After reaching an agreement with the Ancient One, both parties left behind a Den Den Mushi before the Ancient One disappeared in front of Shin.
Shin had no intention of learning the magic of this world, and most of the magical artifacts held little value for him. The only thing that piqued his interest was the Time Stone, but it would be useless outside its home universe.
As such, Shin didn't ask the Ancient One for any reward—just considering it as owing a favor.
Moreover, if the Ancient One wished to leave with him, he would have to wait for the appointment of a new Sorcerer Supreme, which would be none other than the clearly arranged successor, Doctor Stephen Strange.
At this point, Iron Man had only just been captured in the cave, meaning Doctor Strange's emergence was still at least a year or two away. It would take some time.
After the Ancient One left, Shin lightly scanned the area with his Observation Haki before making his way toward the location where Tony Stark had disappeared.
"Speaking of which, it should be the Ten Rings that captured Tony Stark. If this were the movie version of the world, they'd just be an ordinary terrorist group. But this isn't a mere movie world."
"I wonder if I'll actually run into the real Mandarin. Those Ten Rings of his do intrigue me."
Before long, Shin arrived at a cave, where he saw Tony Stark lying weakly on a crude bed, undergoing rudimentary treatment.
"What a miserable sight… To be honest, if not for the Ancient One's behind-the-scenes intervention, this guy wouldn't have survived."
There was a gaping hole in Stark's chest, with shrapnel lodged in his major arteries, and the medical conditions here were abysmal.
Under normal circumstances, even if Tony Stark had the vitality of Rambo and miraculously survived, he would have needed months to recover. And yet, within just a few days, he would be forging his Mark I armor.
If Captain America saw this level of resilience, he'd be stunned, and even Black Panther might be impressed. Without some sort of external intervention, Stark's survival was nothing short of miraculous.
Shin secretly left a device within Stark's cave to record the process of his armor creation, particularly the miniaturization technology of the Arc Reactor. That piece of tech was of great interest to him.
Other than that, Shin had no intention of interfering just yet. He'd act when it was time for Stark to make his escape.
Back in New York City, Shin had just arrived at the Oscorp Tower when he saw Dr. Connors looking flustered.
"Huh? Dr. Connors, what's going on?"
"Oh my god, you're finally back! Mr. Kevin,"—using Shin's alias—"I just received a call from Banner. He's being pursued!" Dr. Connors said anxiously.
Shin nodded. "I see. Understood."
"Uh… I don't think you get it! Kevin, there's a heavily armed squad hunting Dr. Banner down! They've even deployed helicopters!"
"Dr. Banner suspects that they're military. Even the police are making way for them!"
"Yeah, I figured this would happen," Shin sighed.
"Anyway, don't worry. Just leave it to me."
"Eh?! Well… alright," Dr. Connors responded hesitantly. Seeing how calm Shin was, he recalled Banner's instructions—to find Shin immediately. For some reason, that reassurance made him feel much more at ease.
"By the way, where is Banner now?" Shin asked.
"He is on 3rd Avenue in Manhattan!" Dr. Connors quickly relayed the location.
Shin nodded. "Got it. I'll bring him back right away."
With that, he vanished in a flash before Dr. Connors' eyes.
"T-This… Is he a mutant?" Dr. Connors muttered in shock before a worried expression crossed his face.
"Is Dr. Banner a mutant too? Is that why the government is after him?" As a former military doctor, Connors knew just how wary and greedy both the government and military were when it came to mutants.
"I hope they'll be alright..."
On the bustling streets of Manhattan, Bruce Banner weaved through alleyways, desperately evading pursuit. The man chasing him? His own potential father-in-law.
Helicopters crisscrossed the skies above, while soldiers and police set up roadblocks on the ground.
"Father! How could you do this?! You actually bugged my room?!"
Inside a helicopter, Betty Ross was seething. If she weren't thousands of feet in the air, she would've punched her father already.
General Ross wore his usual cold, hard expression. "Bruce Banner is now a wanted man."
"You just want to experiment on him! Don't think I don't know!" Betty snapped. "You've turned into a monster yourself—do you want to turn everyone else into one too?!"
General Ross inhaled deeply. "It's called evolution—"
"Stop the nonsense! If that was just 'evolution,' then why was your experimental base wiped off the map by a nuclear strike?!" Betty cut in, striking straight at the core of his failure. "Your so-called 'plan' is going to be a disaster!"
As the daughter of General Ross and the girlfriend of Bruce Banner, Betty was well aware of what had happened at the experimental base. She might not have known the exact details of the Abomination or the Hundred-Armed Giant, but it wasn't hard to guess. If the military had resorted to nuking the site, the experiment would have gone catastrophically wrong.
This was the Marvel Universe—catastrophic experiments were practically routine.
"That was… different," Ross muttered. "And if it weren't for Bruce Banner, I wouldn't be like this now."
"You knew he'd turn into the Hulk when provoked, and you still pushed him?! That's on you!"
"You don't understand, Betty. Bruce Banner is the key—the origin of everything. If we can capture him, we can perfect the Hulk Serum formula!" A faint red glow flickered in Ross's eyes.
As the heated argument continued, a voice crackled over the helicopter's radio.
"General, we have Banner surrounded. Should we move in?"
"Hold your position. Just keep him contained—I'll handle this personally."
Ross had tested his own combat capabilities since becoming the Red Hulk, and while he didn't fully grasp the Hulk's ever-growing strength, he understood one thing: sending regular soldiers against him was nothing short of suicide.
*******************************
If you would like to gain early access, you can join me at www.patre on.com/bookbattalion
80+ Advance Chapters Now Available!