"Weilun, you and I will go in and investigate, the others will stay outside on standby. If the Justice League comes, you know how to handle it, right?"
Su Ming waved to signal Killer Crocodile to come closer, and the two of them squeezed into the barrier together, while leaving Death Shooter and the rest outside to handle any trouble.
"I know!" Harley raised her hand and answered with a smile, "If the Bat comes, just tell him we're here having a picnic!"
Su Ming looked around at the desert landscape, the dunes under the moonlight appeared starkly pale.
If it wasn't for the sand getting into your mouth when you speak; everyone brought weapons instead of food; and everyone's expression was as serious as if their whole family had died...
Harley's answer might actually make sense.
Death Shooter was a bit more reliable; he rested his automatic rifle on his shoulder and took off his helmet to breathe some fresh air: "If the Justice League asks, we'll say it's an investigation authorized by the United States Government, right?"
Su Ming nodded, turned around, and pushed with Killer Crocodile against the protective shield, his whole body felt like it was sinking into semi-dry, extremely sticky glue: "Much better, Floyd, keep at it."
At first it felt like walking, then more like standing and swimming.
This strange energy disrupted the communicators, they couldn't hear the sounds of the outside team, only Su Ming and Killer Crocodile, being close in distance, could communicate.
Every step was a struggle, practically requiring the use of their entire strength; if it had been before acquiring the symbiote, Su Ming would have found it difficult to get through here, but with the help of Strangulation, his speed was a bit faster than Killer Crocodile.
Killer Crocodile's power was similar to Bane's, about 120 tons, and he was also a philosopher of the sewers, spending every day submerged, pondering Gotham's dark future.
Killer Crocodile originally wanted to be a hero, but his appearance didn't make the cut.
He, like other heroes, rescued people; however, the people he saved either cursed him or fainted from fright.
After experiencing so much, Killer Crocodile eventually darkened.
But he didn't turn completely; he generally doesn't kill without reason, and he also does mercenary work, mostly acting as muscle for Joker or Two-Faced Man, which is why he gets along well with Harley.
Harley calls him 'Green Hide' or 'Little Croc', depending on her mood, along with other nicknames containing profanity.
The two of them were now trudging forward within the shield of this head.
"It's exhausting, feels like trying to be TM-born again," Crocodile Man spoke, using one shoulder to push forward, his head low, talking to Su Ming.
"Nice metaphor, but reversed direction. We're going into TM, not out," Su Ming replied coarsely. Villains often have a knack for such phrases, and speaking in this style could foster better relationships.
"Hey... 'The problem is the midwife, it helps with the birth of new discoveries,' I guess that's what we're doing now."
The barrier was much thicker than it appeared from outside; they'd walked dozens of meters, and still nothing but purple mist was in sight, seemingly without end. Killer Crocodile, perhaps trying to calm his nerves, chose to chat with Su Ming to distract himself.
"Nicely said, Socrates," Su Ming noticed an empty space ahead suddenly; he rolled to relieve the force and stabilized his steps.
They had made it inside.
The inside was completely different from the outside; if the outside world was a desert full of sand, then this was a rock field full of blooming flowers.
Weird, dense plants clung to the suddenly appearing rocks like cancerous tissues, with several stones floating in the air against all logic.
No massive head was visible; it was like a whole new world.
Vast and boundless.
"Looks like we've entered its brain. What is this place? A dream?" Crocodile Man sniffed hard, unsure, as these flowers emitted the stench of decaying corpses.
Like poisonous mushrooms, the petal-spotted flowers were surrounded by twisted, malformed, spike-covered vines, glaringly red, disgustingly green—a gaudy, colorful nightmare.
At that moment, Strangulation conveyed a message to Su Ming; some very unfriendly energy was invading the host's body. They began modifying the host's cells, advancing along the spinal cord to the brain.
Their mechanics were unclear; though ineffective against the symbiote, they caused changes in the host, transforming them into some unknown monster.
To the symbiote, what unknown monster this would be was unclear, but surely wouldn't remain human.
Su Ming had an anti-toxic mask, and a trump card of X Metal within; he could hold out for a while, but Killer Crocodile...
"Retreat! We're going back!" Su Ming immediately ordered.
"Huh? We just got here; there's nothing... just half swamp, half forest." Killer Crocodile's voice sounded like buzzing, akin to a blower fan.
"That's an order; retreat immediately."
Su Ming drew the Great Sword, swung it behind him, X Metal converging at the blade edge; he cut an entrance in the thick barrier behind them, like slicing through jelly, then pushed Killer Crocodile inside.
Killer Crocodile was already sensing something amiss, feeling something changing inside him, his consciousness growing increasingly fuzzy, breathing more rapid...
Behind him, Su Ming saw something even more direct; the originally 2.2-meter tall Killer Crocodile's body was inflating like a balloon.
Not the round kind, but his bones, muscles, all aspects enhanced, and his almost human-like flat face was turning more crocodile-like, snout protruding, skull flattening, eyes losing humanity.
"Strangulation, eliminate the mutated cells inside my body."
Su Ming immediately conveyed the command to the symbiote, so the black liquid creature began penetrating every vein, every nerve, using its extremely tiny cells to fight Su Ming's mutated cells.
An invisible war.
Those mutated cells seemed imbued with life, even growing large mouths and sharp fangs, wrestling with Strangulation's alien cells.
Perhaps due to the symbiote originating from Marvel, the mutated cell-generated monsters lacked ways to counter it. So besides feeling needle-prick pain throughout his body for a while, the internal situation ceased to worsen for Su Ming.
Except for some revived signs of bloodthirsty desire, everything else was fine.
But he was already struggling to push Killer Crocodile; both were wedged in the barrier, no way ahead or behind, like insects trapped in amber.
Su Ming thought a moment, then opted to stop pushing Killer Crocodile; instead, he moved quickly to take the lead.
Sure enough, not a few seconds later, Killer Crocodile appeared with a fierce glare, now five meters tall, and moving like a tank.