The Enemy Is Already on the Way (Second Update)

"Hmph, only the Queen can communicate with the King…"

Hearing Old Wang’s words, Gorgon was about to mock him.

Suddenly, Karnak shot him a glare, then stared at Old Wang. Confusion appeared on his face, followed by gravity.

Years of meditation training had elevated his mental perception far beyond that of ordinary people.

He could sense the stress points and fracture planes of nearby matter, as well as the weaknesses of surrounding living beings.

By applying pressure to those points, he could destroy matter or defeat his target.

Though he lacked senses as powerful as Daredevil’s, his overall perception was even stronger than Daredevil’s.

This granted him extraordinarily powerful analytical abilities, even manifesting as a degree of precognition that let him foresee how things would develop over a short period of time.

But not now.

A soul that was not powerful enough could not support a sufficiently powerful mind.

He could not perceive Old Wang’s Mental World, but he could at least sense certain abnormalities—abnormalities in Black Bolt’s mind.

His eyes were vacant, and the electromagnetic energy within him showed signs of instability, as though it were on the verge of losing control.

"Medusa…"

Karnak had barely spoken when he saw Medusa shake her head, looking confused, nervous, and worried.

By comparison, Skye and the other two appeared far more relaxed.

Skye naturally knew just how powerful Old Wang’s mental strength was.

Though Lash and Gordon did not know, they had immense faith in Old Wang. They knew how remarkable he was, so there was nothing to worry about. The ones who should be worried were Attilan’s Inhumans, and Black Bolt.

Everyone’s gaze turned toward Old Wang and Black Bolt at once.

Mental World?

Black Bolt looked around.

His Inhuman ability had nothing to do with the mind.

Although the strictest meditation training from childhood had made his mind far stronger than that of ordinary people, he was only about on par with Karnak. At most, he could conduct limited telepathy; he was still far from being able to create a Mental World.

Even throughout Attilan’s history, more than three hundred Inhumans had awakened abilities related to the mind and spirit, yet not a single one had been able to create a Mental World.

That required mental power too vast to imagine, greater than the combined power of all three hundred people in history.

It was simply inconceivable!

Just what kind of powerful being was the man before him?

Could it be that he was not as young as he appeared, but some ancient relic who had lived for thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of years?

"First, let me formally introduce myself. I’m from Earth, the director of the Extraterrestrial Threat Strategic Defense and Offense and Multidimensional Strategic Cooperation Bureau. My surname is Wang. If you think that name is too long, then I’m the director of the Shengun Bureau."

Old Wang smiled. "Tea or coffee? Although this is a Mental World, everything will feel real. You’ll have a genuine experience."

He did not invite Black Bolt to sit. The two stood some distance apart, roughly ten meters.

It was a relatively safe distance, one that should put Black Bolt somewhat at ease.

"…Tea."

Black Bolt spoke softly.

He carefully sensed the changes around him.

His physical makeup was peculiar. As long as he opened his mouth to speak, whether in his physical body or his current mental state, it would trigger fluctuations in electromagnetic energy and release terrifying "quasi-sonic waves" with immense destructive power.

When he had first completed Terrigenesis in his youth, he had killed his own father and mother—two extremely powerful Inhumans—merely by speaking.

As long as he opened his mouth, he could easily destroy all of Attilan and kill everyone.

And now, he had controlled his voice as much as possible, reducing the electromagnetic energy to its lowest level. Yet the quasi-sonic wave he released was still enough to destroy ten reinforced concrete rooms.

Yet…

Nothing happened.

The essence of the mind was energy as well.

Since this was a Mental World, everything here was composed of mental energy and should have been destroyable by his quasi-sonic wave.

But it was not.

The electromagnetic energy released by the quasi-sonic wave vanished completely less than a meter from his lips.

What kind of power was this?

"At its root, the entire universe consists of matter and energy. Any Inhuman ability or other power is related to energy. All abilities are fundamentally the same. Whether it’s your quasi-sonic wave or my True Qi, once control reaches its limit, the effect is the same."

Old Wang waved a hand, and a cup of warm black tea floated before Black Bolt. "Want to try it?"

Black Bolt picked it up and examined it, then tipped back his head and drank it all, chewing up the tea leaves and swallowing them as well. "A little bitter… Your words make sense. You are a philosopher."

"I didn’t say that. A martial arts grandmaster named Shang-Xi did. All things share the same origin."

Once again, Old Wang smoothed away the electromagnetic fluctuations caused by Black Bolt speaking. Raising a brow, he said, "You don’t seem very proficient at controlling electromagnetic energy. Looks like you rarely speak."

Black Bolt said calmly, "Since my mutation, I have spoken fewer than ten times."

Black Bolt’s voice was somewhat strange, with an unusual cadence. He pronounced every word slowly and distinctly, like a child who had only just learned to speak. It was both amusing and pitiful.

After so many years without speaking… wasn’t that suffocating?

"That’s no good. You should practice more. Doesn’t Tetanus have the ability to teleport through a psychic link across planets? Have it take you to a barren planet to practice. That way, you won’t harm Attilan."

Old Wang offered a well-meaning reminder, speaking earnestly. "You need more practice. What if you encounter danger? Say I went to Attilan right now and slaughtered your people. Would you use your ability or not? If you use it, even more people will die. If you don’t, then you won’t be able to save your people."

Black Bolt: "…"

He suddenly felt that the man before him was very strange.

Were they even close? Why did it feel as though this man was his good friend, so concerned about him?

Surely he was not actually planning to massacre Attilan?

A tremor ran through his mind as he said in a deep voice, "If you dare do that, I guarantee you will die!"

"Don’t get worked up, don’t get worked up. I was just giving an example."

Old Wang once again calmed the electromagnetic fluctuations and said with a smile, "The universe is vast, and Attilan may not be safe. There are still the Kree! The Inhumans are products of Kree experiments. What if one day the Kree discover that you are still alive and come to wipe you out? You should still practice properly and gain the strength to protect yourselves. I’m saying this for your own good."

"…I will consider it."

Black Bolt could not figure out what this man was really after, so he decided to be direct. "You seem to know a great deal about us. Are you an Inhuman from Earth? What exactly do you want by coming to Attilan?"

"First, I’m not an Inhuman. The few of them are."

Old Wang corrected him, then said, "Second, I came to help you."

Help us?

Black Bolt fell silent for several seconds before saying, "I do not think we need help. We only need peace. We have lived in the Blue Area of the Moon for thousands of years, and for now, we do not wish to make contact with the people of Earth."

"Contact is not something you can avoid merely because you don’t want it. The development of all things in the universe does not bend to human will. Of course, if you’re strong enough, pretend I said nothing."

Old Wang shrugged. "Earth and the Moon are neither particularly close nor particularly far apart. Contact will happen sooner or later. Besides, we are not alone. There are so many advanced civilizations in the universe; you can’t hide just because you want to. Every race in the Solar System shares a common Fate, and the same is true of the universe. Connections between all things are inevitable. If you forcibly alter them, the consequences will be severe."

Black Bolt: "…Advanced civilizations would not take interest in a small place like Earth. We will not be in danger for the time being."

"That used to be true, but not anymore."

Old Wang sighed. "Your Majesty, the enemy is already on the way."