Not having a character that rushed to uphold justice, nor a habit of minding others business.
If Tony Stark hadn't called right now, Shi Xiaolei wouldn't have cared about the situation at the entrance of the alley.
Whether to find trouble with these American soldiers to avenge his destroyed new car, or to hide his identity and surrender like an ordinary person—either way, he definitely would have prioritized his own situation.
But now?
A request for help from a friend couldn't be ignored.
Leaving behind a resentful glance that said "you're lucky" Shi Xiaolei revealed his abilities.
Right in front of the American soldiers, he made a great leap, jumping onto the roof of a low building by the road.
"Tony, what happened? Where are you?"
While continuing to jump to higher buildings, Shi Xiaolei connected the call, talking to Stark through his Bluetooth earpiece.
"Thank God you finally answered. Buddy, what took you so long? Were you in the bathroom or something?"
"Just get to the point."
Moments ago he sounded like he was about to die, but now he's back to his usual self? Due to Stark flippant tone, Shi Xiaolei couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"OK, let's talk business. Jarvis, keep an eye on the energy consumption and remind me when it hits 20%."
After instructing Jarvis, Stark continued speaking to Shi Xiaolei.
"I need you to get to 43rd Street. There's a green giant rampaging here—whoa, that's at least two million in damages. Rock, I won't go into details, you can listen to the radio or watch the news on your way here. Just get here quickly, I need your help."
"43rd Street?"
After a few big jumps, he had already reached the rooftop overlooking the street.
Standing at this height and looking down, the entire situation was clear.
At this moment, Shi Xiaolei not only saw the Hulk being surrounded and attacked, but also spotted Stark hovering back and forth in the air, providing cover for the soldiers.
Thinking back to what had just happened, everything made sense.
"Tony, I can see you."
While informing Stark, he removed the somewhat inconvenient Bluetooth earpiece, replacing it along with his helmet with new equipment he had only recently assembled.
From the earpiece that fell to the ground came Stark's surprised question.
"Huh? What's going on? Are you nearby?"
"Yahoooo~~!"
Instead of Shi Xiaolei answer, a wild shout came from above.
Avoiding a chunk of concrete thrown by the Hulk, Stark adjusted his position and looked up.
Under his incredibly shocked gaze, a black dot grew larger and larger, carrying thunderous momentum as it jumped down from the rooftop.
Heavy plate armor paired with a horned helmet, all in solid gray iron, looking extremely robust.
His left hand gripped a Roman short sword named 'Blood Writ' while his right hand held a Haedrigs sword embedded with the 'War Summon' runic inscription.
Under the sunlight filtering through the gaps between buildings, both weapons gleamed with a cold luster, exuding an intense and violent killing intent.
Perhaps it was the eye-catching appearance so different from ordinary people, or perhaps it was the battle aura surrounding him that triggered an alert—as soon as the fully armored Shi Xiaolei appeared, the Hulk focused his attention on him.
"ROAR!"
"HAAA!"
As if they had arranged it beforehand, just as the Hulk let out a wild roar, Shi Xiaolei also howled fiercely, giving himself a buff that enhanced his skill level.
Then, both giants leaped simultaneously, colliding in mid-air like Mars crashing into Earth.
"Ouch, that must have hurt."
Hovering in mid-air, witnessing Shi Xiaolei being hammered far away by the Hulk punch, flying like a cannonball into a storefront, Stark couldn't help but twitch his eyelid and twist his lips.
'Damn, I was careless.'
Climbing out of the ruins, Shi Xiaolei felt deeply frustrated—he had planned to use the bonus from a jumping attack to deliver a heavy blow to the Hulk.
He never expected the Hulk would also jump at the same time.
In mid-air, with no ground to leverage against, the deciding factor came down to one thing: who had the larger build and heavier weight.
Even though he had put on a suit of armor, his weight still couldn't compare to the Hulk in his expanded state.
In this collision, Shi Xiaolei didn't lose because of strength; it was purely because his weight was less than his opponent.
That was quite frustrating.
"Green Fatty!"
With a belly full of resentment, Shi Xiaolei burst out of the collapsed store and launched a second round of attacks like a whirlwind.
Learning from the previous round, this time Shi Xiaolei didn't jump but charged at the Hulk with his feet firmly on the ground.
Removing his right hand that was covering his wound, the Hulk clenched his fist and threw another punch.
Noticing the wound on the Hulk left arm, Shi Xiaolei utilized the battle instinct that had fused with his blood.
With just a slight duck, he avoided the punch that came with fierce wind.
Continuing forward with momentum, when he got close to the Hulk, he raised his right hand again and swung his sword at the Hulk thigh.
During that previous collision, although Shi Xiaolei took a hammering blow and was thrown far away, his sword had left the only wound on the Hulk so far.
Because of that previous strike, Shi Xiaolei roughly estimated the sword damage to the Hulk, which is why he now struck without hesitation.
Sure enough, with one sword strike, the result was just as Shi Xiaolei had anticipated—only a wound about one centimeter deep was cut into the Hulk thigh.
Blood did spurt out, but as for how serious it was, it could only be considered a superficial wound.
"Roar."
Though the injury was minor, the stimulation it caused the Hulk was anything but small.
After being bombarded by heavy artillery for so long without even a scratch, these two wounds from Shi Xiaolei were the first real injuries the Hulk had sustained.
One punch, two punches, three punches.
As if he had completely lost his mind or entered a berserk state after taking drugs, the Hulk launched a storm of attacks.
At the same time, due to his rising anger, his physique also grew larger.
Earlier, each punch had only created a small crater the size of a washbasin, but now each of the Hulk punches left a crater no less than a meter in diameter.
The power had indeed increased significantly.
Fortunately, the Hulk had just been born and hadn't learned any fighting techniques yet—every punch was purely instinctive.
"Hey, hiaaaa!"
Within the narrow space, Shi Xiaolei twisted and turned.
When he couldn't avoid a blow, he would shift his body to deflect part of the force, not letting the Hulk land a solid hit.
Relying on his master-level close combat skills that had been integrated into his bloodline, Shi Xiaolei firmly held his ground, trading blows with the Hulk.
The giant fists hammered against the plate armor, producing heavy, muffled sounds, like a weight falling on a drum.
Sword light flashed up and down, cutting wounds and drawing spurts of fresh blood.
Even the battle-hardened soldiers had never seen such a scene.
Watching the scene before him, Stark, wrapped in his armor, couldn't help but smack his lips.
"Jarvis, help me make a note... No matter what situation we encounter in the future, absolutely never engage in hand-to-hand combat with Rock."
"Yes, sir."
(T/N: Like the story fellow daoist?you can read 20 chapters ahead on my P@treon [[email protected]/DaoistRongyi] Thanks for your support! 😊)