But the light pouring in through the window didn't come from lamps or candles. Instead, it emanated from a glowing orb in the distant dark.
Riley involuntarily swallowed, instinctively feeling that venturing into it was not a good idea. At this moment, he heard a shout from Xu Shang-Chi from behind, "How is it? Can we go down now?"
"We can! There's no danger here!" Riley shouted back. He then added under his breath, "But it might not be safe if we continue further."
Wanda suddenly became impatient. She said, "Whatever is waiting for us, let's just rush in. What can it do to us? Can't my magic handle a few monsters?"
Having said that, she pulled Riley back and used magic to bring down the others. She completely disregarded their previous formation and walked to the front. As she headed towards the window, she said, "Stop worrying unnecessarily; you might end up scaring yourselves. If ordinary S.H.I.E.L.D. agents can handle this, surely we can as well. Let's go."
The others all followed Wanda's lead, but Xu Shang-Chi was looking around. He had the feeling that the dark cave was filled with many pairs of hidden eyes. He took a deep breath and squeezed his jade pendant hanging around his neck.
This was given to him by Director Zhengxian when he left S.H.I.E.L.D. Zhengxian said that as long as it was combined with the Clear Heart Mantra Xu Shang-Chi had studied, it would help calm and focus his mind, allowing him to better use his techniques.
Xu Shang-Chi began to silently recite the Clear Heart Mantra. After directing energy to his eyes, enhancing his vision in the dark and calming himself, those ever-present eyes gradually disappeared, and the cave returned to its original state.
Xu Shang-Chi heaved a sigh of relief, but then someone suddenly slapped him, startling him. He turned around to see the face of Star-Lord Quill.
Xu Shang-Chi breathed a sigh of relief. He remembered the jovial members of the Guardians of the Galaxy. But previously, he had a stomach upset and did not have the chance to greet Star-Lord. He was feeling better now, so he smiled and said, "Hello, you're Peter Quill, right?"
Quill nodded and said, "There are not many Asians in S.H.I.E.L.D., you must be quite remarkable?"
"I'm just an apprentice." Xu Shang-Chi shook his head and replied, "I came with Riley who wanted to earn points by doing tasks. I don't really have any special abilities. Even my techniques are learned on the fly."
"Kid, don't be so modest. Haven't you realized that you are much lighter on your feet than the rest of us?" Rocket Raccoon leaped onto Xu Shang-Chi's shoulder from Quill's arm and waved one of his claws at him.
Xu Shang-Chi found the raccoon on his shoulder amusing. He reached out to pat its head, but quickly pulled his hand back as if remembering something.
He remembered that Rocket Raccoon of the Guardians of the Galaxy had a temper and didn't appreciate being treated like a small animal. Besides, he was a sentient being. Touching someone else's head without permission was a bit impolite.
So Xu Shang-Chi merely scratched his head and gave an apologetic smile. He said, "This step method was taught by a teacher from SWORD. As long as I channel energy to my legs, walking becomes much easier. After all, I'm a bit lazy—I prefer taking cable cars even when climbing mountains."
Unexpectedly, the raccoon reached out and patted Xu Shang-Chi's head, and then said, "You seem like a really polite silly boy. I'll take you out for a meal when we get back."
After uttering those words, Rocket Raccoon hopped back onto Quill's backpack. As Quill passed him by, Xu Shang-Chi rubbed his stomach and frowned.
He felt that he probably ate too much at lunch. Just the mention of "meal" made him feel slightly nauseous. Or maybe it was because he was too far from the Scarlet Witch, he felt the temperature falling.
Xu Shang-Chi could not help but shiver, looking around him, he sensed faint rustling sounds in the dark. Once again, he reached out and held the jade pendant, sighing in his heart that he should have watched fewer horror movies during his university years.
As Quill led Rocket Raccoon into the middle of the team, the raccoon leaped onto Jarvis. However, the instant his foot touched Jarvis's shoulder, he paused, then shrugged nonchalantly and asked, "Buddy, is that redhead up front your girlfriend?"
"We have not yet formally established our relationship," Jarvis replied matter-of-factly, but Rocket Raccoon immediately waved his claw and said, "Hey! That's no way to win a girl's heart, you should say, 'That's how I feel, but I'm not sure how she feels about it.'"
"An amusing yet respectful response," Jarvis evaluated, but he quickly added, "but I prefer to state facts."
"You're a raccoon teaching humans how to charm girls? Come back here, stop bouncing around," Quill patted Jarvis's shoulder, giving an apologetic smile.
However, who would have thought, Rocket Raccoon used Quill's shoulder as a platform to leap onto Wanda's cloak and then onto her shoulder. He put a hand to his mouth as if to whisper, and said to Wanda, "I bet he's not the first to be clueless about such matters, or else he wouldn't be able to state such facts, but the way you perked up your ears is a bit too obvious. That's not very ladylike, miss."
The next second, Rocket Raccoon expertly dodged Wanda's reaching hand. With some embarrassment, she glared at the raccoon that had jumped onto Reilly's shoulder, but after noticing Jarvis's gaze, she pursed her lips, rolled her eyes slightly, and turned her head away.
"How long have they been like this?" Rocket Raccoon propped his elbow on Reilly's head and asked. Reilly shrugged and said, "For quite a while, and it will probably go on for much longer."
"Ben Reilly!" Wanda raised her voice, shouting in disapproval.
It was hard not to admit that this raccoon appeared to be a bit too rowdy, but the antics of a fluffy creature jumping around and cracking jokes did help lighten the oppressive atmosphere in the dark environment.
However, the side effect was that when Rocket Raccoon finally calmed down, the darkness and silence merged into one, becoming even harder to bear.
In the dark space, even the heartbeat became clearer, and hearing the somewhat fast pace of their companions' heartbeats made it even harder for everyone to ignore the panic in their hearts.
The short stretch of road from the cave entrance to the window became extraordinarily long. The unspeakable fear bottled up in their hearts, like liquid fuel that had solidified, threatened to explode at any time.
"When we stood in front of the window, gazing at the distant points of light in the deep darkness, silence rolled over us like silent waves, one wave of fear after another washing over everyone's hearts.
Every one of us understood perfectly where the hesitation came from. The only thing that could conquer the human longing for light is the fear of darkness, or perhaps not darkness, but the unknown.
I could clearly hear their heartbeats getting faster, their breaths getting heavier.
Perhaps it's some primitive instinct present in the beast within us humans, teaching us how to fight our way out of savagery when fear tries to invade and tame our bodies. The rapid heartbeat and the quickened blood flow help us shake off the gloom. The physiological response prompts us to become ecstatic, to resist, to struggle for survival.
Curiosity, peeping, fear, struggle.
At that moment, I understood how we, as weak creatures, are swallowed up like debris by the ocean's whirlpool, falling into the boundless despair of the Dark Hole."