Phantom Mirage Devil Fist.
Liu A'dou unleashed the upgraded version of the Phantom Fist—originally an evil technique designed to trigger a person's bloodlust. But he had altered it into a fist style that manipulated people's hearts. Not exactly righteous.
He turned one of the mutant extermination squad's men against his own equally heartless teammate. Killing without lifting a finger—Liu A'dou-style.
Ada Wong was way more efficient. No need for any trickery. Her sharp shooting skills meant one bullet, one kill. Precise. Clean. The enemy usually didn't even get a chance to fire back. It almost felt like mowing down zombies again—nostalgic. Shoot, reload, shoot again—smooth and seamless.
There weren't many enemies, so the two of them easily finished off the racist scum, then moved to the plane.
This was the X-Jet—one of the fastest aircraft in the superhero world, modeled after the Blackbird reconnaissance jet. Capable of flying above 20,000 meters.
Inside the hangar, after taking out the last of the guards, Liu A'dou noticed someone hiding behind a pile of instruments in the corner.
"Engineer, it's safe now. You can come out."
Hearing his voice, the engineer nervously poked his head out. The moment he saw Liu A'dou, it felt like spotting a long-lost relative. When the gunfire started earlier, he'd hidden right away—he'd nearly peed himself.
"Liu, it's you!"
"We're flying this plane out to rendezvous with Jean and Logan. Help me open the hangar doors."
"Got it." The engineer nodded and went to do just that.
Liu A'dou volunteered to fly the jet himself. Once wasn't enough to enjoy it—this would be his second time. Ada sat in the co-pilot seat, watching her husband smoothly power up the engines and begin taxiing.
Meanwhile, Wolverine was driving Jean Grey and Elsa to the small private airport on the north side of the city. Only one runway, but enough. Once they regrouped, they all took off again—northbound.
This time Liu A'dou didn't hold back. He pushed the X-Jet to its limits, squeezing out every bit of performance. The aircraft roared forward at high speed at an altitude of 20,000 meters.
As the sky gradually brightened, the nav system showed they still had a long way to go. Liu A'dou eased the altitude down slightly—prolonged high-altitude flight put too much strain on the engine.
Bored out of his mind, Liu A'dou was about to doze off when the warning alarm suddenly started beeping.
"Missiles incoming. We've been locked on." He looked at the radar—surface-to-air missiles.
Of course it was the Secretary of Defense. Who else would authorize a missile launch? Probably under the excuse of a military drill.
Just two. Not many, but enough of a headache.
"I'm going full throttle!" He slammed the throttle forward, pressing everyone hard into their seats.
But the missiles were like chewing gum stuck to the X-Jet. "There's no weapon system on this thing?"
Nope. Because the best weapons on the X-Jet were mutants. But Storm wasn't here, and the only one who could strike from afar was Jean. Her eyes burned red as she focused on the incoming missile—trying to both locate and detonate it midair. It took everything she had.
"Aaahhh!"
Boom. One down.
But the second one was closing in fast.
"Brace yourselves!" Liu A'dou shouted. He shoved the throttle even further and pulled off a wild barrel roll.
Everyone's necks were nearly twisted. The G-forces were overwhelming—enough to make anyone dizzy.
Still, the missile was locked on.
Gritting his teeth, Liu A'dou made a choice. Let's see who's faster. He pointed the nose of the jet downward, diving straight toward the ground. The sound of the fuselage under pressure groaned loudly in their ears—it sounded like it might fall apart at any moment.
"Aaaahhhhh~~" The passengers screamed. It was beyond intense. The rapidly approaching ground visible through the cockpit canopy made their skin crawl and their hair stand on end. Terrifying—way worse than any extreme sport.
The missile followed the dive closely. Liu A'dou clenched his jaw—he knew this was it. Timing was everything. Pull up too early and the missile catches up. Too late and… splat.
Closer.
Everyone pictured themselves splattered against the earth like ground meat. They could already make out the uneven terrain below. Their bodies tensed, jaws clenched tight—bracing for impact.
