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Trump card +1!
Darian was very satisfied with this reward.
He had always been a bit of a hoarder; when he played other games in the past, he loved stockpiling resources and items, fearing they would be needed for a major purpose in the late game.
As a result, he often ended up quitting the game before he ever got around to using them.
For Darian, the more trump cards, the better; they might come in handy at a critical moment.
Of course, useless items like the Phelps Professional Knock-off Phone didn't need to be hoarded; he just sent them straight to second-hand recycling to turn them into warm experience points.
Darian retracted his gaze and noticed that messages were constantly coming through on the encrypted communicator.
Opening it, he saw it was actually a distress message from Tony.
Although the other two teams had the advantage of numbers, their progress wasn't as smooth as Darian's.
Steve and Clint's group chose a stealth strategy; the two Avengers infiltrated the Skrulls Base and took out all the Skrulls who spotted them, completing a "stealth" mission.
Then, they made their way to the holding area and coordinated with the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents outside to successfully complete the mission. They also encountered some Skrulls with fused special genes, but under Steve's 50-50 Aura and Clint's Guaranteed Team Fight Win double buffs, they managed to win the battle safely.
In contrast, things were much more troublesome for Tony and Banner.
Although their combat power and firepower were the strongest in the Avengers, and pushing through was no problem—the Skrulls posed almost no threat to them.
The problem, however, lay with Banner.
To be precise, it lay with the Hulk.
Despite Natasha's training over several days, Hulk's temper had mellowed significantly.
But no one expected there to be someone among the Skrulls who could manipulate emotions.
Under the stimulation of the opponent's ability, Hulk was like a gamer who had lost a dozen matches in a row; he was furious and went berserk on the spot. He swung his fists at anyone he saw, friend or foe; the surrounding Skrulls were turned into Skrull paste in an instant, and even Tony was slapped away. Fortunately, his new Iron Man armor was durable, or he would have turned into Tony paste too.
After venting, Hulk didn't seem satisfied, so he smashed through the Base and charged toward the city further away.
Tony, worried that the berserk Hulk would harm innocents, immediately gave chase and activated the Hulkbuster armor, engaging in a fierce battle with Hulk in the city. At first, Tony could suppress Hulk.
But as the fight went on, Hulk's rage increased, and his strength soared, soon pinning Tony to the ground and thrashing him. Tony's Hulkbuster armor was about to become Hulk-busted armor.
Having no other choice, Tony sent a distress message to Darian, stating that Hulk's Impact was too fierce to handle and he urgently needed the help of Natasha, the humanoid Hulkbuster armor.
When Darian saw the message, a system prompt popped up.
[NPC Tony Stark has issued a new quest to you]
[Quest: The Sun Is Going Down]
[Objective: Make the enraged Hulk turn back into Bruce Banner]
[Rewards: Experience +2000, Random Item *1, Random Equipment *1]
Darian replied instantly: "Hold on, I'm on my way!"
Then, he turned and pulled Natasha to a deserted corner, speaking rapidly: "Something happened on Tony's end, I have to rush over. I'll leave this place to you; deal with these Skrulls as you see fit."
Before Natasha could respond, Darian's figure flickered and vanished from the spot.
Natasha: "?"
She walked back with a face full of question marks, looking at the Skrulls who were facing her respectfully before coming to her senses.
So, I'm the boss of the Skrulls now?
Florida!
Boom!!
On the Sun-drenched coastal highway, a green behemoth and a massive gold-and-red mechanical suit were locked in a fierce battle.
The shockwaves from their clash made the palm tree leaves by the roadside sway wildly and rustle loudly.
This scene looked familiar to many bold passersby who stopped to watch from a distance.
It was somewhat like the incident in Harlem a long time ago, where a behemoth was also fighting a giant mech. However, the combatants this time were clearly different.
The behemoth wasn't Abomination but Hulk, and the mech wasn't the BT, but Tony's Hulkbuster armor.
"Calm down, don't let anger control you, you're Bruce Banner!"
Tony tried to persuade him while operating the Hulkbuster armor to parry a heavy punch from Hulk.
Unexpectedly, the words had the opposite effect.
