Chapter 265: A Mouthful of Lies, The Master Manipulator's Art of Tension
The iron door of the damp stone cell made a heavy grinding sound again.
Diana returned, a large linen robe in her hands.
Ignoring the obstruction of the two female Amazon guards outside the door, she walked straight up to Lin Nuo and draped the robe over his scarred shoulders.
"It's too cold here; your wounds will worsen."
Diana lowered her voice, "I'll take you to the infirmary. Mother is performing a sacrifice at the temple tonight and won't come for inspection."
Lin Nuo leaned against the cold stone wall, not getting up immediately.
He raised his hand and adjusted the half-broken gold-rimmed glasses back onto the bridge of his nose.
The ink-black pupils behind the lenses retracted all their brutality and calculation, leaving only a perfectly measured weariness and gentleness.
"You have already defied the Queen's orders for my sake."
Lin Nuo's voice was hoarse, revealing the weakness of someone long ill, "If you take me out of the stone cell again, you will face severe punishment. I am merely an outsider; it is not worth Your Highness taking such a big risk."
As he spoke, he restrainedly shrank back into the shadows of the stone wall, increasing the distance between them.
This extremely considerate concession struck directly at Diana's compassionate heart, which had not yet been polluted by the secular World.
In her understanding, men were all greedy, demanding creatures, but this man before her was considering the consequences for her even while trying to survive.
"I am an Amazon warrior, and I do what I believe is right."
Diana grabbed Lin Nuo's arm without further ado and pulled him up from the ground, "Let's go."
The infirmary of Paradise Island was located in a spacious stone cave on the side of a cliff.
The charcoal in the brazier was burning brightly, dispelling the chill of the sea breeze.
Lin Nuo was placed on a stone bed covered with animal skins.
He submissively allowed Diana to clean the bloodstains on his arm with warm water, not uttering a single cry of pain throughout, though his breathing would uncontrollably quicken whenever the deep wounds torn by the laws were touched.
"Your body is very strange."
Diana held a linen cloth, wiping a deep laceration on Lin Nuo's forearm that exposed the bone, "There is extremely violent energy residue on the edges of these wounds; this could never be caused by an ordinary shipwreck. What exactly have you experienced?"
Lin Nuo lowered his eyes, looking at Diana's face, which was within arm's reach.
"I am a scholar dedicated to researching high-dimensional physics and the balance of Universe energy."
Lin Nuo's tone was extremely steady, revealing a martyr-like compassion between the lines, "The World outside is not always filled with war. Many people, like me, try to use science to solve problems of hunger, disease, and resource depletion. We want to establish a peaceful order where survival does not require killing."
Diana's hand stopped moving.
"Peace?"
She looked up, staring straight into Lin Nuo's eyes, "Mother and General Antiope told me that the World outside only has greedy tyrants and endless plunder. Men only create disasters."
"They are right."
Lin Nuo did not refute this; instead, he admitted it quite candidly, "Humanity indeed has base instincts. Some people seize things from others for personal desire, even going so far as to wipe out half of all life."
When Lin Nuo said this, the image of Thanos, that old exterminator, snapping his fingers flashed through his mind; the hatred in his tone did not need any disguise, appearing perfectly authentic.
"But it is precisely because tyrants exist that someone is needed to stop them."
Lin Nuo took a deep breath, which triggered a violent cough in his chest.
Diana hurriedly reached out to support his back, patting it gently.
Lin Nuo caught his breath, leaning against the edge of the stone bed, and looked at Diana with an extremely sincere gaze.
"The laboratory I was in discovered a violent energy capable of destroying the World. To prevent that energy from falling into the hands of tyrants, I forcibly activated an unfinished dimensional jump device."
Lin Nuo perfectly packaged his miserable state, caused by the backlash of the laws, as a self-sacrifice made to save the World, "The device exploded. When I woke up, I was on your beach. I couldn't save my research results, and even the colleagues who worked with me were..."
Lin Nuo paused at the right moment and averted his gaze, hiding the rage in his eyes over losing his core assets, disguising it as the sorrow of losing dear friends.
Diana was completely moved by these words.
She looked at the man before her, wearing broken glasses and covered in wounds yet still persisting in the truth, and the set of stereotypes instilled by her mother began to collapse on a large scale.
"You are a true warrior."
Diana's voice softened, "Although you do not have a strong physique, your soul is tougher than many Amazon warriors. You paid a huge price to protect others."
Lin Nuo let out a vile sneer in his heart.
Of course he paid a price; the perfect weapon he had invested a huge amount of resources into had been smashed to dust by that purple-skinned tyrant.
He would sooner or later extract this debt, with interest, from another Universe.
And the demigod princess before him was the first bit of startup capital for rebuilding his capital empire.
"Your Highness is too kind."
Lin Nuo met Diana's gaze again, "I am just a failed pathfinder. It is your island, however, that possesses an energy field that completely defies modern physical constants. I can feel that what circulates here is not merely myth."
Diana had completely let down her guard against Lin Nuo.
"This is Paradise Island, the safe haven granted to the Amazons by the gods."
Diana sat on the wooden chair by the stone bed and began to tell this curious scholar the secrets of the island, "A long time ago, Zeus, King of the Gods, created humanity. But Ares, the God of War, was jealous of humanity; he sowed seeds of jealousy and hatred in the hearts of humans, triggering endless wars."
Lin Nuo listened quietly, his fingers rubbing rhythmically against the fabric of the linen robe.
"To stop Ares, Zeus created us Amazons, letting us guide humanity with love and truth."
Diana's eyes flashed with fanaticism for her mission, "But Ares killed all the gods. Before Zeus died, he used his last divine power to repel Ares and left a barrier in this sea area, hiding us away."
"I see."
Lin Nuo pushed up the frames on the bridge of his nose, "In other words, Ares, the God of War, is not dead; he is just lurking somewhere, waiting for an opportunity to provoke war again."
"Yes."
Diana nodded, "Mother says that as long as we stay within the barrier, Ares cannot find us. But if he really makes a comeback, the Amazons will use the weapon Zeus left behind, the 'God Killer', to end him."
Lin Nuo quickly calculated the value of this intelligence in his mind.
The divine power of the King of the Gods, the authority of the God of War.
These high-dimensional laws of the DC Universe were definitely qualified to fill the void of the Reality Warpingpower and spatial origin he had lost.
As long as he could completely win over this demigod princess before him, the system's interception rewards would definitely allow him to re-establish absolute hegemony in this new territory.
"This is truly a great and tragic mission."
Lin Nuo's tone was gentle as he reached out, completely naturally, and tucked a strand of black hair falling by Diana's ear behind it.
This action was extremely abrupt, yet because of his refined and frail appearance, it seemed devoid of any aggression, leaving only pure comfort and admiration.
Diana's body stiffened.
She had never had such close physical contact with a man.
The rough touch of Lin Nuo's fingertips brushed against her earlobe, bringing a strange shiver.
She did not dodge.
"You are very special, Lin Nuo."
Diana looked at him, "You are different from everything I have known. I want to learn more about your Worldof'science and peace'."
"As long as Your Highness is willing to listen."
Lin Nuo withdrew his hand, having mastered the sense of propriety to perfection, "I can tell you anytime. However, you must first teach me how to survive on this island; after all, your Queen seems very eager to chop off my head."
Diana was amused by his half-teasing words.
"Mother is just too vigilant."
Diana stood up, "I will prove to her that you are not a minion of Ares. You rest first, I will go get you some food."
Just as Diana turned to leave the infirmary.
A loud bang came from outside the stone cave, shaking the gravel from the ceiling of the infirmary down in a flurry.
