loud "Clang," slammed it heavily against the Hulk's chin.
This pan strike was powerful and forceful, directly forcing the Hulk's mouth shut.
The Hulk's eyes, originally berserk and murderous, became extremely dazed the instant he swallowed the pills.
His green skin began to fade at a visible rate, and his bulging muscles rapidly withered away.
In just a few seconds, that arrogant Hulk, whom even the the military was helpless against, transformed before everyone's eyes into a naked, scrawny Bruce Banner.
Banner lay in the large crater he had smashed, eyes closed, snoring thunderously, sleeping more soundly than a dead pig.
The entire scene fell into dead silence.
All the soldiers holding their guns were dumbfounded.
General Ross, inside the command vehicle, looked as if his eyeballs were about to pop out. Then, he erupted with a roar of ecstasy, "Quick, go and capture Banner for me, hurry!"
The soldiers snapped out of their trance and were just about to raise their guns and advance.
Lin Zhen had already taken the initiative, grabbing the naked Banner and hoisting him onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
He pulled a newly confiscated the military megaphone from his System Inventory and shouted toward the command vehicle.
"Old man Ross, I've helped you subdue him. The service fee is fifty million U.S. dollars. I accept credit cards and offshore account transfers. If you don't pay, I'm taking this naked man away!"
Lin Zhen's incredibly arrogant voice echoed over the campus.
General Ross was trembling with rage, his face turning ashen, "Fire! Fire at him! Blast that masked bastard to smithereens!"
A tank's cannon barrel slowly rotated, aiming at Lin Zhen.
Looking at that pitch-black muzzle, Lin Zhen showed no fear and gave the command vehicle a giant middle finger.
"Poor NPC, can't afford to play, huh? I'm done with you!"
The moment the shell was fired from the chamber.
Lin Zhen immediately activated his map teleportation skill.
The air distorted violently. Lin Zhen, carrying the naked Banner, vanished into thin air. The shell lost its target and exploded on the open ground, creating a huge crater and kicking up clouds of dirt.
...
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, Director's office.
Nick Fury had just picked up a brand-new White ceramic coffee mug, urgently delivered by the logistics department, preparing to take a sip of hot coffee to calm his nerves and wait for Lin Zhen's report.
Bang!
Accompanied by a distortion in space, Lin Zhen descended from the sky, carrying a naked man, and slammed precisely onto Nick Fury's desk.
Banner's completely exposed rear end pressed heavily onto that brand-new coffee mug.
The sound of the ceramic shattering was exceptionally crisp in the extremely quiet office.
Scalding coffee splashed all over Banner's rear, but he simply turned over and continued snoring.
Fury looked at the coffee all over his desk, looked at the shattered remains of the mug, and then looked at the naked-bottomed, highest-level the military fugitive on Lin Zhen's shoulder. His only remaining eye instantly became bloodshot, and his blood pressure shot straight to the top of his head.
Before Nick Fury could explode in anger, the phone in Lin Zhen's pocket suddenly began to vibrate frantically.
Lin Zhen pulled out his phone, and four large characters danced on the screen.
"Little Brother Thor."
Chapter 34: Firecracker Woman's Milk??!!
Lin Zhen pressed the answer button and took the opportunity to hold the phone half a meter away.
"Lin Zhen, where is my Mjolnir? Did you take it!" Thor's roaring voice exploded from the receiver, making the phone's speaker crackle.
Lin Zhen picked his ear and said into the phone, his expression unchanged: "What are you panicking about? This is the artifact's anti-addiction mechanism. You must have been too busy picking up girls, so the system determined your justice value dropped offline and forcibly confiscated your usage rights."
There was silence on the other end of the line for two seconds.
"What is anti-addiction, and what is justice value dropping offline?" Thor asked, puzzled.
"It means your performance was so bad that your account got banned, get it?" Lin Zhen rolled his eyes and asked casually, "Where are you now?"
"I have already arrived in New York."
"Fine, I'll send you the coordinates of the guild base right away. Come report immediately. If you're one minute late, I'll deduct your equipment trial card for this month. Do you understand?" Lin Zhen's tone allowed no room for doubt.
"I am the Asgardian..."
Beep.
Lin Zhen hung up the phone directly and sent the location of the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters over.
He stuffed the phone back into his pocket and turned to look behind the desk.
Nick Fury looked speechless.
In front, Banner was lying sprawled on the table, snoring.
Under his completely exposed buttocks, a pile of White ceramic shards was being crushed, and hot coffee was dripping onto the carpet along the edge of the table.
"Lin Zhen, can you explain to me why you threw a naked wanted criminal directly onto the Director's desk, which is S.H.I.E.L.D.'s highest secret?" Fury's voice squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying extremely suppressed rage.