Just as Banner hated Hulk, Hulk also hated Banner.
Hearing that name made Hulk even angrier.
He raised his fists, which were larger than clay pots, and hammered wildly at the chest of the Hulkbuster armor.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Under the terrifying brute force, the hard shell of the Hulkbuster armor kept denting, with sparks and small parts flying everywhere.
"Armor damage has reached 30%," Jarvis's mechanical voice reminded.
Tony felt a headache coming on.
He had somewhat underestimated Hulk's strength.
Even with the Hulkbuster armor, it was not easy to suppress a completely enraged Hulk head-on.
If it weren't for the Veronica intelligent combat system deployed in low Earth orbit acting as a mobile arsenal, constantly replenishing damaged parts via high-speed drop pods, the Hulkbuster armor would have been torn into scrap metal by Hulk long ago.
But after another round of high-intensity combat, the Hulkbuster's spare parts were being consumed rapidly.
On the other hand, Hulk grew braver and more powerful as the fight went on, indicating he could do this all day.
If they kept clashing like this, he would eventually be worn down.
"Damn, is this big green guy photosynthetic? Where is all this extra mass coming from?"
Tony looked at Hulk, who was visibly larger than at the start, and called it unscientific.
Seeing the Veronica system's spare parts inventory warning light up again, he couldn't help but feel anxious.
"Is Natasha here yet?"
"No," Jarvis replied.
"As expected, it's better to rely on yourself than on others."
In desperation, Tony took matters into his own hands, controlling the Hulkbuster to knock Hulk to the ground with a heavy punch.
Then, he pinned Hulk's body down with the mechanical feet, and the hydraulic-driven fist of the right arm fired, repeatedly striking Hulk's face at a high frequency. At first glance, it looked quite like Mechanical Wing Chun.
"The Sun's going down, the Sun's going down..."
Tony repeated Hulk's shutdown code while punching.
Unfortunately, he wasn't Natasha; he didn't have soft pectoral muscles to calm Hulk down.
After taking dozens of punches, the green light in Hulk's eyes flared terrifyingly. He roared and kicked out with all his strength using his left leg.
Boom!!
The Hulkbuster armor, as if struck by a giant battering ram, instantly left the ground, flying back hundreds of meters in a long arc before crashing heavily into the white sandy beach by the highway, kicking up a cloud of sand.
The citizens on the beach who were sunbathing, playing in the water, or having trysts... first cried out in alarm.
But in the next second, they all pulled out their phones to snap photos of the Hulkbuster, tweeting and live-streaming, with no intention of running away.
Are you kidding? This is Florida!
What haven't they seen?
"Roar!!"
Just as Tony got up, a deafening roar reached his ears.
Hulk descended from the sky like Mount Tai, his massive green backside slamming into the Hulkbuster, knocking Tony to the ground again. Then he raised his giant fists and unleashed a storm of blows on the armor.
"Armor damage has reached 40%."
"Armor damage has reached 50%."
"Armor damage has reached 60%."
Jarvis's damage reports rang incessantly in Tony's ears like a death knell.
"Enough, Jarvis! Send more parts!"
Upon receiving the order, a drop pod quickly flew in from the sky, carrying the last batch of spare parts toward Tony. However, just as the pod was about to arrive, Hulk, who was hammering Tony, suddenly turned and swatted it away. The pod veered off and crashed into the distant sea, creating a splash.
"Oh no!"
Tony's heart sank. Before he could process it, Hulk's fist fell again with the sound of rushing wind.
Without part supplies, the Hulkbuster's damage level began to skyrocket.
With every punch from Hulk, the outer plating of the armor exploded in sparks, plates twisted, and bolts flew.
At this moment, Tony felt like an onion—peel back the layers of my heart, and you'll find, you'll be surprised... In no time, the outer components of the Hulkbuster were almost entirely in pieces, revealing the much slimmer Mark 43 armor underneath.
Seeing this, Tony panicked.
He knew that while the Mark 43's defense was excellent, it couldn't withstand a few of Hulk's little punches.
Tony swallowed: "Banner, can we settle this?"
"Roar!!"
Hulk's fuse blew again, and he raised his clasped fists high.
