Chapter 157: What's Yours Is Mine, It All Belongs to Me (Part 2)

Lingchi, or death by a thousand cuts, is truly one of the most terrifying tortures, and it takes a very long time.

With Old Wang's true qi protecting his internal organs, Whitehall would never die before the Lingchi was finished.

No one could endure this kind of pain. It was a hundred or even a thousand times more agonizing than Guan Yu scraping his bone to cure poison, because in Cal's medical kit there were injections that amplified neural perception, magnifying all sensations a hundredfold. With just a single shot, even the bite of a mosquito would become excruciatingly painful beyond endurance.

As for the various other potions, they ensured he could not slip into a prolonged coma; the moment he lost consciousness, he would be revived to continue enduring tortures on a level akin to the lowest depths of hell.

This was, of course, an inhumane practice, to the extent that even Skye, who hated Whitehall deeply, turned somewhat pale. Yet Jiaying and Cal remained both calm and utterly unhinged; all the torment they had ever experienced had to be inflicted upon Whitehall in return.

This was a reckoning.

A reckoning brought by the victims!

Since they had made the trip, Old Wang and Skye took a walk around, treating it as a leisure outing.

Afterlife was located within the borders of China. Since crossing over into this world, this was his first time arriving in such a familiar land, making it feel exceptionally intimate. Everything possessed a sense of familiarity as if from a past life, and he thought to himself that when he had time, he should travel through the mainland interior.

He would look out over the familiar Yunlong Lake and Yunlong Mountain, eat the familiar braised pork and earthen pot chicken, and truly enjoy the pleasures of life.

Lincoln followed silently behind, brooding and gloomy.

Watching others display their affection was already hateful enough, and here it was happening right in front of him. Moreover, due to Jiaying's instructions, he could not leave and was forced to keep watch at all times. Whether he wanted to swallow this dog food or not, he had to take it in, and it felt utterly agonizing.

Although most of the people in Afterlife came from the outside world, they had always kept their secret guarded. While a few people knew where Afterlife was, apart from Cal, no ordinary human had ever been here—

This was the pure land of the Inhumans.

As for Old Wang, these people were guarded and hostile toward him, worrying that the secrets of Afterlife would be leaked and bring about unnecessary trouble.

As the leader of Afterlife, Jiaying had to consider the thoughts of the others, especially when she intended to use the power of the Inhumans to deal with S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra.

It wasn't until night had fallen heavily that Jiaying and Cal reappeared.

There were faint smiles on both of their faces, though they were not joyful ones; clearly, the outcome had not been ideal.

Whitehall was dead.

Yet the wounds and pain he had inflicted upon the two of them remained, impossible to heal.

Sensing their emotions from every aspect—their heartbeats, their breathing—Old Wang and Skye exchanged a glance and knew there was no other choice left. They had to use the final method.

After dinner, Old Wang nodded toward Skye, then turned his gaze to Cal. "Mr. Johnson, regarding the suggestion I mentioned to you earlier, can you make a decision now? For Skye's sake, and for your own as well."

Cal was silent for a moment before sighing. "You're right. This is the best way."

"What way?" Jiaying realized something was amiss.

"Memories are the most precious things in the world, but some memories ought to be forgotten. Otherwise, we will never be able to step out of those shadows and start a new life."

Cal looked at Jiaying with tender eyes, his voice very gentle. "I know forgetting is difficult, and I can't forget either, but little Wang has a way. For our daughter's sake, please forget along with me."

"No, this won't do! Absolutely not!"

Jiaying sprang to her feet and shouted, "Gordon!"

With a blur before their eyes, Gordon had already appeared by Jiaying's side, grabbing her arm to take her away.

Suddenly, a crimson band of magic coiled around Jiaying, binding her tightly.

The crimson bands possessed immense magic power of their own, binding not just the physical body, but the soul as well.

Once Jiaying was bound, no one could take her away, not even Gordon.

Old Wang drew a circle in the air, and an orange portal appeared.

"Let's go."

Skye and Cal stepped through the door first, and with a gentle tug from Old Wang, Jiaying flew into the portal.

"Don't even think about escaping!"

Furious, Lincoln aimed both hands at Old Wang and shouted aloud. A dazzling arc of electricity shot forward, forming a thick pillar of current.

Putting forth his absolute best out of sheer anger, Lincoln was undoubtedly one of the most powerful Inhumans in terms of combat capability seen in Afterlife for a century.

