In this era, taking a ship ride could be said to be one of the most boring things, second only to digging in the Sahara Desert. The first few days at sea were somewhat novel, but Su Ming quickly grew tired of it.
The sound of waves beside his ears seemed never-ending, the same frequency repeating over and over, echoing even in his dreams at night.
"Shh... shh... kill... kill..."
This made Su Ming wake up every day with the urge to hack something apart.
The route was extremely calm. Anytime you step onto the deck, within the visible range, there was only the vast expanse of sea and sky.
The entertainment options on the cruise, although appearing upscale, were still quite dull—cocktail parties, balls, or poker games and cigar clubs...
He would participate in cigar club activities, it was quite nice to sample others' tobacco, but a person isn't a chimney, and the activity only lasted a short while each day.
Regarding the balls, even though Su Ming was blind in one eye, he was handsome and full of masculine charm. Many noblewomen and young ladies were willing to dance with him.
Unfortunately, dancing was merely dancing. In this era, Americans were also quite conservative, and Su Ming always felt that creating romantic incidents on a luxury cruise was a bad omen.
When the male and female lead fell in love on the Titanic, the ship sank.
When the male and female lead fell in love on the Sea God, the ship sank.
When the male and female lead fell in love on the Great Britain, the ship sank again.
These luxury cruises were once hailed as the fastest and safest in the world, and the captain of the ship Su Ming was on said the same thing when he boarded...
Hence, Su Ming spent most of his time in the gym, where for most of the time there was no one. The public's concept of health was only to sleep well and eat well. The design of a gym on a cruise was rather advanced, though it mainly served for billiard tables and tennis courts.
Being a first-class guest, he could use all the equipment freely.
Unfortunately, the barbells here were not modern ones where you could add weight through plates; instead, they were just an iron rod with two large iron balls welded to the ends, weighing only 100 kilograms, which was too light for Su Ming.
The exercise level of ordinary people was of no use to him, but it was better than nothing.
Su Ming planned to exercise during the long journey and simultaneously develop his new abilities, as X Metal was a novelty for Deathstroke.
However, the monotonous days provided him with no inspiration, and over time, he only discovered a few applications, but none were useful.
For instance, he could remove the bones in one of his hands, turning the flesh into a boneless skin suit, but this ability was merely useful for escaping handcuffs.
But who could restrain Deathstroke? Even if he were handcuffed, it would be easier just to break the cuffs.
He could also control X Metal to flow through the skin into a lock and form a key to unlock it, which was somewhat useful, but wouldn't using C4 to blow it open or breaking down the door with the Nightfall Greatsword be faster?
And then there were the gems Dr. Manhattan gave him, which seemed like ordinary stones, with no clues about the promised energy.
He tried many methods, like holding them and communicating through telekinesis or coating them with his blood, yet these gems remained gems, lifeless.
Then he thought perhaps they were meant to be consumed? So he tried soaking them in water, making soup, and was just shy of grinding them into powder with a small steel grinder, but these weren't cordyceps; they were incredibly sturdy, simply not edible.
He had tried burning, electrifying, and even slashing them with the Nightfall Greatsword.
Apart from the Nightfall Greatsword being able to turn them into two smaller gems, other methods were ineffective.
And those small gems seemed like they were magically cloned—the original gem was oval, and one slash from Su Ming turned it into two smaller oval gems.
No sword marks, no sound of shattering, they simply split apart yet remained unusable.
For now, it seems that apart from X Metal, other existing methods are ineffective, but Dr. Manhattan said these things could ensure his survival in any world. What did that mean?
That is to say, Dr. Manhattan believed that with them, Su Ming could survive even in an uninhabited primitive society, but currently these things were not usable at all.
There must be something he hadn't thought of, and Su Ming had made it a long-term project. As there was no immediate danger, he didn't need them for now, and perhaps when quantum computers became available, he could unravel their secrets.
The days passed in exercise and research, and after nearly a month, Su Ming, with all his belongings, came to the deck.
In the distance, he could already see the Statue of Liberty, distant yet appearing as if she truly stood upon the sea.
They had arrived in New York.
The Statue of Liberty, completed in 1884, was to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the United States and has always been a symbol of New York, gifted by the French to America.
She stood three kilometers outside the Hudson River Estuary, and all ships entering or leaving New York inevitably passed by her; too bad it wasn't night, or he could've seen her torch 'lit'.
The long journey made the passengers quite familiar with each other, and now they were busy saying goodbyes or planning their next meetings, but more often, they were sighing while hastily pouring more alcohol into themselves.
Why was that?
Because from 1921 to 1933 was the nationwide Prohibition era in America, colloquially known as the Prohibition Era.
During this era, Puritans were numerous in America. They advocated for frugality and diligent work, avoiding any form of pleasure, being the most entertainment-resistant and conservative faction within the British Catholic Church. At their most extreme, they even abstained from celebrating Christmas.
Needless to say, that was their leader's birthday...
However, times changed; entering the 20th century, with the rapid development of science and technology, more Americans became accustomed to taking cars, calling phones at work, and visiting bars after work, leading more modernized and diversified pleasurable lives.
In other words, entertainment became the social trend; no one wanted to live a hermit-like life anymore.
Having money and leisure, yet a phonograph at home to listen to music didn't conform to doctrine—wasn't that absurd?
So young people were less willing to believe in religion, or even if they did, they became more secularized.
Could the ruling church be satisfied? Of course not. They mobilized their power, uniting local delegates to pass the Prohibition Act with majority votes in Congress, making prohibition part of the U.S. Constitution, known as the Eighteenth Amendment.
The act stipulated that from the end of 1921, manufacturing or selling alcohol in any federal state was illegal, transporting alcohol was equally illegal, and drinking in public was even worse.
Violators could face heavy fines and over six months of hard labor.
However, Hawaii at that time was not part of the 'federal states,' and the cruise Su Ming was on belonged to a Hawaiian maritime company, so they didn't have to follow federal state laws.
But once passengers stepped ashore, they were on New York State land. If they wanted another drink then, they'd have to sneak into an alley at night like spies to acquire alcohol.
It must be said, a law that defies the natural course of time cannot last. The Prohibition may have been widely accepted when initially introduced, but eventually, it was repealed.
People needed relaxation and entertainment; in 1929, America would face a Great Depression due to a stock market crash. People lost jobs and homes, and there were too many bodies from Wall Street suicides to collect on time. If they couldn't even buy alcohol to numb themselves, it would be too inhumane.
So, at the end of 1932, Democratic candidate Franklin Roosevelt proposed his campaign manifesto, which included repealing Prohibition. He promised that once he became President, every person could drink freely.
That year, he gained an overwhelming majority in 42 out of 48 states, crushing the competition to enter the White House, becoming the 32nd President of the United States, and he served four terms, a unique case in American history.
As for the reason, who knows if it was because he won World War II or abolished Prohibition...
Amidst a farewell atmosphere filled with the scent of alcohol, Su Ming stepped onto the land of New York, which would be his dwelling for a long time to come.