If you asked Bruce Banner whether he regretted it, the answer would definitely be yes.
If he had known that the experiment would turn him into what he was today, he never would have touched that damned gamma radiation experiment.
Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret.
Once certain things happened, there was no way to turn back.
Bruce Banner was exactly like that.
He was no longer the promising young physicist he had once been.
Now, he was just a pitiful homeless man.
Hearing the waves of footsteps around him, Bruce Banner instinctively curled himself up.
He was cold.
He was hungry.
More than anything, he wanted someone to see through his forced bravado, tear away his disguise, and tell him:
“Don’t be afraid.
I’ll help you.”
Unfortunately, that was something that could only happen in Bruce Banner’s dreams.
····
What Ye Bai didn’t know as he enjoyed the sunshine out at sea was that the flapping of his butterfly wings had already changed the course of events.
The battle between the Hulk and the Abomination, which should have taken place in Manhattan in the Big Apple, had instead been moved to the City of Angels.
And after becoming desperately hungry, Bruce Banner had secretly climbed into Ye Bai’s luxurious villa in Beverly Hills.
At this moment, Ye Bai was still happily flirting with Hela, completely unaware that his luxurious villa had already been occupied by an unexpected guest.
“Ye Bai, do you like Captain Barbossa?” Hela asked.
She was referring to one of the villains from Pirates of the Caribbean.
“No.
Who would like that old man?”
Ye Bai answered bluntly, unable to understand why Hela was asking such a strange question.
“What about Sauron?”
She was referring to the main villain of The Lord of the Rings.
“Don’t like him either.
Why are you asking?”
“Nothing.
I was just asking.”
Hela smiled, but her eyes shifted slightly.
“Then do you like Voldemort?”
She was referring to the main villain of Harry Potter.
“No.
Who would like a villain?”
Ye Bai was getting confused.
Why did Hela keep asking these pointless questions?
“I see.
All right.”
Hela was a little unwilling to accept the answer, but she didn’t continue asking.
Instead, she silently thought that perhaps she would have to postpone telling Ye Bai the truth about herself.
What Hela didn’t know was that Ye Bai didn’t dislike those villains simply because they were evil.
It was because those villains were uglier than the last.
How could he possibly like them?
After all, men were visual creatures.
If Hela had asked Ye Bai whether he liked Jiang Yuyan, his answer would definitely have been yes.
It could only be said that Hela still didn’t understand men very well.
Although Ye Bai didn’t know why Hela was asking those questions, he could tell that something was weighing on her mind.
He didn’t press her for an answer.
Instead, he quietly wrapped his arms around her.
Actions were always more direct than words, and they could express Ye Bai’s feelings even more clearly.
Hela, who had still been somewhat nervous, obediently rested in Ye Bai’s arms and enjoyed this beautiful moment.
····
The Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters was extremely famous throughout the Marvel world.
It was the headquarters of the X-Men and a sanctuary for mutants.
One of the most powerful mutants on Earth, Professor X, personally watched over the school and protected many mutant children who had nowhere else to go.
Combined with Professor X’s extensive connections and influence within the federal government, this made it difficult for ambitious individuals to extend their reach into the school.
But over the past few days, Professor X, the guardian of countless mutants, had fallen seriously ill.
“Fallen ill” wasn’t quite the right description.
It was more as though he had been attacked by some mysterious force.
At this moment, Professor X lay on a clean white hospital bed.
His pale face was covered with black patterns.
Even while unconscious, Professor X occasionally furrowed his brows, clearly suffering from some terrible pain.
“Jean, how is the professor’s condition?”
Cyclops, Scott Summers, wearing his quartz visor, anxiously asked Jean Grey.
Jean’s expression was gloomy as she slowly shook her head.
“The professor’s condition is very serious.
All of his bodily functions are weakening, and even the strange energy inside his body is gradually disappearing.”
“If we can’t find a way to treat him, the professor has at most three days left to live.”
Jean tried her best to control her emotions and keep herself from crying.
But her words still caused the other X-Men present to redden their eyes.
Professor X had always been everyone’s protector.
He was also the elder whom the X-Men respected most.
Yet this old man, who had devoted his entire life to the mutant community, had suffered such a terrible fate.
No one could accept it easily.
“Damn it!
What exactly happened?
How did the professor suddenly become this sick?”
Cyclops angrily punched the wall beside him.
The pain in his hand was nothing compared to even a fraction of what he felt inside.
But it was only an outlet for his helpless anger.
It did nothing to improve Professor X’s condition.
“Jean, tell us exactly what happened recently.
Why did the professor suddenly collapse?”
“There has to be a reason.
Think carefully.
Was the professor attacked by someone?”
Storm was probably the most rational person among them.
She knew that panic wouldn’t solve anything.
After hearing Storm’s words, everyone’s attention shifted to Jean.
Jean also carefully recalled everything that had happened between herself and the professor over the past few days.
“There was something, but I don’t know whether it’s related to the professor’s condition.”
Jean remembered the conflict between Professor X and Ye Bai.
It seemed that the professor’s condition had begun deteriorating gradually after that incident.
After hearing Jean’s explanation, the X-Men fell silent.
If Jean Grey was telling the truth, then that Ye Bai might very well be responsible for the professor’s current condition.
But Professor X himself had started the entire conflict.
If Professor X hadn’t recklessly tried to read Ye Bai’s memories, Ye Bai wouldn’t have attacked him.
From that perspective, Professor X was clearly in the wrong.
Even if they wanted to avenge Professor X, they couldn’t get past their own moral principles.
The X-Men all had their own moral code, and they were capable of putting themselves in someone else’s position.
Rationally speaking, if someone tried to invade their minds, they would also eliminate that person.
So even if Ye Bai really was responsible for Professor X’s current condition, Professor X had brought it upon himself.
In fact, Ye Bai really was responsible.
After all, Ye Bai possessed the Complete Encyclopedia of Black Magic.
A single curse from that collection was enough to threaten Professor X’s life.
Mind control couldn’t protect anyone from cursed black magic.
And Ye Bai wasn’t the kind of person who would simply take a loss without fighting back.
“I’ll go find him.
I have to make him spare the professor!”
As the X-Man who had received the most help from Professor X, Cyclops immediately couldn’t sit still after hearing that they had identified a possible culprit.
He turned around and prepared to leave.
“Scott, you can’t go.
You’ll only make the conflict worse.
We were the ones in the wrong to begin with.”
Jean Grey stopped the impulsive Cyclops and prevented him from going after Ye Bai.
“I have to go.
I can’t just watch the professor die in front of me.”
“And who said I’m going there to cause trouble?”
Cyclops stopped.
His face was filled with determination, and the veins on his clenched right hand were clearly visible.
“Then what are you going there for?”
A muscular man asked curiously.
It was none other than the X-Men’s old veteran, Wolverine, Logan.
“I’m going to beg him to spare the professor.
If he refuses, I’ll kneel before him.
If he still refuses, I’ll keep kneeling.
Wherever he goes, I’ll kneel there.”
Cyclops used the fiercest tone imaginable to say the most submissive thing possible.