Before the aftershocks of the collision between the vibranium shield and Hulk's fist could even dissipate, Steve had already adjusted his stance. His primary goal wasn't to take down the Hulk, but to bring the situation under control.
"Ceasefire!!!" he roared into the Military channel. "All units maintain a safe distance! Do not provoke him!"
His warning was completely useless.
Steve immediately switched to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s encrypted line. "Fury, tell General Ross's men to stop!!! They're exchanging fire on a university campus; it's full of civilians!"
"I'm coordinating!" Fury's voice was filled with rage. "Shit, General Ross cut the command line. That bastard has gone mad!!!"
Just as Fury finished speaking, the roars on the battlefield escalated instantly. Amidst the incessant rifle fire, grenade launchers on several armored vehicles and vehicle-mounted heavy machine guns began to adjust their angles.
*Boom—!*
A grenade whistled past its target and tore open the outer wall of a nearby library. Glass, concrete, and burning pages flew everywhere in the flare of the explosion.
Steve paused for a moment. Fury's exasperated cursing came through the communicator: "Motherf*cker! He actually dared to do it!!!"
At that moment, Steve Rogers suddenly spun around toward the Military positions spitting fire. That star shield was no longer used just for defense; it became a precision tool of destruction. Whirling with a whistling wind, it slammed hard into the barrel of a heavy machine gun, the momentum bending the thick steel pipe into a mangled heap.
At the rear of the army, Emil Bronski's breathing quickened, his knuckles turning white from gripping his rifle too tightly. He subconsciously took a step forward, then charged out like an arrow from a bow!
"Soldier, stop!" Steve anticipated his path and blocked him like a wall.
"My Commander is General Ross, not you, Captain," Bronski said in a Calm, raspy voice. "According to the rules of engagement, you are obstructing our mission."
"Your mission is to fire indiscriminately on a university campus?" Steve's eyes were as sharp as a hawk's. "Fall back. That thing isn't something flesh and blood can withstand!"
"That's exactly what I want to find out," Bronski said with a cold curl of his lip, his gaze locking onto the Hulk not far away over Steve's shoulder. "I want to see for myself exactly where the gap is between human limits and that thing."
With that, he suddenly ducked and used a particularly agile tactical maneuver to bypass Steve, charging toward the Hulk without looking back!
Steve watched his back but didn't give chase; instead, he immediately turned toward a new target.
Bronski's recklessness had created a precious window of time for him.
Originally, Bronski could have relied on his agile movements and occasional potshots to contend with the Hulk for a few rounds.
While Bronski kept the Hulk occupied, Steve took out General Ross's last two heavy firepoints one after another.
Because Steve's "betrayal" had stopped the supporting fire, Bronski's luck ran out without backup. During one dodge, the ground beneath his feet was crushed by the Hulk's foot, causing his body to inevitably stumble.
Hulk seized the opening, grabbed him by the ankle, and slammed him into the ground like a whip! The crisp sound of shattering bones echoed across the battlefield. Bronski was slammed heavily onto the ground like a broken doll, then casually tossed aside, crashing into a large tree and sliding down like a stray by the roadside.
Having dealt with the provocateur, Hulk's rage turned back toward Steve.
Inside the command vehicle, General Ross's eyes were fixed on the screen, his face wearing a cold, chilling greed. "Truly a fascinating power..."
"How are the preparations for the sonic weapons coming along?"
"Officer, deployment complete!"
"Good." General Ross's mouth twisted into a sinister grin. "Turn the power to maximum! Bring them both down... together! I want them alive."
In the next second, the massive dish-shaped emitters on two specialized sonic combat vehicles emitted an unsettling eerie blue light. An invisible infrasonic wave, powerful enough to tear eardrums, suddenly enveloped the entire battlefield!
Steve bore the brunt of it, feeling as if his brain had been struck by a heavy hammer; he dropped to one knee, resisting with all his might. As for the Hulk, he let out the most agonizing roar since his birth!
By now, Lin Huai was already in the car, with Happy driving him toward the next coordinates identified through divination.
Into his headset, he said only one sentence: "Tony, smash those speakers. The second act is about to begin."
"I've been waiting for this!"
A blinding streak of red light tore through the night sky and descended from above—it was Iron Man! Two precision micro-missiles instantly turned the sonic weapons into burning scrap metal.
The sonic waves vanished, and Hulk was released from his extreme agony. The fear of a near-death experience intertwined with the rage of being ambushed, pushing his frenzy to its peak. Just then, Betty Ross broke through the blockade and spread her arms to stand in front of him.
Looking at this tiny yet brave woman, the frenzy in Hulk's eyes actually began to fade bit by bit. He carefully bent down, gently picked up Betty, and shielded her against his chest.
After doing this, he took a long look at the battlefield, then with a sudden burst of power from his legs, he soared into the sky. He became a massive dark shadow, disappearing into the distant mountain forests in a few leaps... on a remote mountain road several kilometers away from the battlefield.
Hulk landed with a crash while holding Betty, the impact making the ground tremble. He carefully set Betty down, and only after confirming she was okay did he warily scan his surroundings.
Just then, a beam of bright headlights pierced the Darkness, shining upon them.
A black SUV had been waiting by the roadside for who knows how long. Beside the vehicle, a figure in casual clothes leaned quietly against the door.
It was Lin Huai.
"Roar!" Hulk immediately let out a threatening low growl, shielding Betty behind him and assuming a combat stance.
Lin Huai wasn't nervous at all. He simply fished a uniquely shaped silver Rune Talisman from his pocket and flicked it gently toward the Hulk.
The Rune Talisman emitted strange undulations in mid-air, and then a visible, soft silver halo, like a lithe butterfly, drifted silently toward the Hulk and pressed into the center of his brow.
"Calm."
"Mr. Banner, take back control of your body. Remember to be gentle."
"Roar... ugh... ah..."
Hulk's massive body suddenly stiffened. The crimson in his eyes faded at a visible rate, followed by extreme pain and confusion. He let out suppressed hisses as his enormous muscles began to shrink rapidly as if in spasm. Bones, skin, and blood vessels were all undergoing an agonizing reverse transformation.
Betty watched the scene in shock, instinctively wanting to step forward, but she was too frightened by the eerie sight to move.
In just dozens of seconds, the green behemoth vanished, leaving only a naked, shivering man curled up on the ground.
Bruce Banner.
Lin Huai took a piece of clothing from the car, walked forward calmly, and draped it over Banner.
"The true purpose of power is not to vent destruction," his voice was not loud, yet it reached the ears of Banner and Betty clearly, carrying a mysterious rhythm that seemed to penetrate the soul. "It is to protect."
Banner looked up blankly at this mysterious man he had met only once before.
"A person's strength does not lie in how much anger you release," Lin Huai's gaze swept over the concerned Betty before finally resting on Banner. "It lies in what you choose to protect with these hands."
"Don't try to kill the Beast, Banner. Learn to love it, guide it, and let it become your strongest Guardian."
With that, Lin Huai tossed a car key into Banner's lap.
He stepped back, his figure slowly merging into the Darkness.
"We will meet again."