Chapter Ninety-One: Winning Over Bruce Banner

Wang Jing draped a blanket over Bruce Banner, who looked as though he had just been pulled from the water. Betty Ross hurried over as well and helped him to his feet; he was down to nothing but a pair of oversized shorts.

“Doctor Banner, welcome to my world,” Wang Jing said with a smile.

At that moment, Song Guohua came in through the gate of the transit hall, carrying a set of clothes.

“Allow me to introduce you. This is Song Guohua, the supreme commander of this temporary base.”

“Hello, Mr. Song.” Bruce Banner held up his trousers with one hand and shook Song Guohua’s with the other.

“Put these on first. We’ll talk about the rest shortly,” Song Guohua said, handing him the clothes.

Bruce Banner took them and thanked him repeatedly.

Song Guohua and Wang Jing politely turned away.

Soft rustling came as he dressed; before long, Bruce Banner had changed into a new suit of clothes that fit him perfectly.

He cleared his throat in embarrassment. When Song Guohua looked back and saw that he was dressed, he said, “Come with me. We’ll go to the conference room and discuss your situation.” With that, he headed outside, and Bruce Banner and Betty Ross followed close behind.

Once they were seated in the conference room, Wang Jing spoke first and went straight to the point. “Doctor Banner, we asked you here because we want to invite you to join us.”

“No one here will be hunting you. You can live here with your girlfriend.”

“Of course, I can also promise to solve the problem of the monster inside you.”

At the mention of that name, Bruce Banner shot to his feet at once, excitement surging through him. “Really? You can really solve the monster inside me?”

Wang Jing nodded. “Yes, but it will take a long time.”

“How long?”

“About two or three years. Mainly, we’ll have to wait for someone,” Wang Jing said.

“Wait for who?” Bruce Banner asked, frowning.

“You. More precisely, the you of the future.”

Bruce Banner shook his head again and again at those words. “Impossible. Relativity has already proven that time can be compressed or stretched, but it cannot flow backward.”

“I never said anything about traveling through time. I said traveling through parallel dimensions. Two years from now, your future self will cross over from another dimension in search of the Time Stone. By then, you can ask him how to live in peace with the monster inside you.”

“No, no, no, that’s unbelievable. You mean another version of me will come to my world, and he’s coming to look for some kind of stone?”

“The Time Stone. It’s a bit complicated to explain. All you need to know is that he’s coming back to find a stone. The Avengers will be coming back with him too.”

“Who are the Avengers?” Bruce Banner asked, completely baffled.

“A special team founded by an international secret organization. You’re one of them too, though not yet. In two years, you will be.”

“Oh, wait—you’re making this even more confusing,” Bruce Banner said, holding his head.

“You’re saying I’m also a member of that organization, and it’s international?”

“Mm-hm. Though I prefer to think of it as a government organization,” Wang Jing said, his meaning pointed.

“But how would I agree to join a government organization?” Bruce Banner asked in disbelief.

“Because you couldn’t resist their honey trap!” Wang Jing said with a wicked grin, glancing at Betty Ross.

At his words, Betty Ross immediately shot a fierce look at Bruce Banner, and her slender, delicate hand found the soft flesh at his waist.

“Okay, fine, stop. I’ll join you, but only if everything you’re saying is true.”

“Of course. I can even bring you to meet that unforgettable beauty ahead of time,” Wang Jing said with a sly smile.

Bruce Banner was about to speak when a sharp pain at his waist cut him off.

“If you really dare go see that vixen, just wait and see how I deal with you!”

“Don’t listen to his nonsense. How could I possibly like any other woman? I’ll always love only you, Betty!” Bruce Banner pleaded.

“Hmph. That’s more like it.” Satisfied, Betty Ross finally let go of the tender flesh she had been pinching.

Bruce Banner rubbed the reddened spot on his waist vigorously, while the look he gave Wang Jing was full of grievance.

“All right, Song Guohua will take you to your quarters. I’ll be leaving first. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask him,” Wang Jing said, pointing to Song Guohua, then stood and headed for the door.

After leaving the conference room, Wang Jing made his way to Jiang Ning’s laboratory.

When he entered, he saw Jiang Ning and the Vanko father and son busily working around his armor.

“Mr. Wang!” Anton Vanko called out happily when he saw Wang Jing.

Wang Jing nodded and stepped forward. “How’s the refit going?”

“It’s nearly complete. We’re doing the final adjustments now,” Jiang Ning said.

Wang Jing nodded and looked at the armor surrounded by the three of them. Its shape had not changed much from before, though a small sphere had been added to the back and another to the chest.

“What are these?” Wang Jing asked, pointing to the two small spheres.

“These are energy shield generators,” Ivan Vanko explained. “They’re an upgraded version of the energy shields from the Pleasure Space dimension. They can generate shields multiple times over long periods, but they consume a tremendous amount of power. One arc reactor can only keep them running for an hour.”

Mentioning the arc reactor reminded Wang Jing that he had not seen it. “Where did you install the arc reactor?”

“Here.” Ivan Vanko opened the outer armor layer, revealing an arc reactor glowing with white light.

“I installed the arc reactor where the ignition source used to be, and I modified it according to your advice. Now this arc reactor can output three billion joules per second. The energy is plenty strong.”

Wang Jing nodded in satisfaction. “The data for the second-generation arc reactor has already been calculated, and the materials for the experiment are being prepared now. You can go to Song Guohua and ask to join the project.”

“The second-generation arc reactor?” Anton Vanko asked in surprise.

“Yes. After you left Stark Industries, Howard built it for his son. But because technology of the time had its limits, he hid it inside a miniature model of the Stark Expo.”

“Howard really was a genius!” Anton Vanko exclaimed.

“And my father is a genius too,” Ivan Vanko said from the side.

“I’m a genius too. Everyone around me has said so since I was little,” Jiang Ning said unhappily, feeling ignored.

Wang Jing laughed softly and kept nodding.

“How is the second-generation arc reactor’s performance?” Anton Vanko asked.

“We don’t know yet, but it shouldn’t be any worse than a nuclear power plant,” Wang Jing replied.

At that comparison, Anton Vanko let out a long, deep breath.