Hulkbuster Team

The twilight glow turned the sky a fiery red. Accompanied by the roar of jet engines, a massive military transport plane soared into the sky, heading toward the thick clouds. Lightning streaked across the air; a storm was brewing.

It departed from Florida, USA, with Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as its destination.

The plane was filled with members of the Hulkbuster Team—as the name implies, a squad dedicated to capturing the Hulk.

Ever since Bruce was contaminated by gamma radiation and transformed into a terrifying monster, General Ross had been hunting him. To capture this big green brute, he had assembled this Hulkbuster Team.

The members of the Hulkbuster Team were elite soldiers from all over the world: the U.S. Delta Force, the Navy SEALs, the British SAS, and more. Beyond the United States, it included outstanding talent from other nations.

To capture Bruce, General Ross had leveraged his influence within the military to recruit many, yet few had ever managed to escape the Hulk's iron fists alive.

Naturally, this time would be no exception.

"Emil Blonsky, born in Russia, raised in England. Formerly served in the Royal Marines, later transferred to special forces."

Inside the cabin of the military transport, Ross held a file—the roster for this Hulkbuster Team. Among the seven names on the list, Blonsky's name and profile were at the very top.

Blonsky was a top-tier soldier, an ace of the special forces. He had served for many years, participated in hundreds of battles, and possessed distinguished military merits.

Based on his record, his rank should have long since made him a colonel, but he loved combat; he was a warrior by nature. For this operation, Ross had specifically invited him to serve as the captain of the Hulkbuster Team.

Aside from Blonsky, there seemed to be no need to introduce the rest of the soldiers.

The soldiers present were all young, strapping lads; only Blonsky had reached middle age, looking somewhat out of place.

His expression was grim, lost in thought. Just then, a soldier took the initiative to strike up a conversation: "Captain Blonsky, I've heard of your great name for a long time. It is truly an honor!"

Blonsky's brow furrowed instantly. Before him stood a young man with blonde hair and blue eyes, whose demeanor made him look the least like a soldier of the entire Hulkbuster Team. Blonsky didn't know him at all and couldn't be bothered to engage, thinking to himself, Who are you, brother?

"I'm William Lister. Nice to meet you!" the young man said with a smile.

"Emil Blonsky," Blonsky replied in a low voice.

Indeed, this overly familiar young man was none other than William. As for why he appeared in the Hulkbuster Team, that started with the cooperation between Ross and S.H.I.E.L.D.

Ross had been seeking cooperation with S.H.I.E.L.D., but Nick Fury had been hesitant. That was until he found William, who told him about the Hulk.

William had proposed a bold idea: let the Hulk join the Avengers. This idea sounded simple, but it was as difficult as it could possibly be to execute.

Not to mention how to get Ross to give up on hunting Bruce, if you wanted the Hulk to join the Avengers, were you planning to defeat him and force him to join, or were you going to reason with him?

Defeat him? Keep dreaming. Reason with him? Do you think you've lived long enough?

William had thought of a plan that required S.H.I.E.L.D.'s help. Wasn't Ross recruiting a Hulkbuster Team? He had Nick Fury find a way to get him embedded. Only by truly witnessing the Hulk's terror could he evaluate whether he could defeat him.

In reality, however, he was there to complete the main quest regarding the Hulk. Of course, if he truly wanted the Hulk to join the Avengers in the future, he needed to start making preparations now.

And so, with the help of the omnipotent S.H.I.E.L.D., they successfully forged a new identity for William: a new recruit for the Navy SEALs.

There were so many Navy SEALs that it was impossible for Ross to know every single one. The files and background checks were flawless, so he never suspected that William had been sent by S.H.I.E.L.D.

"This is your target, and his hiding spot." A female officer handed the files to the members of the Hulkbuster Team. "For this arrest operation, the target must be taken alive. You are to use tranquilizer guns; only use live ammunition as a last resort!"

"Local police will assist you. Remember, do not alert the target before you capture him, or he might escape."

William looked at the file in his hand. It contained a photo of Bruce Banner. Bruce looked very green and innocent, with a harmless expression.

It was hard to imagine what he had gone through to become the decadent middle-aged man from the first Avengers movie.

Tsk tsk, time is truly a butcher's knife.

"He doesn't look like a bad guy. Will he resist?" Blonsky asked.

General Ross immediately stated, "Your target is a fugitive of the U.S. government. He stole military secrets and is suspected of murdering two scientists, one officer, one policeman, and two Canadian hunters."

Hearing Ross say this, William couldn't help but roll his eyes. The military was really good at shifting the blame. It was clearly their failed experiment that created the monster, yet they pinned it all on Bruce.

"Stole military secrets," "caused deaths"—why didn't he mention how many tanks the Hulk had smashed with his bare hands?

Of course, Ross wouldn't dare say that, or the Hulkbuster Team would have run off long ago.

Ross didn't see William's eye-roll and continued, "So, do not give him a chance to resist. Sedate him and bring him back!"

Early morning in Rio de Janeiro was shrouded in a silent atmosphere. Led by General Ross, the Hulkbuster Team had arrived at their destination, entering the labyrinthine slums.

The command vehicle carrying General Ross moved slowly through the streets, weaving through the darkness like a ghost.

The Hulkbuster Team was fully in position, with every soldier standing at their assigned post. Blonsky and another soldier had quietly reached the door of Bruce's hideout.

Unlike these focused soldiers, William stood at the corner of a wall, holding his rifle and yawning uncontrollably.

How could he not be tired? They had departed from the U.S. at twilight, flown for a few hours, and by the time they reached Brazil, it was already starting to get light. The annoying jet lag made William's eyelids heavy; he was almost falling asleep while standing.

"Attention everyone, prepare to breach," Blonsky's voice came through the walkie-talkie, jolting William awake.

He patted his face and quickly moved toward the door with the other soldiers. With the roar of C4, the door was blown to pieces, and the Hulkbuster Team rushed in immediately!

A large black dog inside was barking wildly, as if warning its master that the bad guys had arrived.

Blonsky charged to the front, ran into Bruce's bedroom, and sprayed the bed with gunfire. Several tranquilizer darts whistled through the air.

He ripped off the blanket, only to find no sign of Bruce. On the bed was nothing but a dummy made of pillows and a wig; Bruce had likely fled long ago.

"Shit," Blonsky cursed. Just then, the black dog in the room was still barking incessantly. Finding it incredibly annoying, he shot the dog in the head, putting it to sleep.

William looked at the dog lying on the ground. This Blonsky is definitely a psychopath. Can't catch the guy, so he takes it out on a dog. If you were in my old world, the animal rights activists would have hounded you until you questioned your existence.

"The target has escaped," Blonsky reported to General Ross.

The Hulkbuster Team searched the room for clues. William went to the kitchen and saw a thick rope tied to the faucet of the sink, with the window left slightly ajar, leading from the room to the outside.

William gently pushed the window open and saw a figure in a red hood climbing down the rope.

"Guys, I've found Little Red Riding Hood!"

Why wasn't Little Red Riding Hood fierce?