“. high-level? Me? Didn't . disband a couple of days ago?”
Banner asked, puzzled.
“Barring any unforeseen events, . will complete its reorganization before the end of the year, and I will be the new Director of .”
Banner: ? ? ?
How did a perfectly good Director become you?
However, if Shimizu could really become the Director of ., that would be a good thing.
“If you're worried about losing control, I can try to see if I can solve it.”
Shimizu touched the Eye of Wato on his chest and said to Banner.
“Really?”
Banner was a little excited, but quickly calmed down.
He had tried countless methods: yoga, meditation, sitting meditation, chanting scriptures, and even attempted to take poison, drown himself, and jump off cliffs, but none were successful.
In the field of scientific research, he had overcome countless difficulties, but as for the Hulk, he still hasn't found a solution.
Having failed to the point of numbness, he didn't want to be disappointed like he used to, and didn't even dare to get emotionally excited, constantly suppressing his inner self.
Fortunately, he had a good temper and had learned meditation and chanting, so he was very good at cultivating his temperament.
“Why don't we try and see?”
Shimizu reached out and opened a portal in front of him, coming to Banner's side.
Seeing this, the latter was not too surprised.
He had known about Shimizu's magic for the past month, and had even studied it out of curiosity, but had not been able to find any results.
“Last time you asked me if magic could control the Hulk, I said that it still needed research. As for now, with this, I have some confidence.”
Shimizu walked out of the portal, raised the Eye of Wato hanging on his chest, and showed it to Banner.
“What is this thing…?”
“The Eye of Wato, a magical artifact I created. On Earth, this thing should be one of the two most valuable magical artifacts, and even in the entire universe, it belongs to the top-level artifacts.”
Banner put his glasses back on and looked at the exquisitely shaped object with an inquisitive gaze. It looked like an antique replica that had just been made last week—in fact, the Eye of Wato was indeed made last Sunday, and it was indeed imitating the Eye of Agamotto, an old antique that was already thousands of years old.
Banner didn't understand magic, but hearing Shimizu say it was so powerful, he couldn't help but regain some hope.
“Are you confident? If the Hulk comes out, you should have time to open the portal and run away, but the equipment in the laboratory on this island…”
“It's not worth much, only two or three hundred million, and some of it is equipment that has already been retired from Osborn, so it's not top-notch.”
Banner pushed his glasses up, silent.
Isn't two or three hundred million dollars a lot?
It's not top-notch, but it's still first-class experimental equipment. There might not be enough for a hundred units in the whole world. The money would be enough to build a skyscraper in the city center of a first-tier city in America.
“As for confidence, I wouldn't dare to say anything too absolute, but if the Eye of Wato can't solve your problem, then the solution to your problem in the entire universe is probably…”
If even the Infinity Stones, which represent the strongest power in a single universe, can't solve Banner's problem, and even the Mind Stone, which seems to be the most suitable, can't solve it, then there's really no other way.
Unless you get a few more Infinity Stones.
Collect five or six Infinity Stones, and then install them on the Infinity Gauntlet and snap your fingers.
Even the universe can be changed, let alone a mere Hulk.
Of course, the specifics depend on trying it out first.
Maybe it will succeed?
“Um… what should I do now? Are you going to draw a magic circle or something and have me sit on it?”
Banner asked curiously.
“No, you just need to relax and not resist.”
Shimizu shook his head, made hand seals to cast a magic circle, opened the Eye of Wato, and began to use the power of the Mind Stone to invade Banner's mind.
The soft yellow light shone into Banner's eyes. For a moment, Banner only felt a strange sensation coming over him, pulling at his consciousness.
“Where is this…?”
Banner looked around, confused.
Underneath his feet was a vast and desolate land. At the end of the horizon, he could vaguely see the blurry shadows of cities, but they were ethereal and elusive.
This represents Bruce Banner's inner peace and loneliness, his desire to reintegrate into human society, but also his anxiety about hurting others, forcing him to self-exile.
“This is your mental world, your inner self. There is no time, no space, no matter, and no reality. Everything is based on your own memories and perceptions. Only if you personally subjectively believe in the existence of time, space, and matter will there be time, space, and matter here.”
Shimizu appeared beside Banner at some point and spoke.
Compared to the solid Banner, he looked much more illusory, like a ghost that would dissipate with a gust of wind.
Because he only put a trace of his consciousness into here.
“In other words, this is the embodiment of my personal will. If one day I die and completely lose my own spiritual will, everything here will cease to exist?”
Banner pondered.
“Not so.”
Shimizu shook his head.
“From a magical point of view, death is not the end. Your spiritual will may not necessarily come to an end. If the spiritual power is strong enough, it can still exist in the form of a spirit body, breaking free from the constraints of the real dimension. If it is not enough, your soul and mind still exist, but they return to tranquility. This place still exists, but it will not be the way it is now, formed based on your perception, but will return to its original appearance, becoming a chaos without time and matter, rather than nothingness.
Because in this universe, your mind, your spiritual will, everything you leave behind has truly existed, even if your soul disappears. The mind and soul are intertwined, closely related, yet independent of each other.”
Banner glanced at Shimizu.
“You sound like a philosopher right now.”
“I'm not. Many mages seem to be deliberately mystifying when they speak, and their words are very idealistic. That's actually just because mages have truly done a lot of research in this area, truly felt the existence of the soul and mind, and created magic related to them.”
Shimizu shook his head.
“Sounds like magic is another kind of science.”
"Indeed, magic and science are just ways for humanity to explore the essence of the world and understand the truth of the universe. Magic is not the truth, and neither is science, but they are both methods of approaching the truth."
