Half a month later.
On Tony Stark's private island.
This was an island Tony had bought on short notice, with living facilities already in place.
In the future, this island would serve as the testing grounds and laboratory he had prepared for himself and Li Ang.
After Obadiah's death, he had put Pepper in the chief executive's position and devoted himself to research.
Tony was also very interested in the Hulk inside Banner, and declared that he would someday develop a suit of armor capable of fighting Hulk.
Over the past half month, Banner had begun trying to communicate with Hulk. Going from mutual hostility at first to being able to communicate now was a major improvement.
All of this was thanks to Li Ang's training.
For example, he would take Banner high into the sky. Whenever Hulk refused to communicate or resisted transforming, he would throw Banner down.
If Banner grew frustrated and wanted to give up, Li Ang would also burn his butt with a cigarette butt.
When Banner felt lost and doubted whether he could really do it, Li Ang would bring up a precedent to encourage him.
Like the story of a certain blond-haired kid.
And so it went until today, when Banner sat cross-legged facing the shore, the rising sun smacking him in the face, wishing it could slap this fellow with the green forehead.
After half a month of integration, Banner could now communicate peacefully with Hulk.
It was just that whenever the two communicated in his mind, Banner's body would turn faintly green.
"How's it going?" Li Ang's voice came from behind him. Banner opened his eyes, his expression delighted. "We've made a lot of progress. Hulk said he used to be very lonely."
"Lonely?" Li Ang nodded slightly in understanding. After all, Hulk had been treated as a monster the moment he appeared. Of course it was good that someone was finally willing to talk to him.
At this point, a system notification suddenly sounded in Li Ang's mind.
[Mission five: Nobody loves Hulk (completed] [Mission reward: 10 attribute points. Gamma Ray Enhancement is ready and can begin at any time]
Li Ang raised an eyebrow. It seemed the two really had begun opening their hearts to each other. It had only taken half a month, which was beyond his expectations.
As for what exactly this Gamma Enhancement was, Li Ang had no idea.
But he knew that since these gamma rays could turn Banner into Hulk, they would definitely give him a huge boost too.
"Will it cause a big disturbance?" Li Ang asked the system inside him.
[Yes, so I suggest you do it in the air.]
"In the air?" He raised his head and looked toward the horizon.
[Yes, this will take some time.]
For the sake of gaining power, Li Ang considered a little time perfectly acceptable.
"I need to leave for a while. If anything happens, or Hulk throws a tantrum, think about what I'd do."
This was outright shirking his duties. Li Ang gave Banner a thumbs-up, then flew high into the sky and disappeared into the clouds.
"Think about what you'd do?" Watching the clouds churn in Li Ang's wake, Banner recalled his methods and shivered involuntarily.
Over the past half month, rather than saying he and Hulk had buried the hatchet, it would be more accurate to say that Li Ang had punched through the wall between them.
If they didn't communicate, they went bungee jumping without a cord. If their communication wasn't satisfactory, they played rock-paper-scissors, with Li Ang always throwing rock and him always throwing his face...
Li Ang flew above the clouds, opened the panel, and discovered a little green plus sign beside his name.
He understood that this was the start button. After confirming that he was far above the altitude of passenger planes, Li Ang clicked start.
The moment he clicked it, everything around Li Ang froze.
The drifting clouds no longer flowed smoothly, and the clamoring wind fell silent.
He raised his head and looked around, only to see a beam of green light from the sky envelop him in an instant!
Immediately afterward, green light filled his vision.
His lungs felt a little itchy, accompanied by the sensation of something wriggling. Then he knew nothing more.
"Sir, I've detected the same traces I previously detected inside Mr. Banner, directly above the island."
Down below, Tony was tinkering with his new armor.
He could feel his physical condition getting worse lately, just like chronic poisoning.
Aside from searching for a solution to his palladium poisoning, he was also researching a portable suit of armor.
"You mean gamma rays?" Tony stopped what he was doing.
He swiped his hand through the air, and the holographic projections around him floated over.
In the footage, Li Ang was surrounded by a mass of green light. At first, it shone straight down over him, but after a little over ten seconds, the green light vanished.
In its place, Li Ang remained frozen on the spot with his head raised.
It was as though he had gone from an organic life-form to a statue carved from jade.
"Holy shit, what the hell is he doing?" Tony frowned, unable to understand why Li Ang could still float in the sky after suddenly turning into this.
This wasn't scientific!
Of course, this was thanks to the Rooster Talisman, but Tony didn't know that.
Concerned, he walked over to the work platform and put on his armor, then flew toward Li Ang, soon arriving beside him in midair.
"JARVIS, scan for signs of life."
Once Tony finished speaking, the screen before his eyes scanned Li Ang, showing that he was merely encased in an outer layer of green material, with a heartbeat still inside.
"Whatever the case, let's bring him back first." Tony carried Li Ang back to the island.
The island's workshop had begun to take shape. After removing his armor, he took out tools, intending to cut off a piece of the material clinging to Li Ang.
First came a hammer. After two strikes, never mind chunks-not even a chip came off!
"Pretty tough!" Tony took out an electric drill next, followed by an angle grinder, but neither achieved anything.
Tony: ...
Exasperated, he put on his armor's gauntlet, raised it toward the hood of Li Ang's jacket, and charged up a laser blast.
Then, bang!
The instant the laser struck the outer shell, it reflected off to the side, scorching the crotch of the new armor he was developing pitch-black.
"Shit!" Tony cursed. He glanced at the laser weapon still under development, then shook his head and abandoned the idea.
Tony sat back down in his chair and continued developing his armor. "This guy always has a surprise for you."
Just as he was about to resume his research, JARVIS reminded him, "Sir, Nick Fury is calling."
"Black Nick Fury?" Tony said reflexively. Li Ang had simply repeated it around him too many times.
Most of it had been about how this Black Nick Fury had a foul mouth and a nasty mind.
But the man was the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., after all, so Tony took the call.
"Tony, is Li Ang with you?"
There was a rare urgency in his tone. No one had answered his calls just now, and even the pager hadn't worked.
"He is, but... he's not exactly available right now."
"Not available? The lives of an entire street are at stake here. A big guy showed up in Harlem..."
"Harlem? Got it." With that, Tony hung up and headed straight for his armor.
Since Li Ang wasn't around, it was time for Iron Man to have a turn in the spotlight!