A time traveler arrives in the Multiverse with an ability that turns confident assumptions into reality. If he believes an ordinary object should perform an impossible task, the rules of the world may simply adjust to make it happen. A bicycle can rise into the sky, common equipment can behave far beyond its normal limits, and even the human body can ignore expectations that should be absolute. The power sounds convenient, but every new idea raises a larger question: if reality keeps obeying what he thinks is “scientific,” how long will it be before no one—including him—can tell where logic ends and imagination begins?
Chapter 39: 038: What a Jerk
Although it was already certain that the Hulk would most likely be saying goodbye to this world, just to be on the safe side, Kraft still had Angela pinpoint the locations of the people he cared about. Upon discovering that they were all quite far from Bruce Banner, he continued to recharge himself using the learning helmet. However, this device wasn’t all-powerful. Absorbing knowledge didn’t mean Kraft could invent gadgets that hadn’t appeared in his dreams, just like the scientists there; it only allowed him to understand the principles behind the gadgets that had already appeared and modify them to a certain extent. What truly set those scientists apart were their wildly imaginative ideas. Furthermore, when it came to inventions that defied all logic—like those of Dr. Higashisumo or Dr. Tsurumaki—Kraft simply couldn’t grasp them no matter how much knowledge he inputted. This made him extremely curious about what kind of world those guys actually lived in. Unfortunately, the dreams mostly only show the manufacturing and testing processes; for everything else, Kraft has to rely on his own deductions based on details like the contents of books, interior furnishings, and architectural styles. It was, in a way, one of Kraft’s little pleasures within the dreams. After transferring a portion of the dream’s data into his brain, Kraft took off his helmet and shook his slightly throbbing head. Every time the transfer was complete, he needed a little time to process the information. He really had no idea how the Child Emperor in the dream managed to absorb the knowledge of an entire library in just one hour. Kraft slumped in his chair like a piece of dried fish. A mechanical arm clad in a white glove extended from each side of the armrests, pressing against his temples and massaging them continuously. “There’s a problem with Bruce Banner.” Just as Kraft had regained his composure a bit and was about to put the knowledge he’d just absorbed into practice, Angela’s hologram appeared before him once more. Before Kraft could ask any questions, Angela projected the live feed from the scene onto the wall. A yellow-green monster was wreaking havoc on the street. Its appearance was even more ferocious than the Hulk’s—its joints were sharply defined, and a row of spikes jutted from its spine. If the Hulk looked like a bodybuilder fresh out of the gym, this monster resembled a seasoned underground fighter who’d been battling in the shadows for years. “Hulk! Get out here!” The yellow-green monster grabbed a car and casually hurled it at the military helicopter in the sky, roaring loudly. “What the hell is this?” Kraft’s first thought was the blood samples Bruce Banner had sent to Samuel Sterns. “Could this guy be that ‘Mr. Blue’? He’s not even blue, though.” “Judging by his earlier conversation with the military, he seems to be the officer in charge of capturing the Hulk.” “Um… so is this General Ross’s trump card against the Hulk? But it looks like it’s gotten out of control too…” Earlier, while searching for information on the Hulk, Kraft had indeed come across details about General Ross’s research on the Super Soldier Serum—but since the location wasn’t New Mexico, he’d ruled it out at the time. “How on earth did he manage to make the Super Soldier Serum produce the Hulk effect?” “It seems this officer secretly injected Samuel Sterns with the Hulk serum again.” Angela promptly cleared things up for Kraft. “…Well… General Ross—what a unlucky guy.” First his son-in-law turned into a monster, then his subordinate turned into a monster—if his daughter or even he himself were to turn into monsters in the future, that would be a real laugh. At this thought, a malicious grin spread across Kraft’s face. As General Ross was a representative of the official American hawks, Kraft was naturally delighted to see him make a fool of himself. Just as the Hulk was unstoppable, ordinary soldiers were completely powerless against the monster that Emil Blonsky had become. Since they were in the heart of the city, many heavy weapons were simply unusable, so aside from hiding in the distance and firing a few harmless bullets, they couldn’t land a single effective blow. However, judging by General Ross’s past behavior, this die-hard hawk probably wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer. After all, the creature currently wreaking havoc in New York was one of his own men; if he didn’t take care of it soon, he’d likely end up in a court-martial. In truth, even if General Ross managed to defeat that monster right now, he wouldn’t be off the hook either. In short… he’s just a total unlucky bastard. Just as Kraft had suspected, after most of the civilians had been evacuated, General Ross, no longer concerned about collateral damage, ordered his men to begin using heavy weapons such as artillery shells. The shockwave from the violent explosions temporarily slowed the monster’s advance, but it also made him even more frenzied. Bronsky, who had previously focused most of his attention on forcing the Hulk to reveal himself, began actively attacking his former comrades. The army, which had only just achieved a slight victory, instantly suffered heavy casualties. And so, the Hulk appeared. The two green monsters began battling on the streets of New York. However, compared to the Hulk—who had transformed from a researcher—Bronsky was far superior in hand-to-hand combat skills, and the Hulk was soundly beaten as soon as he charged forward. “Didn’t they say the Hulk problem had already been resolved?” Kraft wasn’t concerned with the outcome of the battle between the two monsters; in his view, as long as the United States was willing to take decisive action, it would have no problem forcibly eliminating them. “According to the data analysis, the Hulk is now displaying significantly less strength than before.” Angela listed set after set of comparative data, then also brought up the research materials she’d stolen from Samuel. “The serum must be taking effect; it’s just that the Hulk is proving to be a tougher opponent than anticipated.” “Hmm… This solution seems perfectly sound.” Kraft carefully pored over Samuel’s research materials, nodding occasionally. To guard against things like the zombie virus, he’d taught himself quite a bit about biological sciences, so understanding Samuel’s materials wasn’t difficult. Based on the descriptions, it was indeed theoretically possible to solve the Hulk problem. Moreover, given that the Hulk hadn’t appeared for so long and now appeared significantly weakened, it was clear that the plan had worked—it was just that the mutation within Dr. Banner was far more resilient than they’d anticipated. “So does that mean Dr. Banner is done for?” After transforming into the Hulk, Dr. Banner chose to live in seclusion on the Sogun Islands, which had earned him a slight measure of goodwill from Kraft. However, today’s events seemed determined to defy Kraft—no sooner had he reached that conclusion than he was proven wrong. “The Hulk’s strength is rapidly returning.” Angela brought up the combat footage again. In the video, the Hulk had gone from being thoroughly beaten by Bronsky to trading blows with him, while the power readings Angela was calculating on the side were skyrocketing. “The strength the Hulk is demonstrating right now far exceeds his previous records.” “Ah… I can see that…” The battle in the video was now completely different from the beginning. The once-arrogant Brownski now looked like a giant, tattered sack of rags, held in the Hulk’s hands and tossed about at will, utterly powerless to resist. “So, how was this achieved?” Does the knockoff ultimately lose out to the genuine article? Kraft felt, for some reason, as if he’d been subtly taken to task. “Based on the data we’ve collected, the Hulk’s strength seems to be linked to his emotions—the angrier he gets, the stronger he becomes.” Unaware of Kraft’s inner turmoil, Angela stated her analysis matter-of-factly and pulled up a video showing the Hulk calming down because of Betty Ross. “Emotions, of all things… What kind of third-rate sci-fi romance movie is this…” Kraft clicked his tongue. He suddenly felt that the technology in his world didn’t seem all that logical after all.
