Parkour Time

Bruce had always been trying to cure himself and make the terrifying Hulk disappear for good. He had tried all kinds of methods, but every time he thought he was close to succeeding, it all fell apart at the last moment.

Gamma Rays were like an incurable virus, constantly tormenting him.

At last, today, he had found hope of a cure. But he hadn't expected the Hulkbuster Team to come knocking. He didn't know how they had found him, but right now, there was only one thing that mattered: run!

By the time the Hulkbuster Team came rushing downstairs, Bruce was nowhere to be seen. They split up, each heading down a different street to block off every possible escape route.

The sky grew brighter, and Rio de Janeiro began to wake from its slumber. People got up one after another and started their busy day, making it harder for the Hulkbuster Team to search. If they weren't careful, they might pass right by their target.

William yawned again. He was starting to regret joining the operation. They were going to find the Hulk and fight him anyway, so why had he joined as part of the Hulkbuster Team?

If he'd known he'd be this tired, he would've found somewhere to get a good night's sleep and then made a stylish entrance later.

Unlike the listless William, Blonsky was full of energy. He had been in the military for years and had seen every kind of trouble. Staying up for days without sleep was nothing unusual. He also sensed that something about this operation was off, though he couldn't quite say what.

It seemed this operation wasn't as simple as he had imagined.

Suddenly, at the end of the street, he spotted a figure wearing a hat and a red hoodie, walking away with a backpack. The person kept their hat brim low and moved cautiously, as if afraid of being seen.

The moment Blonsky spotted him, the man spotted Blonsky too. Without hesitation, he bolted!

"There he is! Get him!" Blonsky shouted, immediately giving chase.

General Ross's order came through the radio. "The operation is officially underway. Make sure you catch him!"

The Hulkbuster Team members all took off after Bruce. Blonsky ran at the front, keeping his eyes fixed on his target.

Bruce had lived here for more than half a year and knew the area like the back of his hand. He had even planned his escape route in advance.

The Slums had hundreds of streets of all shapes and sizes, along with all kinds of intersections. If you weren't careful, you could easily get lost.

"Sir, I think I'm lost," William said helplessly into the radio.

It wasn't really his fault. General Ross had given everyone a map of the Slums for the operation, and William had one too. But he couldn't make heads or tails of it.

He was only pretending to be a Navy SEAL, after all, and he hadn't been any good at geography in high school. Reading a map like this was like trying to decipher a book written in the heavens.

"What?" General Ross could hardly believe his ears. A Navy SEAL, an elite soldier, had gotten lost?

The whole team would laugh at him if they heard about this. But Ross had no time to deal with William just then; all his attention was focused on Bruce.

"You've got a map, don't you? Figure it out yourself!" General Ross replied dismissively.

William thought, If I could read that map, I wouldn't have asked you. Just then, he heard a gunshot nearby. He knew it had to be the Hulkbuster Team, so he immediately ran toward the sound.

Blonsky had thought he would catch Bruce in no time, but he soon realized he was wrong.

The man looked slender, but he was agile and fast. Blonsky could barely keep up. And since Bruce knew the area so well, he darted around and hid, proving so slippery that he practically had the team running in circles.

After a frantic chase, they reached a huge rooftop where colorful sheets hung out to dry. Bruce charged through the sheets in front of him and kept running. The Hulkbuster Team members followed suit, crashing through them one after another.

But one unlucky soldier failed to notice that he had reached the edge. His foot met empty air, and he fell from the rooftop.

Parkour, an extreme sport that originated in France, used the everyday environment as a place to train. Practitioners vaulted over all kinds of obstacles, darted through streets, and leaped from rooftop to rooftop.

After years on the run, Bruce had learned not only yoga but also Rooftop Parkour. After all, jumping from one rooftop to another was the fastest way to get around.

Bruce grabbed the rooftop railing with both hands and swung down to the roof below. Then he kicked against the wall a couple of times, climbed up onto another building's roof, and leaped down, rolling as he landed before sprinting onward.

The chain of movements was dazzling. The Hulkbuster Team couldn't catch up with him, and even Blonsky was getting tired. He wasn't young anymore, and he couldn't keep up with the younger men. He watched as Bruce ran farther and farther away.

"Sir, we're going to lose him," Blonsky said dejectedly.

Just when Bruce thought he was about to escape, he spotted someone standing on a rooftop in the distance. The man wore black body armor, and his blond hair gleamed in the sunlight. He raised a tranquilizer gun and took aim.

Bang! A Sleep Dart shot out. Bruce quickly dodged, and it grazed past him.

As he dodged the dart, Bruce turned and ran. The man on the rooftop didn't rush after him. Instead, he smiled slightly and said, "Sprint!"

William had only just managed to find his way, and he hadn't gone far before he spotted Bruce sprinting toward him. His shot had missed, but he had found his target.

Sprint: Kid, you're faster now. You can burst forward at high speed for a short time, allowing you to dodge gunfire or charge into the enemy ranks.

Note: Jumping while sprinting lets you leap farther.

Bruce didn't dare stop running. He sprinted onward, hoping to get out of the Slums as quickly as possible.

He thought he had shaken off the Hulkbuster Team, but then he heard rapid footsteps behind him. He glanced back and saw that the man had somehow caught up.

He leaped onto a rooftop, hoping to use his parkour skills to lose his pursuer.

But the other man was not only fast; he also took enormous strides. He could leap across even the widest gaps. A distance of five or six meters was no problem for him.

"What the hell? Who is this guy?"

Bruce was stunned. He was a physicist and knew his math, too. One glance was enough to tell him that the man was moving at a speed beyond anything an ordinary person could imagine.

And although the other man could easily catch up with him, he seemed to be deliberately keeping his distance.

People said that Bruce became a terrifying monster when he transformed. But he thought this man was a monster, too!

After all, the author can't find his way around~