As soon as Wade appeared, his mouth started motor-mouthing non-stop, completely indifferent to whether anyone else could understand his nonsense.
Darian, however, managed to glean some meaning from it; the guy's words were peppered with meta-commentary on the real World. After all, he even mentioned the actors—it was clearly his ability to break the fourth wall.
None of that mattered, though.
What mattered was that the lively chatterbox before him was a genuine self-healing ability user, perfectly fitting the requirements of his dungeon quest.
Darian grinned and got straight to the point. "We can put off killing the Canadian for later, Wade. I see you have a unique constitution; are you interested in joining my team?"
Wade was astonished to hear this. "Doom is actually forming a team? Is it because you saw how the Fantastic Four have so many people and keep ganging up on you with 'justice' every time, so you decided to build your own 'Family'?"
Darian waved his hand. "I'm not the Doom you know. Stop the nonsense and just say whether you're in or not."
Wade gave a disdainful sneer, crossing his arms and lifting his chin high.
"Heh! You think your Lord Wade is some street punk anyone can recruit? Listen, even if you are Doom himself, I'd still have to think about it! After all, I am a superhero with principles, ideals, and am destined to become Marvel Jesus in the future..."
"Each team member will receive ten gold bars."
"Captain! Wade is at your service at any time!"
Wade immediately snapped to attention and gave Darian a salute.
Logan: "...."
Did your principles and ideals go to hell?
Darian turned to look at Logan.
"And you, Logan? Are you interested in joining my team?"
Logan shook his head. "I don't want to join any more teams..."
"Your debt will be cleared."
"Deal!"
As for the remaining Victor, it was even simpler; Darian didn't give him a choice at all, simply telling him to answer yes.
With the three of them joined, half of the dungeon quest's goal was instantly completed. Next, he just needed to find three more Mutants with a high-concentration Healing Factor.
Darian glanced at the silent Mute Deadpool on the ground, who still hadn't moved, and asked curiously, "What kind of bullet did you use just now? To think it could actually take this guy down."
Wade gave a cheeky grin.
"An Adamantium bullet. It's a limited edition I specifically found from another parallel World just to kill this shitty dark-history version. There's only one."
"An Adamantium bullet can take down someone with an Adamantium skeleton?"
"Of course. Unless, like Stryker, you shoot a round into Logan's hardest forehead, turning him into a homeless, amnesiac stray dog until that big bald guy, Charles, kidnaps him into his home."
Logan: "?"
Wade didn't care at all that he had just dropped a bunch of spoilers. He approached Darian with a grin and rubbed his hands together.
"Um, Captain, since I'm officially on the team now, should the signing bonus of those ten gold bars be paid in advance?"
"Wait until we complete the mission. Don't worry, you'll definitely get what's yours."
Darian waved him off. He could tell at a glance that Wade was someone with zero integrity; if he gave him the gold bars now, the guy would likely turn around and run off.
He was exactly right; that was precisely what Wade was plotting in his head.
Seeing that he couldn't swindle the gold bars out of Darian, Wade showed a moment of undisguised disappointment.
"So what's our mission? Is it taking down the Fantastic Four or Thanos?"
Wade instantly perked up again when talking about this.
"To tell you the truth, I've actually been annoyed with that Purple Sweet Potato for a long time. In the comics, we're love rivals. That guy has always wanted to be Lady Death's 'Purple Mood.' He should look in a mirror and see what he looks like; is he even half as handsome as Lord Wade?"
"Are you handsome?"
Darian raised an eyebrow. Wade had taken off his mask earlier, but his back was toward them, so he hadn't seen his face clearly—only a red lunar surface. He didn't think the front of such a face could be handsome at all.
Wade's tone was resolute.
"Of course! It's because I'm too handsome that I worry too many girls will fight to have me. For the sake of World peace and social stability, I chose to use this mask to seal away my misplaced good looks!"
"Hmm, I think so too," Darian, wearing his magic mask, nodded in agreement.
Logan: "..."
Actually, he thought so too, but he was hindered by not having a mask.
Realizing he had been led astray by Wade, Darian returned to the main topic.
"However, our mission isn't to kill anyone else, but to form a Mutant team made entirely of self-healing ability users. There must be at least six members, and those with weak healing abilities won't do."
Wade scratched his head.
"Self-healing abilities... besides the mute knockoff on the ground, me, Logan, and his big brother, the rest won't be easy to find. According to the timeline of this Universe, it'll be at least a few decades before Lady Deathstrike appears. We can't exactly go kidnap X-23; she's still a child, and her timeline is separate, not even in this World."