Yet his attack was easily blocked by the Golden Bell Shield.

Sparks flew wildly from the current against the exterior of the golden Qi barrier, and no matter how hard Lincoln tried, he could not break through.

Another bolt of cyan-jade lightning struck down. With his hair standing on end in rage, Lincoln collapsed straight to the ground, disbelief still lingering in his eyes:

This fat guy surnamed Wang could actually manipulate electrical charges, and even stronger than himself?

Gordon teleported instantly, attempting to pass through the portal.

Yet Old Wang had anticipated his move long ago. Without even looking at him, relying entirely on his perception of energy fluctuations and spatial shifts, Old Wang threw a punch that struck Gordon squarely, sending him flying backward through the air.

Stepping back, Old Wang closed the portal.

They were back in the laboratory.

"Azeroth, I need a spell to seal space, something like a small teleportation-warding barrier that can cover a single room," Old Wang said quickly.

"Antonidas version, legendary quality, used during the Second War, comes with all materials needed to construct the ward, reusable, rechargeable. That will be 100 milligrams of blood."

The moment the voice finished speaking, six rune stones materialized, their spell lights intersecting to form a standard hexagram array.

Six fist-sized arcane crystals floated in mid-air, slowly revolving around the center.

The arcane energy formed complex, incomprehensible runes that covered the entire area and altered its properties.

Old Wang instantly perceived a sense of spatial sluggishness.

A teleportation-warding barrier belonged to the suppression school among the nine schools of magic, and one needed to be at least a high-level mage to learn and deploy it.

The legendary Grand Magus "Antonidas" was the absolute authority in this field, and the renowned "Violet Barrier" was designed by him, encompassing the entire magical city of "Dalaran" and making it difficult even for legendary creatures to breach.

If that barrier could be relocated here, it might prove even stronger than Wakanda's vibranium defense system.

Old Wang had visited Dalaran many times and had once witnessed the teleportation-warding barrier that enveloped the entire city, which was part of the "Violet Barrier."

Compared to that, the one before him was practically negligible.

Yet the effect was the same.

Just as the barrier finished forming, a loud "bang" echoed out. A figure materialized outside the barrier, bruised, battered, and bleeding from the head.

It was Gordon. He had still come, yet he found himself unable to teleport into the room.

Apart from his teleportation, however, his personal combat strength was not high, falling short even of the elite agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

"You surnamed Wang, hand Jiaying over!"

Gordon's face was full of fury. "Otherwise, you will bear the wrath of the entire Inhuman race!"

"The entire Inhuman race? Is that supposed to be impressive?" Meeting Gordon's angry gaze, Old Wang chuckled lightly.

There were only five obelisks in total in Afterlife. Although they could be reused through a certain special method, the Terrigen Mist within them was limited, making it impossible for every Inhuman to undergo Terrigenesis.

Only one chosen individual appeared every few years, and even then, they weren't guaranteed to awaken powers; failure was entirely possible.

Aside from a tiny handful of people, an Inhuman's lifespan was at most slightly longer than an ordinary person's—a little over a hundred years, or perhaps not even reaching a hundred.

In a span of a hundred years, there were roughly 20 chosen ones. Subtracting the failures, the number of Inhumans with special abilities in Afterlife was actually only a dozen or so.

After awakening their abilities, most people maintained contact with Afterlife, but in reality, they had already left to return to their original lives.

Subtracting the elderly and frail, aside from the few members of the Elder Council, those capable of actually using their abilities amounted to just a handful.

You could probably count them on one hand.

Lincoln was already the strongest among them; the others were even weaker, with physical fitness no different from ordinary people, easily dealt with by a single bullet.

What was there to be afraid of?

So what if all of them came?

The Daredevil trio alone would be more than enough!

Old Wang had no interest in harming Gordon. After all, since Afterlife belonged to Jiaying, it naturally belonged to him as well. The people of Afterlife were his own people; teaching them a lesson was enough, and he shouldn't go too far.

"Little Red, I leave him to you."

The crimson magic band rubbed against Old Wang's belly excitedly before rapidly vanishing.

Amidst continuous spatial fluctuations, the crimson band and Gordon began a chase that was destined to have no end.

One could never catch up, and the other dared not stop.

Meanwhile, inside the laboratory, a far more important matter was about to begin.

"Fitz, immediately help Mr. Johnson and Ms. Jiaying modify their memories."

Old Wang calmly commanded, "Strip away those painful memories, and leave only wonderful recollections in their hearts!"