Not Sleeping at Two in the Morning

This wasn’t because Lake didn’t care about Betty.

Quite the opposite.

Although Betty had no blood relation to Lake, Lake had watched her grow up, and he truly saw Betty as a younger sister.

So…

Lake thought, to avoid a disastrous relationship with Bruce Hulk Banner in the future, it was better to cut ties decisively now and sever this potential entanglement.

There was no better time than the present.

Lake described the comparison between a pile of corpses and a meat patty to Betty in this way, intending for Betty to make a connection. The idea was that even if Bruce Banner appeared in the future, Betty’s so-called hormones would be suppressed, and she would naturally associate Bruce Banner with the meat patty from not too long ago.

People might become interested in others, but they would never be interested in a pile of minced meat.

So, don’t blame me, little sister.

Lake thought this as he watched Betty, who was bent over and almost vomited to the point of fainting.

Ten minutes later.

Lake finished his speech.

Betty had already vomited and fainted. She had tried to cover her ears, but it was no use, and her stomach couldn’t handle it either. After all, Betty and Lake had eaten the delicious meat patties Karen had just made that morning.

In the evening.

Betty slowly woke up. After looking around her bedroom, she seemed to remember something, rolled over, got out of bed, walked out of her bedroom, and ran towards the stairs.

"Good evening."

Lake sat in the living room, watching Betty come down the stairs. He picked up the meat patty in his hand. "Want a piece? Karen just made them."

Betty’s footsteps halted.

The next second.

She turned and ran back to the bathroom upstairs, followed by another round of retching.

Karen, who was in the living room, looked at Lake with some curiosity. "What’s wrong with your sister?"

Lake shrugged. "Maybe she’s tired of eating it?"

Karen thought for a moment, nodded, and didn’t ask any more questions about it.

A moment later.

Bang!

Lake, without looking up, caught the pillow thrown at him.

Betty, standing on the stairs, threw another pillow at Lake.

Lake caught it again.

Karen, standing nearby, said speechlessly, "Betty, what are you doing?"

Betty angrily pointed at Lake. "Ask him."

No one bullied her like this. Her boyfriend had died, and she was already sad enough. What kind of brother wouldn’t try to comfort his sister? Not only did he not comfort her, but he also sat there talking about the connection between her boyfriend and the meat patty.

Lake chuckled, tossed the two pillows onto the sofa beside him, and then looked at Betty thoughtfully. "Are you sure you want me to tell Mom the whole story behind this?"

As he spoke, Lake nodded and looked directly at Karen.

Betty snapped back to attention. "No."

Lake spread his hands towards Karen, making an apologetic gesture.

Karen was amused and looked at Betty. "You two siblings are hiding something from me."

Lake raised his hand. "I swear to God, I’m not."

Betty pouted. "Mom, don’t ask me. My brother and I signed a non-disclosure agreement."

Karen frowned. "Is it about what happened at the Quantico base today?"

Betty looked at Karen. "Mom, you know too?"

Karen gave Betty a sidelong glance. "Ross didn’t sign any non-disclosure agreement."

However…

What Betty knew was that in a while, it would be announced to the public that the experimental building was planned for demolition and reconstruction. But the outside construction team’s quote was too high. Conveniently, there were a few expired artillery shells at the base, so they decided to use them for recycling, bombing the experimental building directly with the shells to complete the demolition work quickly.

As for the soldiers who died this time, the guards had already gone to their homes. For their families, the only thing they knew was that their loved ones had died in an accidental parachute jump exercise.

The army lost many soldiers due to exercises every year, so this explanation was not out of place.

Around nine o’clock in the evening.

Ross, dusty and travel-worn, returned home.

Betty looked at Ross with a tense expression.

Ross shook his head subtly.

Betty…

What Betty didn’t know was that Lake had gone back to the base in the afternoon. The experimental building ruins had already been dug up, and the bodies of Bruce Banner and Yusuf were naturally nowhere to be found. Then, with a little thought, one could deduce that the two monsters that appeared were transformed from Bruce Banner and Yusuf.

Lake found Ross and told him, "When you go back, if Betty asks about Bruce Banner, just shake your head and confirm Bruce Banner’s death."

Ross asked why.

Lake sold Betty out without hesitation. On this matter, Lake and Ross were on the same page: how could such a cute sister (daughter) be with an old man ten years her senior?

The most important point.

Bruce Banner and Yusuf were destined to be captured, and their fate after capture was already sealed – nothing but the dissection table awaited them.