Decades?
Darian's brow twitched. Spending decades in this dungeon would be worse than death.
A sudden flash of inspiration hit him.
"Wait, you can travel to other parallel Worlds, right?"
He knew from Wade's comments that the man could travel to other parallel Worlds.
If he could follow Wade to other parallel Worlds, wouldn't the dungeon quest be a piece of cake? He didn't believe that among so many parallel Worlds, they wouldn't be able to find three Mutants with high-concentration Healing Factors.
"Of course!"
Wade nodded proudly, revealing a strange watch-like device on his wrist.
"This is a good piece of gear I borrowed from my good buddy, Cable. With it, I can freely travel to any timeline in the X-Men series, and without any copyright issues!"
"Though I can't go over to the Marvel Universe side for now—copyright hasn't been unlocked yet. But I've heard news through private channels that Marvel is secretly acquiring Fox. I expect the copyright barriers between the two Universes will be cleared soon. When that happens, I can go find Peter Parker, strip naked and lie in his bed, and give him a surprise he'll never forget when he gets back."
Darian imagined the scene and looked disgusted.
If Wade really did that, putting aside the damage, the mental pollution would definitely be at a nuclear level; it truly would be unforgettable for a lifetime.
Poor Peter, how did he end up being targeted by this thing?
Darian looked at the strange device on Wade's wrist, and an information description immediately appeared before his eyes.
[Item: Time Travel Device]
[Description: Capable of transporting to any time node within a specific dungeon. Influenced by Deadpool's ability to break the fourth wall, this device's function has been upgraded to allow transport to any parallel timeline in the X-Men series, including the Marvel Universe.]
[Note: Only effective when used by Deadpool himself. If the device is separated from Deadpool, it will revert to its basic functional mode.]
"Good stuff, too bad only this guy Wade can use it."
Darian looked up at Wade and said decisively, "That's perfect. Once we handle the trouble in front of us, you'll take me to other parallel Worlds to recruit suitable team members."
Wade was reluctant.
"Taking people along with this device consumes a lot of energy. Besides, I never said anything about that when I joined the team. Ten gold bars don't include this service."
"So what you're saying is?"
"You'll have to pay extra!"
Without the obstructive Mute Deadpool, the rest was much simpler.
Darian simply let Victor loose. Although Victor couldn't handle high-end fights, he was top-tier at crushing weaklings. The guards in the experimental Base were no match for Victor at all and were all taken care of in no time.
The group drove straight in and soon cornered Stryker, who was trying to flee in a panic, in a corridor leading to an emergency evacuation passage.
Seeing four fierce figures surrounding him with no way out, cold sweat broke out on Stryker's forehead.
He forced himself to stay calm, straightened his back, and barked, "I am an active Colonel of the America! Do you know what it means to attack Military officials?"
"If you dare touch me, the entire America Military will mark you as primary targets. The fragile balance between Mutants and humans will be instantly shattered. Humans will view Mutants as enemies, and you will become the sinners of the entire Mutant race!"
Darian said amusedly, "You're quite funny. When it was time to be reasonable, you chose to use weapons, and now that the weapons aren't working, you want to jump out and talk about reason and the big picture?"
Wade had already pulled out a handgun nearby and suggested excitedly, "How about I give him a shot in the forehead too? Once he has amnesia, he'll forget everything."
Logan was speechless. "Idiot, he doesn't have a self-healing ability. If you shoot him, he'll just become a corpse."
"Well, that's not wrong either. He'll definitely have forgotten everything by his next life."
Stryker: "..."
He had intended to use righteousness and the survival of the race for moral kidnapping, but unfortunately, he had chosen the wrong targets. The people present had no morals to speak of, let alone being kidnapped by them.
"Are you really not afraid of Mutants standing completely on the opposite side of humanity and becoming public enemies?!"
Stryker's face turned pale as he tried to make a final struggle.
Darian laughed. "Don't think too highly of yourself. The World will keep turning without you. Besides, who said we're going to kill you?"
As his voice fell, Darian placed his hand on Stryker's shoulder, and a powerful surge of electricity was instantly released!
Crackle!
The high-voltage current coursed through Stryker's entire body. Before he could even scream, he began to twitch violently, his eyes rolled back, foam leaked from the corners of his mouth, and his entire body went limp and collapsed uncontrollably.
