Emma Frost sat quietly on the sofa, her diamond form fading as she reached up and touched her lips, lost in thought. The Red Devil, Azazel, paced nearby, his expression a mixture of confusion and frustration. He could not understand why Emma was so calm after what had just happened. Su Zhan had not only resisted her psychic control but had also turned the tables on her, even humiliating her in front of her own people. Yet Emma did not seem angry. In fact, she seemed almost amused, as if satisfied by the encounter.
Azazel's confusion only deepened. "Why aren't you furious after what he did?" he asked, unable to keep the irritation from his voice. "He humiliated you, and you just let him walk away?"
Emma's eyes sparkled with a mysterious light. She ignored Azazel's outburst and spoke in a low voice, "Keep an eye on Warpath. If he does anything to Su Zhan, notify me immediately."
Azazel nodded, though he still did not understand. He followed after Warpath, leaving Emma alone in the room.
Emma leaned back, her fingers tracing her lips as she replayed the events in her mind. "Su Zhan, you're becoming more and more interesting to me," she murmured to herself. "I truly want to see how far you can go. Before that, I think I'll help you clear away some obstacles. Don't let me down."
Meanwhile, far from the Hellfire Club, Su Zhan and Blink reappeared in a remote alley. Blink looked bewildered, still shaken from her experience.
"Boss, what just happened? Who were those people?" Blink asked, her voice trembling slightly.
Su Zhan glanced at her, his tone gentle but serious. "That was the Hellfire Club. Have you heard of them?"
Blink nodded. "I've heard the name. They're a mutant organization, right? Was that really the Hellfire Club just now? Why did they want us there?"
Su Zhan explained, "The blonde woman you saw is Emma Frost, the White Queen. She's a powerful telepath and can control minds. After her secondary mutation, she can also turn her body into diamond. The red-skinned man is Azazel. His powers are similar to yours—he can teleport. The last one, the man you fought, is Warpath. He may not seem special, but he's a master of combat and strategy."
Blink's eyes widened as she tried to process the information. "Why were we there? Was it because I was controlled by the White Queen?"
Su Zhan nodded. "Exactly. Emma Frost has been watching me for a long time. She knew I was returning from S.H.I.E.L.D., and she knew you were out running errands. She used her telepathy to control you and lure me to the Hellfire Club. Everything was calculated. Even the moment you opened the portal was intentional—she wanted to make sure I noticed."
Blink shivered, recalling the sense of helplessness she had felt. "I don't remember anything after I left the base. One moment I was buying supplies, and the next I was there, facing her."
Su Zhan placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't blame yourself. The White Queen is a master manipulator. She wanted to test me, to see if I'd notice the difference. In a way, it was her way of showing her strength and sending a warning."
Blink nodded, still unsettled. "She's dangerous."
Su Zhan agreed. "Very. She's clever, ambitious, and not someone to underestimate. But for now, she's more interested in observing than attacking. She wants to see how far I can go."
Blink hesitated, then asked, "So what do we do now?"
Su Zhan smiled. "We finish what we came out to do. Let's buy what we need and head back to the base."
Together, they completed their errands and returned to the base. For the next few days, life settled into a rare calm. Su Zhan spent his days helping with the construction of the base and his nights absorbing etheric particles, steadily growing stronger. The world outside seemed unusually quiet. There was no movement from Warpath, no new schemes from the Hellfire Club, and even S.H.I.E.L.D. had no missions for the time being. It was as if the entire world had paused, giving Su Zhan a chance to catch his breath.
He knew this peace would not last. The system's recent upgrade had shortened the refresh time for new worlds to fifteen days and extended his stay in each to seven days. Now, the third parallel world was open, and Su Zhan was considering his next move.
He weighed his options carefully. In the DC world, he was most familiar with the Arrow and Flash universes, and because they belonged to the same continuity, he could link them together. Based on the timeline, the Arrow world was closest to the Green Lantern plane. When the Flash appeared, Arrow had already been active in Star City for some time. The news he had seen in the Green Lantern world confirmed that Oliver Queen was still presumed dead, meaning the Arrow had not yet returned.
The choice was clear. The next world would be Arrow.
He selected the new copy, and the system responded instantly. "Copy selected: Arrow. Do you wish to enter?"
"Yes," Su Zhan replied.
In the blink of an eye, the world shifted. Su Zhan found himself standing on a street corner in Star City. Every superhero had their own territory: Arrow in Star City, Flash in Central City, Green Lantern in Coast City, Superman in Metropolis, and Batman in Gotham. Star City was not especially prosperous, with a stark divide between rich and poor. As Su Zhan walked the streets, he could feel the city's tension and restlessness.
He passed a store with a television in the window. The news was reporting the return of Oliver Queen, the missing billionaire now back from the dead.
"I really didn't expect that playboy to survive. Some people have all the luck," someone muttered nearby, turning away in annoyance.
Su Zhan shrugged. It seemed Oliver Queen was not universally loved. Before he became the Green Arrow, he was just another spoiled rich kid.
A new chapter was about to begin, and Su Zhan was ready to see what this world had in store.