Gamma Storm and Physical Hypnosis

The peace of the Malibu villa in California was torn open by the turmoil across the ocean. Tony Stark was ultimately swayed by Fury's urgent message about "the survival of Earth" and the horrific scenes from Stuttgart he had shown—or rather, enraged by Loki's smug, godlike expression.

Wearing the newly modified Mark IV armor, its surface gleaming with a deep blue light after its "sunshielding" upgrade, Tony charged toward S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier with the air of someone off to teach an alien brat a lesson. Before leaving, he only tossed out one sentence: "Pepper, watch the house! And that guy who suns himself all day! Don't let him sleep the roof in!"

Pepper could do nothing about Tony's impulsiveness. She could only work twice as hard to handle company affairs while closely monitoring the scraps of news coming from S.H.I.E.L.D. Happy, meanwhile, went into maximum alert. The villa's security system was fully upgraded, though he knew that before truly inhuman power, it would all be useless.

Xiao Han's days remained as regular as ever. The top-floor terrace was his sanctuary, and sunlight was his finest nourishment.

His super-hearing was like an invisible heavenly net, filtering out the noise of the entire world. New York police radio, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s encrypted channels, even the hum of Iron Man's armor engines on the European battlefield, the crisp clang of Captain America's shield, and Loki's bewitching declarations laced with strange magic... all flowed through his consciousness like background noise, unable to stir the slightest ripple.

Until a particular disturbance, mixed with intense gamma radiation signals and a massive burst of energy, crashed into his senses like a boulder thrown into a tranquil lake.

Location: Kolkata, India, deep within the slums.

Xiao Han's closed eyes slowly opened into a narrow slit. His gaze seemed to pierce space itself, falling upon that damp, overcrowded district steeped in the stench of decay.

He could "hear" Natasha Romanoff's deliberately suppressed but tense heartbeat. He could hear Bruce Banner's gentle yet exhausted voice struggling to maintain a rational conversation. Even more clearly, he could "hear" another heartbeat lurking deep in his bloodline, restless like a volcano held under pressure.

"Tsk." Xiao Han clicked his tongue softly, sounding mildly annoyed at being disturbed. "Looks like the redhead's 'gentle approach' course failed."

Deep within an abandoned factory in the slums.

Natasha Romanoff leaned against a cold, rusted iron pipe. Fine sweat beaded across her forehead, and the curves beneath her tight combat suit were taut with extreme vigilance. Doctor Bruce Banner, the mild-mannered scientist in black-rimmed glasses standing before her, now resembled a trapped beast driven into a corner.

His breathing grew heavy. His eyes flickered wildly between reason and fury. An ominous green hue faintly seeped beneath his skin, while his veins bulged like gnarled tree roots.

"Doctor! Calm down! Listen to me! We need your help, not his!" Natasha's voice carried unprecedented urgency as she tried to use words like ropes to hold back the collapsing dam.

Several elite S.H.I.E.L.D. agents behind her had their fingers clenched tightly around their tasers and powerful sedative launchers. Yet everyone knew that once "he" came out, those things would not even count as a scratch.

"You... you don't understand!" Banner's voice was hoarse with immense pain and terror. "He's roaring! He senses your threat! You... shouldn't have come to force me!" He suddenly clutched his chest, and his body began to tremble violently. His bones emitted teeth-grinding cracks as the green spread and deepened across his skin at a visible rate.

"No! Doctor Banner! Control it!" Natasha shouted sharply, retreating at once. "Everyone! Fall back! Now!"

Too late!

An inhuman roar filled with primal fury and destructive desire split apart the clamor of the slums like thunder striking the ground! Bruce Banner's body swelled in an instant, shredding his clothes!

Green muscles rose like mountains, and enormous bone spurs tore through his skin! The gentle scholar vanished, replaced by the berserk Hulk, whose eyes burned with magma-like rage!

ROAR—!!!