Diana turned around abruptly and rushed a few steps to the lookout point at the edge of the infirmary, looking outside.
Lin Nuo leaned against the stone bed, his ink-black eyes narrowing instantly, and the frozen Hulk blood energy in the depths of his veins instinctively stirred for a moment.
"What happened?"
Lin Nuo asked.
Diana stared fixedly at the horizon, her tone filled with extreme shock and confusion.
"A strange machine billowing black smoke."
Diana pointed to the high sky outside the barrier, "It is falling into the sea. Inside... there seems to be a man."
Lin Nuo twitched the corner of his mouth.
Lin Nuo threw off the linen robe, stepping barefoot onto the cold stone floor, "Let's go, Your Highness. It seems your barrier is exceptionally lively today."
Diana turned back to look at him, her brows tightly knitted together.
"Is he also here to explore the truth?"
"Who knows."
Lin Nuo walked to Diana's side, looking at the World War II fighter plane trailing long black smoke as it plummeted toward the sea, "Perhaps, it's a trouble that brings war."
Chapter 266: The Plane Crash, The Intrusion of an Uninvited Guest
Diana stood before him, her hands gripping the stone railing tightly.
A monoplane fighter, its tail spewing thick black smoke, was crashing toward the sea at an extreme angle.
The wings sliced a massive white wake across the water, and then the entire fuselage slammed heavily into the shallows, sending a column of water shooting into the sky.
"Someone is inside."
Without a moment of hesitation, Diana vaulted over the stone railing and leaped off the cliff, which was tens of meters high.
Her perfect demigod body carved a sharp arc through the air, like a sword plunging straight into the sea.
Lin Nuo leaned against the rough stone wall, raised his hand, and pushed up the gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, which were half-shattered.
He looked down at the churning sea from his vantage point; there was not a hint of surprise in his ink-black pupils, only an extremely cold scrutiny.
The barrier left behind by the King of the Gods was practically a sieve.
Diana swam through the seawater with astonishing speed.
She tore open the deformed cockpit cover with her bare hands, grabbed the man inside wearing a leather jacket, and dragged him all the way onto the soft sand.
The man lay in the sand, coughing violently and spitting out mouthfuls of bitter seawater.
Diana knelt beside him, preparing to check his injuries.
The thick fog over the sea suddenly began to churn violently.
An ear-piercing mechanical engine sound pierced through the barrier.
Three German landing craft, painted in gray-black camouflage, tore through the camouflage that had hidden Paradise Island for thousands of years and charged directly onto the beach.
The metal hatches slammed heavily onto the sand.
Dozens of fully armed German soldiers, rifles in hand, charged out in their combat boots.
They saw Diana on the beach and, without any intention of negotiating, immediately pulled their triggers.
A dense volley of gunfire erupted on the beach of Paradise Island.
Bullets struck the sand, kicking up clouds of dust.
Diana reacted extremely quickly; she grabbed the man on the ground and dragged him behind a massive reef.
The neighing of warhorses echoed from deep within the jungle.
General Antiope rode a tall black horse, leading hundreds of Amazons out of the dense forest.
They held spears and bows and arrows in their hands, charging into the hail of bullets from the German forces.
The collision between cold weapons and modern firearms presented a truly tragic scene at this moment.
Several Amazons at the front were hit by machine-gun fire; their leather armor was shredded by bullets, blood gushed out, and they fell heavily from their horses.
General Antiope let out an angry shout and vaulted into the air from her horse.
She drew her longbow to its full length in mid-air, firing three arrows simultaneously, which pierced the throats of three German machine gunners with extreme precision.
Lin Nuo stood on the cliff, taking in everything.
He paid no mind to the casualties among the Amazons, his gaze locked firmly on the man in the leather jacket behind the reef.
The man had blonde hair and sharp facial features, exuding a very typical Western sense of righteousness.
He drew a pistol from his waist, leaned out halfway, and returned fire in the direction of the landing craft.
The system's mechanical voice rang out right on time deep within Lin Nuo's mind.
[Detected original Child of Destiny: Steve Trevor.]
[Target: Diana, Snatching mission officially initiated.]
[Completion conditions: Completely destroy the original Child of Destiny's image in the target's heart, achieve absolute possession of body and mind.]
[Estimated rewards: Source of Olympian divine power, demigod physique.]
Listening to the system's announcement, Lin Nuo curled his cracked lips into an extremely malicious arc.
He had been worrying about finding nutrients to restore this shell, which had been drained dry by the laws, and now this "power bank" had delivered itself right onto his plate.
Steve Trevor, what a fine stepping stone.
Lin Nuo pulled his linen robe together, deliberately exposing the bone-deep rift of law on his left shoulder to the air.
He stumbled down the stone steps along the side of the cliff, each step perfectly feigning the staggering of someone physically exhausted.
The battle on the beach had reached a fever pitch.
The Amazons used their numbers and terrifying physical prowess to forcefully bridge the disadvantage brought by firearms.
They charged into the enemy ranks, spears piercing German chests and short swords slitting throats.
The last German soldier had his spine snapped by a kick from General Antiope, collapsing at the edge of the landing craft and breathing his last.
Diana walked out from behind the reef.
Looking at the dozen or so corpses of Amazons fallen on the beach, her eyes reddened and her hands clenched into tight fists.
This was the first time she had faced true death and slaughter.
Steve holstered his pistol, let out a long breath, and walked over to Diana.
"Thank you for saving me."
Steve looked at the stunningly beautiful woman before him, his tone tinged with the relief of having survived a disaster. "I am a captain in the British Intelligence Service, Steve Trevor. Which country's army are you from? This unit's combat effectiveness is simply astonishing."
Diana did not answer, only looked at him coldly.
Lin Nuo happened to walk down the last stone step at this moment.
He did not approach Steve, but walked straight to the body of a fallen Amazon.
He bent down with great difficulty and used his scarred hands to gently close the eyes of the female warrior, who had died with her eyes wide open.
"They shouldn't have had to face this."
Lin Nuo's voice was hoarse, filled with extreme heartache and self-reproach.
He stood up, his body swaying, and Diana immediately walked over quickly, reaching out to support his arm.
"You shouldn't have come down, Lin Nuo, your internal organs are still bleeding."
Diana's tone was filled with anxiety.
"I heard the gunfire."
Lin Nuo gripped Diana's wrist, looking at the tragic scene on the beach through his broken lenses, his eyes filled with compassion. "This is what I told you about, the outside World. Those tyrants and Raiders bring destruction to every corner."
Steve looked at Lin Nuo, his brow furrowed.
He had no idea where this Asian man, wearing a linen robe and looking as frail as a consumptive, had popped out from.
"Hey, pal."
Steve stepped forward. "I don't care who you are, but I am carrying intelligence that could change the course of the entire war. I need a boat, or a radio, to contact Londonimmediately."
Several sharp spears were pressed directly against Steve's chest.
General Antiope walked over, carrying her dripping longsword, her eyes filled with murderous intent.
"Shut your mouth, outsider. You bring only death and disaster."
Half an hour later, the temple of Paradise Island.
Steve's hands were bound with extremely thick hemp rope, and he was forced onto the stone slab in the center of the temple.
A rope emitting a golden glow was wrapped tightly around his torso.
The Lasso of Truth.
Queen Hippolyta sat on her high throne, holding her scepter, looking down at the man who had broken the barrier.
The sides of the temple were filled with fully armed Amazons, and the atmosphere had dropped to freezing.
Lin Nuo had been specially arranged by Diana on a stone chair below the throne.
He was draped in a thick wool blanket, his face pale, sitting there extremely quietly, not saying a word.
He kept his presence to a minimum, perfectly playing the role of a harmless and sensible bystander.
"State your origin, man."
