Experimental Accident

Oaks took a moment to convince Bruce Banner that their meeting was indeed a coincidence.

With the surroundings reduced to such a state, if the military were truly nearby, would they have waited until now to arrive?

"Fine, the truth is I'm on the run... You seem well-informed about what happened before, so I won't repeat it."

Only then did Banner carefully size up Oaks. This young scientist, who looked Asian, was currently wearing nothing but a short-sleeved shirt. Was that really appropriate attire for conducting research in a tropical rainforest?

Even with the hoodie he was currently wearing, it was still too absurd!

"I've been evading the military's pursuit... By the way, are you really here for a botanical survey? All by yourself?"

"You've asked that three times now."

Oaks rolled his eyes.

"You are a figure whose portrait hangs on the walls of many universities alongside giants like Newton, Einstein, and Marie Curie while you're still alive. How would I dare to lie to you?"

"...Is that really a thing?"

Banner rubbed his nose, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly in a display of pride, but he immediately calmed down as he remembered their current environment.

"Uh, it seems you're also a scientist with special abilities. How exactly did you survive Hulk's attack?"

"Well..."

Oaks rolled his eyes, pondered for a moment, and decided to tell the truth.

After all, he had a very good impression of Banner, and he figured he would be relatively open to accepting it.

"I'm a Druid with some special abilities. You could call it a scientific accident."

"...A Celt?"

Banner was slightly stunned before he immediately reacted.

"Ah, I saw in the news a few months ago that a group calling themselves the Druidic Order held a summer solstice celebration at Stonehenge."

"...I have half-Celtic blood, but that group you mentioned is just a civilian hobbyist organization."

Oaks scratched his red hair; he was aware of that news as well.

Celtic mythology was indeed the origin of the Druid concept, but the lineage had long since been severed.

The current Druidic Order was truly just a civilian group founded by enthusiasts, having nothing to do with the figures in Irish mythology.

However, even though his own power inheritance didn't come from Celtic mythology, it served as a decent cover.

"A real Druid wouldn't go to Stonehenge to celebrate the summer solstice. As for my abilities, simply put, it's like this..."

He shifted into a bear, then a leopard, then a bird...

Banner nearly turned into Hulk out of sheer fright.

"Thump-thump, thump-thump..."

Banner struggled to suppress his wildly pounding heart, the veins on his neck bulging.

"Wait... stop..."

"..."

Oaks shifted back into human form, emerald light swirling between his fingers. Banner felt his thoughts instantly calm down, and his heartbeat quickly returned to normal.

"Soothing animals... well, although it's a bit awkward, Hulk and animals have a few similarities, don't they?"

Oaks shivered as he noticed Banner staring at him with eyes glowing green like a starving wolf.

"Dr. Banner?!"

"Oaks... you, you can suppress Hulk?!"

Banner was so happy he nearly turned into Hulk...

Heaven knows how much suffering and torment he had endured trying to find a way to suppress Hulk!

The young scientist in front of him had actually managed it so easily?

A Druid?

Shifting into beasts?

Even if he had to become a ghost, Bruce Banner would cling to this opportunity with everything he had!

Besides, he just said this was a scientific accident?

Banner gripped Oaks's hand tightly, tears nearly welling up in his eyes.

"You aren't being hunted by the military, are you?"

"...No, I conduct my research independently."

"This accident is wonderful... no, what a coincidence!"

Banner nearly let out a roar toward the sky—

He believed it immediately; Oaks was just like him, a mutant created by an accident during human experimentation!

No wonder he could come and go through the rainforest as he pleased; have you ever seen a beast that needed a hazmat suit to trek through the woods?

"Did you graft beast genes into your body? Just to recreate Celtic mythology?"

Banner shook Oaks' hands, looking utterly heartbroken:

"Reckless! Simply too reckless! You're still so young... Sigh, I was just as blindly confident when I was your age!"

"Uh, I feel fine, actually. And it doesn't affect my daily life because I have complete control."

"...Fine, but beast genes also come with energy manipulation? You didn't graft plant genes into your body too, did you!"

Banner immediately slipped into his scientist persona, lost in deep thought:

"What kind of plant could possess such powerful energy manipulation capabilities? There are plenty of plants that can soothe emotions; come to think of it, I came to the Amazon specifically to find such plants for my experiments."

"Soothing animals? In other words, the principle is that it can calm the minds of targets with low intelligence? Hulk certainly fits that description."

"That's right, and since we fought for a day and a night, Hulk's nature has been released quite a bit; he even took the initiative to make friends with me."

Oaks smiled. Banner's imagination saved him a lot of explaining, and from now on, this could serve as the standard template to explain things to others.

If an experimental accident could create a Hulk, why couldn't it create a Druid?

"Friends? Hulk?"

Banner's mouth hung open. He never imagined that Hulk could actually communicate.

For the longest time, his attitude toward Hulk had been to treat him like a virus invading his body, vowing to purge him once and for all!

"But I don't have any memory of it... In the past, whenever Hulk appeared, I would at least have some fragmented impressions... Ah!"

Banner stood up and took two steps, only to immediately sit back down while clutching his foot—he'd stepped on something sharp.

"It's always like this!"

Banner swung his arm fiercely before helplessly covering his face:

"Every time I lose control, Hulk comes out and makes a mess of everything around me... And the military's pursuit hasn't let me get a good night's sleep in years!"

"Are you saying you came to the Amazon to find herbs to experiment with emotional soothing and suppressing the transformation?"

Oaks looked thoughtful:

"If that's the case, I might be able to help."

"Really?"

Banner looked up sharply. He had been so shocked by Oaks' magic earlier that he had forgotten the man was a genius biologist.

"Of course. After all, Hulk is a friend I just met, and finding a solution is good for both of you."

"I'm also looking for methods based on some books. The herbs I want to find include those for mental soothing and blood purification."

Banner held his foot, quickly shifting back into professional mode:

"Because although Hulk's appearance is triggered by my emotions, the root cause is a problem with my blood. If I can suppress the mutation in my blood, I can achieve a complete cure!"

"Hmm... You know Hulk best, of course. Since you've chosen this treatment path, let's proceed with testing along these lines first."

Oaks nodded and glanced at the surroundings:

"But let's return to human society first before we discuss this in detail—rest assured, with me here, I won't let you turn into Hulk so easily."

"But before that, we have to repair the damage we caused."

Banner also looked at the chaotic, ruined environment and opened his mouth:

"Are we going to plant trees?"