The Mad Demon Appears Again (Fourth Update, Please Subscribe!!!)

Don’t block it, guide it!

This is why Lake temporarily changed his mind.

Although Betty was past the age where hormones dictated her actions, there was no doubt about Betty’s personality: the more you told her not to do something, the more she would do it.

This wasn’t good.

Lake’s original plan was simple: tell Betty that Bruce Banner was dead. But he forgot that he had blocked the house’s phone signal tonight, and in his haste, he overlooked this.

Since that was the case, he’d change his plan on the fly.

Rather than having Betty defy him in the future, it was better to control the risk within their manageable limits right now.

The most important point.

Hulk had already been born, and Lake had no intention of pushing Hulk towards his archenemy, S.H.I.E.L.D.

Bruce Banner was military property. If he died, he was military dead. In that case, Bruce Hulk Banner was also military property. If he died, he was the military’s Hulk.

Half an hour later.

After Lake assured Bruce Banner that he wouldn’t be dissected, and with Betty’s nod, the military arrived. After picking up Bruce, they promptly headed to Quantico Base.

Betty wanted to go along too.

Lake didn’t stop her. He wanted Betty to stay, but Bruce Banner seemed too insecure, imagining the organization he served to be overly evil. So, to prevent Hulk from emerging, Lake didn’t stop her.

Soon.

Quantico Base.

General Thaddeus Ross also arrived.

Inside the base’s large warehouse.

General Ross walked over, glared at Betty, as if to say, "I’ll settle with you later," then said to Bruce Banner, who was temporarily housed in the warehouse, "Dr. Banner, it’s really great that you’re okay. Can you help us provide some information?"

When he arrived, Lake had already called Ross, telling him to try not to make Bruce feel threatened, otherwise, the monster inside him would break free.

Bruce Banner opened his mouth and began to explain everything he knew.

He didn’t know much.

Just how he transformed, how he couldn’t control himself after transforming, and how he hid in the sewage pipes afterward.

General Ross frowned, "Dr. Banner, can you control this power?"

Banner shook his head, "No, but this might be related to my situation. I can feel that when my heart rate speeds up, he seems to be about to break out of me and take over."

Ross nodded, seeming to understand half of it, "Dr. Banner, would you mind if we ran some tests?"

Banner glanced at Betty, then gave a wry smile, "As long as it’s not dissection."

Ross’s expression turned serious, "Dr. Banner, you are a valuable asset to us. Your value to us is far greater than that monster’s value."

Dr. Banner outwardly relaxed. Although he knew the military’s character well, General Ross saying this at least provided a public guarantee.

Exiting the warehouse.

General Ross immediately issued orders. They needed to search not only for the 2.5-meter-tall monster but also for Yusuf in his human form.

If Bruce Banner could recover, perhaps Yusuf had also recovered and, taking advantage of their information gap, had already hidden somewhere by now.

After giving the orders.

General Ross and Lake returned to the office.

"What happened?"

"Banner called Betty last night. I followed him. Banner was preparing to sneak away to India, and then I came out."

"…What do you think?"

"About what aspect?"

"Your sister!"

"Betty’s personality is like that. The more we oppose her, the more enthusiastic she becomes. Don’t block it, guide it. Let her be. How long did Betty’s last boyfriend last, seven months or ten months?"

"And Bruce?"

"For us, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks."

"How so?"

Lake thought for a moment and said to Ross, "Although the information we have is limited, Dr. Bruce Banner is controllable. As long as Dr. Bruce Banner doesn’t feel threatened, he won’t transform. Moreover, Bruce is our military’s man. We don’t need to push him away, do we?"

Ross pondered for a moment, "So, what’s your suggestion?"

Lake spread his hands, "Wait and see. We can have Betty conduct some experimental tests. After a certain period, perhaps we can let that Hulk out and attempt contact. Maybe he can become one of us."

Ross looked at Lake and then chuckled, "Your stance has changed too quickly."

Lake smiled, "I’m just being flexible."

Ross didn’t say anything further.

However, this also indicated that Ross did not object to Lake’s idea. If… if Bruce Banner could demonstrate his value to the military, then Ross wouldn’t be too opposed to Betty and Bruce’s relationship.

If Bruce Banner couldn’t control himself, or rather, if the Hulk couldn’t be accessed, then that would be a different story.

10 AM.

In the laboratory.

Lake and Ross stood outside the observation window. Inside, Bruce Banner sat on the examination chair, not nervous, because Betty was also participating in this experiment and stood beside Bruce Banner.