Lin Zhen spread his hands and said righteously, "Director, you don't understand. I brought him back for you to deal with."
"Also, the fact that I didn't swipe his original-flavor elastic underwear to sell second-hand is already out of consideration for our guild."
Fury's temple was throbbing.
"I brought the person back for you, mission successfully completed. Hurry up and settle the final payment: fifty million in boosting fees plus two thousand experience points. If I'm short a single cent, I'm sleeping on your desk today." Lin Zhen tapped on the table and reached out his hand towards Fury.
Fury took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to pull out the sidearm at his waist, and pressed the communicator on the desk.
"Medical team, come to my office immediately. Bring the highest-level sedatives and a stretcher, and get this naked man out of here."
Cutting off communication, Fury stared coldly at Lin Zhen.
"The money will be transferred to your account, but you had better disappear from my sight immediately and find somewhere empty to hide."
Lin Zhen raised an eyebrow and asked, "What, is S.H.I.E.L.D. going to kill the donkey after it's done grinding?"
"General Ross has gone insane with rage." Fury stood up, bracing his hands on the desk. "You robbed three the military ammunition depots of their equipment, destroyed five armored vehicles, and kidnapped Banner right in front of him. He is currently rushing here with a fully armed special forces unit, threatening to peel off your chicken skin."
After hearing this, not only was Lin Zhen not panicked in the slightest, but the eyes under his mask lit up instead.
"That old guy dares to come to my door? Isn't he just a pure gift-giving boy?" Lin Zhen rubbed his hands together, completely ignoring Fury's warning.
He directly pulled up the system panel that only he could see.
[Main Quest: The Green Monster of Midtown High School, Settled]
[Rewards obtained: Experience points +2000, Mission points +15, S.H.I.E.L.D. faction reputation +100]
[Random Purple Equipment Blind Box × 1, Open?]
"Brother System, give me a top-tier item, preferably one that can wipe the whole screen!" Lin Zhen silently chanted in his heart and decisively clicked to open it.
Hum!
An extremely dazzling purple light lit up out of thin air in the office.
Fury was forced to squint his eyes by the sudden strong light, his right hand instantly reaching for the holster at his waist.
The purple light dissipated.
Lin Zhen spread his hands, full of anticipation.
A transparent glass baby bottle lay quietly in his palm.
The bottle was filled with more than half a bottle of milky White liquid, and a pink silicone nipple was fitted over the bottle mouth.
Lin Zhen was stunned, and Fury was also stunned.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. Director looked at the man wearing a chicken mask, holding a baby bottle in both hands; the scene was extremely bizarre.
Lin Zhen swallowed his saliva and pulled up the equipment attribute panel.
[Equipment Name: Firecracker Woman's Milk]
[Quality: Epic (Purple)]
[Equipment Type: Throwable Consumable]
[Item Description: From a parallel Universe filled with hypocritical heroes, personally expressed by a certain female superhuman with extreme dedication, containing an extremely special maternal radiance.]
[Equipment Effect: After throwing and hitting the target, it will definitely cause absolute stun for more than 3 seconds to "Homelander", ignoring any resistance and level suppression.]
[Note: Only magic can defeat magic, only a pervert can sanction a pervert.]
Lin Zhen stared fixedly at those three lines of text, the corners of his eyes beginning to twitch wildly.
"Motherf*cker!"
Lin Zhen suddenly pointed at the air and cursed loudly.
"You dog game designer, did you have a cerebral thrombosis? Giving me an item like this—I wouldn't complain about the hard CC, but you have a target restriction! I don't even know who the f*ck Homelander is!"
Lin Zhen was so angry that he almost smashed the baby bottle in his hand onto the floor.
But seeing that it was of Epic quality, he forced himself to endure and could only stuff it into his backpack, feeling aggrieved.
"Such a troublesome mission, and it gives me such a piece of junk? This game is doomed sooner or later!"
Fury watched Lin Zhen gesticulating and cursing at the air.
He thought that this kid was not only a lunatic, but might also have severe schizophrenia.
Fury silently reached his hand under the desk and pressed a hidden red button.
That was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s highest-level internal security alarm.
Just at the moment Fury was about to press the button.
Woo, woo, woo...
The red alarm sound suddenly echoed wildly throughout the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters building.
The red emergency lights in the office flickered accordingly.
Bang!
The solid wood door of the office was pushed open violently.
Agent Hill rushed in, her expression grave.
"Director, General Ross has led people to break through the bottom-level security line. They have controlled the lobby and cut off power to some elevators."
Hill reported quickly, her gaze scanning Banner who was still snoring on the table, and Lin Zhen who was standing to the side wearing a chicken mask.
