Marvel's Venom, starting with a Hydra undercover agent.

Chapter 173, Beating and Escape

A few dozen seconds later, the fire from the explosion gradually subsided, leaving only some black marks on the street, apart from some still burning wood, cloth and other flammable materials.

"Bang!" With a loud crash, a large piece of wall panel, along with rubble, flew out from the nearby pile of ruins.

Hatred thus pushed aside the stones in the ruins and crawled out from within, filled with humiliation and resentment.

After this round of bombing, the gray-green color on his body became even darker, and there were large patches of burn marks, which made his already ugly face and appearance even more terrifying.

"SHIELD scum! Damn it! Damn it!!!"

The abomination glared fiercely at Holm in the distance, roaring loudly as it rushed toward him.

Having learned his lesson, he no longer blindly charged forward. Instead, he used his experience as a soldier to dodge the missiles that kept falling from the sky through skillful movement.

With this more intelligent approach, he and Holm grew closer and closer.

As Holm watched the abomination rushing towards him, his hands were also covered in a viscous black liquid. He twisted one hand into a sharp dagger and the other into a large hammer covered in spikes.

"This guy's head is so stinky! I'm not curious about the heads of these big guys anymore!" Venom complained to Holm in his mind.

It had been very curious about Hulk's head when it watched the video before, and now that the Abomination, which is similar to Banner's, has satisfied its curiosity, it has also shattered its imagination of such a large brain.

"Ugh! Just kill him already, this guy is so ugly! Ugly and smelly!" Venom said while gagging.

“That won’t do. He’s a subordinate I’ve already reserved. I have to keep him alive.” Holm said as he stomped the ground and charged toward the Abomination.

One of them brandished a massive fist, while the other wielded a sharp knife and a sledgehammer. The terrifying aura emanating from them made everyone in the helicopter feel a chill.

But with Venom as a cheat code, before Abomination's fist could even hit Holm, Holm had already swung his hammer, sending Abomination flying back the way it came.

When he flew back onto those unfortunate cars again, his hatred was mixed with anger and a hint of caution. He had never seen such a strange human before.

Banner was the first human he had ever seen with such power, so after being defeated several times, he developed a deep longing for that power, which led him to become what he is now.

He originally thought that by transforming himself like this he could finally compete with the Hulk, but before he even saw the Hulk, he had already been thoroughly humiliated by this damned agent from S.H.I.E.L.D.

How come he hadn't sensed before that Holm was so special, possessing such incredible power? What was that viscous black liquid? Why did it change shape? Why did Holm possess such immense physical strength?

No! He must be the strongest! Even if this guy has such strange power, he could never be his match.

He is invincible, he is stronger than the Hulk, so how could he lose to this despicable human in front of him!

"Roar!"

Abomination stood up again, and this time he grabbed the wrecked car next to him and began a long-range attack.

He threw heavy, dilapidated cars around as weapons, either splitting them in two with a knife or smashing them aside with a hammer.

Some were thrown further away, flying directly towards the helicopters that had already descended considerably.

The people in the helicopter were completely shocked by the battle between Holm and Abomination. They had never imagined that Holm, who looked like an ordinary person just like them, only exceptionally handsome, could possess such formidable strength.

It wasn't until the damaged car hit the helicopter's tail and even grazed the propeller that they realized they were a little too close.

"Increase altitude! Increase altitude! Don't let that madman hit us again!" General Ross quickly said to the driver in front.

Although the pilot was trying his best to control the aircraft, the tail section that had just been hit was damaged and had started to catch fire.

"Sorry, General! We have to make an emergency landing! Hold on to the handrails! Hold on to the handrails!" With the pilot's shouts, the helicopter began to spin and fall uncontrollably.

In the end, they crashed heavily to the ground and came to a stop. Although the impact was considerable, it was still better than crashing into a building or breaking apart in mid-air.

The impact of the helicopter crash caused everyone on board to fall into a brief coma. Banner only felt someone slapping his face repeatedly, forcibly waking him from his dizziness.

"Bruce! Bruce! Wake up! We need to get out of here right now!" Betty's shouts gradually brought Banner back to his senses.

"You're injured?!" Banner asked nervously, noticing the abrasion on Betty's forehead.

“It’s just a minor injury, don’t worry about it, let’s go!” Betty said as she pulled Banner up, and together they climbed out of the upside-down helicopter.

Looking at the unconscious people on the plane and the deserted ruins all around, Banner instantly understood Betty's thoughts.

Betty wanted to take this opportunity to escape with him and leave the United States to avoid being taken away by the military for research.

“No, no! They only want me. You're not in danger.” Banner looked at Betty and said, “I don't want you to be on the run with me. You can stay here and be safe…”

"Slap!" Before Banner could finish speaking, Betty slapped him across the face, silencing him.

"What right do you have to make decisions for me! So this is your reason for abandoning me before?!" Betty looked at Banner with red eyes.

Do you think I've been happy here all these years?! I think about you every day! I wonder how you're doing! I wonder if you're hurt!

"Do you think I wouldn't be worried if I stayed here?! I don't need you to think about anything for me, because I have my own brain!"

"Now! Take me with you! Let's leave this place together! You're never allowed to leave me behind again! Never, ever leave me behind! Do you hear me?!"

After saying that, Betty hugged Banner's neck and kissed his lips. Tears mixed with dust streamed down her face, flowing into Banner's mouth and into his heart.

Seeing Betty's determined look, Banner hugged her tightly, then took her hand and left the area.

He was about to embark on another escape, but this time his lover was with him.

Chapter 174, Another Upgrade

"Boom!" The towering flames once again raged across the street.

In the fight just now, Abomination not only had his hand almost cut off by Holm, but he was also sent flying by Holm's hammer, and Holm seized the opportunity to bombard him again.

