Sure enough, after hearing Xia Ling's question, Hundun let out a few more cries, and she immediately understood.
"He says that back in Ta Lo, he grew up alongside Mom. When Dad was searching for the entrance, he picked him up and brought him back."
Xia Ling gently stroked Hundun. It rolled comfortably in her arms, its two pairs of wings folding neatly against its back.
"He wants us to take him home."
"As long as we can find the sacred land, we'll definitely take you back," Shang-Chi said, also reaching out to pat Hundun. If it had grown up with their mother, then its family must still be waiting for it in Ta Lo.
At that moment, Hundun chirped again. Xia Ling's eyes widened.
"He says he can take us there right now. We don't have to wait for the path to open—he can guide us through the maze. But…"
She paused mid-sentence.
"But what?" Shang-Chi pressed.
"He says the journey is extremely dangerous. No one has ever made it out alive. He can guide us safely through… but the chances are slim."
Xia Ling acted as the translator—after all, she was the only one who could understand Hundun.
"So basically, it's a death trip?" Shang-Chi spread his hands helplessly. What he thought was an opportunity turned out to be a near-suicidal gamble.
Suddenly, intense sounds of fighting erupted outside the door. At the same time, the anti-aircraft guns in the courtyard activated, launching rockets into the sky.
"What's going on?!"
Shang-Chi rushed to the small window to look outside, but his view was limited. He could only see black-clad men running toward the commotion.
"Our backup has arrived."
Xia Ling knew exactly what was happening—the Avengers had come.
Sure enough, above the fortress hovered a Quinjet. Steve leapt down alongside Barton and Peter, while Sam shot into the air with his jetpack.
Beside the Quinjet, a flashy red-and-gold armored suit hovered midair, its glowing blue eyes fixed on the fortress below.
"Natalia, the Quinjet has heavy firepower—you handle the anti-aircraft guns. Sam and Rhodey, you take the perimeter. Peter and Tony, you're with me."
Steve quickly laid out the plan, then charged into the fortress with Peter, cutting through the black-clad guards. With his agility and immense strength, Peter easily dealt with anyone in his path.
Though skilled in martial arts, these men were still just ordinary humans. Against Steve and Peter, they stood little chance.
Tony was even more direct—he cleared the area with a few repulsor blasts before descending from the sky to join the fight. Recently, he had been cramming all kinds of martial arts techniques, and with JARVIS integrating massive combat data, Tony had practically become a kung fu master. Even when he couldn't win, he could let JARVIS take over—shamelessly effective.
With a flick of his wrist, a handle extended into his hand, and a beam of blue light shot out, forming a plasma blade.
It was a lightsaber he had designed based on the Jedi weapon. The principle was similar—plasma energy—but without a kyber crystal, it relied on his arc reactor, making it somewhat less powerful, though still formidable.
With Tony joining the fray, Steve and Peter became even more unstoppable, quickly taking down the remaining guards.
Meanwhile, Natasha piloted the Quinjet, destroying one anti-aircraft gun after another.
"Hey, guys—check out what I found!"
Rhodey's voice came through as he arced in from the distance, the War Machine armor gleaming under the moonlight. Behind him trailed several locked-on missiles.
Suddenly, a fireball erupted midair, detonating the missiles behind him. The shockwave propelled Rhodey forward even faster.
"Damn it! I'm still here! Carl, you trying to kill me?!"
Rhodey shouted over comms, complaining about Carl's reckless methods.
A red cloak billowed in the wind, wide like a banner. Several blazing fireballs orbited around him, illuminating the fortress courtyard as bright as day.
After Wenwu had taken Shang-Chi and Xia Ling away earlier, Natasha, Barton, and Sam had regrouped to plan their next move.
Returning to the Avengers base, they reported everything in Macau to Nick Fury while keeping a close watch on the tracker signal.
Tony and Carl joined later—Tony wanted to settle things with Wenwu, while Carl had practically dragged himself along.
In the end, Nick Fury made the call: capture Wenwu, the thousand-year-old monster. The Avengers assembled and launched the operation.
Banner stayed behind at the base, and Thor had returned to Asgard. Everyone else mobilized and flew toward the tracker's location.
---
Inside the warehouse, the tracker on Xia Ling's body crawled out and expanded automatically. At the same time, Shang-Chi's phone buzzed.
He checked it—a message from an unknown number: Open the tracker.
Xia Ling immediately pried open the cube-like device. Inside were two bone-conduction earpieces. The siblings exchanged a glance before placing them behind their ears.
"Shang-Chi, Xia Ling—this is Natasha. We've begun attacking the fortress. Where exactly are you?"
Natasha's voice came through clearly. Though the tracker had a small margin of error, the fortress itself was large—it would be faster if they escaped amid the chaos.
"We should be in an underground storage room," Xia Ling replied immediately. She knew the layout far better than Shang-Chi.
"Got it. We're at the central courtyard. Everyone's focused on us right now—this is your chance to slip out."
Natasha continued firing on the anti-aircraft guns while speaking.
"Understood. I know a way out—but we'll need your help."
Xia Ling moved to the door. After confirming no guards were present, she suddenly kicked a section of the wall behind her. It collapsed instantly, revealing a tunnel tall enough for a person.
"How did you know that was there?" Shang-Chi asked, stunned.
"Dad built tunnels all under this place. That's how I escaped last time."
Carrying Hundun, Xia Ling spoke casually.
"This leads straight to the garage. We can drive out."
The two made their way through the tunnel into the garage. Xia Ling grabbed a random key and tossed it to Shang-Chi, then headed toward the parked cars.
Shang-Chi pressed the key as he walked. Eventually, a flashy BMW beeped twice. Without hesitation, they got in, and he started the engine.
"Natalia, we're in the underground garage—but the main gate requires a fingerprint unlock."
Xia Ling looked at the fingerprint system on the console and immediately contacted Natasha.
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