Chapter 121: The Atrocities of the Hand

These green-clad ninjas were all steadfast practitioners of "banzai charges" and people who had essentially given up on life, serving as the ultimate bootlickers to their feudal aristocratic masters. In a desperate bid to salvage Japan’s lagging genetic engineering, they transformed from nihilists into berserkers. Relying on the "extraordinary" courage instilled by deep brainwashing, they—who should have been masters of stealth—each had the character for "Courage" carved into their chests, becoming idols for countless Japanophiles.

If one were to rate the city-level combatants among Marvel superheroes as S-rank, these fellows might manage to scrape a B-rank if you tacked it onto the end.

Having reached this point in his internal monologue, Mei Rencao truly couldn't find any more ways to mock the Hand’s ninjas. The initial wave of green-clad ninjas had shown a glimmer of tactical awareness, understanding concepts like suppressive fire and rapid dispersion. Unfortunately, before they could complete their maneuvers, Yelena had mowed them down into a pool of blood with her submachine gun. The waves that followed were essentially suicide squads, shouting "Banzai!" like peddlers hawking chestnuts, charging forward in mere cloth garments that offered zero protection.

Mei Rencao wasn't just boasting; even without any extraordinary abilities or magic, if someone gave him an MG42 machine gun, he could hold the bunker’s main entrance single-handedly.

Unfortunately, Yelena didn't have a machine gun, only a PPSh. She had enjoyed herself during the first three minutes of spraying bullets. But after the next three minutes, having exhausted her ammunition, she was genuinely stunned by the enemy’s tactic of trading human lives for her bullets.

In a sense, this tactic of using human lives to draw fire was effective. Mei Mumu had already sensed that around the main gate where they were standing, over a dozen small tunnel entrances had opened up. These tunnels were absurdly narrow—less than forty centimeters in height and width—forcing anyone inside to crawl. For a grown man of Russian stature, it was physically impossible to even squeeze in.

Yelena, having had her attention fully captured by the frenzied frontal charge of the Hand ninjas, hadn't noticed that she was already surrounded. When thunderous shouts erupted from every direction around her, she was startled. Yet, she calmed down just as quickly. She saw Mei Jiecao standing behind her, as steady as an old dog. Her omnipotent master and lord had yet to make a move.

Then, she heard Mei Jiecao’s voice: "Well, keep it up, Yelena."

A circular portal, two meters in diameter and sparking with golden light, opened in front of Mei Jiecao, and he vanished in an instant.

If Yelena, the second Black Widow, were still an ordinary human, she would likely have died under such an encirclement. The Hand’s ninjas were all at the level of ordinary people; their only strength was their numbers. Regardless of whether Yelena stood at the pinnacle of humanity, as long as she remained mortal, she would have limited stamina, she would grow tired, she would get injured, her movements would slow, and she would eventually die.

Regrettably, the current Yelena was no longer that mortal.

Silently, Yelena began to retreat. Her movements were sensual and elegant—a style typically reserved for alluring skills—but she couldn't be bothered to show off her physical assets against these small-time thugs.

"Silent Dance" activated!

Despite being in the heart of a fierce battlefield, every green-clad ninja felt as if she were blending into the darkness. This had nothing to do with night blindness; it was purely the effect of Yelena’s superhuman abilities. The ninjas panicked, shouting things like "Surround her!" and "Don't let her escape!"

Little did they know, this was exactly what Yelena wanted.

"Delusional Poison Body, Level 1—" Yelena whispered the name of the technique from her alluring red lips.

Upon triggering this ultimate move, Yelena gained traits similar to the Indian "Poison Maiden" inheritance—a curse rather than a blessing. Her entire body, including her bodily fluids, became the embodiment of poison. By suppressing the power and using only the first tier, she simply exhaled a poisonous mist. Of course, the Japanese ninjas didn't understand Russian. Even less did they realize that the surrounding air was being stained with a layer of purple haze invisible to the naked eye.

"Ugh!"
"Ah!"
"Poison... it's poisonous!"

Hundreds of ninjas collapsed in agony, twitching and clutching their throats, some frantically digging at their own necks in a desperate attempt to extract the pain. Other ninjas quickly covered their mouths with cloth.

It was utterly useless.

Yelena’s poison gas could not only be inhaled through the respiratory system but could also penetrate the skin. Unless one possessed highly modern full-body protection, this technique was unstoppable. What did a "banzai charge" devoid of fear matter against this? Could they dodge a wide-area weapon of mass destruction?

In the distance, some ninjas attempted to kill Yelena with their Arisaka rifles. But Yelena, already at the pinnacle of human capability and further enhanced, was virtually impossible to hit.

"Whoosh—" A single breath of poison, and those guys collapsed on the spot.

When not a single ninja remained standing within her line of sight, Yelena performed a qigong-like breathing exercise, drawing the surrounding poison gas back into her body. A few seconds later, she looked toward the high slope thirty meters away where Mei Jiecao stood watching the show, a trace of melancholy in her expression. Ever since she gained her power, she had always felt that Mei Mumu didn't value her, which was why he had deliberately given her such an inheritance. Now, while she had broken through her limits, Mei Mumu, in turn, kept her at a respectful distance.

Unfortunately, she dared not show any dissatisfaction or other negative emotions; she nodded to Mei Mumu and followed him inside.

In truth, Mei Jiecao was suffering as well! Such a beautiful woman, yet he could look but not touch. He didn't want his last words before dying of poisoning to be a lament that "this chick is toxic," only to end his journey as a transmigrator. He had no choice but to let Yelena suffer.

Looking at the corpses of the ninjas scattered everywhere, Mei Jiecao felt nothing, for he was mentally prepared for what he might see next.

Some things, however, cannot be accepted even if you are mentally prepared. When he entered the main plaza of this medium-sized fortress, he was immediately stunned by the scene before him. Hundreds of rotting, foul-smelling corpses were piled in the corner. The flies hovering above were like a dark cloud, their deafening buzzing drowning out the crackling flames of the large, crude incinerator nearby. The unspeakable stench of the dead nearly choked him instantly.

"Ugh!" Mei Mumu covered his mouth instinctively.

In a semi-open shed not far away, a dozen corpses, their abdomens sliced open, were laid out casually on wooden tables that resembled operating benches.