The Instant of Transformation, a Behemoth Emerges

Banner's roar still echoed in the laboratory, and Ye Mo's hand had already pressed down.

A system notification exploded in his mind. "Steel Bone Body, activated."

His skin hardened instantly, as if a metal shell had grown from the inside out. Before he could even regain his footing, a gust of wind slammed into his face. The ceiling exploded, and chunks of cement rained down like cannonballs. He raised his hand to shield his face, but the blast wave sent him sliding backward.

The ground cracked.

Cracks crawled outwards like a spider web, all the instruments were overturned, and the wires crackled and sparked. Just as Ye Mo regained his footing, a dark shadow pounced in front of him— the Hulk slammed his fist into the ground, creating a crater where his fist landed, and the Quake knocked him over.

He rolled twice and slammed his back against the wall. The wall cracked.

"Damn it!" he cursed, flipping over and jumping up, too afraid to approach or run. This thing was a mobile demolition crew; one touch and it would fall apart.

The Hulk raised its head, its eyes bloodshot, its mouth agape in a grin that Beast baring its teeth rather than a human smile. It snorted and made gurgling noises in its throat. It stared at Ye Mo for two seconds, then suddenly bent down, grabbed a centrifuge from the side, and swung it around in a wide arc.

Ye Mo dodged to the side, the machine grazing his shoulder before crashing into the wall and exploding into a rain of parts. He seized the opportunity to rush forward, not to fight, but to probe. He swayed left and right as he closed in, then swept his right leg low to kick its knee.

The Hulk didn't fall, not even a sway. He slapped Ye Mo across the head, the slap sending a gust of wind through Ye Mo's head, making his ears ring. Ye Mo then jumped back, creating distance.

"This physical strength... is outrageous," he muttered to himself.

The Hulk didn't chase after him. He spun around in place, grabbed a steel bar from the ground, twisted it into a U-shape with both hands, and then threw it like a javelin.

Ye Mo looked down; the steel bar was driven into the wall behind him, its end still trembling.

"Fine, you're ruthless." He took a breath, his mind racing. "We can't fight head-on; we need to find our rhythm."

He remembered Tony saying something like, "Even the toughest guy has a prelude to his moves."

That punch just now had a large swing and a noticeable shoulder raise. Before throwing the machine, he would look down to check the target first. These details can be the key to survival in high-speed combat.

The Hulk charged again, slamming his fists into the ground, forcing Ye Mo to dodge. Ye Mo jumped back and forth on the gravel and cables, as if playing a rhythm game. On his third dodge, he seized the opportunity, suddenly activated his Wall Phasing Technique, his body becoming semi-transparent, and disappeared into the side wall.

The next second, he emerged from the next room and circled around to the back of the Hulk.

"Let's launch a sneak attack!" The thought had barely crossed his mind when the Hulk suddenly turned around and slammed his elbow into the wall.

Ye Mo had just peeked out when he was almost hit and quickly retreated. A section of the wall collapsed, and dust fell down in a rush.

How does it know where I am?

He paused for a moment, then immediately realized—it was sound. The Wall Phasing Technique could make one invisible, but emerging would still produce noise. Footsteps, breathing, even the rustling of clothes—none of these could be concealed in such a quiet environment.

"We need to try a different approach," he said through gritted teeth.

The Hulk rammed into the wall a few times without hitting anyone, and began to get angry. It roared, kicked over the lab table, grabbed a high-voltage electrical box, raised it above its head, and slammed it hard into the ground.

Boom!

The electrical box exploded, sparks flew, and electricity spread along the wet ground. Ye Mo's legs went numb, and he almost knelt down. He immediately jumped onto a dry platform, his heart pounding.

"This guy is getting smarter and smarter."

He suddenly remembered something and reached into his work pants pocket—the signal jammer was still there. He'd slipped it in when he escaped, and hadn't used it.

"Try this."

He pressed the button, and the jammer emitted a low-frequency vibration. The Hulk paused, tilting his head as if he had heard something strange.

Efficient!

Ye Mo perked up, placed the jammer on the ground, and turned it on to maximum power. The Hulk began to get agitated, circling in place, patting his ears, his eyes looking somewhat dazed.

Chance!

Ye Mo burst from his hiding place and headed straight for the Hulk's back. This time, he didn't intend to fight; he only wanted to restrict its movements. He activated his Telepathy, locked onto the nerve signals in the Hulk's legs, and prepared to disrupt its sense of balance.

Just as he released his consciousness, the Hulk suddenly turned around and slammed his head in.

Ye Mo didn't have time to dodge and tried to block with his arm. His bone cracked, and the pain made his vision go white. He staggered back, and the jammer in his hand fell to the ground and was crushed by a foot.

The Hulk roared, its saliva dripping onto the ground with a sizzling sound. It raised its foot and stomped down on Ye Mo.

