Reborn with Steve Stand

"Are we there yet?"

Upon hearing Fang Mo's question, Summon also looked up at the distant air-raid shelter.

She had never seen such a strange heavenly structure and couldn't help but remark, "Such a thick iron door... Although they are imprisoning a royal princess, isn't this a bit over the top?"

"After all, the Kartel organization is a military group. It's normal for them to use fortifications to detain hostages."

As Fang Mo explained, he walked towards the air-raid shelter. "What else could they do? You can't just tie a princess to a roadside rock with a chain, can you?"

"They would deserve to die if they did that."

Summon couldn't help but interject.

"Exactly."

Fang Mo shrugged. "A metal collar would chafe her skin. At least they should use a soft calfskin collar, given how cute she is."

"Wait a minute..."

Summon suddenly felt that something was off.

But before she could say anything, Fang Mo had already reached the air-raid shelter. He bent down and inserted his fingers into the gap of the metal gate.

With a single-handed lift, the entire ground cracked under the strain, making a sound like an explosion. Spiderweb-like fractures spread from the giant gate, followed by a loud crash as the heavy metal gate was forcibly flung into a nearby ravine.

"Alright, it's done."

Fang Mo clapped his hands and called out to Summon, "The manhole cover is open. Come on, princess, let's go home..."

"My home is in the Demon Realm, alright?"

Summon replied irritably.

"Got it."

Fang Mo made an "OK" gesture with his hand as he walked into the fortification, saying, "Next time, I'll compress the Demon Realm into a ball and stuff it down a drain."

"Can you please stop tormenting me?"

Summon sighed deeply and reluctantly followed.

One had to admit that Landilus had some skills. The design of this so-called Kartel Command Center was quite reasonable. Unlike the small militant camps of Ardennes and Mist City Heist, this command center was indeed like a real military fortress.

Take these fortifications, for example.

After lifting the gate, Fang Mo walked through a long passageway.

It was obvious that the surrounding mountain had been hollowed out. The interior was unexpectedly vast.

The troops encountered earlier were only part of the Kartel Command Center's members. Many others were hidden within this mountain.

As he walked, Fang Mo saw many communication stations or control centers.

Although he didn't fully understand the technology, after a brief tour, Fang Mo realized that this was the true Kartel "command" center.

Earlier, during the battle, Landilus had used a radio to communicate with something, likely from here.

But now that Landilus, the leader, was dead, chaos ensued. Many Kartel members began to flee, while others—probably implanted with loyalty chips—were fighting to the death.

Fang Mo encountered several such guard squads.

To be honest, these guards were surprisingly well-equipped and had undergone significant modifications, making them a formidable elite force.

Unfortunately, they were up against Fang Mo.

Lasers, missiles, high-tech weapons—nothing could penetrate his crystal matrix armor.

As for Fang Mo, a casual punch would activate his Void Ring, instantly crushing everyone into a grotesque, blood-dripping meatball made of corpses.

"See? This is called a dead man's legion."

After dealing with the enemies, Fang Mo turned to explain to Summon.

"Let's just move on," she said, turning her head away in disgust, unwilling to look at the gruesome sight. "It's disgusting."

They continued walking for some distance.

Soon, they reached the deepest part of the fortification and found the imprisoned heavenly princess.

She looked just like the photo—an elegantly dressed little girl with delicate, cute features and eyes that glowed with a golden-red hue. She sat gracefully on the edge of the bed.

However, likely due to prolonged captivity, her clothes were a bit dusty, and her chestnut hair looked slightly unkempt, indicating a lack of care. When she saw Fang Mo kick the door open, she looked up at him and showed a surprised expression.

"Hmm?"

The princess asked in surprise, "Who... are you?"

"Erje-chan, I'm here to rescue you!"

Fang Mo was quite pleased. The princess was indeed as cute as she appeared in the picture, making his trip worthwhile.

"Rescue me?"

The princess seemed a bit confused, but quickly understood.

She had heard the alarms outside, likely indicating that intruders were attacking Kartel. Although these two didn't look like Royal Army gunners or palace maids, they knew her name, so they must have been sent by the capital, right?

"Are you reinforcements from the Royal Army?"

The princess asked.

"Oh, no."

Fang Mo flatly denied it.

"?

Summon also gave him a puzzled look.

"Not?" The princess was confused by his response. After hesitating for a while, she asked, "Then... how do you know my name? Who are you?"

"The Royal Army isn't worth my time. I came here voluntarily."

Fang Mo stroked his chin and admitted, "Because... you look pretty cute."

"Eh?"

The princess was taken aback. She had heard many compliments before, mostly praising her intelligence due to her status. But this was the first time someone had come to rescue her simply because she was cute. How absurd was that?

"Actually, you should thank Marlene."

Seeing her stunned, Fang Mo explained briefly, "She came to me, crying and begging for help. I wasn't interested, but she showed me your portrait... and I agreed."

"I see."

The princess nodded instinctively. "But isn't that a bit exaggerated? The chief maid of the princess's court wouldn't be so rude."

"More or less."

Fang Mo said as he approached the cell and reached for an iron bar. "Anyway, I'll get you out first, and then we can..."

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The princess suddenly shouted, standing up from the bed, "There's high voltage on..."

