From start to finish, Duval had never framed himself as a “good guy.” Simply put, he couldn’t be a superhero.
Not because he lacked basic moral concepts of right and wrong, but because the special power he held—the Xenomorphs—once exposed as creatures that stole a living entity’s lifelong power through parasitic chest-bursting to surpass their hosts, he could never be accepted by certain groups in this world.
Once exposed, even the most righteous superheroes would fear him and remain deeply vigilant around him.
So from the very beginning, Duval’s half-willing participation in this operation was targeted squarely at Abomination.
Blade—or rather, SHIELD, which was currently evaluating Duval—would certainly think Duval had seized the olive branch they extended, essentially using this mission to signal goodwill and closeness.
Under normal circumstances, a Duval with a righteous heart willing to risk his life for SHIELD missions would be assessed and judged.
Perhaps one day, Duval might join one of the special teams assembled by SHIELD as a superhero—not necessarily The Avengers, since SHIELD had many special units, and the Avengers initiative being organized was just one of them.
That was how the normal process should go.
Duval indeed fit certain people’s special “aesthetic”: superior special “power,” intelligence, a clean background—simply perfect.
Unfortunately, all of this was a facade, built on their ignorance of the Xenomorph species’ terrifying mode of expansion and their unquantifiable growth potential.
“It doesn’t matter that I can hardly become a superhero.
There’s no need for me to bend over backward kissing up to certain people anyway, so I’ll just take a different path…
I can’t make everyone respect my moral character, but I can make everyone fear my power.” Duval’s mind was crystal clear.
As long as he held sufficient martial might, nothing else mattered.
Abomination was the key right now.
As long as he could get Abomination, using Abomination’s flesh to incubate his first Warrior Xenomorph, the overall strength in Duval’s hands would take its first massive leap.
Of course, if he succeeded, the result would shock the world, officially exposing Duval and the Xenomorphs to many dangerous individuals.
But Duval had no interest in worrying about such details—he would deal with that after getting Abomination.
As long as the speed of strength growth exceeded the speed at which danger arrived, any risky endeavor was worth taking.
The crucial part was that Xenomorphs had a unique trait: as long as they found the right host, their leap in power was ridiculously fast.
*Swoosh!* Duval produced an egg.
Its four petals unfolded, and a Facehugger quietly slithered out.
Abomination didn’t notice this, but Mr.
Blue—who was hiding in a corner, praying for God’s favor so he wouldn’t be crushed by flying debris while obsessively staring at the Xenomorphs—saw everything.
What was that?
Size-wise, it looked like an ostrich egg, but its shell was soft, and a strange creature had slithered out, moving with incredible agility toward…
Abomination.
Mr.
Blue gasped, unable to believe his eyes.
How could such a tiny thing—a newborn, no less—dare target Abomination?
“No matter what trick it uses, it definitely won’t succeed.
Abomination is my proudest masterpiece.
Even if he were swarmed to death by those acid-spewing creatures, he wouldn’t lose to a runt like that,” the thought flashed through Mr.
Blue’s mind.
Looking at the battlefield, though Abomination appeared battered, his muscular body torn to ragged shreds, he was far from defeated.
As time went on, the immense power from Hulk’s bloodline rapidly healed his injuries, and his rage slowly boosted his physical strength.
Even though the growth momentum soon halted—perhaps because the serum’s potential was exhausted—he could still casually throw hundred-ton punches.
If a Xenomorph got scraped, it was killed or maimed.
As the battle dragged on, Xenomorphs were killed one after another, leaving not even intact corpses.
But even in death, the Xenomorphs expended their last drop of energy to die on Abomination, drenching his body in their blood and inflicting even more horrific wounds.
This level of attrition was gradually taking a toll on Abomination as well.
“Not bad, little bugs, but still not enough!
You think this level of power is fit to match me?!” Abomination sneered viciously.
In just a short while, he had killed five Xenomorphs, and the strongest five at that.
Most of the remaining ones were smaller.
Even though one of his arms and shoulders had been corroded down to the skeleton, he had ultimately held his ground.
Victory belonged to the strong, to the great Abomination!
Or so he thought.
He would obliterate these bugs, track down Duval, brutally crush him, find a place to rest, and finally kill Hulk to prove that he was the strongest—that his pursuit of power was not wrong!
Just then, as Abomination felt a touch of fatigue and grinned in delight at imminent victory— The Facehugger seized its chance.
Perched on the back of a Runner Xenomorph, the moment Abomination grabbed for the Runner Xenomorph, the Facehugger displayed extraordinary agility.
It darted rapidly along Abomination’s finger bones and successfully leaped onto his face.
“What is this?!” Abomination exerted force with both hands, first tearing the Runner Xenomorph in two.
That was far too easy for him; dealing with Xenomorphs born from ordinary mammals was a one-shot deal.
However, his arrogance proved his undoing.
Who could have guessed the true killer move was such a tiny thing?
Despite Abomination’s formidable strength, he suffered a moment of intense dizziness when the Facehugger latched onto his face.
But the dizziness was quickly dispelled by rage.
He clamped two fingers onto the now-unresponsive Facehugger, ripped it off, and slammed it against a wall, smashing it into meat paste.
*Sizzle!* The Facehugger’s remains burst open, corroding the wall as well.
“A tiny thing like this has that blood inside too?
The scientist who made these things must be insane, but power gained through such methods can’t compare to mine.” Only absolute strength was the future—this was the conclusion Abomination had drawn after observing Hulk and obtaining a portion of Hulk’s power himself.
It seemed he needed to push harder, slaughter all these disgusting creatures, and then kill that mysterious young man who insisted on opposing him.
Yet when Abomination turned with a hideous snarl to hunt down the remaining Xenomorphs, he was shocked to see them rapidly retreating and clustering together.
The young man had also reappeared further away.
“Blonsky, we’ll meet again very soon…
in another form.” A smile bloomed on Duval’s face.
Once he confirmed the parasitism was successful, the weight in his heart completely lifted.
No matter how wildly Abomination roared, Duval found the big guy utterly adorable.
The more mighty and heroic he was, the more relieved Duval felt, like a benevolent father.
Enraged beyond reason, Abomination had paid a heavy price and suffered massive injuries before he could even savor victory.
He instantly grabbed a slab of reinforced concrete and hurled it violently at Duval.
Duval stood unmoving, his expression mild.
The five remaining Xenomorphs acted in unison, stepping in front of Duval.
They raised their claws and flipped upward together, causing a loud boom as the concrete slab was launched away.
Dust billowed, revealing Duval’s face behind it.
Supremely elegant, showing complete composure.
Abomination let out a furious roar and charged forward with heavy strides.
With a single leap, Duval easily landed dozens of meters away.
Physical capabilities clearly far beyond an ordinary human’s surprised even Abomination.
After Duval successfully escaped, the entire sequence of events left Abomination bewildered.
“Next time we meet, I’ll definitely kill that bastard!!” Abomination rushed to heal his wounds, punching the wall in frustration, which shook loose a piece of the ceiling that clattered onto his head.
“But we don’t know who he actually is,” Mr.
Blue said.
Abomination lashed out with a kick, nearly exploding poor Mr.
Blue.
But whether by luck or misfortune, Mr.
Blue crashed right into a carefully sealed bottle of Hulk serum he hadn’t finished using.