Chapter 33

Banner: This humble monk's Buddhist name is Hulk! Tony the Money-Grubber!

"Clearing out inventory?"

Patton's eyes lit up; the sweet taste he had just experienced made him see these plastic balls as golden eggs.

"Li, there's an old saying in the East: those who see it will have a share."

"After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. also contributed a lot to the destruction caused by Obadiah."

Coulson rubbed his hands nervously, his eyes filled with longing.

"Obadia? As Obadiah's nephew, I have the right to inherit his legacy."

Tony Stark strode forward, straightened his slightly crooked tie, and spoke with righteous indignation.

After saying that, he turned to look at Li Ang, raising an eyebrow: "It's not unreasonable for me to take half, is it?"

"Of course not," Li Ang shrugged. "As long as no one objects."

"I object!"

Thor raised his hand. "What Obadiah doesn't want should belong to our gashapon shop and be given to us employees as a perk."

"I also think it would be better for everyone to share it."

Coulson chimed in, "S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't want to miss any opportunity to acquire extraordinary items."

Tony clicked his tongue, looking at the group of menacing people, and had no choice but to settle for second best.

"Alright, everyone gets a share. Anyway, these low-level gashapon machines will probably only give you some civilian technology."

Tony said he didn't care, but his hands betrayed him by grabbing the top layer of the shelf. "But I have to choose first."

"Please go ahead."

Thus, a bizarre gashapon dismantling contest began amidst the ruins.

Thor's method was the most brutal; he didn't twist it at all, but simply squeezed it with both hands, and the plastic shell burst.

"What's this? A hammer?" Thor took out a miniature claw hammer and swung it a couple of times. "It's too light; it can't even crack a walnut."

"That's for repairing clocks and watches."

Jane stood by and explained helplessly, also clutching a gashapon toy in her hand.

"Trash." Thor tossed it aside. "Next!"

Patton seems to have run out of luck; he only managed to get a few rolls of tactical tape, which is quite a disappointment compared to the resurrection coins he had previously obtained.

Tony, a billionaire worth hundreds of billions, is now caught in a deep self-doubt.

"A screwdriver? Another screwdriver?"

Tony stared at the metal tools at his feet, veins throbbing on his forehead. "Jarvis, calculate the probability. Is this machine targeting me?"

"Sir, according to the current data model analysis, your luck value is 34.5% below the average, commonly known as 'bad luck'."

Jarvis delivered the final blow without any emotion.

"Shut up." Tony said with a dark face, and turned on another one.

This time it's a pair of cotton slippers printed with pink Peppa Pig.

"Pfft." Darcy, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Tony took a deep breath, threw the damn slippers aside, and turned his gaze to Banner, who hadn't done much.

"Don't just stand there, come and share this pile of garbage. I don't believe there's anyone in the world with worse luck than me."

Banner smiled awkwardly; after all, it was his suggestion, so he was naturally very interested.

"Then... I'll give it a try?"

Banner walked to the pile of remaining gashapon toys, stretched out his trembling hand, and chose the one that looked the most pleasing to the eye.

He wasn't as violent as Thor, nor as impatient as Tony.

He slowly turned it on, his movements as gentle as an ordinary person's.

Click.

The lid is open.

There was no explosion, and no smoke.

But in that instant, a magnificent and solemn golden light burst forth from the small plastic shell.

"Gold again?!" Barton exclaimed.

The light was not dazzling, but it carried an indescribable warmth and depth.

In this desolate ruin, the light seemed out of place, yet incredibly sacred.

Li Ang, who had been leaning against the counter watching the show, couldn't help but sit up straight.

"Wow, good heavens, this thing actually came out?"

The light dissipated.

A neatly folded piece of fabric floated silently in front of Banner.

It was a kasaya (Buddhist robe).

The entire piece is woven from an unknown red silk, embroidered with intricate Sanskrit characters in gold thread, each character subtly shimmering with light.

On the red background, seven kinds of minerals are inlaid, each gemstone radiating a calming and soothing energy.

【Splendid Robe】

【Origin: Journey to the West】

[Effect 1: Immune to water and fire, protects against evil spirits, and grants the wearer immunity to most elemental damage and protection from worldly evil thoughts.]

[Effect 2: Powerfully suppresses negative emotions such as violence, anger, and murderous intent within the wearer, forcibly entering a sage mode and forming a protective aura of Buddha's light around the wearer.]

[Note: Don't ask why Tang Sanzang was still captured by monsters even though he had it; that was a plot device. But in your case, wearing it makes you the holy monk.]

Banner stared blankly at the excessively ornate dress, somewhat bewildered: "This is... a dress?"

"Try them on," Li Ang said with a smile. "I think they were made for you."

Banner hesitated for a moment, then reached out and touched the robe.