"Ross brought a full tactical squad, all equipped with heavy Firepower. He demands that we hand over Bannerimmediately, and..."
Hill paused, looking at Lin Zhen.
"And that bastard wearing the chicken mask. General Rosssays if he doesn't see the people within five minutes, he will open Fire in the S.H.I.E.L.D. lobby."
Fury's face turned livid, and he slammed the table.
"This is S.H.I.E.L.D., not his the military base! He dares to open Fire here!"
Fury drew his sidearm and strode out the door.
Lin Zhen stood in place and rubbed his chin.
"Brought heavy Firepower?"
Lin Zhen's eyes lit up, and the frustration from getting a bad draw on the blind box just now was instantly swept away.
"This NPC has quite a fiery temper. I wonder if the drop rate of the equipment on him is high."
Lin Zhen took out his frying pan, weighed it in his hands twice, and swaggered out behind Fury.
"Let's go, Director. Let's go meet this big client."
Chapter 35: Place Your Bets, I'm Betting on the Green Hulk, Who Are You Betting On?
The elevator doors burst open with a boom.
Nick Fury strode toward the main lobby of S.H.I.E.L.D. with a dark face, while behind him, Lin Zhen spun a frying panin one hand, his eyes filled with excitement.
As the elevator doors opened, the lobby was in complete disarray.
General Ross had occupied the center of the lobby with a fully armed tactical squad.
Two heavy machine guns were set up behind cover, four soldiers carrying micro-missile launchers were positioned on both sides, and infrared aiming lasers swept densely across the surroundings.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents stood at the stairwells and behind load-bearing columns with guns drawn, the atmosphere tense and ready to snap.
Seeing Fury walk out, Ross immediately drew his pistol and pointed it forward.
"Nick Fury, hand over Bruce Banner immediately, along with that bastard wearing the chicken mask, or I will raze this dump of yours to the ground today."
Fury stared at Ross with his one good eye, not backing down at all.
"Ross, this is S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, not a place for you to run wild. If you dare to open fire here, the Department of Defense will strip you of your rank tomorrow."
"You can try!" Ross roared.
Just as the two were at a stalemate, a head wearing a center-parted chicken mask poked out from behind Fury.
Lin Zhen completely ignored the gun barrels pointed at him, his eyes shining as he stared at the high-tech weapons and tactical gear in the soldiers' hands, drool almost dripping from his mouth.
"Motherfucker, this drop rate is much higher than that bunch of terrorists in the Middle East—it's all purple and blue gear!" Lin Zhen rubbed his hands together excitedly.
Ross recognized that punchable face immediately, the veins on his forehead bulging.
"That's him! Catch him, dead or alive!"
Two special forces soldiers in the front row immediately rushed forward, assault rifles raised.
Lin Zhen wasn't the least bit panicked; he even let out an incredibly arrogant, wild laugh.
"You started this!"
Before the words had even left his lips, Lin Zhen slid across the marble floor like a blur, instantly charging into the the military formation.
Just as the two soldiers were about to pull their triggers, the frying pan in Lin Zhen's left hand swung up.
Clang! Clang!
With two dull thuds, the frying pan struck their chins with precision; both soldiers rolled their eyes back and passed out on the spot.
Lin Zhen's hands became a blur. With a grab from his right hand, the assault rifle in the soldier's hand vanished into thin air. His left hand yanked at the tactical vest's straps, pulling with all his might, tearing off the body armor, magazines, and communication headset, all of which were shoved into his System Inventory.
[Acquired: Modified M4A1 Assault Rifle × 2]
[Acquired: Polymer Tactical Body Armor × 2]
[Acquired: Fragmentation Grenade × 6]
In just half a minute, Lin Zhen wove back and forth through the crowd; every soldier who fell was stripped clean before they even hit the ground.
Several soldiers in the front row lay on the ground, wearing nothing but their olive-drab boxer shorts, their faces full of extreme doubt about the world.
Ross watched as his elite troops were stripped down to their underwear in public by a man in a chicken mask, his face turning livid with rage.
"Fire! Kill him for me!"
Dense gunfire erupted in the lobby instantly, bullets pouring down, sending fragments of the marble columns flying everywhere.
Lin Zhen moved with agility, using cover to dodge the incoming fire.
He opened his System Inventory and pulled out two "moldy flatbreads" emitting an eerie green glow.
He aimed at the two machine gunners who were firing wildly and threw them with force.
Slap! Slap!
The two moldy flatbreads traced an arc through the air and were stuffed with perfect precision into the wide-open mouths of the two machine gunners.
The machine gunners swallowed them subconsciously.
[Weak point hit, effect triggered: Hallucination]
The next second, the machine gunners' eyes turned blood-red, their pupils dilating.
