Inside the RV, Melinda was probably the most enthusiastic among the group of agents, as she could pilot an aircraft—controlled by a steering wheel and gear shift—through the wilderness skies, and it was even a stealth plane undetectable by air traffic control.
However, this made things miserable for Li Feng in the co-pilot seat, especially when Melinda maneuvered the RV in serpentine "S" curves. Li Feng couldn't handle it—his beer had spilled from his glass, and he couldn't help but lament the waste of his top-tier homemade brew.
Unfortunately, Melinda had taken Li Feng's earlier request to "check the vehicle's condition" as an excuse to drive the RV like a fighter jet, executing barrel rolls and other aerial maneuvers.
That was bad enough, but when Melinda excitedly attempted to demonstrate a perfect "Cobra Maneuver," the entire team of agents lost their composure.
The Cobra Maneuver was a tactic used to shake off enemy aircraft tailing closely at the same altitude. It involved converting the aircraft's kinetic energy into potential energy, causing the plane to momentarily lose thrust and hover motionless for 2-3 seconds before abruptly nosing down and regaining power to reacquire the target.
Now, the agents were suffering from motion sickness—or rather, "air sickness"—thanks to Melinda's antics.
If the RV suddenly stalled and went into freefall, they had no idea how Li Feng, the mage, would fare, but their recently consumed dinner would definitely be wasted due to inertia.
And this was an RV—who knew if it would nosedive or tail-dive? What if Melinda broke it beyond repair?
Would they all just head straight to Hell to fight the Devil? Or maybe serve themselves up as a snack for the Devil?
Despite the agents' loud protests, none of them could overpower Melinda. They could only cover their mouths and endure as she demonstrated every aerial combat tactic she knew. Li Feng had no choice either—he could only cast spells to protect the RV's interior from damage during the rolls.
On the ground, Johnny Blaze, speeding on his motorcycle, was stunned speechless by the RV's flamboyant maneuvers. He couldn't help but let go of the handlebars to clap: "This show beats my motorcycle stunts any day. No wonder so many people love flying—it's freaking exhilarating!"
Fortunately, the portal had significantly shortened their flight time. Before Melinda could fully indulge herself, the long-abandoned town of San Venganza came into view.
Melinda pouted in dissatisfaction but gradually brought the RV to a landing some distance from the town.
Once the vehicle had fully stopped, she said with lingering excitement, "Os—Li Feng, let me take your RV for another spin sometime."
Li Feng twitched as he stared at his now-empty beer glass, then glanced at the three researchers collapsed on the floor, vomiting violently.
Drive my RV again? Not in this lifetime—no, not even in the next. You can forget about it.Rolling his eyes at Melinda, Li Feng said helplessly, "Come on, you've already got the flight data from the RV. Stop messing with it." After a moment's thought, he tilted his head and added, "If you can get your hands on magical materials, I might be able to modify a motorcycle for you—the flying kind."
"You sure about that?" Melinda's face lit up with joy at first, but then she sighed. "You're the only mage I know. Where am I supposed to find magical materials? Even if top-tier magical stuff were right in front of me, I wouldn't recognize it. How about I pay you to get me a flying motorcycle instead?"
Li Feng narrowed his eyes, pondering Melinda's words. That initial excitement on your face—does it mean S.H.I.E.L.D. can actually obtain magical materials? But then what's with the rest of what you said? Has S.H.I.E.L.D. really made contact with other mages or not? Can you give me a straight answer?
Behind him, Coulson, who had already recovered, pushed open the car door with a pained expression, interrupting Li Feng's thoughts. "Everyone, check your equipment and protective charms. From now on, we enter silent mode. Austin, could you fly up and scout for any signs of Witch Heart Demon in the town of San Venganza?"
"Me?" Li Feng widened his eyes at Coulson, his temple twitching slightly. "Witch Heart Demon might be a pretty boy, but that doesn't mean his brain is filled with tender tofu flowers. When I cast spells, there's a magical energy fluctuation. Why would Witch Heart Demon pretend not to notice me?"
Coulson frowned and turned to Ward. "Since magic isn't an option for scouting, what equipment did you bring?"
Ward turned around and pulled out a drone from a case, waving it at Coulson.
Coulson smiled and said, "Alright, then we'll use the drone for reconnaissance." Then, whether to provoke Li Feng or simply to show off S.H.I.E.L.D.'s equipment, he turned to Li Feng and added, "Seems like technology is sometimes more reliable than magic. At least drones don't emit energy fluctuations and are harder to detect."