Swish!

The moment their fingertips touched, the brocade robe seemed to come alive, unfolding automatically and transforming into a stream of red and gold light that draped over Banner's body.

There was no sense of constraint as I had imagined.

On the contrary, Banner felt an unprecedented cool airflow rush from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.

That was tranquility.

Absolute tranquility.

The silence was so profound that he couldn't hear any of Hulk's voices.

The power of this robe is far greater than that of the meditation mantra!

Deep within Banner's consciousness, Hulk, who had been trying to break free, suddenly froze.

As Hulk looked at the golden swastika marks that suddenly appeared around him and listened to the faint chanting of Sanskrit, a kind of... serenity appeared on his green face.

"Hulk... is sleepy..."

In the space of consciousness, the beast yawned and actually curled up and fell asleep.

in reality.

Banner closed his eyes, and the timidity, anxiety, and exhaustion on his face vanished.

Instead, there is a dignified and compassionate countenance.

With that dazzling brocade robe, even if he were to die on the spot right now, people would probably believe it.

"This feeling..." Banner opened his eyes, his gaze clear as water, "The world has become quiet."

"What's the underlying principle?"

Tony, still holding the screwdriver, stared in disbelief.

"Don't try to explain metaphysics with your narrow-minded science," Li Ang commented. "This is called the boundless power of Buddhism."

"Buddhist teachings?" Thor leaned closer, curiously poking at the jewel on Banner's body. "Can this thing be used for fighting?"

Banner smiled slightly, put his hands together, and said in a gesture as natural as if he had practiced for decades: "I don't know if I can fight, but I feel... very good."

Li Ang raised an eyebrow, and the image of Hulk reasoning with someone involuntarily flashed through his mind.

Of course, given Hulk's personality, he will ultimately subdue others with force.

Imagine a monster three meters tall, covered in green muscles and draped in a brocade robe, chanting Amaterasu while punching Thanos into the ground.

That art style...

Li Ang couldn't help but almost burst out laughing.

"Fuck!"

Tony slammed the tools in his hand to the ground. "Why can they produce such amazing gadgets, while I, a VIP, am stuck running a hardware store?"

He was jealous.

I'm really jealous.

The energy fluctuations emanating from that robe were so strong that even Jarvis couldn't analyze them; it was clearly a high-grade item.

And him? A pile of garbage!

"Perhaps it's because you weren't sincere," Li Ang said leisurely, "or perhaps you didn't spend your money properly."

"Money?" Tony keenly caught the key word.

He sneered, strode to the counter, pulled out a black gold card from his pocket, and slammed it on the table.

"You're right, I'm Tony. Why should I fight with these poor bastards for these scraps?"

Tony pointed to the larger, mid-sized gashapon machine inside the Anywhere Door.

"What we just did was just a warm-up."

Tony loosened his tie, his eyes hardening, like a gambler at the table.

"The beginner pool is too shallow; it's for ordinary players. I want to play in that one!"

"Intermediate gashapon, fair and square." Li Ang picked up the black gold card. "Confirm?"

"Give me a hundred consecutive draws!" Tony waved his hand, exuding boundless confidence. "Ten million dollars, I refuse to believe I can't get a golden legendary item!"

The entire room fell silent.

Even Banner, who had just become a "holy monk," couldn't help but open his eyes.

Ten million US dollars?

"Is this the world of the rich?" Darcy muttered to himself.

"Very good, very energetic." Li Ang swiped his card with astonishing speed, afraid that Tony would change his mind. "Transaction successful."

As the POS machine beeped as it printed the receipt, the intermediate gashapon machine lit up with a dazzling blue light.

The lighting effects are clearly a level above the basic ones, and even the background music has been changed to a symphony.

Tony stood in front of the machine, took a deep breath, and stretched his wrists.

"Watch, mortals."

Tony confidently pressed the button. "A true artifact will only answer the call of dollars."

Rumble.

The sound of the machine running was like thunder.

Everyone held their breath. What could they possibly get from a hundred consecutive gacha pulls costing ten million US dollars?

pat.

The first gashapon capsule rolled down.

Tony bent down to pick it up; it was warm to the touch and felt wonderful.

"This looks interesting."

Without hesitation, he opened it directly.

boom!

A flash of white light.

There are no world-destroying artifacts, nor any cool armor.

After the white light dissipated, a strange creature appeared in everyone's sight.

It is only as tall as a calf, entirely blue, with a hard shell on its back, and a round, cute, bald head.

The most outrageous thing is that this turtle is wearing a pair of extremely flamboyant black triangular sunglasses on its face.

It stood with its hands on its hips, head tilted back, looking at the dumbfounded Tony, and uttered a defiant sound:

"Jenny? Jenny, Jenny!"