Queen Hippolyta's voice was majestic. "Why did you lead those killers here, defiling this sacred land?"
Steve struggled, only to find the glowing rope tightening, with a force even prying his mouth open.
"I told you, I'm a spy!"
Steve shouted, "I stole top-secret notes from the German army in a poison gas factory in the Ottoman Empire! They are developing a new type of mustard gas that can destroy gas masks! If I don't get this intelligence back, millions of soldiers on the front lines and countless civilians will all die!"
Steve's tone was filled with a strong sense of righteousness, even carrying a sort of high-and-mighty moral blackmail.
"You women hiding on this island have no idea what is happening outside!"
Steve looked around, his attitude becoming increasingly impatient. "That is the war to end all wars! The entire World is burning! Since you have such strong combat power, you should send a boat to take me back, instead of tying me up here and interrogating me!"
Chapter 267: A Performance of "Tea Art", A Contrast Between Arrogance and Tragedy
Steve's voice echoed through the vast temple, carrying an air of self-righteous arrogance.
Queen Hippolyta sat upright on her throne, her gaze cold as she looked down at this man full of sanctimonious platitudes.
"The mission of the Amazons is to protect the truth, not to clean up the mess created by men's greed."
The Queen's voice carried absolute authority, "You brought slaughter. Your kind used those iron rods that spit fire to kill thirteen of my bravest warriors. And now, you demand that we die for you?"
Steve struggled violently, and the Lasso of Truth tightened instantly, making his bones creak.
"Those were the Germans! I am from Britain! We are fighting for the freedom of all mankind!"
Steve gritted his teeth, his tone becoming increasingly frantic, even carrying undisguised disdain, "You women hiding in myths have no idea what is happening outside! It is a purgatory! No one has the right to stand on the sidelines!"
Diana stood below the throne, listening to Steve's roaring, her brows knitting tighter and tighter.
She was full of curiosity about the outside World and felt sympathy for the civilians who died in the war.
But Steve's high-and-mighty moral posturing made her feel extremely uncomfortable.
This man took the Amazons' sacrifice for granted and didn't even offer a basic apology.
Lin Nuo sat on a stone chair in the corner of the temple, wrapped in a thick wool blanket.
He watched Steve's self-proclaimed righteous demeanor quietly, his chapped lips twitching imperceptibly.
This kind of idiot, full of sanctimony and imposing his own moral standards on others, was the easiest to deal with.
Lin Nuo stood up extremely slowly.
He supported himself with one hand against the rough stone wall, his body swaying uncontrollably with every step he took.
He acted out the battle-damaged posture of someone drained by the backlash of the laws and weak to the extreme, without a single flaw.
He walked to Diana's side, stopped, and coughed violently while suppressing his voice.
Diana immediately turned her head, reached out to support his arm, her tone filled with obvious worry: "You should be lying down. Your internal organs are still bleeding."
"I am fine."
Lin Nuo shook his head and leaned against her shoulder, following Diana's guidance.
He raised his eyes, his gaze falling on Steve on the ground, his tone soft and devoid of any aggression.
"Your Highness, do not blame him for being rude."
Lin Nuo's voice was not loud, but just enough for everyone in the temple to hear clearly, "He is just terrified by the war. When people are in extreme fear, they always instinctively shout and scream, trying to use this method to hide their own helplessness."
Steve raised his head sharply, staring fixedly at Lin Nuo.
"What are you?"
Steve was completely enraged by the phrase "terrified by the war", and his soldier's pride made him lash out, "What right does a sickly weakling who can't even walk properly have to judge me? I am a Captain! When I fought my way out of the Germans' poison gas factory, a coward like you would only be fit to hide under a table and tremble!"
Diana's expression darkened completely.
Just as she was about to reprimand him, Lin Nuo grabbed her wrist first.
Lin Nuo showed no signs of anger.
He even took half a step back, hiding most of his body behind Diana.
"He is right."
Lin Nuo lowered his head, his voice filled with extreme bitterness and self-reproach, "I don't understand war like he does; I don't even have the strength to hold a gun. I am just a failed scholar. I couldn't protect my research, nor could I protect the companions who worked with me. I could only watch helplessly as they disappeared."
As Lin Nuo spoke, he raised his hands, which were covered in scars torn by the laws, and let them hang helplessly at his sides.
"Compared to a soldier like him who can survive on the battlefield, I am indeed a useless coward."
Lin Nuo looked up at Diana through his broken lenses, his eyes extremely sincere, "But he shouldn't treat you with this attitude. I know how powerful you are, and I know how kind you are. Demanding that others save the World with such a self-righteous attitude is a great disrespect to the Amazons."
This speech was a dimensional blow.
On one side was an arrogant soldier full of sanctimony, righteously demanding that the Amazons go to their deaths.
On the other side was a tragic scholar who had ended up covered in wounds for the sake of protecting the World, and who was even careful and considerate of others when speaking.
Diana looked at Lin Nuo's pale, apologetic face, then at the terrifying cracks on his arms that were deep enough to see the bone.
She clearly remembered Lin Nuo saying that he had ended up in this miserable state because he had forcibly activated a device to stop a violent energy from destroying the World.
The scales in Diana's heart tipped completely towards Lin Nuo at this moment.
"Shut your mouth!"
Diana turned around and glared at the man on the ground, her tone extremely stern, "All you bring is arrogance and demands! What right do you have to mock him?"
"The price he paid to stop the destruction is something you cannot even imagine!"
Steve was stunned.
"Are you kidding me?"
Steve found it absolutely absurd and struggled hard against the lasso, "I came back with top-secret intelligence! People are dying every second!"
"Then let them die."
General Antiope walked forward, carrying a dripping sword, and pointed the tip directly at Steve's chin, "The life or death of humanity has nothing to do with Paradise Island. If you dare to shout at the Princess again, I will cut out your tongue."
Steve was forced to lift his chin, looking at the hostile Amazon warriors around him, and finally realized his current situation.
He stopped roaring and stared fixedly at Lin Nuo, who was hiding behind Diana, his eyes full of humiliation and unwillingness.
Lin Nuo leaned against Diana, a glimmer of mockery flashing in his eyes.
He reached out and gently tugged on Diana's sleeve.
"Your Highness, let it go."
Lin Nuo's voice became even softer, conveying a kind of understanding that was so magnanimous it was heartbreaking, "He is a soldier after all, and soldiers are always used to ordering others around. Do not let an outsider like me influence your decision. If the island's supplies are insufficient, I can give him my share of the rations."
Upon hearing this, Diana's protective instincts were completely triggered.
"You do not need to give him anything."
Diana grasped Lin Nuo's cold fingers, her tone becoming extremely gentle, "You are a guest of Paradise Island. And he is just a prisoner who brought disaster."
Chapter 268: Self-Inflicted Humiliation, A Breach of Defense Through Comparison
On the plaza outside the temple, the sea breeze dissipated the morning mist.
Queen Hippolyta's judgment had concluded.
Two extremely strong Amazons escorted Steve out of the stone gate.
The Lasso of Truth was retracted, replaced by a rough hemp rope that bound his hands tightly.
Diana supported Lin Nuo as they followed behind.
Lin Nuo walked very slowly; with every step down the stairs, his chest emitted a wheezing sound like a broken bellows.
He leaned most of his body weight onto Diana's shoulder, perfectly portraying a severely injured man with ruptured internal organs who could collapse at any moment.
Steve stopped in his tracks, turned his head, and stared fixedly at Diana.
"You are committing a crime."
Steve gritted his teeth, determined to pin the label of justice onto himself, "Thousands of people are waiting to die in the trenches. You possess such terrifying power, yet you choose to hide on this island like cowards. Is this your so-called mission?"
