Banner's Fear, The Ancient One's Attention

The lightning faded, and Lin Ye appeared in the living room of the safe house provided by the system, carrying the unconscious Bruce Banner over his shoulder.

It was an ordinary-looking townhouse in Queens, but its interior had been thoroughly modified and reinforced by Remy. It blocked all external signal detection and possessed independent energy and life-support systems, making it a perfect safe haven.

Lin Ye carefully laid Banner on the sofa. Dr. Banner's face was pale, his breathing weak, and his brow tightly furrowed. Even unconscious, he seemed to be enduring immense pain and fear. Scorch marks and bruises still remained on his torn clothes and exposed skin—traces left behind by Hulk's rampage and their battle.

"Remy, scan his vital signs."

"Scanning... Vital signs stable, but adrenaline levels are abnormal. Gamma Radiation readings are fluctuating around baseline. Brain activity is extremely active, indicating a state of deep stress. It is inferred that his consciousness is engaged in a latent confrontation with Hulk's personality," Remy reported steadily.

Lin Ye nodded and went to the kitchen to pour a glass of water. He knew Banner would be fine. Hulk's recovery ability was top-tier, but the psychological trauma was the real issue.

Sure enough, before long, Banner's eyelids trembled violently a few times before he suddenly opened his eyes!

Those brown eyes were filled with momentary confusion, quickly replaced by overwhelming terror and pain. Like a startled bird, he sprang from the sofa and stumbled backward, warily scanning his surroundings. His body instinctively curled in on itself, as though ready to fend off an attack at any moment.

"Relax, Dr. Banner. You're safe here." Lin Ye set the glass of water on the coffee table, his voice calm as he made no move to approach and provoke him.

Banner abruptly looked at Lin Ye, memories flooding back like a tidal wave—the military pursuit, General Ross's obsessive face, rage, the green power that tore everything apart... and finally, the terrifying lightning that swept over his entire body and the irresistible restraint!

It was him! That mysterious man who controlled lightning!

"Who... who are you? What do you want? Did Ross send you? Or some other organization?" Banner's voice was hoarse and trembling, filled with distrust and despair. His life had long since been utterly ruined by organizations chasing after power like this.

"I have nothing to do with Ross, or any organization that wants to cut you open and study you." Lin Ye pulled over a chair and sat opposite him, keeping a distance that would not make him feel threatened. "If I had to put it bluntly, I just 'snatched' you away from Ross. And while I was at it, I had a little 'sparring match' with your big green friend."

Banner's body visibly trembled, and the fear in his eyes deepened. "You... you defeated him?" He knew all too well how terrifying and uncontrollable Hulk's strength was.

"I wouldn't call it defeating him. I just calmed him down for the moment." Lin Ye shrugged. "After all, my target wasn't him. It was you, Dr. Bruce Banner."

"Me?" Banner gave a bitter laugh. "A cursed monster? A failed scientist who can't even control his own body? What could possibly interest someone like you... someone like you?" He looked at the faint arcs of electricity dissipating around Lin Ye, knowing that the man possessed inhuman power as well.

"Your intellect, Doctor," Lin Ye said seriously. "Seven doctoral degrees. No one can match your accomplishments in the field of gamma rays. Hulk is a disaster, but he is also a miracle. And you are the only key to understanding that miracle. Letting your intelligence go to waste while you hide all day, or locking you in a lab as a test subject, would be a loss to this world."

Banner froze. It had been a very, very long time since anyone had evaluated him like that, rather than the monster inside him. There was no greed in Lin Ye's words, no fear—only a... nearly pure appreciation and regret?

"You don't understand..." Banner shook his head, clutching it in pain. "It can't be controlled! Anger... any emotional fluctuation could bring it out! It will destroy everything! Anyone close to me will get hurt!"

"Control goes both ways, Doctor." A small, docile arc of electricity danced at Lin Ye's fingertips. "Power has never been the original sin. The key is how you wield it. Fear and avoidance will only make Hulk stronger and angrier. Perhaps you need a different way of thinking."

Just then, the system notification arrived as expected:

[Ding! Key individual Bruce Banner has been detected at a turning point in his life. Targeted choices have been issued:]

[Option One: Demonstrate absolute strength, intimidate him with overwhelming power, and force Dr. Banner to cooperate in researching Hulk's power.]

Reward: [Gamma Energy Preliminary Analysis Report], [Banner's Fear].

[Option Two: Provide safe shelter and resources, invite Dr. Banner to jointly research methods of controlling Hulk as equals, and establish a cooperative relationship.]

Reward: [Advanced Biological Laboratory Access (Virtual)], [Banner's Gratitude and Initial Trust].

[Option Three: Guide Dr. Banner to seek help from the mystical side, such as Kamar-Taj, and attempt to use magic to seal or separate Hulk.]

Reward: [The Ancient One's Slight Attention], [Magic Inhibitor Blueprint].

