Volume 3: The Nameless Chapter 74 If you can’t change the world, then you can only change yourself
Although we are going to the Great Temple, we can't just set off without making any preparations.
The Isu bloodline gave him knowledge but not direct combat power. Although the potion that used the super soldier serum as an adaptor did strengthen Mason's body, it was impossible for him to become a superman all of a sudden.
Speaking of which, although Mason has never seriously undergone physical strengthening, he was strengthened once when he joined the Star Society, and then drank the Unicorn Potion. Now there is the improvement of this tube of Isu potion. Although he does not pay much attention to this kind of pure strength enhancement, Mason estimates that his current physical fitness can be regarded as a "primary superhuman".
However, this does not affect Mason's overall efforts in other areas, as his melee skills are still at the horrible level of Lv1.
He himself said that he always felt insecure about close combat, except when he was wearing power armor. In that state, Mason felt extremely safe.
At this time, the assassins and Templars of this world must have deployed defenses near the Great Temple. If they just rushed over, they would probably be beaten to pieces on the spot. Therefore, Mason, who had just woken up, got busy in his suitcase factory.
Of course, don’t forget to contact your teammates.
"John, are you all right over there?"
Mason disassembled the precision rifle Widowmaker in his hand and injected magic into the collar pin on his collar. He asked:
"They're after you, aren't they?"
"It's okay, it's just that the whole city and the whole world are trying to kill us, no big deal."
Constantine's slightly weak voice came from the other end of the collar pin, and he complained:
"It's like crazy. I never thought I would be forced to this point by a group of mortal assassins. I have to wade out of the city in the stinking sewers. What the hell!
And you?
How are you?
Barbara said we should meet you at the underground great temple outside the city, which I think is a bad idea, but now that the World Gate has been sealed by these guys, we have nowhere else to go except there.
The whole city is full of them.
All communications are being monitored, and my only consolation is that these guys don't know magic."
Mason nodded, and looked thoughtfully at the technical rifle that had been disassembled into a table of components in front of him. As he looked at these components, ideas for their modification kept floating in his mind.
The technological knowledge from the Isu people floated in Mason's mind, filling him with all kinds of fantastic ideas at this moment. He pushed the frame of his glasses on his nose and felt confident that he could modify this advanced firearm from 2077 to be more convenient to use.
After all, compared to the Isu's high-tech, Night City's military level is indeed not good enough.
"You can use the golden apple, John."
Mason picked up the charging module of the tech rifle and the multi-functional engineering wrench at hand. He blinked and said to his team members:
"Take out that thing now and operate it according to my instructions. It will help you escape the assassins. Then you can join me in the Grand Temple."
"That's the thing, Mason, we now have a 'guest'."
Zha Kang lowered his voice and said:
"He's an important man. Albert Wesker, the captain of the Plague Squad of the Council of Twelve, is traveling with us. He said that the Grand Master of Warlocks sent him here to search for information.
Tsk, he's just an unlucky guy like us.
That guy was fooled by the information we used about the Great Temple, but I am sure that if I take out the golden apple now, he will try to grab it. The three of us cannot defeat him."
"No need to fight. As long as you move fast enough, you will be able to scare him. Wesker is a suspicious person."
Mason was not surprised to hear Wesker's name. He had seen Cloud and Jerusalem in Star Castle... ah, ugh! They were swaggering around with Tifa.
Now he's just Wesker.
He urged:
"Take it out first and follow my instructions."
Elsewhere, in the sewers of New York City, Team K is trudging through the sewage.
Zha Kang hesitated after hearing what Mason said. He glanced at the guy with sunglasses who was leading the way in front, and after a few seconds he hooked his finger at Ertong beside him.
Ertong stared at him in surprise. After the two exchanged glances for a few seconds, he took out the golden apple from his bag and handed it to Zha Kang. He then pulled out his kinetic pistol and looked at the situation in front of him vigilantly.
Barbara took a step back and formed a covering formation with the two people in front of her. The light in her pupils flickered, causing several suspended combat Griffin drones to hover beside the three people.
"Um?"
When the golden apple was taken out, Wesker, who was walking in front, immediately turned around. His scarlet eyes under his sunglasses stared at the Isu artifact in Zhakon's hand.
There wasn't much conversation.
But the atmosphere between the two sides suddenly changed, especially when Wesker walked towards them.
"Put the golden apple in the palm of your hand. The one with the triangle emblem is the bottom. Don't hold it upside down."
Mason's voice rang in his ears along with Zha Kang's magic, and then he heard his captain's gentle reminder:
“Put your finger on it, and hold the second and fourth quadrilateral outlines at the third middle ring to put it into charging mode, and then inject magic into it.
It doesn’t take much, just let me know when it shines.”
Zha Kang immediately did as he was told. As Wesker got closer and closer and his left hand began to emit a strange heat, he said:
"This thing glows, and then what? Come on, damn it!"
