Chapter 17: Schrödinger's Cat
Holding a book on quantum physics, Lance Ryder casually flipped through the pages inside the library of Empire State University.
After confirming it contained the information he needed, he placed it on the table beside him.
A stack of more than a dozen books had already piled up there.
The library itself was crowded.
Students filled every corner, absorbed in their own work.
Despite the major incident that had taken place on campus just two days earlier, the atmosphere at the university had completely returned to normal.
Most people didn't even know what had truly happened.
As far as they were concerned, the military presence had simply been part of a routine exercise.
Even the few students who loved conspiracy theories had no idea how serious the situation had been.
After all, Empire State University was one of the most important research institutions in the United States.
Famous figures such as Reed Richards—also known as Mister Fantastic—had studied here.
Even his longtime enemy Doctor Doom had once graduated from the same university.
Because of that, the appearance of military personnel on campus wasn't particularly unusual.
Extra soldiers sometimes appeared during special research collaborations.
Some rumors had leaked out about the recent incident, but most people simply speculated that something had gone wrong with a classified experiment.
A few even joked about it.
Of course, not everyone was completely unaware.
Some senior administrators at the university knew the truth.
A handful of students had also witnessed the battle firsthand.
A few had even recorded videos.
But the military quickly confiscated the recordings.
Even the clips that briefly appeared online were erased almost immediately by military technicians.
The truth disappeared as if it had never existed.
The military had spent years preparing for the possibility of confronting the Hulk.
Numerous plans and countermeasures had been developed.
But they had underestimated just how powerful the Hulk had become.
Even the sonic cannons they had prepared had failed.
If Lance Ryder hadn't intervened when he did, the military might have been forced to deploy tanks and armored vehicles directly on campus.
Once artillery started firing, there would have been no way to hide the event.
Naturally, many people were now curious about Lance's identity.
If General Ross hadn't personally stepped in to establish a basic understanding with Lance, then the New York Police Department, the FBI, and even S.H.I.E.L.D. would likely have already come knocking on his door.
If Lance had rejected Ross's proposal yesterday, the person visiting him today might have been the ever-polite Phil Coulson.
The books Lance gathered from the library fell into three categories.
The first group focused on advanced modern biological research.
The second dealt with quantum physics.
The third covered architectural renovation and interior design.
Since Lance intended to live in his current townhouse for a long time, some renovation work was necessary.
The living room on the first floor and the bedroom on the second floor were acceptable.
But the basement and the attic would require major modifications.
His goal was to secretly install magical formations throughout the house.
Both for training and for defense.
Something similar—on a much smaller scale—to the magical protection of the Sanctum Sanctorum in New York.
Of course, the visible renovations would be handled by professional contractors.
While they worked, Lance would quietly place his own magical arrangements.
And even if the workers noticed something strange—
They wouldn't remember it afterward.
The advanced biology texts interested Lance less than he had expected.
Most of the research involved human genetic modification, often for medical purposes.
For example, targeted DNA editing.
But the core concepts weren't much different from the Super Soldier experiments.
They were simply more refined.
Modern physics followed a similar pattern.
It focused on understanding energy and particles.
At the cutting edge were two major fields.
Quantum physics.
And nuclear physics.
Quantum physics explored ideas so extreme they even touched on the possibility of time and dimensional travel.
Nuclear physics, on the other hand, contained the power to destroy everything.
In many ways, magic and physics weren't that different.
Both sought to understand the structure of the universe.
The difference was simply the framework used to interpret it.
Different names.
The same underlying truths.
Carrying his stack of books, Lance headed toward the checkout counter.
But as he passed through a small group of students—
Someone quietly slipped a letter between the books.
Lance didn't react immediately.
Only after leaving the library did he glance at the contents.
Within seconds, he had memorized every word.
He flicked his hand.
The letter burst into ash and vanished.
Most people relied on phones or email for communication.
But Lance knew better.
Digital messages were never truly secure.
If no one bothered investigating, they remained hidden.
But if someone wanted the information badly enough—
It could always be recovered.
The U.S. government possessed multiple supercomputers dedicated to monitoring communications.
Their data archives were enormous.
Even destroying your phone wouldn't guarantee privacy.
If your message had ever touched the network—
It could be found again.
After finishing his business at the library, Lance drove a rented car toward the Upper East Side.
His destination was Betty Ross's home.
Although the two had technically broken up, outsiders still believed Lance had stood against Bruce Banner during the battle.
Because of that, rumors already surrounded him.
Betty's villa on the Upper East Side wasn't particularly large or extravagant.
But the property value alone was staggering.
It was worth more than six times Lance's own townhouse.
Even wealthy people struggled to buy property in that area.
Betty herself was a top-level scientist.
Between her consulting work for biotechnology companies, her published research papers, her university salary, and royalties from patents—
She had accumulated nearly ten million dollars in personal assets.
When Lance walked inside carrying a box of food and a pile of books, Betty Ross looked up from the documents she had been studying.
She blinked in surprise.
"Why are you here?"
"I thought I wouldn't see you again anytime soon."
"What?" Lance said casually as he set the box down.
"Do you think I'm helping your father hunt the Hulk?"
"I'm not that bored."
He spoke bluntly.
"Your father asked me to keep an eye on you for a few days."
"Let me make one thing clear."
"That's only because you'll be my professor soon."
"Nothing else."
"From now on, we'll have a strict teacher-student relationship."
Betty rolled her eyes and turned back to her work.
"I understand."
"Men are always like this."
After a moment, however, she paused.
Something seemed to occur to her.
She turned back toward Lance.
"From a purely professional perspective," she said carefully, "is it possible for magic to control certain substances inside cells?"
Lance immediately understood what she meant.
"Yes," he replied calmly.
"It's possible."
A spark of excitement flashed in Betty's eyes.
But Lance continued before she could speak.
"If you cool those substances to a temperature close to absolute zero, they can be completely frozen."
"And if they're frozen…"
"They stop causing problems."
Betty paused.
Then she understood.
It was similar to the controversial idea of cryogenic preservation.
Some people already paid to have their bodies frozen after death.
The hope was that future technology would eventually revive them.
Whether the method truly worked was still unknown.
Until the moment of revival—
No one could say whether those frozen individuals were truly alive or dead.
Just like the famous thought experiment.
Schrödinger's Cat.
And if the same concept were applied to the Hulk…
The result might be something very different.
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