Kamen Rider ZZZ from the American comic book world

“So you’re the one who appeared in my dream?” Betty asked.

“That’s right,” Li Ai admitted.

"What are you talking about?" Banner asked, puzzled.

"Simply put, I can enter other people's dreams while I'm asleep to prevent certain supernatural beings from interfering with the dreamer's daily life. You can just think of it as some kind of superpower," Li Ai explained her ability briefly, then looked at Betty and said:

"Your dream that day was invaded by a supernatural creature that deliberately creates nightmares, which is why you had nightmares. If left unchecked, that supernatural creature might hurt you. It was through that dream that I tried to investigate, and that led to the battle just now."

"So you helped me?" Betty said gratefully to Banner.

"Banner, I think he genuinely wants to help us."

Betty's words dispelled Banner's doubts.

"Your superpower is pretty good, unlike me who can only turn into a monster. No matter how hard I try to learn meditation techniques to control my emotions, I will still turn into a monster." Banner laughed self-deprecatingly. He hated the Hulk's power and always felt that it was because of this power that he had to live a life of wandering.

“But I can help you find the world’s best meditation master,” Li Ai said earnestly.

"She's not one of those guys who can only do psychological counseling; she's a true master of mysterious techniques."

The 'master' he was referring to was naturally the Supreme Master Ancient One.

Chapter 71 Cruel Fate

"Mysterious arts? What are those?" Dr. Banner tilted his head, his mind filled with doubt.

"Simply put, it's magic," Li Ai explained.

"Magic? You study at Hogwarts?" Banner teased.

"You'll find out soon enough." Li Ai took out her phone and made a call to Master Daniel at the Sanctuary of the Dead in New York.

"Hey, Mage Daniel, open a portal for me. My coordinates are..."

Although Li Ai himself also possessed teleportation abilities, his original intention was to send Banner to Kamar-Taj for further studies, so of course he had to demonstrate his 'magic'.

As soon as he finished speaking, a circular portal appeared beside Li Ai, while the mage Daniel on the other side was still calling out to him.

"Come on over, the portal is ready for you."

"Banner, maybe they really do have the ability to help you." Betty stared blankly at the portal, feeling as if her worldview had been shaken.

Seeing this, Banner and Betty followed Li Ai into the portal and arrived at the New York Sanctum Sanctum in the blink of an eye.

“The Sorcerer Supreme is waiting for you at the usual place,” Sorcerer Daniel said to Li Ai.

“Okay, I understand.” Li Ai realized that the Ancient One was willing to see Banner, then turned to Banner and Betty and said:

"It seems that Headmaster Dumbledore has been waiting for a long time."

“But you’d better change your clothes, sir.” Mage Daniel produced a set of secondhand men’s clothing and pointed in a direction, indicating that there was a room there where he could change.

"Thank you." Banner changed into a new set of clothes.

The three then went up to the top floor of the Sanctuary of the Ancients in New York and saw the Ancient One standing with his back to them.

“To be honest, you really know how to surprise me, Li Ai,” the Ancient One said in an ambiguous tone.

“Dreams can be very abstract sometimes,” Li Ai responded with a riddle. “I just chose one possibility.”

These words left the two doctors somewhat bewildered. The Ancient One also noticed this, so she walked towards them and called out their names directly.

"Welcome to the New York Sanctum, Dr. Banner, and..."

“Just call me Betty,” Betty interrupted, particularly worried about hearing that annoying last name.

“Alright, Dr. Betty.” The Ancient One wasn’t annoyed. She smiled slightly and turned to Banner, saying:

"You must have already seen magic, Dr. Banner."

"Yes, that portal is beyond the scope of most scientists' research."

Banner recalled the portal he had just seen, and combined with the power Li Ai had previously possessed, he now truly believed in the existence of inexplicable forces, but he had only one question.

"So do you have some way to remove the gamma rays from my body?"

“No,” the Ancient One replied crisply. “The Hulk is a part of you, and the more you resist it, the less you can control this power.”

“But I don’t want to control it, I just want it to be far away from my life.” Banner scratched his hair.

“But the reality is harsh,” the Ancient One said calmly. “You don’t have even one future where you can get rid of the Hulk.”

Upon hearing this, Banner's heart rate rose slightly. He took a deep breath to calm himself and asked again:

"You mean even if I find Mr. Lan and cooperate with him to perform the surgery, I still can't get rid of that monster?"

"Yes." The Ancient One delivered a heavy blow to Banner.

