Chapter 41 Gamma Genes

The next morning, Lynn drove from his home in the Ebony district to the fried chicken restaurant, unlocked the storefront, and opened for business. As the sun gradually emerged from the Manhattan sea horizon, Midtown East welcomed yet another ordinary morning.

A car pulled up in front of Lynn's shop. The front door opened, and a somewhat frail-looking man stepped out. He glanced back, waiting until another woman got out of the car before slowly taking steps forward.

"Welcome. How many in your party?"

"Mr. Cedis, long time no see. Remember me?"

"Of course, Miss Betty. And this is your boyfriend?"

Before Banner could say anything, Betty Ross linked her arm through his and said with a smile, "You guessed it. This is my Prince Charming from childhood, haha."

Lynn looked at Bruce Banner. The man seemed somewhat uncomfortable dealing with the gaze of others, appearing rather restrained, exuding an aura that kept strangers at a distance.

It seemed only Betty could ignore his attitude and stand openly by his side.

"Betty, wouldn't it be better if we hurried up and finished what we need to do here? I'm too conspicuous here, and we don't have much time."

"That's why I'm helping you, isn't it? Now, go buy some fried chicken, and let me go pave the way for you. Be patient, okay?"

With that, Betty handed Banner a banknote and tilted her head toward the front counter. Bruce Banner helplessly complied with his girlfriend's arrangement. He still had an appointment with Mr. Blue later and couldn't afford to accompany Betty here just on the off-chance of luck.

He had also seen Betty's interview. According to that man called Goldman Connors, his gene therapy would take a very long time to complete. Banner could not stay in one place for too long; what he needed was a fast-acting medical treatment.

There was only one person who met his conditions.

"I imagine dealing with a boyfriend like this isn't easy. I bet the two of you have quite a story."

"We have plenty of stories, Mr. Cedis."

"Then I suppose this time you brought him here for that gene therapy? I saw your interview. I didn't expect Kara's company to have such impressive technology."

"Perhaps not as impressive as yours."

Lynn shook his head non-committally, retrieved two bottles of cola from the counter, and said to Betty, "Then I guess this time you want to meet with Kara? The other bottle is for your boyfriend."

"Thanks. So, can you help?"

"I can, though I can't guarantee Kara listens to me every time."

"It's fine. I spoke with Ms. Kara before, but she still insisted that Cronus Hospital has its own arrangements. So I'm forced to trouble you to help me and Banner skip the queue. I won't let you run around for nothing."

With that, Betty pointed at Banner's backpack.

Lynn sighed, then took out his phone. "Give me a few minutes to talk to Kara."

***

Meanwhile, on the other side of New York, Betty and Lynn were not the only ones aware of Bruce Banner's presence. Betty's father, Thaddeus, was equally aware that Bruce Banner had arrived in New York.

Banner's movements might have been covert, but Thaddeus Ross naturally had ways to track him down, even if it was just knowing he had reached New York. General Ross's secret agents were searching the entire city for traces of Banner, including that mysterious Mr. Blue who had been communicating with him.

General Ross had actually planted surveillance around Samuel Sterns long ago.

"What about Blonsky? How are his preparations coming along?"

"He is undergoing reinjection and routine checks. Technicians from Oscorp are evaluating his condition," General Ross's adjutant reported.

"After all this time, they still haven't found a way to replicate the Super Soldier Serum? So much budget has been given to Oscorp, yet their progress seems rather unreliable."

"The procurement department is discussing this with them. Apparently, Blonsky's Super Soldier Serum doesn't quite meet the requirements, and it's also very unstable... He seems to be growing increasingly violent. Perhaps the serum itself is flawed."

"Refining those issues is their job. Never mind, let's go see him."

"Continue monitoring Samuel Sterns. The moment any trace of Bruce Banner is found, notify me immediately."

***

"All set. You can go up. Kara will be waiting for you at the hospital reception desk," Lynn said, walking out from the back kitchen to Betty.

"Really?"

"Would I pull your leg? Hurry on up. Don't ask what I promised in exchange; it's nothing worth mentioning."

"Thank you so much, Mr. Cedis. Bruce, put the bag down, let's go up!"

With that, Betty took Bruce Banner—whose hands were stained with grease—by the hand and headed toward the roof of Cronus Hospital. Lynn began clearing the table, picked up the large backpack, and peeked at its contents.

***

"The general's daughter is truly wealthy, casually pulling out so much cash without raising anyone's suspicion."

Setting Betty's bag aside, Lynn walked to the front counter.

