As mentioned before, the Amber Gold of the Owl Court is a transparent, colorless liquid metal.
It's always shrouded in a psychedelic silver halo, appearing as dazzling as a galaxy descending to Earth. The Batman of the Main World once drank it unknowingly.
It is one of the five metals that turned Bruce into a Door, and of course, Amber Gold has some unique uses.
Firstly, as a liquid metal, it is not only sweet to the taste but also very thirst-quenching.
Secondly, frequent consumption can slow aging, increase strength, and depending on the concentration, provide weak regeneration and self-healing abilities, and also induce beautiful hallucinations in those who drink it.
Finally, if a suitable blacksmith can be found, Amber Gold can be processed due to its high ductility and malleability. It has a restraining effect on magic creatures like ghosts, tree spirits, and werewolves. As an additive to armor, it can better resist magical damage and curse effects.
However, as far as Su Ming knows, only Hephaestus, the God of Forging, and the Weapon Masters in the Cosmos can forge liquid metal. More magnates are playing with creation or shaping, which is even more advanced.
But he already has armor made of Promethium, which includes trace amounts of N Metal to enhance magic resistance, so he doesn't need to replace his armor.
As for weapons, they are of ordinary alloy, but since replacements are hard to find, he'll just make do for now.
The reason he was observing the body earlier was to confirm that the Sharp Claws lack self-healing ability. It seems that Amber Gold does not exist on Earth -11, or the Court would definitely use it on their assassins.
He blew up the corpse to delay the discovery of the body.
Returning to the trio, he stated that they could continue on their way. Cindy put away her weapon with a shrug, having already noticed that Su Ming was gathering information, so she memorized the same things.
It was Barbara, however, who expressed concern for Su Ming and looked over his armored waist, only relaxing when she saw nothing was amiss.
Pete, true to expectations, threw up. When Su Ming used a hand grenade to blow up the body, a small piece of some organ splattered onto the camera lens, and he couldn't hold back anymore.
At this moment, he was vomiting profusely, crying and retching simultaneously, while Vico helplessly carried the camera, grimacing as he waited.
"The Owl Court is here, we don't have much time, we must find the Batman quickly."
Su Ming touched the white mark on his armor and spoke to Cindy, removing his helmet to let the rain cool his head. The recent bloodshed had overexcited him.
"The entrance to the underground laboratory... all we need to find are fresh footprints, a whole bunch of them, in such heavy rain, no one can clean away all the prints from the mud."
Cindy patted his shoulder as rain continued to wash over her own armor. She glanced around and shared her plan.
Su Ming nodded, exhaling lightly, using the helmet in his hand to shield a cigarette as he lit it.
"I'll leave it to you; I need to calm down a bit. The bloodthirsty urge is affecting me."
"Something's not right with you, feeling hungry is just your healing factor working, signaling the body to take in energy, which simply translates into an instinctive thirst for fresh blood and chunks of meat. You might have suffered serious internal injuries you're unaware of, possibly even to the brain."
Cindy raised her hand, feeling Su Ming's skull, as if checking for injuries. Her tactical gloves and the hand armor covering them were icy cold.
"I don't feel hurt anywhere except for a little pain in the head." Su Ming tapped his own skull, then patted his chest and abdomen.
"That's why I said it feels wrong; I can't guess the reason either."
Cindy let go and continued searching for a large cluster of footprints, which in such weather appeared as circular deep holes filled with muddy water.
Just then, Pete, who was vomiting nearby, suddenly screamed, prompting Su Ming to immediately draw his gun and aim at the spot.
It turned out Pete had instinctively searched for a low spot to vomit, only to discover another consequence of the heavy rain—soil erosion.
Indian Mountain was originally used as a traditional burial ground by Indians. Now, a partially skeletal corpse had been buoyed up by the rainwater just in front of him.
While vomiting, he noticed the bone-white remnant, and looking up, saw a white skeleton bobbing in the water, its hollow eyes staring at him.
He couldn't help but scream in horror.
But before Su Ming could act, Vico gave him a shove, causing him to stagger:
"What are you screaming for, over a dead man's head, and one that's long deceased, at that?"
"Oooh, I'm scared. Could the place be haunted?"
At the corners of his mouth hung disgusting white froth, and he constantly wiped at the liquid on his face, be it rain or tears.
A burly man standing over 1.9 meters and weighing over 150 kg with a bushy beard covering his face was complaining like a child to a petite woman barely reaching his elbows...
The scene was too much for Su Ming to bear looking at, fearing he might pull the trigger instinctively.
In an attempt to console him, Vico retrieved the skeleton from the water and started tossing it like a toy.
"See, there's nothing spooky about it; it's quite fun, no need to fear."
Although the approach was questionable, Vico genuinely cared for her partner, yet the effect was the opposite as Pete shook his head in denial and stepped back several paces.
Vico, with a camera on one shoulder and a skeleton in the other hand, looked to the sky, sighing as if her very energy had been depleted.
Looking blankly up to the Celestial Father Zeus, she sought answers, for her partner was a unique gem—one terrified of ghosts, turned pale at the sight of blood, yet ate ten times more than her at meals.
Adding to the dilemma, the convention in journalism was for news anchors to treat their photographer partners to meals, lest they'd risk being filmed as unattractive—such was the heartbreak.
But soon her attention was redirected by an unexpected good thing.
"Oh? This skull has gold teeth, nice... they're mine now, I'll find someone to make a ring or necklace with them later."
She cheerfully pulled out a row of gold teeth from the skull, pocketing them as her blue eyes lit up with giddy greed, quickly dismissing Pete's hapless antics.
Pete blinked in surprise; he hadn't noticed any gold teeth when the skull was before him, but in Vico's hands, like magic, the gold teeth appeared...
Isn't that just terrifying enough?
...........................
Cindy returned from the surrounding darkness, her silhouette twisting in the rain like an unreal mist.
She approached Su Ming: "Found it, but the path is troublesome."
"No problem." Su Ming hoisted Barbara's wheelchair, signaling Cindy to lead the way: "Once we're underground, things will get better."
"Do you think with all this commotion, Falcone might already have eyes on us?" Having seen the Bat surveillance system, Barbara became particularly vigilant about privacy, feeling constantly observed.
Even though his every step sank deep into the mud, Su Ming moved briskly forward.
"Do not worry." He calmly adjusted the wheelchair, trying to step precisely on Cindy's footprints: "This is just the encampment of wanderers, let alone install surveillance cameras, even if he hid a small radio in a scrap car, wanderers would find and sell it."
Leading in front, Cindy added: "It's a stealthy affair for him to hide here. He can't harm the wanderers around, so he maintains a low profile, but once we're underground, things might turnaround completely."
"Romans don't seem like they want the Shadow Dancer here; he probably wants the assassins to enter the city quickly."
The group discussed the potential situations they might face, unconsciously walking into what seemed like a floodwater channel, unusually dry instead of wet.
The smooth concrete ground was covered with creeping plants, resembling a cave in the green forest, seemingly peculiar here.
This wasn't typical for Indian Mountain. If it weren't for the bizarre smell and eerie fear, Su Ming guessed many wanderers would choose this over a tiny scrap car for the night.
At the tunnel end lay a green metal gate, without any signs or writing around, further intensifying the unease felt from behind, daunting any ordinary being to approach.
Arriving at the gate, Cindy placed explosives at the lock and inserted the remote detonator. Once they were safely concealed, she placed her finger on the red button.
"Are you ready?"
"Quit joking; Deathstroke is always ready."
Su Ming shook his head with a smile, the red lenses on his mask drawing a faint bright streak through the darkness.