The warning in the broadcast continued repeating, but Vic's eyes lit up with a whoosh, as if hearing the dinner bell.
"Ancient Relics Exhibition Hall? Anomaly occurred?"
He repeated the keywords in a low voice, the corners of his mouth curving up uncontrollably.
"This sounds way too much like 'Talisman Home Delivery Service'."
"Not bad, Jackie, it hasn't even been that long."
He immediately moved both hands simultaneously. One hand grabbed Enid's hand, while the other habitually went to wrap around Wednesday's shoulder, ready to depart.
"Let's go, babies! Looks like our 'Vacation Special Event' is starting early!"
Wednesday nimbly side-stepped his paw, pointing expressionlessly at Jade, who was still in the pool struggling to climb onto a floatie for another round.
"Your 'hostage'."
"Oh right!" Vic slapped his forehead, finally remembering the "little burden."
He stretched out his arm, scooping the dripping wet Jade out of the water and tucking her under his arm casually like a briefcase.
"Let's go, little trouble. Taking you to see a big scene!"
"Hey! Let me down! I can walk!"
Jade waved her limbs in the air in protest.
Vic ignored her completely, walking swiftly toward the exhibition hall.
Enid and Wednesday followed closely behind.
The closer they got to the exhibition hall, the more obvious the anomaly in the air became.
Still some distance away, Vic saw a crowd of curious and nervous monster passengers gathered at the entrance, pointing at the closed doors but daring not to enter rashly.
"Make way! Make way! Official Crisis Management Team coming through!"
Vic unceremoniously pushed through the crowd, swaggering inside.
A fish-man security guard trying to maintain order at the door attempted to stop them: "Sir, it's dangerous inside, you can't..."
Before he could finish, Venom poked out from Vic's shoulder, letting out a low, threatening growl, his large white eyes staring dead at the guard.
The fish-man guard stiffened instantly, then shrank back quickly, obediently making way.
Vic and his group entered the exhibition hall unimpeded.
Inside, the hall was a mess.
Glass display cases that originally housed various ancient artifacts were shattered all over the floor, as if a tornado had just swept through.
"My God, what is that?"
As soon as he stepped into the hall, Vic's attention was drawn by the scene before him.
A grotesque "mermaid" with ominous dark blue skin and writhing tentacles growing twistingly on her face—
Was fiercely guarding a simple gourd-shaped container in her arms, launching violent attacks at Jackie Chan like a madwoman.
Water arrows, water whips, all sorts of methods emerged endlessly.
"Whoa, Jackie."
Vic whistled, his tone full of teasing schadenfreude.
"What terrible crime did you commit against this lady to make her chase you to death?"
"Stop with the sarcasm!"
Jackie rolled awkwardly to the side, dodging a sharp water arrow, and explained breathlessly.
"She wasn't like this just now! As soon as she touched that gourd on the display stand, she suddenly went crazy! Her skin turned blue, and she grew these tentacles!"
"Venom!"
"Copy that!"
No more words needed. The pitch-black symbiote surged out instantly, enveloping Vic to complete the fusion.
The moment the transformation was complete, Venom (Vic)'s massive right arm transformed into a heavy black war hammer, smashing viciously toward the mutated mermaid with a whistling sound!
However, the expected thud of hitting a solid body didn't occur.
Where the hammer landed, the mermaid's body rippled like water, turning into splashes flying everywhere, easily dispersing this powerful blow.
In the next second, the scattered water quickly gathered not far away, re-condensing into the mermaid form, unharmed.
"What's the situation?" A trace of surprise flashed in Venom's large white eyes. "Physical attacks ineffective?"
Not believing it, he threw several punches in succession, but the result remained the same—
The fists were like hitting flowing water, only stirring up ripples, unable to cause any substantial damage.
"Vic."
Wednesday's calm voice sounded. Staring at the battle, she keenly pointed out the key.
"That gourd! There is a strange magic wrapped around that mermaid."
Goody Addams' spirit, floating in mid-air, observed carefully, her tone becoming serious:
"No, that is not ordinary magic. It is Demonic Chi! And highly polluting Demon Sorcerer Chi! This Chi has polluted and controlled her soul, transforming her into a demon's kin."
"Unless a specific purification spell is used, or... her soul is directly separated from the Demonic Chi, it will be difficult to lift this state."
"Soul separation?"
Venom (Vic) turned his massive head toward Goody, blinking his white eyes.
"Well... I happen to be quite good at that now. Jackie, back off!"
Hearing this, Jackie, who was engaging the mermaid, leaped sideways and backward without hesitation, creating distance.
