Everything went according to plan. After the three women expressed their intention to participate in the competition, Su Ming had Cable create corresponding portable equipment for them.
Although Cable looked big and burly, somewhat resembling Thanos, he was actually a meticulous man. He immediately took out a toolkit and cobbled together three sets of equipment.
It's just recording equipment. Cable is a master craftsman from the 39th century, with many superpowers that he rarely uses. He much prefers tinkering with small inventions in his workshop.
"Very well, our contestants are in place, but we can't do without logistical support. After all, this is an operation in enemy territory, and we might need to rescue someone at any time. Cable, take your men and provide rescue if necessary."
As Su Ming handed him the task, he gave him a look, implying that he should first coax these ladies, while Su Ming himself would handle the real problems.
Cable's electronic eye flickered with a trace of sorrow, but for now, this seemed like the most suitable approach. At least the internal conflict only resulted in one person being out of the game, with no major damage done.
The air in the murky sewer was filled with rustling noises. This place was only temporarily safe, as the Germans would soon figure out where everyone was headed and pursue them.
Especially since they also had a warlock unit, which could quickly follow.
Su Ming turned to the two remaining members of the X Organization, Mandy and Weasel. Since one was an ordinary person and the other was a weakling, it would be difficult to take them along. So, he left them with Deadpool's skin and instructed them to find a safe place outside the city.
After all, this was the prize of the grand competition. They must not lose it.
Watching those assigned the task disappear in different directions within the sewer, Su Ming then glanced at the X-Men in front of him.
"Alright, you guys should stop acting on your own and come with me." Su Ming led the group, calculating the sewer's location based on the street layout in his mind: "Why didn't you stop them from fighting earlier? The Time Vortex should have been able to do it, right?"
The black-haired girl fiddled with her hair, her head lowered, saying nothing.
Little Rascal darted to Su Ming's side: "That's because the Time Vortex's abilities are still not fully mastered. She can only throw an energy ball to suspend time but can't retract it. If she intervened, those three would have become sitting ducks."
"And what about you?" Su Ming looked at her helplessly. She could easily borrow some abilities, entering the battlefield with no pressure at all.
Little Rascal stuck out her tongue and scratched her head: "I also can't control my ability well. Once I start absorbing abilities, I can't stop..."
"Sigh... Did you guys steal uniforms and sneak out?" Su Ming's gaze became sharp as he eyed Little Rascal up and down: "You haven't developed your powers enough to go into battle."
Little Rascal jumped up: "Not at all! Why don't you ask Secret Guest? She's the one who could have stopped the internal conflict!"
Upon hearing this, Su Ming turned his gaze towards Secret Guest, but the little girl just huffed, turned her head, and her high-heeled boots made a crisp sound on the ground, indicating her good mood.
In any case, the X-Men, these little girls, loved to watch the chaos unfold; they just wanted to see dramatic fights and battles for dominance.
Su Ming found Secret Guest's attitude towards him puzzling. It wasn't cold; it was more like she was being coy.
Could it be that he would become very familiar with Gang Lishi in the future? His sister seemed rather peculiar, but perhaps that's part of the casting cost. The Ancient One was sometimes quite odd too.
"Alright, but in the upcoming actions, you all must follow my commands. I certainly don't want any of you dying in the Second World War, creating time paradoxes and turning everything into a mess."
Su Ming abandoned the thought of delving further, emphasizing discipline. Since they were on the battlefield, they must have military discipline.
The X-Men were never a particularly disciplined team; their teacher never set a good example for them.
Cyclops and Storm were like powder kegs, quick to ignite. Jean Grey was split-personality, and Wolverine was an outright berserk.
The only dependable one was Gang Lishi, but he's stuck in the future, playing nanny for a pair of little mutant lesbians.
For true obedience and the appearance of an army, look to Magnetic King's or White Queen's subordinates. Although the Mutant Brotherhood and Hell Lion members were of average power, they were obedient!
"Don't worry!" Little Rascal patted her chest, jumping happily beside them: "The Professor vouched for us."
Su Ming merely glanced at her, saying no more. The X-Men's assurances could almost never be trusted...
Now that others had been sent out to create chaos, Su Ming needed to wait for the action's results. He needed a hidden place where he could observe the sky and the airship's movements.
After calculating for a moment, Su Ming drew out Godslayer, walked forward a few dozen meters, turned into another path, and began to dig frantically into the wall.
He needed to carve out a tunnel to connect to another underground system in Paris.
"What are you doing?" Secret Guest walked over hesitantly, also drawing her great sword, but for some reason, she spoke to Su Ming in Russian.
Su Ming glanced at her. She was unconsciously playing with her black, dragon horn-like headpiece with no expression, her eyes looking elsewhere.
"There is a magnificent project beneath Paris, which in the future will be one of its famous attractions. Can you guess what it is?" Su Ming naturally responded in Russian, using global languages with such arrogance.
"I know, it's the catacombs, right?" She walked over to Su Ming and also started excavating with her great sword. But Godslayer was a transformable weapon, turning from drill to shovel-pickaxe; she couldn't really help.
Su Ming gestured for her to just watch from the side; using a soul greatsword for dirt was too luxurious.
Initially, Monac's magic was most useful, but now he was in a daze, constantly fighting with the air, seemingly trapped in grief beyond consolation. Just having him walk with them was good enough, no further casting.
The Paris catacombs were built in 1786. Before that, it was Paris' underground quarry, providing stone for the Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Louvre Palace, and others.
In 1786, Paris was ravaged by plagues of black death and smallpox. In just a few months, 6 million people died, overwhelming the capacity of the city's cemeteries. Everyone wanted to be buried behind the church in their neighborhood, but there wasn't enough space near any church.
They could only dig deeper, stacking coffins layer upon layer. But the deeper they dug, the more time it took.
Many bodies rotted while waiting for a 'spot,' turning Paris into a Water City Venice.
But it was a city on corpse water.
To curb the situation, the Paris mayor at the time decided to excavate all the bodies from cemeteries and deposit them in the abandoned quarry beneath Paris.
This changed the method of dealing with corpses. First, they'd conduct a shallow burial for a month above ground to fully skeletonize them, then priests excavated them to be moved underground.
This work was largely completed by 1821. The catacombs lie 20 meters underground, twisting and winding like a spider web, extending 300 kilometers, spanning the entire Paris city area.