Where Did a Submarine Get a Gear Stick?

The second Mother Box has arrived.

Ben took Mera's hand and they went back to the yacht together, then shoved the Mother Box and the Trident into the stern of the yacht.

"We've got the Mother Box, what's next?"

"Let's go find that Cool Harpoon."

Ben said without hesitation.

He initially scoffed at the Poseidon Trident, but when he threw it and pierced through an enemy, he felt a pleasant sensation and suddenly grew to like it.

It's like peeling rapeseed flowers with a stick when you were a kid—it's incredibly satisfying.

However, the black harpoon he picked up was really unworthy of Ripjaws's "handsome and dashing" temperament. It was not suitable for fighting and could only be used to shovel manure at most. He still needed Poseidon Trident.

Mother Box: You're the shit!

Mera was immediately overjoyed.

This was also her original idea: only Ben truly obtained the Poseidon Trident and became the ruler of the seven seas could her breaking of the engagement, escaping from Atlantis, and attacking the Mother Box Guardians be forgiven.

"But do you know the whereabouts of the trident?" Mera asked.

"Ever since Atlantis sank, Atlantis King has vanished with his trident."

"I know."

Ben had a fairly deep impression of the movie Aquaman, especially the scene where Mera first came to the human city and innocently ate a beautiful rose, mistaking it for food.

He just fell for the red-haired girl.

It's a pity that this person's behavior in real life is a bit too abstract and outrageous.

"The trident is located in the Dark Sea."

"The Dark Sea... The Brine Kingdom?! Oh dear!"

Mera was startled by Ben's words. She jumped up and bumped her head against the submarine's ceiling. Covering her head, she said with teary eyes, "You're not kidding, are you?"

Mera didn't even hesitate to join Ben in stealing the Mother Box, even at the cost of betraying Orm and the Xebel Kingdom.

But when the Trench Kingdom was mentioned, fear couldn't be hidden on Mera's face.

After Atlantis sank, it split into seven different sea races. Among the five great nations that still exist today, the Trench is the only one that still exists in name only, but is actually a civilization that has already perished.

The inhabitants of the Trench are still alive, but their nation has been destroyed, and the flame of civilization has been extinguished in the dark depths of the sea.

All that remains in the trenches today are countless monsters.

That's a place of exile!

Seemingly worried that Ben didn't understand the gravity of the situation, Mera quickly emphasized, "Throughout history, all our nations have exiled traitors to the Trench Kingdom, where they would be torn apart by monsters that have degenerated into beasts. Once exiled, there is only death!"

"You may not know about the former Queen of Atlantis. She was exiled many years ago and her whereabouts are still unknown. She was probably devoured by those monsters long ago and turned into excrement."

At this point, Mera's mood dipped slightly, and she slumped her shoulders as if resigned to her fate.

"If I get caught by Orm, I'm afraid my fate won't be much better."

"So you should come with me to find the trident."

Ben didn't give the other party a chance to refuse.

Although there are Arthur and Orm, the two legitimate Inheritors of Atlantis, Ben thinks they are not very reliable.

Let's not even mention Arthur. That guy is a typical brainless fool. He might be brave enough to be a warrior, but he's clearly unqualified to be a king. It's no different from Poseidon Trident approving of him being blind.

Orm is too extreme and arrogant. If it were the Orm who had lived on land at the end of Aquaman 2, he might have been a qualified monarch, but now, he only brings war.

Ben shook his head helplessly, concluding that Orm was calcium deficient as a child and needed a pat now that he was grown up.

When Clark slaps him into caviar, he'll behave himself.

Thump!

Within the Atlantis Kingdom.

Orm slammed his fist on the table in front of him in anger, shattering the broken bracelet fragments on the surface.

Orm, standing to the side, kept his head down and remained silent, lost in thought.

"How dare you let my fiancée run away!"

Orm was already in a bad mood. He needed the support of at least four countries to launch a war on land, but the cowards of the Fishermen Kingdom were afraid of war and wanted to maintain the status quo. He thought the people of the Brine Kingdom would support him, but reality slapped him hard in the face.