Just as Hulk's fists were about to fall, a dark shadow suddenly flashed by, and a flying kick slammed into Hulk's large face. Boom!!
With a muffled thud, Hulk was sent flying instantly, plowing a long trench in the beach as sand billowed into the air.
Fortunately, Florida's police response wasn't slow; while Tony and Hulk were fighting, officers had forcibly removed the citizens who were unwilling to leave. Otherwise, this white sand would have turned into a bloody mess.
Darian landed steadily on the sand and shook his head at the disheveled Tony: "Tony, you're not doing so great."
Tony looked at Darian, who still had Natasha's appearance, and his brain couldn't quite process it.
When did Natasha become so fierce, sending Hulk flying with a single kick?
Could it be that Natasha was the hidden boss of the Avengers?
However, after hearing the undisguised voice and the familiar tone, Tony immediately realized.
"Wait, you're Darian?"
Tony knew Darian had a way of disguising himself.
Back then, the other party had disguised himself as Stane to sneak into Stark Tower, leading to rumors that Stane's ghost still haunted the building to this day.
Darian nodded and teased: "Wasn't this supposed to be the Hulkbuster? How did you get busted by the Hulk?"
Tony was a bit embarrassed: "Actually, the real name of this armor is Mark 44."
"Roar!!"
A deafening roar came from the sand pit in the distance.
Hulk shook his massive head and stood up from the dust, the green light in his eyes surging terrifyingly.
He suddenly turned his head, his gaze locking onto the attacker.
But the moment he saw the person's appearance, his ferocious expression visibly froze.
"Big guy, The Sun Is Going Down."
Darian, wearing Natasha's face, used a hidden Bow-tie Voice Changer to mimic her voice. He extended his arm and slowly approached Hulk with a smile.
If this could turn Hulk back into Banner, that would naturally be for the best.
Natasha truly lived up to being the humanoid Hulkbuster armor.
Staring at Darian's face, the violence in Hulk's eyes actually faded a bit. He walked slowly toward Darian and extended his own giant palm.
However, at that moment, an inexplicable surge of anger rushed into Hulk's heart again.
"Roar!!"
Hulk roared at the sky, his eyes completely consumed by rage.
In an instant, his big head took over his little head, and anger replaced thought.
Ignoring the Natasha that Darian had disguised himself as, Hulk suddenly bent down and grabbed Darian's right leg, seemingly about to perform his signature Hell's Blissful Fall.
"Watch out!" Tony cried out in alarm.
Darian reacted quickly, activating his Super Armor skill with a thought.
In the next moment, his feet were firmly planted in the sand as if rooted, like Mjolnir hitting the ground. Hulk's arm muscles bulged, and the sand beneath his feet cracked and sank, but he couldn't move Darian's leg an inch.
"Muay Thai Warning!"
Darian took the opportunity to exert force from his waist and core, elbowing Hulk over a dozen meters away.
Tony exited the wrecked Hulkbuster armor and flew into the air in his Mark 43 armor in a rather humiliating posture.
Seeing that Natasha's trick didn't work on Hulk, he couldn't help but curse: "Damn! That Skrull's ability must still be affecting Banner!"
"Roar!!"
Hearing that name, Hulk's rage level soared again.
Darian: "..."
No, no, no, I think your influence is even deeper.
Looking at the berserk Hulk, Darian narrowed his eyes: "Since the soft way won't work, we'll have to do it the hard way."
As he spoke, the surrounding sand suddenly began to vibrate.
Then, countless grains of sand surged up from the ground as if summoned, rapidly converging at Darian's feet.
By now, Darian had reverted to his original form, standing with his arms crossed. The sand pile beneath him began to stack higher and higher, lifting him steadily away from the ground.
The sand swirled upward, quickly taking shape with the rustling sound of flowing sand.
Under the dumbfounded gazes of everyone, a rough and massive silhouette rose from the ground. Sand continued to cover and compress, finally forming a Sand Giant over ten meters tall.
[Skill: Lord of the Sand-Sculptures (You are the... sand-molding... Master. You can freely control all sand; the precision and scale of control increase with your Spirit attribute.)]