"Then point it at Wesker, with the thought of making him get down on his knees and call you daddy!"
As Mason said this, the dark wizard immediately raised the golden apple in his hand.
The next moment, the light flowed, and dazzling fragments of light burst out from the golden apple in Zha Kang's palm like fireworks. At this moment, a loud sound also exploded in Albert Wesker's heart.
"Kneel down! Call daddy!"
It was like some kind of magic that acted directly on the mind, breaking down the defenses so quickly that people could not react at all. The brother with sunglasses' legs instinctively bent downwards and opened his mouth, but he held them straight and dodged far away as if teleporting.
Then he looked at Zha Kang and the golden apple in his hand that was obviously awakened with a vigilant look.
He had no idea what was going on, but he was sure that Constantine, the famous "annihilation engine" in the Star Society, had mastered the use of the Golden Apple.
"Holy crap! This thing is awesome!"
Zha Kang's face was full of surprise.
As a spellcaster, he just felt a very clear energy shock erupting from the golden apple, as if this strange thing had suddenly become a carrier of some evil mental magic.
"Just to scare him, not as bad as you think."
Mason explained:
"Isu artifacts such as the Golden Apple were designed to manipulate the will, body, and mind of standard humanoids.
This thing has irresistible power against ordinary people within 200 feet, but it is not very effective against "virus people" like Wesker, and you don't have Isu bloodline so it is difficult to control it accurately.
So stop playing.
Now inject magic power into it again, and hold the glowing line in the second middle ring to let it enter the "mind rewriting" program.
In this mode, the golden apple can generate a mind field.
Any human who sees its light will fall into unconsciousness and coma. The effect will be less effective for people with Isu blood, but it is enough for you to escape from the assassin's encirclement.
The mind force field can last for six hours once activated.
But don't use it to do bad things when you are running for your life, John, you are also a standard humanoid creature, so you will also be eroded by the thought field. This thing is designed as a "teaching stick" for slave owners, and it is a blasphemy for slaves to hold it now.
It's just as dangerous to you, so you better hurry."
"receive."
At this time, Zha Kang was holding the glowing golden apple and looked as majestic as a god descending from the earth.
He even handed the thing in Wesker's direction in a mean way, and at the same time transmitted his will into the mind of the guy with sunglasses in the form of a "mental hammer".
"You want this? Come and get it, dear Wesker."
"What was that just now?"
Wesker was not afraid.
He just looked hesitantly at the golden apple in Zha Kang's hand, unable to understand why Team K suddenly mastered the use of this dangerous Isu artifact.
"Evil slave program."
Zha Kang snorted, pretending to have a great advantage and said with his hands on his hips:
"The Golden Apple is a sacred artifact used by the evil Isu to enslave the humans of this world. We were ordered to take it away from this world, and we studied it before we came.
Unlike you, you come here to die without knowing anything.
I'm not bragging, but if I want, I can turn you into the most obedient little cutie and make you strip naked to attract the attention of those assassins...
Okay, I’m just here to scare you, it’s not as scary as you think.
It's nothing more than a mind-blow that turns you into a drooling fool when you're about to do something bad, so you'd better keep your hands to yourself."
Zha Kang glanced at the two teammates beside him, then swaggered forward with the golden apple in his hand, looking for the nearest passage out of the sewer.
Wesker looked at Constantine and the golden apple in his hand with a suspicious look. The "body manipulation" that went straight into the mind just now could not be fake. It seemed that Team K really possessed some power that he didn't know about.
It seems that they are not deceiving him by going to the great temple. Perhaps there really is a way to leave this world there?
"Mason, we succeeded in scaring him."
Zha Kang had been observing Wesker's actions. When he saw the guy with sunglasses following them twenty meters behind without saying a word and leaving the sewer with them, the dark wizard breathed a sigh of relief.
He said to Mason through the Eye of Hell:
"What kind of adventure did you encounter? How come you are suddenly so good at these things?"
"I just accidentally found some lost knowledge, John. It's not as magical as you think."
Mason, who was still in the suitcase factory, moved his hands with his fingers flying. He had reassembled the original technological rifle. Not only were there no fewer components on the table, but there were some more.
Apparently, Mason used the Isu knowledge he had just learned to modify the gun based on his understanding, adding the enhanced attributes of [Quick Charging] and [Energy Gathering] to it.
He put the new precision rifle against his shoulder and made a shooting motion, while instructing his teammates:
“When you get close to the rift of the Great Temple, don’t rush in. Just wait for me outside. The Isu have disguised the temple, and there may be assassin saints lying in ambush inside.
We will proceed to the next step after we reunite.
Also, if you are unlucky enough to meet a black-haired girl on the street who wears a suit, has braids, gold bracelets on her wrists, and whose habit is "Malaca", don't resist and don't try to tease her.
You do whatever she tells you to do.
If she attacks you just tell her, 'Hephaestus wishes to speak to the falconer,' and she will understand."
