SWISH!
The moment Alex took the pendant, the bearded brute and the rest of Wenwu's men looked as if they had swallowed a mouthful of nails.
Now that the pendant was in Alex's hands, the situation was completely out of theirs.
Even if they were a hundred times stronger—hell, a thousand times stronger—they still couldn't possibly take the pendant back from Alex.
"Retreat."
The bearded enforcer twitched at the corner of his mouth, then waved to his men and led them off the bus.
The moment they stepped onto the pavement, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
---
Ten Rings Base
"You said WHAT? Alex?!"
Xu Wenwu had been calmly sitting at a tea table, brewing tea with the poise of a centuries-old conqueror who feared nothing.
But the instant he picked up the phone, his voice shot up an octave.
That calm expression evaporated.
Replaced by a tight, painful grimace.
For a thousand years, ever since acquiring the Ten Rings, Wenwu had wielded unimaginable might.
He had conquered everything he wanted.
Never tasted defeat.
Avengers? Iron Man? Captain America?
Mutants? Professor X? Magneto?
Wenwu had never taken any of them seriously.
In his eyes, with the Ten Rings, no one on Earth could match him.
But there was one exception.
Alex.
That man was practically a real-life Superman.
Even Wenwu was forced to admit—
He had no confidence against Alex.
Not even slightly.
And Alex wasn't alone—he commanded an entire nation of mutants behind him.
As much as Wenwu hated to admit it…
Alex was someone the Ten Rings could not afford to provoke.
If someone like Alex took the pendant?
That was a big problem.
A very big one.
"Boss… what do we do?"
The bearded man's tense voice crackled through the phone.
"Withdraw for now."
After a moment of silence, Wenwu made the only choice he realistically could.
He hung up and fell into deep thought.
Why would Alex take Shang-Chi's pendant?
Other than holding the map to Ta Lo, the pendant had zero value.
And besides—
Even if it were some priceless treasure, why would someone at Alex's level bother stealing it?
Ta Lo.
That had to be Alex's target.
There was no other explanation.
Which meant…
Wenwu's eyes slowly lit up.
When the mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole waits behind.
If Alex wanted Ta Lo—
Wenwu could simply follow him.
He didn't need the pendant itself.
He only needed the map inside.
If Alex solved that part for him…
Perfect.
"Activate a satellite. Full surveillance on Alex's movements."
"And turn on the pendant's tracking system."
Wenwu ordered decisively.
---
Meanwhile…
After leaving Shang-Chi, Alex made one more stop—
To Shang-Chi's sister, Xialing.
He "borrowed" her pendant as well.
And then he returned to Krakoa.
The entire round trip?
Barely ten minutes.
To Charles, Erik, and the other Krakoan leaders, Alex may as well have just gone to the restroom and come back.
"Hank."
Alex immediately summoned Hank McCoy and handed him the two pendants.
"These contain a hidden map to Ta Lo. See if you can extract it."
"Understood."
Hank nodded, took the pendants, and hurried off.
---
Ten Rings Base
When Wenwu heard that Alex had taken the second pendant…
There was no longer any doubt.
Alex's target was also Ta Lo.
The same as his.
Wenwu straightened, energy returning to his eyes.
Satellites were adjusted. Surveillance initiated.
Krakoa, Alex—everything was now under quiet observation.
Of course—
Alex had no way of noticing a satellite tailing him.
Even he wasn't omniscient.
Right now, his attention was entirely on the pendants.
---
Ten Days Later
"Alex! I found it!"
Hank approached excitedly and pulled Alex into the lab.
"The map hidden inside the pendants—I decrypted it!"
He tapped a few keys.
SWISH!
A holographic projection unfolded before Alex.
A dynamic map.
No wonder no one had ever found Ta Lo.
The terrain changed constantly.
Like a living maze.
Like a cultivation-world illusion array.
And in the movie, the real entrance was a hidden cave…
Behind a waterfall…
Only accessible during a precise shifting of the bamboo forest.
A genuine pocket dimension.
A true paradise realm.
"Excellent work, Hank."
Alex clapped him on the shoulder, sincerely impressed.
He memorized the entire sequence of terrain shifts in an instant.
Hank handed the pendants back.
Alex accepted them casually.
He had told Shang-Chi and Xialing he would borrow them, not steal them.
He meant it.
These were their mother's keepsakes.
Alex had no intention of keeping them.
"Hank, get some rest. Look at your dark circles."
Alex patted his shoulder lightly—
BOOM!
He vanished.
Leaving only the shockwave behind.
The next instant—
Alex appeared outside a dense bamboo forest.
According to the map…
He needed to pass through this enchanted forest.
Only then could he reach the hidden cave.
Only then could he enter Ta Lo.
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