The rotten fish and shrimp of the Brine Kingdom didn't care about going to war with the land; what they couldn't accept was being commanded by Atlantis, especially by that brat Orm.

Alliances are fine, I'll be the boss!

The Brine Kingdom was unwilling to be subservient to others, and Orm was even less likely to bow down to a group of barbarians he looked down upon.

To wage war, the consent of at least four countries is required, but two of the remaining four have already refused. The only country that might agree is the Xebel Kingdom, but just then, Mera disappears!

Especially...

His gaze was somber as it fell upon the broken fragments of the bracelet on the table.

"The locator was smashed. Did she find out?"

Vulko remained silent for a moment, seemingly remembering that he, as a high-ranking official, should not remain silent at this juncture. He then stepped forward and said, "King Orm, Princess Mera's disappearance is no small matter. Should we report this to King Xebel?"

As he spoke, he glanced at the broken bracelet.

Positioner.

Vulko recognized the technology hidden inside the bracelet, and his heart pounded with excitement.

Perhaps that's why Princess Mera ran away?

Furthermore, Orm would put Positioning Device on Mera, and perhaps he himself would too...

Has my secret mission to teach Arthur while away from Atlantis been exposed?

"No need for now."

Orm immediately calmed down.

If Mera truly ran away because she was resentful that the bracelet she gave him contained a tracking device, then King Xebel must not find out about this.

He has already had some unpleasantness with two countries, and if things are exposed, the Xebel Kingdom may also lose its goodwill towards Atlantis.

"Mobilize forces immediately to find Mera, and absolutely do not leak any information to the outside world!"

Orm made a decisive decision, even though he had already mentally prepared for the worst.

If they can find Mera and reach an agreement with her, that would be fine. But if they can't find her, or if Mera insists on telling King Nereus about the bracelet, then Orm will have no choice but to take preemptive action, imprisoning Mera or even fabricating a story that Mera has betrayed him, in order to blackmail the Xebel Kingdom into supporting him in the war.

In any case, his purpose in marrying Mera was to gain the support of the Xebel Kingdom.

It's okay to use underhanded methods.

So the entire Atlantis began to operate in secret. Although it was an underwater civilization, there were also water surveillance cameras in the palace. Soon they discovered the image of Mera leaving the palace alone with her thighs tucked between her legs, as well as her exit records.

However, once outside the kingdom's borders, finding the other person in the vast ocean became quite difficult.

Just as Orm was at his wit's end, considering how to frame someone, a distress call came from the Mother Box Guardians.

"Princess Mera, accompanied by a warrior from the Fishermen Kingdom, stole the Mother Box?!"

Orm was startled, then a look of surprise suddenly appeared on his face.

OK!

It came to me without any effort at all!

Although it's unclear how that so-called Fishermen Kingdom warrior managed to seduce Mera, this presents Orm with an opportunity—a chance to coerce the Fishermen Kingdom and the Xebel Kingdom into agreeing to his plan to wage war.

He hastily donned his armor, summoned his mount, and ordered, "Send an elite force to capture Mera and the criminals of the Fishermen Kingdom! The rest of you, come with me to the Fishermen Kingdom! This time, we must make the Fishermen Kingdom give us an explanation!"

"Let's go, Mantis Shrimp!"

He tugged on the reins, and the Azure Dragon beneath him, splashing water with dissatisfaction, surged forward fiercely.

Splash!

White waves crashed against black rocks, the spray resembling shattered jade.

"Standing here again?"

Arthur, carrying a dozen beers, strode over from a distance. In his eyes, hidden by his thick, wild-man-like hair and beard, was reflected a middle-aged man of average height wearing a wool felt hat.

Arthur knew what his father was waiting for.

He was waiting for his mother, Atlanna, to return, anticipating her beautiful figure leaping out of the deep sea like a flying fish.

But that's no longer possible.