It’s just that…

General Ross watched the scene of his precious daughter holding Bruce Banner’s right hand, his brow twitching. He was strongly suppressing the urge to rush in and shoot Bruce.

Lake also watched this scene, without much emotional fluctuation.

He just felt the scene was a bit eye-searing, because Lake unconsciously always saw Bruce as the Hulk, and then, a classic movie flashed in Lake’s mind.

That gorilla who dared to go to the Empire State Building for his girlfriend, with a big plane.

King Kong!

Lake shook his head, and the phone rang.

He answered.

After a while.

Lake hung up the phone and said to General Ross beside him, "General, I’m going out."

Ross came back to his senses and glanced at Lake, "The female reporter?"

Lake smiled.

Ross’s brow twitched. He clapped his hands at Lake, looking like he wanted him to get lost quickly.

There was no choice.

It was because his son and daughter at home were not very reliable.

Lake was hooking up with a divorced female reporter who had a child.

Betty?

Good heavens, he was still alive, and wasn’t the fatherly love he gave enough? She found someone ten years older, what was she trying to do, compensate for the lack of fatherly love?

Sigh.

It seemed he had to talk to Karen again and see if they could find an opportunity to take this pair of children to see a psychologist again.

General Ross thought to himself, when Betty and Lake were young, the cost of just seeing a psychologist was a significant expense.

Lake didn’t know what General Ross was thinking. He reminded General Ross to control his temper and not let Bruce go berserk, then he drove away.

At an open-air cafe near the Jefferson Memorial.

"Hi."

"Hi."

Lake got out of the car, kissed Rachel, who was already there, and then found a seat.

He looked up.

The weather was nice.

Lake ordered a bourbon and a hamburger, then looked at Rachel, who was sitting opposite him, "Miss me?"

Rachel rolled her eyes directly, "When did you get back?"

"The day before yesterday."

Lake took a sip of the bourbon that was served, "I had official business. I was planning to go to your place this afternoon, but then your call came."

Rachel said, "Quantico?"

Lake chuckled, "Yes, a nuclear test crisis. There might be a terrorist at Quantico. I came here to investigate."

"How did it go?"

"Great."

Lake said, "I maintained national security again. It feels great."

Rachel gave Lake a sideways glance, "If you don’t want to say, I won’t press you."

If Lake were just Lake, Rachel might have pressed him.

But they had a certain relationship, so if Lake didn’t want to say, Rachel wouldn’t ask.

After a while.

Rachel said, "These past few months, Josie has been asking when you’re taking her to Los Angeles."

Lake smiled and thought for a moment, "How about next month? We’ll take leave and go to Los Angeles for fun?"

Josie.

Rachel’s daughter, eight years old this year, like a miniature version of Rachel.

Rachel said, "Can you get away?"

Lake shrugged, "I’ve been busy with this case for over half a year. Taking a few days off is still possible."

He wouldn’t marry Rachel, but that didn’t mean he didn’t like her.

Rachel was beautiful.

She possessed a cold, stunning beauty.

Lake liked that very much, so, by extension, he could fulfill this small request of taking Josie out to play.

What?

Take over someone else’s mess?

Take over a barren wasteland.

Lake didn’t have that kind of hang-up. To put it again, even in China, if you wanted to find someone pure at over thirty years old, you’d probably have to book them from middle school. Let alone here in the Federation.

Besides.

If he wasn’t getting married, why would he take over someone else’s mess?

Meanwhile.

Quantico Military Base.

As Lake was coming to meet Rachel, inside the base, Bruce Banner, accompanied by Betty, was undergoing examinations of his physical abilities by the base doctors.

Just then.

On the Potomac River, near Quantico Airport, a section of the river’s surface began to bubble, like the gurgling sound of boiling water.

"What’s going on?"

The supervisor at the Quantico Airport control console frowned and muttered after seeing this through binoculars.

The supervisor didn’t quite understand and continued to watch through the binoculars.

The next second.

The supervisor’s eyes narrowed. He lowered the binoculars and roared at his subordinate, his voice urgent and angry, "Sound the alarm, now!"

A soldier instinctively hit the alarm button.

Instantly.

Beep!

Beep!

Beep!

Quantico Airport was filled with the blare of alarms. Immediately after, the main control room of Quantico Base pulled up the surveillance footage from the airport control tower.

But on the Potomac River.

A monstrous Mad Demon, which had appeared yesterday and transformed from Yusuf, was emerging from the river and beginning to land towards Quantico Base.

So…

This guy had been hiding in the river’s silt, resting for the night.