In reality, not only did Su Ming not ascend, he went in the completely opposite direction, and no one could guess what he did.
Now, the three groups have different plans: the Titans plan to blow up the 'water supply station', Batman prepares to shut off the 'tap', while Su Ming plans to open the 'drain'.
He unilaterally cut off communication and concealed his whereabouts, not just because he didn't want Batman watching over him while he worked, but also to guard against potential surveillance from Luthor.
Now the aliens are on Luthor's side, all of them are his eyes, and if given the chance, Luthor would never let Su Ming ruin his plans.
And Su Ming is also looking for Luthor. As soon as he dares to show up in the sunlight, a large fireball will be there to greet him immediately.
This is a war, and war has never changed.
On the battlefield, intelligence and logistics are always the top priorities. Whoever controls more information and resources holds absolute dominance.
However, right now he has no time to use the Eye of Ra for monitoring, as his goggles are currently filled with various underwater readings.
Not surprisingly, after delving halfway into the sea trench, his small half-team saw the Sea Trench Country.
In Su Ming's eyes, calling it ruins would be an overstatement. At most, it's just some dark, dilapidated walls covered in mottled rust and coral.
Maybe it once was a part of the glorious civilization of Ancient Atlantis on Earth.
But now, it is just a wasteland, a place even octopuses wouldn't want to inhabit over a shabby earthen jar, except for the Sea Trench Race.
Gazing at the indistinct ruins below, Su Ming raised a fist, signaling the team to pause and observe a bit at the edge first.
Underwater visibility is limited, actions are constrained. Though strategically they must disdain the enemy, tactically, they must be cautious.
It's pitch black below, and nothing seems to be moving, while the pressure readings on his tactical goggles keep rising.
He hasn't moved, which means the sea level has risen again.
But Su Ming knows, the calmer it appears, the more something is amiss.
The Sea Trench Race is notoriously brainless, and if any creatures enter their territory, the only result is being attacked and eaten.
Now, Su Ming is about to enter their village, and they still haven't appeared.
He pats Daniel's shoulder, and gestures with two fingers pointing to his eyes, indicating for Blue Demon to stay on standby while protecting the Mage. Su Ming himself will go ahead and scout the road.
Blue Demon took the hint; he's a stunt actor, accustomed to roles as either a special agent or a terrorist. As a competent extra, he knows all the tactical gestures.
This is the actor's self-cultivation!
The Magic Floating Cloak provides underwater breathing and propulsion, now rapidly propelling Su Ming downwards into the city's ruins.
On approaching, he discovers the city is almost wedged halfway in the sea trench, like a fish scale stuck in a throat, with the abyss below being unfathomable.
"Tsk, Feichaz Sea Abyss, depth 11,000 meters."
Going down isn't a problem, but the deeper he goes, the higher the risk of encountering enemies.
So he altered his plan, opting to construct a Magic Teleportation Array in the Sea Trench Country ruins.
At a depth of over five thousand meters, movements are still relatively free, and even if a Sea Trench Race ambush occurs, there are some ruins that can serve as cover.
If he can find a suitable spot to make a stand, he could take out ten thousand Sea Race single-handedly with a blade.
Once the teleportation array is completed, he will directly blast the entire 'plate' of Sea Trench Country into the abyss, and after it settles, remotely activate the array. Isn't that equivalent to opening a hole at the bottom of a basin?
Of course, given the volume of water to be drained, this magic array should be enormous, using the entire city of Sea Trench Country as a canvas.
This increases the required setups as well.
He took a brief stroll through the city and found no enemies. Have they all gone out for food?
Better yet, he returned directly to the others, leading them into the city.
Laurie and Eve were obviously curious about their surroundings, keenly observing the sights within the city's ruins under the illumination of Blue Demon's Trident.
Su Ming drew his Godslayer, which also served as a light source, as he unceremoniously engraved on the wall of the ruins.
Of course, he wasn't carving 'Deathstroke was here', but rewriting his adjusted plan and sketching a map of the city.
He marked the size of the necessary magic array and the plan for its setup, including using the current platform they stood on, finding a vulnerable pivot, and sinking the entire city.
His plan naturally met with no resistance.
For the survival of Earth, detonating a wasteland is something anyone would be willing to do.
Blue Demon was the first to nod, and then Night Shadow pointed at a location on the sketch, indicating they should begin the setup there.
She could transport herself and others with a mere thought, opening a portal to the Shadow Realm, allowing them to dive in and out.
But as Deathstroke wrote, if intending to drain the world's oceans, a gigantic magic array is essential, as is sufficient energy supply.
Energy isn't an issue; they don't even need the Manhattan Gemstone. As long as Su Ming calls upon the Inverted Man, claiming an issue with its account, luring it out, and negotiating to convert the stored large fireballs into energy, they can use it to activate the array.