Ye Mo rolled away, his footprints creating a deep crater. He lay on the ground, panting heavily. His Steel Bone Body was still intact, but his stamina was waning. Each dodge was draining him, while his opponent seemed to grow more and more excited with each fight.

"If this continues, we'll be worn down sooner or later."

He looked up and saw the Hulk bending over, preparing for another close-quarters slam. His bending motion was a beat slower than before; his muscles were too tense, reducing his agility.

"Are you tired?" Ye Mo squinted.

It was actually expending energy during those intense attacks. It just has a strong recovery ability, so it doesn't show signs of fatigue. However, the smoothness of its movements wasn't as good as it was at the beginning.

There's a flaw.

He stopped moving, stood still, and waited for it to get closer.

Three meters, two meters, one meter --

The Hulk throws a punch.

Ye Mo moved. He didn't dodge, but instead rushed forward, bracing himself with his left hand on the ground, and his whole body flew through the fist like a spring. His right hand smoothly pulled out a spare small EMP device from his waist and slapped the Hulk on the back of the neck.

Here's a package for you!

The Hulk's body stiffened and his movements paused for a second due to the brief EMP discharge. Ye Mo seized the opportunity to leap away and create distance.

It turned around, its eyes even fiercer, but its steps were a little unsteady.

"As expected, the nervous system was affected." Ye Mo smiled. "Although it was only for a second, it was enough."

He adjusted his breathing and recalculated his rhythm. The previous combination of Wall Phasing Technique illusion, jammer disruption, EMP surprise attack, and psychological warfare had finally given him a slight advantage.

But it's not over yet.

The Hulk roared, then suddenly stopped chasing him and turned to charge at the innermost wall of the laboratory. It pounded the door with its fists, punching a large hole in it in a few blows, and then plunged inside.

Ye Mo was taken aback. "What does it want to do?"

He followed and saw that it was a small storage room with several blue vials hanging on the wall, labeled "Sedation-B".

"Is this an inhibitor for Banner?" He frowned.

The Hulk grabbed the potion, crushed the glass tube, and poured the liquid into his mouth.

Ye Mo's pupils contracted. "It actually knows that this thing can suppress me?"

After taking the potion, the Hulk's breathing gradually calmed down, and his muscles contracted somewhat, but his eyes remained red. He looked down at his hands, then looked up at Ye Mo, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

It's not a laugh.

It's a provocation.

It raised its hand, pointed at Ye Mo, and then made a "throat-slitting" gesture.

Ye Mo was stunned. "This thing... is conscious?"

Before he could react, the Hulk charged again, faster and stronger, as if he were using the serum as a stimulant.

Ye Mo took the punch head-on, crashing into the wall. His Steel Bone Body remained intact, but his chest felt suffocated, as if he had been hit by a truck. He coughed, wiped his mouth, and saw blood on his fingertips.

"This won't do... If we keep fighting like this, we'll all die here."

He leaned against the ruins, panting heavily. The Hulk approached step by step, the ground trembling with each step. It raised its fist, preparing for the final blow.

Ye Mo closed his eyes, quickly reviewing the list of abilities in his mind.

The Wall Phasing Technique, Telepathy, Steel Bone Body, Danger Sense... all that's missing is the ability to control the situation.

etc.

He suddenly thought of the Ice Mind Trap developed in Chapter 92. It could freeze mental fluctuations in the air, creating a predictive alarm. What if it were modified into a wide-area interference?

"Set Telepathy as the trigger, use ice as a medium, and cover the entire room... As soon as it enters the range, its nerve signals will be temporarily frozen!"

Once the idea took shape, he immediately put it into action. He placed his fingers on the ground, channeled his energy, and a thin layer of ice rapidly spread. The ice surface did not reflect light and was almost invisible, like an invisible film spread on the ground.

The moment the Hulk stepped in, Ye Mo activated his attack.

The ice flashed, the Hulk stopped abruptly, and his eyes glazed over for a moment.

Now!

Ye Mo rushed forward and delivered an elbow strike to the Hulk's temple. The Hulk staggered and knelt on one knee.

But he only knelt for a second.

It raised its head, veins bulging on its neck, and with a roar, shattered all the ice.

Ye Mo was thrown back by the blast wave, his back slamming heavily against the broken wall at the entrance of the corridor. He tried to stand up, but his legs gave way and he knelt down.

A cooling warning from his Steel Bone Body sounded in his mind: "Ability is about to expire."

He looked up and saw the Hulk standing ramrod straight, his muscles bulging, his skin gleaming with a glossy green light. He walked forward step by step, each step leaving a deep footprint in the ground.

Ye Mo leaned against the wall, panting. He knew he couldn't win a direct confrontation.

But we have to hold on.

He reached into his pocket and found a spare chip. It was an emergency communicator Emma Frost had given him, which could connect to her mental channel.

He gripped the chip tightly, staring into the Hulk's eyes.

"Since I can't beat you to death... then I'll just have to find a way to lock you up."