"Huh?"

But Fang Mo was a bit slow to react and grabbed the iron bar. Two arcs of electricity briefly danced on his hand before disappearing.

"...electricity?"

The princess was stunned.

"It's fine," Fang Mo explained calmly, seeing her confusion. "220 volts can't kill a 250-volt electrician..."

"???"

The princess was even more baffled.

"Oh, just static electricity." Fang Mo casually tore the iron bar in half and stepped into the cell. "I once chatted with Thor, the God of Thunder in Asgard... You've heard of Thor, right? I even fixed his hammer."

"I see."

The princess nodded thoughtfully.

Though young, she was surprisingly intelligent, which is why she held her position as a princess. After a moment's thought, she understood.

"It's said that another world exists beneath the heavens. It seems the legend is true."

The princess said slowly, "You must be a powerful being from another world. I didn't expect Marlene and the others would go to such lengths for me. Traversing worlds must be very difficult..."

"It's not so bad if you find the right person."

Fang Mo nodded. "Anyway, Erje-chan, we'll chat more when we're out. Let me first create a safe passage..."

"Thank you for your efforts."

The princess was quite polite.

"Alright." Fang Mo responded and then raised his hand toward the ceiling. A vast, majestic energy quickly gathered in his palm.

"Wait a minute!"

Seeing this, Summon's expression changed. She rushed over and grabbed his arm, "Didn't you say you were looking for an exit? Why are you aiming at the ceiling!?"

"This is how we Minecraft players do it."

Fang Mo said, "Returning the way you came after mining is too troublesome, so it's easier to dig a new path..."

"But you..."

"I can't hold back!"

Before Summon could say more, Fang Mo suddenly lifted his head, "Tailed Beast Bomb! I'll blow this place up!"

The energy ball in Fang Mo's hand exploded, turning into a beam of light that shot upwards. The metal ceiling instantly vaporized, followed by the support beams, rocks, and soil, all disintegrating and turning to dust in the overwhelming energy.

As the mountain's structure shifted, the entire base began to tremble uneasily.

"I knew it!"

Summon cursed, rushing over to grab Princess Erje. "Get down!"

As she shouted, she raised her staff to summon golem, whose massive figure appeared, raising a shield defensively. The two crouched down just in time as the ancient king's sturdy body shielded them from the falling debris.

The Tailed Beast Cannon lasted for over ten seconds.

When the beam finally subsided, the entire prison had vanished, replaced by a collapsing cave.

Above this cave was a massive hole, freshly blasted open. The rock walls were unstable, glowing with a molten red and constantly crumbling.

The giant hole extended upwards nearly a hundred meters, with the blue sky visible at the end.

"Oh, it's done."

Fang Mo looked up at the hole, then reached for the two crouched figures and activated a space-shift. "Let's go!"

A flash of black light.

The next moment, they were out of the base.

At the same time, the base began to collapse rapidly.

The entire valley shook as the mountain crumbled. Massive cracks formed on the ground, which started to cave in. With a deafening crash, the Kartel Command Center finally couldn't withstand the damage... and collapsed.

"This..."

Seeing this, the princess, still in Fang Mo's grip, was stunned.

Even as a well-traveled princess of the heavens, she had never witnessed something so absurd.

This was the heavily fortified Kartel Command Center, its military might and treacherous terrain so formidable that even the Royal Army couldn't breach it. Yet now it had turned into a pile of rubble. Who was this man? Are all people of Arad this terrifying?

When Bakar the Tyrant King severed the connection between the two worlds... was it out of fear?

As Princess Erje was lost in thought, the little demon beside her couldn't hold back any longer.

"Are you insane!?"

Though being held by Fang Mo, Summon still struggled to shout, "Can't you just take us out properly? Why do you always have to blow up the map... how little do you care about the environment!?"

"Huh? Care about the environment?"

Fang Mo looked at her strangely, "Should I plant a few trees on Landilus' grave before leaving?"

"Plant what..."

Before she could finish, Fang Mo suddenly clasped his hands together. Then, before they could fall, he grabbed the two of them again.

"Alright, the trees are planted. Now let's go."

"What?"

Summon was confused and instinctively looked down.

Back in Glen's Forest, Summon had seen Fang Mo's tree-planting technique, known as World of Trees, where he transformed an area into a forest. She thought he would do the same here, turning this place into a woodland. But after observing for a moment, she didn't see any trees sprouting. The canyon below was still a barren wasteland.

"Where are the trees?"

Summon looked up at Fang Mo in confusion, "Where did you plant them?"

Before she finished speaking, a massive shadow suddenly covered the entire canyon. The clouds were shattered as a gigantic, writhing green ball of vines descended from the sky like a vast meteor.

"???"

Summon was utterly dumbfounded.

And it wasn't just her. Even Princess Erje beside her was stunned, her mouth agape.

"Ahem, you have to understand that this is a desert... ordinary plants can't survive here." Fang Mo shrugged. "So I planted a tumbleweed."

"You call that a tumbleweed!?"

Summon shouted.

But just as she was getting worked up, Fang Mo's ears were suddenly filled with a long-lost system prompt.

[System Prompt: New module feature detected. Permission to download after research.]