"I don't understand," Betty said, shaking her head. "What danger? Why would it be dangerous?" She couldn't accept that after all her hard work to find this place, she was being told it was dangerous.
Bruce, in contrast, was much calmer. The possibility of danger had already crossed his mind. He gently held Betty's hand, stopping her from getting worked up, and turned to Samuel.
"How dangerous are we talking?"
Samuel was uncomfortable with the way they were looking at him, their eyes like those of drowning people grasping at a lifeline. It made him feel uneasy. Nevertheless, he did his best to explain his reasoning.
"You need to understand, this isn't going to be easy. Even if everything goes smoothly, even if we use the right dosage, there's no guarantee it will completely cure you!"
Samuel began gesturing wildly, his movements making him appear utterly uncertain.
"It's very likely our efforts will only temporarily suppress your berserk state. I'm sorry, I have no confidence in this whatsoever."
He made a motion like flipping a coin.
"I truly can't be certain what will happen. But I can tell you this: if we use even a slightly higher dose, even just a little bit more, it will cause high-level toxicity."
"Are you saying he might be poisoned to death?" Betty suddenly raised her voice, her tone sharp. Samuel flinched, replying awkwardly,
"Poisoned to death? Yes, that's what I should have said. But you must understand, this is unavoidable. It's also the only path that might succeed!"
Hearing this, Betty fell silent. She hugged herself nervously and lowered her head deeply. She didn't know whether to persuade Bruce to give up, because she knew he would never abandon his plan.
As she had expected, Bruce didn't care about the danger at all. To him, eliminating the Hulk was worth any risk.
Still, he was worried—not for himself, but for Betty and Samuel's safety.
"You should know there's another possibility. If the dose is too low and you transform me without being able to suppress me, your situation will become extremely dangerous."
Samuel laughed at this. He didn't believe such a scenario was possible.
"You know, pal, I've always had good luck. I've been through plenty of dangerous situations, but nothing has ever gone wrong. So, if you're ready, can we start?"
Bruce nodded. He had no other choice. Taking the gamble was inevitable. But Betty disagreed. She quickly grabbed Bruce's arm.
"Bruce, this is too dangerous. We could wait, there might be another way. Please, just wait a little longer!"
Bruce turned and clasped Betty's arms, lowering his head and looking at her earnestly.
"Betty, we have no other options. This is our only solution. Trust me, I will succeed."
"But, Bruce... you'll die!" Betty refused to let go, her fear too great. She was terrified that if she released him, Bruce might leave her forever.
Bruce smiled and tapped his temple.
"He won't let me die."
As expected, the surgical table in the lab whirred to life. Samuel activated his experimental equipment one by one, finally placing a liter-sized bottle of liquid into a device. It was the antidote he had developed.
In a way, this was the only method that could neutralize the gamma radiation's effects on Banner and eliminate the Hulk. But its effectiveness could only be confirmed through trial.
"Lie down, man. This is going to be quite an experience." After settling Bruce onto the operating table, Samuel, with a hint of excitement, secured him with thick restraints. As he worked, he explained, "These are to protect you if you react too strongly. And if you transform—I mean, if you *really* transform—they'll keep us safe from you."
"I don't think these things will protect you, but don't worry. I'll try not to punch you," Bruce said with a slight smile, then turned his head toward Betty.
Having accepted the situation, Betty smiled and took his hand. Since things had reached this point, all she could do was offer him her full trust and support.
Samuel didn't understand the meaning of such romantic bonds between men and women, but he knew it wasn't his place to interfere. So he quietly began calibrating the other equipment.
Soon, all the instruments were ready. Samuel signaled Betty to step back. As he flipped the switch, he said to Bruce,
"Alright, man. It's starting. You might feel some discomfort—just bear with it."
A pale purple liquid began flowing through the IV line into Bruce's body, causing his body to twitch slightly.
"The dialysis machine will mix the antidote I created with your blood, but it only works after you transform. So, it's going to hurt like hell!"
Bruce forced a stiff smile. It already hurt quite a bit. But seeing Betty watching him with concern, he had to put on a brave face.
