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Chapter 189: Ch.188 Outside the Antique Shop

Though, of course, this was daytime, which ruined the atmosphere a bit.

Still, he was out and about as Deathstroke again, so the slight imperfection in mood didn\'t matter much.

He watched as the Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR) agents arrived to secure the area, followed by Hydra agents disguised as drivers, and then Peggy Carter leading Steve into the antique shop.

"Things are different from what I remember."

Standing on the edge of the rooftop, Su Ming looked down at the street below. The breeze caught the dual-colored ribbons trailing from the back of his helmet.

He had already repaired his Saint Icon Armor using X-metal, and the Godkiller was strapped to his waist. On his back hung the Nightfall sword, along with other weapons. He was fully armed.

Even though Steve and Peggy had clicked, and the choice for Captain America hadn\'t changed, there were noticeably more people on the street than in the movie.

Originally, in the film, there were only three Hydra agents—one who infiltrated the shop and two others posing as a senator\'s driver and attendant outside.

Now, the street was filled with various figures. None of the pedestrians were real. The people walking around in this time period were all playing different roles, and they were clearly divided into several factions.

From his vantage point above, everything was as clear as a chessboard.

Su Ming walked a few circles around the rooftop, imprinting every street and alley into his mind.

SSR agents and Hydra spies were stationed at the entrance to the antique shop, but besides them, he noticed other groups. A band of men disguised as a Mexican music troupe, a team of black-clad individuals lurking in the alley behind the building, and another group disguised as a bus driver and passengers working on a broken-down bus on a side street.

A hot dog vendor arguing with a customer, a police officer lecturing some local hooligans, a group of young mothers resting in a park at the end of the street, pushing strollers...

All fake.

"Has the Marvel Universe fused with a spy thriller?" Su Ming mused.

But it didn\'t matter. These were just ordinary people and posed no threat to him. He walked to the edge of the rooftop above the alley and drew the Godkiller from his waist before jumping down.

While in mid-air, the Godkiller transformed into a long staff at his command. He aimed at his landing point, calculated the enemy movements and routes, and waited.

The black-clad figures in the alley had been keeping an eye on the antique shop, occasionally peeking around the corner. Under their heavy coats, they were armed.

"What exactly are we watching for?" one of the frustrated men grumbled, smoking a cigarette to mask the stench of the garbage and sewage filling the narrow alley.

Their leader shot him a cold glare. "It\'s the boss\'s plan. Just keep your eyes on the target."

The mention of "the boss" silenced the complaining man. He shrank back, intimidated, and stopped talking.

But in the next second, a black-and-yellow figure silently dropped from the sky, landing directly in their midst.

"What the—"

"Bam, bam, bam!"

Before they could finish speaking, a series of rapid strikes knocked them all out. The golden staff struck each of them with pinpoint accuracy, despite their different heights and reactions, hitting the back of their heads simultaneously. Only the leader was left standing.

Before the leader could react, a black-and-yellow mask appeared inches from his face, a strong hand clamping around his throat.

The man before him had skills and strength far beyond theirs. In less than a second, he had taken out the entire group, leaving only one standing.

"Answer my questions. Resist, and you die. Lie, and you die. Call for help, and you die. Understand?"

A low, distorted voice came from the mask, the glowing red eye locking onto the leader\'s gaze.

The leader was no tough guy. He was engulfed in a special kind of fear. "I-I understand."

"Good. Who\'s your boss?"

"I don\'t know," the man stammered, his face contorting as though he were about to cry. The very first question had him stumped.

Su Ming didn\'t kill him, though. He nodded, as if expecting that answer.

This guy was just a low-level grunt; not knowing the boss was completely normal.

"What\'s the name of your organization? A gang? A corporation?"

This, the leader knew. He nodded furiously. "I know! Our cult is called \'The Ten Commandments.\'"

Su Ming immediately understood—they were working for the Mandarin.

"Go back and tell your superiors to keep playing warlord and living their lives in peace. Don\'t mess with Deathstroke in New York. Got it?"

"Y-Yes, yes, yes," the leader stammered.

Su Ming promptly knocked him out with a backhanded strike, stacking him atop the rest of his unconscious comrades.

The Ten Rings cult, known in America at this time as "The Ten Commandments," had been designed by the Mandarin to attract foreign recruits by invoking imagery from the Bible.

It was all about jumping on the bandwagon.

These brainwashed Americans knew next to nothing and simply followed orders from their superiors.

The Mandarin\'s real name was unknown, though he used various aliases, with "Khan" and "Mandarin" being the most common. He was highly intelligent and cunning, and his ten magical rings were so powerful that they could grant nearly any wish he desired.

Those ten rings were a headache to deal with, especially three of them: the Golden Dawn, White Mist, and Cosmic Black.

In Marvel lore, these rings didn\'t have official names; they were just referred to by their colors. Their abilities included something akin to a massive disintegration spell, the power to manipulate Earth\'s gravity, and a "weaker version of the Reality Stone."

Fortunately, as a sorcerer, the Mandarin probably wouldn\'t risk coming to New York in person. On one hand, Kunlun and S.H.I.E.L.D. were keeping him in check. On the other hand, Doctor Strange\'s Sanctum Sanctorum was also here. If the Mandarin used too much magical power against mundane targets, the Sorcerer Supreme would surely intervene.

Now that Su Ming had confirmed one group\'s identity, he suspected the others likely came from similar backgrounds.

He quietly climbed to another rooftop and dealt with the fake mariachi band at the street corner.

His tactics were simple but effective. Once again, he descended from above, wielding his staff, and knocked them out in quick succession. When he interrogated them, they refused to talk, so he knocked them all unconscious.

As Su Ming dragged the unconscious bodies into an alley, he discovered a strange tattoo on one of them: the letter "M" with an arrow-shaped tail.

It was the Scorpio symbol from astrology.

"Well, that confirms it. These guys are part of the Zodiac," Su Ming muttered.

Though annoying, this had been expected.

After discovering this world was a fusion of movies, comics, and TV shows, Su Ming had mentally prepared for this. The Zodiac had originated from Da Vinci\'s Twelve Houses, and while they operated differently from their comic counterparts, their current state was still unknown.

Unlike Hydra, the Zodiac leaned more towards economic manipulation to control the world. They were more covert and their methods less easily detected.

After hiding their bodies in a nearby trash heap, Su Ming created a distraction to lure the group of young mothers into an alley. These women were tougher than expected, fighting skillfully and silently.

However, their behavior betrayed their identities. Though dressed in beautiful dresses, the group of blonde, blue-eyed women pushing baby strollers turned out to be much more than they appeared.

Once they realized they had been lured into a trap, they immediately tossed smoke bombs and changed into tight red ninja outfits, revealing only their eyes.

"A bunch of cross-dressing men? And they\'re Japanese?" Su Ming shook his head, unsure whether to call them smart or stupid. "No need to ask. You\'ve already told me—you\'re from The Hand."

The ninjas exchanged glances before silently pulling weapons from the strollers and charging at Su Ming.

"Trying to silence me? I like it."