Silent Authority

"Boom!" A loud explosion echoed.

Emil was sent flying by Hulk's forceful charge.

However, Emil quickly got back on his feet and engaged Hulk once again.

At first, due to the injury in his cervical spine that hadn't fully healed, Emil was being overpowered. But as time passed, he began to gain the upper hand.

It was at this moment that Tony, flying above, decided to intervene.

He started firing at Emil with his repulsor beams and armor-piercing rounds intermittently.

"Boom..."

After taking another hit, Emil furiously glared at Tony in the sky.

Suddenly, Emil shoved Hulk aside and leaped into the air, heading straight for Tony.

"Die!"

Tony smiled confidently and quickly flew upward in his Mark IV armor.

"You're a ground unit, and you still think you can catch me, an aerial unit?"

Seeing his target escape, Emil could only return to the ground, frustrated.

As soon as he landed, Hulk charged back at him, and they resumed their fight.

By now, Emil had already decided to end the battle. He took a punch from Hulk head-on and then used the spike on his elbow to stab downward.

"Thud…"

The long spike pierced through Hulk's chest, and green blood began to pour out.

Moreover, the virus on Emil's spike significantly weakened Hulk's healing ability.

"Hulk!"

Angered by the pain, Hulk's strength surged, and he sent Emil flying with a single punch.

But the virus in his chest was sapping Hulk's energy, forcing him to kneel on one knee, panting heavily.

"Huff… Huff…"

"Haha, Hulk, is this all you've got? I haven't even used my full strength yet."

Just then, a cold voice sounded behind Emil.

"That's enough. Stop."

Adam had appeared behind Emil, though it wasn't clear when.

At the sound of Adam's voice, Emil's body trembled slightly. His face, a mix of reluctance and fear, turned around.

"Boss, I… I wasn't done yet…"

Adam ignored him and instead walked over to General Ross, looking at Elizabeth, who was in his arms.

"General Ross, she can still be saved."

General Ross snapped out of his daze, hope lighting up in his eyes, "If you can bring my daughter back, I'll grant you any request!"

"Leave it to me."

Taking Elizabeth's body from Ross, Adam continued, "I'll need to bring her back to the lab."

"I'm coming with you."

"No need, you've got plenty on your plate right now."

After saying that, Adam turned his gaze toward the surrounding ruins. General Ross immediately understood his meaning, his eyes darkening.

"Don't worry. I'll handle everything."

Adam nodded and then glanced at Emil. Without a word, he began walking toward Umbrella's direction.

That single glance from Adam made Emil shudder, recalling the despairing day a few days prior. He swallowed his words, casting one last resentful look at Hulk, and then glared hatefully at Tony in the sky before obediently following Adam.

However, just because Emil was ready to leave didn't mean Hulk was going to let him go.

Furious, Hulk charged forward again, swinging a punch.

"Hulk!"

There was no way Hulk would allow someone to beat him and then simply walk away.

But just as Hulk was about to strike, a two-meter-tall pink mecha descended from the sky, landing behind Adam and raising its fist.

"Boom!"

The pink mecha staggered back from the impact of Hulk's punch, but Hulk also took a few steps back.

Erika, piloting the mecha, was shocked to see a crack forming on its arm.

This mecha was made of titanium alloy, yet it had cracked from just one punch! If Hulk hit it again, the entire thing would be scrapped.

The sheer power of the green giant was terrifying.

But Erika wasn't alone this time.

In the next second, several black mechas descended from the sky, each raising a massive electromagnetic gun and aiming at Hulk.

"Zzzz… Pew, pew, pew…"

A barrage of electromagnetic bullets rained down on Hulk, causing him intense pain.

Though the bullets couldn't penetrate his skin, their impact was several times stronger than regular gunfire, and they hurt.

As Hulk struggled through the hail of bullets, pushing forward toward the black mechas, one of them raised a shield to block his attack.

The others combined their efforts to push Hulk back.

After a brief standoff, the mechas suddenly retreated.

Hulk quickly looked up, but Emil and Elizabeth were nowhere to be seen. This filled Hulk with frustration and helplessness.

"Hey, big green, maybe I can help you."

Tony landed next to Hulk.

Hulk glanced at the small metal figure beside him and, with a casual swing, sent Tony flying.

"Boom!"

Tony crashed into a wall.

After sending Tony flying, Hulk started hopping away into the night, vanishing from sight.

Tony crawled out from the rubble, watching Hulk disappear. He felt a bit humiliated.

"I didn't even charge you for my building yet."

The next second, he flew off into the night as well, leaving General Ross to face the aftermath of the battle.

......

Meanwhile…

In the skies above the Pacific Ocean, a massive aircraft carrier flew through the air.

In the command center, Nick Fury's face was grim as he watched the live news broadcast from Manhattan, New York.

"What just happened?"

The intense battle made it impossible to discern much from the news footage.

However, soon enough, an agent arrived with a report.

"Director, we've heard that Umbrella's boss showed up, recalled Emil, and a group of mechas appeared, driving back Hulk."

"A group of mechas? Since when does Umbrella have mechas? Why wasn't I informed?"

All the agents nearby lowered their heads, remaining silent.

"How did we miss such important intel? Are we still S.H.I.E.L.D.? How are we supposed to protect world peace like this?"

After a bout of scolding, Nick Fury retreated to his office.

The moment he sat down, his anger seemed to dissipate, his face calm once again, a stark contrast to his earlier fury.

Though he had been upset, it wasn't to the point of genuine rage. His outburst had been more about expressing dissatisfaction with his subordinates' work.

"Knock, knock…"

A moment later, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Maria Hill entered, holding a file.

"Director, I might have found something regarding Umbrella's mechas."

Nick Fury took the file from her and began reading through it.

After a while, he set the file down, his expression unreadable. He tapped his fingers on the desk rhythmically.

"Thud… Thud…"

"So, Umbrella acquired the [Project Sentinel] and took five billion in research funding. This complicates things."

Initially, Fury had planned to use the fact that Umbrella was illegally armed to make things difficult for them.

But it seemed that Umbrella wasn't giving him the chance.

After thinking for a while, he looked at Maria, "It looks like, for now, we'll have to keep focusing on the zombie virus."

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