Amanda and Oliver realized they could no longer stand there talking because clearly, these two bodies were not part of anyone's plan.
They exchanged a glance, tacitly agreeing to first go downstairs to check on the body on the first floor.
No sooner had they descended the stairs than they were confronted with the corpse of a woman—apparently tossed in through a window on the deck. She lay crumpled as if from a fall, but most horrifying was the fact that the woman's face had been removed.
"Flamingo." Amanda's voice grew heavy, "He would peel off the victim's face and eat it after committing the crime, which can be considered one of his signatures."
"Imitation." Oliver said while approaching to examine the body, "It comes from a paper written by Professor Shearer. Later, it seems he also wanted to provoke a verbal battle with Professor Pig, but neither paid him any attention."
Amanda felt a sense of absurd amusement.
"You can't mean that he got snubbed in some serial killer club, and I should laugh at him for it? What the hell is the point of such a damn club existing?!"
"At least it gives us insight into serial killers." Oliver crouched down, gently turned the woman's corpse over, and said, "No sign of rape. Death was quick, probably by strangulation."
"Flamingo isn't on the second floor." Amanda stated, "Even with a mask, I would recognize him even if he turned to ashes."
"He might be a third-round character, don't forget that some are on standby. And not everyone boarding the ship has to choose an opponent to challenge; he might be a special segment."
Oliver then proceeded to inspect the woman's arms, followed by her abdomen, but just then, a loud bang came from the deck.
As the crowd scattered in panic, Oliver saw another body thrown down, and his expression darkened.
"They're killing indiscriminately!" Amanda said with anger in her tone, "All just to induce panic."
"I told you, they're in cahoots with you." Oliver narrowed his eyes and said, "I'm afraid your superiors, besides deploying agents here, have also kept in touch with them, aiming to create panic aboard so as to bury everyone here…"
"But they'll die too, how could they possibly…"
"Do you think this ship managed to evade so many authorities by accident?"
Amanda cast a doubtful look at Oliver.
"There are two possibilities; either the ship's owner has connections with all these departments, and they're opening the gates for him."
"That's impossible, no one has that much clout." Amanda shook her head, "The parties managing the sea have such complex relationships that even I can't make sense of it inside. It's almost impossible to curry favor with all at once for one person."
"Then the ship itself is problematic, or rather, there's something off about the ship and the sea." Oliver looked down and said, "I noticed earlier, when the gambling was going on, the blood in the blood pumps barely shook at all. And after the accident, there were waves without wind."
"A superpower criminal?"
"More likely, a superpower organization that can control both the ship and the surrounding sea area. That way, they can make the ship appear and disappear without anyone noticing, eluding any human law enforcement."
"You mean they're working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation? The Federation's people aboard are responsible for toppling the ship, while the superpower users are tasked with rescuing the important personnel from the Federation?"
Oliver shook his head, "It's more likely that the Federation knows what this organization is, so they tell their subordinates that we'll have people in the sea to save you at the crucial moment, but in reality, they won't. You know them best, don't you?"
Amanda held her forehead and let out a long sigh, reluctantly admitting Oliver was right; this was the most plausible scenario. Various American law enforcement agencies were very good at sending people to their deaths on false pretenses; it was their specialty.
"It's okay, the situation is still under control." Oliver nodded, "Judging by their clothes, those who died were from the second floor; most of them had already been socially dead. Now, our main target is to protect the tourists on the first floor, we…"
Zzzt—Crack!
Suddenly, the entire cruise ship went pitch-black, all the electrical equipment stopped working, and everything was extinguished at once.
In the darkness, Amanda's glowing eyes turned to Oliver, "Is this also within your plans?"
"Of course not, what the hell is happening?!"
20 minutes earlier, Natasha and Stark had parted ways because Stark's Mech's device detected an abnormal energy response, not on the ship, but in the surrounding sea area.
More interested in this energy reaction, Stark pursued it underwater after helping stabilize the ship.
Meanwhile, Natasha needed to go to the first floor because Tupac had previously told her that a woman contacted him and was waiting for him on the first floor.
Natasha guessed this woman might be connected to Oliver and could help with the current situation; otherwise, Tupac wouldn't have informed her about it in such an urgent context.
Natasha followed the staff passage to the first floor, where the ship had already stabilized, and the water receded. As soon as she reached the corridor of the lounge on the first floor, she smelled the scent of blood.
She immediately felt along the corner of the wall until she reached a small window in the door. Through it, she saw a woman dragging a man's corpse, preparing to take it upstairs via the employee passage—or rather, a girl, who looked to be no older than 20.