Next, Darian activated hypnosis control, his mental power instantly penetrating Stryker's consciousness.
"Use all your means to make everything you've done to Mutants over the years public. While you're at it, expose the Military's shameful secrets and the secrets of those high-level officials. You must let everyone know."
"Re... received."
Stryker responded haltingly.
"Let's go."
Darian ignored the hollow-eyed Stryker and called the others to leave together.
Logan frowned. "Just letting him go like that?"
"Don't worry. I believe it won't be long before the news reports that a certain Colonel died in his own Underground Room, shot a dozen times in the back, and the investigation determined it was a suicide."
After dealing with Stryker, Darian didn't leave immediately but instead began a pleasant looting session.
Soon, he found several pieces of unrefined, Raw Adamantium in the experimental Base. The weight was staggering; it would be no problem to create another Wolverine.
Besides that, Darian also discovered a box containing several Adamantium bullets, likely specifically meant for dealing with Logan.
Now Agent Zero had become the Joker. If this equipment had been given to that sharpshooter earlier, Logan probably wouldn't have been able to escape his sight, and none of the later events would have happened.
Wade also scavenged some good stuff—the experimental video of Logan being injected with Adamantium, the HD uncensored version.
"Oh! Look at these charming eight-pack abs, look at this 180-centimeter height, look at this 18-centimeter..."
Bang!!
Logan couldn't help but punch the foul-mouthed guy, sending him flying. Anyway, the guy had a self-healing ability and wasn't afraid of getting hurt.
"Nice job!"
Darian immediately cheered. Wade was indeed annoying, buzzing in his ear like thousands of ducks.
But Wade soon scrambled back up, not angry but delighted.
"That punch knocked an idea right into me! Hey guys, I have a great idea. Why don't we film 'Deadpool, Wolverine, and Doom'? With the three of us Marvel heavyweights combined, I guarantee the movie will be a huge hit, crushing Avengers: Endgame at the box office, and that damn Joker movie that dared to steal my title of the World's highest-grossing R-rated film!"
Darian nodded.
"Fine, but it has to be called 'Doom, Deadpool, and Wolverine.'"
Logan: "..."
Why not call it 'Wolverine, Doom, and Deadpool'?
Wade expressed his disagreement.
"Hey, I'm currently the lead in Marvel's highest-grossing movie. You're all riding my coattails!"
"So, do you have money?"
"Well, no."
Wade scratched his head in distress.
"In that case, you provide the money as the director, I'll provide the traffic, and Logan will be responsible for the fanservice. I don't even need a salary; you just have to give me more screen time than this guy Logan. If it really doesn't work, it's not out of the question for me to strip naked and lie in your bed tonight..."
Bang!
Before Wade could finish, Darian took him out with a single shot, and he fell backward onto the ground.
"Nice job!"
Logan immediately clapped and cheered.
However, after a few seconds, Wade sat up and looked around in confusion.
"Who am I? Why am I here? Oh, I remember my name. I'm Logan!"
Darian guessed Wade was acting out Logan's amnesia scene but didn't play along.
Just then, John's voice came over the walkie-talkie, saying they had encountered a big bald guy who had arrived in a fighter jet, claiming he was there to pick them up.
"Wow! It's the Patrick Stewart version of Professor X! I'm a loyal fan of his hair!"
Wade instantly threw the matter of being shot to the back of his mind, scrambled up, and bolted out to get an autograph.
Darian grabbed Wade by the back of his collar and hauled the guy back.
He knew there was no benefit in staying in this dungeon World any longer. The priority was to go to other parallel Universes to recruit team members and complete the dungeon quest as quickly as possible.
Darian turned to look at Logan.
"We're preparing to head to other parallel Worlds. Do you want to come along?"
"No, I still have things to finish here."
Logan shook his head. He had already learned the whole truth from Keira and chosen to forgive her, intending for the two of them to spend the rest of their lives together. As a man with a family, he couldn't go messing around everywhere like Darian and Wade.
Darian nodded and didn't try to persuade him further; after all, everyone had their own ambitions.
He said to the struggling Wade, "Stop wasting time. Hurry up and activate your device. Take me to another parallel World—it must be one where Mutants with high-concentration self-healing abilities definitely exist."
"Man, you have a lot of demands. And I still want that damn Canadian...""
"I'll pay extra."
"No problem, Captain! Please fasten your seatbelt, Wade Airlines is ready for departure!"