American comics: You're asked to fish, but you catch a Superman template?

Page 1377

The moment the control lever on the console was lowered, countless electric currents surged through Mike's body from the cold chair, like thousands of tiny snakes crawling into his flesh, their sharp teeth burrowing into every nerve. The intense pain caused him to groan uncontrollably, his muscles tensing in response to the stimulation, and sweat pouring down his face like rain.

However, at that moment, a tremendous surge of energy rushed into the building. Layers of reinforced concrete were pierced as if made of paper, and a green beam punched a thumb-sized hole in the middle of the locked iron door of the room before hurtling downwards toward Mike's electrocuted hand.

The high-voltage current was interrupted instantly, and green light instantly engulfed the victim's entire body. The skin binding his hands and feet hissed and cracked, and a series of dazzling sparks erupted from the metal seat, extending along the wires all the way to the 5.8 control console, destroying half of it. The control console was half destroyed.

Under the green light, Mike stared at the glowing little ring on his right middle finger, his mind unable to accept the fact that all of this was happening to him.

The green halo was different from the prop halo he had bought for Halloween before; it looked real.

"Mike Marcus from Earth, you have the ability to overcome great fears. Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps!"

Before surprise or joy could even flash through his still-stunned mind, the ring mercilessly unleashed a burst of green light, transforming him into a sphere that hurtled outwards. The blinding green sphere burst through the walls and soared into the dark night sky, leaving behind a room full of debris and stunned onlookers.

"Damn it!" The white-haired police officer standing outside the door couldn't help but curse as he watched what was happening. "Issue a statewide alert for the entire region! Issue the highest level of threat against the target! Contact Waller and tell him we've found a terrorist at large, and he's wearing that damn green ring!"

Chapter 1705 Cortland Island

The high-tech black-hulled aircraft swooped low over the turbulent sea, battling the ever-increasing air currents. Helena Wayne stood in the cockpit, donned her goggles, fastened her belt, and slung her black metal backpack over her shoulder. She carefully checked her equipment before turning her gaze to her partner, who was still fiddling with it.

Cisco Raymond clumsily fastened the outer buckle of his backpack, securing it to his back, and then slowly analyzed his gear. He spent three times as long preparing as Helena, looking like a rookie on his first day at work.

Helena waited patiently until he finished checking the last hidden compartment of the multi-functional belt, then turned to the driver and gestured, "Ready."

The pilot gestured to her and then opened the aircraft door. By this time, they had flown over the island, and as the door opened, the dense jungle directly below quickly thinned out.

He was only halfway through his sentence when it turned into a long, drawn-out scream. Helena, expressionless, shoved him from behind and then jumped down herself. 11.

At an altitude of less than 100 meters, a normal skydive would be life-threatening, but what they were doing wasn't a normal skydive. Helena, using both hands and feet, head down, like a free-falling bullet, calculated the altitude; it was about right when she could reach the backpack's pull tab. The glider's black wings popped out from the sides of the metal backpack, gathering enough wind to propel her like a large black bird, swooping down and cushioning her descent through the woods, gradually lowering her to the ground.

Helena retrieved her glider and landed gracefully. However, her partner was not so graceful. Cisco cried out "Ah!" and landed awkwardly, tumbling twice before braking. Fortunately, he was not injured.

He packed up the glider, stood up, and muttered to himself, "I told you I wasn't ready to fly a glider, but they wouldn't listen. My best score on the simulator is just passing."

Kotlen is an extinct volcanic island and a world-renowned holiday destination. Famous for its golden beaches, warm sea breezes, and spectacular extinct volcano, it becomes a goldmine for holidaymakers every summer and winter.

But that was an ordinary Cortland Island, not the island we see today. At the start of the day, an unexplained incident occurred, instantly severing all signals and communications from the outside world. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, and it had never happened before. Local armed terrorists briefly seized control of the island and cut off all signals, but these were quickly restored by the local government.

If that were all, the incident wouldn't warrant the involvement of a high-ranking US government official. The problem is, a key US official was on the island at the time of the incident.

Ray Isaac is a senior researcher for the American government, holding a PhD from MIT, and is a highly important figure in the government. Three days ago, he arrived on the island for a special reason, mingling with the tourists, and has now completely cut off contact with the government. Finding this doctor is the mission of the Huntress and Shockwave.

While Amanda Waller didn't explicitly state when she issued the mission, we can infer that it wasn't simple. Huntress and Shockwave are currently agents of the Bureau of Paranormal Action (D), whose missions, as the name suggests, typically involve paranormal or superhuman phenomena. Since they were assigned this rescue mission, there's no doubt that Dr. Ray Isaac's purpose in coming to this island is unusual.

The weather in Cortland wasn't good today either: the overcast sky looked like it could rain at any moment, and the damp air was suffocating. Helena and Cisco walked back and forth in the dense forest for about ten minutes, and finally, after sneaking through another clump of bushes, they saw the landing port. The golden sand, touted as a beach, now looked like a gloomy gray, with high walls of waves crashing in the distance. Rows of coconut trees lined both sides of the beach, their leaves rustling and whispering in the gusts of wind.

