Forbidden Zone

"The Forbidden Zone is the foundation of the Inhuman race, the birthplace of the Terrigen Crystal." His Highness Alex glanced at Black Bolt. Seeing that he had no objections, he turned to Alex and began to explain.

Alex suddenly understood. To the Inhuman race, the Terrigen Crystal was the foundation of their existence. There could be no room for error.

"Then what do you plan to do, wait to die?" Unwilling to give up like this, Alex turned to Black Bolt, his expression slightly twisted.

Black Bolt hesitated for a long time but said nothing.

Seeing this, Alex grew even more furious. In Alex’s eyes, Black Bolt’s soft temperament truly made him unfit to be a leader, even if his strength surpassed that of the entire Inhuman race. After grumbling a few times, Alex shifted his gaze to His Highness Alex and the others, trying to find a different answer in their eyes.

Unfortunately, after looking around, no one reacted. Even Alex’s nominal father, His Highness Alex, merely shook his head and kept avoiding Alex’s gaze.

"Don’t force me, I…" Alex began threatening them angrily. Emma and the others were still waiting for him; he did not want to waste any more time here.

Unfortunately, before Alex could finish, violent energy fluctuations interrupted him.

With a thunderous explosion, the small house where Alex and the others were hiding was blasted into the air. Alex and the others emerged from the billowing dust in a miserable state.

His Highness Alex had no special abilities. Had Alex not protected him at the critical moment, he would have been in grave danger. His reaction was therefore the most intense. His face flushed red as he asked in terror, his eyes full of fear, "What happened?"

"Maximus is here." Alex reacted the instant the explosion occurred. He immediately extended his Psionic Power and discovered Maximus outside, along with the fully armed Inhumans at his side.

As he spoke, Alex unconsciously turned his gaze toward Black Bolt. He opened his mouth, intending to mock him, but after thinking it over, he shut it again.

"Black Bolt, obediently surrender!" Before the dust had fully settled, Maximus’s voice rang out. His arrogant tone could not conceal his inner delight.

Black Bolt remained expressionless, but the guards behind him were furious. They immediately wanted to rush out and fight Maximus to the death, but Black Bolt raised a hand and stopped them.

"At a time like this, you’re still holding back?" Alex stared at Black Bolt in disbelief. Black Bolt’s thoughts told Alex that he still did not want to make a move!

Black Bolt paused, then stiffly turned his head a few times, seemingly expressing his refusal.

Just as Alex was about to probe further, he suddenly sensed the surrounding space trembling. Turning around, he discovered that Lockjaw was activating Teleportation. Alex hesitated slightly, then stopped resisting the effect. In a flash, the group vanished from where they stood.

Attilan had been sealed off, allowing entry but not exit. Even Alex’s Teleportation could not get through. However, Teleportation within Attilan was still possible.

After passing through a pitch-black spatial tunnel, Alex and the others saw the light again. The unfamiliar surroundings made Alex tense. He warily examined the area as more than a dozen steel balls flew from his body, firmly controlling the space around them.

"Alex, don’t worry." Seeing how cautious Alex was, His Highness Alex could not help chuckling. Pointing at a man-sized cave a few steps away, he said with a grin, "This is the Forbidden Zone. There’s a passage inside that leads directly outside."

Lockjaw had brought them here, clearly following Black Bolt’s decision.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!" Alex ran toward the cave impatiently, wishing he could leave at once. He was the first to slip into the cave, with Black Bolt and the others following after him.

The moment he entered the cave, Alex was stunned by the fantastical sight before him. The entire cave resembled an enormous karst cavern, except the stalactites of an ordinary cave had been replaced by countless Terrigen Crystals. The purple crystals radiated a dazzling brilliance that nearly blinded Alex. Moreover, because the Terrigen Crystals constantly emitted Terrigen Mist, the vast cave was shrouded in mist, hazy and indistinct, lending it an added air of mystery.

"The wonder of the Creator!" Even though he had seen it several times before, His Highness Alex could not help sighing in admiration.

The others said nothing, but their expressions showed that they felt much the same as His Highness Alex.

Just then, Lockjaw suddenly barked at Alex. The enormous bark shook the entire cave, and the surrounding Terrigen Mist miraculously dispersed completely, all of it forced outside.

Everyone was startled by Lockjaw’s sudden barking. Turning to look, they found Lockjaw staring fixedly at Alex. Following his gaze, they discovered several pale purple strands connected to Alex, their other ends linked to the Terrigen Mist filling the cave.

"This is…" Everyone was rendered speechless, their faces filled with shock. Alex was also at a loss. He reached out, trying to tear apart the purple strands, but the moment he broke them, they instantly reconnected. There was no way to sever them.

The expression on Black Bolt’s face finally changed. His surprise was mixed with disbelief. After standing there in a daze for a long while, he turned to His Highness Alex, seemingly asking something.

His Highness Alex was stunned for a moment before nodding. "Alex really is absorbing the Terrigen Mist!"

Any Inhuman who had undergone transformation through Terrigen Mist would have no further reaction upon coming into contact with it again. This had been an unquestioned truth of the Inhuman race for thousands of years. Yet Alex’s appearance once again shattered the understanding of every Inhuman present.

Back then, Alex had absorbed an enormous amount of Terrigen Mist and only awakened from his slumber after ten years of transformation. Now, he was absorbing the mist once again. Could he be undergoing a Second Mutation?

Hearing this, Alex immediately came to his senses. His first thought was to stop the absorption, but then he realized that his weakened body was recovering at an unimaginable speed!

Terrigen Mist! It had to be the Terrigen Mist!

Alex’s face filled with delight, and he began turning passive absorption into active absorption. At once, all the mist in the cave began to riot. The churning mist transformed into a tornado, and with Alex at its center, the pervasive Terrigen Mist crazily poured into his body.

Feeling the energy within him continuously grow stronger, Alex found himself unable to stop. His absorption speed increased again and again.

Just as Alex was completely immersed in the joy of recovering his strength, His Highness Alex suddenly shouted. It was a long sentence, but Alex only caught a few scattered words.

"Ten years!"

Alex suddenly snapped awake and almost instinctively cut off the absorption. Feeling the Terrigen Mist that had nearly seeped out of his body and become tangible, cold sweat broke out on his body of ice and snow. He shuddered in lingering fear. "That was close!"

Once the Terrigen Mist escaping his body became tangible and turned into Terrigen Crystals, Alex would truly undergo a Second Mutation, just like the first time. By then, who knew how long he would have to sleep?