Headpool's words carried a fair amount of credibility, yet they were simultaneously riddled with contradictions.
The so-called Man-Thing was actually a unique creature. True to its name, it was a biological entity quite similar in both appearance and concept to DC's Swamp Thing—it was a scientist whose name Peter couldn't quite recall, who had taken some drugs, fallen into a swamp, and transformed.
However, the uniqueness of the Man-Thing lay elsewhere; he possessed a very specific lore element: he was the guardian of the Nexus of All Realities. If one killed the Man-Thing, it would open the gateway of the Nexus connecting this universe to others.
The problem, however, was that the reality barriers of Universe 616 were exceptionally strong. Even through the Nexus of All Realities, breaking through should be difficult. For instance, when Reed Richards went to Universe 2149, it was only possible because the Reed of Earth-2149 also possessed a multiversal transport device. Furthermore, that was achieved because the logic of technological travel differed from magical travel, making it easier to realize.
Was the Nexus of All Realities truly that convenient? Peter was highly skeptical.
Even if the Nexus could bypass Earth-616's reality barriers to reach this place, there was another abnormality: Headpool had come directly to Universe 616 after passing through the portal.
In truth, the Nexus of All Realities doesn't dump a traveler directly into another universe; instead, it leads into a space outside of the universes, allowing the traveler to choose which one to enter.
"Someone is definitely pulling the strings here, though I can't determine who yet—"
"Hey, I've told you so much already, can't I just have one bite? Even just a finger would do!"
Headpool was quite agitated in his demand for payment, but Peter shook his head. Originally, Deadpool and Headpool were supposed to have an adventure of their own, but Peter had no intention of going along, nor did he want to risk leaving any of the Hunger Virus in Universe 616.
He turned to look at Deadpool. "Are you interested in keeping this thing?"
"Why would I want to keep a Deadpool this ugly?"
Deadpool didn't even give Peter the chance to think further; he finished Headpool off with a direct headshot. Once Peter let out a sigh of relief, he turned his gaze toward the Hydra grunt.
If the previous zombie incident had scared Bob half to death, the appearance of an Avenger inside the base was enough to finish the job. He looked at Peter in utter panic. "Don't come any closer! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"
Peter opened his mouth to speak, then turned to Kitty with a look of speechlessness. "Am I really that scary?"
"Villains always find heroes terrifying."
"Ka-Zar? Could you please incinerate all the corpses bitten by the zombies? That's the only way to ensure safety. I still have some things to ask our prisoner."
After a few words with Ka-Zar, Peter walked toward Bob, who was sitting on the ground in a state of panic. At the same time, he looked at Deadpool and asked with curiosity, "By the way, how did you end up here?"
"It's a long story. Because I helped you guys out quite a bit, I was released after serving my time. Then, I was playing with my teleportation belt at home, and poof, I ended up here."
Peter remained silent for a good while. Realizing Deadpool wasn't going to say anything else, he couldn't help but ask, "That's the 'long story'?"
"Yeah?"
"That was only two sentences... never mind." Peter sighed and crouched down to face Bob. "Alright, first of all: how many Hydra personnel are here in total?"
"Uh, over three thousand. They're responsible for maintaining the entire base."
Over three thousand? There were only three thousand Hydra members in the entire Savage Land? Looking at it that way, the numbers were smaller than he had expected. He felt Hydra should have more people than that.
Peter frowned, then followed up with another question: "What about the Hand?"
"The Hand? They're just passing through. Usually, they stay in Japan."
This guy really did have an answer for everything; Peter hadn't expected to find a Hydra member who was so much of a slacker. He gave Bob a surprised look before deciding to ask a more critical question.
"Where did the primitive people and the saber-toothed tigers here come from? The dinosaurs can be explained, but what about the other creatures? Did you guys research and create them?"
At first, Peter didn't expect a particularly surprising answer; he just wanted to know if there were Hydra biological research facilities here. To his surprise, Bob actually gave him a shock.
"Oh, no. The creatures here weren't deployed by Hydra. We just leased the site and the environment to someone else. These creatures were actually placed here by the High Evolutionary."
Oh, the High Evolutionary...
"The High Evolutionary?!" Hearing the name, Peter suddenly realized something and quickly pressed further. "Tell me, who exactly is this person?"
"Supposedly he's a biologist, researching evolution-related bio-weapons. He's cloning prehistoric creatures and trying to recreate the process of human evolution to figure out why humans have superpowers. So, he evolved a batch of primitive animals and released them into the Savage Land."
Setting aside how Bob knew so much in such detail, this news alone was enough to make Peter sink into thought.
S.H.I.E.L.D., the Hand, Roxxon Energy, and now the High Evolutionary. Some of these groups were Hydra subordinates, while others were collaborators—but once again, the sheer scale of Hydra exceeded Peter's initial perception.
If even the High Evolutionary was collaborating with Hydra, didn't that mean Hydra actually had access to a massive army of modified biological creatures?
Seeing Peter deep in thought, Deadpool didn't seem to care; he stepped up and slapped Peter on the shoulder. "Don't worry, brother! As long as we work together, there's no enemy we can't take down! It's just one High Evolutionary! Let's get him!"
Peter thought of something else and turned back to Bob. "How does the High Evolutionary get in and out? Technological signals and magical energy are blocked in this place, and the outside world hasn't been able to find you for decades. How does he contact you?"
Peter remembered the Counter-Earth that Norman had discovered; this might be an excellent opportunity to study the High Evolutionary. Furthermore, he didn't quite believe the High Evolutionary was a member of Hydra. As a collaborator, the High Evolutionary's method of entering and exiting the Savage Land was highly intriguing.
True to form, Bob didn't disappoint and immediately spilled the High Evolutionary's secrets.
"It relies on entering teleportation coordinates for point-to-point transport. As long as we have the coordinates on our end, we can receive people from anywhere in the world. Conversely, if we input the coordinates, we can send people anywhere!"
Peter's eyes lit up. This was it!
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