The beach was deserted, with only the lonely waves rolling in and carrying sand and aquatic plants back into the sea. A light mist began to rise, like a veil. After walking along the shore for a while, they could barely make out the visitor center building, with a sign that read "Welcome to Cortland," meaning the city was just ahead.

The fog grew thicker, the white vapor obscuring the sky and obscuring vision. As the fog settled, the eerie atmosphere on the deserted island intensified. Cisco's heart trembled slightly. He glanced warily at Elena a few times, marveling that she seemed completely unaffected by the strange atmosphere.

"This fog reminds me of Silent Hill." He tried to start a conversation to ease the tension. "Maybe there really are monsters like the leg model in the city ahead?"

Helena ignored him. After a while, Cisco asked again, "You know Silent Hill, right?"

"I have no idea"

"Wow, you don't watch horror movies at all?"

“I don’t watch movies,” Helena said weakly.

“So you’re not really that happy,” Cisco said, pausing before turning around. “No, maybe I shouldn’t watch so many horror movies. Ugh, this creepy island reminds me of so many scenes from horror movies, I feel like my heart is going to jump out of my chest.”

The visitor center was deserted, with the glass doors at the front and back of the empty hall open, further enhancing Cisco's so-called "horror movie atmosphere." At this moment, seven or eight different horror movie soundtracks were playing in his head, and fear made it hard for him to breathe.

The island's small town, located behind the visitor center, is quite small. A typical old street runs through the entire town, lined with low, old houses, and the alleyways between them are interconnected. All the streets are equally deserted, and a thick fog hangs between the old houses, their blurred outlines staring coldly and fiercely at strangers like monsters.

But they weren't alone. People were hiding in every old house in the village, peering through gaps in the curtains and cracks in the doors, as if fleeing from something, barely daring to breathe. They assumed the two strangers outside hadn't noticed them, but in reality, Helena had noticed each and every one of them.

All the dormitories in the city were located in the center, and according to mission intelligence, their rescue target, Dr. Ray Isaac, was in the largest dormitory building. This dormitory was not hard to find, as it was the only two-story building with three floors. Compared to the star-rated hotels in other places, it seemed out of place, but it stood out among the old brick buildings on the left and right.

The door wasn't locked, but Cisco felt a chill run down his spine as he faced it—a door made of rather respectable materials. He wasn't particularly afraid of guns or criminals, but he was terrified that a zombie-like monster would leap out from the crack if he pushed the door open. Helena rolled her eyes at him, stepped forward, and pushed the door open a crack.

There were no lights outside, nor were there any polite local receptionists; all that greeted them was a black double-barreled shotgun.

"Stop!" the man with the gun shouted. "Take another half step and I'll shoot!"

Chapter 1706 Small Town

The man's gun was quite good; at least as a hunting rifle, it had a strong firepower and could inflict fatal damage on large animals with a single shot. The man's hands, gripping the gun, trembled uncontrollably, and his voice trembled as he shouted.

In addition, he was very unlucky, pointing his gun at the wrong person.

Without a word, Helena gripped the gun barrel, kicked the man in the shin with her left foot, and as he collapsed to his knees, she snatched the pistol, turned it, and pressed it against his chin. The man, pale with fright, knelt with his hands raised, stammering, "Spare me... have mercy..."

Sisko looked at him sympathetically and shook his head: "Why bother, kid? Pointing a shotgun at her is probably one of the stupidest things you've ever done."

Helena rolled her eyes at him, then looked him up and down. He was a neatly dressed middle-aged man, slightly plump, with a dark red bow tie over his white shirt. In just two seconds, Helena analyzed the large amount of information she had obtained from him and quickly extracted the useful details.

Her face suddenly froze. She put down the shotgun, turned over, and smiled as she handed it back to the man: "Sorry to have startled you. You must be the manager here?"

The man picked up the gun dumbly and nodded.

“Calm down, I was only acting in self-defense. I had no intention of hurting you, sir.” Helena replied politely, “We’re here to see a friend. We’ve lost contact with him, but I know he’s staying at this hotel.”

The man stared blankly at Elena, his heart calming down slightly. He had been completely intimidated by the girl's cold expression and strong hands, but when she smiled, he realized how beautiful she was, radiating an aura that made it impossible not to feel close to her.

"Could you go and see if he's here to see me?"

The man nodded: "Okay, I'll go take a look."

He went behind the counter in the lobby, took out a large booklet from under the counter, flipped through it, and asked, "What's your friend's name?"

“Ray Isaac,” Helena leaned against the counter and peeked inside, “also a handsome Chinese man, in his fifties.”

“Ray Isaac, let’s see… Ah, here it is.” The manager took a large booklet, unfolded it, and pointed to a registration entry, handing it to Helena: “Room 204, on the second floor, take the left staircase.”

