No sooner said than done. Banshee, Erik, Charles, and the others unbuckled their seatbelts and moved toward the hatch at the bottom of the jet.
"Hank, open the lower hatch!" Banshee shouted toward the cockpit.
Boom—boom—boom!
The hatch opened with a loud thud, revealing the churning seawater below. A gust of frigid wind rushed in, making it hard to even breathe.
"Remember, it's just a muscle. You can control it!" Charles shouted beside Banshee, trying to psych him up. "Just think of it that way! See you soon!"
"On my mark—three, two, one, go!"
Whoosh!
Banshee dove straight down, plunging into the ocean with barely a splash.
Wnnnn!
The moment he opened his mouth, a wave of sonic energy burst forth, radiating through the water like a sonar pulse.
Indeed—it was a sonar system.
Meanwhile, Charles maintained a mental connection with Banshee the entire time. The moment Banshee located Shaw's position, Charles would know.
Erik stood by, waiting. Once they found Shaw, he was going to drag him out with his own hands.
As for Alex?
> [New Mission Generated]
Objective: Foil Sebastian Shaw's plan and kill him.
Reward: 2,000 Origin Points
At that moment, Alex heard the familiar chime of his system.
A new mission—again.
And this time, it came with a whopping 2,000 Origin Points as a reward. Based on past experience, that was enough to unlock 20% progress in his template system.
That was the biggest leap he'd seen since he first obtained the system.
Alex's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"Shaw... looks like letting you live just isn't an option anymore."
With that, he unbuckled his harness and moved to the hatch to provide backup.
He wasn't here just to watch.
Inside the jet, everyone turned to look at Charles, all waiting for news from Sean.
Roughly five minutes passed.
Suddenly, Charles' expression shifted—his mental link had picked up something.
"Sean has locked on to Shaw's position!"
Everyone in the jet lit up with excitement.
"You ready?" Charles turned to Erik.
"I've been waiting for this moment."
Erik nodded firmly.
Charles quickly relayed the coordinates from Sean to Hank in the cockpit.
Hank immediately adjusted the flight path and headed for the area above Shaw's location.
Erik took the opportunity to climb out of the jet, standing atop the landing gear. He reached out with his hand, focusing on the waters below—searching for the nuclear submarine.
"Remember—it's the space between rage and serenity!" Charles called out from inside the jet.
Maybe it was Charles' words, or maybe Erik had simply undergone a major transformation after yesterday, but this time, he connected with the sub almost instantly.
Then—with nothing but the power of his mind—he began lifting it.
Whoooosh!
Beneath Erik's outstretched hand, a massive nuclear submarine rose from the ocean, suspended in midair, slowly drifting toward the shore.
The sight was jaw-dropping.
"Okay, that's just ridiculous..." muttered Havok from inside the cabin, eyes wide like saucers.
Erik's display was absurdly overpowered.
"My God, what the hell is happening?"
"Why is the sub airborne?!"
"Is that man... is he the one?"
Even Erik's allies were stunned—let alone the American and Soviet fleets stationed on either side of the quarantine zone.
They looked on as if they'd seen a ghost.
And along with their shock came something deeper—fear.
When had nuclear submarines become so easily manipulated?
If that man aboard the jet possessed such terrifying power... what if he turned it on them?
A threat.
Everyone on both fleets came to the same conclusion.
"What's going on?!"
"What the hell just happened?!"
"It's those guys!"
Inside a large chamber of the submarine, several mutant guards stared at each other in alarm. But Shaw wasn't among them.
He was currently holed up in a sealed control room, draining the sub's nuclear energy—preparing to launch a covert strike against one of the superpowers to trigger a full-blown nuclear war.
He'd decided to take action himself after their cargo ship, The Aral Sea, had been blown up.
He knew right away—his old enemies had come.
"Unforgivable...!"
"They dare ruin our plans?"
A shirtless man with large, eagle-like wings on his back growled in anger, then said no more.
Without hesitation, he scrambled up a ladder and threw open the submarine's top hatch.
Then he turned around—and froze.
"Oh, come on..."
The sub was floating in the air.
Just moments ago, they were submerged under the sea. Now, they were airborne.
He turned again—and saw a man hovering in the distance, holding up the entire submarine with one hand.
That had to be Erik—the same Erik Shaw had warned them about.
So it was them.
The winged man's eyes gleamed coldly. With a flap of his wings, he shot toward Erik at high speed.
His wings were lined with razor-sharp exoskeletal blades, capable of slicing through flesh like daggers.
Erik, still focused on lifting the sub, had no time to deal with him.
But fortunately—Alex was standing watch.
"You think we're defenseless?" Alex sneered, stepping forward. His pupils ignited with fiery light.
Zzzzzap!
Two beams of heat vision tore through the air, aimed directly at the winged attacker.
"It's him!" the man faltered mid-air, face twisting.
At this point, Alex's reputation preceded him.
He had become a known threat among Shaw's inner circle. They all knew who he was, and more importantly, what he could do.
And this winged mutant—he wasn't about to underestimate him.
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