American TV series: Start with the little Sheldon's wool

Chapter 737 The Arena (Continued)
"I know you're all eager to get started, so without further ado, please welcome this week's challenger, a young king from a distant planet, nicknamed 'Thunder' Thor..."

Accompanied by an enthusiastic introduction, the gate on one side of the bottom arena suddenly opened with a roar.

At the same time, a close-up shot of Thor from all angles appeared on the huge projection screen above.

The man in the picture, with short hair and wearing magnificent armor, looks very imposing, like a god of war.

"Go, Thunder King. I will always remember you as a friend..."

Behind the gate, the stone man Kog patted Thor's shoulder reluctantly, tears welling in his eyes.

The other prospective gladiators then took turns coming forward to say goodbye to Thor, making the whole process very ceremonial.

It was less about cheering Thor on and more about bidding him a final farewell.

At this moment, Thor, now wearing an additional set of dark gray armor, gazed at the noisy and illusory world outside the doorway, his palms sweating as he gripped his short-handled hammer.

It's clear that when the moment actually arrived, he wasn't confident at all.

Then, urged repeatedly by the commentator, Thor covered his chest with one hand and shouted in his heart: Long live Asgard!

Having regained his courage, he charged into the arena, wielding his short-handled hammer.

In the very center of the arena was a huge circular sandy area, the sand stained with the blood and sweat of countless gladiators, showing signs of congealing, and the whole area was an ominous dark red.

This made Thor, who had just stepped into the arena, feel very uncomfortable.

However, in keeping with the dignity of Asgardian royalty, Thor, upon entering the massive arena, still gave a slightly awkward yet somewhat dignified smile to the frenzied audience around him.

This made his expression look very strange at that moment.

Just as Thor was planning to quickly eliminate the so-called "champion" and then confront the Grandmaster,

When the audience saw the "outrageous" man in person, they found that he was very different from the "macho man" in the promotional images, and huge boos and jeers immediately erupted around the arena.

In fact, Thor, dressed in dark gray armor and looking rather "thin," is quite different from the Thor in the promotional images, who is clad in bright silver armor and has muscular physique.

Unfortunately, Thor, who had been imprisoned in the detention cell, had never filmed any promotional videos, and the promotional videos currently being broadcast were all produced by Sakaar's technical staff.

To enhance the spectacle of the gladiatorial match, they naturally made the challengers "outrageous," creating an atmosphere of immense pressure.

Even though Thor himself is of decent size, he still looks far smaller than the person in the promotional images.

The images provided are for reference only.

Fortunately, the current king of the arena, the "Challenger Harvester," has a two-year winning streak and has already won the absolute trust of the audience with his wonderful battles.

Therefore, most of the gamblers present placed their bets on the other side.

With the challenger so weak, the audience's boos might actually be a form of "cheering" for their own impending win.

Thor, unaware of the inside story, only knew that he was booed by the audience as soon as he appeared, and his smile became increasingly stiff.

Add to that the deafening noise of death metal and the rapidly flashing shadows of the overhead screens, and Thor's mood soured.

At this moment, he could only feel a little at ease by tightly gripping the short-handled hammer in his hand.

"Next, please welcome our defending champion for this week, the Hulk, who boasts a winning streak of over a hundred games and is known as the 'Challenger Harvester'..."

Suddenly, the atmosphere changed, and the noisy death rock music was replaced with the more rhythmic "Immigrant Song".

Then came the earth-shaking tremors. At the other end of the arena, the largest black gate, covered in runes, rose amidst the roar of gears.

A chilling roar came from behind the dark doorway, followed by a massive green figure appearing against the light.

Amidst the billowing dust, the Hulk crashed into the battlefield like a cannonball, roaring and unleashing a battle cry that shook the entire skull arena, igniting the audience's passion.

At the same time, the projection screen above also changed to images of the Hulk roaring and going berserk, his green figure resembling a tireless, frenzied beast.

However, this is the style that the audience likes.

As the Hulk appeared, a tsunami of cheers erupted from the crowd, with some gamblers even tearing off their shirts and dancing wildly.

As for the challenger "Lei Ren" in the middle of the arena, he was completely ignored.

Meanwhile, when Thor heard the big-headed alien introduce the "Hulk," he showed a moment of surprise.

As the enormous green figure rapidly approached, Thor's smile froze, turning into utter astonishment and disbelief.

"Wait! Wait! This is impossible!? How could you be here..." Thor was stunned for a while, and then he was overjoyed.

It is known that the challenger mortality rate is very high in the Grandmaster's arena, but if the defending champion is someone you know, would there still be any danger?