The terrifying soundwave made the abandoned iron barrels around them buzz violently! Hulk's massive green fist smashed toward the nearest agent with enough force to destroy everything in its path! The compressed air detonated with a boom!

The agent did not even have time to scream before the violent force hurled him into the concrete wall behind him! The hard wall shattered and collapsed like tofu, filling the air with dust!

"Fire! Stop him!" Natasha's voice sharpened with a trace of despair! Her customized large-caliber pistol spat flames. The bullets struck Hulk's thick green skin like mud sinking into the sea, leaving only a few insignificant white marks—and enraging him further!

Hulk snapped his head around, his magma-like eyes locking onto Natasha! He let out an even more violent roar, and his massive body lunged at her like an out-of-control locomotive. Ignoring the incoming taser arcs and sedative darts, he charged forward with unstoppable force! Abandoned machinery and iron frames in his path were sent flying and twisted apart as though made of paper!

Natasha's pupils contracted sharply! Hulk's speed and strength far exceeded estimates! She could even smell the bloody wind carried by his violent aura! The shadow of death descended in an instant! She threw herself sideways with all her strength, trying to evade the devastating charge, but the wind pressure kicked up by Hulk's massive body had already thrown her off balance!

At that critical instant!

Whoosh—!

An indescribable gust of enormous pressure, as though it had descended from the heavens, arrived without warning in the cramped space of the abandoned factory!

Hulk's frenzied charge came to a halt as if he had slammed into an invisible wall formed from condensed air! The force that could have rammed down a building was forcibly restrained! The tremendous momentum made his huge green body jolt to a stop, his feet even plowing two deep trenches into the ground!

The dust was instantly forced down to the floor by the sudden pressure!

Hulk roared furiously, his magma-like eyes shooting upward toward the source of the pressure—the rusted, hole-riddled roof of the abandoned factory!

At the edge of a massive hole in the roof, there was suddenly someone standing there.

Xiao Han.

He wore an ordinary gray hoodie, his hands tucked into his pockets. He sat casually on a rusted steel beam, one leg dangling and swaying lightly. Afternoon sunlight slanted through the hole behind him, coating him in a hazy golden outline that formed a heaven-and-hell contrast with the dust-filled, rampaging green inferno below.

His appearance was so abrupt, so calm, even slightly careless. It was as though he had not come to stop a devastating disaster at all, but had merely passed by and found a spot with a decent view to admire the scenery.

Natasha had narrowly escaped death. Leaning against a twisted iron frame and breathing heavily, she stared at the figure on the roof, her eyes filled with incredulous shock and... a faint, inexplicable fear. He actually came?! How did he get here?!

Hulk had clearly noticed the uninvited guest as well. His beastlike instincts made him sense an unprecedented threat from this seemingly insignificant human—a tremendous threat born from the instinct of life itself! It was a sense of presence more pure and terrifying than any weapon or attack!

ROAR—!!!

Hulk abandoned Natasha, who was so close at hand, and unleashed an even more furious roar at Xiao Han on the roof, though it carried a nearly imperceptible hint of uncertainty! The tremendous soundwave swept up dust and shot toward the roof!

Xiao Han raised a hand and dug his little finger into his ear as though the noise had irritated him. Looking down at the green beast that had grown even larger in its fury, he showed no fear. Instead, there was a trace of... impatience on his face.

"Big guy," Xiao Han said. His voice was not loud, yet it strangely pierced Hulk's roar and rang clearly through every corner of the factory. His tone was lofty, almost evaluative. "You've got a loud voice, but your lung capacity's a little lacking. That roar has no force behind it."

Those light, contemptuous words were like the final spark dropped into a powder keg!

ROAR—!!!

Hulk completely lost it! The magma-like glow in his eyes was instantly swallowed by violent crimson! Reason? What was that? All he wanted now was to tear this arrogant little bug who dared mock him into pieces!

