Your Existence Has No Meaning

What?

You’re already there?

General Ross held the phone, not knowing what to say.

If I didn’t know you could open portals, and that you, Director Wang, were a good man who wouldn’t just stand by and watch Blonsky wreak havoc, I’d have thought you’d been in Harlem all along, waiting for me to call and beg for help!

General Ross let out a sigh of relief.

With Director Wang there, there shouldn’t be a problem.

Though he hated to admit it, he had to say that if there was anyone in this world who could deal with Blonsky, it had to be him!

After thinking it over, he still felt it wasn’t safe enough.

You couldn’t put all your eggs in one basket. He couldn’t rely solely on the Shengun Bureau. What if Director Wang wasn’t up to the task?

Dealing with troublesome Special Ability Users was S.H.I.E.L.D.’s responsibility. He couldn’t let Fury sit idle!

He hurriedly made a call, his words earnest and his attitude sincere, hoping the Avengers Initiative could come help.

"General, the Avengers Initiative has an important mission." Fury had a headache.

What had been going on lately? Why were there so many incidents?

It was one thing for Tony to constantly stir up trouble, and Hydra’s routine terrorist attacks were nothing unusual, but why was General Ross adding to the chaos? Hulk had only been dealt with during the day, and now Brown Hulk had appeared at night. Was no one going to let him sleep?

Thinking of the huge problem in New Mexico, he rubbed his eyes. He knew he definitely wouldn’t be sleeping tonight.

He wouldn’t be getting a good night’s sleep anytime soon!

"Agent Hill will bring people over to help," Fury said after a moment’s thought.

He put particular emphasis on the word "help."

The meaning was obvious:

They were only there to help. Don’t expect S.H.I.E.L.D. to deal with Blonsky for you. They didn’t have that capability, nor did they want to suffer heavy losses because of his problems. S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn’t afford it!

"The Avengers Initiative has an important mission?"

General Ross froze, his expression darkening.

What important mission could be more important than dealing with Blonsky?

A general with the heart of a politician, he immediately reached a conclusion:

Fury simply didn’t want to get involved!

"Hmph! An agent among agents, a secret among secrets, a spy among spies—what a piece of work!"

"This still depends on Director Wang!"

Without comparison, there was no harm.

He hadn’t thought much of Director Wang before. At most, he found him less disgusting than most.

But compared to Fury, he suddenly realized that Director Wang was truly a rare good man.

"Perhaps… I should get closer to Director Wang?"

Looking at the chaotic Harlem, Old Wang sincerely admired Blonsky.

Could you just inject yourself with random needles? Man, you really had some nerve!

He had thought that after the butterfly effect, Abomination would never be born. Yet it had still appeared through a twist of fate. Was this what Chromie had often called the self-correcting nature of the timeline?

The world was made up of a series of complex individuals and the relationships between them.

A butterfly in the tropical rainforest of the Amazon River basin in South America might occasionally flap its wings a few times and indeed cause a tornado in Texas, United States, two weeks later.

But that was merely a possibility.

There were too many factors that could make it impossible.

To a tornado, a butterfly flapping its wings was only one of countless influencing factors, and an utterly insignificant one at that.

Likewise, Hulk leaving early was not a decisive factor in Abomination’s birth.

His own personality, the Super Soldier Serum’s total amplification of a person, his battle with Hulk, Dr. Sterns’s research into Hulk’s blood, General Ross’s desire for the Super Soldier Program to succeed, and his concealment of its failures.

All of it had pushed Abomination toward being born.

From the moment he had been transferred from the United Kingdom to the United States, his Fate had already been sealed.

Old Wang looked into the distance.

Abomination was indeed much stronger than Hulk in his normal state, and his destructive power was greater as well.

In such a short time, he had caused at least several hundred deaths. The losses to vehicles, buildings, and public facilities amounted to at least several hundred million. General Ross was in deep trouble now.

"Director Wang, please act immediately! American citizens are dying every second!"

General Ross’s anxious plea came through the earpiece. Old Wang smiled faintly.

Abomination wasn’t Hulk, and he had no interest in fighting someone whose strength was fixed. This also wasn’t an environment for a head-on battle. Otherwise, if even greater losses were caused, Old Wang wouldn’t escape responsibility either.

Most importantly…

This guy was still useful!

"Then let’s change locations!"

"And your enemy isn’t me!"

After several leaps, Old Wang reached the rooftop of a high-rise less than a kilometer away from Abomination. He raised his hand and drew a circle.

Calculating Abomination’s next movement, he opened an orange portal directly in its path. Beyond it stretched a vast ocean.

"It’s over, General."

The portal closed. Old Wang hung up and turned around.

He headed toward Gebang Academy.

Seeing the orange-yellow circle suddenly appear in the footage, and Abomination falling through it and vanishing, General Ross let out a sigh of relief.

Director Wang was Director Wang indeed. Blonsky was even more terrifying than Hulk, yet he had been dealt with in less than half a minute.

The current losses and casualties were not too severe. Although he probably couldn’t remain in the military, it wasn’t enough to send him before a military tribunal.

He sighed inwardly.

Blonsky belonged to the Shengun Bureau now, and given Director Wang’s personality, he definitely wouldn’t spit out meat once it was in his mouth.

Hulk was gone. Blonsky was gone too.

Years of effort had been destroyed in an instant. It was impossible not to feel heartbroken.

