Chapter 39: Luke Cage · The Sigh of the Unbreakable
Jessica Jones's powerless, tragic challenge had fallen like a silent mime show, casting the deepest shadow over the despairing battlefield. Her staggering, fleeing figure was a painful sight to every remaining hero's eyes. It was more than mere defeat; it was the desolate aftermath of dignity being utterly crushed.It was within this suffocating, deathly silence that—A low, suppressed roar, like the bellow of a wounded lion, erupted from behind a collapsed wall.Luke Cage, the hero with unbreakable skin and superhuman strength, shoved aside the rubble pinning him down and rose to his feet. He had seen his girlfriend (or ex-girlfriend—the relationship was complicated) Jessica fleeing in despair, the humiliation and confusion in her eyes. A fire fueled by protectiveness, rage, and an equally profound sense of powerlessness blazed within him.He knew he wasn't strong enough. He had witnessed the Hulk's might, Thor's thunder, Captain Marvel's cosmic energy... Compared to such beings, his own strength was insignificant. He might not even be able to beat Jessica in a real fight (though they'd never truly fought).But he possessed something they did not—an absolutely, fundamentally indestructible defense. It was his only, his final, reliance."Hey! Big guy!" Luke Cage strode with heavy steps towards the center of the battlefield, his voice gravelly with anger. "You scared my woman."He didn't run, didn't roar. Each step made the ground tremble faintly, like a giant walking to his execution, carrying a tragic heroism born of knowing the futility of his actions."Luke! Don't!" someone shouted weakly from a distance, but he paid no heed.Sun Wukong, about to see if there were any "new tricks" left, watched this new figure approach and examined him with interest. "Oh? Another big black fellow? Skin looks pretty thick, seems sturdier than those iron shells from before."Luke Cage stopped several meters away from Sun Wukong, took a deep breath, and assumed his most solid defensive stance, fists clenched, muscles beneath his skin taut like steel."I can't beat you," Luke's voice was unusually calm, yet carried an undeniable firmness. "I know that. But I want to see if your fist, the one that knocked everyone else down, can knock medown."His goal wasn't victory, not even an attack. He just wanted to stand. He wanted to hold onto the last, minuscule, symbolic shred of dignity for the comrades who lay fallen or had fled behind him. He wanted to use his "unbreakable" body to measure the true depth of this abyss of despair.Hearing this, Sun Wukong grinned. "Interesting! Want to test this old Sun's fist? Good! Got guts! This old Sun likes straightforward folk like you!"He didn't use his golden-hooped staff, nor any magical powers. He simply, plainly, made a fist, the muscles in his arm swelling slightly."Brace yourself, big black fellow!"Before the words faded, the punch was thrown!No light, no energy波动 (bōdòng - fluctuations), not even the sound of tearing air! Just the purest, most condensed physical force! The space around the fist's path扭曲凹陷 (niǔqū āoxiàn -扭曲凹陷) slightly!A sound so deep and沉闷 (chénmèn -沉闷) it was like the first strike on the primordial iron of the universe's dawn exploded forth!Luke Cage couldn't even react. He only felt an indescribable, incomprehensible, irresistible force smash squarely into his chest!His skin and muscles, capable of withstanding anti-tank rounds, hailed as "unbreakable," groaned under a stress they had never known! He felt as if he had been hit head-on by a planetoid!CRACK! CRUNCH-CRACK-CRACK—!!!The sickening sound of breaking bones erupted from within him like popping beans! He could clearly feel his proud ribs, his sternum, shattering inch by inch!A mouthful of blood, mixed with fragments of internal organs, sprayed out violently! Luke Cage's massive frame was lifted clean off his feet as if struck by a full-speed aircraft carrier, hurled backward! His speed was so great it left a blurred afterimage in the air!BOOM! BOOM-CRASH! BOOOOOOM—!!!He smashed through seven or eight thick sections of ruined walls, his momentum unchecked, finally crashing like a meteor into the depths of a half-collapsed bank building in the distance, buried completely under tons of reinforced concrete. His fate was unknown.Dust and debris filled the air, slow to settle.Sun Wukong slowly retracted his fist, blew on non-existent dust from his knuckles, and curled his lip in disdain."Tch. Talked a big game, thought he'd be harder. Weaker than the Heavenly Gate guardian Ju Ling Shen. Couldn't even handle one-tenth of this old Sun's strength. Boring."The myth of absolute defense had been shattered like paper before absolute force, destroyed by a single punch.The dull impact, the sickening cracks, and the final terrifying crashes and collapses rang like a final funeral bell, striking hard against the hearts of all the remaining heroes.The last symbolic幻想 (huànxiǎng - illusion) of "holding the line" was utterly and completely shattered.The battlefield fell into a total, despairing silence.