They screamed like madmen, turning their heavy machine guns around and firing wildly at the lobby ceiling and surrounding walls.
The lobby fell into complete chaos.
To avoid the machine-gun fire from their own comrades, the the military soldiers scrambled for cover, their formation collapsing instantly.
Ross, furious, kicked over a fleeing soldier and personally shouldered a micro-rocket launcher, aiming at Lin Zhen, who was frantically looting in the crowd.
Just as he was about to pull the trigger.
Boom!
The reinforced, explosion-proof glass doors of S.H.I.E.L.D.were shattered by a single kick from an incredibly violent force.
Countless glass fragments, mixed with the storm outside, swept in.
Thor, soaked to the bone and wearing that plaid shirt, stormed into the lobby aggressively.
He scanned the chaotic lobby quickly, finally locking his gaze on Lin Zhen.
"Lin Zhen, return my Mjolnir to me!"
Ross's troops were already jumpy; seeing a blond giant kick through the explosion-proof door and enter while making such an inhuman roar, they immediately mistook him for a super-mutant reinforcement sent by S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Concentrate fire! Hit that blond guy!" an officer shouted.
Half the firepower shifted instantly, and countless bullets poured onto Thor.
Thor had already regained his divine power; the bullets could not penetrate his skin.
"You foolish mortals, I am Thor of Asgard!"
He charged into the crowd bare-handed, punching a soldier—gun and all—and sending him flying. He then grabbed another soldier by the collar, swung him around like a weapon, and knocked down a large group.
Lin Zhen, crouched behind cover, saw this, and the eyes behind his mask instantly lit up.
He immediately stood up, pointed at Thor, who was wreaking havoc, and shouted at Ross.
"See that? That's my newly recruited T0-tier tank. High armor, high HP. If you have the guts, focus fire on him! If you can't kill him, you're all cowards!"
After shouting this, Lin Zhen rolled directly behind Thor's broad back, reached out with both hands, and began moving the heavy weapons and ammo crates scattered on the floor into his System Inventory.
Thor, taking bullets while engaging in hand-to-hand combat, almost vomited blood from anger upon hearing Lin Zhen's words.
"Lin Zhen, you despicable bastard! Once I get my hammer, I'm going to smash your mask first!"
"Don't rush, little brother. Keep that aggro steady. Big brother is raising development funds for you!" Lin Zhenresponded shamelessly while picking up items.
Ross was driven completely insane by Lin Zhen's extreme arrogance.
He threw away the rocket launcher, drew the large-caliber pistol from his waist, gripped it with both hands, and aimed at Lin Zhen's head, pulling the trigger repeatedly.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Lin Zhen didn't even raise his head, simply waving the frying pan in his left hand casually in front of him.
Clang, clang, clatter.
The bullets were all blocked by the hard bottom of the frying pan and ricocheted off onto the nearby wall.
Just as the chaos in the lobby reached its peak.
An earth-shattering, violent roar suddenly came from upstairs.
That roar was mixed with terrifying Fury, the sound waves even drowning out the sound of the machine guns in the lobby.
Ross's movements froze abruptly, a flash of fear crossing his eyes.
The next second.
Rumble!
The ceiling in the center of the lobby burst apart with a boom, and countless massive chunks of concrete and steel rebar fell like rain.
A behemoth, three meters tall with bulging green muscles, plummeted from the hole and slammed heavily onto the lobby floor.
The violent impact sent several nearby soldiers flying.
Hulk breathed heavily, his blood-red eyes staring fixedly at his surroundings.
He had been sleeping soundly upstairs but was forcibly awakened by the deafening sound of gunfire and artillery, which plunged him into the deepest state of rage.
His massive body took a step forward, and with one foot, he crushed the heavy weapon crate Ross had just used as cover.
Hulk slowly turned his head.
"Roar!"
Hulk pounded his chest with both fists, letting out a roar at Ross and Thor that shattered the glass.
Lin Zhen looked at the enraged Hulk, then at Thor, who was standing there looking completely dumbfounded.
He didn't hesitate at all; he turned around decisively, grabbed Fury, who was standing behind the blast door, and retreated directly into the innermost safety corridor.
Lin Zhen pulled a large handful of sunflower seeds he had just bought from his System Inventory, cracked one open with practiced ease, and spat the shell onto the floor.
His eyes shining, he pointed at the center of the lobby and shouted excitedly.
"Director, the new dungeon has opened. Hulk vs. Thor—this is an epic CG cutscene you absolutely cannot skip."
Lin Zhen offered the sunflower seeds to Fury.
"Place your bets. I'm betting on the green Hulk to win. Who are you betting on?"