Fortunately, the Super Soldier Program’s research data was still there. He could absolutely push Dr. Sterns to restart and improve the Super Soldier Program. Even if he was no longer in the military, it would still be a valuable political asset…

Wait!

General Ross suddenly jolted.

Dr. Sterns!

Blonsky had become a monster. Was Dr. Sterns still alive?

Even if he was alive, was he still in The Laboratory?

He immediately became alert and hurriedly shouted, "Quick, get to Gebang Academy!"

Gebang Academy, The Laboratory.

After climbing up from the floor, Dr. Sterns touched his giant head, now twice as large as before, his expression strange.

"Well, I didn’t have a girlfriend to begin with. Now it’ll be even harder to find one."

"But it’s fine. What’s so good about women? Science is the only true love!"

He walked to the window and watched the distant flames soar into the sky, listening to the endless screams. A strange smile appeared on his lips again as he muttered to himself.

"My IQ has increased at least a thousandfold. I will see through the mysteries of the universe and the human heart. I am the true god!"

"Is that so?"

The moment his words fell, he heard a soft chuckle.

It carried a mocking tone.

Dr. Sterns’s entire body stiffened.

The mutation in his head had more than doubled his brain capacity, giving him telepathy and mind control. His extraordinary intelligence had brought him powerful intuition, computational thinking, information storage, logic, and philosophical frameworks.

His intuition could make the most correct judgment about anything in almost an instant.

His perfect memory allowed him to recall every moment of every event.

No movement in the surroundings could escape his senses.

He could hear blood flowing, yet he had not heard the newcomer’s footsteps.

He could sense the panic of the graduate students downstairs, yet he had not sensed anyone approaching.

And that person was already behind him.

Turning around, Dr. Sterns made a judgment after just one glance:

He couldn’t afford to provoke this person!

However, years of burying himself in research and his suddenly increased intelligence had made him incomparably confident. Upon hearing someone mock him, he instinctively snorted and nearly retorted.

But before he could speak, he stopped himself.

This person seemed to bear him ill will. Staying alive was more important. Everything else could wait…

With that thought, he hurriedly said:

"I don’t care who you are. That isn’t important! As long as you provide funding and equipment, I’ll serve you! I can perfect the Super Soldier Serum… No! I can create physical enhancement agents better than the Super Soldier Serum, increasing a person’s physical capabilities eightfold, tenfold!"

"I can mass-produce Hulks, or Brown Hulks and Red Hulks… I can create the most powerful super army in the world!"

"My intelligence surpasses humanity. I am a god among men. I am God! Whatever you ask me to research, I can develop it, and I can make it even better than you require!"

"Don’t kill me. Let me serve you."

"Think about it. A god serving you!"

He looked up at the young man with an Eastern face before him. His eyes were filled with a fierce desire to live. Beneath that desire was disdain and contempt, and beneath the contempt lingered a trace of anger.

Mortal, how dare you act arrogantly before God?

I’ll spare you for now.

Before long, I will uncover every secret of humanity. You will be no exception!

He concentrated, trying to see envy, desire, or something else on the other man’s face.

But he saw nothing.

The other man was as calm as water. He could read nothing from him.

That made him panic slightly. He felt that something was wrong.

Then he heard the other man’s slightly sarcastic voice.

"First, an increase of a thousand times in IQ is just your illusion. A bigger head doesn’t mean higher intelligence. Otherwise, elephants would rule the land and blue whales would rule the oceans, not humans."

"Second, anyone who has learned multiplication knows that two times nine is less than six times six. Your IQ wasn’t high to begin with. Even if it increased many times over, you still wouldn’t compare to Banner, Dr. Pym, or Mr. Stark. Your research direction is also Banner’s research direction. What value does your existence have?"

"Most importantly, like Abomination, your mutation produced bad results."

"Simply put, neither of you is any good. You both have ambitions, and you dare to act on them."

"So…"

"Why would I take in someone who is always ready to betray and kill me?"

Old Wang raised his hand and drew a circle. A portal appeared.

"Goodbye, Dr. Sterns!"

Watching the man leave and the portal disappear, Dr. Sterns felt both relieved and curious.

He didn’t understand why the man had spared him.

Of course, he was even more curious about what exactly that portal was, and how it could be opened by a ring.

A microscopic wormhole produced by force-field effects?

Spatial distortion caused by concentrated energy?

Could it be an ultra-miniature Warp Engine disguised as a ring, hidden through spatial storage technology?

As he thought about it, he suddenly felt a little flustered.

Strange, why is my heart beating so fast?

At least a hundred beats per second…

No, one hundred twenty!

No, one hundred eighty!

No, no, three hundred!

No!!!

I haven’t yet uncovered the mysteries of the universe and the human heart. I still love this world, and my endless curiosity has not yet been satisfied.

How can I die now?

No!

He staggered and collapsed to the floor.

After racing at an extreme speed, his heart abruptly stopped.

Bang!

The door burst open, and a squad of special forces soldiers rushed in.

"Dr. Sterns! Doctor, quickly, examine him!"

"His head has grown larger. It seems the mutation was caused by Hulk’s blood."

"No breathing, no heartbeat, body temperature thirty-seven degrees. He just died."

"Preliminary assessment: his heartbeat accelerated during the mutation, similar to Blonsky’s case. But he didn’t have Blonsky’s physique, nor was he lucky enough."

Hearing the doctor’s diagnosis, the captain organized his words before reporting to his superiors.

"General, Dr. Sterns is dead!"