“Okay, thank you,” Helena said, pausing for a moment before asking, “Yes, can you tell us what’s going on? Why is there not a soul in sight? I see that every house has its doors and windows closed. Is something coming?”

The manager took a deep breath, his face turning pale, as if he had recalled something extremely horrifying. He lowered his voice and whispered, "Since you know nothing, you must have just arrived on the island today. This kind of thing doesn't usually happen on Cortland Island."

He walked around the counter, bowed, made a somewhat lewd gesture toward the door of the hall, and then carefully closed the door behind him.

“You have no idea,” he whispered, “that this city is haunted by evil spirits.”

"I knew it!" Cisco exclaimed, and after Helena's impatient gaze swept over him, he obediently remained silent once again.

Seeing Helena's indignant expression, the manager shrieked, "I'm telling the truth! At first, it was just a rumor that after dark, hellish creatures roamed the forest, searching for any living animals and tearing them to pieces. Later, people really started disappearing; some brave tourists went into the forest and didn't come out for days. Two nights ago, a strange wolf howl came from the forest. Locals all know that there are no wolves on this island; that wolf was probably a pet brought by the devil."

For the past two days, ghostly figures have been wandering the streets late into the night. Some people have even seen terrifying silhouettes in their windows. They all say these are definitely not creatures from Earth; this place must be cursed. People are terrified, and everyone wants to leave the island, but no one dares to cross this jungle.

“We just came out of the woods,” Helena said, frowning. “There was nothing there.”

The manager's expression suddenly changed. He instinctively took a half-step back, and for a moment, he stared at her with a look that was somewhere between pity and fear, like looking at a dying person. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "If there's nothing there, that's for the best. But you'd better be careful, outsider. After all, you... might be being watched."

Helena didn't take the manager's words seriously, but Cisco was clearly a little surprised. As they walked up the stairs, he couldn't help but whisper in her ear, "Hey, do you think he's serious?"

“Really? I think so,” Helena replied absentmindedly.

Cisco blushed and said, "Please don't joke around, I think my heart can't take it."

“I’m serious.” Helena regained her previous expression, having left the manager outside. “You saw what happened there. He said someone was missing, and he’s definitely not lying to you.” She paused, then added, “However, I don’t believe in gods or ghosts.”

"So you mean someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes?" Cisco became calmer.

"I didn't say it was human. Although I don't believe in demons and monsters, I have seen superheroes, aliens, and even events related to magic. I don't know how much I will be involved in this one."

As they spoke, the two stepped onto the makeshift floor of the second-floor corridor, the soft carpet creaking under their feet. Helena walked to the door of room 204 and knocked, but there was no response for a long time.

“Maybe he’s gone out?” Cisco said.

Maybe.

Helena pulled a simple lock-picking tool from her waist and quickly opened the door. As soon as the door opened, the scent of air freshener wafted into the dimly lit room. The curtains were only half drawn, and the bright moonlight streaming through the half-open window shone on the white bed and the dark red carpet.

A standard single room with a private bathroom, furnished with only the most basic amenities: a TV, a recliner, and a single bed. The room looked spotless, the white sheets without a single wrinkle, as if no one had ever slept there.

"...Perhaps the intelligence is wrong, and Dr. Isaac isn't here?" Cisco said painfully. "Do we really need to go to the other side of the forest to look for him? Seriously, do we really have to go to that forest?"

"Shut up"

As she spoke, Helena glanced around the room, opened the desk drawer, and found an ultra-thin laptop. She placed the laptop on the table, brought up the screen, and pressed the power button.

"Is that the doctor's computer?" Cisco walked over and asked, looking at the screen.

"That's how it should be."

A startup screen appeared on the screen, followed by a dialog box a few seconds later asking for a password. Helena frowned, pulled a cable from her belt, and connected the computer to the mobile terminal on her wrist.

She used her five fingers to operate the screen of the wrist computer, scrolling through data and code on the interface like a paintbrush. As large amounts of data scrolled across the screen, the frequency of her finger input increased, and her expression became more and more serious.

“I can try,” Cisco suggested. “I should be able to help break down the door.”

Helena shook her head and disconnected the data cable: "The risk is too great. This computer's hard drive is like a fortress full of cannons; any hacker attempt could lead to its complete destruction. If I can get in touch with headquarters and get support from the technical department, I can handle this relatively safely... But now there's no signal to leave this damn island; we have to rely on ourselves."

She frowned, staring at the white dialog box on the computer screen, lost in thought. "There must be something else..."

"...A huntress?"

"Wait, be quiet for a moment."

"No, this is... perhaps you should take a look."

Cisco's voice trembled so badly it was almost unrecognizable, as if he'd seen a ghost. Helena turned around at the sound, and for a moment, her breath almost stopped.

It was difficult to discern what was standing in the doorway: it had dark carapace, dark red eyes, and a body shape resembling a standing quadruped. It was curled up, some unknown liquid dripping from its mouth onto the carpet. Its body obscured most of the doorway, and light from the corridor seeped through the gaps, vaguely revealing that its sharp claws were stained with purple blood.