"Holly, you'll have to watch the shop for a bit. I need to head home. Oh, perhaps the branch store will open soon. Keep up the good work, and I can arrange for you to be the store manager then."

"Really?! Mr. Cedis?"

"Of course. Our business is good and seems quite popular. The flavors you modified yourself are also well-received. Keep it up."

"Definitely. I'll make sure those two guys in the back work harder."

After saying this, Lynn picked up his own bag, walked into the locker room, changed his clothes, and tossed the bag casually into a locker.

Then, he left through the employee passage and stepped into the elevator that went straight to the top floor.

As the elevator doors opened, Kara was already standing outside waiting for him.

"Are they here?"

"Waiting for me at the front desk. Dr. Connors has been assigned to Treatment Room 3, and Treatment Room 1 is now vacant, Doctor."

"Good, assign them to Treatment Room 1. I'll wait for you inside."

"Understood."

At that moment, Betty and Banner were sitting somewhat apprehensively in the reception lounge near the front desk. Bruce Banner looked around the hospital; it seemed impossible to tell this hospital apart from any other, with its pure white walls and indigo floors.

The minimalist room design and the various pipes installed in the ceiling contrasted with the various cries echoing from outside the hospital.

It seemed this hospital received far more surgical patients than the genetic disease patients they advertised. The entire facility was filled with the scent of blood and disinfectant.

"I'm telling you, Betty, this place looks terrible. It looks just like those mob clinics in Hell's Kitchen..."

"Didn't you hear my interview, Banner? Don't just judge a book by its cover. Dr. Goldman is a highly skilled expert in genetic engineering, and he will definitely be able to help with your condition."

"To be honest, I'd still rather go see that Mr. Blue..."

"Try my way first. If it doesn't work, we'll go find Mr. Blue, okay?"

Just as the two were talking, a young nurse pushed open the lounge door.

"Excuse me, are you Dr. Bruce Banner? And Miss Betty?"

"That's us!"

"You have an appointment for Treatment Room 1. The physician is already waiting inside for you. However, only the patient may enter Treatment Room 1. Miss Betty, you can wait for your boyfriend in the upper-level waiting room. Will you go yourselves, or shall I lead the way?"

"Please lead the way."

"Then follow me."

So, Betty and Banner followed the young nurse. Along the way, although the hospital was filled with numerous cries, it appeared to be running in an orderly fashion. Connors had once hidden out in Hell's Kitchen for a while, and the environment there was quite similar to this.

"Do your security guards here need to dress like this every day?"

Dr. Banner pointed at the heavily armed security guards holding firearms.

"Oh, well, this is the edge of Midtown East, right next to Hell's Kitchen. Isn't it better for the security to be more professional? Although they don't talk much, they are very quick at subduing troublemakers."

"Is that so?" Banner looked back at the Cronus Hospital guards with lingering apprehension. He couldn't help feeling that these silent white-clad guards, wrapped so tightly that not an inch of skin showed, were somewhat strange.

"I'll wait outside. Don't turn green, please don't turn green." Betty cupped Banner's face with both hands, pressing her nose against his, her tone as tender as dripping water.

"I'll try my best to control myself. I just hope they don't come up with any irritating treatments."

With that, Bruce parted ways with Betty. He was curious to see what kind of person this so-called Dr. Goldman actually was.

With the nurse's assistance, he changed into a hospital gown and walked toward Treatment Room 1. The faint blue glow along the corridor felt far more mysterious and clean than the surgical levels below, filled with a futuristic technological aesthetic.

The nurse pressed a button by the treatment room door, which quickly slid open, signaling Banner to follow her inside.

***

Lynn finally saw Bruce Banner when the doors opened.

Or rather, the Hulk.

"Hello, Mr. Bruce."

"Hello. Are you Dr. Connors?"

Controlling the control panel, Lynn replied, "As for Dr. Connors, he has an even more urgent patient to deal with. But rest assured, my technology is no less advanced than Dr. Goldman's. Please lie down inside the Shadow Genesis Treatment Pod."

"This equipment isn't going to cause any stimulation, is it?"

Lynn naturally knew what Bruce Banner was worried about. He knew that as long as Banner experienced stress or agitation, the Hulk would most likely emerge. However, the gene therapy pod was non-invasive, and Lynn was very confident in this regard.

"Not at all. Our specialty is painless treatment. Trust me, it's no different from taking a nap."

As he spoke, the young nurse behind Banner began to remove his hospital gown.

"Hey, I can do it myself, thank you..."

