Marvel: Umbrella Corporation

The time for reaping the rewards came even sooner than Adam had anticipated.

Perhaps to show that he wasn't simply greedy for power, Banner arrived at the Umbrella Tower alone the next morning.

"I want to seal away this power," he stated firmly.

Adam set down his cup of coffee, his gaze calm as he looked at Banner.

"Are you sure? Once your gamma-ray genetic structure is neutralized, it will be nearly impossible to restore. You may never be able to regain it for the rest of your life."

Hearing this, Banner hesitated again.

He hated the Hulk's existence, but he couldn't deny that Hulk had saved his life multiple times.

"Are you absolutely certain that Hulk will never return?"

Adam nodded.

"Yes, I'm quite confident in that."

What I need isn't your confidence.

Of course, Banner didn't say this out loud. Instead, he frowned, deep in thought.

Seeing this, Adam took another sip of coffee before speaking again, "If you're not ready to give up this power, go back and think it over carefully."

Banner immediately raised his head and replied with determination, "No, I've made up my mind. Please proceed."

"Alright, then follow me."

A short while later, Adam led Banner down to the underground laboratory, where he began the gamma-ray neutralization experiment.

Thirty minutes passed.

Adam studied the data before him, a slight frown on his face.

"Strange. The genetic structure and gamma radiation levels remain unchanged, so why did he still transform into the Savage Hulk?"

He had lured Banner into this experiment mainly to analyze why he had transformed into the Savage Hulk last time. But surprisingly, when comparing his current genetic data with previous samples, there was no discernible difference.

"Could the difference between the regular Hulk and the Savage Hulk really just be a matter of anger?

No… Last time, even when Elizabeth died, Banner didn't turn into the Savage Hulk. That means there's another factor at play."

As he pondered this, a sudden thought struck him.

"Could it be an energy issue?

Maybe Banner had gone too long without transforming into Hulk, and the built-up energy met the conditions necessary for the Savage Hulk to emerge?

Looks like I'll need more experiments to verify this."

A short while later, Banner slowly regained consciousness on the lab table, the effects of the anesthesia wearing off.

"Is it over?"

Adam set down his notes, turned to face him, and smiled.

"The experiment was a complete success. You can test it yourself—try transforming into the Hulk."

Upon hearing this, Banner immediately raised his hand and slapped himself across the face.

A loud "SMACK!" echoed throughout the laboratory.

The force behind the slap was evident.

But as he stared at his unchanged hands, Banner's face lit up with joy.

"I didn't transform…"

He then proceeded to slap himself several more times.

*SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!*

The heart rate monitor on his wrist began beeping, registering over 200 beats per minute, but still, there was no transformation.

His excitement only grew.

"Haha! I'm finally free!"

Thirty minutes later, wrapped in a thick coat, Banner left Umbrella Tower.

Outside, light snow had begun to fall. But inside, his heart burned with an intense warmth.

Standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows of his top-floor office, Adam watched Banner's car disappear into the distance, a knowing smile playing on his lips.

Just then, Felia approached him.

"Boss, I've stored all of Banner's blood samples."

"Good."

Adam nodded before turning to another matter.

"White Queen, how's the base in Russia coming along?"

A moment later, a young girl with long brown hair, dressed in a white outfit, appeared before him.

Compared to the Red Queen, the White Queen looked far more innocent and pure. Even her voice was softer and more gentle.

"Master, the base in Boli City is nearly complete. Only the last batch of defensive weaponry remains to be installed."

As she spoke, her image flickered occasionally—a sign of poor signal reception.

Adam sighed. Even though it was already 2010, the world was still running on 3G networks. The cost and complexity of upgrading cellular infrastructure made it a slow process for telecom operators.

"I see. Have your sister handle the transportation of the weapons. Safety is the top priority."

Since the White Queen was created after the Red Queen, it was only natural that she was considered the younger sister.

"Understood, Master."

With that, the White Queen disappeared.

Adam then turned to another matter.

"Red Queen, how's Luna's task going?"

As the White Queen vanished, the Red Queen materialized in a different spot.

Whether it was his imagination or not, Adam couldn't help but feel that the Red Queen didn't particularly like the White Queen—she even deliberately kept her distance.

"Master, Miss Luna has successfully convinced the major network operators. Umbrella will provide them with a ten-year free patent license in exchange for adopting our 4G standard."

At present, the largest telecom company in America was Qualcomm. Last year, Qualcomm had aggressively marketed 4G technology to the country's four major telecom operators.

However, as mentioned before, upgrading cellular base stations was an expensive and complex endeavor.

Even when 5G was on the horizon, many rural areas in the U.S. still lacked 4G coverage.

That was simply how capitalism worked.

Corporate executives weren't fools. Why build 4G towers in sparsely populated areas where they wouldn't see a return on investment for a hundred years?

But Adam had leveraged the power of free patents for a decade to secure the standardization of 4G under Umbrella's control.

Though he wouldn't immediately profit from patent fees, the control over 4G standards would bring massive long-term benefits.

"Well done," Adam nodded approvingly before returning to his other tasks.

...........

An hour later~

After navigating through heavy traffic, Banner finally arrived at Tony Stark's Manhattan penthouse.

At that moment, Tony was lounging around, dragging cables across the floor while watching TV, clearly bored out of his mind.

When he saw Banner's excitement, he immediately raised an eyebrow.

"You seem awfully cheerful. Where did you disappear to this morning?"

Since his mansion had been destroyed, Tony hadn't been able to continue his research, leaving him with little to do except watch TV.

Banner shook the snow off his coat, stepped inside, and grinned.

"Haha! I'm finally free! I've rid myself of the Hulk—I'm free!"

Before Tony could react, Banner rushed forward and hugged him.

"Hey, hey! Watch it! I've got wires hooked up to my chest!"

"Ah! Sorry! I didn't mean to!"

Banner quickly released him, apologizing profusely.

A few moments later, Tony processed what he had just heard, "Wait—you said you're free? That you got rid of the Hulk? What do you mean?"

Banner immediately recounted the morning's events.

By the time he finished, Tony's expression had turned serious.

"So you're telling me that Adam already had your genetic samples and secretly developed a cure to remove the Hulk?"

That meant his two months of work on the Hulkbuster armor had been for nothing.

The realization hit him hard.

Two whole months of research… completely wasted. He suddenly felt a deep, inexplicable frustration.

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