Through dense forests, evading wire fences and searchlights, the Suicide Squad finally arrived outside the stage prepared for them.
Hiding on a distant mountain ridge, Copperhead repeatedly scanned with his binoculars, confirming the target. He handed them to Rick, saying, "That's right, this is the place we're looking for, Base X. If we blow this place up, our mission is complete."
Hearing Copperhead's words, Captain Boomerang, standing nearby, voiced his displeasure.
"Why can't we sneak in first, download Project X, and then blow this place up?"
It wasn't unreasonable for Captain Boomerang to say this.
Destroying this facility wouldn't be difficult for them. After all, which criminal was capable of joining the Suicide Squad without having destroyed a few buildings? However, the reward for completing the mission this way was too meager, only two years off their sentences. That wasn't even enough to whet their appetites.
More importantly, Captain Boomerang still had six years and two months left on his sentence. If he simply blew up the experimental building, he'd have to wait for more than four years. But if he could bring out Project X, he'd only need two months to leave that wretched place.
Copperhead shot Captain Boomerang an exasperated glance and produced another pair of binoculars, gesturing for him to look himself.
Initially, Captain Boomerang was dismissive, thinking Copperhead was simply too cowardly to take any risks.
But when he actually took the binoculars and examined the situation himself, he realized it wasn't like that at all.
Below, a large army was on high alert. Fully armed Kutor soldiers patrolled the perimeter of the military base relentlessly. Inside, there were heavy weapons like tanks and self-propelled artillery. The target building was situated in the very center of the camp, the most heavily guarded area.
With their meager numbers, to put it bluntly, each of the soldiers below could drown them with a single spit. Simply succeeding in blowing up the experimental building would be an accomplishment; thinking of stealing the project data was sheer fantasy.
"Something's not right, not right at all."
After observing the target military camp and recalling their journey, Rick grew increasingly uneasy.
The sheer number of troops and the armaments clearly indicated Kutor's high regard for this experimental base. Yet, they had found it so easily, almost as if on a leisurely outing, singing and joking along the way. The only resistance they encountered were Kutor patrols with low combat awareness and outdated equipment.
Rick had even prepared for several days of extreme wilderness survival, but now they had found their target in less than a night. It was almost too easy.
When things are too abnormal, there's bound to be a trick. The excessive ease made Rick suspect it might be a trap set by the enemy.
In the command center on the other side, Cheshire Cat watched the screen before him. The image displayed was, remarkably, of Rick and his group.
From the moment the Suicide Squad landed, every move they made was under control.
What appeared to be ordinary grassland, forests, and earthen mounds concealed intricate mechanisms.
This was due to a unique characteristic of Kutor: the fusion of technology and magic.
At first glance, these places looked no different from ordinary objects. In reality, they were embedded with miniaturized sensors of significant yield, concealed by magic to blend seamlessly with the environment.
Although the members of the Suicide Squad were all skilled in their own ways, unfortunately, none of them knew magic. Naturally, they couldn't detect such hidden wonders.
Furthermore, these enchantments were personally set by Bai Qi. Even if someone in the Suicide Squad knew magic, unless they were a Grand Mage like Old Man, they could at most faintly sense the magical fluctuations, but would be unable to ascertain the true cause.
"This little fellow is quite interesting."
Watching the Suicide Squad members on the screen, especially Rick, who had begun to sense something was amiss, Cheshire Cat twirled a butterfly knife in his hand.
At that moment, Master Mayhem entered from outside. Seeing the situation and the nonchalant Cheshire Cat, he said, "Since that's the case, go give them something to do. Make the show more convincing."
Cheshire Cat stuck his butterfly knife into the table and glared unhappily at Master Mayhem beside him, retorting, "Why me? You're not busy either. Why don't you go?"
"Go now."
Seeing Master Mayhem's anger, Cheshire Cat slowly rose from his seat, stretched languidly, and walked out the door.
At the doorway, Cheshire Cat couldn't resist teasing Master Mimic about the skull mask on his face.
After leaving the command center, Cheshire Cat used secret passages and detours to maneuver behind the Suicide Squad.
"Who's there!"
Copperhead's sharp sixth sense, honed by years of experience, screamed an alarm the moment Cheshire Cat approached, its power no less than Spider-Man's Spider-Sense.
Despite Captain Boomerang's usual lack of seriousness and flippant remarks, he was quite formidable in the face of danger.
The moment Copperhead spoke, he drew a boomerang from his hip and, without a word, threw it to his side.
If it were any other weapon, a throw at this angle would be irrecoverable. But this was a boomerang, a weapon with unique characteristics, and this angle was perfect.
The boomerang traced a beautiful arc through the air, flying from the side towards the direction Copperhead indicated.
*Clang!*
With a metallic collision, the boomerang was knocked to the ground.
"A boomerang? You use that as a weapon? Quite interesting."
Cheshire Cat, perched on a tree, looked down at them, a tanto in hand. His gaze swept over all the Suicide Squad members, finally settling on Rick.
"You little kitty, get down here."
Whenever faced with a stalemate, Harley Quinn was often the first to react, and this time was no exception.
Seeing that neither side was making a move, an impatient Harley Quinn grabbed her wooden mallet, raised it above her head, and charged forward noisily. With a heavy swing, she struck the trunk of the tree.
The seemingly unremarkable wooden mallet, in Harley Quinn's hands, seemed divinely assisted. As it struck the tree trunk, the entire tree swayed violently.
Startled, Cheshire Cat, still on the tree, thought Harley Quinn possessed supernatural strength and was about to split the massive tree in two. He quickly leaped to a nearby tree, simultaneously flicking his left hand. Several shuriken flew out, heading directly for Harley Quinn.
Just as the shuriken were about to hit Harley Quinn, a massive body shielded her.
This was Killer Croc.
He used his tough hide to block the projectiles for Harley.
"Thank you, little croc."
Although the shuriken were blocked, Cheshire Cat wasn't willing to give up just yet.
However, if it came to a fight, Cheshire Cat would undoubtedly be no match for the entire Suicide Squad.
Knowing this well, Cheshire Cat didn't press the attack. He pulled out a flare and fired it into the sky.