As the flames subsided and the smoke dissipated, the Abomination, whose burns were even more severe, once again crawled out of the ruins, panting heavily.

At this point, he couldn't utter any more harsh words, because Holm had really beaten him badly.

During brief head-on clashes, he couldn't catch Holm's body at all, and Holm always managed to seize the opportunity to beat him up.

Once the distance was created, none of the things he threw at Holm caused any damage. Instead, Holm would occasionally coordinate with the fighter jets in the sky to bombard him with missiles.

"S.H.I.E.L.D.!...I'll remember that!" Abomination bared his teeth fiercely, staring at Holm not far away and said sternly.

Then he roared and pounded his chest, then raised his fists and slammed them hard on the ground.

The already damaged ground cracked open with several wide and deep fissures after this blow.

"Tsk tsk tsk, it's a real shame that someone so good at fighting and smashing things isn't doing demolition work." Holm said as he stomped his legs hard on the ground and jumped high into the air.

By the time the cracks had extended, Holm had already jumped to the height of three or four stories.

As Holm leaped into the air, Abomination clenched his fists, roared, and stomped the ground as he charged forward.

Holm, on the other hand, had a black membrane appear beneath his arms, which propelled him forward a short distance. After that, he transformed both hands into sharp blades and flew down toward the abomination in mid-air.

"Whoosh!" The Abomination's fist still failed to land on Holm, because Venom had already manipulated its sharp tentacles to pierce through his arm.

At the same time, Holm's arms had pierced through his chest, making his already horrific face even more distorted.

His initial upward momentum was also directly stomped back by Holm, and now Holm was both poking him and stepping on him as he fell to the ground.

With a loud bang, Holm stepped on the abomination and landed on the already broken road, smashing a large hole in it.

Inside the large hole, Holm pulled the blade that had been stuck in Abomination's chest out, transforming it into a normal hand, and the sharp tentacles returned to his body.

Apart from his slightly crooked tie, his suit was still spotless and looked as neat and tidy as before.

Beneath his feet, the Abomination's originally enormous body began to shrink gradually, eventually becoming the normal-sized Bronsky.

"Sir, the mission is complete, the target is unconscious." Holm said to Coulson through his headset, looking at the unconscious Bronsky on the ground.

Upon hearing this, Coulson immediately landed with his Quinjet, which was already prepared with various professional personnel.

They used special equipment to hold Bronsky in place on the ground, and then attached an IV drip containing a powerful sedative to him.

Watching Bronsky being secured and pushed onto the Quinjet, Holm silently thought to himself, "We'll meet again soon."

Holm quickly snapped out of his reverie as Coulson and Daisy walked toward him.

"You're amazing! I was watching the whole time on the plane! Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang! Even that big guy was no match for you!" Daisy said excitedly, waving her fist.

It seems he's already put himself in Holm's shoes, and can't wait to personally beat Bronsky up.

Holm shook his head and laughed, "I just took a shortcut. Didn't you see that I never really confronted him head-on?"

"If it weren't for the ample firepower support, the outcome of a one-on-one encounter with him would most likely not be very good."

“You’re just being too modest,” Daisy disagreed with Holm’s words. “If you ask me, you could easily outrun that big guy with your speed alone. What good is strength alone?”

Holm was naturally pleased with Daisy's praise; after all, no one would be unhappy to be complimented. However, to maintain his public image, he had to remain humble.

After Daisy finished her chatter, Coulson patted Holm's arm with admiration, then casually revealed some big news to him: "Well done, I knew you could do it."

"The bureau has already submitted a proposal to upgrade your status. Although it's still going through the final stages, it's practically a done deal."

"You're probably the only one in the entire history of S.H.I.E.L.D. who could complete an upgrade at such a fast pace."

Coulson's words were indeed a surprise; Holm hadn't expected that he was about to be promoted.

He had only been a Level 7 agent for less than a year, not even half a year, and now he was about to be promoted from Level 7 to Level 8.

If we don't count Daisy's level-0 to level-7 progression, his speed is indeed unprecedented.

Despite his speed, his achievements are undeniable. During this period, he has not only completed many high-level and extremely difficult tasks, but he has also never made a mistake and has always completed them perfectly.

With such a resume as a guarantee, no one will have any objections even if he is promoted quickly.

However, only a few days had passed since his conversation with Natasha, and it was hard for Holm not to make the connection.

Perhaps Black Egg knew he was in the wrong, so he cashed in the reward early as a way of giving himself a sweet treat and comforting himself.

Holm thought about it more and more and felt that this was very likely. If that were the case, wouldn't it also mean that he had passed the test with Black Egg and that a brighter future awaited him?

As Holm's thoughts were racing, Daisy, standing beside him, looked at Coulson with narrowed eyes and chuckled, "Hehe! Commander Coulson~ Uncle Coulson~ Is Holm the only one who leveled up?"

"Although Holm played the main role in most of the missions, I also played a very important supporting role!"

"So I definitely got an upgrade, right? Or if I didn't get an upgrade, what about the bonus...?"

Seeing Daisy's expression, Coulson coughed lightly and said, "Well... I haven't heard anything about that."

"What?! There's no bonus for upgrading?" Daisy looked at him in disbelief.

Coulson rubbed his nose and continued, "I haven't heard about an upgrade, but if you need the bonus, I can help you apply for it. After all, as you said, you've completed so many tasks, and your contribution, no matter how small, is undeniable."

"I'm going to find Uncle Fury right now! He has to give me an explanation!" Daisy turned around angrily and walked towards the Quinjet, clearly ready to have a good argument with Nick Fury.

Seeing this, Coulson shook his head helplessly and called Holm to board the plane together.