Banner felt all his strength drain away. He leaned against the wall and said in an almost desperate tone:

"So, does that mean I can never live a normal life?"

“Actually, if you’re willing, I can guide you to explore your inner power, at least enough to ensure that Hulk won’t disrupt your daily routine,” the Ancient One said frankly.

At this moment, Betty gently patted Banner's back to comfort her lover, then looked up at the Ancient One and said:

"No matter what, he has worked hard for a long time. Sometimes it's like that; you have to try even if there's only a tiny chance."

“You’re right, Betty.” Encouraged, Banner straightened up, his fighting spirit rekindled in his eyes.

Seeing this, the Ancient One didn't press the matter. She seemed to know Banner would return sooner or later, and let things take their course, saying:

"In that case, you two should go downstairs to find Master Daniel. He will arrange rooms for you to rest."

"Thank you," Dr. Banner said gratefully.

"However, you'd better not leave the Sanctum Sanctorum unnecessarily, because there are already sentries on the streets of New York," the Ancient One added as a reminder.

Banner slapped his forehead, saying with great annoyance, "Oh no, they hacked my computer. There must be soldiers everywhere near Greyburn University, where I'm going."

In his haste to escape from Brazil, he failed to destroy the laptop containing his chat logs with 'Mr. Blue,' giving General Ross the opportunity to pinpoint his location.

“Magic can change a person’s appearance,” Li Ai reminded her.

He didn't even need to ask; the Ancient One would take the initiative to speak.

“I will have Mage Daniel assist you.”

"Thank you," Li Ai replied, then changed the subject, "I should go now, there's a curfew at my place."

"Curfew? How old is he anyway?" Banner and Betty stared in disbelief at Li Ai's departing figure.

………………

Meanwhile, intelligence about the battle at Culver University gradually spread. After receiving this intelligence, S.H.I.E.L.D. chose to send Agent Coulson, who had just returned from vacation, to deliver the message to Tony Stark.

Tony's smile never faded after hearing that Justin Hammer's designed mech had been torn to shreds and that Ross, that annoying old man, had suffered a loss.

“Coulson, I admit your joke is very funny. A fifteen-meter-tall mech was dismantled into scrap metal in the blink of an eye. That really does reflect Justin Hammer’s strength.”

“Mr. Stark, what I want to tell you is that Number Seven also participated in the military’s operation to capture Hulk, and General Ross is considering designating Number Seven as a terrorist,” Coulson said seriously.

"Number Seven?" Tony hesitated for a moment when he heard the code name.

“It’s ZZZ, the guy who fought alongside you in the highway incident,” Coulson explained. “Seven is our internal codename, and he’s very good at counter-surveillance. We’ve been tracking him, but to no avail.”

"Let me think... the code name has 'seven,' indicating strong counter-surveillance capabilities... Are you sure you're not talking about '007' James Bond? Next time we meet, I'm definitely calling him '007 with the mask.'" Tony stroked his beard, teasingly before asking:

"Tell me, what do you hope to achieve by telling me this news?"

"The director means that if Hulk and Number Seven appear together to deal with the military, he hopes you can step in and mediate, after all, you and Number Seven fought side by side," Coulson told him truthfully.

"Let's talk about it another time. I'm not that familiar with him," Tony waved his hand dismissively.

"I'm going to New York tomorrow to select a driver for the new sports car equipped with the Arc Reactor. The current driver may not be able to adapt to the driving style of this new car, so I need to find a good candidate with excellent physical fitness who hasn't had much experience with sports cars."

As he spoke, a figure he held in high regard came to mind.

Chapter 72 Hammer's Masterpiece

Inside a military base on the outskirts of New York City

The huge hangar was brightly lit, and an eight-meter-tall steel armored vehicle stood silently in the center of the area. Several technical officers were maintaining the armored vehicle according to the instructions provided by Hammer Industries.

Justin Hammer, accompanying General Ross and Bronsky on their inspection of the armored vehicle, wore an undisguised smug expression. He patted the armor and confidently stated:

"Gentlemen, please allow me to introduce you to Hammer Industries' 'rival' prototype armor."

"Get straight to the point about performance," General Ross said, getting straight to the point.

"This time we've used nuclear-powered batteries, extending our maximum combat time to ten hours. To ensure the stability of these batteries, we've used some vibranium," Justin said, pointing to the chest armor.

"The powerful energy also gives it flight capability, with a top speed that can catch up with the F22, and it can also ensure sufficient maneuverability. In addition, there are many reserved interfaces that can be used to install grenades, missiles, and heavy machine guns. However, you are in too much of a hurry, and the equipment has not yet been tested."

