Hulk had no real fighting technique. He relied purely on overwhelming stats.
Li Ang was different. His gaze sharpened as he activated Super Senses, and Hulk's movements slowed a notch in his eyes.
No joke, Li Ang could now easily react to shells.
He sidestepped Hulk's right fist, caught his wrist, and twisted with his momentum, flipping Hulk clean over and slamming him into the ground!
This was where technique came into play. Even if Li Ang knew no martial arts or boxing styles, he still knew how to use an opponent's momentum.
Hulk understood none of that. He just punched and kicked straight ahead.
Of all the enemies he had faced before, which one could withstand a single slap under his overwhelming stats?
Now that he had run into Li Ang, whose strength even surpassed his own, he had really suffered for it.
The ground shook so hard that even the soldiers a hundred meters away struggled to stay on their feet.
"Holy shit!" a soldier muttered, holding his helmet. "He's tossing that monster around like a punching bag?"
Thaddeus Ross stood beside the wreckage of the command vehicle, his fists clenched white, his eyes fixed on Li Ang.
This man's strength already far exceeded Hulk's. More importantly, he was completely in control, unlike Hulk, who lost his reason.
If-if he could get his genes...
"General, shouldn't we retreat?" his adjutant cautiously reminded him.
Thaddeus Ross waved a hand without answering. His gaze lingered on Li Ang for three seconds, then shifted to the raging green giant in the distance.
Of course, Li Ang had no time to bother with what Thaddeus Ross was thinking. He was feeling great right now.
Those few exchanges had made him clearly feel the world of difference between before and after his upgrade. Had he encountered Hulk before, he probably couldn't have beaten him.
Seeing Hulk climb up again, Li Ang had no desire to keep fighting him endlessly.
Drawing on the Rooster Talisman's power, he raised his hand and clenched it toward Hulk through the air. Hulk floated out of the crater as though he had become weightless.
He still tried to struggle, but every swing of his arms only sent him spinning in midair.
It had to be the man before him doing this. White vapor puffed from Hulk's nostrils. "Again!"
Li Ang shook his head. "No more."
He needed another way to solve the problem.
He hadn't forgotten that the mission was to get Hulk and Banner to understand each other. After all, Li Ang was genuinely curious about what that mysterious Gamma Enhancement would actually do.
Li Ang slowly landed before Hulk, abandoning his fighting stance and letting his arms hang naturally at his sides.
Hulk watched him warily, his fists still raised.
"Listen to me," Li Ang said at an unhurried pace. "I can feel it. You don't really want to fight."
Hulk froze for a moment. "You lie!"
"I mean Banner." Li Ang raised a hand and pointed at his temple. "He's inside your head. I can feel his emotions. He's scared, and he feels guilty. He doesn't want to hurt those people."
Hulk's expression changed, panic mingling with his fury. His fists clenched and relaxed. "Banner... weak! Useless!"
"Is he trying to reason with him?" a soldier asked incredulously.
"Should we try that too? Hit first, talk afterward?"
"You'd be dead before you could talk," Thaddeus Ross snorted.
Li Ang didn't rush him. He simply stood there quietly, wearing an expression of understanding toward Hulk. "You were treated as a monster from the moment you were created, right?"
A monster who faced human malice from the moment he was born-one who had even been created because of human greed.
Of course Hulk would resist humans.
"Humans, weak, bad." Hulk still spoke haltingly, and listening to him, Li Ang rather felt like he was talking to a brick wall.
Not only is this pep talk getting nowhere, he can barely understand speech. How am I supposed to talk him around?
As he was thinking, Hulk snorted, his breathing already settling down.
Li Ang could hear his heartbeat slowing. He was about to change back.
Sure enough, Hulk strongly resisted returning to Banner's body. He struggled furiously to break free of the Rooster Talisman's restraints, but it was no use.
Soon, the green faded from his skin, and he returned to his limp human form as though he had entered post-nut clarity.
After returning to human form, he passed out, floating in midair like an astronaut. Li Ang beckoned, and Banner floated over on his own.
He grabbed Banner by the collar, intending to take him away.
No matter what, he couldn't let that old bastard Thaddeus Ross capture him, lest he fall into his hands again and get sliced up like lamb for hot pot.
Seeing that Li Ang was about to leave with Banner in his grasp, Betty hurried over.
She took Banner's hand, already a sobbing mess.
Their path to love had been far too tortuous. Even last night's long-awaited intimacy had been forced to stop out of fear of Hulk.
Not far away, Thaddeus Ross wasn't happy to see Li Ang about to leave either.
He staggered through the crowd, pushing his way to the front, and shouted at Li Ang, "This is military property! You have no right to take him away!"
Just hearing that old bastard's voice annoyed Li Ang. When they had been fighting for their lives, he hadn't let anyone help, and now he had the nerve to come demand Banner?
"Who the hell are you?" Li Ang frowned, showing no intention of putting Hulk down.
At his current speed, Earth's technology really couldn't do anything to him. Never mind conventional artillery-even if they brought in a nuclear bomb, it wouldn't touch Li Ang.
"I am Thaddeus E. Ross. Acting on behalf of the United States military, I now order you to hand Hulk over to us!"
He spoke with such arrogance, as though Li Ang were one of his lackeys.
A textbook redneck. Arrogant, paranoid, and a conceited dumbass.
Li Ang picked his ear. "So you're nobody, then. The military? I'm an alien."
He really wasn't from this Earth.
Thaddeus Ross narrowed his eyes, and the soldiers behind him immediately raised their guns. "If you don't hand him over, you'll be wanted by the military. No one will be able to save you then."
"If it really comes to that, then the military won't need to exist anymore." Li Ang's words were cold, spoken as though he were discussing something utterly trivial!
"You!" Before Thaddeus Ross could finish, Li Ang raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
The next second, Thaddeus Ross swallowed the rest of his words. He and the surrounding soldiers shuddered all over and dropped to their knees, utterly unable to resist.
Thaddeus Ross's face flushed crimson, as though he were bearing a thousand-pound weight.
At last, he could resist no longer and fell flat on the ground, saying in disbelief, "What... did you do?"
This was the effect of the Gravity Capture Net. It could restrain people with gravity without harming them.
"A little lesson for you. Use your brain before you speak next time, dumbass." Li Ang rolled his eyes after speaking, then turned to Betty beside him.
"Leave Banner with me. Don't worry."
His tone was the complete opposite of the one he had used with Thaddeus Ross.
Betty lowered her head and stayed silent for a long time before nodding. "I know you're a good person. You won't hurt Banner. We'll be able to see each other again, right?"
"Yes. I'll have him contact you."
With everything done, Li Ang flew high into the sky with Banner and headed toward New York, planning to have Banner meet Tony.
They were both scientists. Surely they could spark something together?
As he was thinking, Li Ang heard something shoot rapidly out through the clouds.
He scanned the area with X-Ray Vision but saw nothing, only the clouds dispersing after being disturbed.