Russell and No. 01's Joint Assault

The Hulk, who had jumped into the air, returned to the ground. He made intimate contact with the hard ground and left his own mark on the ground.

A massive impact crater!

After knocking the Hulk out of the air, No. 3, piloted Endosymbiotic Battle Armor, landed next to Russell.

When an opportunity arises, one must seize it tightly!

Although the ongoing battle was not part of Russell's plan, he realized that he could use the opportunity to openly reveal his identity as Serum and decided to maximize the impact of this unexpected event.

Merely revealing the true identity of the superhuman serum wasn't enough!

He also intended to use this incident to completely establish the reputation of Octopus Monster Industries!

So, he brought out the Endosymbiotic Battle Armor No. 01 and had No. 3 pilot it into the battle.

Taking down the Hulk alone was sufficient; he didn't need any other assistance.

The appearance of Endosymbiotic Battle Armor No. 01 had a single purpose: to bolster the reputation of Octopus Monster Industries.

It was a spur-of-the-moment decision.

To be more accurate, it was a decision made after receiving a call from Tony.

Mark-3 and Endosymbiotic Battle Armor were too similar.

If Tony appeared in his Mark-3 suit, given the preconceived notion, others would definitely suspect that No. 01 had copied Tony's Mark-3 design.

To avoid such an unpleasant situation, Russell chose to introduce Endosymbiotic Battle Armor earlier than Tony's Mark-3 suit.

As long as Endosymbiotic Battle Armor appeared before Mark-3, any accusations of copying would fall on Tony.

When No. 3, piloting Endosymbiotic Battle Armor No. 01, landed next to him, Russell asked, "How much longer until Tony Stark arrives?"

"According to radar readings, he will arrive in 45 seconds!"

No. 3 swiftly provided an answer.

"Good! Then we need to end this fight within 45 seconds!"

As soon as he spoke, Russell charged towards the fallen Hulk.

He had barely run for a few seconds when No. 3, piloting Endosymbiotic Battle Armor No. 01, followed closely.

The current Hulk was unaware that he only had 45 seconds left.

Having climbed out of the impact crater created by his fall, he now saw Russell speeding towards him.

Though Hulk was in a state of rage, it was futile against Russell.

Even if he had to face Hulk alone, Russell was confident he could defeat him.

Moreover, he had Endosymbiotic Battle Armor No. 01, controlled by No. 3, as his wingman.

Despite Hulk's attempts to resist, his efforts were in vain against the combined assault of Russell and No. 3.

In the following moments, Russell and No. 3 worked in perfect sync, launching a relentless barrage of attacks against Hulk.

Russell's fists and the white tendrils repeatedly struck Hulk.

Arc pulses from the palm and concentrated beams from the chest of No. 01 were fired ceaselessly, as if they didn't consume any energy.

Boom boom boom boom boom boom...

Zoom zoom zoom zoom zoom zoom zoom zoom...

Although Hulk wasn't particularly agile, he couldn't even manage to escape under the joint assault of Russell and No. 3.

He could only raise his bulky arms to shield his head, crouch down, and look as if he were a 500-plus-kilogram child in distress.

45 seconds!

It could be considered neither long nor short!

Under normal circumstances, 45 seconds would pass in the blink of an eye.

However, when one was being pummeled, 45 seconds felt like an eternity.

Hulk had lost track of how many hits he had taken.

His resilient skin, which could withstand machine gun fire, now seemed to have vanished as intense pain radiated from all over his body.

The Hulk, who had left New York's police and military helpless just moments ago, now resembled a humanoid punching bag, enduring the relentless blows from Russell and No. 01.

Time ticked away.

While Hulk struggled to endure and survive the combined assault of Russell and No. 3, Russell had no intention of granting him any respite.

After assaulting Hulk relentlessly for around twenty to thirty seconds, Russell slightly eased the frequency of his attacks.

Although Hulk was now limited to defensive actions, one had to admit that Hulk's constitution was far from ordinary.

It wasn't impossible to knock out Hulk using conventional methods; it was just a bit challenging.

For instance, the Mad Titan Thanos could easily knock out Hulk with a straightforward punch.

While Russell's physique far exceeded that of an average person and was further enhanced by the Anti-Venom Serum, rendering Hulk unconscious with a single punch posed a considerable challenge.

However, this didn't mean he had no way to knock out Hulk.

Slowing down the frequency of his attacks, Russell's left hand once again produced white tendrils.

These tendrils coiled around Hulk's body like pythons.

Healing!

Back at Culver University, Russell temporarily cured Banner's genetic mutation with the extraordinary healing power of the serum, reverting Hulk to his human form.

Now, he intended to employ the same method again.

Unlike the previous occasion, he wouldn't suppress Banner's genetic mutation entirely.

Suppressing the genetic mutation would revert Hulk to Banner.

Although this would make it easier to render Banner unconscious, it wasn't the best choice.

Defeating a well-mannered man was fundamentally different from defeating a monster-like green giant, and the reputation garnered would be vastly distinct.

After the white tendrils coiled around Hulk, he once again experienced the healing power he detested so much.

He felt himself rapidly "weakening"!

Indeed, the current Hulk was being weakened; his perception was not mistaken.

As he used the healing power of the serum to temporarily treat Banner's genetic mutation, thereby weakening Hulk, Russell didn't waste any time. Seizing the opportunity, he swung his right fist with all his might and struck Hulk's chin forcefully.

Thud!

A perfect uppercut!

Hulk, who was crouched down, was sent flying by the tremendous force.

However, his body had barely risen half a meter above the ground before the white tendrils from Russell's left hand pulled him back to the ground.

Although Hulk wasn't human, he shared certain physiological structures with humans.

The chin was connected to the trigeminal nerve, which was in turn connected to the cerebellum.

When the chin experienced a powerful impact, it would throw off the balance of the cerebellum, leading to unconsciousness.

Although Hulk didn't understand this principle, he felt the consequences of the powerful strike to his chin.

After being pulled back to the ground by the white tendrils, Hulk's green eyes suddenly became unfocused.

Subsequently, with a thump, he collapsed onto the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

Done!

Seeing Hulk's massive green form collapse in unconsciousness, Russell finally let out a sigh of relief.

"No. 3, how much time has passed?"

"Sir, it's been 39 seconds in total!"

No. 3 promptly replied.

Satisfied with No. 3's answer, Russell nodded.

Then, he retracted the white tendrils that had bound Hulk's body.

At the same time, he detached serum symbiote from his head, revealing his true appearance.

---

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