Diana had no desire to pay him any mind.
She supported Lin Nuo, wanting only to get him back to the infirmary as quickly as possible.
Lin Nuo, however, stopped.
His fingers gripped Diana's arm with extreme force, using that leverage to steady his body.
He looked at Steve through his broken lenses, his eyes devoid of any ripples.
"Captain Trevor."
Lin Nuo's voice was hoarse, his speech extremely slow, "You keep harping on about freedom for all of humanity. But is your war truly to overthrow tyrants, or is it to redraw the map of interests?"
Steve's face flushed red.
"What do you know?"
Steve retorted loudly, "The Germans developed mustard gas that can penetrate gas masks. That is Carnage. If I don't get the intelligence back, the entire Europe will become a graveyard."
Lin Nuo tugged at the corner of his mouth, pulling it into an extremely mocking arc.
"Carnage."
Lin Nuo chewed the word over and spat it out, "Centuries ago, when you sailed ironclads into other people's ports, blasted open their national gates with artillery, and shoved indigenous people into ship holds as slaves, why didn't you mention this word?"
Steve was stunned, having never expected this sickly man who looked near death to bring up such a grand historical perspective.
"Under the banner of civilization, you go and plunder others' land and resources. A few politicians sit in gilded palaces, drawing lines at will on a map, and send millions of young people into the mud to fill the defensive lines."
Lin Nuo's words were highly piercing, like a sharp knife stabbing through the fig leaf of Western hegemony, "Now that you haven't divided the spoils evenly and are bleeding each other dry, you package yourselves as saints saving the World. This condescending look on your faces really hasn't changed in centuries."
The Amazons on the plaza did not understand what ironclads were, nor did they understand what mustard gas was.
But they understood the core logic in Lin Nuo's words.
The war in this outsider's mouth was not for justice at all, but pure greed.
General Antiope gripped the longsword in her hand; the way she looked at Steve was no different from looking at a corpse.
With his true colors exposed, Steve's soldier's pride caused him to completely lose his reason.
"You coward hiding behind a woman."
Steve's eyes turned red as he stared at Lin Nuo, "I am risking my life on the front lines, what right do you have to criticize my beliefs? You are nothing but a liar who only knows how to run his mouth, using these pathetic tricks to gain their sympathy."
"I am indeed a coward."
Lin Nuo lowered his head, his voice becoming extremely faint, "I couldn't save my companions from that energy backlash. I can't even hold a gun steady. But at least I know that when asking for help, one should have the attitude of someone asking for help."
Lin Nuo raised his head again, looking directly at Steve.
"You mistake arrogance for bravery, and take the sacrifices of others for granted."
Lin Nuo delivered the final blow with extreme precision, "Captain Trevor, you are shouting here not because you care about those civilians. You just realized that your military rank and your status as a spy are worthless on this island. Your sense of superiority, which you take so much pride in, is being trampled underfoot by these women; that is the root cause of your anger."
Steve completely broke down.
He was respected on the front lines, yet now he had been stripped bare and humiliated by a consumptive.
He let out a Beast-like roar and suddenly broke free from the restraint of the two Amazons.
These two warriors had not been using their full strength; they had not taken the strength of this outsider man seriously at all.
Steve rushed up the stairs in a few steps, raised his fists bound by the hemp rope, and smashed them fiercely toward Lin Nuo's cheek.
Lin Nuo saw the trajectory of Steve's movement perfectly clearly.
The speed of this fist was ridiculously slow in his eyes.
He only needed to use a tiny bit of his remaining Hulkvitality to shatter Steve's wrists into powder.
But he did not dodge.
This was the effect he wanted.
Lin Nuo precisely withdrew all defenses of his facial bones and muscles, and even deliberately suppressed the restorative instinct of the Asgardian Divine Factor.
Bang.
A dull thud echoed across the plaza.
Steve's fist slammed solidly into the side of Lin Nuo's face.
Following the force of the blow, Lin Nuo fell backward in an extremely wretched state.
He crashed heavily onto the cold stone steps; half of his face swelled up rapidly, the corner of his mouth split open, and purple-red blood dripped down his chin onto the white steps.
The gold-rimmed glasses used for his disguise were completely shattered.
"Lin Nuo!"
Diana let out an extremely sharp roar of rage.
She did not check Lin Nuo's injuries at all, but turned around directly.
Her demigod bloodline erupted completely at this moment.
Diana's long leg whipped through the air, leaving a sharp afterimage, and landed squarely on Steve's chest.
Crack.
The sound of ribs breaking was clearly audible.
Steve didn't even have time to scream; he was sent flying backward for more than ten meters, slamming heavily into a stone pillar at the edge of the plaza.
He spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed on the ground, twitching violently, his strength to even stand up completely beaten out of him.
"How dare you touch him!"
Diana strode down the steps, her hand already resting on the hilt of the sword at her waist, her killing intent released without any concealment.
General Antiope also drew her longsword and, leading a dozen female warriors, surrounded him directly.
With just one word from Diana, Steve would immediately be chopped into mincemeat.
"Your Highness."
An extremely weak voice came from behind.
Diana immediately stopped, turned around, ran back to the steps, and knelt beside Lin Nuo.
Lin Nuo leaned against the stone steps, raised his rough thumb, and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth extremely slowly.
He looked at Diana's face, which was filled with self-reproach and anger, and pulled out an extremely gentle smile.
"I'm fine."
Lin Nuo wheezed, his voice intermittent, "Don't kill your guest for my sake."
"He is not a guest."
Diana protected Lin Nuo's shoulders with her hands, her eyes red, "He is a thug through and through. I really should have just chopped off his hand."
Lin Nuo held Diana's wrist with his backhand, his fingertips gently stroking her skin.
"Don't blame him."
Lin Nuo pushed his extremely sensible green-tea persona to the limit, "He is too anxious to save his World and thinks I am an eyesore, a stumbling block. If punching me can make him calm down and see reality, then this punch was worth taking."
The more Lin Nuo said this, the more the anger and guilt in Diana's heart burned.
She looked at Lin Nuo's swollen cheek and the blood at the corner of his mouth, and then thought about how this man had ended up covered in cracks in his laws to protect the World, yet now had to swallow this grievance to uphold the rules of Paradise Island.
Diana's disgust for Steve reached its peak.
Steve, slumped under the stone pillar in the distance, heard Lin Nuo's words and was so angry that he spat out another mouthful of blood.
Only now did he realize that this sickly man was not an honest person at all; he was a demon in sheep's clothing, deliberately setting a trap for him to jump into.
The intelligence he took pride in was like that of a three-year-old child in front of this man.
Diana helped Lin Nuo up.
She looked at the messy plaza and then at the remains of the Amazon sisters who had died in battle in the distance.
"Mother was wrong."
Diana's voice was extremely cold, filled with unquestionable determination, "We hide behind a barrier, but that won't bring peace. Ares has turned the outside World into a slaughterhouse. I must leave here and go end that God of War."
Steve leaned against the stone pillar, his dim eyes lighting up again.
As long as Diana was willing to leave the island, he still had a chance to complete his mission.
He believed that once they reached the outside World, once they reached the battlefield, these women would understand his value.
"You made the right decision."
Steve clutched his broken ribs and spoke with extreme difficulty, "Take me with you. Only I know the way to London, and only I can lead you to those who are commanding the war. You have no other choice."
Diana looked down at him, her eyes devoid of any warmth.
"You cannot even control your own emotions, inflicting violence on a severely injured scholar."
Diana coldly announced Steve's disqualification, "Why should I trust you with my back?"
Steve froze, his face full of astonishment.