Thor smiled again. "Dr. Banner, do you remember me? I'm Thor. We used to be colleagues!"

At this moment, Thor already had a premonition that this pointless battle could absolutely be avoided.

As he spoke, Thor tried to make his smile appear as "gentle" as possible, while extending a hand toward the Hulk, as if to comfort him and also to "make peace" with him.

In Thor's memory, Black Widow always "calmed" the Hulk in this way when he went berserk, and she always succeeded.

He now wants to recreate that scene.

"Uh, is your friend out of his mind? What is he doing?..."

Inside the VIP box, Nebula was unaware of Thor's relationship with the Hulk, and her mind was filled with questions as she watched Thor's strange behavior.

According to the rules of the Grandmaster Arena, the match begins once both gladiators have taken their places in the center.

Thor, who is 1.9 meters tall and "slender," looks like a little chick next to the Hulk, who is 2.5 meters tall and extremely muscular.

In this situation, Thor, who was at a significant disadvantage, not only failed to launch an attack first, but also deliberately abandoned his defense and delivered himself to the enemy.

In Nebula's view, someone would absolutely not do this without a serious illness.

"Actually, Thor's actions aren't wrong, but before that, he should probably change his image, or even get a sex change..." Mike knew that Thor's current actions were imitating Black Widow, and he had to admit he was quite good at it.

Unfortunately, a rugged-looking man acting like a woman is not very effective at calming people down, except for being funny.

"Alright, I'll tell you the answer in advance. The two of them actually knew each other a long time ago..." Mike didn't keep them in suspense and gave the answer directly.

Otherwise, it would be really difficult to explain to Nebula why Thor is acting so foolishly.

“No wonder,” Nebula nodded knowingly.

To restore Thor to the ranks of normal people.

In the other VIP box, Loki was also just learning that the reigning champion of the arena was actually the Hulk.

Knowing the relationship between the Hulk and Thor, he was also relieved for his brother.

In his view, at least his brother wouldn't die in the arena this time.

At the same time, the grandmaster sitting in the main seat of the private box frowned slightly as he watched the "harmonious" scene in his dueling arena.

The arena needs everything: fighting, bloodshed, frenzy, etc., but the last thing it needs is "love and affection".

That would make the arena lose its inherent appeal.

And indeed, the audience in the parallel stands who were hoping to see a thrilling battle booed loudly again when the fight was delayed.

Many people, dissatisfied, started throwing trash into the arena.

This commotion seemed to activate the Hulk. Looking at the "familiar" smile on Thor's face, he suddenly became even angrier—as if he saw the person who had tried to control him in the past.

In an instant, the Hulk crashed into Thor like a runaway train, launching a relentless attack. His fists, the size of sandbags, rained down, tossing Thor around the arena like a ball.

Thor was completely dazed and on the defensive. Once he came to his senses, he continued to dodge while trying to awaken the Hulk:

"Banner! I know it's you! Let's both calm down!"

"We are friends..." However, Thor's repeated efforts were still in vain.

Instead, the Hulk seized the opportunity to grab Thor's head and slam it hard against the arena wall.

Under the dazzling lights, dust filled the arena, and splattered blood and broken bones intertwined, creating a mesmerizing yet cruel scene.

The audience, who loved watching this, erupted in cheers and applause louder than a tsunami.

"It's over. I told Lei Wang a long time ago not to provoke the King of the Arena and to keep his distance. Looks like he didn't remember a word..."

Through a small window in the wall of the cell, the Stone Man, Kog, saw Thor's miserable state and couldn't help but mourn for his little brother.

Yes, Thor's strange gesture earlier was seen by the prospective gladiators as a provocation against the King of the Arena.

At this moment, they could only hope that Thor, who had angered the King of the Arena, could survive a little longer amidst the barrage of attacks.

As for turning defeat into victory, that's not an option at all.

Despite everyone's pessimism, Thor, who had reached the brink of despair, finally awakened the power of thunder within him once more.

A closer look reveals that the lightning sparks surrounding his body are much more solid than before.

Even though he didn't have the Meow Hammer this time.

"drink!!!"

Cornered, Thor roared and unleashed a burst of lightning power, knocking back the Hulk, who had already gone mad.

"Since we can't communicate, I'll just have to wake you up first..." Thor, his body crackling with lightning, then launched a counterattack against the Hulk.

The fist crackling with lightning began to cause the Hulk pain.

Of course, for the thick-skinned Hulk, this pain is still within his tolerance range.

The pain only fueled his anger.

