"Hah...hah...hah..."
Now back on the surface, Yelena was gasping for air. While they were underground, it felt like something was pressing on her lungs, making it difficult to breathe. The power was simply too terrifying, and even her gaze toward Cassius was now filled with fear.
"Was what you just did... a spell?" she asked, still shaken, and even used a respectful tone when speaking to him.
This kind of power was completely beyond her understanding. She had heard of sorcerers who practiced mystic arts, but they only existed in legends. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes today, she would have thought it was a fairy tale for children.
"What does it matter to you?" Cassius said, giving the disheveled Yelena a quick glance. He had to admit, the rapid rise and fall of her chest was interesting, but only just a little. He had indeed used a spell from the Chthon Scroll in his anger.
The best way to make Strucker die in despair was to have him watch his former victims drag him into the abyss. He had briefly resurrected the souls of those Strucker had tortured and killed, bringing them back to the human world.
Filled with rage, these souls would tear Strucker to pieces, and even his soul would be devoured by them in the most cruel way.
The only thing Cassius regretted was that if he hadn't been worried about Gwen, he would have made sure Strucker suffered forever. Cassius didn't think of himself as a good person; he simply had no desire for power or fame.
"Cough, cough..."
Gwen, still in his arms, coughed softly, her long eyelashes fluttering. Although the Horse Talisman had removed the toxins from her body, the memory of her fear was not so easily dispelled. Because she was still exhausted, he had tried his best to keep her from being affected during the fight.
"Right. The toxin she was poisoned with is a nerve toxin. It might take a while to fully wear off. If her physical fitness is good, it might go away faster," Yelena explained, a hint of apology in her voice. She had been the one who brought Gwen here, and seeing Cassius's worried expression, she felt the need to explain.
The nerve toxin was very expensive to produce and was specifically designed for people like Gwen. Its main effect was to weaken the brain's control over the body. Although the body could still maintain its original strength, it couldn't use it because of the compromised neural pathways.
"It's fine. She's already better," Cassius said, not looking up as he stared at the small, helpless, and pitiful Gwen in his arms. After all, the most powerful effect of the Horse Talisman was its ability to heal any external injuries or toxins.
It was only then that Yelena noticed that Gwen's face was already rosy again. She instantly remembered the flash of green light on Cassius's wrist when he picked up Gwen in the underground lab.
"You're really the mysterious sorcerer!" Yelena gasped, her eyes wide. She had seen the effects of many experiments, so she was very familiar with the side effects of nerve toxins.
Gwen's body was clearly recovering now! That meant this kind of magic truly existed in the world! There was no other explanation for why a nerve toxin that should have taken a long time to dissipate was gone.
"Quiet down, don't disturb Gwen's rest," Cassius said, frowning with displeasure as he turned to look at Yelena. Gwen was exhausted now, and it would be good for her to get some rest.
Yelena instantly fell silent, not daring to say another word. She had just seen how terrifying Cassius was. She didn't want to accidentally anger him and be turned into black particles herself.
"A..."
Despite the scolding, Gwen slowly opened her eyes. The face she had longed for was right in front of her. She could even feel the warmth of Cassius's chest. It was a sense of security she had never experienced before. She instinctively rubbed her head against Cassius's shoulder.
"How are you feeling? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?" Cassius asked, his voice full of concern as he looked at Gwen. He couldn't imagine how much fear Gwen must have felt. After all, she was just a college student. Even though she was always saving people, that didn't mean she wasn't scared.
"I'm... much better..." Gwen said, her lips pursed as she nodded. Looking at his face so close, the tips of her ears turned slightly red. She felt herself growing more and more dependent on Cassius. His strong chest was like the most solid support she could have.
Even though she was completely fine now, she still didn't want to get out of his arms. Even a few more moments of being held made her feel an indescribable sense of happiness.
"Shall we go back now?" Cassius asked, looking around. The situation here was resolved. There was no need to stay.
"Wait!"
But when she heard that, Gwen jumped out of Cassius's arms. "I sensed that there are still a lot of people being held captive below."
While she was held captive, she couldn't see the other areas. But with her heightened senses and hearing others' casual conversations, she knew that besides her, there were many other people being held on the lowest level. Although she wanted to stay close to Cassius, she couldn't just abandon those people.
"My little Gwen still has a strong sense of justice!" Cassius said, smiling and ruffling her hair.
Gwen was always Gwen, always thinking of others. But this trait was what made him so attracted to her. After all, he wasn't that considerate. Although he had also sensed the people below, he hadn't felt much emotion about it. He had planned to have Yelena go back and release them, but since Gwen had volunteered, he wouldn't disappoint her.
"Let's go, Ms. Yelena. Take my Gwen to save some people!" Cassius turned to look at the stunned Yelena next to him. Although he could sense the tunnels below, he didn't want to play the role of the guide. Since Yelena was here, he was happy to let her do it.
"Okay!" Yelena nodded without hesitation. She also had to go back to collect the remaining information and files.
"You are...!" Gwen had been so focused on Cassius that she only now noticed Yelena. She instantly jumped back, assuming a fighting stance with a serious expression. She remembered very clearly that this person had been sent to mock her.
"No, no, no..." Yelena waved her hands and quickly explained. "I was a deep-cover agent, which is why I took you."
She didn't want to fight Gwen, especially with this terrifying guy standing next to them. She didn't want to accidentally get herself killed. Although she was an agent, she valued her life! Besides, Strucker was dead now, and there was no reason for her to fight Gwen.
"Really?" Gwen looked at Cassius with a curious expression. If that were the case, she could maybe forgive her.
"Yep, she was an undercover agent," Cassius said, shrugging his shoulders and nodding.
