Chapter 128: It’s Him, It’s Truly Him!
Instincts inherited from the Pandaren had alerted Old Wang to the impending danger ahead of time. His formidable psychic perception allowed him to sense the presence of a missile from over ten kilometers away.
"Only one missile? You underestimate me?"
His limited knowledge left him uncertain whether it was an air-to-ground missile or a surface-to-surface one, and he couldn't identify the exact model. But there was no doubt that such a missile, traveling at speeds of at least Mach 3, was impossible to intercept by conventional means. He wasn’t Iron Man, nor was he a mere monk—and besides...
Its destructive power would be immense.
It was clear without a doubt that this was a retaliatory strike from Hydra, most likely connected to Pierce. No one else had the capability to orchestrate such a high-level attack; missiles were not something easily acquired. There was even a strong possibility it had been launched by the Puerto Rican military.
Old Wang could have employed “soul-body duality” to escape, or used the “Golden Bell Shield” to withstand the missile’s explosion at the center, or even exchanged for the “Teleportation Spell” to flee. But the others wouldn’t be able to evade it, nor would their precious equipment.
A sufficiently powerful defensive spell, like the Violet Barrier, could easily block it, but even if he used all his dragon bones, it wouldn’t be enough to exchange for such a spell.
He had a thousand ways to respond, but only a few were feasible now.
“If you want to fight, then fight!” he muttered.
“If you want to make a scene, then make it big!”
“Let the whole city of San Juan see how you end this!”
Old Wang felt innocent yet irritated. When anger filled his heart, it demanded release.
“Find a place to take cover, don’t go outside,” he ordered.
With that, Old Wang separated his soul from his body, the spirit soaring skyward until he reached the rooftop.
The missile drew closer, and Old Wang silently calculated.
Though he couldn’t understand code or act as a hacker, that didn’t mean he was incompetent in other areas.
Besides his body, capable of enduring seven days and nights of fierce combat, he possessed a powerful mind able to simulate ballistic trajectories and predict flight paths.
Within seconds, he pinpointed the missile’s landing spot.
“Azeroth, give me a close-range portal. Target: three kilometers north of San Juan city, above the sea!”
“Received. Cost: 0.01 grams of blood.”
The space-time channel opened, a portal appearing before Old Wang, positioned precisely as he commanded, its entrance aligned with the incoming missile.
Who said teleportation was only for travel?
“That’s it, right here!”
In the blink of an eye, the missile reached its designated explosion point and activated its warhead.
The next moment, just as it was about to detonate—
It flew into the portal, emerging outside San Juan city.
Boom!
A violent explosion erupted, with some shrapnel even flying through the portal, passing through Old Wang’s ethereal soul and embedding itself into the solid rooftop.
Meanwhile, in San Juan city—
The terrifying blast stirred giant waves on the sea.
Countless witnesses watched in horror.
Screams and panic erupted, soon turning into accusations directed at the government.
Because the missile exploded in the sky over the ocean, no casualties occurred, but a missile detonation just outside the city instilled a pervasive fear in everyone’s hearts.
What happened?
What on earth was going on?
Had World War III broken out?
South of San Juan city, a military base.
Command center.
“General! The missile is missing!” a technician suddenly shouted.
Missing?
Major General David Keating blinked, quickly glancing at the screen.
A red dot indicated the missile in flight.
The missile had been following its trajectory normally, but upon reaching its target, the red dot suddenly vanished.
Was the equipment malfunctioning?
“General, monitoring shows no explosion at the laboratory,” the technician hurriedly added.
No explosion?
Had the missile malfunctioned?
No, that was a Stark Industries missile, not one from Hammer Industries!
“General, incoming calls—San Juan City government!”
“General, incoming call from Air Force Headquarters!”
“General, incoming call from Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D.!”
“General, more calls coming in...”
“General...”
A flurry of voices filled the room.
David Keating felt an ominous premonition.
Sure enough, the bad news came swiftly.
“General, the mayor’s office is inquiring if there was a military exercise unknown even to the mayor!”
“General, Air Force Headquarters demands to know why a missile exploded over San Juan city and why it wasn’t intercepted!”
“General...”
A missile exploded over San Juan city?
How was that possible?
Had the missile been misdirected?
“General... do we proceed with launching the remaining four missiles?” someone asked.
“Cease all launches!” he ordered, breathing deeply.
Damn Pierce!
Launching missiles to bomb a deserted, abandoned factory wasn’t a big deal. Hydra had plenty of people in the military to suppress such incidents.
But now, a missile exploded over San Juan, and the impact was far greater.
Thankfully, it exploded in the air, not within the city.
Otherwise, not only would this general lose his command, he’d face a military tribunal!
He pulled out his phone and dialed.
“Pierce, things aren’t looking good. Our missile launch system seems to have malfunctioned...”
...
...
Dark Tome Laboratory.
After waiting a full five minutes and seeing no sign of a second missile, intuition told him there wouldn’t be another. Only then did his soul return to his body.
The moment he opened his eyes, he spotted Coulson, who had just arrived, panting heavily.
“Master Wang, that missile...”
Five minutes earlier, Coulson had personally driven with his team to deliver two sonic cannons and three Jericho missiles to the laboratory, just in time to see a missile land.
He had almost thought he was about to meet his maker, but it hadn’t exploded?
Could it be a faulty Hammer Technologies product?
Was Hydra so broke they couldn’t afford Stark Industries’ missiles?
Before that thought could fade, a call came through.
A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent stationed in San Juan informed him that a missile had exploded over the city, throwing the entire area into chaos and panic.
Coulson immediately understood.
This had to be connected to Master Wang!
“Missile? What missile? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Old Wang shrugged.
Before Coulson could press further, he added, “Sorry, I have things to do. I’m off now. Remember to send the payment.”
He hurried away, avoiding Coulson’s gaze, whispering, “Azeroth, I need precise teleportation. Target: Los Angeles, Stark Headquarters. Here’s the map.”
Just then, a young woman’s voice sounded, tinged with a faint smile.
“Medivh version teleportation spell, error margin less than one in a million, cost: one gram of blood... Wang, you’re out of blood.”
Old Wang sighed.
“Exchange dragon bones directly.”
No sooner had he spoken than the space-time channel opened.
A dragon bone disappeared, and a teleportation array appeared beneath his feet.
“Tony, I hope you’re still alive.”
Old Wang stepped inside and vanished.
“Master Wang...” Coulson hurried after him, about to demand an explanation. “Please don’t fool me—I saw everything.”
But before him was only emptiness.
Where had he gone?
He thought for a moment, then took out his phone and dialed.
“Commander, it’s basically confirmed. Master Wang has the ability to teleport instantly... no, not only himself, but also other objects. Yes, that missile—that was him!”