"We've arrived at the station, ladies please disembark."
After crawling chaotically through the passage, Su Ming directly chose a direction of the pipe, cut a circular hole, and kicked it open.
Hel was full of displeasure, because in the latter half of the journey, the three of them basically crawled through the foul and filthy sewers.
Although she had experienced all kinds of environments on the battlefield, crawling through a sewer... after this, the sewer directly climbed to the top of her list of repulsions.
Tanis had it worse; she almost vomited the entire way, now dizzy and seeing stars, staggering like a drunk.
After coming out of the sewer, the first thing she did was run far away, hold onto a wall, and retch continuously, then take deep breaths.
Su Ming looked around; this was the predetermined location.
Except for the energy supply pipes, almost all other pipes avoided this place at odd angles. From the structural diagram, this small underground space, apart from the energy connection, had no other living facilities.
No weapons were marked on the structural diagram, but Su Ming vaguely felt a sense of danger emanating from the walls around him.
Atlan didn't lack weapon technology; they just hadn't used weapons for countless millennia. However, places for storing crystals should have some defensive measures installed.
According to the formal process, crystal catalysis for infants requires full council approval, followed by periodic ceremonies.
It's impossible to perform it every time a child is born; the infant cultivation center exists to gather all infants, catalyzing a batch each time.
As for how long this cycle is, Su Ming didn't know. He just wanted the crystal.
"You went too far, making me walk into such a filthy place with you." Hel kept checking her clothes, even though she hadn't gotten any filth on her at all, feeling nauseous nonetheless.
"It's just part of the energy cycle, relax a bit." Su Ming drew the Great Sword and headed towards a corner.
Hel folded her arms with annoyance: "I'm starting to appreciate that the Netherworld only has the undead."
Su Ming smiled and remained silent. He began to use the Great Sword to cut into the floor. It was rare to see metal used nearby; if he wasn't mistaken, it should be the same material as the Kree battleship armor.
Metal is extremely scarce in Atlan; they've replaced it with new materials. However, in terms of sturdiness, advanced alloy is undoubtedly more durable.
Su Ming first pried off the armor plates and casually stuffed them into his bag, exposing the energy supply pipelines underneath.
No matter what defensive measures were here, cutting the power first was the plan.
The black Great Sword plunged straight down, cutting through the bundle of cables like sausage, producing small sparks inside, followed by a brief darkness before emergency red lights illuminated the surroundings.
"Backup power, as expected." Su Ming nodded; it was roughly what he anticipated.
The alarm sound woke the groggy Tanis, who clutched her baby and looked around, quickly revealing a look of surprise and panic.
"This... this isn't the control room! This is the vault, what are you doing?!"
Hel shifted her stance, supporting her chin with one hand, the corners of her mouth curling slightly: "Oh? Is that so?"
Pulling the Great Sword from the floor, Su Ming approached the massive metal gate in front of him, moving like a ghost in the red light.
"Oh, maybe I took a wrong turn..."
Though he said this, his steps didn't falter, continuing toward the gate, clearly with an agenda.
"No, you can't take the crystal." Tanis hurriedly rushed over, grabbing his arm.
"Hel." Su Ming slightly tilted his head.
With a resigned sigh, the Netherworld Goddess approached from behind, pinching Tanis by the back of her neck, knocking her out with a light squeeze.
"Did you kill her?" Hel raised an eyebrow.
"Keep her, she's useful."
Su Ming continued forward, using the Great Sword to breach the gate. Instantly, the sound of moving metal came from within, and as the cut gate panel was about to fall, an array of weapons opened fire from inside.
The gate panel was riddled with melting red holes, yet Su Ming remained steady as ever.
Currently, the only things capable of penetrating his armor were the energy of the Cosmic Cube and the Blood Race's Blood Magic. As for conventional energy weapons, the Inhumans' salvage wasn't quite up to par.
So when the beams hit his armor, they were like rain on the ground, splashing small water droplets without any effect.
In his other hand, he drew Godslayer, the weapon extending sharply, skewering the sentry cannons emerging from the walls and ceiling along the path of the energy beams.
Explosion and firelight became an unbroken chain as he walked, unfazed.
"Guard the door. Wait for me here."
Before him stood another smaller gate. Su Ming decided to venture in alone, leaving Hel to guard the hostages and ensure a safe retreat.
"Hurry up," Hel said, leaning idly against a nearby wall, her eyes glazed over as she stared at the distant dark passage — a clean, normal road.
The Great Sword swung, the gate toppled, and from behind it sprouted purple energy lassos, ensnaring Su Ming's hand.
A series of energy attacks and mind invasions immediately followed.
Inhumans are indeed extraordinary. While human bank security guards are stationed outside the vault, they have locked both the guards and the treasures inside.
