Not long after, the countdown for the quiz began.
Among all the participants, Bruce Banner was the most focused on this question. From the few memories he had of his childhood, he remembered that both his biological parents had died—so the answer should be A, right?
Yet, a complex emotion stirred within him. A part of him hoped his parents were still alive…
But if they really were alive, then why did they abandon him?
As the seconds ticked away, the others hesitated as well. No one was eager to press the buzzer; none of them were confident in their answers.
Among them, the seemingly defeated Homelander was actually pretending. Though he acted devastated and indifferent, he was secretly observing Bruce Banner from the corner of his eye, clearly intending to copy his choice.
Just as the countdown neared zero, the players finally began slamming their buzzers. This time, the right to answer went to Tony Stark.
He looked surprised.
"Holy crap, this is the first time I actually got to answer? Wait—no, I think I did once before… anyway, it's either my first or second time. Finally, my turn!"
"Then hurry up and pick, Tony!" Erik urged impatiently.
Tony rolled his eyes. "Bruce's situation is complicated, but… alright, fine, I'll go with A."
Bruce hesitated for a moment and chose D—deep down, he wanted to believe his parents were still alive.
Homelander frowned. Based on his own deduction, option D was the least likely. But since Bruce was the person in question…
After a moment's thought, he decided to follow Bruce's lead. "I'll pick D too."
Natasha chose B, while Erik went with C.
Once everyone had chosen, the system announced the result:
[Player Tony Stark—incorrect answer! Minus 4 points]
[Player Bruce Banner, player Homelander, and Player Erik Lehnsherr—incorrect answers! Minus 1 point each]
[Congratulations, player Natasha Romanoff—correct answer! Plus 1 point]
"Damn it!" Tony cursed, swinging his arm in frustration. "Finally get a question and still mess it up!"
Homelander was even more annoyed. His original answer had been B, but he'd changed it last minute to follow Bruce—and missed the correct one by a hair.
Even worse, he had just managed to get his score back to zero, and now he was back in the negatives.
The only small comfort was that he wasn't alone—both Iron Man and Bruce Banner now shared his -2 points.
But Bruce Banner was too distracted to care about the score. Eyes wide, he asked, "My biological father… he's still alive?"
Tony shrugged. "Obviously. Seems like something must've happened to him in your world—otherwise, he would've found you long ago."
Erik folded his arms. "Interesting. Looks like all of us had pretty miserable childhoods. Maybe that's part of this quiz game's selection criteria."
Tony frowned, ready to argue. But after thinking about it, he had to admit—his own childhood wasn't exactly happy either.
Natasha exchanged a glance with him and quietly fell into thought.
Just then, the screen began playing the video of the correct answer.
On-screen, Bruce Banner—using the alias Bruce Kessler—walked into a scientific research institute, bag slung over his shoulder. Inside his office, besides his colleague Betty, there was also an unexpected visitor: a well-dressed young man with neatly combed hair.
The moment Bruce saw him, his expression darkened. Clearly, this wasn't someone he liked. He ignored the man's attempt at small talk and directly told him to leave.
Outside the screen, Bruce explained, frowning, "That guy's name is Glenn. He used to be Betty's classmate… and also one of my rivals when I was pursuing her. We never got along. He can't stand me, and honestly, I can't stand him either."
"Oh, so it's a love rival situation?" Tony grinned. "Come on, Bruce, that's not the right attitude. You won—got the girl—so show some grace! Don't stoop to the level of a loser. Trust me, I speak from experience."
Bruce shrugged. "The problem is, Betty and I broke up later. I think this video must be showing something that'll happen tomorrow—or the day after."
Natasha raised an eyebrow. "Then yeah, you'd better be careful around him."
Back in the video, Glenn still hadn't left. Once Betty stepped out, he revealed his true purpose—he wanted to buy out Bruce's laboratory.
He spoke persuasively:
"Bruce, think about it! American soldiers who can heal themselves—and the patent for that technology in our hands! This is a fortune waiting to happen!"
Outside the screen, Tony leaned forward with interest. "So he's trying to buy your lab and your tech?"
"Looks like it," Bruce replied with disdain. "I'm just a scientist. I want to focus on research quietly. But trouble like this is impossible to avoid. Research costs too much, and there are always rich people waving their money around, hoping to see you bow down. I hate that. You're a scientist too, Tony—you should understand, right?"
Bruce's tone carried long-held frustration, but as he said, such problems always came with the job.
Tony merely shrugged. "Sorry, Bruce. I've never had that problem."
He spread his arms with a smirk. "Because anyone who wants to buy my lab or my tech—well, they simply can't afford it. And besides… I'm richer than all of them combined."
Natasha gave a knowing look. "See, Bruce? That's exactly what you hate about rich people. You thought Tony was just an ordinary, hard-working scientist? Big mistake. Being a scientist is just his side job. His main occupation is being an idle billionaire."
Bruce blinked, genuinely puzzled, then asked the question that silenced the room—
"You're that rich… so why are you still a scientist?"
After all, in his mind, every rich scientist eventually became a businessman.
...
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