While Shi Xiaolei was busy preparing for his departure, Bruce Banner, whom he had sent into the Ark four days prior, finally regained consciousness.
Indeed, Bruce Banner had been unconscious for four full days, and if you count the odd hours, it would be a few more.
Many might find this hard to comprehend, as the Hulk's physique is incredibly powerful, and even after expending a lot of energy in battle, he shouldn't need such a long time to recover. Moreover, if every involuntary transformation resulted in such a long coma… judging by the Hulk's performance in "The Avengers 1," it clearly doesn't add up.
Of course, there's a reason for this.
First and foremost, this was Bruce Banner's first official transformation into the Hulk.
Setting aside how the 'Hulk' persona came to be, its existence is undeniable. For Bruce Banner, a new persona, one with a violent temperament completely opposite to his own, had emerged within him… If Bruce Banner's consciousness is likened to an already formed and stable world, then the changes brought about by this incident are roughly equivalent to a colossal natural disaster.
To give it a rating, it surpassed the level of volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis; at the very least, it was on the scale of continental drift.
Under the catalysis of gamma rays, his physical body underwent tremendous changes. But ultimately, that was only an improvement in physical fitness; on a mental level, Bruce Banner did not receive even a shred of enhancement.
The panic brought on by transforming into the Hulk, the aggression accumulated during battles with the military, the guilt from accidentally harming civilians during combat… Although Bruce Banner's persona might retreat into the background and hide when the Hulk's consciousness takes over, this doesn't mean he is completely unaware of everything happening in the outside world. Therefore, these accumulated emotions are bound to impact Bruce Banner's consciousness.
Mental trauma isn't so easy to recover from. Not completely falling into self-isolation, merely taking a few extra days to recover, Bruce Banner's nerves could already be considered quite resilient.
Additionally, besides the mental trauma requiring time to heal, physical weakness also needs a period of recovery.
After all, it was his first transformation, so it was bound to be a bit uncomfortable.
To use a slightly cruder analogy, it's like giving birth. First-time mothers often need a longer recovery period, but if you switch to a 'veteran' who has given birth five or six times, it's not impossible for them to be up and working the day after giving birth.
What's more, in his battle with Shi Xiaolei, the Hulk actually sustained quite a few external injuries and lost a lot of blood.
All these factors combined ultimately led to Bruce Banner being unconscious for a few extra days.
'Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?' After slowly regaining consciousness, Bruce Banner first posed these three philosophical questions to himself.
Vaguely recalling some fragments, and seeing himself completely naked except for a tattered pair of shorts hanging around his waist, Bruce Banner's mind grew even more confused.
Like an idiot, he sat on the bed for a long while, his gaze blank.
It wasn't until he heard strange noises from outside the room that Bruce Banner snapped back to attention, alert.
He looked around and found himself in a crude, somewhat simple wooden cabin. The furnishings inside were also quite basic, not like being locked in some laboratory, which eased Bruce's mood slightly.
Releasing the fingers that had instinctively clutched the bedding, Bruce gently got out of bed, pushing aside the thin blanket covering him, and stepped barefoot onto the slightly rough wooden floor.
There was a cabinet made of wooden planks in the room, looking like a wardrobe. Thinking that he couldn't go out naked, Bruce went to the cabinet, intending to see if there were any clothes he could borrow inside.
But to his surprise, the cabinet door was clearly not locked,
and it didn't look very sturdy, yet he just couldn't open it.
Left with no choice, Bruce gave up on the idea of opening the cabinet to find clothes and instead turned to pull off the bedsheet, wrapping it around himself in a style reminiscent of an African native.
Like the cabinet door, the wooden door of the cabin also wouldn't budge. Fortunately, there was a window frame on the wall without windowpanes, and with little effort, Bruce squeezed out of the window frame and came to the outside of the small wooden cabin.
Before him was a small river about twenty meters wide. The current wasn't fast, and it made clear, pleasant sounds as it flowed over large rocks in the middle of the river.
A wooden foundation connected to the entrance of the small wooden cabin, extending about a third of the way over the river.
It looked like a self-built dock for mooring small boats, but looking left and right, he didn't see any boats.
With the question 'Where is this?' in his mind, Bruce unconsciously walked onto the dock, arriving at a more open area over the river.
Suddenly, from the dense forest on the opposite bank, came a roar he had never heard before.
If it were the Hulk, he certainly wouldn't feel fear. But right now, it was Bruce Banner who was in control of this body; he was just a scientist, and he didn't have such courage when faced with such an unknown and extremely threatening roar.
Startled, Bruce Banner instinctively raised his gaze and looked towards the dense forest on the opposite bank.
The next second, a scene he had never imagined appeared before his eyes — first, several Parasaurolophus burst out of the dense forest, frantically fleeing along the riverbank in utter disarray, followed closely by a Tyrannosaurus Rex, over ten meters tall, chasing after them with immense ferocity.
The sound of trees snapping as they were crushed, the thudding of the T-Rex's footsteps, plus its terrifying roar… What was a twenty-meter-wide river? For a T-Rex of that size, crossing it would only take a few seconds.
The air seemed to rush onto his face, and feeling the imposing presence emanating from the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Bruce couldn't help but feel his legs give out, collapsing onto the damp sand.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex that appeared in Bruce's line of sight was none other than Shi Xiaolei's beloved pet, Big White.
Due to his owner's command, Big White had been active near the base. Although it didn't realize it itself, it was clearly performing the role of a guard.
Its range of activity was restricted, unable to wander around like its other companions. If it were a human, it might feel a bit frustrated, but for Big White, this kind of life didn't make it feel any resistance at all.
Because every time its owner returned, it could rush over immediately, and then, not only could it receive its owner's caresses before its other companions, but it could also be personally fed by its owner… Although the amount of meat its owner fed it wasn't even enough to get stuck in its teeth, for Big White, as long as it had the opportunity to be close to its owner, it was already very happy.
When its owner wasn't around, it would hunt in the forest if hungry, and if tired, it would sleep in the base's plaza and sunbathe. When its owner returned, it would quickly go over and cling for a while, occasionally carrying its owner on a patrol. Perhaps it was a bit monotonous, but it was very pure, and Big White genuinely loved this kind of life.
Today was no different; Big White had once again circled the base.
It chased away two Carnotaurus and then filled its stomach with an elite Velociraptor that had wandered nearby at some unknown time. Just as it was thinking of returning to the base's plaza for a nap, it suddenly noticed a strange figure appearing in front of the small wooden cabin its owner had personally built.
With a mix of curiosity and vigilance, Big White abandoned its little digestion game of 'scaring the Parasaurolophus,' took wide strides with its two thick, sturdy legs, waded through the shallow river, and turned to walk towards the wooden cabin.