As for whether the Inverted Man is willing or whether it thinks Deathstroke is breaching the contract, Su Ming believes its intellect can't comprehend what 'breaching' even means.
When he taught the Inverted Man, he didn't mention the concept of breach...
Their contract, in the Mercenary Realm, has a specific term, called the 'Lazarus Contract,' meaning a cooperational agreement that can be amended at any time, as long as both parties agree, anything can be negotiated.
Don't think of it as a Devil Contract, unfair or deceitful, actually, this is generally a contract signed by those with a foundation of long-term cooperation, representing trust.
Its origin is a Bible story.
Legend says there was a young man named Lazarus, a good friend of Jesus before he ascended to heaven. One day he fell seriously ill and quickly passed away.
Jesus arrived to attend his funeral, and Lazarus's relatives cried to him.
Jesus merely smiled slightly, exuding an aura of authority, and said, "He who believes in me will have eternal life."
So, four days later, Lazarus was resurrected, and shrouded in his burial cloth, he walked out of the tomb.
He had always believed in Jesus, so he gained life, and due to this resurrection miracle, Jesus gained more followers.
This is the origin of the Lazarus Contract, symbolizing trust, and both parties will achieve positive results.
Su Ming is generally very earnest when conducting business, presenting a suitable contract for any client.
For example, when he talks to Barry, he takes out the Lazarus Contract, ensuring Barry is satisfied with the work, and the price is negotiable, even though Barry is unlikely to hire an assassin...
If the client is Batman, then it's just an ordinary contract, with 30% advance payment first, leaving not a penny unpaid at the final settlement...
Therefore, he now believes that as long as the conditions are right, the Inverted Man won't mind helping with this small favor, merely transforming the stored Fireballs into another form.
It's harmless, even beneficial for it, because if the Main World Earth is doomed, without the Warlock's casting, its interests would be severely damaged.
..........
Things were relatively smooth, the traditional Teleportation Array based on the Hexagram is very classic and practical.
It can transport people or objects to any place in the Multiverse, but whether they can survive after reaching the destination is not the responsibility of magic.
Night Shadow prepared a lot of casting materials, and many were shadow system tools that appeared dark, every time she swam a distance, she had to stop and cast spells, engraving giant runes.
The workload was heavy, and some patterns were complicated. Indeed, if Laurie were to imitate her, mistakes would likely occur.
Time passed for more than half an hour, and Night Shadow had basically completed her work, leaving only the last step, which was to go to the center of the array to activate it and infuse energy.
Once this side is arranged, then arrange an exit at a hidden location in the cosmos, and once both ends are connected, the drain will be formed.
No time to delay, so the four swam towards the building at the center of the plate.
Yes, a tower could still be called a building, although it appeared dilapidated, it at least retained the original Atlantis style.
It was made of some kind of metal, very solid, the door resembled a spaceship's hatch, Su Ming tugged at it several times without budging, finally choosing to slice it with the Great Sword.
No choice, the array's center point was inside this building, and the Magic Array requires precise artistry, the geometric center of the Hexagram is right here.
But before the door fell, Su Ming saw what lay behind it, it was truly a nightmare for those with a fear of clusters.
Countless eyes glowing with red light, densely packed, layered in the darkness, filling the entire interior of the building.
If they were stars in the night sky, then the density of these stars would be way too high.
When the great door of seawater fell, all these eyes turned to the entrance.
No need to think further, the entire Sea Trench Race was here, although they had undergone a secondary mutation from the purple seawater pollution, they were nocturnal creatures.
Due to the increasing difficulty of foraging below the ocean trench, they had to approach the surface to find fish schools or other creatures.
But the large eyes evolved from long-term adaptation to the deep sea made them incapable of seeing in strong light, so they could only near the surface in the dim light of night.
It was undoubtedly daytime now, and like huddling for warmth, they shrank within this intact building to rest.
Although normal mutation would turn Earth's intelligent beings into soldiers of the Alien Sea Race, the prerequisite is intelligence.
The Sea Trench Race had long lost their intelligence, they were much like beasts, so they turned into instinct-driven monsters.
Through Su Ming's night vision goggles, he could see hundreds of bizarre creatures crowding inside this building, they bore sharp fangs and claws, as well as fish-like features, the Alien Seawater merely made them bigger and stronger.
On the floor of the building's hall, there was a hole from which more Sea Trench Race members continuously crawled out.
If the city where Su Ming and his party stood was a large slab stone, then it had two surfaces.
The surface appeared to be ruins and relics, allowing them to walk freely, scrawling all over it.
And on the underside of the slab, the reverse side, tens of thousands of Sea Trench Race members, like bats in sea water, lived there...
They rebuilt hive-like nests there, and this relatively intact building was the passage connecting both sides.
And the consequence of intruding here was more severe than stirring up a wasp's nest.