"What's going on, Dr. Banner? Why are you here?" Shin looked at him and asked in surprise.
"Mr. Kevin, we've discovered a very serious problem."
Banner's face was filled with urgency as he turned to Shin.
"Oh?" Shin noticed Banner's expression and seemed to have an idea. "What did you find?"
"It's not just me. Professor Reed and I discovered it together... take a look at this." Banner reached into his bag and pulled out a video device. A still image showed a strange figure riding a silver surfboard.
Shin was stunned for a moment and looked at Bruce Banner with a strange expression.
'What the hell? I didn't even want to get involved in this mess, and yet it still lands on my head?'
"This is top-secret intel. This guy is an alien who calls himself the Silver Surfer. He claims to be a herald of Galactus."
"It took Reed and me quite a bit of effort to capture him. Reed used a device he invented to separate him from the board under his feet, and then I transformed into the Hulk to finally subdue him."
Shin's expression changed slightly. "After losing his board, he could still fight?"
"Of course. His body is invulnerable, immensely strong, and nearly indestructible. Even after transforming into the Hulk, I had to fight him for several minutes," Banner replied bluntly.
Shin fell silent. In the movie version, the Silver Surfer was basically helpless without his board.
But in truth, the Silver Surfer had been enhanced by cosmic energies. Even without the board, his combat ability was still extremely high his physical strength alone rivaled that of Asgardian royals like Thor.
"That's not the worst part," Banner said, waving his hand. "Apparently, this Devourer of Worlds has four heralds. They're terrifying cosmic entities that feed on planets. And now, this Devourer has set his sights on Earth and he's on his way."
"And besides the Silver Surfer, another of his heralds is also en route to Earth. The planet is in serious danger!"
Well, great. It looked like Earth was indeed on the verge of annihilation. At least this time, it wasn't due to a butterfly effect caused by him. Shin chuckled bitterly at the thought.
"Well said, Dr. Banner. Are you planning to start the Wandering Earth Project, or maybe you've secretly built a hyperdrive spaceship? If so, please take me with you."
Bruce Banner gave a wry smile. "Can you not joke right now? I've been buried in biology and gamma ray research. Where would I find the time to build something like that?"
"And even if we started now, it's too late. According to calculations, Galactus's herald will arrive in three days, and Galactus himself in no more than seven."
"By then, everyone on Earth could be dead."
"Then why tell me? Don't tell me you think I can actually fight Galactus?" Shin rolled his eyes.
"Well… Reed has a plan," Banner said, rubbing his hands together. "If it works, we might be able to repel Galactus."
"Oh? What's the plan? Let's hear it," Shin said, pretending to listen attentively.
"Reed's embedded a quantum bomb in the Silver Surfer's board. It can trigger a cosmic energy chain reaction inside the board. Based on its energy, the explosion should be enough to destroy a moon-sized planet. It could at least seriously injure Galactus."
"Then we'll stage a botched escape, let the Silver Surfer return to Galactus, and detonate the board. If all goes well, Galactus gets blasted."
"But there's a problem, the herald who brought Galactus here may not be the Silver Surfer, it could be one of the other three. So, to ensure it's the Silver Surfer who leads him in, we either have to eliminate or delay the other heralds."
Shin nodded. The plan sounded much more reasonable than the movie's storyline where the Silver Surfer is moved by the Invisible Woman and sacrifices himself for Earth. After all, once he became a herald, he'd forgotten his home planet. Why would Susan be able to change his mind?
Besides, the heralds understood Galactus's cosmic role as a universal balance. Galactus couldn't die permanently. At worst, he'd be badly injured and go dormant, but he'd eventually recover and continue consuming planets. That kind of self-sacrifice was meaningless.
If the day ever came when Galactus was truly destroyed, the universe itself wouldn't be far behind. After feeding enough, he entered a golden state and began producing new worlds. In a way, he was a planetary reincarnation system.
So, from both a cosmic and emotional standpoint, the Silver Surfer wouldn't choose to die with Galactus.
"Still, this plan is riddled with uncertainty, isn't it?" Shin turned to Banner. "How much do you actually know about Galactus?"
"Everything we know so far came from the Silver Surfer. It's hard to say how reliable it is." Banner frowned.
"From what I know, Galactus's strength is tied directly to his energy reserves. In other words, the more he feeds on planets, the stronger he becomes. If he hasn't consumed a planet in a while, his power drops."
Shin decided to provide some background. "The planets Galactus devours must meet certain conditions. He feeds on a kind of latent life energy in them. While there doesn't have to be life present, the planet must have the potential to support it."
"In short, if a planet has life, it can definitely be devoured."
"But generally, if his energy levels haven't dropped too far, Galactus avoids planets with life. Maybe it's a remnant of conscience or maybe life-bearing worlds carry too many risks."
Bruce Banner's eyes widened. "You know… this much?"
"Where did you get this information?"
"Don't worry about the source. Just know it's accurate." Shin looked at Banner. "The real question is... what's Galactus's current energy state? And how can you ensure the Silver Surfer actually meets up with him?"
"Even if we deal with the other heralds, we can't guarantee the Silver Surfer will follow our plan. And how are you planning to remotely control that bomb?"
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