Diana turned her head to look at Lin Nuo beside her, her tone instantly becoming extremely gentle.
"Lin Nuo, you will be my guide."
Diana looked into his eyes, "We will go to the outside World together."
Chapter 269: Retreat to Advance, This Move Was a Total Win
On Paradise Island, a wooden sailboat was moored in a shallow bay at the foot of the cliff.
Diana had changed into her red and blue armor, carrying a round shield on her back, and the longsword known as the God Killer hung at her waist.
Steve clutched his broken ribs, stumbling as he followed behind Diana.
He gripped a parchment sea chart tightly in his hand; it was the only bargaining chip he had left.
"You must take me with you."
Steve blocked the entrance to the pier, raising the sea chart. "Once you leave this barrier, it's all Germany's submarines and mines out there. Without me to guide you, you won't even get a glimpse of the English Channel."
Diana frowned, not wanting to spare the man a single glance. "Move aside." Diana's voice was icy.
"I'm saving your lives!" Steve raised his voice impatiently, trying to use his military presence to suppress her. "That is a modern war you cannot possibly understand. No matter how sharp your swords are, can they block machine gun fire? You have no idea what mustard gas is! That stuff can burn right through a person's lungs. Your shields can't stop gas that seeps into everything! Only I know how to bypass the defensive lines and return to London."
A soft sound of footsteps came from above the stone steps.
Lin Nuo leaned one hand against the rough stone wall, slowly walking down the steps.
He was still wrapped in that oversized linen robe, his complexion deathly pale. The swelling on one side of his face had not yet subsided, and the scab at the corner of his mouth was glaringly obvious against his pale skin. He carried a small burlap bundle in his hand.
Diana immediately stepped past Steve, hurrying forward to support Lin Nuo's arm.
"You shouldn't be walking down such steep steps in your current condition." Diana looked at his swollen face, her guilt almost overflowing.
"I came to see you off." Lin Nuo steadied himself with Diana's support, revealing an extremely gentle smile. He raised his hand and handed the burlap bundle to Diana.
"What is this?" Diana asked.
"The remaining herbs from the infirmary, and some dry rations." Lin Nuo spoke very slowly, pausing to catch his breath every few words. "The World outside is chaotic; take these with you, they'll be useful on the road."
Steve let out a harsh, mocking laugh from the side.
"You think you can send her off with a few weeds?" Stevepointed at Lin Nuo, his eyes full of disdain. "You, with your skeleton frame that would fall over in a breeze, would just be a burden if you got on the ship. At least you have some self-awareness, knowing you should just stay on the island and wait to die. I have the German military deployment map; taking a piece of trash like you who can't even stand up straight is just suicide!"
Diana turned her head, her palm resting directly on the hilt of her sword, her killing intent locked onto Steve. However, Lin Nuo reached out and grabbed Diana's wrist. His fingers were cold, and his strength was extremely weak, but this tiny tug forcefully suppressed the demigod princess's fury.
"He is right." Lin Nuo lowered his head, his voice filled with extreme self-reproach and loneliness. "Captain Trevor is not lying. Poison gas, machine guns, submarines—the lethality of these modern weapons is truly not something cold weapons can contend with. Your Highness, you have never seen an organized army, nor have you seen cities razed to the ground by artillery fire. He can help you."
"Doesn't the army he belongs to use these weapons as well?" Diana countered.
"That is the essence of war. They use even crueler methods to deal with cruelty. I do not want you to be contaminated by such cruelty."
Lin Nuo released Diana's wrist and stepped back half a step, increasing the distance between them.
"My body doesn't even have the ability to protect itself. If I get on the ship, I will only drag you down." Lin Nuoadjusted his robe, perfecting that heartbreakingly sensible posture. "Captain Trevor is a soldier; he knows the routes and the rules of war outside. Your mission is to end the God of War and save those civilians. This is an extremely great thing. You cannot let an outsider like me delay your journey."
Diana was completely stunned. She looked at the man before her, who had ended up with cracks in his laws from trying to protect the World, looked at the bruises on his face, and listened to his every word of concession, all for the sake of her mission. An unprecedented sense of heartache and a desire to protect exploded within Diana's chest.
"I will stay here." Lin Nuo raised his eyes, looking at Dianawith extreme sincerity. "I will wait for you on the island. When you end the war, if I am still alive, I will take you to see the science and peace I once told you about."
Steve felt extremely satisfied hearing this, and he raised his chin with a cold snort.
"Did you hear that?" Steve waved the sea chart at Diana. "He knows he's a piece of trash. Take him, and we'll all die at sea. Get on the ship, the soldiers on the front line can't wait."
Diana did not move. She stared at the sea chart in Steve's hand, the temperature in her eyes dropping to freezing point. She strode forward, walking straight up to Steve. Steve thought she had finally come to her senses and was just about to start deploying the next route.
Diana suddenly reached out, grabbed the sea chart in Steve's hand, and yanked it hard. The parchment chart was snatched away by her.
"What are you doing!" Steve was shocked and reached out to snatch it back.
Diana raised her right leg and kicked Steve's other, intact side of his ribs. A dull sound of bone cracking rang out again. Steve rolled down the stone steps, crashing heavily onto the beach, in so much pain he couldn't even make a sound.
Diana tucked the chart into her belt and turned back to Lin Nuo. She didn't allow Lin Nuo any chance to refuse, domineeringly grabbing his cold hand.
"You are coming with me." Diana looked straight into Lin Nuo's eyes, her tone leaving no room for negotiation. "You are not a piece of trash; you are the bravest person in this World. I want you to show me your science and your peace in the outside World yourself."
Lin Nuo feigned an expression of extreme astonishment.
"But the route..." Lin Nuo glanced at Steve, who was wailing on the beach. "Without him, it will be hard for us to avoid those minefields. I don't want you to fall into a desperate situation because of me."
"Amazons do not need a selfish, arrogant thug to show the way." Diana squeezed Lin Nuo's hand tightly. "I can row. The guidance of the gods will lead us to Ares."
She led Lin Nuo, walking straight down the pier. When passing Steve, Diana stopped. Steve clutched his chest, his mouth full of blood, looking at Diana in utter despair. He was unwilling to be left behind like this and, enduring the excruciating pain of his broken ribs, crawled forward on the beach with his hands.
"You're crazy..." Steve's voice was hoarse, his hands desperately clawing at the sand. "Without me, you won't survive. Give me back the chart! That's the lives of millions on the front line!"
Diana looked down at him from above.
"You claim to be doing it for millions of people, yet you don't even have the basic compassion to treat an injured person." Diana coldly pronounced Steve's fate. "Stay here and pray that my mother doesn't immediately cut off your head. The fate of humanity does not need a thug like you to save it."
She supported Lin Nuo, extremely carefully helping him onto the wooden sailboat. Steve lay on the beach, watching helplessly as the sailboat's ropes were untied. He crawled forward desperately, the seawater washing over his military boots, as he tried to grab the edge of the sailboat.
Diana picked up an oar and used the blade to push against Steve's shoulder, shoving him away with force. Steve fell backward into the shallow water, bitter seawater pouring into his mouth. All his pride, his trump cards, and his self-righteous savior identity were stripped away completely in front of this sickly person. The intelligence he was so proud of became a pile of waste paper. He became the trash that was completely abandoned.
Lin Nuo sat on the wooden board at the stern of the boat, wrapped in a wool blanket. He looked at Steve, who was like a puddle of mud in the seawater, and his chapped lips curled into an extremely wicked, cold smile.
Diana stood at the bow, gripping the thick wooden oars with both hands, rowing with immense power. The sailboat broke through the waves, sailing towards the edge of the barrier.
