General Ross stood in the middle of the street, his body upright, but his mind was turbulent. Before him, Betty continued to weep, her sobs sounding sorrowful amidst the drizzle. His soldiers began to gather around, some looking down to hide expressions of sympathy, while others exchanged glances, speaking without words.
The outcome of this operation was far different from previous missions. There was no major chaos, no explosions, no casualties on the military side. In fact, not a single bullet had been fired. Only a few gallons of fuel, one advanced device, and several doses of sedatives.
"General, what should we do now?" one soldier dared to ask, although his voice trembled slightly.
Ross glanced at him sharply but didn't answer immediately. In his head, he weighed various possibilities. A total victory, indeed, but also embarrassing.
The lower-ranking soldiers still looked tense, but they were also relieved. No one died today, and that was a very rare victory in operations involving the Hulk. However, for Ross, this victory wasn't just about operations, but also about his pride as a military leader.
He felt their gazes—unusual gazes. They knew, just as he knew, that the major difference in this operation was the device brought by Naori and her team. That device, with its hypnotic light patterns, had successfully subdued the Hulk in a way Ross had never even conceived of before.
Naori approached Ross with calm steps, her face relaxed as usual but full of calculation. "General, if you need assistance with the sedatives or further analysis, I have some formulas we could develop," she said in a friendly tone, but there was a cunning glint in her eyes.
Ross, at the peak of his irritation, waved his hand dismissively. "No, thank you. The military already has everything it needs. We are fully capable of handling this ourselves."
Naori smiled faintly, shrugging. "Of course, General. I was just trying to help."
Yugao, standing beside Naori, tilted her head slightly, suppressing a laugh. "Seems like they don't really like receiving help from outsiders," she whispered to Naori.
Naori glanced briefly at Yugao. "It doesn't matter. We've obtained the data we needed. All of this is just a bonus."
…
Betty, on the other hand, didn't give up. She grabbed Ross's arm, pleading in a hoarse voice. "Dad, he's not the enemy! Bruce doesn't want to hurt anyone! He just wants to live peacefully. You know that!"
Ross sighed deeply, his face hard, but inwardly he felt shaken. He was a father, after all, and seeing his daughter cry like this hurt him more than he wanted to admit.
"Betty, this isn't about what he wants. It's about what he can do," Ross finally replied, his voice flat but heavy with pressure.
"And what can you do? Turn him into a lab rat for the rest of his life?" Betty countered, her eyes filled with tears. "You don't care about Bruce! You only care about that monster!"
Ross restrained himself from answering more harshly. Instead, he simply waved his hand towards the soldier holding Banner. "Take him away."
…
Bruce Banner, now unconscious, was carried by soldiers to a military vehicle. They fastened steel handcuffs larger than a normal human arm, as well as leg shackles made of solid metal. Every step they took was cautious, as if afraid the monster would awaken at any moment.
One soldier, apparently seeing the Hulk up close for the first time, whispered to his comrade, "Do you think he can transform again even though he's drugged?"
His comrade glanced at him worriedly. "I hope not. If he does, we're all done for."
Inside the command vehicle, Ross sat with a grim face. He massaged his temples, trying to ward off a budding headache. He knew what would come next—meetings at the Pentagon, endless questions from his colleagues, and criticism from the media.
"Why don't we just let him go?" he muttered softly, almost as if talking to himself.
Blonsky, sitting next to him, heard that and looked at him, shocked. "What, General?"
"Nothing," Ross replied quickly, waving his hand.
Outside, Betty still stood in the drizzle, watching the vehicle carrying Banner drive away. Yugao watched the girl from a distance, something unreadable in her expression.
"She really loves that man," Yugao said quietly.
Naori, who was inspecting the device in her hand, just smiled slightly. "Love is a strange thing, Yugao. Sometimes it can make you fight the whole world."
Yugao turned to Naori. "Have you ever felt like that?"
Naori glanced at her briefly, then turned her gaze back to the device. "I'd rather not answer that question."
…
Ross stared at the view outside the command vehicle's window. The falling drizzle seemed to reflect his turbulent thoughts. Betty was still crying, Blonsky looked frustrated for not getting a chance to fight, and the soldiers, though relieved, held questions in their hearts.
Elsewhere, Nick Fury was racking his brain trying to find ways to secure additional funding for SHIELD. Meanwhile, Naori and Yugao walked casually towards their vehicle, their minds full of plans for the next step.
For all of them, tonight was just the beginning of a new chapter in a larger story.