"Ha! I didn't expect you to be such a tough guy, looking so frail." Little did Bruce know, his forced composure had led Samuel to misinterpret the situation. Samuel clapped Bruce on the shoulder and boomed with praise. "I thought you'd be screaming in agony by now. Seems it's not working on you, huh?"
There was no way Bruce could back down now. To maintain his dignity in front of his girlfriend, he gritted his teeth and forced his expression to relax.
"Bring it on. It's just a minor issue. I've endured worse."
"That's great! I was about to get you some painkillers, but it seems you won't need them. All you need is this! Dr. Betty, step aside. Let's begin!" Samuel tossed the medicine bottle aside and shoved a mouthguard into Bruce's mouth.
"Huh?" Bruce had barely uttered the word of confusion when Samuel's peculiar grin widened. He raised a high-energy electroshock device. The two poles of the device collided with a harsh crackle, and the piercing noise immediately filled the air. This was clearly no ordinary toy.
As the sound grew closer, Bruce tensed. He tried to speak, but Samuel gave him no chance.
The electrodes were pressed against his temples, and as the current surged, an unimaginable pain erupted in his brain. Fury began to bloom, and the Hulk started to emerge.
Bruce's body convulsed and thrashed. Veins stood out clearly across his skin, and a deep green began to surge through them. Perhaps because of Samuel's antidote, the Hulk's transformation was unusually slow this time. This slowness allowed one to witness every step of the Hulk's emergence in agonizing detail.
His muscles began to stretch little by little, and simultaneously, his bones started to grow wildly. The two processes occurred almost simultaneously, causing his body to expand explosively and proportionally. To outsiders, however, this transformation was both shocking and unsettling.
Because his muscles were so powerful and his bones so thick, he looked more like a savage beast than a man. This impression became even more pronounced when the Hulk's will surfaced.
The Hulk's will erupted with a roar. The internal pain was excruciating, and as he looked around like a restless wild animal, his unease intensified when he spotted the IV tubes draining green blood from his body.
The Hulk's childlike nature made him prone to transforming unease into rage. Once enraged, he became nearly unstoppable. His body continued to swell, his muscles expanding further as he began to struggle.
The safety measures Samuel had taken proved utterly useless. The thick leather straps had already burst as the Hulk's body expanded. As the Hulk's size and weight increased, the alloy operating table could no longer withstand his mass. The table warped and twisted under his thrashing, and the instruments monitoring him emitted frantic, crackling noises under the influence of the radioactive gamma radiation.
Samuel stood frozen, dumbfounded. He had anticipated the Hulk's transformation, but nothing could have prepared him for the sheer, overwhelming spectacle of it. He completely forgot what he was supposed to do next.
However, the awakened Hulk would no longer tolerate being manhandled. He began to straighten up, attempting to step off the operating table. Perhaps the antidote he had been injected with was already taking effect, because his movements were sluggish. Before he could descend, Betty intercepted him.
With the situation having reached this critical point, Betty couldn't let Bruce's efforts go to waste. She leaped onto the Hulk's chest, pressing her hand to his chest and shouting desperately.
"Bruce, look at me. Look into my eyes. Please, Bruce. Look at my eyes."
Hulk struggled, but he refused to harm Betty, which temporarily trapped him on the operating table. When he looked at her with eyes filled with fear, pain, and sorrow, Betty's heart twisted even more. She channeled her frustration onto Samuel.
"What are you waiting for! Inject the antidote quickly!"
Her words jolted Samuel out of his dazed state. He hastily began operating the equipment. A large dose of antidote was injected into Hulk's body, and the medicine began neutralizing the blood within him. The most visible effect was that the blood flowing from Hulk gradually turned bright red.
He was changing, shrinking little by little. As Hulk let out a weak growl, the green began to fade from his eyes. This meant one thing: Hulk had finally disappeared, with Samuel's help.
Watching this incredible scene, Betty suppressed her excitement and began calling out to Bruce's consciousness. "Bruce, Bruce. Can you hear me?"
Soon, Bruce woke up. He looked at Betty, who was leaning over him, and asked weakly, "Did we succeed?"
"Yes, we succeeded." A smile finally bloomed on Betty's face, and her radiant smile filled Bruce with joy. The five-year nightmare was finally over.
-----------------------
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