Dr. Stern's residence—he was eagerly discussing his curiosity about Mr. Green, Dr. Banner.
"I've always wondered if you really exist, and if so, what you'd be like. It's shocking that someone with such immense power could look as unassuming as you," Stern remarked.
Unfortunately, neither of them seemed very interested in this conversation, so Stern quickly shifted to the main topic.
"This isn't simple. Even if everything goes smoothly, after triggering your transformation and injecting the correct dosage, will you be permanently cured or just temporarily suppressed?"
As he spoke, Stern mimed flipping a coin, indicating that the treatment outcome was as uncertain as a coin toss—he couldn't predict the result.
"If the dosage is slightly too high, it could become highly toxic..."
"Could it kill 'him'?" Banner's girlfriend, or perhaps ex-girlfriend, Ross, interjected.
"Yes, I'm certain of that," Stern nodded.
"But if the dosage is too low, it won't suppress me, and you'll be in danger," Banner said.
Stern chuckled, as if sensing Banner's concern, and explained, "I've always been curious—never encountered something I didn't want to try."
The message was clear: Stern was a risk-taker from a young age and wasn't afraid of danger.
The three of them then agreed to head to Stern's lab together.
Stern inserted the serum into a machine, made some adjustments, and had Banner lie down on a chair. He secured Banner tightly, ensuring that once he transformed into the Hulk, the serum could be injected.
"This will be an interesting experience," Stern said, preparing the equipment. "Let's begin."
"The blood separator will mix the antidote with your blood, but it will only work once you fully transform."
Banner's blood was continually drawn out, and after his transformation, it would be mixed with the antidote and returned to his body.
"Relax," Ross gently reassured Banner.
"Alright, it's done."
Now, they were about to face the most dangerous part—waking the Hulk and injecting the antidote.
Stern took a deep breath, holding a defibrillator, and asked, "Are you ready?"
Banner glanced at Ross and nodded.
Stern then placed the defibrillator on either side of Banner's head and delivered a powerful shock.
"Ugh!"
Banner groaned in pain, his body convulsing wildly.
Suddenly, he sat upright, eyes wide open as a hint of green emerged.
The Hulk was coming out.
Banner's body began to swell like a balloon being inflated, green veins snaking across his exposed skin.
He spat out the mouthpiece with a terrifying growl, his body continuing to expand.
As he threw his head back and roared, his body grew to the size of a giant from legend.
A panicked Stern hurriedly moved to shut off the machine.
"Wait, it's not over!" Ross urgently cried out, forcing Stern to abandon the idea and continue watching Banner's transformation in terror.
Moments later, Banner had fully transformed into the Hulk.
The Hulk roared like a beast, beginning to break free from his restraints.
"Now! Quickly!" Ross urged loudly.
"Inject the serum now!"
But Stern hesitated, stunned, and was knocked out by the rampaging Hulk.
The Hulk's strength was terrifying, and he was on the verge of breaking free.
If he succeeded, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Ross, looking at the monstrous Hulk, summoned her courage and climbed on top of him.
"Bruce, look at me!" She tried to calm the Hulk while urging Stern, "Inject the antidote! Hurry!"
The Hulk struggled but didn't push her away.
After some effort, Stern finally managed to inject the antidote into the Hulk.
As the antidote entered the Hulk's body, it was as if he had been struck by a tremendous blow. He let out a low growl and slowly lay back down.
His body gradually shrank, the green hue rapidly fading away.
In a few moments, the Hulk had transformed back into Banner.
...
"That was the most incredible thing I've ever seen!" Stern exclaimed, spitting with excitement, his expression exaggerated in shock.
"Don't get too excited," Ross said, unimpressed. This wasn't an amusing experience for her. "We need to discuss what just happened!"
"No problem. The gamma pulse originated from the brain's amygdala. I suspect it's different from your DNA... We may have neutralized these cells or just suppressed this transformation. I don't know; maybe the latter. My test subjects have never survived..."
"Wait, what did you say?" Banner interrupted him. "Test subjects? What test subjects?"
"Come with me," Stern said, leading them to another lab.
This lab was filled with transparent glass cabinets, each containing bags of blood.
"These are all your blood. You didn't send me much, so I concentrated it and made more. With continued research, the possibilities are endless. The potential is limitless. This gamma technology has countless applications. We could discover hundreds of cures, make humanity immune to all diseases..."
Banner, seeing the fanaticism in Stern's eyes, felt a chill in his heart.
He knew better than anyone the immense potential of gamma technology. No one understood it more deeply than he did.
But the deeper the research, the greater the harm.
Gamma technology was a double-edged sword, and humanity had not yet mastered how to wield it.
Continuing the research could lead to a disaster far worse than the Hulk.
He sternly told Stern, "No, we need to destroy it."
"What? Why?" Stern was puzzled.
"We need to destroy everything tonight, everything here."
"What?" Stern couldn't believe what he was hearing. "We could win the Nobel Prize for this!"
"You don't understand the power of this stuff! It's too dangerous, uncontrollable!"
"This is the holy fire of Prometheus!"
...
The three of them began to argue.
"They just want to use it as a weapon! If the government takes it, it's over! You have no idea how powerful this is!"
"I hate the government too, but you're overreacting," Stern said, not understanding why Banner was being so cautious.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, a gunshot silenced the argument.
Banner fell to the ground in pain, and Ross quickly rushed to help him.
Luckily, it was only a tranquilizer dart.
Banner slowly collapsed, and no matter how much Ross tried to rouse him, calling his name and slapping his face, it was no use.
Soon, a group of military personnel stormed in, taking Banner and Ross away.
Stern, still in shock, was taken aside by a female officer for questioning. He could hardly believe how quickly Banner's warning had come true—the government had arrived just like that.
...
Outside Stern's house, General Ross, who had orchestrated the capture, coldly said to the bound Banner, "You dared to destroy the Hulk? Get ready to spend the rest of your life in prison."
Banner remained expressionless, ignoring him.
General Ross then looked up as Banner's girlfriend, Betty Ross, approached.
He reached out to stop her, gently calling out, "Betty."
But Betty only glared at him with hatred. "I'll never forgive you for what you did to him!"
"He's a fugitive," General Ross tried to justify.
"You made him a fugitive!" Betty shouted angrily. "To cover up your failures and protect yourself."
"I don't want to be your daughter anymore!"
With that, Betty turned and left to follow Banner.
General Ross's face darkened, but inside he was thrilled.
Banner had been captured—eliminating Lynch couldn't be far off now.
However, he failed to notice that one of his trusted men, Blonsky, had quietly gone missing...