The abyss swallowed all sound.
Pressure enough to pancake a tank pressed against Su Chen's golden-lit body, but his Indestructible Diamond Physique held firm. The gills along his neck fluttered, sifting oxygen from the ancient waters like a living engine.
Above him, the colossal shadow of the Void Leviathan writhed. The Wisteria poison had burned through its regeneration, the C4 carved a hole straight into its adaptive flesh — but the monster was very much alive. Its core still pulsed, refusing to die.
Then he saw it.
The Trident.
Embedded in the golden gate of Atlantis, bathed in the monster's bioluminescent glow, a three-meter spear of untarnished gold hummed with divine resonance.
A realization snapped through him.
It's not guarding Atlantis… Atlantis is sealing it.
The Leviathan sensed the shift in his intent.
A psychic shriek blasted through the water — a roar that hit like a migraine made of knives — and thousands of tentacles plunged down.
"Too slow."
Shadow Step activated.
Even underwater, space bent for him.
He blinked past the tentacles and seized the Trident.
HUMMMMMM.
A tidal shockwave surged outward.
> [Divine Weapon Detected.]
[Trident of the Abyssal Sovereign (Sealed).]
[Requirement: Sea God Bloodline OR Strength 100+.]
Su Chen's jaw tightened. His Strength sat at 45 — maybe 60 with every buff stacked.
Fine.
If he couldn't meet the requirement…
He would cheat it.
Flesh Manipulation: hypertrophy.
Bone Manipulation: exoskeletal braces.
Telekinesis: assist lift.
Beast Transformation: Gorilla Form.
Muscle ballooned, bone spines drove into the sea floor for leverage, psychic force coiled around the haft.
"Get. Up."
The Trident trembled.
Then—
CRACK.
It lifted.
The ocean reacted instantly.
> [System Override: User Dominance Established.]
[Temporary Skill Acquired — Ocean Authority.]
A grin cut across Su Chen's face.
He didn't need to stab the Leviathan.
He needed to command its world.
"Crush."
Miles of ocean compressed into a single descending hammer.
BOOOOOOM.
The Void Leviathan — a creature capable of regenerating entire organs — liquefied into drifting shreds under the pressure. Black blood bled into the sea like spilled ink.
From the remains, a purple crystal the size of a house drifted upward:
The Void Core.
He stored it with a touch.
Then he turned toward the cracked gate of Atlantis — and found a pair of trembling emerald eyes staring at him from behind the barrier.
A princess. A crown. And very much alive.
I'll come back.
A telepathic whisper, nothing more.
Then—
Shadow Step: Surface.
—
Surface — Calm After the Storm
The sea erupted as a column of water lifted him skyward. Su Chen stood atop the geyser, Trident in hand like a descended deity.
He landed on the ice sheet Esdeath had frozen.
The Trident hit the surface and fractured the frozen plain.
"Done," he said simply.
Lin Que looked at him like he'd just eaten a star.
"You killed a Tier-5 monster underwater?"
"I executed it."
The Black Behemoth floated nearby, freshly repaired thanks to the nanobot swarm he'd installed.
"Prep for departure," Su Chen said. "I've got materials to process."
—
Night — Inside the Living Quarters
The Trident leaned against the wall.
The Void Core pulsed faintly on his desk.
Su Chen checked his status.
> [Level: 9 (Elite)]
[Silver Body: Mid-Stage]
"Too slow," he muttered.
Earth was evolving at breakneck pace. A Level-45 Leviathan already existed. A Level-60 dragon emerging tomorrow wasn't impossible — and that would be trouble even for him.
The truth stung:
He needed higher-tier worlds.
Demon Slayer? Too low.
Akame ga Kill? Mid-tier at best.
BTTH Outer? Still mid.
He needed cosmic ceilings.
He opened the Dimensional Travel interface and filtered:
> Danger Level: Extreme
Three results surfaced.
---
1. One Punch Man
Pros: Monster Cells, Esper tech, broken power frameworks.
Cons: Random extinction events.
2. Swallowed Star (RR Virus Era)
Pros: Gene evolution, galactic psychokinesis, future tech.
Cons: Slow progression curves.
3. Marvel Cinematic Universe — 2012, Battle of New York
Pros: Infinity Stones, Asgardian magic, Hulk blood, vibranium.
Cons: Thanos exists.
---
His eyes locked onto the third.
The Space Stone.
The Mind Stone.
If he could copy the Tesseract?
Infinite teleportation. Infinite energy.
If he could copy the Mind Stone?
Infinite psychic potential.
"This is it," he whispered. "Max risk, max reward."
He stepped into the living room.
Everyone looked up as he clapped once.
"We're taking a detour," Su Chen announced. "I'm retrieving a power source that can fuel us forever."
"Danger?" Shizuka asked.
"Plenty. Gods, aliens, one very emotional green monster."
He glanced at Esdeath.
"There's a Thunder God. Think you can freeze lightning?"
A predatory smile curved her lips. "Try me."
"Saya," he said. "There's a genius in a metal suit who thinks he's the smartest guy alive. Want his ego?"
She adjusted her glasses. "I'll break it."
"Good. Prep up."
The portal ignited.
"We're going to New York."
—
Dimensional Hop — MCU, 2012
The moment he stepped through, chaos slammed into him.
A wormhole tore open above the city, vomiting Chitauri armies. Iron Man streaked past. Thor's lightning cracked across skyscrapers. Hulk smashed through an alien leviathan.
And on Stark Tower, the Tesseract Machine hummed, flooding the air with reality-warping energy.
Su Chen didn't bring the truck.
He didn't need it.
A Chitauri warrior crashed in front of him.
He flicked his fingers.
Telekinesis crushed it into a compact sphere.
He walked past the corpse without breaking stride and approached the Tesseract.
"Beautiful," he murmured.
> [Target: Tesseract (Space Stone Container)]
[Grade: Infinity]
[Copying…]
Warnings lit up.
Energy density critical.
Host body may disintegrate.
He ignored all of it.
Diamond Body flared.
Void Core Resonance pulsed.
"I am the container."
FLASH.
A perfect replica cube appeared in his hand.
He kept going.
Flash. Replica 2.
Flash. Replica 3.
His storage space filled with blue stars.
Then—
"Hey!"
Black Widow skidded onto the rooftop, Scepter in hand, eyes widening.
"Step away from the machine," she barked.
Su Chen turned, eyes glowing cosmic blue.
"Natasha," he said pleasantly. "Thanks for bringing the other one."
His gaze sharpened.
> [Target: Chitauri Scepter (Mind Stone)]
[Target: Black Widow (Human Extremis Potential)]
"I'll take both."