The saying "knowing there are tigers on the mountain, yet still heading toward it" definitely didn't apply to someone like Li Ming. He valued his life and wasn't stupid—charging out recklessly when he knew danger lurked outside would be suicidal.
Li Ming withdrew his hand just before pushing the door open and turned to examine the changes inside the RV.
The interior showed no signs of ransacking or struggle. Even the placement of items remained exactly as he had left them—the tables and chairs were in the same positions, and the mummified Abomination standing in the corner still struck the same pose as before.
Clearly, no one had managed to break into his RV without permission.
Scratching his head in slight confusion, Li Ming turned his attention to the door and windows.
This time, he noticed something unusual—there were marks of forced tampering on the windows.
Unfortunately for the intruders, his doors and windows were magically protected. Though the defensive spells weakened in his absence, they were still enough to keep these uninvited thieves at bay.
But what was going on? Who's targeting me?
Li Ming was puzzled. I haven't provoked anyone. Could it just be some random highway robbers who set their sights on me?Fortunately, there was an incompetent security guard at home. Li Ming walked up to Abomination and irritably pointed at the window, scolding, "I told you to watch the house properly before I left, and this is how you do it? Just because those thieves didn't break in, you think nothing happened?"
Abomination, who was being berated out of the blue, felt wronged. He had indeed followed Li Ming's orders and guarded the house diligently—hadn't he made sure no one got in? As for getting out of the car to chase off the 'thieves,' it wasn't that he couldn't, but rather that he didn't dare.
Just as Li Ming was getting into the rhythm of his scolding, Abomination interrupted in Undead Language, "Master, those weren't thieves. What I saw were fully armed, well-organized soldiers."
Li Ming paused: Soldiers? Could it be S.H.I.E.L.D.?
Abomination shook the bandages in his hand and pointed at his withered, ghastly face. "If they were thieves, I wouldn't even need to step out of the car—my appearance alone would've scared them off. But soldiers don't retreat without orders; they aren't easily frightened."
With a heavy tone of grievance, Abomination explained, "I was afraid that the moment I opened the car door to step out, a group would rush out to restrain me while others took the chance to break into the cabin. So my strategy was to wait until they smashed the window to enter, then ambush them. After all, they couldn't bring large restraining equipment into the cramped cabin, and I could still stop them."
Abomination glanced at the car window, unsure whether to marvel at its sturdiness or lament his inability to stretch his limbs. His grotesque, withered mouth twisted slightly in dissatisfaction as he added, "But they only used explosives on the window three times. When they saw it was still intact, they gave up on entering." After a pause, he continued disdainfully, "If my subordinates had that kind of patience and attitude, I'd have disciplined them long ago. If they couldn't smash the window, why not use a laser cutter? They could've gotten through eventually."
"Look at you, so full of ideas," Li Ming rolled his eyes. "A laser cutter? Should I give you a whole day to see if you can cut through the cabin?"
As he spoke, Li Ming walked over to the car window and asked, "Do you know who they were or why they came here?" Suddenly, he remembered something and turned back. "Wait a minute, my car is supposed to be invisible. Could they actually see it?"
As a servant—and one with a military background at that—Abomination couldn't help but feel exasperated by his master's complete lack of tracking awareness. Invisibility didn't mean nonexistence. There were plenty of ways to effectively track the car.
For example, using the satellite phone inside the car—as long as it had a signal and emitted radiation, the car could be detected.Abomination walked to the rear window of the car, pointed at the tire tracks on the ground, and said, "Master, I think they started tracking us from the Bifrost. By following these wheel marks, they can find us." After pausing to think for a moment, he added, "Earlier when I was guarding the house, I first felt something hit the RV before seeing them pry open the window. I believe the initial impact was caused by our pursuers colliding with the RV when they couldn't see it."
Li Ming approached the rear window, glanced at the tire tracks, then scanned the surroundings before asking, "So did you see how many people there were? Any idea who they are? Also, did they plant bombs on the car doors—the kind that would explode when I push them open?"
"I don't know if there are bombs on the doors, nor did I count how many people there were," Abomination hesitated before replying somewhat helplessly. "As for who they are, I might be able to analyze some clues."
Li Ming turned to look at Abomination curiously. "Go on."
"I don't know which military unit these soldiers belong to, but I suspect General Ross's shadow is behind them," Abomination organized his thoughts and explained. "First, very few know you're a mage. Combined with the fact that you've been operating in the U.S. and our current location is also within American territory, I prioritized ruling out foreign forces and focused only on domestic ones."