Thus, in the back-and-forth exchanges, the battles became increasingly exciting and brutal.

With each impact, the entire dueling arena seemed to tremble, and everything within the arena became a weapon for the two.

After Thor once again used the site's mechanism, the giant gate's rotating gears repelled the Hulk.

Having finally found a space to charge up his power, he leaped into the air, swinging his ordinary short-handled hammer in a blur before reaching the Hulk, whose body was out of control, and delivering a heavy blow that sent him flying into the sky.

As the Hulk took flight, his short-handled hammer shattered, the entire arena fell silent.

Without a doubt, Thor, whose entire body was wrapped in lightning at this moment, was absolutely the god of war himself.

"Wow, this guy really does know how to use a hammer..." The stone man Kog, peering out the window, exclaimed in amazement.

He looked proud of his little brother, then raised his arm and cheered, "Thunder King... Thunder King... Thunder King..."

Under his leadership, the other reserve gladiators also cheered Thor's "title".

And the sound kept getting louder and louder.

"Bang~"

Not long after, the Hulk, who had flown high into the sky, crashed heavily into the semi-solidified sand, kicking up clouds of dust.

It was only at this moment that the audience seemed to realize what was happening, followed by protests and curses from the gamblers.

Exciting battles are fine, but losing money gambling is not.

In the arena, Thor, who had gained a huge advantage, couldn't bear to look at the Hulk's miserable state.

The two of them, after all, fought side by side in the Avengers organization.

The sun is about to set.

Suddenly, Thor's face broke into a "Natasha" smile again, and he once again extended his hand, representing "reconciliation," toward the Hulk.

If I remember correctly, "The sun goes down" is Natasha's most classic line to comfort the Hulk.

This left a deep impression on Thor.

Sure enough, upon hearing the "code," the Hulk's eyes gradually became confused and sad, like a helpless child.

With success within reach, Thor breathed a sigh of relief, and his smile became even brighter.

Just as Thor lowered his guard and was ready to celebrate his victory, the Hulk suddenly sprang up, grabbed him, and used his signature "Loki slam" technique to repeatedly slam Thor to the ground.

“Beautiful!!! That’s it…” In the luxury private room, Loki, seeing this familiar scene, couldn’t help but clench his fist.

Because the battle was so spectacular, Loki, being a fan of entertainment, had already been engrossed in watching it.

Seeing his brother being treated the same way as him now made him even more excited.

The gamblers in the parallel stands were equally excited.

Seeing the King of the Arena regain his former glory, they cheered and celebrated once again.

Meanwhile, in a lull between his frenzied attacks, the Hulk suddenly spat out through gritted teeth, "Bad friend!!"

Then, without any mercy, he slammed Thor to the ground, picked up a huge spiked club, and prepared to end the match.

Lying in the sandpit, Thor remained conscious thanks to his powerful physique. He had clearly just heard the Hulk say "bad friend."

This undoubtedly proves that the other party recognized him.

As the spiked club drew ever closer to his head, and the Hulk's face contorted with rage and hatred, Thor finally realized that his attempt to "awaken" the Hulk was nothing but wishful thinking.

"What am I still expecting???"

Thor's expression immediately turned to anger and resentment. He shouted at the sky, and even more intense lightning power erupted from his single eye.

At the same time, the sky and earth changed color, and lightning surged into the arena like a dragon, encircling Thor.

In an instant, he entered the complete form of the "God of Thunder".

Thor, lifted up by lightning, then struck the Hulk and his spiked club, sending them flying.

This time, even though the King of the Arena was knocked away, the gamblers in the stands did not boo.

Because this gladiator match was full of twists and turns, and exciting moments one after another, even if I lost money in the end, it was worth the ticket price.

Just as Thor, carrying lightning, was about to deliver the final blow to the Hulk, he unexpectedly caught a glimpse of the fear that flashed in the Hulk's eyes, like that of a wounded beast.

Thor softened again, and the lightning power on his body slowly disappeared.

Compassion, forgiveness, kindness...

Thor seems to be increasingly showing the potential to become the king of the gods.

However, he did not understand the Hulk's inner wounds.

The Hulk doesn't need pity; he just hates that everyone treats him as an appendage of Dr. Banner, summoning him as a weapon when needed and discarding him when not.

No one really cared about the Hulk as an independent individual.

Even though Thor repeatedly backed down and showed goodwill, it was all in the hope of waking Banner, or out of respect for Dr. Banner.

Therefore, Thor's goodwill only further provoked the Hulk, causing him to lunge at Thor and grab him by the neck.

……

(End of this chapter)