Luckily, it's Earth. If he had gone wrong and suddenly found himself facing the Imperial Death Star, that would have been quite a spectacle.
The blue energy was running low, and the remaining resources had to be used wisely. After penetrating the atmosphere, he would have to rely on his own power for the landing.
This time, the crossing was conscious, and everything he saw set his imagination soaring.
If the world had boundaries, why couldn't the powerful ones from the original world step out? What were they lacking?
And what determines whether an existence is Single Universe Level or a Multiverse powerhouse?
Manhattan is clearly stronger than Barbatos, yet the latter is Multiverse Level while Manhattan is only Single Universe Level. Is this decided by editors? Or is there some unknown reason?
The friction from re-entering the atmosphere caused massive burns on his skin, and the Promethium Armor didn't help much. He had already turned the Godslayer into a drop pod, but the temperature insulation was barely effective.
Enduring endless pain, he could only try to distract himself by thinking of random things.
In ancient times, Guan Yunchang drank wine and played chess while having poison scraped from his bones. Now, Su Ming was lost in thought during atmospheric re-entry.
Fortunately, descending at such high speed wouldn't take long. He could see the blue sky outside, indicating he had entered the middle layer of the atmosphere.
Through the golden Godslayer, the sky seemed to emit a faint glow.
He was now at an altitude of around 80,000 meters.
The protective blue light had completely vanished. Captured by Earth's gravity, he was subjected to gravitational acceleration, and if he continued accelerating infinitely, he would quickly exceed his speed tolerance.
Descending too fast isn't a crash landing—it qualifies as a meteorite hitting Earth.
In other words, he had to slow down now.
Luckily, he had the Godslayer. An ordinary glider or parachute wouldn't withstand this, but this divine weapon was sturdy enough to serve as a deceleration tool.
"Godslayer, gliding wing."
The golden weapon instantly expanded, and a pair of massive golden wings were fixed onto Su Ming's body.
A slight jolt to the body was absorbed by the X Metal skeleton.
The gliding wing's deceleration effect was average, but the air was too thin at this high altitude, and Su Ming couldn't hold his breath for long. Even with the Bat Oxygen Tank, that was for the next step.
First, descend to the troposphere; once he could breathe, he could slow down gradually.
It would be best to aim for a sea or lake for landing, minimizing impact, and then use the oxygen tank to get back to land.
The key was that landing in water allowed for easy concealment, avoiding the many nosy folks in Marvel.
While outside the atmosphere, Su Ming's focus wasn't on Earth itself. If he had managed to look around despite the pain, he would have noticed there wasn't a single satellite surrounding Earth, making his efforts to remain unnoticed quite unnecessary...
As he descended and passed through layers of clouds, he finally saw the situation below clearly.
A series of green islands lay scattered across the vast blue ocean; despite not knowing the exact location, it was definitely not the poles.
Based on the water's color and surrounding geography, Slade's experience indicated he was somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.
"In that case, let's land closer to one of the islands. Such islands usually have few people and are easy to blend in with." Su Ming transformed the gliding wing into a parachute; the Godslayer was now like his Swiss Army knife, capable of transforming into whatever he needed.
Of course, the Godslayer's core size was limited, preventing it from transforming into something overly large or complex, but simple tools were within its capability.
The problem was that it was always a conspicuous golden, making him feel like a flare while floating in the sky.
Fortunately, it was daytime; otherwise, he'd be visible from 100 nautical miles away.
Following the wind's dance, he controlled his direction, heading toward the coastal waters surrounding the small island. It wasn't time yet to choose his own course.
"Boom!"
Despite having decelerated, he still splashed down in the ocean with a several-meter-high wave, his whole skeleton trembling, but that was all.
He quickly sank to the ocean floor.
Coral reefs, clownfish, and various marine life wandered around, while the bright sunlight filtered through the sea surface, making it feel like the Undersea Palace of the Immortals.
Of course, Su Ming wasn't artistically inclined; his first thought was to confirm his landing point and then reflect on how being a Hell Paratrooper or an interstellar soldier wasn't easy.
"A large coral reef community, and from the large marine animals in the distance, probably dolphins, suggesting there should be people on some nearby islands."
In the past, European sailors considered dolphins encountered at sea as a good omen, and in many legends and stories, ships in peril often found salvation by following dolphins.
In fact, those ships merely followed dolphins to areas where dolphins fed regularly. Unlike sharks and tiger whales, dolphins prefer continental shelves and large islands.
These spots, where ocean currents slow down and sediment accumulates, harbor abundant microorganisms, attracting scale-armored marine life. Big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat shrimp, eventually drawing shallow-water predators like dolphins.
Thus, near dolphin activity zones, there must be places that slow down ocean currents, forming natural harbors, which those ships that follow dolphins often find salvation in.
Having natural harbors and island resources allows humans to survive.
The island was large, and Su Ming had confirmed this from the sky. Though dense vegetation obscured signs of habitation, human presence was still possible.
Taking out the Bat Oxygen Tank and holding it in his mouth, Su Ming oriented himself and headed towards the shore. Thankfully, this was a volcanic island, so the seabed was sturdy, with plenty of coral reefs to stand on. Otherwise, he would have been mired in the sandy seabed.
"Splash..."
He climbed out of the water, clinging to the reef, the seawater streaming from the gaps in his armor, refracting sunlight into a rainbow-like glow.
Removing his helmet and the oxygen tank, he took a deep breath.
The sea air always carried a slight, fishy tang, coupled with a refreshing feel.
The Marvel World felt different; in DC, he always sensed a weight on his heart. Here, he felt as if the world allowed him more space to breathe.
Of course, it might just be a delusion. After all, Barbatos was a constant problem there, leaving Su Ming with no rest.
"When the chance arises, I should consider adding an oxygen device to my helmet. Briss's Bat Oxygen Tank is nearly exhausted."
Su Ming put away the small Bat gadget; it was, after all, a keepsake. He didn't put on his helmet, instead tucking it under his arm as he began searching the coastline for a port.
Once he found a port, he could gather information; his skills were sufficient to even craft a raft for seafaring.
Of course, surrounded by islands, he wouldn't end up in a situation like Bear Grylls, having to resort to enemas with seawater...
On one side was the calm, expansive sea, on the other, a deep green forest. The island wasn't developed, but its scenery was spectacular.
He walked along the forest's edge, among dense trees and plants, sunlight filtering through the leaves, with shadows of small animals and birds deeper within the woods.
Animals on islands generally aren't very threatening, at most consisting of wild boars and poisonous snakes. If they showed up, they'd just serve as extra rations for Su Ming.
The last time he ate was Spam lunch meat, and who knows how long ago that was.
After moving a while, he suddenly saw a bird with red feathers and a beak curved like a straw perched on a branch, instantly realizing where he was.