Harley, who had been sulking about her plan failing, perked up at Rick's gaze. Grabbing a crowbar from beside her, she hummed a tune as she entered the ship's cabin.
"Who are you?!"
Inside the cabin, the companion of the person from before was also startled by Harley's sudden appearance. However, he didn't faint immediately. Instead, he quickly reacted and reached for the gun on the table.
How could Harley give him the chance to grab his gun? She swung the crowbar in her hand directly at his head, fully embodying the characteristics of being fast, accurate, and ruthless, and knocked him to the ground before he could even twitch.
While Harley was having fun, Rick and the other members had already taken control of the entire fishing boat. The crew members were either killed or incapacitated and thrown into the cargo hold.
"Hurry up, everyone. We'll depart after a short rest."
Rick called out, but no one responded. Not even Copperhead or Katana.
Rick knew this well. He had also been soaked in seawater for so long and was equally cold, but some things still needed to be said first.
After a short rest, the team, having recovered their strength, set off again.
This time, however, they had the fishing boat as a means of transport and no longer had to swim in the icy sea.
Copperhead, Rick, and Katana took turns piloting the boat, while the others rested in the cabin, maintaining vigilance.
After all, they had personally witnessed their transport plane being shot down by missiles. Moreover, a fishing boat returning at night was already suspicious. While still some distance from the shore, to avoid attracting attention, everyone had to abandon the boat and continue their advance by swimming.
Before leaving, Rick did not forget to have Killer Croc create a large hole in the bottom of the boat, sinking it into the sea, to ensure there would be no witnesses.
Upon reaching the shore, their movements were swift. Led by Killer Croc, they efficiently dealt with a patrol team of the K.A.T.O.R. squad.
Looking at the bloody corpses, even Rick, who had years of battlefield experience, was visually impacted. But he knew he couldn't show it; so many people were watching, he had to hold his ground.
With great effort, he shifted his gaze away from the bodies. Once his attention was redirected, Rick felt much better. Now was the time for him, Rick, to show these criminals what a professional infiltration operation looked like.
He raised his rifle towards Rick, bent his upper body slightly, and moved forward in short, quick steps, then hid behind a tree as thick as a man's embrace. After peeking out and confirming there were no enemies, he made a forward hand signal to those behind him.
Logically, after making the hand signal, those behind him should have followed quickly. At least, that's how it was when he was in the army. But now, he waited and waited, and no one followed. He looked back, and lo and behold.
He had charged ahead enthusiastically, while the people behind him had no intention of cooperating, maintaining their original steady pace and giving him a look that suggested he was an idiot child.
"Brother, you're too wound up."
After the group finally caught up, Copperhead patted Rick on the shoulder and said.
Even Killer Croc, who didn't seem very bright, couldn't resist a taunt as he passed Rick, saying, "Stupid."
Although these criminals appeared to be strolling, their vigilance had not been lowered at all. They had encountered patrol teams more than once along the way, but they were all dealt with in advance, without even a chance to call for help.
Shortly after the Suicide Squad landed, the once dark sea was once again shrouded in darkness. This darkness spread like a large cloth, emerging from the depths of the sea and extending to the shore.
Soon, a patrol team arrived. Seeing the bodies on the ground, they were about to sound the alarm. The next moment, several shadowy ninjas sprang from the darkness and, with lightning speed, killed the entire patrol team.
"Are these Sheng Zhu's subordinates? They're too weak."
Tala's large head slowly emerged from the sea. Looking at the patrol members who had been instantly killed on the ground, he felt even more disdain for Bai Qi.
He had made so many preparations, only to find that this demon of fire was only strong in his own abilities; his subordinates were all rabble.
Now he could finally settle the score with the human who had stolen his authority.
That's right, Tala's purpose for coming here to rob was to find trouble with Xiao Yu.
Bai Qi thought he had used magic to conceal Xiao Yu's existence, but that wasn't the case. The reason Tala had not appeared sooner wasn't because he hadn't discovered Xiao Yu's existence, but because he had, but dared not.
Since his last encounter with Bai Qi, Tala had been deeply traumatized.
Such a powerful primordial demon was bound by rules, could not be killed, and the only way was to seal him.
But when it came to sealing, Tala was in a difficult situation. This was what Tala was worst at, otherwise he wouldn't have been sealed and now exists in the world with only a large head after his resurrection.
So he had to drag it out. Before he had enough confidence to seal Sheng Zhu in one go, Tala dared not face Sheng Zhu directly. Therefore, even though he had known for a long time that the human girl who stole his authority was in K.A.T.O.R., he was wary that this was Sheng Zhu's territory, and even more wary of Sheng Zhu himself.
Now it was different. According to the ninjas' report, Sheng Zhu was currently thousands of miles away in the United States, engaging in a battle with a chaotic wizard who used dark magic. The opponent's magic was formidable, and he was skilled in sealing and curse magic, fighting Sheng Zhu to a standstill. This was a perfect opportunity for him to infiltrate, no, to storm into K.A.T.O.R. and eliminate that human girl.
For most people, firearms had a very strong deterrent effect at this stage, but for Tala, it was entirely different.
His ethereal body allowed him to pass through all obstacles and be immune to all physical attacks except for onions. Guns and missiles could not harm him in the slightest.
Coupled with the Suicide Squad that arrived due to Project Icarus.
Originally, Tala only revealed this plan to Waller to annoy Bai Qi and to inspect Bai Qi's defensive deployment in K.A.T.O.R. and the strength of his subordinates.
He didn't expect the two events to coincide.
With the Suicide Squad drawing fire, his task would be even more secure.
To ensure the successful elimination of that human, Tala had brought all his assets this time: Ika, Retsu, Minta, and Manny.
It could be said that apart from the masks in Bai Qi's hands, all the remaining ones were here, and they had all found hosts and completed the act of possession.
Considering that Xiao Yu's strength had grown to the point where she could contend with a single Shadow General within a few days of getting tattooed, and with so much time having passed since then, especially while under Sheng Zhu, her strength must have increased significantly compared to before. Therefore, Tala had to be cautious.
If only he knew that after moving into the palace, Xiao Yu would spend an hour studying demonic script every day, and then just play.
He wondered if Tala would die of anger.