Upon seeing Cable seemed to understand, Su Ming didn't offer further explanations. Apocalypse had been asleep for over a century, and by now, he definitely couldn't go back to sleep.
If he slept any longer, he'd enter a state of self-imposed isolation.
He should be visiting the Conqueror's office, sitting in the seat Kang once occupied, and contemplating life. The Pharaoh's throne back in the day was like this; today, it's that seat again.
The basement might be concealed, but it's not a place for conversation. When the time comes, we just need to follow the plan.
"By the way, you haven't answered my earlier question. Is this bracelet only useful when it has a Gemstone?" Su Ming raised the damaged Space-Time Bracelet in his hand.
"It should be. This Gemstone is very special, and the material of the Arm Guard is just gold, which isn't useful except for its monetary value."
"That's good then."
Su Ming flicked his cigarette butt into the mouth of the Blue Gloves' corpse, took the Godslayer from his waist, transforming it into a small dagger, and carefully pried the Gemstone off.
"Is this the thing that allows one to travel through space? I don't feel anything special about it...."
Su Ming tossed the Gemstone in his hand. It was too large—a half-oval shape measuring ten centimeters in length and four centimeters in width—giving an unreal sensation akin to a large piece of glass.
"This is a technological product; what kind of feeling were you expecting?"
Cable looked at him helplessly; when a phone's out of battery, it's no better than a brick. This thing was just removed from Armor, so it naturally has no energy supply.
"Need energy? That's easy."
Su Ming took off his Arm Armor, drove Strangulation away from his left forearm, exposing his skin.
Then he directly cut into his arm with the Godslayer, deep enough to see the bone, with blood gushing out, yet his expression didn't change.
He grabbed the Gemstone and pressed it directly into the wound, using X Metal to secure it in place.
Su Ming moved his arm; although the muscles felt somewhat squeezed, after adapting for some time, it wouldn't affect his attack power.
Energy from X Metal is endlessly renewable, and most of the time, it can be driven by Telekinesis, making it Su Ming's trump card.
His Self-healing Ability restored the skin, gradually wrapping the Gemstone within flesh and blood, soon becoming invisible.
"Alright, what's next?"
"Uh, actually, that Gemstone is just a display screen. You'll still need to cut open the flesh...."
Luckily Cable was around, already accustomed to Deadpool, who constantly gets torn in half or has his intestines spilling out. Now he just feels the Wilson family isn't normal.
One's a never-ending babbler like sticky candy; the other's a ruthless control freak—both are troublesome characters.
Su Ming glared at him. Why not mention this earlier!
He cut open the flesh again and, sure enough, the Gemstone looked different than before. Besides blood, its smooth surface showed a red dot that continuously flashed.
It seemed that just touching it would teleport him to that location, though exactly where that is wasn't clear.
According to Cable's guess, it should be somewhere in the Multiverse, but now's not the time for experiments—there's still plenty of groundwork to cover.
Once Apocalypse returned, he reclaimed the Energy Shield from Su Ming, and now Su Ming couldn't freely roam in the Endless Universe.
Su Ming expressionlessly wore his Arm Armor, turned the Godslayer back into a weapon, and played around with it, noticing nothing majorly amiss except that his left hand felt heavier than before—but that's all adaptable through training.
"Alright, for now, let's leave it at this. You should go upstairs and rest; we'll start the operation first thing tomorrow morning."
Outside, the German Army surrounded the place thrice over, but they couldn't penetrate Apocalypse's Telekinesis Barrier; all they could do was wander outside, illuminating the surroundings with searchlights and broadcasting messages through Big Horn.
But for Su Ming and his team, these tactics were completely inconsequential.
As night gradually enveloped Berlin City, it became a sleepless night for many in the German Army.
Su Ming, however, discovered the genuine article in a room in the basement. After verifying multiple times, he raised his hand and knocked it unconscious.
It seemed Kang left it behind perhaps to see how Kang used the identity of Yuan X to lead the Empire to unify the world—a bit of cruel humor.
Though it might be that killing him would trigger other issues on the timeline.
Su Ming wasn't inclined to complicate matters. Once today was over, nothing else mattered.
Except Kang's leftings—the full-auto production line for creating Mechas or Future Flying Discs—without the Armor's computer control, they were dormant.
But that's probably for the best, bringing events closer to original history, leaving SSR and Hydra to battle it out in technology.
Su Ming found an office, pulled a sofa, and quietly lay on it, contemplating future plans.
Vaguely, it seemed he heard Wade's screams and women's laughter.
................
Early the next morning, Su Ming awoke under the morning light, with the German Army outside still broadcasting messages via horns, essentially demanding the Demons surrender their leader.
Su Ming lit a cigarette, ate a little of the dry rations he carried, donned his Mask, and gathered everyone for a meeting.
He relayed the arrangements finalized with Cable last night to the group.
"Will this really work?" Outlaw frowned slightly, supporting Deadpool from behind.
"As long as Wade plays his part, the plan will succeed." Su Ming said calmly. Deadpool's role was indeed heavy; he needed to hold off Apocalypse for a short while.
"What about the Mutants of this era? They're still suffering." Little Rascal's attention was focused on saving the Mutants.
"I'll keep an eye on their situation. None will die that shouldn't." Su Ming answered her calmly, looking at the white streak in her hair and then at her fair little face.
Behind her, Kay and Peeling had no objections—they mainly accompanied Vanessa for some intrigue, and having seen the spectacle, the holiday was over.
However, Secret Guest did worry about Little Rascal: "If Little Rascal uses her abilities, be aware of the limit she can handle; she must not confront Apocalypse directly."
"Don't worry, I've got it under control." Su Ming nodded. "You just need to inform Jean Grey that Cable is in danger when you return."
Secret Guest nodded her little black-adorned head seriously, agreed, and then glanced at Su Ming before she began communicating with the future Bishop through some ability.
After that, apart from Little Rascal, the three women vanished like Phantoms within the room.
Su Ming redirected his attention to Wade's women, behaving like they were facing life and death separation, talking endlessly with Wade, always squeezing others away to stand before Deadpool.
Really troublesome.
"The rest of you should take a detour. I'll soon trick Apocalypse into taking us to Egypt where you'll find Modi and Weasel, then return to the Future and inform Dr. Holloway to meet me near the Governor's Mansion in Cairo City; I'll go pick him up afterwards."
Su Ming held his forehead, issuing commands in a low voice.
The group nodded—they all knew the final battle was approaching.