Chapter 39: Arrival in Paradise
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Themyscira, 1918
Princess Diana was training alone on a remote beach when the air suddenly shimmered. A quiet thud made her stop and turn.
A young man lay unconscious near the water. He was handsome, completely still, and appeared harmless.
Diana rushed over, drawing her sword carefully. She prodded him with her boot. No response. Curious, she knelt down and examined him closely, touching his face and chest to check if he was breathing.
Within minutes, the sound of hoofbeats approached. A dozen Amazon warriors arrived on horseback, weapons drawn. Queen Hippolyta and General Antiope dismounted and approached cautiously.
"A man... on our shores. After all these years," Hippolyta said, her voice filled with disbelief and concern.
"He breathes, my Queen," Antiope observed. "But he seems unarmed and harmless."
The other Amazons gathered around, curiosity mixed with protective instinct. They had only read about men in ancient texts. None had ever seen one before, especially one so vulnerable.
---
Inside Lin Chen's mind, the System activated:
[TRANSPORT SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED]
[SYSTEM FUNCTIONS ADJUSTED TO THIS REALITY...]
[ONLY SKILLS REMAIN UNSEALED]
[HOST STATUS]
Name: Lin Chen
Race: Human
Sealed Power: Boundless 1st (Supreme)
Current Attributes:
- Strength: 69 kg (Average human male)
- Physique: 1.0 (Baseline human durability/endurance)
- Speed: 4 m/s (Standard human speed/reflexes)
- Mental Power: 1.3 (Slightly above average human mind)
Skills:
- Driving (Expert)
- Street Fighting (Expert)
- Construction Work (Expert)
- Swimming (Expert)
- Hacking (Intermediate)
- Gun Shooting (Expert)
Special Abilities: None (All Sealed)
System Storage: None
---
Suddenly, Lin Chen's eyes snapped open. He gasped, staring up at the circle of armed women surrounding him.
Before he could move, two Amazons grabbed his arms and forced him to his knees.
"Secure him," Antiope commanded. "We take him to the Queen's counsel."
[DETECTED! STRENGTH +53 kg]
Lin Chen felt warm energy entering his body. It was comfortable—the long-lost feeling of growing stronger. His System was working again.
A status window appeared in his vision, showing information about the woman who seemed to be their leader:
[CHARACTER STATUS]
Name: Hippolyta
Race: Amazonian
Age: 19,078 years
Strength: 9.3 tons (9,308 kg)
Physique: 94.5
Speed: 59 m/s
Mental Power: 1.5
Abilities:
- Immortality/Longevity (Immune to aging and disease, but can be killed)
- Fast Healing Factor (Regenerates damaged tissue rapidly)
Skills:
- Master Combatant (Extremely skilled in Amazonian martial arts)
- Expert Swordsmanship (Centuries of experience)
- Expert Archer (Highly precise with bow and arrows)
- Expert Rider (Highly skilled on horseback)
- Omnilingual (Can speak all human languages)
---
Lin Chen's mind raced as he understood the situation. I'm on Themyscira. Paradise Island. And that young woman... that's Diana. I must have arrived before the original Wonder Woman movie events should happen.
He remembered fragments of future events—Diana would eventually leave this island, there would be a world war, and she would become Earth's greatest hero. But the details were hazy, and he couldn't rely on knowing everything.
The Amazons bound his hands and led him to an open amphitheater. Queen Hippolyta stepped forward, holding a brilliant golden rope that glowed with magical light.
She wrapped the Lasso of Truth around his torso.
[DETECTED: TRUTH SPEAK—Ability to make people speak absolute truth when you touch them]
[MENTAL POWER +0.2]
Lin Chen felt a gentle compulsion to speak honestly, but it wasn't overwhelming. His baseline human mind was just slightly resistant.
"Who are you, man from man's world?" Hippolyta demanded.
[DETECTED! OMNILINGUAL—Ability to speak all human languages]
[MENTAL POWER +0.3]
Lin Chen felt knowledge flooding his mind—every human language on Earth became instantly accessible to him.
"I am Lin Chen," he answered truthfully. "A man."
"How did you find this island? Who sent you?" Hippolyta pressed.
"I came alone. No one sent me. I simply appeared here when I woke up."
Diana stepped forward, her eyes intense. "What is your purpose?"
[MENTAL POWER +0.3]
Lin Chen met her gaze. "My purpose is to find peace in a world where war has been happening for years. Millions of people are dying out there."
His answer drew confused looks. The Amazons exchanged uncertain glances.
"What? Man's world is at war?" Hippolyta asked, alarm rising in her voice.
