After obtaining the Earth's power, Basha had been in contact with Bai Qi through her sunglasses, eager to return to the surface as soon as possible. She feared that any further delay might give Di Kui, that dense oaf, time to realize what had happened.
Upon confirming that Basha had indeed acquired Di Kui's Earth's power, Bai Qi nodded and said, "Very well, I'll bring people to open the gate. You wait by the Hell Gate."
Without giving Basha a chance to reply, he covered the lid again, abruptly ending the call.
After the call with Basha, Bai Qi looked at the magic mirror, then at the Helm of Destiny in his hand. After a moment of consideration, he made his choice.
He handed the Helm of Destiny to a Shadow Ninja, instructing him to hide it deep within the Shadow Kingdom.
The matter of hunting Nabu would require careful planning and execution. It had to be a decisive strike, leaving no room for error. If Nabu were to escape, recapturing him would be a daunting task in the future.
Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, Bai Qi decided to start with the simpler objective: releasing Basha. With Basha out in the open, she would undoubtedly draw the attention of many factions, making his own move against Nabu considerably easier.
Although he planned to release Basha first, Bai Qi had already deciphered the location of Basha's Hell Gate: it was in Xebel.
Xebel was an underwater nation born from the secession of the Atlantean Empire. Among the seven kingdoms, it was the only one, aside from the Kingdom of Atlantis, that still housed a people resembling Homo sapiens. Even before the Great Collapse, the two nations often competed, their historical relationship being one of lukewarm detachment. However, in recent decades, the relationship between Xebel and the Kingdom of Atlantis had gradually warmed. Mera, the princess of Xebel, became a student and adopted daughter of Atlanna, the Queen of Atlantis, and later became engaged to Orm, the King of Atlantis, making the two nations de facto allies.
Later, Orm was killed, and Arthur Curry, of mixed human and Atlantean heritage, became the new King. Mera then became the wife of the new King.
This was a stroke of luck for Bai Qi. Basha's escape would be a catastrophe for all of Atlantis, and Xebel would undoubtedly be the first to bear the brunt of it. Given Xebel's relationship with Atlantis, the latter would surely not stand idly by. After all, the current Queen was from Xebel, and for all intents and purposes, troops would be dispatched, perhaps even the King and the Justice League.
Atlantis would then become an empty city, ripe for the taking and leaving at will.
Bai Qi knew that Savage had long coveted the alien starfish frozen in Atlantis's science and technology museum. Unfortunately, that artifact was located underwater, within the heavily guarded Atlantis Science and Technology Museum.
The immense pressure of the deep sea alone posed a limitation for surface dwellers like Savage. They would also have to find a way to bypass the outer patrols of scouts. Even if they managed to enter, it would be impossible to sneak into the museum unnoticed and retrieve the alien starfish, which was five to six stories high. Any significant disturbance would attract the attention of Atlantis's local guards and soldiers, and if the situation dragged on, the Justice League would also be called in for reinforcements.
The Illuminati had attempted this once before. The leader of that mission was Manta. As a probationary member of the Illuminati, he desperately needed to achieve something to prove himself, so he volunteered for the mission. The plan was to feign an attack on Atlantis, creating a diversion by actively attacking the royal palace. Once the attention of all the guards was focused on the palace, Manta would personally lead a small team.
The plan was sound, but an unforeseen event occurred midway, disrupting it. As time wore on, the chaos at the palace subsided, and the Justice League arrived. Manta was forced to retreat.
Following this failed raid, Atlantis's security around the science and technology museum became even more stringent.
Now that such a perfect opportunity had arisen, Bai Qi informed Savage, who readily agreed without a second thought, even promising Bai Qi any benefits or assistance he might need.
Bai Qi was not one to mince words and stated his demands directly.
He wanted a portion of the alien starfish's tissue samples for his own research after it was retrieved. He also requested a backup of all research data from the Atlantis Science and Technology Museum.
This request was perfectly reasonable, and Savage immediately approved it, making swift preparations for personnel and equipment.
This time, he outsourced the task to the more experienced Manta. Although Manta had failed in the past, there was no denying that he spent most of his time in the sea and was the most familiar with Atlantis among the surface-dwelling humans. Entrusting him with this task was the most appropriate course of action.
However, to ensure Manta's diligent work and as a form of surveillance, Savage dispatched one of his trusted confidants to accompany Manta on the mission. For his own interests, Bai Qi also sent a trusted subordinate along.
Having completed all this, Bai Qi arrived at the palace hall, where the three simpletons, holding the Pan-ku Box, had been waiting for a long time.
Without further ado, Bai Qi had the Shadow Ninja hand them a check and said, "This is your reward. The situation with opening the Hell Gate this time is special, and for your safety, I do not want you to participate."
Hearing Bai Qi's words, the three simpletons became uneasy. Afen was the first to speak, "Your Ho- Your Majesty, our loyalty to you is as evident as the sun and moon. Opening the Hell Gate is a matter of great importance. I believe it is imperative that we participate in this mission."
Zhou and Ras also chimed in, "Yes, Your Majesty, let us go. We can do it."
"That's right, we can do it."
The reason for the trio's eagerness to participate in Basha's release was simple: money.
Unlocking the Pan-ku Box earned them money, and finding and opening the corresponding Hell Gate also brought in money. Now that Bai Qi was preventing them from going, they were losing out on a lot of hard cash.
Bai Qi, exasperated, spoke to these three individuals whose brains were as underdeveloped as their reasoning was nonexistent, "Basha's Hell Gate is in the deep sea. With your physical strength, any slight misstep there would crush you into nothingness. Well, do you still want to go?"
"No, Your Majesty."
"Yes, I just remembered my mother is about to give birth."
"My grandmother made soup, so I won't go."
Putting away their checks and placing the Pan-ku Box on the ground, the three simpletons scrambled out of the hall.
It was a joke. The deep sea! A single mistake could cost them their lives.
Money was important, no doubt, but one needed to be alive to earn it and spend it. What was the point of earning vast sums of money if one were dead?
Bai Qi did not stop the three simpletons as they left. Instead, he began selecting the subordinates who would accompany him to Xebel to open the Hell Gate.
As he had said before, Bai Qi was a demon, and the righteous magic within the Pan-ku Box refused to be touched by him. Even though Bai Qi had become incredibly powerful now, to the point where he could ignore the damage that the Box's righteous magic would inflict upon him, prolonged possession would cause the Box to be corrupted by dark energy, leading to its self-destruction. Without the key to open the gates, how could he unlock the corresponding ones?