Over the years, Arthur had tried to go to Atlantis to inquire about his mother, but all he received was news that Atlanna was dead.

Although it wasn't a direct report of death, the outcome was practically the same as being dead.

"Just taking a stroll." Thomas Cooley snapped out of his reverie, concealing the longing and sadness in his eyes. He turned around with a smile. "What brings you here? I didn't tell you to go and learn from that Superman kid. You can use your strengths to become a Super Hero like him, and take a catchy name, like— Aquaman, or Salty Fish King, or something."

Are you serious?

"You want me to save the world with the title of ' Salty Fish King '?" Arthur asked incredulously.

"Anyway, you're no different from a salted fish now." Thomas laughed as he walked over and patted his burly son, then glanced down at the beer in his son's hand. "This little bit isn't enough."

The two returned to their cabin by the sea. Thomas was a lighthouse keeper in Maine, but times had changed, and the world needed a new lighthouse.

How can we rely on this corrupt country?

"I think that Superman's idea is good—an organization that isn't held hostage by any nation's power, Galactic Plumbers dedicated to maintaining world peace."

He took a sip of beer foam and continued, "I had hoped you would become a bridge between humanity and Atlantis, but you weren't willing. In that case, joining that brat isn't a bad option either."

"Come on," Arthur said, disagreeing with his father's idea.

"You have no idea what a mess he's made of. He openly announced to the world that he's going to establish a Superman organization that will be above all other countries. Do you know that now every country sees him as a thorn in their side?"

"So what if he Superpowers?"

"They'll behave themselves after being hit by two atomic bombs."

Clark: Are you sure?

Arthur didn't think highly of Clark.

The main problem is that Clark's behavior was too naive and presumptuous. No country would want an uncontrollable danger looming over its head, and his actions would inevitably make him an enemy of everyone.

The fighting hasn't started yet; it just hasn't reached the point of war.

The America government was interested in the other party's Superpowers and intended to cooperate, and many conglomerates also had their eyes on this third type of being.

"Let's wait a bit longer."

"If he's smart, he'll choose to cooperate with the government. If he's stubborn, I can only wish him to use his brain and run to the sea after being beaten; then I might be able to save his life."

Arthur said with a deep, complex expression.

He actually knew Clark.

Not long ago, this man rescued a group of people trapped at sea; it was Arthur who summoned the whale to prevent Clark from sinking to the bottom of the ocean.

I never expected that just a few months later, the other party would cause such a huge mess.

A pale Flash of lightning flashed where the sea met the sky, and the giant waves revealed their fang-like outlines in the lightning. Dark clouds, like torn pieces of ink, poured down, and a salty, pungent wind whipped up hail-like raindrops.

The closer they got to the Trench Kingdom, the darker the seawater became, with turbulent undersea currents. Even the submarine felt like a fruit thrown into a juicer, spinning wildly.

"The seawater density in this area is higher than in other places, so please be extremely careful!"

"Let's be careful of the pursuers behind us first."

Ben glanced back and saw a long line of patrol ships emitting a blue glow cutting through the currents and hurtling towards them.

"The bracelet was clearly lost, how did they find it? Could it be that I still have a tracking device on me?"

Mera was puzzled, but she quickly stripped herself naked, like a peeled green banana revealing its white flesh.

"It must be a submarine, right?"

Ben glanced at her and then told Mera hurry up and get dressed.

Mera's submarines were registered in Atlantis, so it was normal for them to be tracked.

"Ignore them, charge straight into the Dark Sea!"

Turn off all the lights!

Mera didn't have time to get dressed properly; she was only half-dressed when she pounced on Ben and turned off the lights.

"The monsters of the Trench are extremely sensitive to light sources. They fear strong light, but are attracted to faint light."

"Knew."

With one hand on Mera's smooth back and the other gripping the steering wheel, Ben slammed on the gas pedal and plunged headlong into the dark sea.

Mera gasped and gripped the upright gearshift lever.

Why is this gearshift lever so hot?

Wait, where would a submarine get a gearshift lever?!