"Alright, let's end the discussion about magic here for now. Don't forget the purpose of our visit. Where's Hulk?"
Banner looked around, took a few steps, and spread his hands.
"Hulk is right here."
"What?"
Banner quickly reacted and then pointed to himself.
"I thought it was a kind of split personality. My consciousness and Hulk are separate."
"Even if it's a split personality, it's still you, isn't it? Remember what I just told you?"
Shimizu said to Banner.
"Everything here is formed based on my perception, so..."
Banner muttered, closing his eyes.
In the next instant, a tall green figure emerged from Banner's body, curiously looking around, glancing at Shimizu, and then bringing its large face close to Banner's.
"Hulk..."
Banner stared blankly at the green giant in front of him.
He and Hulk had coexisted for a long time, but when Hulk appeared, Banner ceased to exist. When Banner's consciousness manifested, Hulk would retreat into dormancy.
Therefore, Banner had never truly seen the guy who caused his current predicament like this before!
"Banner, weak. Hulk, strong. Hulk doesn't like Banner."
Banner read contempt in Hulk's large eyes.
"What should I do now?"
Banner swallowed and asked Shimizu.
"Do what you want to do. Don't forget how you made Hulk appear just now."
Shimizu said lightly to Banner, slowly disappearing.
Outside, Shimizu, who had withdrawn that wisp of consciousness, looked at Banner in front of him and raised the Eye of Agamotto in his hand.
The flow of time in Banner's inner world is not unified with the outside world, but is defined by Banner's self-awareness. However, when my own will invades Banner's inner world and uses the Mind Stone as a bridge for anchoring, the flow of time within becomes unified with the outside world.
Otherwise, it might be like Tsukuyomi, where three days and three nights pass inside, but only a moment passes outside, or one day passes inside, but ten years pass outside.
The reason why Shimizu is withdrawing that wisp of will now is because a conflict is about to occur in Banner's inner world.
Not a physical conflict, after all, it is a mental world.
Rather, it is a conflict about will and mental perception.
Hulk is Banner, and Banner is Hulk. It is difficult to say who will win or lose.
Although Banner is one of the most intelligent and knowledgeable humans on Earth, with a deep understanding of the world, logically speaking, Banner should be superior to Hulk in the realm of cognition.
But Hulk is also unreasonable, using brute force to break all laws, smashing and destroying everything when he gets angry.
You need to know that Hulk's upper limit actually depends on the upper limit of Hulk's emotions.
Even Shimizu cannot say for sure who will win or lose.
Moreover, because the essence of the two is different spiritual wills of the same person, Hulk is almost more like Banner's alter ego. The most likely outcome between the two is an endless struggle until they are mentally exhausted.
In that case, Bruce Banner would change from one of the smartest people in the world into an idiot, or even worse, possibly become mentally ill.
Of course, if that situation were really going to happen, Shimizu would not have taken such a risky move.
The yellow light on the Mind Stone became more and more dazzling. Shimizu formed a magic circle with both hands, guiding the power of the Mind Stone, relying on the traces left by the previously projected consciousness, and once again invaded the mental world, strengthening the power of the mind belonging to Banner while weakening Hulk.
With the assistance and support of the Mind Stone's almost infinite mental energy, Banner can suppress Hulk and can continue to exhaust him like this.
As long as Hulk is suppressed from the beginning and can continue to suppress him in the first few waves of his explosive growth, interrupting his momentum for continued eruption, then Banner's victory is only a matter of time.
And this time will not be too long.
A few minutes later.
Sensing that Banner's mental world had returned to peace, Shimizu also stopped the movements at hand.
As the Eye of Agamotto closed, the light of the Mind Stone also quickly disappeared.
Banner gradually opened his eyes, and the confusion in his eyes quickly faded away.
"Now, I have controlled Hulk, can I control him at will?"
Banner looked at Shimizu and asked.
"You'll know if you try."
"How to try? As long as I want to turn into Hulk, I can turn into Hulk?"
As soon as the words fell, as Banner's thoughts moved, his body quickly expanded, turning into Hulk, and the clothes on his body tore with a sound, leaving only a pair of elastic, stretched-out pants.
"Wow, this is really... a wonderful feeling. I feel like I'm full of power."
Banner looked at his hands, squeezed his fists, and then controlled his body to turn around.
As a result, because he was too big, he accidentally knocked over a nearby instrument.
"Oh... no, Walter, tell me the price of this flow cytometer."
Banner covered his forehead and looked at the shattered instrument.
"Not sure, but the market price should be between three million and five million. Don't worry, you don't have to pay for it. If you're really embarrassed and want to pay, don't forget that you are now the chief scientific consultant of the Osborn Group, the kind with an annual salary of ten million. After joining ., you can get another salary."
"Uh... I forgot that I still have money to get here."
Banner scratched his head and looked at another petri dish that fell to the ground because he accidentally touched it.
"I should be able to turn back."
So, in the next second, Banner returned to that thin appearance.
Just naked, revealing his butt.
Banner's old face turned red, and he covered his important parts with rags.
"I'm going to change my clothes."
"Bring a few more pieces. Later, find a place to test your current state."
More than ten minutes later, in an ice field in Antarctica.
A backpack containing a few pieces of clothing was thrown in the corner. Banner looked at the vibranium blade equipped on the electro-armor and then looked at the quickly healing wound on his arm.
"It's the first time I've seen Hulk get injured. Is Hulk getting weaker?"
"Not entirely because you're getting weaker. This knife is very sharp. You've worked in the military, so you must know about the existence of vibranium."
Shimizu looked at the data he had sorted out in his hand.