Perhaps they are forgotten duty personnel? The vault is completely sealed with no ventilation, surviving only on oxygen tanks?
However, trying to compete in strength with Su Ming is simply an overestimation. With a fierce pull of the hands gripping the sword, two figures flew out from behind the door in an instant.
They passed through the two layers of doors and flew over Hel's head, slamming into the wall in the distance with a 'bang', sliding down slowly like hanging pictures, motionless.
"%@#@!!@"
The Inhumans immediately erupted in shouts, their eyes turning red as they looked at their fallen comrades.
Su Ming glanced behind him, then turned back and shrugged at them, switching to Ancient Norwegian: "Twin power users? Quite rare, but now they're dead, just like you. If you don't want to die, step aside."
"Intruders, Atlan will never surrender!" someone shouted immediately in the same language.
"Wait, you're not aware of what's happening outside?" Su Ming leisurely blocked various attacks with his Great Sword, as if he didn't take them seriously at all: "Atlan has split again. If you want to resist the Kree, then step aside now, and I might spare you."
"Lies! Atlan will never fall!" they shouted back with increased attack power, and various elemental attacks surged like tides.
However, if you can't hit, it doesn't matter. Among these people, the one with the most combat power should be the psychic, as formless and colorless attacks are the hardest to defend against.
However, Su Ming is immune to psychic abilities.
Two energy manifestation power users have already been killed by Su Ming, and other elemental or shape-shifting ability users are not at the level to fight Su Ming.
Perhaps leaning against the crystal storage makes them hesitant to release large-scale skills, but using their concerns is a basic skill of a mercenary.
Su Ming sighed lightly. These people's stance appears to be part of the resistance, but their duty to guard the secret vault is in conflict with Su Ming's goal.
Those who block the way shall die.
"If you have souls, remember to report my name to the Supreme Wisdom when you see it, I am Deathstroke, and tell that big-headed doll to keep its claws away from Earth!"
Golden and black weapons swung like a storm, and the sound of metal entering flesh became continuous. These Inhumans screamed in unison almost instantly, followed by silence.
Encountering someone like Deathstroke, a super soldier, in a narrow space is like cutting meat on a butcher's chopping board.
From a distance, Hel's slow clapping could be heard, as if she had just watched a good show.
Su Ming couldn't be bothered with her and stepped over the bodies, moving deeper in.
The defense here is nothing short of impeccable, at least for a nation like Atlan, which has never experienced the ravages of war, having such a defense level is not bad.
Not just various sentry cannons but also layers of gates and primitive traps. Yet, Su Ming avoided them all one by one and easily opened the last gate.
The alarm sound was just background music, the flashing red lights felt like disco lights.
Upon entering the secret chamber, his spirits lifted.
The Terrigen Crystals were abundant here, not only in obelisk shapes but also unrefined, in raw crystal cluster forms.
In the light, they emitted a faint black glow.
Under his command, Strangulation cautiously extended a tentacle to touch one of them and quickly withdrew it.
No problem, Strangulation was unaffected, or rather, the Terrigen Crystals and Symbiote were on two parallel lines that never intersect, and the mutagenic properties of the crystals targeted organisms with human genes.
Once the safety was confirmed, Strangulation erupted into a mass of tentacles, tearing open the transparent vaults one by one, looting all the crystals inside and storing them in the host's pouch.
Su Ming said not a word and even held his breath; these things still posed a danger to him, but as the last one was pocketed, he let out a sigh of relief.
After checking for any omissions, he swaggered his way out through the layers of doors.
"It's over?" Hel stretched her neck, the bones producing cracking sounds. She held Tanis in her hand and had a baby in the other.
"The most significant asset is in hand; I now hold the fate of all Inhumans," Su Ming made a fist, Hel also smiled: "Currently, only the Kree and I have the crystals, which means only two factions out of six hold the future."
"Your resistance faction and the surrender faction supported by the Kree?" Hel nodded, achieving a fatal blow amidst chaos without direct confrontation, relying solely on strategy to reach the goal.
Instantly changing the situation and 'eliminating' four factions, what kind of calculation is this?
"Let's go, soon people will come here; they might as well come to contest this move." Su Ming broke the bodies on the ground, letting Strangulation dip into some blood: "On one side, we took a shortcut, and on the other, they restrain each other, so two inconspicuous people like us managed to get ahead."
The black tentacles wrote a line of large red text on the wall in Ancient Norwegian: 'Deathstroke was here, waiting for you in the control room'.
"Hold on, don't think I'm going down the water pipes again." Hel protested immediately as Su Ming seemed ready to return the way they came.
Su Ming recalled the map and moved towards another wall: "Alright, this time we'll take the ventilation ducts, okay?"
"That's more like it." Hel demurely, yet regally, entered the hole as if she were a queen...