The time quickly came for the second location update.
Selene had already rejoined the battlefield, her previously torn black bodysuit now completely replaced. Her image reappeared on the monitor panel assigned to her.
Betty gasped from the audience seats.
"Oh my god, she's back—and completely unharmed!"
Everyone turned to Selene's screen, and sure enough, she looked perfectly fine. The massive, deadly hole from earlier had fully healed without a trace.
The crowd marveled at the vampire's regenerative ability—it was practically a built-in survival guarantee.
Beep—Beep—Beep
Just then, all participants' watches started beeping. The second location update had arrived. Everyone immediately checked the new map.
Two red dots appeared nearly overlapping on the screen, and a third was located very close by. That meant three tickets had converged in one area. At the same time, Tony realized his current position was the farthest from all of them—even Selene, who had just been reinserted into the field, was significantly closer.
Seeing the new update, Xu Xialing and Shang-Chi immediately rushed toward the nearest red dot. That red dot belonged to none other than Bruce Banner.
Bruce saw how close he was to the other two and started running toward them as well. There was no point in avoiding the fight anymore—if he could secure both tickets, he would qualify for the finals directly.
Meanwhile, both Selene and Tony were also moving toward the convergence point.
Soon, Xu Xialing and Shang-Chi came face to face with Bruce Banner. The three stopped a short distance apart.
Xialing looked at the bookish man across from them, cautious but direct.
"Would you mind handing over your ticket?"
Bruce eyed the two of them warily, then asked:
"You two… are working together?"
In the audience, many viewers began to speculate aloud.
"If that guy doesn't have some kind of hidden power, he's in big trouble."
"A two-versus-one situation? That's a losing fight for sure."
People unfamiliar with Bruce worried for him. But Betty, who knew the truth, was concerned for the siblings instead—if Bruce turned into Hulk, they might get obliterated in one punch.
Xialing wrapped her chain darts around her arms, while Shang-Chi took a Wing Chun fighting stance.
Bruce saw their battle-ready posture and warned:
"Hand over your tickets."
"You don't want to see me when I'm angry."
Neither Xialing nor Shang-Chi replied. They just began to slowly close in.
The spectators grew more intrigued. Bruce had mentioned anger in his intro clip, and now they were about to see what that meant.
Watching the two approach, Bruce muttered to himself:
"Hulk… time for you to come out."
He began breathing rapidly, raising his heart rate. He still couldn't transform at will; he needed his pulse to hit 200.
Xialing moved within attack range and suddenly whipped her chain dart straight at him.
SWOOSH!
The projectile shot through the air, forcing Bruce to roll away clumsily to dodge.
SMACK!
To the audience's confusion, Bruce slapped himself across the face.
"Come out, Hulk!"
For a moment, his head turned green—Betty's eyes lit up with hope.
But then…
"No!"
Hulk's voice bellowed—and then disappeared back inside.
Turns out, Hulk already knew about the Dragon Balls and Bruce's possible wish. He had no intention of helping Bruce if there was any chance Bruce might wish him away.
Unless Bruce was about to die, Hulk refused to emerge.
The sudden change startled both Xialing and Shang-Chi.
"What the hell was that?" Shang-Chi asked in disbelief.
Seeing that Hulk refused to take over, Bruce didn't hesitate—he turned and ran.
He realized Hulk had his own will now. He needed to reason with him before the enemy caught him.
"Chase him!" Shang-Chi shouted.
Bruce ran for his life, with the siblings close behind.
While sprinting, Bruce whispered:
"Hulk, I need your help. We need to beat them."
"You always wanted out—now's your chance."
"No one's stopping you. I just need those tickets."
But Hulk wasn't convinced.
Bruce then pulled out his last card.
"Hulk, the Dragon Balls aren't just for me. You can make a wish too."
"Don't you want a chance to make your own wish?"
Just then, Shang-Chi caught up with him and tackled him to the ground.
THUD!
Bruce hit the ground hard, but quickly rolled away and scrambled back to his feet, running again.
With a power level of 8 in his base form, Bruce pulled out the same skillset he used to escape military capture: run like hell and keep promising Hulk benefits. He avoided fighting at all costs.
Bruce knew very well—without Hulk, he didn't stand a chance, even if he had decent physique and some training. Victory depended on convincing Hulk.
Seeing that chasing like this was inefficient, Xialing signaled Shang-Chi with a look.
She would run ahead and block him off. Shang-Chi would steer Bruce in her direction.
Understanding the plan, Shang-Chi nodded and began forcing Bruce toward the left, occasionally hurling stones to limit his movement.
…
(End of Chapter)
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