Chapter 140: Have I Become an Ordinary Person?

“What about our mission?” the henchman asked.

What else could they do but give up... The captain thought bitterly, but out of respect for his own position, he couldn’t say it outright.

At that moment, the female agent interrupted, “Give up! Life is more important. These ruthless villains clearly aren’t to be trifled with. You want to compete with them for the target?”

“If you want to go, go ahead. I’m not going to die for this.”

Hearing this, the captain’s eyes brightened. Only now did he realize the value of the female agent’s words — they hit him right in the heart.

But the henchman still seemed unconvinced and retorted, “Do you even have any professional ethics as an agent? Didn’t you learn about putting the mission above all else during training at the academy?

“Look at veterans like Barton and Natasha — for the mission, no matter if it’s a mountain of knives or a sea of fire ahead, they don’t even flinch. In the end, they overcome difficulties and accomplish the mission perfectly.”

“Tch!” The female agent sneered, “If you want to die, then go ahead.”

“Maybe if you survive, you’ll become the next legend, telling stories at the academy~” Her tone dripped with mockery.

The captain sighed.

He saw his younger self reflected in the henchman.

When he first graduated from the academy, he thought he was invincible, ignoring the obvious dead end ahead.

But armed with absolute confidence and youthful arrogance, he had charged forward without hesitation...

Based on his years of experience, those types rarely become legends like Agent Barton or Agent Natasha, celebrated by the entire Shield organization.

More often, they become...

Just corpses.

“Let’s observe first, don’t act rashly. There should still be a chance for a turn of events. I contacted the police before coming. When they arrive, the target might not be taken away. Then we’ll act according to the situation on the ground,” the captain said, trying to smooth things over.

Hearing this, the henchman and female agent ceased their quarrel and quietly resumed watching the combatants through binoculars.

The captain finally exhaled in relief.

No wonder people dislike leading freshly graduated agents.

Their personalities are too extreme; they’re genuinely difficult to handle...

If not for his superior saying it was only likely to be a long-term surveillance mission with no combat, the captain wouldn’t have agreed to replace his experienced agents with these rookies.

Surveillance missions were often used within Shield to give rookies some practice.

But who would have guessed...

They ran into terrorists capable of fighting real armies.

Why was it always him?

The captain felt helpless.

Especially with such unreliable team members.

He glanced back at the big guy.

When he first saw the three team members, the big guy left the best first impression.

He figured with that huge build, the guy’s combat ability must be formidable, so a few personality quirks wouldn’t matter.

But who would have guessed...

Watching the big guy drool more and more, mumbling, “Donuts... hehe, donuts...” the captain thought, that personality disorder is a little too much!

He felt utterly exhausted.

——

Inside the abandoned gamma-ray experimental base.

As the invisible gamma rays of unknown intensity passed through his body, Bruce Banner felt a prickling sensation all over, like countless needles piercing through him.

At first, it was like fine raindrops, then after a while it became slightly itchy. Gradually, it turned numb, as if his nerves were being paralyzed by the countless rays.

But finally, the pain drilled deep into his bones.

It was as if the numb nerves suddenly transmitted all the accumulated pain to his brain in one overwhelming wave.

Pain made Banner gasp sharply.

His whole body began to convulse, like a shrimp jumping in hot oil.

Even his already pale skin flushed with a vivid red.

Looking at his reddened hands and arms, Banner muttered to himself, “I’ve really turned into a shrimp.”

Clenching his teeth, he endured the pain. Time passed.

With a crackling burst of electric currents, the aging gamma-ray generator, unable to withstand the extreme voltage it had never borne before, fulfilled its final duty.

Gloriously decommissioned...

The gamma rays instantly diminished.

Though Banner couldn’t see it, he deeply sensed it from the waves of dissipating pain flowing off him.

Gradually, he straightened his stiff back, muscles tense from spasms.

From a bent-over shrimp, he became a straight stick insect.

“Did it work?”

Banner looked at his rapidly recovering skin.

This time, after exposure to gamma rays again, he didn’t collapse as he had in the lab before, nor did his consciousness fade. His cells were no longer decomposing toward death.

He felt fine all over.

Even somewhat energized!

It was as if all the gamma rays had been charging him up.

He made a simple fist.

No roaring wind like in the movies, no air shattered by a single punch.

Hmm... looks like I’m still normal.

After this small test, Banner drew his conclusion.

Then he glanced at the now useless gamma-ray generator, sitting quietly like an old man.

He bowed to it, then left the heavily lead-lined room.

Putting on a white lab coat, he entered another room in the abandoned lab.

This room housed microscopes and various testing equipment.

But due to the long abandonment and improper preservation, most of the chemical reagents were probably unusable.

However, it didn’t matter to Banner.

He didn’t need the chemicals; the microscope alone was enough.

He found a small knife.

After hesitating, he bit his lip and cut a small slit on his finger.

A bead of crimson blood immediately welled out.

Watching the wound, Banner was lost in thought.

The cut didn’t heal rapidly.

According to his previous calculations based on improvements to the super-soldier serum, such a small wound should have healed in less than three seconds.

Could it be... I’ve really become an ordinary man?

Banner pondered with a mixture of confusion and surprise.