Furthermore, the operating system wasn't finished yet, so technicians couldn't provide any remote assistance. However, there was an advantage: this armored vehicle wasn't connected to the internet, so even the best hacker would be helpless against it.

"Vibranium?" Bronsky asked after receiving his second injection of the Super Soldier Serum. "What's that?"

“Vibranium is an extremely rare metal that can absorb energy. I added it to the nuclear battery to ensure that it could operate stably instead of turning into a mushroom cloud that blows the factory up,” Justin Hammer explained.

“It’s made of the same material as Steve Rogers’s round shield, which cannot be artificially synthesized, and there’s no legal way to mine it in America. There’s only one way to get vibranium.” General Ross examined Justin and calmly stated the answer.

"smuggling."

Justin Hammer's smile froze for a moment, then he coughed twice and carefully chose his words:

"But the technology and performance are absolutely up to standard. The armor shell uses a new composite material being developed by Hammer Industrial Laboratories, which can withstand direct fire from a main battle tank. The power provided by the nuclear battery can allow the wearer to tear apart a warship."

“Tell me about the shortcomings,” General Ross asked.

“First of all, although I have almost made it to the same level as Tony’s Iron Man armor, I have not yet found a way to solve the cushioning problem. If an ordinary human were to wear ‘Rival,’ he would only faint from excessive G-force when increasing speed,” Justin Hammer said helplessly.

“But you are standing in front of the best soldiers in the world!” Bronsky stared intently at his ‘rival,’ his eyes filled with undisguised confidence and greed.

Compared to Bronsky, who was already trapped in the vortex of power, General Ross appeared relatively calm. He pressed on, asking:

"I'm waiting to hear about the other shortcomings."

“General, as you know, there are currently no legal channels to obtain vibranium in large quantities, so I won’t receive any subsidies or tax breaks,” Justin Hammer said with an awkward smile.

"So its rival is very expensive, extremely expensive."

"How expensive could it be?" General Ross had already adjusted his expectations, but Justin Hammer's answer still startled him.

"You should know the cost of an F-22, right? The armor of a formidable enemy is worth at least ten F-22s, and I haven't even factored in other costs."

"How much?!" General Ross exclaimed in disbelief.

An F-22 costs $150 million, while this formidable rival armored vehicle costs ten times that amount? Even General Ross, who has spent years at the Pentagon, was surprised by this figure.

"So I only built one to collect data, which at least laid the foundation for mass-produced armor," Justin quickly said.

"Then you'd better push the price down to a level that the Pentagon can accept, at least to the same price as the F-22, to ensure it's 'suitable'," General Ross said helplessly.

At this moment, an intelligence officer walked up to General Ross, handed him the documents, and reported:

"Sir, our intelligence agents detected trace readings of gamma rays in a laboratory at Graben University, which belongs to a professor named Samuel Stern."

"It seems he is the 'Mr. Blue' who has been helping Banner all along," General Ross confirmed.

"Sir, what should we do next?" the intelligence officer asked.

"Don't arrest that Samuel Stern guy. We need to create an opening for Banner so he'll come crawling back," General Ross ordered.

"Once this armor is adjusted, we'll load it into a civilian truck. We need to lie in wait near Graben University beforehand."

"Alright, I should go now." Justin Hammer straightened his collar; after saying so much, he was feeling a bit thirsty.

Seeing Justin Hammer about to leave, Bronsky took the initiative to chase after him, saying, "Mr. Hammer, let me see you off."

Afterward, the two walked out of the hangar together, away from General Ross. Blonsky leaned close to Justin Hammer's ear and whispered:

"Mr. Hammer, could that nuclear battery be switched to emit gamma rays?"

“I don’t understand what you’re saying, Mr. Bronsky.” Justin Hammer paused, raised an eyebrow, and said in an ambiguous tone:

“Nuclear radiation contains three types of rays: alpha, beta, and gamma. Why are you asking if you can switch to a mode that emits gamma rays? Besides, once you put on the Rival suit, only you can give the orders.”

Upon hearing this, Bronsky instantly understood what the other person meant. The powerful force that Hulk had displayed flashed through his mind again, and a knowing smile appeared on his face.

“I understand, Mr. Hammer.”

“To ensure your safety, I can secretly provide you with a sample of the experimental enhancement drug, after all, it’s a very dangerous mission.” Justin Hammer took out a small box from his pocket and, without General Ross’s knowledge, handed it to Bronsky.