Almost simultaneously, Venom (Vic) charged forward again, his massive fist blasting toward the mermaid!
But unlike before, this time a warm white light faintly shone from his clenched fist—
The Sheep Talisman was tightly held in his palm!
This time, the fist didn't dissolve into the water flow but landed solidly on the mermaid's body!
"Ugh..."
With a muffled groan, the mutated mermaid's body slumped softly to the ground, losing consciousness.
In Vic's vision, he could clearly see a soul belonging to the original beautiful mermaid being literally shaken out of her body by this punch!
However, this soul wasn't pure. It was struggling painfully, twisting, wrapped tightly and eroded by thick, living purple Demonic Chi, emitting silent wails.
Venom (Vic) reached out. The Sheep Talisman, emitting a peaceful aura, shimmered at his fingertips.
He carefully brought the talisman close to the polluted soul.
upon contact, the arrogant purple Demonic Chi, under the gentle light of the Sheep Talisman, seemed to lose its target.
Finally, it turned into a thin stream, obediently drilling back into the simple gourd lying quietly on the ground.
Without the entanglement of the Demonic Chi, the beautiful mermaid soul seemed to unload a heavy burden, becoming light and transparent.
It nodded slightly in gratitude toward Vic, then slowly sank into its physical body lying on the floor.
On the ground, the mermaid's skin color quickly returned to normal. The tentacles on her face withered and fell off, reverting to her original beautiful appearance, only unconscious.
"Done and dusted!"
Venom quickly shrank back into Vic's body. Vic dusted off his hands relaxed, bent down to pick up the seemingly ordinary gourd, weighed it in his hand, and curled his lips in curiosity.
"So, what is this thing?"
---
In the boundless, desolate Hell.
"ROAR—!!! DAMN SHENDU! DARING TO DESTROY MY KIN!"
Bai Tza's twisted, writhing tentacles thrashed wildly.
Her humanoid upper body skin showed a sickly dark blue, her eyes burning with tangible rage.
"What is the matter, Bai Tza?"
A calm, distant voice sounded.
Tso Lan, the Moon Demon, floated over weightlessly. His long hair flowed in the vacuum like a living thing, his scarlet eyes carrying ancient indifference and a trace of concern as the eldest brother.
"I finally found a pure mermaid soul. The Demonic Chi erosion was almost complete! She was about to become my kin."
Bai Tza's voice trembled with rage, pointing at the void as if she could see the mortal world through dimensions.
"But just now, the connection was forcibly severed! I felt it! It was the power of that traitor Shendu! How dare he?"
Tso Lan was silent for a moment before shaking his head slowly.
"No, it should not be him. Our 'good brother' Shendu is still firmly imprisoned in his pathetic statue form at this moment, not having gained true freedom."
As the oldest of the eight demons, whose wisdom had not been completely worn away by long imprisonment, he made a calm judgment.
"This is more like... some lucky individual accidentally obtained part of Shendu's scattered power. Judging from the characteristics of the power, it is likely the Sheep symbolizing 'soul,' or the Horse representing 'purification'."
"Then my kin is lost for nothing?!" Bai Tza roared unwillingly, tentacles churning the seawater anxiously.
"Patience, my sister." Tso Lan's voice carried an ancient rhythm, trying to soothe Bai Tza's irritability. "You are actually very lucky."
The corner of Tso Lan's mouth curved into an imperceptible arc.
"The token left by that Immortal who banished you back then—the vessel imprisoning your source Demonic Chi—is slowly sailing toward your kingdom."
"And at this moment, the Dragon Zodiac symbol of infinite energy belonging to Shendu has accidentally fallen into the ruins of your kingdom, awakening your Atlantis, allowing you to mobilize the power near your kingdom even from Hell."
Bai Tza's breathing quickened.
Tso Lan's voice was full of temptation:
"As long as that token enters the range of Atlantis, relying on the water laws there that share your origin, plus that spell Hsi Wu and I have studied for years..."
"You have a great possibility of re-projecting a part of your will and power into the mortal world through a new kin infected by Demonic Chi as an anchor!"
"Return to the mortal world..."
Bai Tza's tentacles trembled slightly with excitement. She was thoroughly ignited by this prospect.
"So, there is no need to be angry over the loss of a small kin."
Tso Lan floated beside Bai Tza, looking at the endless Hell, his tone returning to indifference.
"Take your time, wait for the opportunity. It's impossible that... your Atlantis gets destroyed again right after reviving, and the Demonic Chi in the Immortal's token happens to run out at the same time, right?"
He let out a low laugh, carrying a hint of mockery at fate.
"How could there be such... coincidental things in the world?"