His massive foot stomped down, and the hard concrete floor instantly cracked apart! His enormous body shot upward like a green cannonball, carrying the force to crush everything as he pounced at Xiao Han on the roof! His huge fist tore through the air with a terrifying shriek, aimed directly at Xiao Han's head!

Below, Natasha and the surviving agents felt their hearts leap into their throats! The force behind Hulk's enraged strike was enough to flatten a tank into scrap metal!

Faced with that world-shattering punch, Xiao Han did not even remove his hands from his pockets. He merely tilted his head slightly, as though assessing the angle and force of the attack.

At the instant Hulk's pot-sized fist, covered in bulging green muscles, was about to brush the loose hair over his forehead!

Xiao Han moved!

His movement was so fast that it transcended the very concept of time! His body, seated on the steel beam, seemed weightless as it naturally, fluidly... shifted sideways by half a foot!

No afterimage! No warning! It was simply a pure, instantaneous displacement that defied the laws of physics!

BOOM—!!!!

Hulk's fist, carrying the destructive power of his entire body, grazed Xiao Han's clothes and smashed viciously into the place where he had been sitting!

The thick rusted steel beam rang out with an ear-splitting crash as though struck by a ten-thousand-ton hammer! It instantly warped and snapped! Chunks of concrete and brick collapsed from the roof like a torrential downpour! Dust erupted into the sky!

Hulk's punch missed, and his enormous momentum carried him forward until half his foot shattered the edge of the roof!

Meanwhile, Xiao Han was already standing steadily on another intact steel beam not far behind Hulk. His hands remained in his pockets, and even his hair was undisturbed. He even had the leisure to dust off his shoulder, where no dust existed.

"Your aim's no good either," he commented flatly, as though saying, "You kicked that ball wide."

ROAR—!!!

Hulk spun around, the fury in his eyes reaching its peak! Humiliation! An immense sense of humiliation burned through his simple mind like toxic fire! He roared earth-shakingly once more, his fists pounding toward the steel beam beneath Xiao Han like pile drivers!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The entire abandoned factory trembled beneath Hulk's rage! Dust filled the air, rubble flew everywhere, and thick steel beams warped, snapped, and collapsed beneath his terrifying brute force! The roof rapidly caved in as though devoured by a giant beast!

Yet at the center of that destructive storm, Xiao Han's figure drifted about like a phantom. He did not counterattack. He merely moved and dodged at will through the collapsing roof and falling debris, as though taking a leisurely stroll through a garden.

Hulk's fists, capable of splitting mountains and cracking stone, skimmed dangerously past Xiao Han's clothes every time, yet could not touch even a single hair on him! His movements were elegant and precise, carrying an almost insulting ease.

"You're pretty strong," Xiao Han's voice remained clear amid the crashing collapses. "Too bad knowing only how to tear down houses won't do. Want to hit me? Get a more agile body in your next life."

The constant, naked mockery and taunting finally pushed Hulk's anger beyond its limit! He stopped throwing futile punches. His huge chest heaved violently, his magma-like eyes locked tightly onto Xiao Han, and a deep growl rumbled from his throat like an overloaded engine!

Every muscle in his body tightened to the limit. Energy surged beneath his green skin like magma! He was preparing to unleash an all-out, destructive charge!

At that moment, Xiao Han, who had only been dodging, stopped for the first time. He stood at the end of a lone steel beam that had not yet collapsed, with the abyss of the continually caving roof beneath his feet. He calmly watched Hulk, who was poised to strike. The teasing glint in his eyes disappeared, leaving only the indifference one might show after watching a brat finish acting out.

"Had enough?" Xiao Han's voice was soft, yet it carried a strange penetrating power that overwhelmed Hulk's low growl. "Time to sleep, big guy."

Before his words had even faded, at the instant Hulk gathered every ounce of strength and was about to erupt, Xiao Han finally... pulled his right hand from his pocket.

