Thunderbolt General

At the Pentagon in the United States, a middle-aged man sat at his desk. His hair was graying, and he wore a military uniform.

Behind him hung a huge world map, covered with red circles marking numerous locations. A cigar dangled from his lips as he puffed away, frowning slightly while he wrote something with a pen.

On his desk sat a nameplate: General Ross.

Ross, whose full name was Thaddeus Ross, came from a family of soldiers and graduated from West Point.

He was an outstanding leader. From second lieutenant to major, from colonel to general, he had won countless battle honors. During one operation, he had led his troops like a bolt of thunder, earning him the nickname Thunderbolt General.

True to his name, he was decisive and had excellent judgment. He was a tough, iron-willed man.

But even a tough man had a tender side. He met his wife, Karen, and they had a daughter, Betty. He cherished his daughter like a precious treasure.

Unfortunately, his wife died when Betty was still young. He and his daughter depended on each other, and his demanding work left him little time to spend with her.

As the years passed, Betty grew up and became an outstanding scientist.

After the war ended, Ross began researching gamma weapons, and Betty joined the project. During the long hours of work, Betty met Dr. Bruce Banner, who was also in charge of a gamma research project.

Bruce Banner was exceptionally intelligent, though somewhat frail. Betty and Bruce fell in love at first sight, and soon sparks began to fly between them. Ross saw it all. To be honest, he didn't like Bruce. He thought the man wasn't good enough for his daughter and wanted Betty to marry an officer.

But parents couldn't decide matters of the heart. As Bruce and Betty grew closer, Ross felt he was getting old and decided to let the young people do as they pleased.

But all that happiness was soon destroyed by a terrifying nightmare!

In an accident, Bruce was contaminated by gamma radiation and transformed into a terrifying monster. The creature had no reason; its mind held nothing but destruction, and it wanted to destroy everything in sight.

Betty was badly injured in the accident and remained unconscious for a long time. Remembering his daughter lying in a hospital bed, Ross swore he would capture the monster—capture that bastard Bruce.

But capturing Bruce was no simple matter. He was smart and knew how to keep out of sight and evade pursuit. From then on, Ross began the long hunt for Hulk.

His Hulkbuster Team was spread across the globe, constantly searching for signs of Bruce. Sometimes Bruce let his guard down. For instance, after getting angry and turning into Hulk, he would be spotted, and reports would surface of a giant green monster.

By the time they arrived, Bruce had already escaped. Over the years, he had fled the United States and gone abroad. No one knew where he was now.

After countless attempts to capture him, Ross was surprised to discover that Bruce was searching for a way to cure himself.

At first, Ross had only wanted to capture Bruce and lock the monster away. But over time, he began to realize just how terrifying Hulk's strength was.

If he could replicate that power, he could create powerful super-soldiers. And once those super-soldiers could be mass-produced, they would become the military's most formidable fighting force.

To capture Hulk, Ross deployed a large number of troops, drawing elite soldiers from around the world to form his Hulkbuster Team and carry out the mission.

He approached Tony Stark and struck a deal with Stark Industries, purchasing a large quantity of weapons—including the newly developed Sonic Cannon.

Of course, he didn't think that was enough. Even with troops and weapons, they still couldn't find Bruce. It was as if Bruce had vanished into thin air, disappearing from the world entirely.

With no other choice, Ross turned to S.H.I.E.L.D. for help. After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. was one of the world's top intelligence agencies. It had spy satellites operating around the clock and informants everywhere, all of which could help him find his target.

After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. was everywhere.

To be fair, S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't want to help Ross. Bruce had already fled the country, and no one knew where he was hiding. Finding him would take a great deal of effort.

What's more, Hulk wasn't an ordinary enemy. He was a full-blown monster. His terrifying strength could destroy an army in an instant, and S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't want to provoke him either.

Put simply, the military had created Hulk, so the military should take responsibility for him.

Ross had thought there was no hope, but unexpectedly, S.H.I.E.L.D. called him soon afterward—and Nick Fury himself was on the line.

"General Ross." The face of a one-eyed Black man appeared on the communications screen.

Ross puffed on his cigar. "Director Fury, what has S.H.I.E.L.D. decided about the matter?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. can help you," Nick Fury said. "But we won't send armed forces to take part in the capture. We'll provide you with intelligence and information instead."

Ross nodded. Everyone knew how dangerous Hulk was. The military had gone to great lengths to capture the monster, so it was a wise choice for S.H.I.E.L.D. to avoid getting involved.

"We'll send an agent to assist you with the capture!"

At that, Ross frowned. Just one agent? Who could it be?

"Trust me. You'll be satisfied with this person." Nick Fury smiled mysteriously, then ended the call.

Ross was completely baffled. If S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't sending armed forces, why send an agent? Was he a S.H.I.E.L.D. operative or a military adviser?

Just then, a female officer walked over. "General, we've found something you may be interested in."

"In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, there's been a strange poisoning incident."

As the officer spoke, Ross looked through the file in his hands. More precisely, it wasn't ordinary poisoning. It was gamma poisoning.

An elderly man had drunk a bottle of authentic Guarana Soda and then fallen ill. He was showing signs of madness, constantly babbling nonsense. Tests revealed gamma radiation in his body.

"Where were these sodas bottled?" Ross asked, so excited that he nearly bit through his cigar. He stood up as he spoke.

"Porto, Brazil," the female officer replied.

Ross put down his cigar and said solemnly, "Send people to the bottling plant immediately. Tell them to look for a white man!"

"Should we arrest him?" the female officer asked.

"No." General Ross replied gravely. "Don't alert him yet. Keep him under close surveillance. Make sure he doesn't notice you, or we'll lose his trail again."

After the female officer left, General Ross took out a photograph. It showed Bruce Banner, looking very young. Ross sneered and used his cigar to set the photograph on fire. "Hulk, I won't let you get away this time!"

Seriously, how had Ross managed to stay alive after tempting fate for all these years?