Li Feng, either provoked by Coulson's words or spotting something, twitched his lips and pointed at a distant trail of flames heading toward San Venganza. "Scout my ass. Look at that guy—he's practically announcing his arrival with a 'brake failure' sign." Pausing for a moment, Li Feng grinned mischievously and joked, "What do you think Johnny Blaze is thinking right now? Trying to ram Witch Heart Demon or using him as a speed bump?"
Nearby, Melinda rubbed her forehead with one hand and waved the Loki Mask with the other. "Maybe we should take advantage of the chaos Johnny Blaze is causing to rescue Rosie."
Coulson glanced helplessly at the fully geared tactical team and shrugged. "Well, most of our original plan just went out the window."
"Making plans with a deranged Ghost Rider? Honestly, Coulson, I admire your imagination," Li Feng said, twisting his waist as he warmed up for his impending fight with Abigail. "I told you before—Ghost Rider doesn't believe in partners because there's no telling when he'll snap and kill his own teammate first. Now you see what I mean."
Without waiting for Coulson's response, Li Feng finished his warm-up and vanished into a cloud of black mist, darting toward San Venganza with a parting remark: "I'm off to kill Abigail."
Seeing this, Melinda was about to don the Loki Mask and rush into battle to vent her barely contained fury.
But Coulson, worried about the mask's side effects, grabbed her hand. "Mel, not yet. Let's try to get closer to San Venganza on our own first." He hesitated, glancing at the mask in her hand. "If possible, it's better not to use that thing. Maybe Johnny Blaze and Austin can handle everything themselves."
Melinda fell silent for a moment, casually placing the mask at her lower back before flashing Coulson the fakest smile possible, nodding slightly to indicate she understood.
On the other side, Li Feng, who had already caught up with Johnny Blaze, draped himself in an invisibility cloak and quietly followed behind. He was certain that Johnny Blaze's blatant movements would be enough to attract both the Water Demon and Abigail.
Sure enough, as Johnny Blaze passed by a small pond, Li Feng sensed faint energy ripples in the water and could intermittently detect Abigail's presence in the surrounding wind.
Yet Li Feng was puzzled. Since the enemies had clearly noticed Johnny Blaze, why were they only tailing him instead of attacking? Surely they couldn't be worried about damaging the San Venganza Scroll during the fight.
After a while, Li Feng narrowed his eyes in thought: If I can sense their magical fluctuations, they must be able to detect mine as well. Perhaps that's why Abigail, who had transformed into wind, never dared to get close to me.
With this realization, Li Feng immediately flew to a higher altitude. After confirming Abigail wasn't following him, he swiftly opened his shoulder bag and released all 365 Dementors, commanding, "Wangcai, can you sense the souls below?"
Wangcai sniffed the air lightly and nodded. "Master, I detect four souls."
Li Feng paused, then understood: That pretty-boy Witch Heart Demon doesn't have a soul.
"Can you feel the one drifting around erratically?"
Seeing Wangcai nod again, Li Feng glanced at Johnny Blaze, who had already been dragged into the pond by the Water Demon. Grinning, he said, "The Water Demon has made his move, so Abigail should strike soon. For now, spread out and descend along Abigail's perimeter. I'll hide among you, using your magical fluctuations to mask my own so Abigail can't pinpoint my exact location. Once I trap her in the Mirror Dimension, we'll gang up on her—and her soul will be your feast."
Wangcai, sensing the superior and nourishing quality of Abigail's soul, nodded excitedly and relayed Li Feng's orders to every Dementor at breakneck speed. With a howl, they charged toward the magical fluctuations representing Abigail.
In the water, the Water Demon had assumed that the newly appointed Ghost Rider wouldn't yet grasp the full might of his Hellfire. He believed dragging the Ghost Rider underwater would at least weaken him somewhat.
But the Water Demon never expected Johnny Blaze to master control over Hellfire so quickly. Transforming underwater, Johnny dispatched him back to hell in a single move, startling Abigail, who had been poised to intervene.
Seizing Abigail's moment of hesitation, the Dementors swiftly completed their encirclement. Watching closely, Li Feng saw his chance and immediately ordered the Dementors to glide past Abigail, siphoning her soul as they went. Li Feng was well aware that Abigail, who was naturally skilled at manipulating souls, had a strong innate resistance to the Dementors' soul-sucking abilities.
However, Abigail had no knowledge of the Dementors' attack methods, so the first time he faced one, he would inevitably fall victim. And what Li Feng wanted was precisely that brief moment when Abigail would be stunned from having his soul siphoned.
With that split second, Li Feng would have enough time to open the Mirror Dimension and drag his opponent inside.
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