"Alright, I'll take you two down and release all of them!" Yelena led the way, and the two of them followed slowly.
Because Cassius had already taken care of the guards, they were able to go in through the main entrance. They didn't see anyone resisting along the way. Because of the earlier commotion, many of the researchers had already realized something was wrong and fled. Although some fanatical researchers were still here, Yelena didn't hold back. She swiftly took care of them without Cassius or Gwen even needing to lift a finger.
"They're too cruel!" Gwen said, her body trembling with disgust and revulsion as she looked at the operating rooms along the way.
When the fanatical researchers had seen them, they hadn't run away. Instead, they were still madly dissecting all sorts of things. And these were clearly creatures that had been transformed into humanoid organisms. Although they still had human skin, their insides were no different from monsters.
"The world will always have a dark side. That's why heroes like you are needed," Cassius said, sighing and smiling as he ruffled Gwen's hair. He knew that as long as there was a pursuit of profit and power, people would always be willing to take risks. That's why the world would always need justice and bravery.
"I really hope everyone can live in peace," Gwen said, biting her lower lip. The reason she was so dedicated to fighting evil was because of her father's influence. If there were no bad people, everyone would be able to live in peace and not have to be constantly afraid.
"It will happen. Someday it will," Cassius said, encouraging her instead of dampening her spirits.
Because of the lab's security, one elevator couldn't go all the way to the bottom. Each elevator led to a different area. If Yelena hadn't had the highest level of access, Cassius would have had to use brute force to break through the tunnels.
After changing elevators three times, the group finally arrived at the lowest level. It was completely different from the cell Gwen was held in.
This level had three rows of iron cages, and each steel cage held people. Because of the lack of space, the people inside could only lie down like dogs. In front of each row of cages was a feeding trough, as if they were livestock being fed. Because there was nowhere to relieve themselves, the entire level was filled with the smell of waste.
Although Cassius and the others had entered, the people didn't cheer. Instead, they just stared at them blankly. They had seen too many deaths here and had accepted their fate as test subjects.
Resistance? Resistance would only get them beaten to death or moved to the front of the line to become a test subject.
Although they had felt the huge commotion earlier, they didn't think anyone would come to save them. The long years of death and sadness had made them lose all hope. They could only numbly endure the pain in their joints.
Their last time standing upright would probably be when they were taken out to be a test subject. At that time, they would briefly return to their human identity.
There were hundreds of people, men, women, and children. All of their eyes were fixed on the three of them, as if they were waiting to see who would be taken next.
"These are animals!" Gwen's body trembled as she looked at the scene. Goosebumps rose on her back. She could clearly feel the despair of these people. They were treating humans like livestock! Like goods to be used for profit! How could she accept this? Was there no humanity left at all? They hadn't even spared the children!
"This... this is the daily life of this underground lab," Yelena said, her eyes downcast and her voice filled with helplessness.
"So you just let all of this happen?" Cassius turned to look at Yelena, his voice filled with a mixture of emotions. At this moment, he seemed to understand the thoughts of those superheroes a little bit.
"I... I couldn't. I couldn't do anything..." Yelena said, clenching her teeth, her voice sounding forced. She had actually known about this for a long time.
When she first saw it, her feelings were the same as Gwen's. But after three years of being an undercover agent, she had become powerless. She could only watch as they died in batches and were brought in in batches.
They were the lowest form of test subjects, and they didn't even have their own separate rooms. What could she do? Help them escape? But she didn't have such immense power. She was just one person! She didn't even have great power!
"I'll go to the main control room and open the doors for them!" Yelena finally stopped arguing and, with a dejected expression, started heading toward the main control room.
Cassius shook his head. He raised his right hand, and a dark red glow, like a shimmering thread, shot out. The thread quickly passed by the locks on each cell. The moment the locks came into contact with the thread, they all turned into black particles and drifted away.
"Come out! You're saved!" Gwen stepped forward and shouted at them. When she shouted that, the eyes of the people in the cages widened.
"We... we're saved?"
"Waaaaaah! Someone finally came to save us!"
"I want to go home! I don't want to die!"
"..."
The long-suppressed emotions finally erupted. Life returned to their faces. Fear had been pressing down on them, extinguishing their hope. When that sentence rang out, their hearts began to beat again. They could finally be human again. As they cautiously crawled out, they were all hunched over. Their backs were in pain from not being able to straighten up for so long.
"I'll organize them," Yelena said, walking toward the people. "I'll notify the government to take them in and send them back to their homes. If there are any orphans or people without families, the government will arrange for them to be taken care of."
"Okay, I'll leave it to you!" Cassius nodded slightly. Having the government get involved was the most appropriate thing to do in this situation. After all, there were a lot of children here who were probably orphans who had been tricked into coming here.
"Waaaaah..."
Just then, Cassius heard a faint crying sound coming from the deepest part of the prison.
"Is there still someone who hasn't come out?" Cassius asked, looking confused. They should have all been released, shouldn't they?
"I heard it too. It sounds like it's coming from the very back," Gwen nodded slightly. Thanks to Yelena's organization, the rescued victims were all standing together. They didn't expect to hear a voice from the very back.
The two of them looked at each other and walked toward the end of the hall. It was a single cell, slightly different from the dog cages from before. A girl was curled up in the corner. She had green hair and was incredibly pale. She looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, but she was much smaller than Gwen.
Cassius felt like the girl looked familiar. He felt like he had seen her somewhere before.
"That's Polaris, Lorna Dane?" He remembered that Lorna was Wanda's sister...
Have I stumbled into a sisters' nest today?
First, he met Black Widow's sister. Now, he's meeting Wanda's sister!
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