051, Hulk

Zaire sat at the desk in his bedroom, staring down at the new phone in his hand.

It was a small gift from the Man of Iron, meant to mend the rift between them and compensate for past wrongs. This wasn't just any phone—it had been meticulously modified by the Man of Iron. Not only could Zaire summon assistance from him at any time, but the phone could also control most electronic devices with just a touch. All Zaire had to do was tap it, and he'd have access to nearly any system. Even more impressive, by simply entering a person's name, the phone could pull up their complete personal data and current status.

In short, the Man of Iron had given Zaire a hybrid of a mobile database and a supercomputer.

With this, Zaire no longer questioned the Man of Iron's change of heart. The Man of Iron continued expanding the underground secret base and occasionally provided remote technical support if Zaire needed it—like helping him cheat on his exams from Midtown High. After a long period of studying and feeling mentally drained, Zaire finally gave up. All he really needed was a high school diploma to appease his aunt. The knowledge itself was useless to him.

At that moment, Zaire squinted, setting down his new phone, and opened his computer to search for the answers to his upcoming exams. He needed to memorize them before heading to school for the retakes over the summer.

Just then, a series of notifications popped up on his old phone.

"Stanford University, California—sighted large wild animal... bear or tiger?" 

"Military forces dispatched... Do we really need an armored division to catch a wild animal?" 

"Lies and truth... a military experiment gone wrong?" 

"The Hulk? Eyewitness reports reveal the truth..."

The constant flood of news shattered Zaire's focus. He frowned, picked up his phone, and began checking more closely. A quick search on social media confirmed it: the Hulk had just engaged in his first major confrontation with General Ross, who had been pursuing him.

Curious, Zaire picked up his new phone and typed in "Bruce Banner." A long list of past accomplishments and titles appeared, but there was no information on Banner's current whereabouts. Then Zaire remembered—since Banner had become the Hulk, he had been on the run, likely not carrying a phone.

So, Zaire searched for General Ross's full name and entered it into the phone. This time, not only did Ross's information appear, but his phone became a remotely accessible listening device.

Zaire raised the phone to his ear.

On the other end, he could hear General Ross's furious shouting. 

"With that many people surrounding him, you still let him escape? This was our best chance! Next time won't be so easy!" 

Zaire winced, holding the phone a little further from his ear as Ross's voice boomed. 

"Sir, the soldiers were terrified—they've never seen a creature like the Hulk before. Fear was inevitable..." a calm, middle-aged voice reasoned with Ross. 

"And, sir... why wasn't this powerful human experiment conducted within the military? A civilian can't possibly understand..." 

"It was a one-time freak accident, too many unknown variables mixed in..." Ross's voice trailed off, weariness creeping in. Just as he was about to continue, another voice cut in. 

"General, it's the White House calling... President Norman Osborn." 

"Put him through. I need to give the president an explanation he can live with."

Zaire listened for a while longer but soon lost interest. He turned off the phone and stood, walking over to his bedroom window. Outside, New York buzzed with life, and in the distance, the skyscrapers of New York City stood tall.

No one knew that within a year, this bustling city would become a battleground for an alien invasion.

Zaire didn't expect to save many people. He just hoped the chaos of the invasion would finally convince his stubborn aunt of the city's dangers, prompting her to leave the continent.

Squinting, Zaire opened a simulator and noticed it still had several hours of cooldown before he could use it again. He hesitated for a moment, then selected a set of ten random salvage attempts. 

*Countdown: 9 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds*

After finishing this task, Zaire returned to his desk, as if momentarily forgetting the looming crises of the future, and resumed memorizing the exam answers.

---

In the middle of the night, Zaire, lying in bed, was awakened by a steady, mechanical voice calling out. He opened his eyes, realizing it was the Man of Iron's AI speaking through his phone.

"My Lord, wake up..."

Zaire took a deep breath and grabbed the phone, his tone irritated. 

"Buddy, if you don't have a good reason for waking me up, I'm going to hit you with a laser shower."

"Uh... Omnissiah, I apologize, but the situation is urgent..." the Man of Iron's voice hesitated before explaining. 

"Your subordinate, Madame Gao, has launched an attack on Kingpin's headquarters. About thirty minutes ago, the operation was going well—they breached the building and made it inside..."

"And?" Zaire raised an eyebrow. "As long as they're not killing civilians, why should I care? Let the gangs tear each other apart."

"That's the problem, my lord... there's a high probability that Madame Gao's operation will fail," the Man of Iron's mechanical voice interrupted. 

"Kingpin's headquarters has undergone significant mechanical upgrades. The internal structure is now a labyrinthine fortress, and he has far more manpower than Madame Gao."

"Mechanical upgrades? Why don't you just seize control of the building and guide her forces through?" Zaire asked, his patience thinning.

The Man of Iron hesitated before responding. 

"I didn't want to disturb your rest, so I took the liberty of providing some assistance. But a few minutes ago, a mysterious organization called 'The Hand' joined the fight. They seem to be highly trained ninjas, unafraid of death... Madame Gao's forces are suffering heavy losses. I thought I should report this to you."

"The Hand?" Zaire sat up slowly, a fierce expression spreading across his face. 

"Gangs really are useless!" he muttered before sighing. 

"Fine. I'll handle it myself. Send them on their way!"

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