"Are you alright?" Diana asked, looking back at Lin Nuowhile rowing. "The sea breeze is strong; wrap the blanket tighter."
"I'm fine." Lin Nuo leaned weakly against the gunwale. "I'm just a little worried about you. The World outside is much crueler than you imagine."
"With you here, I will be able to distinguish what is true cruelty and what is a sacrifice for peace." Diana's tone was extremely steady.
Lin Nuo closed his eyes, feeling the weakness in his body as it was drained by the laws. This deal—he had won big. As long as he left this damn barrier, he had plenty of ways to squeeze back all the assets he had lost.
Chapter 270: Stormy Night, The Reshaping of Physical Anchor Points
The wooden sailboat passed through the invisible barrier, and the true face of the Ionian Sea was immediately revealed.
Dark, heavy clouds hung low over the sea surface, and gale-force winds whipped up Water walls over ten meters high, bearing down directly on the fragile wooden boat.
Diana stood at the bow, her legs spread wide to steady her stance.
She gripped the thick wooden oar with both hands, attempting to force a change in course amidst the giant waves.
Seawater crashed down over her, instantly soaking her red and blue armor.
Lin Nuo, wrapped in a soaked wool blanket, sat on the swaying wooden planks at the stern.
He gripped the gunwale with one hand, his knuckles turning pale from the excessive force.
Seawater streamed down his pale cheeks, flowing over the unhealed cracks in the laws, bringing with it wisps of blood.
"Hold on!"
Diana shouted against the gale, her voice almost drowned out by the thunder.
A giant wave crashed in from the right.
The hull tilted violently, and the wooden keel emitted a groaning sound of unbearable strain.
Diana dropped the oar, lunged toward the stern, and shielded Lin Nuo beneath her body.
The violent seawater slammed into her back; her demigod physique forcefully withstood the impact.
The cabin had accumulated half a foot of Water, and Lin Nuo's loose linen robe clung completely to his body, outlining his gaunt muscular contours.
"I'll carry you back!"
Diana knelt on one knee in the Water, grabbing Lin Nuo's shoulders. "The boat is going to fall apart! I can't let you die here!"
Lin Nuo leaned against the side of the boat and wiped the seawater from his face.
He glanced at Diana's anxious face, then at the surrounding sea, which had completely descended into madness.
He had already done the math.
Playing the victim to elicit sympathy could indeed secure an entry ticket.
But to make a demigod warrior of this caliber completely reveal her hand, just acting pathetic wasn't enough.
He had to crush her perception directly with absolute power, in the field she excelled at most, right when she thought she had everything under control.
Another row of giant waves, nearly twenty meters high, formed ahead, pouring down and blotting out the sky.
Diana turned her head, her pupils reflecting the Water wall that was enough to grind them into pulp.
She drew the God Killer sword from her waist, preparing to use her divine power to force a path to survival.
Lin Nuo moved.
He didn't grab the gunwale, nor did he hide behind Diana.
Lin Nuo reached out directly, clamped his hand around Diana's slender waist, and forcefully pulled her into his embrace.
Diana didn't react at all.
She only felt a terrifying force coming from her waist that in no way belonged to a critically injured patient.
That scarred arm was as hard as a steel plate, locking her movements in place.
"What are you doing..." Before Diana could finish her sentence, the giant wave had already crashed down on their heads.
Lin Nuo raised his free right hand, fingers spread wide, and facing that twenty-meter-high Water wall, he pressed down extremely casually.
Deep in his sea of consciousness, the extreme microscopic atomic restructuring authority, which had been forcibly frozen by the system, was ripped open by him in an extremely brutal manner.
Violent energy surged out along his arm.
There was no explosion, no loud noise.
The seawater that had crashed down to three feet above their heads stopped instantly upon contacting the invisible force field emitted from Lin Nuo's palm.
The physical structure of thousands of tons of seawater was forcibly altered.
The violent kinetic energy was extremely compressed, turning into the gentlest of Water flows.
With the wooden boat as the center, the sea area within a fifty-meter radius turned into an absolutely still mirror in less than a second.
The gale on the periphery was still roaring, and the giant waves were still churning.
But within this fifty-meter absolute domain, not even a single drop of rain Water could fall.
Diana froze in Lin Nuo's embrace, the sword in her hand clattering onto the wooden planks.
She looked at the giant wave above her head, held firmly by an invisible force, even the Water spray frozen in place, her brain completely shutting down.
She had grown up listening to the legends of the gods, but even Zeus in his prime, as described by her mother, could not achieve such a feat that completely ignored the laws of nature and forcibly modified the structure of matter.
Lin Nuo retracted his right hand with extreme composure.
He leisurely took out a spare pair of gold-rimmed glasses from the waterproof pocket inside his robe and placed them on the bridge of his nose with extreme naturalness.
He lightly pushed the edge of the frame with his finger.
The ink-black pupils behind the lenses no longer held any trace of weakness or retreat, leaving only high-and-mighty scrutiny and a desire for absolute control.
"I said it."
Lin Nuo's voice was low, laced with unquestionable majesty. "I don't need you to protect me."
Diana tilted her head up, looking at the face so close to her own.
The originally pale, sickly face now exuded a sense of oppression that made one stop breathing.
The hand wrapped around her waist carried an extremely high temperature, directly scorching through the pride and defenses she had built since childhood.
She had always thought Lin Nuo was a fragile scholar who needed her care.
She had even sworn in her heart to use her sword to seek justice for him.
As it turned out, this man had used only one hand to pull her and the entire boat back from certain death.
This extreme contrast, this domineering manner that completely enveloped her in absolute power, directly shattered Diana's psychological defenses.
Her demigod bloodline produced an instinctive sense of submission under the suppression of Lin Nuo's force field.
The giant wave parted extremely docilely to the sides above their heads, falling back into the sea.
The dark clouds dispersed, and a beam of sunlight pierced through the haze, landing perfectly on Lin Nuo's gold-rimmed glasses.
Lin Nuo released Diana's waist and leaned back against the gunwale with extreme casualness.
He began to cough violently again, even coughing up a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva.
"You..." Diana came back to her senses and scrambled to support him, her voice trembling. "Who exactly are you? What was that just now..."
"I told you, I am a researcher."
Lin Nuo raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. "That was just a small byproduct of my research. Forcing it to activate comes at a great cost."
Lin Nuo deliberately made his breathing extremely rapid, acting out the scenario of overdrawing his life to save someone to the extreme.
Diana looked at Lin Nuo's wounds, which had burst open again from using his power, and her eyes turned completely red.
She didn't care about any gods or laws.
She only knew that this man had shielded her in his arms at the most dangerous moment.
"I'm sorry."
Diana grabbed Lin Nuo's hand, interlocking her fingers with his. "I won't let you use this power again. I will take you to find Ares and end all of this."
Lin Nuo leaned against the wooden planks, letting Dianahold his hand.
Deep in his brain, a mechanical voice was flooding the screen.
[Target's psychological defenses detected to have completely collapsed.]
[Interception progress has soared significantly.]
Listening to the system's broadcast, Lin Nuo pulled his lips into an extremely pleased arc.
He grabbed Diana's chin, forcing her to look up.
"Your Highness."
Lin Nuo gently rubbed his thumb against her lips, his tone filled with undisguised aggression. "Captain Trevor said there are millions of people in London waiting for him to save them. But what about you? What are you prepared to give to repay me for saving your life just now?"
Diana stared straight into those highly possessive eyes, without any retreat, instead meeting them quite proactively.
"What do you want?"
Lin Nuo smiled.
"What do you think~~"
Chapter 271: Absolute Possession, The Demigod Princess Offers Everything
Sunlight pierced through the low-hanging dark clouds, striking directly into the cramped cabin.
