"The truth serum... right." Nick Fury might have wanted to explain that he had long developed a resistance to such substances.
But he had never considered that what Bruce injected into him was never a so-called truth serum.
It was just fear toxin.
The vial Fury had been gripping tightly slipped from his hand as he was overwhelmed by terrifying hallucinations.
The serum that could have transformed him into the Hulk rolled away.
"Tell me, the real number." Bruce leaned in closer to Nick Fury. In Fury's eyes, Bruce's face no longer looked the same.
He had become the ultimate supervillain—the one who had destroyed the world in Fury's deepest fears.
"Two thousand three hundred and seventeen."
Fury's words left Jessica and Miles struggling to process the truth.
Everything before this had been a lie.
And it far exceeded anyone's imagination.
Over two thousand super-soldiers with Spider-Man's abilities—Nick Fury had the power to sweep across the entire United States.
As for why he had never deployed them, Bruce couldn't help but consider the worst-case scenario.
That Nick Fury no longer had control over them.
Those soldiers had likely gone rogue.
"Where are they?" Bruce pressed on.
"Level eighteen, underground at Tri-Sky Industries."
Jessica, upon hearing this, lowered her head and slumped to the floor.
Everything was happening too fast for her to keep up.
She couldn't understand why everyone seemed obsessed with creating an army of cloned Spider-Men.
But as a clone herself, she understood better than anyone—when she first became self-aware, she couldn't even distinguish her own identity.
She had fragments of memories from the original.
If S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't taken her in, she'd probably still be wandering aimlessly, searching for who she truly was.
Back then, it was Nick Fury who brought her into S.H.I.E.L.D.
He had personally led S.H.I.E.L.D. agents into the facility where she had been cloned.
Roxxon was completely stripped of its biotechnology researchers, and S.H.I.E.L.D. placed a total ban on any further biological experiments by the company.
Roxxon, once considered on par with the Osborn Corporation, faded into obscurity.
Jessica could never have imagined—
That the very man who had once stood before her, condemning cloning as illegal and immoral, vowing to punish those responsible—
Had secretly created an entire army of cloned Spider-Men.
The only reason Jessica hadn't punched Fury in the face earlier was because he had once helped her escape that nightmare.
Miles had no idea how to comfort Jessica.
He sat beside her, wanting to say something.
Before he could speak, Bruce cut in.
"We don't have time to waste here. Mary Jane is missing—it's highly likely the work of a rogue clone."
Bruce's words pulled Jessica out of her gloom.
"We need to check how many clones are still inactive—though the chances of that are slim."
As he spoke, Bruce had already begun downloading all available data on the underground cloning facility at Tri-Sky Industries from Fury's system.
It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.
"What do we do now?" Jessica looked up at Bruce.
"Miles, take him with us—we're heading to Tri-Sky Industries." Bruce gestured toward Fury, who was still writhing from the effects of the fear toxin.
"You good?" Bruce extended a hand to Jessica, helping her up.
Jessica looked at Bruce for a moment, then nodded.
How could she possibly fail?
She was well aware of exactly what she needed to do at this moment.
Meanwhile, Miles scratched his head awkwardly.
Although he didn't understand why Bruce had asked him to carry Nick Fury, he figured it must be to accommodate Jessica's emotions.
Miles walked up to Nick Fury, but the man was in no state to be easily controlled.
His constantly struggling body and the almost twisted expression on his face made Miles instinctively recoil from him.
But since it was Bruce's order, Little Black Spider felt he should obey.
Still, using his webbing to restrain the guy shouldn't be considered defying Bruce's intentions.
Without hesitation, Miles sealed Nick Fury's mouth with his web but left his nostrils clear for breathing.
Then, without giving Fury any chance to tear through it, he completely wrapped him up in his webbing.
If Nick Fury regained his senses, he would undoubtedly be furious about his current predicament.
Right now, Miles had wrapped him up into what could only be described as a giant cocoon, with nothing exposed except his shiny, jet-black bald head.
While Bruce was rushing to handle things, over at Three Flying Ornaments, the army deployed by the American president found themselves utterly powerless.
"What the hell are those monsters?!"
"No, no, no!"
"Help me!"
"Please, no!"
The soldiers stationed in the Three Flying Ornaments building wished they had extra legs to flee from the horror unfolding around them.
It was supposed to be an uneventful day, but when that creature from underground started crawling upward, this place was doomed to become a living hell.
Its crimson skin looked as though a rifle round could easily pierce through it.
Yet when the bullets hit, they did nothing.
None of their attacks left so much as a scratch on the creature.
It was as if the monster had climbed straight out of hell—its tentacle-like appendages could pierce through their bulletproof vests with ease.
Outside Three Flying Ornaments, the stationed troops anxiously watched the chaos unfolding inside the building.
When they saw several soldiers managing to escape, they immediately prepared to lift the lockdown to let them through.
Even the escaping soldiers showed visible excitement.
They saw hope—hope of survival.
But in the very next second, a scarlet tentacle shot through one of their chests.
The soldier stared blankly at his wound. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but all that came out was blood.
The crimson tentacle struck fast and withdrew just as quickly.
All that remained were the lifeless bodies of the impaled soldiers.
The stationed troops hastily reassembled their firing positions, their eyes fixed nervously on the inside of the building.
And there, they saw the monster's sinister grin.
(End of Chapter)
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