Chapter 224: Chapter 224 Betrayal

These days were perhaps the worst of Bruce’s life.

His clothes were in tatters, he was starving, he traveled over mountains and rivers, enduring the elements and living the life of a begging refugee.

But the powerful conviction of returning to Betty’s side made him grit his teeth and persevere. Finally, after half a month, Banner successfully snuck back into the United States.

……

Culver University, Virginia.

The weather was bright and sunny, and the campus was filled with busy, smiling students. Banner blended into the crowd, looking at the familiar sights and buildings as if he were in another world.

After half a year, he had returned to the place that had changed his life.

Filled with complex emotions, he walked to the laboratory entrance. All the data on his transformation into the Hulk was stored on the top floor of this building.

He moved with the crowd toward the lab’s main door, only to be faced with a metal detector and a security checkpoint. To enter, he needed a keycard and had to pass inspection.

Banner glanced at the guard—a man with sharp eyes. His serious, focused expression made it clear he wasn’t some fool who could be easily tricked.

Helpless, Banner pulled his cap low and quietly slipped away.

It was okay. If Plan A failed, he had a Plan B.

His girlfriend, Betty, was a professor at the university. Banner could get a pass from her, or just ask her to get the data for him.

He left the lab and went to the teaching building. Hiding behind a newspaper, Banner sat on a bench on the lawn, his eyes glued to the building’s exit.

Before long, Betty emerged, dressed in a professional suit, laughing and talking with several colleagues as she held a cup of coffee.

The instant he saw her, Banner couldn’t help but smile.

But then he remembered his fugitive status. He left the bench and ducked into the bushes behind him, deciding to wait until she was alone to approach.

After saying goodbye to her colleagues at the door, Betty sat on a nearby bench alone, checking a text message.

Whatever it said, she suddenly broke into a brilliant smile. The sunlight on her face made it even more radiant.

From the bushes, Banner watched, mesmerized. Betty’s profile seemed to cleanse his body and soul. All the suffering and turmoil of the past days felt purified by that one smile.

Suddenly, Betty looked up, and her eyes met his across the distance. Her expression froze for a second… then melted into a loving smile.

She sees me?

Banner instinctively pulled back behind the tree.

But his heart was hammering. He couldn’t suppress his excitement and joy. He desperately wanted to run out and kiss his long-lost love.

I don’t care. I don’t care about any of it!

Even if General Ross is waiting right there, I have to go out and tell Betty everything.

Completely swept up in the moment, Banner’s courage surged. With the valor of a warrior, he stepped out from the bushes.

Betty seemed to sense him; she stood and walked toward him, smiling.

Banner was ecstatic. He quickened his pace.

Suddenly, a figure appeared, stepping in from the side and blocking Banner’s view.

The man was taller than Banner, medium build, dressed in a light-blue shirt and a brown vest.

The man walked right up to Betty, wrapped an arm around her intimately, and kissed her, right there in the open.

Banner’s steps halted. His expression was as if he’d seen a ghost.

Betty… has a boyfriend?

In that instant, his world collapsed.

He had joined General Ross’s research team for Betty!

He had hidden in Brazil, desperately searching for a cure for Betty!

He had gone through hell, risked capture, and snuck back into the US, for Betty!

But he never expected that after only half a year, Betty would have a new boyfriend!

Banner couldn’t believe his eyes. He just stood there like a fool, watching the two of them walk off campus, hand in hand.

He stayed there until they were long gone, until his legs grew numb and his vision blurred. Only then did he dejectedly lower his head and slowly walk away.

………

The vast city was noisy and bustling, but Banner’s heart was a dead void.

He felt like a soulless zombie, wandering aimlessly through the streets.

He just walked, and walked, and walked…

He didn’t snap out of his daze until dusk began to fall.

After finally accepting the cruel reality, Banner headed to a pizza shop near Culver University.

The owner was an old friend of Banner’s. Despite being well into his seventies, he still insisted on making every pizza himself. Practically everyone at Culver University had tried his food.

He knocked, entered, and explained to his old friend that he needed a place to stay. The owner agreed without hesitation, asking with concern how he’d been.

During their chat, Betty’s new boyfriend came up. Apparently, he was a top-tier neurologist, and a gentle man.

Hearing his old friend speak so highly of him.

“Good. That’s… good,” was all Banner could say to console himself.

……

After a restless night, Banner refocused. He started to think about infiltrating the lab.

Whatever happened with him and Betty, the Hulk was still a roadblock in his life. Curing himself could not wait.

When he brought it up with his old friend, the man solved his problem by simply handing him a delivery slip.

It was a delivery order for the top floor of the lab.

Dressed in a delivery uniform, Banner rode a bike to Culver University.

When he got to the security checkpoint with the pizza, he saw today’s guard was a middle-aged white man, a redneck.

Banner walked up. “Hey man, I’ve got a pizza delivery for the fifth floor.”

The guard glanced at him. “No one’s on the fifth floor right now. You can’t go up.”

“Please,” Banner begged, “if I can’t deliver this, I’ll lose my job. I’m begging you, just let me go up and check.”

The guard eyed the pizza box and kept quiet.

“This one’s on me,” Banner said, getting the hint and offering the box.

The guard lifted the lid, confirmed it was a topping he liked, and then, smiling, shot Banner a ’go on up’ look.

Overjoyed, Banner said, “Man, you’re the best.”

“Good luck.”

With that, the guard sat back down and began to enjoy his free lunch.

Carrying the pizza box, he quickly reached the fifth floor. Just as the guard said, it was empty.

Banner sat at a computer and used Betty’s account to log into the university’s internal network.

As he typed, he prayed Betty hadn’t changed her password.

Luckily, Betty really hadn’t.

But, unluckily, Banner searched the entire internal network and found nothing. The experiment data was gone. Even his own personal information had been deleted.

He didn’t have to guess. This was definitely his father-in-law’s handiwork. No, he corrected himself: General Ross.

He slowly closed his eyes. He felt bitter, sad, and hopeless.

Completely helpless, he could only log onto a social media platform to contact Mr. Blue, hoping he could think of another way.

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