There was no buildup, no flashy movement. He simply extended his palm casually toward Hulk below, who was poised to strike. His five fingers spread, palm facing down.

Then he gently pressed down.

Hummm—!!!

An indescribable, terrifying pressure, as though the entire sky had collapsed, descended abruptly!

This was not a physical impact or an energy explosion. It was force in its purest form... an unmatched power exerted upon space itself!

Centered on Xiao Han's palm, the space within a radius of several dozen meters below him changed. The air was instantly compressed to near-solid form! Gravity seemed to multiply hundreds or thousands of times over!

Hulk, who had been ready to charge, suddenly froze! His mountain-like body felt as though countless invisible mountains had been pressed brutally onto his spine!

The already fragile concrete beneath his feet shattered and collapsed like crackers! The terrifying strength he had been so proud of, strength capable of flipping a main battle tank, seemed so tiny and laughable before this overwhelming absolute force!

ROAR—!!!

Hulk let out a roar of utmost unwillingness, his magma-like eyes filled with unbelievable horror! He exerted all his strength in an attempt to straighten his back and resist the sky-crushing pressure! The ground beneath his feet cracked and sank layer by layer!

The knotted muscles across his body bulged madly, and the green energy beneath his skin flared brightly as he tried to break free from the invisible shackles!

However, it was all futile.

Xiao Han's palm remained casually lowered, pressing down with effortless ease.

Creak... boom!

The ground beneath Hulk's feet completely gave way! His enormous body was forced down as though nailed into the earth, and he dropped uncontrollably to his knees! Both knees slammed hard into the shattered concrete! The tremendous impact shook the ruins of the entire abandoned factory! Dust burst skyward like a fountain!

Hulk's raised head was forced down bit by bit beneath that irresistible power! His furious roar became a pained howl. His massive green body trembled violently like a dying candle in the wind!

Standing on the steel beam, Xiao Han looked down at the green beast that had been forcibly pressed to its knees, its head bowed. His eyes remained calm and still. His palm was still held in its downward-pressing posture.

"Good night, Hulk."

He softly uttered the two words.

Along with those light words, the terrifying pressure upon Hulk suddenly increased again!

Thud!

Hulk's raised head was finally forced all the way down, his heavy forehead smashing into the broken ground! The violent light vanished from his magma-like eyes, swallowed by immense exhaustion and an irresistible drowsiness! His mountain-like body convulsed sharply a few times, then... went completely limp.

The giant green body lay amid the crater and rubble like a sleeping ancient god, leaving behind only heavy, slow breathing. The green on his skin receded rapidly like a tide. His bulging veins calmed, and his knotted muscles gradually relaxed.

In just a few seconds, the world-destroying Hulk had been effortlessly... "physically hypnotized" by Xiao Han with one palm.

The dust gradually cleared, revealing the wrecked battlefield below. Natasha and the surviving agents hid in relatively safe corners, staring at the huge green body sleeping in the crater, then at the young man on the roof's steel beam, who still had his hands in his pockets and had just withdrawn one hand as though he had merely swatted away a mosquito. Every one of them stood petrified, stripped of all ability to speak.

Xiao Han's gaze swept over the sleeping Hulk below, then flicked toward Natasha, who was still shaken amid the rubble. He left behind a calm remark:

"I've put the man down for you. The delivery fee... have the one-eyed guy transfer it to my account later. And remember, that includes rush delivery."

After saying that, his figure blurred in place for an instant, then vanished as though melting into the sunlight.

Inside the abandoned factory remained only silent ruins, the sleeping green beast, and a group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents whose worldview had been completely overturned.

Natasha leaned against the cold iron frame. Her racing heartbeat had yet to settle as she looked at the place where Hulk slept, then raised her eyes toward the hole in the roof where Xiao Han had disappeared. Her eyes were filled with unprecedentedly complicated emotions—shock, fear, and a trace of... deep helplessness.

That man sunning himself in California... did his power even have an end?