"So who is that?"
Zha Kang asked in some confusion:
"Is he the leader of those damned assassin saints? From what you said, he seems to be a very dangerous person?"
"Human? No, that's not a human, John."
Mason sighed and said:
"Barbara should have told you about our discovery. There are some things in this world that cannot be judged by common sense. You can think of her as a 'living demigod' like Wonder Woman.
The only difference between the two is that with big sister Malaka's combat experience and the degree to which she is strengthened by her Isu blood at this time, she can probably pin Diana Prince to the ground and beat her.
If we want to leave this world, it is impossible without her permission.
So you'd better pray that the two thousand year old sister is kind enough to us."
"Depend on!"
Zha Kang cursed and complained:
"We are here to take the blame for Mr. Hunter. There has been a massacre here with the door blocked. Don't the three mentors want to find a way to save them?
Let us, a group of pioneering explorers, fight desperately against a world and a powerful demigod!
Those guys really have no conscience.”
"It's better to wait for death than to wait for them to rescue you. At least death will come sooner or later."
Mason complained:
"Or is our great John Constantine willing to pin his hopes of survival on the possible or non-existent consciences of a group of world-spanning villains?
And to be honest, based on my current understanding of the Isu and Big Sister Malaka, even if Mr. Hunter really comes, it is not certain whether that guy can escape unscathed.
This is their home ground.
In short, you should act as soon as possible. I will prepare some weapons here and then join you.
John, take care of Barbara and Bucket Two.
This desperate situation is exactly when you can come into play. Isn't that why I invited you to Team K? Work harder. It will be good for you to get out alive this time.
Really, I’m not lying to you.”
Mason tried to persuade Zha Kang to do his work with kind words. After the communication was cut off, Mason frowned. He didn't expect that an A-level personnel would come to interfere in this matter.
"If it's Albert Wesker, then this little water gun probably won't work."
Mason looked at the high-tech rifle in his hand that he had just modified, and after thinking about it, he felt that even the kinetic bullets would not be enough to fight the "virus man".
He needs some more deterrent "heavy firepower".
The next moment, Mason's eyes fell on the black anti-Superman armor that was hanging by several chains in the modification workshop. This thing was still in the repair stage after beating up the Cleaner in the old Spider world.
Mason has a lot of thoughts about it.
But before, due to his insufficient knowledge, he was always unable to really put it into practice. But now that he has the Isu heritage and his head is full of Isu ideas, he can take this opportunity to overhaul the armor.
Engineering was originally at level 5, and now the [Dexterity] talent unlocked by the Isu heritage adds another point.
Lv5+1 engineering skills were just enough to complete the technical level of transforming the anti-Superman armor. It happened that his beloved Batmobile was blown up by John Wick using Isu weapons, so he removed the weapons installed on the car and added them to his own armor.
Then use the Isu people's unique understanding of energy circulation to rearrange the energy system.
As for its missing energy core...
"Shua"
Mason flicked his finger and the Ark reactor jumped into his palm. Although Kite Man and Captain Jack had not yet finished collecting palladium in the Hogwarts world, Mason had a palladium plate that could start the reactor.
Unfortunately, full-strength combat can only last about 2-5 hours.
But the good news is that the skill judgment of Isu bloodline +1 has allowed Mason to unlock the production drawings of the reactor in hand. When he has some free time and gets enough materials, he can "wholesale" this thing.
Even better!
Use the Isu's superior energy manipulation talent to transform it!
"Well, if I had the ability to repair you right now, you would be perfect as a 'Mechanical Heart'."
Mason stretched out his hand and flicked it, and the broken life-binding rat charm spun around his fingertips.
This magical item that can give life to all dead things is the most perfect energy source in Mason's mind.
The reason is very simple.
You see, the number one tactic against mechas is always to destroy the energy source. But if there is no energy source in my mecha, then this fatal weakness will no longer exist, right?
This combination of magic and technology is the perfect tactic that Mason imagined. The only regret is that his jewelry processing skills are only at Level 2 now that he has the blessing of Isu bloodline.
Repairing or making the Twelve Talismans would be a distant dream.
"How come there are only 24 hours in a day?"
Mason rolled up his sleeves, picked up a strange-looking engineering wrench, and walked to the workshop to start overhauling his anti-Superman armor, while complaining harshly:
"Why can't my day be 48 hours? It's not enough to split each minute into two petals. How great would it be if there were two of me?
Um?
Two me?
Yes!
Two of me! Why not? "
The young man blinked and took out the Yin-Yang Tiger Talisman from his pocket.
He suddenly had a bold idea. If he couldn't be strong enough to change the laws of time, then it seemed that he could only start with himself.
Now it seems that after Team K escapes from this world alive, the focus of the next stage may have to be on jewelry processing and inscription branches?
When considering the field of Isu inscriptions, which accounts for a large part of Isu lore, emmmm, this idea is worth considering.
