In the northern district of Manhattan.
Boom!
A car suddenly exploded, the shockwave shattering the glass of nearby buildings.
Debris stacked on the side also ignited, sending foul-smelling black smoke slowly rising into the air.
"Help! There are monsters!"
"Where is the Avengers?"
"Don't smash my just-paid-off car!"
"Can someone help me find my child?"
"..."
The streets echoed with the screams and wails of the crowd.
Fear hung heavily over the area.
Three Minotaurs, with horns and thick fur covering their bodies, were rampaging through the streets.
They destroyed everything in their path, even flipping entire sections of the road.
The crowd scattered in a panic; despite their desperate attempts to escape, many still suffered.
Local police arrived quickly to help evacuate the civilians.
"Run this way!"
"Everyone, get out of here! Don't linger!"
"..."
They worked tirelessly to direct the crowd, but despite their efforts, many people could not find a way out.
In particular, many terrified civilians had taken refuge inside nearby stores.
However, the flimsy glass doors offered them no protection.
Moo!
One Minotaur bent down and charged towards a nearby police car.
Each step left deep hoofprints in the ground.
The police were horrified to see the Minotaur rushing in their direction.
"F*K!"
The officers immediately shifted into reverse, flooring the gas pedal.
But due to the congestion, they only traveled a short distance before crashing into another vehicle.
"Quick! Counterattack!"
Seeing this, the fear on the faces of the police inside the car was palpable.
Although they wanted to draw their weapons, at such close range, all they could do was watch in terror as the Minotaur approached.
Just then, a pure white figure descended, blocking the charging Minotaur.
Boom!
A cyclone of air erupted, accompanied by a deafening roar.
The clash unleashed tremendous energy, sending ripples through the dust swirling around them.
"It's Spider-Woman."
The officers instantly recognized the identity of the white figure.
Seeing her arrival, their anxious hearts finally felt a sense of relief.
"Get out of here quickly! Let me deal with these big guys!"
Gwen's voice strained as she gripped the Minotaur's horns tightly.
These damn creatures are incredibly strong!
She couldn't help but mutter a curse under her breath; they were much tougher than she had anticipated.
The police exchanged a deep glance with her before turning their car around and speeding away from the sidewalk.
"Ha!"
Gwen took a deep breath, twisting her hips and turning her waist to throw the Minotaur in front of her aside.
Moo!
Just then, the other two Minotaurs charged toward her with great force.
As they approached rapidly, Gwen confidently leapt high into the air.
Like a top gymnast, her agile lower body twisted gracefully like a crescent moon.
In that instant, the Minotaurs charged below, crashing heavily into a nearby shop.
"Hey, ambushing is really rude! Don't you have any manners?"
Once on the ground, the playful Gwen couldn't resist cracking jokes.
"Moo moo!"
The Minotaurs emerged from the shop, howling at the sky.
"Just because you can shout, does that give you the right to vandalize public property?"
Gwen crossed her arms, tilting her head slightly.
A second later, the three Minotaurs charged toward her, shaking the ground beneath them as they ran.
"How dare you three bully a little girl?"
"Even if you're bulls, you should still be polite to the young and vulnerable!"
As she spoke, Gwen felt the ground tremble slightly, and her spider mask eyes widened in shock.
She quickly shot out a web and propelled herself upwards.
At the same time, her left hand rapidly shot webs to entangle the three Minotaurs.
But to her surprise, her webs were easily torn apart by the Minotaurs.
They only delayed them by a fraction of a second.
Faced with this, Gwen had no choice but to quickly move on the upper levels of the buildings.
Continuously shooting out webs, but even so, she couldn't hold back the Minotaurs for long.
"Are you guys really that strong? Why not go do some farming instead?"
Gwen glanced at the persistent Minotaurs, unable to help but grumble.
Moo!
Frustrated that they couldn't catch Gwen, the Minotaurs went berserk, dark energy swirling around them.
"What's going on?"
Gwen gawked at the emerging black mist, astonished.
It was her first time witnessing something so peculiar.
Just then, the three Minotaurs focused this dark matter from their eyes and suddenly looked up at Spider-Woman.
The black light instantly shot out from their eyes.
Caught off guard, Gwen's eyes widened in disbelief.
"No, that's too fast; I can't dodge!"
As the rays approached her, she barely managed to twist her body away, avoiding the dark energy beam.
However, the web connecting her to the building was pierced by the rays.
Her body fell uncontrollably.
"Ah!"
Gwen couldn't help but scream.
The Minotaurs below sniffed the air, excited by the sight of Gwen plummeting.
Their nostrils flared as they prepared to charge with their sharp horns.
"Crap!"
Seeing this, Gwen's expression changed drastically as she tried to turn and shoot a web at the nearby wall.
But with such a short distance left, escaping her fall became nearly impossible!
Moreover, spider silk has a degree of elasticity, making it ineffective at such close range!
Moo!
Gwen stared wide-eyed at the clear blue sky.
"Am I really going to die?"
She hadn't anticipated that the Minotaurs would possess such a combat ability.
Otherwise, she definitely wouldn't have let her guard down.
Hoo-shi!
However, at that moment, what greeted her was not the sensation of piercing pain through her body. Instead, it was a warm embrace. She felt the strong chest and focused her gaze. To her surprise, the one holding her was Hode.
"We meet again," Hode said as he cradled Gwen, gliding gracefully through the air before landing steadily. Looking at Gwen in his arms, he couldn't help but secretly marvel at the joys of youth. Even when held, she felt soft against him. Especially since she was wearing a form-fitting suit, the sensation was almost like zero contact.
"What are you doing here?" Gwen exclaimed in delight. She truly hadn't expected that Hode would be the one to save her at such a crucial moment. Seeing him filled her with an indescribable joy, and she instinctively placed her right hand on Hode's shoulder.
"I..." Hode hesitated, struggling to find his words. He hadn't originally planned to be here. He thought he might earn some rewards, so he simply followed Wanda when she headed this way. Who would have expected that he would arrive just in time to see Gwen falling? A hug like this made the trip worthwhile.
"Hode, why are you running so fast?" Wanda called out as she flew in from a distance, spotting Hode holding Gwen. She raised an eyebrow, a strange expression on her face as she asked, "Why is Ghost-Spider here, too?"
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