Never Short of Money

Tony had ingredients and chefs flown in directly to host Steve and Banner.

After Steve and Banner finished eating, they felt a surge of power erupt from every part of their bodies.

The sensation of every cell in their bodies leaping with joy was intoxicating.

"The direction of evolution comes from what you desire most deeply."

"For example, strengthening your body, gaining Void Power, or even being able to breathe underwater—any of those can be achieved."

As Tony looked at the two of them, he shared some of his own experience.

He had been able to breathe underwater for a long time, so when he fought Hulk, he naturally evaluated Hulk’s strength from every angle.

Neither of them hesitated and chose to strengthen their bodies first.

Steve was accustomed to having a powerful body and had spent a long time honing his close-combat skills, so his evolution would naturally focus on his physical body.

Banner, on the other hand, knew he had to take things step by step, so he wanted to improve his physique first.

When he used Hulk Power to transform into Hulk, his body was indeed terrifyingly powerful, but Banner himself was still just an ordinary person.

Even if he was shot, he would not die as long as he transformed into Hulk, but who would not want an even stronger body?

A man could be criticized for anything, but never for lacking stamina.

The energy required for evolution in the early stages was not much, so this single feast Tony hosted allowed both of them to evolve twice.

Steve’s body and appearance had not changed much yet.

However, the wrinkles on Banner’s face had visibly begun to diminish.

"No wonder the Void Cult only has a few commandments. The feeling after evolution really is easy to get addicted to."

Banner looked at himself in the mirror. He showed signs of returning to his youth, and as he felt the growing strength within him, he could not help but sigh.

He had clearly only just finished eating, yet Banner found himself wanting to keep devouring more.

If he did not restrain himself even a little and instead indulged that desire endlessly, it would not be strange for him to turn into a monster at any moment.

"We still do not understand the Void deeply enough."

"But everyone in the Void Cult understands that the most important thing about the Void is staying true to yourself."

"And if you want to remain true to yourself without changing,"

"you need something clear to hold onto, or a powerful conviction, to support yourself through the overwhelming strength brought by each evolution and keep your desires under control."

Tony spoke slowly at Banner’s words.

On Void Island on Xandar, he had to work on technology, so he did not have much time to teach others.

But things were different now. Steve and Banner were both latecomers, and he could enjoy the pleasure of being something like a teacher.

Steve fell into thought after hearing this and understood why Harvey had not asked him anything else, only about his ideals and what he held dear.

"I’m not in a hurry with anything, so I can take it slowly."

"But there is one problem. If I start looking younger, how am I supposed to go out in the future?"

Banner spoke after hearing Tony’s words.

"You may be a doctor, but you’re not like me, constantly showing my face in public as some famous celebrity."

"People recognize me everywhere I go."

"But you’re different. Most of the people who know you are from the scientific community."

"And you know what scientists are like. Most of them are shut-ins who like staying in their laboratories."

"I’ll have Jarvis make you a fake identity. Just disguise yourself a little, and you can go wherever you want."

"Actually, you’ll be more relaxed and free if you operate under another identity."

There was also a trace of envy in Tony’s words.

"That does sound reasonable."

"But before I change identities, I think I need to get Hulk Power under control first."

"Otherwise, I could still cause a disaster if I went out."

Banner heard Tony’s seemingly boastful words, but realized Tony was actually somewhat envious of him. After thinking it over, he nodded.

"That’s up to you. This island usually isn’t lived on much anyway."

"If you want to stay here for a while, I can hire people to arrange your meals every day."

"There’s Wi-Fi and all sorts of everyday amenities here too, so you probably won’t get bored."

Tony supported Banner’s plan.

Although he could beat Hulk back into submission, that depended on the location. If Hulk started smashing things in a crowded urban district, people would die after only a few blows.

That was why Tony had brought Banner to his Private Island.

Whether Banner joined the Void or not, Banner needed to stay here and properly practice how to control the power within him.

Hulk was not a ticking time bomb to Tony, but to everyone else, Hulk was even more terrifying than one.

"Isn’t this a little inappropriate…? You’ve already helped me so much."

Seeing Tony’s generous manner, Banner felt somewhat embarrassed.

"Broaden your horizons. Think bigger."

"Right now, you can’t fully control your power, so you can barely go anywhere."

"But once you can control it perfectly, you can research all kinds of technology from the universe with me and lead Earth into the interstellar age sooner."

"Of course, I won’t shortchange you on food, lodging, transportation, or pay."

"Otherwise, relying on yourself alone, if you don’t go robbing people, even eating would probably be a problem for you."

Tony said with a smile.

Banner’s achievements in physics were terrifyingly impressive. With Banner working alongside him, they would surely speed up Earth’s entry into the interstellar age.

"All right, Tony. Thank you."

Banner considered Tony’s words and agreed.

"What about me…? If I eat this much food every day, I won’t have enough money either."

After hearing Tony and Banner’s conversation, Steve pointed at his own face and spoke.

It was not that Steve was shamelessly hoping Tony would cover his food and lodging. The problem was that he had only recently emerged after being frozen in ice for decades.

Originally, he could have let S.H.I.E.L.D. cover his food and lodging, but now that he had joined the Void Cult, his body would undergo even more changes, and his appearance would inevitably become younger.

That would arouse all kinds of suspicion from S.H.I.E.L.D. and expose the fact that he had joined the Void Cult.

Just thinking about how, after accepting S.H.I.E.L.D.’s help, he would have to respond to military scientists who wanted to study things like his blood made Steve take the initiative to seek Tony’s help.

"You can stay here too."

"As a senior who joined the Void Cult earlier, it’s no trouble for me to look after you two."

Tony waved a hand grandly as he spoke.

Although he had originally been just an ordinary person without any truly cool superpowers.

To everyone else on Earth, Tony possessed a superpower as well: everyone knew Tony Stark was never short of money.

Day twenty-two of ten-thousand-word updates, first chapter delivered.