Lin Ye barely hesitated. Option One was undoubtedly the worst choice and would only worsen Banner's psychological problems. Option Three involved The Ancient One and the mystical side; their current relationship was unknown, making it too risky. Option Two was the proper path. Only by offering respect and hope could he truly win over this genius.

"I choose Option Two."

[Choice confirmed. Virtual Biological Laboratory Access has been integrated into the Remy system and may be accessed at any time.]

Lin Ye looked at Banner, who was still shrouded in fear, and said, "Doctor, I don't need you to trust me immediately. But you can treat this place as a temporary refuge. No one can find it. Not Ross, not any other organization."

He snapped his fingers, and Remy immediately projected an incredibly complex, constantly shifting DNA double helix in the middle of the living room, threaded through with streams of green gamma energy.

"This is..." Banner's scientific instincts were immediately drawn in. His eyes widened, and he temporarily forgot his fear.

"It is a preliminary simulation based on the small amount of blood data you leaked before, along with your publicly available research results." Lin Ye explained, borrowing a little from the analysis report rewarded by the system. "Hulk's power isn't purely destructive. It contains an incredibly powerful vitality and energy-conversion mechanism. Forceful suppression may be the stupidest approach."

Banner stared at the projections with fascination and instinctively continued, "Yes... its cellular structure violates every known biological law. Its energy efficiency is terrifyingly high... but the connection between its nervous system and limbic system is abnormally active, causing emotions to directly drive energy eruptions..."

He suddenly came back to his senses and looked at Lin Ye in shock. "You... you understand this too?"

"I know a little." Lin Ye modestly brushed it off, though most of the credit actually belonged to the system and Remy. "But I can provide every resource you need—the most advanced virtual computational models, a safe experimental environment, even... some knowledge of energy you have never encountered before. We can try together. Not to destroy Hulk, but to understand him, and ultimately... guide him."

Banner's heart pounded. This was a proposal he had never dared imagine. Safety, resources, and a partner who seemed equally powerful and unafraid of Hulk? It was like seeing a faint glimmer of light in endless darkness.

But he was still afraid—afraid that hope would lead to even greater disappointment, afraid that losing control again would hurt someone who might be able to help him.

"I... I need time..." Banner finally said with difficulty, though his voice was steadier than before.

"Of course. You have all the time you need." Lin Ye smiled. "A room has already been prepared for you. It's safe here. You can do whatever you want, as long as you don't tear down the house... though I think it's pretty sturdy."

That small joke eased the tense atmosphere considerably.

Meanwhile, beyond Earth's dimension, in the mysterious land of Kamar-Taj.

Within the Sanctum Library, The Ancient One quietly leafed through the ancient Book of the Vishanti. Her gaze suddenly lifted from the pages, as though piercing through endless space and dimensions to settle somewhere in New York.

Her smooth brow furrowed slightly. With a gentle tap of her fingertip against the page, a ring of tiny golden sparks flashed and vanished.

"A powerful and unfamiliar force of thunder... has disturbed the river of time and brought countless new variables." She murmured softly, her gaze profound. "It does not come from any known dimensional lord... Interesting."

She saw new branches of the timeline being born. Some led toward the light, while others sank into deeper darkness. At the heart of it all, there seemed to be a faint connection to that newly emerged thunder.

She took no action and merely observed in silence. As the guardian of time, she understood that premature intervention could bring even greater chaos. But that young man, and the scientist beside him cursed by gamma energy... their fates had already changed.

S.H.I.E.L.D., Helicarrier.

Nick Fury's single eye stared at the follow-up report from the Brooklyn battlefield on the screen, along with the detailed operation reports submitted by Natasha and Coulson.

"He can withstand Hulk's fists head-on and restrain him with electromagnetic force..." Fury tapped on the desk. "That level of power far exceeds ordinary superhumans. What exactly is his goal? Protecting Banner? Showing off his strength?"

"Sir, he issued a clear threat to the military, but he did not show absolute hostility toward contact with us," Coulson reported through the video call. "He seems to... have his own code of conduct."

"Continue observing him. Raise the surveillance level to maximum, but do not provoke him under any circumstances." Fury gave the order. "Try to analyze the origin of that 'black energy.' Also, keep an eye on Ross. Don't let that old bastard do anything stupid again!"

Inside the safe house, Banner finally ate something and fell into a deep sleep in the room Remy had arranged for him, perhaps for the first time in years without waking in terror.

Lin Ye stood by the window, looking out at New York's nightscape as the Mind Network sensed the countless secrets hidden within the city.

"Remy, keep a close watch on Oscorp, Stark Industries, and Hell's Kitchen."

"Understood, Host."

He knew that this brief calm was only the prelude to a storm. The shadow of the Battle of New York was quietly drawing near. And he was already prepared to enter the stage and reap the harvest.