After hearing this final piece of devastating news, Betty lost her appetite and shut herself in her room, likely to spend the night mourning her lost love.

In the study.

Lake and Ross closed the door, smoking cigars and drinking fine wine.

"Tell me the specifics."

"There aren’t many specifics. What I know is pretty much what you know. It seems Yusuf realized he was exposed and intended to commit suicide using gamma rays, but something went wrong. His suicide failed, and he turned into a monster instead."

"…That’s good news."

"…Huh?"

Ross said to Lake, "Actually, over the years, the military has figured out most of the formula for the Super Soldier Serum created by Erskine. They’ve conducted several experiments, but they all failed due to gamma variables. We always wondered if gamma rays were actually useless."

Lake: "…"

During World War II, Captain America, Steve Rogers, received his serum injection inside a metal box. This wasn’t for secrecy, but because when Steve Rogers entered the metal box, the serum injection would be administered with the assistance of gamma rays, and the metal box was designed to contain the gamma rays within it.

Over the years, the military had pieced together most of the formula’s components through various clues and experiments, but they couldn’t confirm the exact proportions. The final variable of gamma radiation was also a problem.

And now?

The appearance of the two monsters gave the military hope.

Gamma rays had a significant effect.

As for why they turned into monsters, the military speculated it might be due to an excessive dosage or the lack of combination with the Super Soldier Serum. But at least, the fact that gamma rays were effective was enough.

It was estimated that the military’s next step would be to allocate funds for full-scale research into gamma rays. Of course, the immediate goal was to find the monsters that Bruce Banner and Yusuf had transformed into.

Lake asked, "Have you found those two monsters yet?"

Ross shook his head, "Not yet. We’re investigating both upstream and downstream along the Potomac River. As soon as there’s any news, our people will be able to get there as quickly as possible."

Lake nodded.

The Potomac River wasn’t just a simple inland waterway. After all, the naval base was in Quantico. This Potomac River led directly to Washington D.C. downstream, and it connected to the Chesapeake River, which then led through the Virginia Sea all the way to Bermuda…

Therefore, the possible range of movement for these two monsters was extremely vast.

Moreover…

To prevent these two monsters from flowing upstream to Washington D.C., the military had made thorough preparations in Washington D.C. The Pentagon had already reported the matter to Mr. President.

This wasn’t something their military experiments had caused. Although the military had to take responsibility for this incident, with some maneuvering, they could completely shift the blame to S.H.I.E.L.D.

Why?

S.H.I.E.L.D. claimed to monitor global security. A madman attempted to build a nuclear bomb to attack the Federation, failed, and then turned himself into a monster, also taking a PhD-level doctor with him. Yet, the Department of Homeland Security was the first to know about this. What role did S.H.I.E.L.D. truly play here?

Nick Fury, who had only recently taken over as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., was bewildered and furious upon hearing the Pentagon’s accusations against him from the White House.

However, facing the Pentagon’s questioning and attempts to shift blame, Nick Fury naturally refused to accept it. The two were still negotiating the division of responsibility at the Pentagon.

But regardless of the negotiations, S.H.I.E.L.D. still dispatched personnel to assist the military in monitoring the Potomac River.

At night.

Lake, who was asleep, suddenly opened his eyes.

Someone was tiptoeing outside. However, it wasn’t someone entering from outside, but someone moving quietly from inside the house towards the outside.

Betty?

It was already 2 AM. What was she doing?

Didn’t she know that staying up past 2 AM meant trouble?

Lake got up stealthily. When the footsteps gradually reached the stairs, Lake slowly opened his door. He saw Betty, carrying a backpack, moving downstairs quietly and cautiously, as if afraid of waking anyone in the house.

Interesting.

Did Bruce Hulk Banner call her?

Lake thought to himself. After considering it for a moment, he took the suit jacket draped on the hanger, put it on, and then closed his door before following Betty.

In the garage.

Betty opened the car door and got in, carefully closing the door. Only after the garage door was fully opened did she slowly start the engine.

The car started.

Betty closed her eyes, counting "one, two, three, four, five," and then listened intently. After a while, Betty breathed a sigh of relief, started the car, and cautiously drove out of the garage.

Ten seconds later.

The car hit the road.

Only then did Betty fully relax. "Tch, you said your vigilance was high, but you didn’t even know I was sneaking out. So, you’ve been lying to me all these years, making me miss out on so many opportunities to sneak out to parties? Liar, big liar!"

Lake, who was clinging to the back of the car with his right hand: "…"