Chapter 89 Task Force X, Boss Cat
Night fell over the island's rainforest.
The black squad leader, the man in red, and the young man whose glowing spots had just faded—all of them reluctantly lowered their weapons, raising their hands in surrender toward the tiny black kitten that looked harmless at first glance.
The scene was absurd, even comical.
These hardened criminals, who had never feared even the most ruthless prison guards, now fully armed, were surrendering to a kitten barely larger than a man's palm.
The black kitten leapt lightly, landing on the shoulder of the young girl. Its glowing blue eyes scanned the group with a predator's calm.
Under its gaze, none of them dared move. They barely even breathed.
In the girl's arms, the trembling black rat that had been quaking nonstop finally couldn't take it anymore. Its eyes rolled back, legs stiffening, and with a faint squeak it fainted dead away.
Rustle—
At the end of the deep trench carved through the forest, the shark-like monster stirred. It struggled to its feet, shaking dirt from its half-naked body. On its face was a deep, bloody paw mark.
The shark creature roared and looked toward the kitten, its thick arms tensing as it lunged forward—
"Hey hey, that's not good…"
The squad braced for another clash, thinking King Shark meant to attack again.
But instead, the hulking monster suddenly slid to its knees across the mud, arms wide, shouting eagerly:
"Boss Cat!"
The others nearly collapsed in shock.
They gaped at the sight of the savage monster suddenly fawning like a loyal pet.
So this was the true nature of King Shark!
Then again, it made sense.
This creature's hide was tougher than steel, bullets barely fazed it. Yet the kitten had casually swatted it aside with a single paw. And besides—sharks were fish. And fish were prey to cats, the most ancient of predators.
Watching the entire squad lose their will to fight, the black kitten—Xi Nian in his three-in-one state—forced himself to calm down. He suppressed the surging bloodlust rising within him.
He needed information. To find Starro, he had to know what forces were moving on this island.
Earlier, he had revived a half-drowned weasel-like humanoid on the beach, hoping for answers. But the creature had only made incomprehensible noises. So Xi Nian had tossed it back into the sea.
Sensing human activity here, he had come straight to this squad.
Xi Nian's raspy voice broke the silence. "Identity. Purpose."
The squad froze. The kitten… spoke?!
Sure, they had a talking shark with them, but that thing walked like a man. This kitten, though, was something else entirely.
Far away, in the U.S. high command center, Amanda Waller stared in shock. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, updating the file:
"Black Flash. Displays advanced intelligence. Capable of human speech."
"Waller, what do we do?" the black squad leader whispered into his comm.
"Do as it says," Amanda ordered coldly. "Tell it everything it wants to know. Right now, your mission is to win its favor. Its importance outweighs Project Starfish."
But before she could finish,
The kitten suddenly raised its paw. Black tendrils of living liquid burst forth, piercing the air and striking with lightning speed. One after another, the squad's comms and trackers were obliterated.
"Damn it!"
Amanda Waller slammed her desk in fury as the monitors went dark.
One of her aides asked nervously, "Ma'am, the mission is compromised. Should we abort? Or trigger the explosives in their necks?"
"No."
Amanda drew a sharp breath, forcing herself calm as she stared at the dossier.
"Black Flash appeared once in New York, killed a suspected alien entity. If it's here, it's probably targeting Project Starfish too. With luck, it'll wipe out the program for us."
Back in the jungle—
With Waller silenced, the squad leader no longer had reason to hesitate. He spoke up quickly to the kitten before him.
"My name is Robert DuBois. We're all lifers from Belle Reve prison, recruited by Amanda Waller to form a suicide squad. Officially, we're called Task Force X."
He didn't dare lie.
Defying Waller might not get them killed. Defying the kitten definitely would.
And truthfully, none of them had any loyalty to their government or this mission.
So Robert explained everything clearly.
Xi Nian quickly understood.
This squad, Task Force X, consisted of five members, mostly high-level criminals from Gotham.
Robert DuBois, codename Bloodsport.
A trained assassin since childhood. Master of weapons and marksmanship. Rumor has it he once hospitalized Superman with kryptonite bullets.
Christopher Smith, codename Peacemaker.
Another assassin, skilled in combat and firearms. A fanatical patriot.
Cleo Cazo, codename Ratcatcher II.
Could communicate with rats using a special device. Arrested for orchestrating robberies with her swarms.
Abner Krill, codename Polka-Dot Man.
Victim of a failed experiment, infected with extradimensional viruses. Uses glowing polka-dots from his body as weapons.
And finally, the non-human: Nanaue, King Shark. Supposedly the descendant of an ancient Shark God.
Xi Nian's eyes lingered on the monster. Could it have ties to Atlantis, the sunken kingdom his aunt once told him about?
At the very least, it had survived his three-in-one strike. That meant its strength was considerable.
But what mattered most was their mission: infiltrate the research facility called Jotunheim and destroy Project Starfish.
Xi Nian's instincts screamed.
Project Starfish… it had to be connected to Starro, the very creature Xiao Huang was seeking.
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