Lin Nuo leaned against the ship's railing with extreme casualness.
He raised his hand, took the gold-rimmed glasses off the bridge of his nose, and tossed them carelessly onto the water-logged wooden planks.
He didn't speak, merely locking his gaze from above onto the demigod princess before him with those incredibly aggressive, ink-black pupils.
Diana knelt less than half a meter away from him, her red and blue armor completely soaked, clinging tightly to her explosive muscular contours.
She gasped for air, unable to tear her gaze away from Lin Nuo's pale face, which radiated absolute control.
The move he had just pulled, which transcended the laws of nature, had shattered the perception she had built since childhood.
"You lied to me."
Diana spoke, her voice devoid of any anger, containing only a tremor she herself hadn't noticed.
"What did I lie to you about?"
Lin Nuo leaned against the wooden planks, his tone extremely lazy.
"You are not some weak scholar who needs protection."
Diana stared at the bone-deep law fissures on his arms. "You possess power even more terrifying than Ares. Why did you disguise yourself as that dying man?"
Lin Nuo tugged at the corner of his mouth, smiling extremely wickedly.
"If I didn't act so miserable, how would Your Highness the Princess defy your mother's orders for my sake?"
Lin Nuo leaned forward, closing the distance between them. "If I didn't act weak, how would you have the opportunity to kick that sanctimonious British Agent off the boat?"
Diana froze.
She realized she couldn't see through this man at all.
He laid his schemes out in the open, yet she couldn't muster even the slightest bit of resentment.
Because just a few minutes ago, this man who spoke so openly of his schemes had shielded her tightly in his arms the moment the giant wave crashed down.
"What exactly do you want me to do?"
Diana gave up thinking and instinctively asked this question.
This was the question Lin Nuo loved to hear most.
When a woman abandons judgment and hands the choice over to him, this hunt is already over.
"Give everything you have to me."
Lin Nuo's voice rode the sea breeze into Diana's eardrums.
This was an extremely extreme test of obedience.
Diana did not flinch.
She looked at Lin Nuo, raising her hand extremely slowly to place it on the leather buckle on the side of her armor.
Click.
The sound of the metal buckle springing open was jarringly loud in the quiet cabin.
She peeled off her heavy leather armor and bracers piece by piece, tossing them carelessly onto the water-logged wooden planks.
In the cramped space, the air instantly became extremely thick.
Lin Nuo's gaze slid from her slender neck all the way down to her collarbones, which possessed a wild beauty.
He didn't rush to act, simply waiting with extreme patience for his prey to completely lower her defenses.
Diana leaned in.
The demigod's scorching body heat transferred through the soaked linen robe onto Lin Nuo's shriveled, cold shell.
Lin Nuo raised his hand, his knuckles tapping against her back with moderate force.
The moment their skin touched, Diana couldn't help but shiver.
The wooden boat rocked with extreme regularity in the aftermath of the waves.
The wooden planks creaked and groaned, masking their increasingly heavy breathing.
Lin Nuo closed his eyes, letting that wild aura belonging to the demigod completely envelop him.
He did not reciprocate, but instead, with an extremely domineering posture, forcibly stripped Diana of all her control.
I don't know how much time passed.
Deep within Lin Nuo's brain, that emotionless mechanical voice finally sounded right on time.
[Target Diana Prince's psychological defenses have completely collapsed. Absolute possession of body and mind achieved.]
[Snatch progress has reached 100%.]
[Triggering ultimate possession critical reward, beginning settlement.]
Lin Nuo's chapped lips curled into an extremely arrogant arc.
It was finally time to collect interest on this debt.
The next second, an extremely domineering high-dimensional energy tore directly out of the void, pouring frantically into the crown of his head.
[Obtained critical reward: Olympian Divine Power Source, Perfect Divine Body Reconstruction.]
[Obtained target core trait: Demigod Bloodline Extraction and Fusion.]
[Detected host body has received god-level energy replenishment, Hulk-level berserk body unfrozen.]
Lin Nuo opened his eyes abruptly.
The muscle fibers, originally drained by the laws of the River of Time, began to devour the golden divine power with extreme brutality the moment they touched it, like hungry wolves finding rain after a long drought.
The bone-deep law fissures on his body surface grew granulation tissue at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Under the scouring of the divine power, his bones emitted crisp, firecracker-like sounds; broken ribs automatically reconnected, and oppressed internal organs regained their vitality.
His purple-red blood was completely washed by golden sacred factors. Every heartbeat was like a heavy hammer striking a war drum, shaking the surrounding air.
Lin Nuo stood up.
The oversized linen robe was torn apart by his swelling muscles.
His originally skeletal shell had now restored to a perfect golden ratio.
His eight-pack abs were clearly defined, and every inch of muscle was filled with terrifying kinetic energy capable of tearing an aircraft carrier apart with bare hands.
Tiny golden thunderbolts roamed across the surface of his skin; this was the manifestation of Zeus's divine power.
Lin Nuo clenched his right fist.
The air was directly pinched into an extremely dull sonic boom.
He closed his eyes, feeling the power within him capable of destroying mountains. This long-lost sense of control allowed the violent factors within him to fully awaken.
[Warning: Reality Warping power crystal and ultimate microscopic atomic reorganization authority are still in deep sleep.]
[Warning: Space Stone source fragment is severely incomplete; currently it can only maintain basic storage space.]
The system was still dutifully broadcasting the battle damage list. Lin Nuo didn't care at all.
As long as this Hulk-level body was unfrozen, combined with the Olympian divine power and demigod bloodline, in this era where even Superman wasn't flying everywhere yet, he already had the absolute capital to sit back at the gambling table.
Diana, wrapped in that wool blanket, leaned against the corner of the cabin. She watched the man before her, whose aura had undergone a heaven-shaking change.
The weak scholar who couldn't even walk steadily was gone, replaced by a tyrant who seemed like a god descended to the World, radiating a deadly sense of oppression.
She felt no fear, only an extreme infatuation originating from the depths of her bloodline.
This man not only possessed wisdom rivaling the gods but also power sufficient to crush everything.
"Your body..." Diana stood up, looking at Lin Nuo's perfect physique with extreme infatuation. "You've recovered?"
"Thanks to you." Lin Nuo turned around, reaching out extremely naturally to pinch Diana's chin. "You are not only a good guide but also an excellent healer."
Diana did not dodge. She obediently tilted her head up, looking into Lin Nuo's ambitious eyes.
"Where are we going next?" Diana asked. "Are we going to London to find Ares?"
"London?" Lin Nuo sneered, releasing his hand. "Captain Trevor's crappy map can take you to London. But I don't need that kind of backward route."
He fished out a spare set of black shirt and trousers from his tattered storage space, changing into them with extreme efficiency.
The gold-rimmed glasses were placed back on the bridge of his nose. The berserk god from just a moment ago instantly retracted all his sharp edges, turning back into that well-dressed, refined scoundrel.
"The rules of the outside World have long changed." As Lin Nuo fastened his cufflinks, he painted an incredibly grand picture for Diana. "Ares isn't stupid enough to go to the battlefield and engage in hand-to-hand combat himself. He will hide behind those capitalists and politicians, using money and power to manipulate the war. If you want to dig him out, a sword alone is not enough."
Three days later.
The climate on the sea became extremely cold and gloomy.
Thick fog dispersed ahead, and a gray, oppressive iron jungle appeared at the end of the horizon.
Huge chimneys spewed black industrial exhaust, dyeing the entire sky a leaden gray.
Gothic spires loomed in the fog, exuding an extremely decadent scent.
Gotham City.
Lin Nuo stood at the bow, wrapping his arm around Diana's waist and pulling her into his embrace.