Natasha took a step to the left and appeared behind the girl. As the latter turned around abruptly, Natasha raised her hands and said, "I mean no harm, that black rapper by the name of Tupac sent me to find you."
The girl did not let her guard down but raised her pistol, aiming it at Natasha's head. Natasha remained still and said in Russian, "I am a KGB agent, Chairman Romanoff sends his regards, long live the Communist International!"
The girl hesitated for a moment but still didn't completely lower her guard. Natasha knew there was no S.H.I.E.L.D. in this cosmos, so she spoke directly: "Natasha Romanoff, born in Stalingrad in 1928, trained under Stalin's orders in the Red Room and later joined the 8th Division of the KGB. In 1967, I was assigned to infiltrate America for an extended period. After the Mexican Revolution broke out, I switched to operating above ground."
She spoke these words in Russian, and the girl opposite clearly understood, responding in equally fluent Russian, "Can I trust you?"
"Whether you trust me or not does not matter. I only want to know what exactly Oliver Queen has done. I believe you are closely associated with him and that the news reports are not the truth."
The girl seemed unable to hold back any longer, sighing deeply, she dropped the corpse and said, "Black Canary, you can call me Dinah if you like. What mission did they send you on? To bring Oliver back to the Soviet Union?"
"We have no such intention because we would not treat an excellent revolutionary as a criminal due to a conspiracy. If you had listened to today's news broadcast, you would know that our country unanimously views this conflict as a tragedy, and Oliver Queen should not be held responsible for it."
Black Canary replied with a hint of irony, "That's rare indeed. And the judgments you all made in the past few years have been much more rash."
"I'm sorry, but things were different for us then." Natasha immediately knew what she was referring to and shook her head, "During those years, Moscow played 'Swan Lake' every day. The people faced too many bad news, and we lacked patience. But things have gotten better now."
"It seems you're right about that." Black Canary actually agreed with this statement. She nodded and said, "Although I wasn't directly involved, Oliver mentioned that a few calls from your side greatly encouraged him. He believed some of you are extremely experienced and still hold on to justice.
"I am honored," Natasha said, doing her best to keep her expression in check as she nodded.
But Black Canary seemed to notice something still, coming over to stand in front of Natasha and said, "You say you were born in 1928, but you don't look that old."
"I have undergone body modification."
"One of the errors?"
"No, I am still proud of it to this day. Back then, we were good."
Natasha was not sure if she had perfectly controlled her expression—the last time she faced such suspicion was when she was an apprentice.
"Tell me what you have done in Mexico. I hope to relay it completely to Moscow."
"Are you sure? At this time?"
Natasha nodded.
So Black Canary began to tell her story, but it wasn't complete, as she had been rescued by Oliver and brought back only after their base in Guadalajara had already been established.
"I have a feud with an international drug trafficking organization." Black Canary sighed and said, "The Penitent Cartel, you might have heard of them. Recently their notoriety has grown, claiming to be the largest drug trafficking organization between America and Mexico, headquartered in Guadalajara."
"I was kidnapped by them. Oliver saved me, and that's how we met. When I returned to base with him, I still thought with an American mindset, believing they were just warlords fighting for money. But later, I realized it wasn't so. They were always helping farmers and the ways they helped... I don't know how to say it; I've never encountered such things."
"Just tell me what you've seen, no need for judgment or explanation."
Black Canary nodded and started to describe her experiences in Guadalajara to Natasha, speaking only of what she saw Oliver and the others do, without adding any subjective judgment.
This girl was still young, but the fact that she could tangle with such a major criminal organization at less than 20 years old suggested she was no ordinary person. Her description was precise and detailed, objectively rigorous yet vivid, and not verbose—a few words sufficed for each event.
Natasha listened intently until Black Canary got to the outbreak of the conflict, and she hadn't even realized it.
Black Canary's tone grew somber as she continued, "I took part in all actions against the Penitent Cartel. I know what kind of man Oliver Queen is—he could never do that thing."
"I think there's something off about Carlos. He never quite seemed like a local Mexican, but he did save many people and led several successful operations, becoming instantly famed. On the other hand, Oliver's suggestion to solidify the base made people think he was wasting a great opportunity. Later, when he took the initiative to attack the Penitent Cartel, he was accused of risking his brothers' lives."
"In the end, everything almost collapsed instantly. The hero fell from grace with earth-shattering speed, to the point where my biggest worry at that moment was whether Oliver would be able to withstand it all."
Black Canary looked up at Natasha and was startled by the coldness and murderous intent in her eyes.
"He is too weak," Natasha said. "Let him return, throw that Carlos and everyone else into the sea, and go back immediately."
Black Canary was stunned and said, "Is... Is this the advice from Moscow?"
"This is from Stalin. I know he would say that."