"Considering the local forces Master has interacted with, only S.H.I.E.L.D. and General Ross have the authority to mobilize troops. And Master's relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D. is decent, right? After all, Master just helped them resolve the troubles caused by the Devil Prince and Asgardian Prince. S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't immediately turn against you, would they?"
Hearing this, Li Ming curled his lips disdainfully: S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't as good as you think, especially Fury. That guy's ability to flip sides would redefine your understanding.
But Li Ming didn't feel like explaining further and motioned for Abomination to continue. "In America, there aren't many organizations that can mobilize soldiers. I know them—they wouldn't recklessly deploy troops without solid evidence. Otherwise, it'd be hard to explain to their superiors, and if the media caught wind of it, it'd be even messier."
"Now, since the other side chose direct force, it means they either have evidence proving Master's guilt or hold a personal grudge against Master."
"And Ross fits both criteria. Master once killed his soldiers—that's the grudge." Abomination pointed at himself, glanced at his bandaged, withered fingers, and said with a bitter expression: "And I was once General Ross's test subject. When Master publicly took my corpse, it must have deeply angered Ross, who's obsessed with the super-soldier program."
"But test subjects... their lives don't really matter. With current methods, research can be done using blood samples alone. So, Ross—who holds a grudge against Master and wants my corpse back—is the prime suspect."
"Didn't that guy say he entered politics? Shouldn't he have given up on super-soldiers?" Li Ming asked, puzzled. "What, does Ross want to run for president while still holding military power? Does he want to be an emperor or something, grabbing everything he can?"
"That's impossible. The system in this country doesn't work like that," Abomination scoffed at Li Ming's complete ignorance of American politics. "Explaining would take too long, so I'll put it simply."
"To achieve political success, you need vast resources. Ross, being a seasoned military man, naturally has connections and military resources. As long as he leverages these, he can trade for political achievements or support, helping him climb higher in politics."
"So this bastard is trading super-soldier research for political favors?" Li Ming scratched his head and narrowed his eyes. "So it's because of you that my house and car got blown up?"
Abomination: "Boss, I'm just a failed experiment. I'm not that big of a deal."
"But you? You're a sorcerer. And let's not forget the fight you had with the Destroyer in that small town—satellites definitely caught that. Even if no one knows what your face looks like, General Ross would absolutely recognize you."
"Who do you think is the bigger prize here—you or me?"The Abomination, who felt Li Ming's political ideology was beyond saving, helplessly explained, "Politics is about making as many friends as possible and as few enemies as possible. That's why even though many politicians appear to have no authority to mobilize troops, there's always someone among their connections who can."
"As for General Ross, this newcomer in the political arena has experience researching super soldiers and is in desperate need of support. After the master's spectacular display in that small town, who knows how many people might approach him to inquire about the master's identity—after all, he did converse with the master on the streets of New York. That's why I said earlier that these soldiers have General Ross's shadow behind them, not that they're directly under his command."
Finally, the Abomination concluded, "In other words, some political player knows you're a mage and is now using the evidence in General Ross's hands to capture you—or leveraging his super soldier research experience to study you."
Li Ming tilted his head in thought. "So after all that analysis, you're just telling me that if I want to know who these people are, I only need to ask Ross?"
Seeing the Abomination nod, Li Ming rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Have you gone stir-crazy from being alone too long, or are you just showing off your analytical skills? So much pointless talk."
With that, Li Ming waved his hand and opened a Portal high in the sky. Licking his lips, he kicked the Abomination through it, saying, "Now, let's see what you're made of."
After being launched into the sky, the Abomination wasn't sure whether to be excited about finally getting to stretch his limbs or overwhelmed by the terrifying height. Either way, he screamed all the way down until he crashed into the ground with a thunderous impact.
By the time Li Ming was sitting by a car window, sipping beer and casually tossing peanuts into his mouth, the Abomination had finally returned to solid ground with an earth-shaking boom.
Amidst a cloud of dust, the Abomination flexed his limbs and climbed out of the crater, scanning his surroundings. Then, as if spotting something, he let out a roar loud enough to rival a hippo's bellow and charged toward a patch of withered grass.
Moments later, he yanked a soldier in a ghillie suit out of the grass and hurled him skyward. The Abomination certainly had strength—the soldier soared impressively high.
Listening to the soldier's screams as he plummeted back down, the Abomination decided he quite enjoyed this extreme version of skydiving—without a safety harness. Thrilling stuff.
Such fun and excitement should be shared with everyone.
Embracing the spirit of shared joy, the Abomination grinned widely and dashed toward the next hidden soldier.