He looked at the iconic silhouette of Gotham City, his ink-black pupils churning with the unique fanaticism of a Raider.
"Look, my new plate has arrived."
Chapter 272: Arrival in Gotham, the Savage Growth of Capital
Lin Nuo stepped onto the muddy dock planks, looking up at the Gothic spires in the distance, shrouded in lead-gray mist.
Diana followed by his side, draped in a large black trench coat that covered her red and blue battle armor.
"The air here is foul."
Diana frowned, her gaze sweeping over a few homeless men dividing loot in the corner of the dock. "There is no sunlight, only the stench of greed and decay."
"This is the most primitive excrement of capital."
Lin Nuo said in a flat tone, reaching out to adjust his collar. "Without this sludge at the bottom, how could one highlight the powerful sitting in penthouse apartments drinking red wine?"
Five thugs wearing tattered leather jackets emerged from behind a shipping container.
They carried rusty iron bars and switchblades in their hands.
The scarred leader spat out his cigarette butt, his gaze scanning back and forth over the curves of Diana's figure outlined by the trench coat.
"Outsiders."
The scarred man tapped his palm with an iron bar, his tone arrogant. "The Gotham docks aren't a park for you to stroll through. Leave behind your valuables, and this woman."
Diana flipped her wrist, reaching for the Godkiller sword at her waist.
Lin Nuo raised a hand to press down on her shoulder.
"There's no need to draw your sword for this level of scum."
Lin Nuo took half a step forward.
Before the scarred man could even see Lin Nuo's movement, his neck was firmly gripped by a hand.
Lin Nuo exerted force with one arm, lifting the 180-pound strongman directly off the ground.
He tightened his fingers, and the neck bones emitted a teeth-grinding friction sound.
"I'm new here and need some startup capital."
Lin Nuo looked at the scarred man's face, which had turned purple-red, and said in an extremely gentle tone, "Tell me, who has the most money in this district?"
The scarred man kicked his legs in mid-air, his hands desperately trying to pry Lin Nuo's fingers off, but he couldn't budge them at all.
The four thugs nearby were terrified and raised their iron bars to smash at Lin Nuo's back.
Lin Nuo didn't even turn his head.
The Hulk-level violent physique combined with Olympian divine power allowed his muscle density to reach a terrifying level.
The iron bars smashed into his back and bent ninety degrees instantly.
Lin Nuo swung his backhand, the back of his hand slamming into one of their chests.
That person's sternum collapsed instantly, and he flew over a dozen meters away, crashing into a shipping container and going still.
The remaining three dropped their weapons and scrambled away into the rainy night.
"Black Mask... Black Mask's underground casino..." the scarred man squeezed a few words out of his throat. "In the East End... under the abandoned slaughterhouse..."
Lin Nuo released his grip.
The scarred man collapsed into the mud, gasping for air.
Lin Nuo pulled a clean white handkerchief from his pocket, wiped his fingers, and tossed it onto the scarred man's face.
"Lead the way."
Half an hour later.
The abandoned slaughterhouse in the East End.
The heavy iron door was kicked open by Diana.
The twisted metal door panel slammed onto the concrete floor with a deafening crash.
The noisy sounds inside the casino vanished instantly.
Over a hundred gamblers and dozens of gunmen in black suits turned their heads simultaneously, staring fixedly at the two uninvited guests at the door.
The air was filled with the mixed scent of cheap cigars, alcohol, and sweat.
Lin Nuo stepped on the scattered gambling chips, walking into the hall as if taking a leisurely stroll.
He scanned his surroundings, his gaze passing through layers of gambling tables to land on the luxurious private box on the second floor, enclosed by bulletproof glass.
A man wearing a black skull mask sat on a leather sofa, holding a glass of whiskey, looking down at Lin Nuo from above.
"Causing trouble in my, Black Mask's, territory."
The masked man's voice echoed through the entire hall via a loudspeaker. "Turn the man into a sieve, and keep the woman alive."
Click, click, click.
Dozens of Thompson submachine guns were cocked simultaneously, their dark muzzles all aimed at Lin Nuoand Diana.
Diana stepped forward, shielding Lin Nuo behind her.
Her demigod blood surged within her, and she was ready to face the baptism of metal bullets at any moment.
"Step back."
Lin Nuo reached out to push aside Diana's shoulder and walked in front of her.
"They have firearms in their hands."
Diana reminded him.
"I know."
Lin Nuo took off his gold-rimmed glasses, folded them very carefully, and put them into his shirt's chest pocket. "It's a good opportunity to test the pressure limit of this new body."
Gunfire erupted suddenly.
Dense tongues of fire illuminated the dim casino.
Hundreds of bullets wove into a web of death, completely enveloping Lin Nuo.
Lin Nuo did not dodge.
He stood in place, letting those brass bullets pour onto his body.
The bullets tore through his black shirt, but the moment they touched his skin, they emitted an extremely crisp metallic clashing sound.
The absolute defense of the Hulk physique combined with the blessing of his demigod constitution turned these bullets, which were capable of tearing through steel plates, into harmless toys.
The bullet heads were squeezed directly into flat copper discs on the surface of Lin Nuo's muscles, falling one after another to his feet.
The gunfire ceased.
The smoke dissipated.
Lin Nuo was bare-chested, his perfect muscle lines shimmering with a faint dark golden luster under the lights.
He twisted his neck, his bones making a crisp sound like firecrackers.
"The firepower is too weak."
Lin Nuo gave his assessment.
The entire hall fell into a deathly silence.
Those gunmen looked at the deformed bullets all over the floor, then at the unscathed Lin Nuo, and their hands holding the guns began to tremble uncontrollably.
Lin Nuo moved.
His body left an afterimage in place.
Although the Quicksilver speed factor was locked, the pure physical explosive power still gave him movement ability exceeding the speed of sound.
Bang.
The gunman at the very front didn't even have time to scream before his chest cavity was punched through by Lin Nuo.
Lin Nuo withdrew his arm and seized the opportunity to grab another gunman's neck, slamming him down with force.
That person's head smashed directly through the hard gambling table.
This wasn't a fight at all; it was a one-sided slaughter.
Lin Nuo wove through the crowd, every strike being extremely precise and fatal.
He didn't use any flashy fighting techniques, only the purest physical crushing power.
Breaking limbs, crushing throats, snapping spines.
Blood splattered on the walls, and severed limbs were scattered everywhere.
Diana stood at the door, watching Lin Nuo's extremely violent methods of slaughter, her brows knitted tightly together.
This was completely different from the justice she understood.
But she didn't intervene.
Lin Nuo had said that this was a necessary means to establish a new order.
In less than three minutes.
There was no longer a single gunman standing in the hall.
The thick smell of blood overpowered the scent of cigars and alcohol.
The surviving gamblers huddled in the corners, not even daring to breathe hard.
Lin Nuo stepped on the thick, sticky blood covering the floor and walked up the stairs toward the second-floor box.
The bulletproof glass door was ripped off by him with one hand.
Black Mask slumped on the sofa, the whiskey glass in his hand falling to the ground and shattering into pieces.
His gangland empire, which he was so proud of, hadn't even lasted three minutes in front of this man.
"What kind of monster are you?"
Black Mask's voice trembled as he scrambled to reach for the pistol at his waist.
Lin Nuo walked over and stepped on Black Mask's wrist.
The sound of bone shattering was extremely crisp.
Black Mask let out a shrill scream.
Lin Nuo bent down, grabbed Black Mask by the collar, and lifted him off the sofa.
Then, Lin Nuo turned around very naturally and sat into the large boss chair.
He tossed Black Mask at his feet.
"From today on, the rules of this district are decided by Star Umbrella."