บท 102: Damn, I Fell for His Trick!
As Russell removed the serum symbiote from his head, revealing his handsome face, he first glanced at the now unconscious Hulk.
After confirming that Hulk had merely passed out without sustaining severe injuries, he turned to survey the surrounding police officers and military personnel.
Of course, what mattered even more was checking the positions of the journalists and photographers, making sure they had captured his true appearance.
Before the nearby police and military personnel could approach, he gestured to No. 3, who stood beside him.
No words were needed; No. 3 immediately understood his intention.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, No. 3 operated the Endosymbiotic Battle Armor No. 01, transforming the fully sentient liquid metal into strands of mercury-like tendrils that attached themselves to Russell's body.
This scene, simultaneously scientific and seemingly unscientific, left the onlookers in awe.
In a matter of two or three seconds, the Endosymbiotic Battle Armor No. 01 reformed, completing the transformation.
Russell hadn't returned the helmet of Endosymbiotic Battle Armor No. 01 to its regular form; instead, it now displayed his "low-profile" appearance that revealed his true identity.
After suiting up in the No. 01 armor, Russell approached the unconscious Hulk. He controlled the left hand of No. 01, summoning silvery tendrils that wound around Hulk's right hand.
Subsequently, activating the engines in his feet and back, blue and white flames erupted like missile propellants, launching him into the air like a missile before vanishing from everyone's sight.
Tony Stark stood on the rooftop of a nearby building, witnessing everything happening on the street.
"Damn, I fell for his trick!"
As soon as Russell removed the Serum from his head, he had arrived here.
His initial plan had been to land directly next to Russell.
However, upon seeing No. 01 beside Russell, he promptly abandoned that idea.
Although he wasn't aware of when No. 01 had appeared, he was certain of one thing – if he were to descend now, it would undoubtedly spark unnecessary speculation.
For instance, people might mistakenly believe that his Mark-3 suit was influenced by the design of No. 01.
First impressions were powerful!
This was an overbearing notion.
After Russell departed with the unconscious Hulk, Tony had no intention of staying either. He activated his flight system and soared towards his suburban mansion.
Not long after Russell had taken off with Hulk, his phone began to ring.
A call from General Ross!
After transferring the call to No. 01, Russell was the first to speak, "General, are you having trouble finding your way back to the base?"
"Don't beat around the bush. You know what I want! Hand over Banner, and I'll bring you military contracts worth no less than five billion dollars, at the very least!"
General Ross didn't mince words, delivering a straightforward offer.
In terms of compensation, the reward he was offering wasn't insignificant.
A minimum of 2.5 billion dollars worth of military contracts!
This amount of business was substantial, even for Octopus Monster Industries, which had been established not too long ago, let alone for a military industry giant like Stark Industries.
Contracts of this magnitude were worth Tony making a personal visit.
Following his customary practice, Tony would even throw in some fine wine for free when a single order exceeded 500 million dollars.
Although General Ross's offer was generous, Russell rejected it without much thought.
A 2.5-billion-dollar military contract was indeed a significant deal, but compared to Hulk, it seemed rather cheap.
"General, I won't hand over Banner! However, I might offer you something of military value that's no less than Banner."
"If you're interested, after the press conference ends, I'd be happy to discuss it further at Octopus Monster Industries' office!"
After speaking, Russell hung up the call directly. Carrying the unconscious Hulk, he flew towards Octopus Monster Industries' manufacturing facility.
Hulk was indeed unconscious, but nobody knew how long he might stay that way.
Not long after, Russell arrived at Octopus Monster Industries' manufacturing facility with Hulk in tow. He locked Hulk inside a specially modified room.
This room wasn't specifically designed for containing Hulk; rather, it was used to test new heavy firepower developments.
After casually dropping the unconscious Hulk onto the pristine floor, Russell removed the No. 01 armor and handed back control of the suit to No. 3.
With control of the suit returned, No. 3 operated No. 01, bringing over a table and chairs from one corner of the room. It then opened a bottle of Johnnie Walker and poured a glass for Russell.
After completing all these tasks, No. 3 stood beside Russell, like a loyal and vigilant bodyguard.
Artificial intelligence was truly remarkable!
Russell sighed inwardly.
Subsequently, he picked up the glass of Johnnie Walker from the small table and took a sip.
Not bad!
Setting the glass down, his left hand produced a white tendril as thick as a finger, which flew to the location of Hulk's heart.
Possession!
If Hulk were awake now, it wouldn't be easy for Russell to possess him.
However, the situation was different now – Hulk was unconscious. It didn't require much effort for Russell to successfully perform the symbiotic possession.
After successfully possessing Hulk, he awakened the unconscious giant.
Hulk's large green eyes opened slowly, and he looked around in confusion.
When he noticed Russell seated about three or four meters away from him, Hulk's expression froze.
Yet, just as he was about to let his instinctive anger boil over, he was astonished to find that he couldn't summon his rage.
"Don't bother trying too hard. Even if you want to be angry now, it requires my approval!"
Hearing Russell's words, Hulk discovered the white tendril connected to his heart.
Seeing the white tendril attached to his body, Hulk instinctively raised his hands, attempting to tear it away.
However, he quickly realized he was mistaken.
His hands had just risen, but he let them drop again.
Hulk was taken aback!
Refusing to give up, he raised his hands again.
Then, against his will, his hands dropped once more.
Hulk's expression of surprise turned into one of puzzlement. He raised his hands for a third time.
Yet again, there was no difference. His hands had just risen when they uncontrollably fell back down.
After three consecutive failures, a normal person would have stopped trying. But Hulk wasn't a regular person. He raised his hands once more.
Raise, drop, raise, drop, raise, drop...
Hulk revealed an incredibly tenacious side.
After attempting dozens of times, Hulk finally gave up.
"Alright, big guy, you've probably had enough fun!"
"Let's have a chat. I know you can understand me!"
Setting down his glass of alcohol, Russell slowly addressed Hulk.
Upon hearing Russell's words, Hulk looked up at him, his large green face displaying a hint of unhappiness.
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