"Mother!" Diana exclaimed. "Is It Ares..."
Before anyone could respond, the sharp sound of machine gun fire echoed from the distance, followed by a deep explosive splash near the beach.
An Amazon guard ran into the amphitheater. "Queen Hippolyta! A flying object has crashed into the waters! Boats have breached our barrier! Male soldiers are on our beach!"
Hippolyta immediately mounted her horse. "Warriors, to the shore!"
Diana and Antiope sprinted away, other warriors close behind. They raced through the jungle paths toward the beach.
Lin Chen quickly opened the lasso binding him and chased after them. As he ran, golden light particles floated from the Amazon warriors ahead and flowed into his body.
[PHYSIQUE +5.2]
[SPEED +4.9 m/s]
[PHYSIQUE +7.3]
[SKILL ACQUIRED: EXPERT RIDER—Can tame and ride fast animals like horses as a warrior]
[SPEED +4.5 m/s]
[PHYSIQUE +6.9]
[STRENGTH +45 kg]
[SPEED +5.4 m/s]
[PHYSIQUE +8.4]
[SPEED +5.2 m/s]
Lin Chen's strength, speed, and physique improved dramatically as he absorbed attributes.
Current Stats:
- Strength: 167 kg
- Physique: 35.8
- Speed: 26 m/s
---
Lin Chen reached the beach. Hippolyta and the other warriors had gathered there. An Amazon warrior emerged from the waves, carrying an unconscious man. She laid him on the sand and pushed on his chest several times, then gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
The man—Steve Trevor—woke up coughing saltwater.
But there was no time for investigation. German military boats began arriving at the beach, passing through the mystical barrier that protected the island.
Hippolyta saw the invaders approaching. "Archers! Fire!"
The Amazons attempted to repel the invaders using fire-lit arrows launched from the high cliffs.
[ARCHERY +3.3]
[ARCHERY +4.2]
[SKILL: ARCHERY (BASIC) 7.5/20]
Several Amazon warriors demonstrated incredible agility, descending the sheer cliffs using ropes and acrobatic maneuvers to engage the soldiers directly on the sand.
[PHYSIQUE +7.5]
[STRENGTH +56 kg]
[SPEED +4 m/s]
The Germans used bolt-action rifles, pistols, and machine guns. The Amazons fought with bows, swords, spears, and shields.
Lin Chen spotted a discarded sword on the beach and picked it up. He had no superhuman abilities now, but he had expert-level street fighting skills and his newly acquired attributes made him faster and stronger than a normal human.
He joined the battle, moving to support the Amazon warriors.
"Be careful!" he shouted. "Those weapons shoot metal projectiles at high speed! Stay behind cover!"
[STRENGTH +58 kg]
[PHYSIQUE +6.3]
[SPEED +3 m/s]
Current Stats:
- Strength: 281 kg
- Physique: 49.6
- Speed: 33 m/s
The Amazons were shocked when several warriors were struck by bullets, creating immediate casualties. They had never faced such weapons before.
Once the fighting moved into close quarters, the Amazons' centuries of training gave them the advantage. General Antiope led a mounted troop into the battle, using spears and swords to cut through the German lines with devastating efficiency.
[SWORDSMANSHIP +7.6]
[SWORDSMANSHIP +6.5]
[SWORDSMANSHIP +6.9]
[SKILL: SWORDSMANSHIP (INTERMEDIATE) 20.4/60]
[SPEED +2.5 m/s]
In a spectacular moment, three Amazons used their shields to launch Antiope into the air, allowing her to fire three arrows simultaneously at the soldiers below.
[STRENGTH +55 kg]
[ARCHERY +15.3]
[SKILL: ARCHERY (INTERMEDIATE) 22.8/60]
Diana joined the fight, moving with grace and power that surpassed even the other Amazons.
Lin Chen noticed a German soldier pointing his rifle directly at Diana. Without hesitation, he picked up a discarded rifle from a fallen soldier and fired, striking the German before he could shoot.
Lin Chen remembered—in the original timeline, General Antiope was supposed to die here, sacrificing herself to save Diana from bullets. But his intervention had changed things.
Steve Trevor also fought, managing to take down several soldiers with a shotgun he'd grabbed.
During the chaos, Lin Chen threw himself in front of a grenade, kicking it away from a group of Amazons before it exploded harmlessly in the water.
The battle ended with all the German soldiers dead. The beach was littered with bodies and spent ammunition.
---
Lin Chen's actions during the battle completely shifted the Amazons' perception of him.
Queen Hippolyta approached him, her expression thoughtful rather than hostile. "You fought for us. Why?"
