Hulk's Blood

Suddenly, the whirring rush of air came from above.

A massive floodlight turned the entire area as bright as day.

"Don't move. You are suspected of illegally crossing the United States border. Please cooperate with the investigation."

Only fools would cooperate. Dozens of illegal immigrants scattered in every direction.

"Rat-a-tat-tat..."

Bullets from the helicopter's mounted machine guns poured down like rain...

"Ah... Ah... Help..."

Illegal immigrants were immediately shot dead. Some were hit in the limbs, and the huge rounds from the mounted machine guns tore off entire arms and legs, sending severed limbs flying.

Apocalypse's hair stood on end in terror. He forced himself to rush toward the nearby woods.

Beyond the small grove lay a forested mountain range stretching for hundreds of kilometers, impossible to search thoroughly.

That was one of the reasons Snakehead had chosen this area for smuggling people across the border.

The helicopter circled in the sky for a while, its searchlight sweeping back and forth, before quickly giving up.

After all, hundreds of thousands entered the country illegally every year. They could not search an entire mountain range over one or two insignificant fish.

After several days of traveling in secret, Apocalypse finally emerged from the woods and entered a small city near the United States border. For the moment, he was safe.

Then, a piece of news caught his attention.

A blonde female anchor said before the camera, "The military exchanged fire with an unidentified enemy on the campus of Culver University. The military has claimed this is a rumor, but two sophomore students witnessed the entire incident and recorded it on their phones."

As she spoke, the camera pulled back, revealing lawns and buildings reduced to a complete mess.

Then, two male students stepped forward, still shaken:

"That giant was green all over and three or four meters tall. Bullets bounced off him like they were from toy BB guns. Even a .50-caliber cannon did absolutely nothing to him. Armored vehicles were like children's toys in front of him—he flipped them over without effort. Later, the military even deployed sonic cannons..."

The two male students then excitedly displayed the footage on their phones:

Phone cameras of this era were terrible, but they still could not conceal Hulk's several-meter-tall green body and the brutal, oppressive aura surrounding him.

After a moment's thought, Apocalypse realized this was clearly the plot of The Incredible Hulk.

Many people also called The Incredible Hulk Hulk 2, because there had been an earlier movie called Hulk.

Hulk covered earlier background details, such as Hulk's father's research, and the two had some continuity.

At this point, Banner should have gone to find his girlfriend, Elizabeth Betty Ross, only to fall into a trap set by the military, which intended to capture him alive.

The result was obvious: Doctor Banner transformed into Hulk, went on a rampage of smashing and killing, and broke through the encirclement.

Hulk 2 was relatively early in Marvel's storyline. The entire Superhero War had not yet begun.

Apocalypse relaxed slightly. He still had some time left.

Thus, a plan took shape in his mind.

The United States was known as a country built on wheels. Without a vehicle, one could not get anywhere.

Apocalypse was completely broke, so he could only stand by the roadside with his thumb out, asking for a ride.

Apocalypse was Asian. Asians might face discrimination in the West, but people generally were not afraid of them.

After all, Asians were famously law-abiding and had the lowest crime rate of any race.

He was turned down countless times along the way, but there were always kind people willing to give Apocalypse a ride.

Traveling day and night from the border of God's Country, he crossed half the United States and arrived in New York City.

Apocalypse's goal was clear: Hulk's blood!

In Hulk 2, Doctor Banner had mailed a blood sample to Dr. Sterns at Greystone College in New York in order to remove the gamma radiation from his body.

Dr. Sterns was no ordinary man. The blood sample Hulk had sent him was tiny, yet he had used genetic technology to purify and clone it until its concentration was even higher than Hulk's own blood.

The entire laboratory was piled full of copies.

According to the plot, Doctor Banner would come to him and ask for help removing the Gamma Energy from his body.

At the same time, a military special forces soldier—Blonsky—would also come and force the doctor to inject him with Hulk's blood, eventually transforming into a gray giant called "Abomination"!

The two giants would eventually fight...

However, none of that had happened yet!

Apocalypse intended to exploit precisely this gap in timing.

Before the plot unfolded, he would obtain Hulk's blood in advance.

The university environment was lax. Disguising himself as a student, Apocalypse easily found out where Dr. Sterns's laboratory was.

"Knock, knock, knock, knock..." Apocalypse knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" The one who opened the door was Dr. Sterns.

"Doctor, I want you to conduct an experiment for me."

"Not today. I'm about to get off work. Come back tomorrow if you need something."

Apocalypse smiled faintly. He had never expected the doctor to obey willingly, so he forced the door open and entered.

With a flick of his wrist, he pointed a pistol at Dr. Sterns.

The doctor looked alarmed. "What are you doing? This is a laboratory. There's no money here."

"I don't want money. I want Mr. Green's blood."

Since Banner was being hunted, he naturally could not use his real name and had taken the alias "Mr. Green."

Dr. Sterns's expression changed. "How do you know Mr. Green?"

"That isn't important. I want to inject Mr. Green's blood. Aren't you short on human test subjects? I'll be your test subject."

"No. Every animal in the experiments has exploded and died. It is nowhere near the stage for human testing. It's far too dangerous."

"That isn't something you need to worry about."

"Young man, although I don't know why you want to do this, the energy level in this blood is far too intense. Human nucleic acid chains simply cannot absorb Gamma Energy. I can guarantee that you'll eventually rupture and die..."

"Cut the crap. Do it!"

Not wanting to risk further complications, Apocalypse said no more and aimed the gun at Dr. Sterns.

At the same time, with a thought, he took out a Recovery Potion from the storage slot in his mind.

Unfortunately, the system was too stingy to store external objects. Otherwise, that ten thousand dollars would not have been stolen earlier.

The Recovery Potion could eliminate all negative injuries.

That was also what gave him the confidence to gamble!

Holding the Recovery Potion in his mouth, Apocalypse lay down on the examination bed.

"Young man, your hands and feet need to be restrained, in case you struggle when you can't endure the pain."

Dr. Sterns pointed to the straps beside the bed.

Without Apocalypse's permission, he did not dare tie him up, lest he be misunderstood and shot dead.

Apocalypse said, "No need. Bring me the highest-concentration, most potent blood."

"Th-this... all right."

Before long, Dr. Sterns emerged carrying a pile of glass bottles of various sizes. "We should start with the smallest dose and see what effect it has."

"I want all of it!"

"What?!" Dr. Sterns froze.

If he injected a small dose, there might still be a sliver of a chance of success. But injecting all of it—not counting the Gamma Energy within it—the sheer quantity alone would practically burst a person apart.

He seriously suspected that this young man had come here to commit suicide.

Dr. Sterns was nearly crying inside:

When the police see an exploded corpse lying in my laboratory, how am I supposed to explain it?

They'll definitely think I'm some research maniac who kidnapped innocent people for human experimentation!

And I've been conducting this research in secret, so I won't even be able to defend myself.

God... I was really being forced!

But under the gun's muzzle, he had no choice but to comply.

Apocalypse's body, arms, and feet were all connected to transfusion tubes.

"Click..."

Accompanied by the sound of the injection machinery, Hulk's highest-concentration, highest-dose blood continuously poured into Apocalypse's body.

At once, Apocalypse's entire body swelled by a full size, like a balloon blown to its limit, on the verge of bursting apart.