On the other side, Hulk, relying on his terrifying jumping ability that was both high and fast, sped through the urban area of New York.
Once, twice, three times.
His legs were like two giant springs; every time he landed, he smashed a deep pit into the ground, then used the recoil to take flight again, leaping hundreds of meters in distance.
Harlem grew further and further behind him, the skyline of Manhattan gradually blurred, and the surrounding scenery changed from a city of towering buildings to low suburban houses, then to sparse woods, and finally to rolling wilderness.
He had to shake off that tail.
That woman with the golden-red hair.
Hulk could feel him; from the moment he left Harlem, that aura had been following behind him, unhurried, maintaining a fixed distance.
He accelerated, and he accelerated too.
He turned, and he turned too.
He tried to weave through the dense complex of buildings, using obstacles to shake off the pursuit—but he was always there, just like a shadow cast by the Sun, impossible to shake off forever.
Hulk roared in annoyance and increased the force of his jump again.
This time he jumped even further, skimming directly over a forest and landing on the back of a small hill.
Upon landing, he slightly bent his legs to cushion the impact, then immediately exerted force again—wait.
Where was that aura?
Hulk paused after landing, stunned.
He couldn't feel it anymore.
That aura, which had been following behind him, warm like Fire, had disappeared.
Hulk stood in place, looking around vigilantly, and then—a golden-red light descended from the sky, landing three meters in front of him.
"Hello there, big guy."
Mavuika stood on the grass, his long golden-red hair fluttering gently in the wind, his face wearing a gentle, even somewhat curious smile.
"Can you understand me?"
Hulk subconsciously took a step back, assuming a fighting stance.
He recognized this person.
Just now in Harlem, he had seen with his own eyes how he pinned that annoying yellow guy to the ground and crushed him.
The Abomination, who had forced him into a bitter battle and once stepped on him, was as powerless as a baby in front of this person.
So even the simple-minded Hulk knew that this person was dangerous.
"Roar—!"
He let out a warning roar, the meaning roughly being "Don't come over."
Mavuika did not move; he could feel that this green giant before him had his own thoughts, and was not a Beast with only instinct.
Hulk roared again, turned around, and prepared to jump again.
But just as he took a step, he stumbled.
Hulk grabbed a pine tree, his giant palm making the trunk creak.
His head began to spin, his vision blurred, and a strange, drained feeling emanated from deep within his body.
The Hulk inhibitor injection from earlier was still taking effect; it was originally a forced transformation, and now it could no longer maintain the berserk form.
Hulk's consciousness began to blur.
He could feel his body shrinking, his muscles atrophying, his bones contracting, and the color of his skin gradually fading from a deep green.
He struggled, trying to maintain Hulk's form.
But the battle just now had consumed too much energy; no matter what, he couldn't control it.
Mavuika stood in place, watching in surprise as the green giant rapidly shrank before him.
The scene was somewhat eerie; the four-to-five-meter-tall body deflated like a punctured ball, the bulging muscles dissipated like receding seawater, and the rough green skin gradually became smooth and pale...
In just a few short seconds, he turned into an ordinary, thin, pale-faced man.
He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of baggy, dirt-covered trousers.
Thin shoulders, pale skin, sunken cheeks, and a pair of tired brown eyes filled with panic and embarrassment.
He crossed his arms over his chest, trying to cover his body, but the action looked both pitiful and ridiculous.
Mavuika blinked.
"...What is this?" Even Mavuika, who had seen many wonders of the Universe, was seeing this situation for the first time and couldn't help but ask.
Bruce Banner swallowed hard, rubbed his cold arms, feeling embarrassed and helpless, and simply explained his situation.
"Uh..." he began, his voice hoarse and weak: "This is a... very long story."
Banner took a deep breath and started from that failed Gamma Ray experiment three years ago.
He told of the destruction caused after he turned into Hulk, told of his life hiding here and there for these three years, working in the slums of Brazil, contacting "Mr. Blue" via email, and trying to find a way to cure himself.
Then he spoke of recent events.
The Military had been hunting him for research; the Abomination was the product of General Ross's subordinates using his serum without authorization, and this street catastrophe was entirely caused by the Military's experiment going out of control.
Mavuika listened quietly.
"Then you appeared." Banner looked at him, his eyes complex, "You... you defeated him..."
He paused, then asked with difficulty: "Who exactly are you?"
"Mavuika." He simply stated his name.
Banner waited a few seconds, found he had no intention of continuing to explain, and had to nod: "...Mavuika, alright... So, Ms. Marvica, are you... from some government agency? Or... like us..."
He didn't know how to define "us."
Mutants? Superpowered people? Monsters?
"Neither." Mavuika said: "My situation is not quite the same as yours."
Banner fell silent.
"Do you need help?"
Mavuika's voice interrupted his train of thought.
Banner was stunned for a moment, then shook his head.
"No... no need." He said, trying to make his voice sound firmer: "I can handle it myself."
He had long been used to fleeing alone and did not want to drag anyone else into it.
Mavuika looked at him shirtless, shivering in the cold wind of the suburbs, his lips turning purple from the cold, and sighed helplessly: "Forget it, at least let me find you some clothes first."
Before Banner could react to the meaning of this sentence, Mavuika had already walked in front of him and reached out to grab his arm.
"Wait... wait—!!!"
Banner's voice instantly went up an octave.
The next second, golden-red Fire rose from beneath Mavuika's feet, enveloping them both.
Banner felt his body being lifted off the ground by an invisible force. He looked down; the woods were shrinking, the hills were shrinking, and that small stream turned into a silver thread—
They were rising, rising in a way that completely defied physical laws.
"Ahhhhh—!!!"
Banner let out a terrified scream.
Not the kind of reserved, suppressed scream, but a real, heart-wrenching scream, the kind where one's whole being just falls apart.
His other hand gripped Mavuika's arm tightly, fearing he might fall if he wasn't careful.
"Let... let me down—!!!"