Lin Chen met her gaze honestly. "Because your cause is just. And because I believe I can help."
By the end of the day, the Amazons no longer saw him as a suspicious intruder, but as a warrior who possessed their same courage.
Diana approached Lin Chen and smiled. "Thank you for saving our sisters. I am Diana."
"Lin Chen," he replied. "And you're welcome."
---
The Amazons captured Steve Trevor and brought him to the amphitheater for questioning. Hippolyta wrapped the Lasso of Truth around him.
"Who are you? Why have you come here?" she demanded.
"My name is Steve Trevor," he answered, unable to lie. "I'm a pilot and spy for the Allied forces. I came here by accident—my plane was shot down while I was escaping from the Germans."
"What is happening in man's world?" Diana asked.
Steve explained the Great War—a global conflict involving millions of soldiers, unprecedented weapons, and senseless slaughter on a massive scale.
He showed them a notebook he'd stolen. "This belongs to a chemist known as Doctor Poison, or Isabel Maru. She's created a hydrogen-based mustard gas far more lethal than anything known before. It's designed to bypass gas masks. General Ludendorff plans to use it to slaughter millions and prevent the armistice that would end the war."
Steve's description of the massive-scale violence convinced Diana that Ares, the God of War, had returned.
"If this notebook doesn't reach the Allies," Steve continued, "the weapon will be perfected and the war will never end. Millions more will die."
Diana stepped forward, eyes wide. "It is him, Mother. It is Ares. He has found the world again."
Hippolyta's expression hardened. "Enough! Guards, take this pilot and this young man to the cells. We cannot afford to let them leave."
As the Amazon warriors carefully held Lin Chen's arms, he spoke up. "Queen Hippolyta! Diana! Someone is manipulating this war, yes, but humans aren't all bad. There are many good ones worth saving."
Steve called out as he was dragged away. "You don't understand! If you don't help me, there won't be a world left for you to protect!"
Diana fell into deep thought, her eyes troubled.
---
That Night - The Stone Cells
Lin Chen and Steve sat in a cold stone cell. Steve told Lin Chen about his experiences as a spy, while Lin Chen waited patiently.
"You know," Lin Chen said casually, "Someone will come."
"What?" Steve looked at him in confusion.
The sound of metal clicking echoed as Diana appeared, wearing a dark hooded cloak.
"I knew you'd come," Lin Chen said with a slight smile.
Diana smiled back. "How are you, Lin Chen?"
Steve stood up. "Come to watch the prisoners? Your queen made it pretty clear—I'm staying here until the war is over."
Diana quietly unlocked the cell door. "She is afraid. But I am not. I cannot stay here while innocent people die."
"You're letting us go?" Steve asked in disbelief.
Lin Chen stood and stretched. "So, where exactly are we going, Princess?"
Diana's eyes sparkled with determination. "I am going with you. You can lead me to the person responsible for the war. Lin Chen, will you come with me?"
Lin Chen agreed casually. "Sure, why not? I've got nothing better to do."
"Yeah," Steve added. "If we can get off this island without your Queen's general shooting us with arrows, I can take you both there."
Lin Chen deliberately mentioned, "It's her mother who's the Queen, by the way."
Steve looked surprised. "Wait, what? You're the princess?"
Diana nodded. "Then move quickly. We must leave before the sun rises, or we will never be allowed to leave at all."
---
They made their way to the edge of the cliffs where Diana had hidden a small sailboat. Just as they prepared to push off, a group of Amazons on horseback emerged from the mist, led by Queen Hippolyta.
Steve tensed, expecting to be dragged back to the cell. But Lin Chen remained calm—he suspected Hippolyta hadn't come to stop them.
Diana stood her ground. "I'm going, Mother. I cannot stand by while innocent lives are lost. If the Amazons will not fulfill their duty, then I will."
Hippolyta dismounted and approached. Her voice was heavy with grief. "I know. I knew the moment you saw him that this day would come."
She held out a bundle containing Diana's tiara and other equipment.
"This is for you. See that you are worthy of it."
Diana looked surprised. "You're... letting me go?"
"I cannot stop you. But you must understand—if you choose to leave, you may never return."
Steve spoke quietly. "We have to move now. The tide is turning."
Hippolyta placed a hand on Diana's cheek, looking at her daughter as if for the last time.
"The world of men does not deserve you, Diana. It never has. Be careful. You are my greatest love... and today, you are my greatest sorrow."
Diana embraced her mother, then turned toward the boat. Lin Chen and Steve helped push it into the water.
As they sailed away from Themyscira, Diana looked back at the island one last time. Lin Chen noticed the determination in her eyes.
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