Chapter 6: Even in a disaster, someone will always strike it rich!

New York in this world is a place of endless calamity. Setting aside the unseen evils lurking in the underbelly or the alien armies that are yet to arrive, the mere sight of two green monsters brawling in the streets is enough to inflict immense suffering upon the nearby citizens.

Cars being tossed around like toys by the monsters, the roaring flames from exploding fuel tanks, and the high-velocity shards of flying masonry and debris all pose lethal threats to the ordinary and fragile New Yorkers; a single touch means death, a mere graze means injury.

In the midst of the chaos, citizens can only scramble frantically out of their vehicles, often fleeing so desperately that they don't even bother to close their car doors.

Faced with two fighting green monsters, they have no choice but to run!

Even in flight, unlucky souls are occasionally struck by flying lampposts or shattered car parts, twisted into grotesque shapes; others are impaled by steel fragments from exploding vehicles, or crushed into pulp by falling building debris. There was even a large man who ran a bit too slowly, only to have his head seized by a gaunt, green monster giant and tossed high into the air; after a frantic scream, a loud "thud" echoed as he hit the concrete, twitched for a moment, and then went still.

No one wants to linger in the battlefield of these two monsters anymore; even the police and military have begun organizing a retreat!

Clearly, the light weapons in their hands—pistols and rifles—are utterly incapable of harming these two creatures! Meanwhile, they dare not use heavy weaponry indiscriminately within the city unless someone is willing to take responsibility for leveling vast swaths of New York. Otherwise, under these circumstances, the police and soldiers have no better option than to evacuate the crowds and save their own lives. What is happening here is simply not a problem that ordinary humans or even the military can solve.

However, unlike the others on the street who are desperate to escape as fast as possible, one sleazy man hiding behind a steel dumpster is acting quite differently! Instead of retreating with the crowd, he is peeking out from behind the dumpster, nervously watching the two monsters fighting nearby, while muttering incessantly to himself.

Paul is a Mexican-American taxi driver who has been driving in New York for many years. Because he had immigrated illegally from Mexico in his youth, he endured many years of hardship. Due to his hard work and lack of a criminal record, he had only recently managed to scrape together a green card.

Over the years, Paul worked from dawn till dusk to finally pay off the crushing debts he owed to the taxi company! Now, besides being debt-free, he finally owned his own taxi. Although he still had no savings and no house, life finally seemed to have a glimmer of hope. He thought to himself that perhaps one day he might be able to bring his family to America to enjoy a better life.

His taxi looked a bit worn out; it could probably only run for another six months to a year before needing a major overhaul. But where would that money come from? Paul was worried. Without money for repairs, would he have to go back to driving for those vampires at the company? Oh! No! Paul swore he never wanted to face those evil capitalists again! Those damn vampires!

Perhaps God truly favors Paul, for a chance to solve his problems has just appeared.

Just as Paul stepped out of a small burger joint clutching two paper bags filled with burgers and fries, he saw the two green monsters fighting! What nearly made Paul's eyes pop out was that they were smashing things! They were actually throwing cars around like balls! And by sheer coincidence, Paul's battered taxi was parked right next to the fighting monsters!

"Oh! God! Praise You!"

Paul's eyes widened as he watched the battle from behind the metal dumpster! His eyes were filled with nothing but excitement! His mind held only two words: Insurance! Insurance! Insurance!

If these monsters smashed his car, he would have a very high chance of receiving a massive payout—enough to buy a brand-new taxi! In his mind, as long as he could claim the insurance, he could let this junker without air conditioning go to hell! A major overhaul? To hell with that!

"Oh, boy! Step on it!!"

Paul's car was right next to the two wrestling green monsters! Yet, miraculously, it remained unscathed so far!

The gaunt green giant grabbed a car and hurled it at the muscular green giant, who punched the car mid-air, sending it flying. The car narrowly missed passing over Paul's taxi and smashed into the floor-to-ceiling glass of a distant ice cream shop—totaled.

Seeing this, the gaunt green giant grabbed another car parked next to Paul's taxi and threw it at the muscular giant, only to have it punched away again. It hit the same spot as the previous car, triggering an explosion! Flames and thick smoke began to rage there; it seemed anyone inside was likely doomed.

But Paul didn't care about that. After the gaunt green giant's two attempts to throw cars were thwarted, it tried to repeat the trick by reaching for Paul's car, but it was intercepted by the enraged muscular green giant, who tackled it around the waist, sending both monsters tumbling away. They crashed through several lampposts and crushed several already-wrecked cars as they rolled into the distance.

"Oh! No! God! No! You can't do this to me..."

Paul fell to his knees in agony, clutching his head. He watched the two monsters fight further and further away, while his car remained parked right where it was! It was untouched, perhaps without even a single scratch!

Paul knew that in this situation, hoping to claim insurance was a pipe dream! Don't make him laugh! He wouldn't get a single cent! In fact, those cunning insurance adjusters would probably try to make him pay next year's premium at the same time.

This was it! The insurance payout Paul thought was within his grasp was gone! The money for a new car was gone! And he still had no idea where the money for repairs would come from!

"God! What did I do wrong? Why are You doing this to me?"

Paul was in despair! He covered his face with his two large, grimy hands. A massive insurance windfall had been right in front of him, and he thought it was finally his, but it turned out to be a cruel joke played by God.

"ROAR—!!!"

A massive roar erupted. Just as the despairing Paul looked up, he saw a giant, flaming teddy bear—taller than even the two green monsters—descend from the sky. It stomped directly onto Paul's taxi, crushing it into a pile of scrap metal. The flames erupting from the cracks in the teddy bear's body even ignited several nearby cars. The light distorted by the heat-induced air turbulence was so intense that even Paul, standing at a distance, could feel it clearly! Shortly after the cars caught fire, the violent sound of gasoline explosions followed.

"ROAR!!"

After the explosion, the massive flaming teddy bear landed and roared again. It then looked toward the two green giants, who had stopped fighting but were still entangled with each other. Their two green faces were now staring at the flaming monster teddy bear that had fallen from the sky. Their rage-filled brains were momentarily confused, unable to comprehend what this new, clearly dangerous flaming giant bear was.

Hiding behind the dumpster, Paul first stared blankly at the flaming teddy bear, then blinked at his taxi, which had been crushed into scrap metal under its feet. Without a word, he stood up and turned to run! As he ran, he kept muttering: "Praise God!!!"

At this moment, Paul felt that God was indeed impartial; He hadn't discriminated against him just because he rarely went to church!

Paul swore that once he received his money and bought a new car, he would definitely go to church every single week! Well, if not every week, then at least once a month!

"Get them, Tibbs! Bite them to death!!!"

A crisp voice of a little girl rang out from behind him. In this chaotic and terrifying battlefield, it sounded exceptionally clear, though no one noticed—not even Paul!

They were far more concerned with escaping this hellscape; every extra second spent here was an extra second of danger! Life was precious to the citizens of New York; whether two monsters were fighting or three made no difference to them!

"ROAR—!!!"

After the little girl's voice echoed through the explosions, the flaming giant bear began to roar in fury. The three monsters began to clash in a chaotic brawl.

(End of Chapter)