Liu A'dou's eyes locked on the surface.
Then he yanked the control stick back hard. "Climb!"
The ground was practically scraping the jet's belly.
The jet nearly bent into a V-shape. That extreme maneuver almost tore the plane apart, but the missile chasing behind smashed into the ground instead and exploded in a burst of flames.
"Whew—" Wolverine had had enough. Liu A'dou flew like a maniac. He'd been gripping the armrests with both hands so hard they were bent out of shape.
Jean looked even worse—her face had gone pale all the way down to her neck. That was terrifying. Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. "We're finally safe."
She spoke too soon. Just as the words left her mouth, the plane jolted violently and started to drop fast.
They hadn't regained much altitude, and now they were losing all of it again.
"Engines are out—we've stalled!" The jet spun downward like a corkscrew.
Liu A'dou had pushed the X-Jet's engines too hard. They were burnt out.
"Elsa, help!" Liu A'dou called out. He wanted her to freeze the jet midair.
Elsa activated her power, and the outside of the plane was instantly wrapped in ice. The ice shot down toward the ground at lightning speed, racing the falling jet. The ice hit the ground first, spreading and anchoring itself deep into the earth.
What formed was a glittering, crystal-clear World Tree, and hanging from its branches like a fruit—was the jet. Or rather, it looked like a giant crystal goblet, cradling the aircraft.
The jet was tilted, but everyone was strapped in tight with seatbelts, so no one flew out.
"Is everyone okay?" Liu A'dou called out.
"We're okay!" Finally, everything had stopped moving. That flight had been way too intense.
Wolverine's heart was racing, though his face didn't show it. Just… his legs were shaking a little.
"The engine's fried. We'll need another way to move forward. Everyone out."
The others undid their belts and grabbed the handrails as they made their way out the rear hatch. The air around them was biting cold from the giant ice pillar. They were still about 300 meters above the ground. If Elsa had been even a second slower, they would've been scrap metal.
Elsa used her power to form a winding staircase around the ice column. Everyone descended in a spiral.
"Thank god for Elsa," Jean said, still shaken. "Thank you."
Wolverine gave Elsa a thumbs-up too.
Liu A'dou and Ada Wong weren't surprised—this kind of miracle was routine for them. But now they were in the middle of a forest, with no clue how to get out.
"Anyone here know how to fix planes?" Liu A'dou asked.
"The engine's blown. There's no way to fix it," Jean said. "We need to find a way out of here." She looked around at the dense forest. From the top of the ice pillar earlier, she hadn't seen the edge of the woods in any direction. They'd be walking for days. By then, the other mutants might already be dead.
Wolverine sniffed the air, catching a scent. "You guys wait here. I've got an idea."
Liu A'dou trusted Wolverine's nose—it was sharp. If he said he had a way, then they just had to wait.
Wolverine disappeared into the woods.
"Liu, how far are we from the target?" Jean asked.
Liu A'dou estimated, "Shouldn't be far. The industrial zone should be just north of the forest. Once we're through, we're there."
Jean sighed. The distance wasn't the problem. With the jet, they'd have made it in no time. But now on foot—who knew how long it'd take?
"You're all probably hungry. I'll go find some food." This wasn't a rainforest. The trees were sparse. There had to be animals around—bears, deer, wolves… but Liu A'dou hoped for just a rabbit.
As he roasted a rabbit leg over the fire, Wolverine returned—and even from a distance, he caught the scent of barbecue. Perfect timing—he was hungry too.
"Hey, you guys save me a piece?"
Liu A'dou turned around and nearly dropped the skewer. Behind Wolverine was a whole herd of wild horses.
In just 20 minutes, the guy brought back a full team of mounts.
"Well now, this is a surprise." Liu A'dou handed the almost-finished rabbit leg to Wolverine and stepped forward to stroke the beautiful horses. "These are good stock. Where'd you find them?"
"I caught their scent a few kilometers out," Wolverine replied. "Now we've got transportation."
Liu A'dou couldn't help but grin. Riding out on horseback to save mutants—it was like something straight out of a movie.