Lynn waved his hand at the nurse, and she immediately retreated. Dr. Banner looked at the gene therapy pod, then back at Lynn.

"Do I really have to strip naked, Doctor?"

"You can keep your underwear on, if you prefer."

"I'll keep it on, then."

With that, Banner lay inside. As the hatch closed and the metal shell retracted, a natural white light began to glow from within the gene therapy pod, while warm liquid slowly filled the interior.

Banner felt a long-absent wave of drowsiness, realizing he hadn't felt this comfortable in a very long time. After a moment, he drifted off to sleep.

Lynn operated the gene therapy pod entirely by himself.

The Incredible Hulk lay quietly before Lynn's eyes.

"Now, let me see your secrets, Dr. Banner."

Although this was a degraded version of a biochemical reactor, it was still sufficient for Lynn to observe Bruce's current genetic sequence, uncover some secrets, and see just what level of physical strength Bruce Banner's body had reached under gamma radiation.

Soon, Lynn made a discovery.

"Interesting. The gamma radiation energy within his body is nearly inexhaustible, and his unique genetic sequence has had numerous foreign fragments forcibly inserted..."

The more he observed, the more Lynn felt that the Hulk was an entity that could not be measured by conventional logic. Lynn wasn't entirely sure if Bruce Banner himself was aware of this.

But under Lynn's observation, Bruce Banner was essentially a walking gamma bomb.

"I suspect that if he erupted at full power, he could practically blow up all of New York... As for the possibility of curing him..."

Lynn looked at the rapidly metabolizing gamma cells on the panel. Their metabolic rate far exceeded any modification method, and furthermore, each of their cells was equivalent to a miniature gamma energy generator, constantly producing gamma radiation...

Yet at the same time, these cells were bizarrely capable of locking the gamma radiation firmly within themselves. As they underwent apoptosis, the gamma radiation would vanish without a trace, as if it had never existed—acting much like some kind of unreasonable perpetual motion machine.

Lynn stood in front of the console for three whole hours. After gathering sufficient parameters, he finally reached a conclusion.

"As long as Banner wants it, the Hulk can never disappear. While I'm not sure if there is a Green Door in this world, trying to cure what Bruce Banner calls the Hulk disease..."

Lynn looked at the parameters on the gene therapy pod display; all metrics had broken through conventional limits, accompanied by too many inexplicable phenomena.

"I'd say it's practically impossible. I suppose this is just the Incredible Hulk for you? There are simply too many things about him that I completely don't understand. I wonder if his other variants or those other gamma monsters share this strange condition..."

After another moment, Lynn ended this session—which could hardly be called a treatment—with a smile. Although he wanted to collect more parameters and models, he obviously couldn't keep Banner here for too long.

When Banner groggily opened his eyes, he saw a masked figure whose face was completely obscured by a visor—Lynn—staring right at him.

"Welcome back to consciousness, Mr. Banner."

"Eh? Ah? Is the treatment over? I seemed to have fallen asleep."

"Yes, the treatment is over. However, your condition..." Lynn weighed his words for a moment before finally saying, "Your condition seems to have no problems at all. You are very healthy, with zero genetic diseases."

"Zero genetic diseases?"

"Indeed. Your cell metabolism is extremely rapid, and it appears there are some unparseable gene fragments inside, but there are no problems whatsoever. You're as healthy as can be."

Hearing Lynn's words, Banner breathed a sigh of relief. He had actually been rather afraid that something would be exposed here; after all, the Hulk's collateral value was simply too immense. He wanted to cure himself, yet he feared his body might be commandeered by others for bizarre experiments, leading to terrifying consequences.

"I'll have the nurse come get you. Wish you a smooth discharge, Mr. Banner."

"Thank you, Doctor. May I ask your name?"

At that moment, the nurse from earlier walked in, draped a coat over Banner, and interrupted the conversation between Lynn and Banner. She then escorted the frail-looking Bruce Banner out of the room.

Meanwhile, recalling everything he had obtained from Banner, Lynn muttered to himself and nodded. Finally, as if he had suddenly understood something, he clapped his hands.

A few minutes later, Lynn shut down Treatment Room 1.

Just then, he saw Connors walking out of Treatment Room 3 with a large group of assistants. Everyone looked thoroughly exhausted, while a young child lay on a gurney with eyes closed.

Lynn remembered that child—the kid who had been on the verge of turning into a vampire last night.

It seemed Connors had succeeded as well. From this point on, the gene therapy department of Cronus Hospital would likely welcome a massive influx of patients.