"We can go in now."
As soon as he finished speaking, the security guard's attitude changed, and he made way for the two of them:
"I made a mistake, please come in, both of you!"
"The Authority of Domination is so useful. Afterwards, I'll find Makima to sign a contract and borrow some of her Authority."
Akira was very envious of the Authority of Domination, this almost limitless control ability. Moreover, the cost of signing a contract with a Devil depended entirely on the Devil's mood. Some Devils only wanted to act as your heart and watch dreams, while others required sacrificing the lifespan of everyone in a country for a year. Believing in Makima's special attitude towards him, the cost should also be something not too heavy or too light.
The two of them were not aiming for Fisk Tower, but rather a excavated mine shaft next to it. Many Gang members holding firearms and The Hand ninjas wielding katanas were guarding the entrance.
Suddenly, two strangers appeared. A Gang member who looked like a boss stepped forward and asked:
"Hey, what are you doing here?"
"We are your new Master." Makima's emotionless voice echoed at the entrance of the mine shaft.
Whether it was the Gang members or The Hand ninjas, their wary movements relaxed, they lowered their weapons, and stood respectfully to the side.
"Yes, Master."
Makima took over this Base of The Hand without shedding any blood.
"Alright, Madame Gao won't be here for another 3 minutes. Do you want to go down and see The Hand's secret?"
Makima pointed inside the mine shaft. The rats she controlled had already transmitted the scene below to her.
Akira was clicking his tongue, examining the Gang members controlled by Makima. Hearing this, he nodded:
"Then let's go in!"
"Lead the way." Makima gave the order to a ninja.
"Yes." The ninja led the way.
The mine shaft was very deep. Akira stood at the top and couldn't see the bottom at all. "What a massive project!"
They boarded a makeshift elevator. The ninja pressed the switch, and with a creaking sound, the elevator slowly descended. There were no lights installed in the mine shaft, and it was pitch black. This darkness even swallowed time.
Finally, before Akira's sense of time vanished, light shone up from below, indicating they had reached the bottom.
As soon as it stopped, two ninjas attacked Akira and Makima. They were The Hand ninjas who had not yet been dominated by Makima.
"Stop." The emotionless voice sounded again, as if invisible chains flew out from Makima's outstretched fingertips, piercing through the heads of the two ninjas.
They also became living puppets, standing quietly on either side of Akira and Makima.
"Keep going."
The ninja led the way again. Akira noticed obvious signs of an explosion inside the mine shaft, and some areas had clearly just been reinforced.
"That day's explosion happened here, didn't it?"
"Yes, Master. In order to open the seal burying the Dragon Bone, we buried a large amount of explosives near the seal, which caused the earthquake in New York, but the seal was not broken." The ninja beside him explained to Akira.
"Are The Hand people crazy?! Aren't they afraid of blowing themselves up?!" Akira couldn't understand The Hand's actions.
A faint golden light shone into their eyes. In front, a group of The Hand ninjas were using various tools to destroy a huge stone wall covered in runes. Each time they struck the stone wall, the runes on it would flash with a golden light.
This time, Makima didn't even bother to speak. She simply raised her hand, and several illusory chains flew out, dominating all the ninjas.
"This ability is really useful!" Akira exclaimed again. Makima's ability was like cheating.
Makima extended her right hand, pointing at the wall covered in runes, but nothing happened.
After an unsuccessful attempt, Makima said to Akira, "The seal is very strong. It will take some time to break it."
"You can't even open it, so this seal must be really powerful!"
"It's not that I can't open it, it just takes some effort."
Akira stepped forward and knocked on the stone wall with the back of his hand, producing a thudding sound.
"The Dragon Bone should be behind it."
"That's the thing that allowed The Hand leaders to live for hundreds of years. So this is their secret."
"Mm." Akira hummed in affirmation, then took out the short knife he carried with him, his eyes turning iridescent.
"There is no lock in this World that I cannot break."
The World became peculiar. Akira concentrated and saw the black Lines of Death distributed on the surface of the stone wall. They covered the entire stone wall, just like a tear line that manufacturers deliberately leave on packaged products for customers to easily open. Along the tear line, a sturdy package can be easily torn open.
Akira placed the edge of his knife against one of the Lines of Death on the stone wall and sliced down along the mark without using any force.
Like a broken spider silk, the runes on the stone wall collapsed one by one. The entire wall shattered under Akira's single strike, and the entire mine shaft also shook after the stone wall collapsed. Fortunately, The Hand's construction was not bad, and the mine shaft did not collapse.
"Truly amazing!" Makima praised.
Outside Fisk Tower, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s workhorse, Phil Coulson, and his assistant were hiding in a van, observing the inside of Fisk Tower.
After the earthquake in New York, S.H.I.E.L.D. experts discovered that it was not an ordinary earthquake, but caused by a man-made explosion, with the epicenter beneath Manhattan.
As Nick Fury's most capable subordinate, Phil Coulson was sent to investigate the truth of the underground explosion in Manhattan. Relying on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s advanced technology and Phil Coulson's sharp eyes, they quickly pinpointed Fisk Tower as the most severely damaged building in the earthquake.
After some inquiries, Phil Coulson did not rashly enter to investigate. His collected intelligence showed that this building was the territory of New York's Gang boss, Kingpin. The latter had recently been very close to an ancient organization called The Hand, and there might be some conspiracy. Phil Coulson planned to gather enough intelligence before directly applying for support from the agency to act. He would not be so foolish as to directly clash with New York's Gang with just a few people.
The vehicle suddenly shook slightly. Coulson felt it was somewhat familiar and asked his assistant:
"Find out the source of the tremor."
The assistant received the order and quickly operated the instrument beside him. The result was soon out.
"Officer, the source of the tremor is also beneath Fisk Tower."
"What is Kingpin up to?"
Inside the underground mine shaft of Fisk Tower.
"So big!"
This was Akira's first impression upon seeing the Dragon Bone.
What first entered their sight was the skull of a creature. Akira observed that the eye sockets of the Dragon Bone were much larger than his head.
"Something's strange. There are also some strange things on the Dragon Bone."
Akira spoke in confusion. From the perspective of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, besides the Lines of Death of the skeleton, the surface of the Dragon Bone was also covered with some Lines of Death whose meaning he didn't know.
Makima once again extended her palm with a strange motion. This time there was a reaction; the giant Dragon skeleton began to tremble, and two golden Flames emerged from its eye sockets.
"What a miraculous creature. Even after such a long time since its death, consciousness and power can still remain in its remains."
Makima dominated the dead ancient Dragon's bones. The Authority of Domination was very mysterious; she could dominate the living and also dominate the dead.