The Legendary Mechanic in Marvel Universe

Chapter 237 Distorted Utopia

Lying comfortably amidst the enormous blue and purple petals, Bucky spoke, “I still can’t understand or believe what that old man said earlier. If burying a person in the sand can increase the herb’s effect, I can somewhat accept it by saying it’s the magical vibratory energy hidden beneath the ground. But to sincerely pray to a god and seek their blessings and claim it greatly boosts the effect? That’s just absurd! I don’t believe it.”

Bucky shook his head, “How could there be gods in this world?”

“Why can’t there be?” Leo suddenly recalled the mystical sorcerers from Marvel, the likes of Ego with god-like powers, and the gods like Odin who played an active role across the Nine Realms. Leo grinned as he answered Bucky’s question.

“If gods exist, then where were they when we fought and killed each other on Earth decades ago?” Bucky rebuked.

“Bucky, I think you’re getting it wrong. Gods don’t necessarily exist to protect humanity, and they aren’t all necessarily good either,” Leo smiled.

“But those who believe in gods worship them. Didn’t you hear what that old man said earlier? They pray to the gods and seek their blessings,” Bucky argued.

“Perhaps it’s because they are afraid of these gods? Reverence and fear have shaped the legends of gods, and ignorance and foolishness have made them believe for millennials,” Leo guessed.

Leo’s mind wandered to the mythical tales of gods and spirits he had heard in his past life, most of which were perpetuated due to the ignorance and superstition of ancient people.

“But their technologies are remarkable!” Bucky implied, referring to the advanced technology of Wakanda as he believed with such high-end technology, they should rely on science rather than theology.

“Nonetheless, their cultures are outdated, still rooted in old-fashioned superstitions. You’ve witnessed it all. Besides, their technologies are built solely on Vibranium. Without the Vibranium, the Wakandan would be nothing. I suppose that in ancient times, the king of Wakanda invented the facade of a Panther God to ensure his control and stability. And conveniently, the unique Vibranium became the perfect excuse to justify his divine authority.” Leo commented casually.

“So, you also believed that Wakanda has no gods?” Bucky suddenly caught on, seizing the hole in Leo’s statement.

Leo chuckled, his laughter tinged with irony. “Bucky, I’m not going to debate with you. I’m just saying that in the vast universe, anything is possible. Maybe the imagined and mighty deities that people envision do exist in some corner of the universe. As for whether Wakanda has the Panther God or not, who knows?! It’s not like we care either.”

Bucky grumbled a few more unintelligible words, and Leo couldn’t make out what he said. However, Leo suspected that Bucky felt he had won the argument and was unhappy with Leo’s response as the defeated party. Yet, Bucky didn’t dare to express his anger or confront Leo directly.

Arching the corner of his mouth, Leo smiled and paid no attention to Bucky’s discontent. He knew perfectly well whether or not gods existed in this universe, so there was no need for him to engage in a heated argument with Bucky. 

Time would eventually prove Leo is right.

After a couple more grumbling, Bucky steadied his emotions and asked, “Since, we don’t care about the Panther God, how about we just grind the herb, mix it with water and drink it?”

Considering for a moment, Leo started to persuade, “I think we should give burying underground a try. That old man earlier mentioned that being buried can increase the herb’s effect to some extent. Plus, as you analyzed earlier, being buried underground might allow the human body to absorb some vibratory energy, offering a trace of scientific basis. Besides, we don’t know any prayers, and we don’t believe in that stuff anyway. As long as we don’t pray, we don’t have to worry about that Panther God.”

According to Wakandan tradition, the kings were buried in a sandpit after consuming the herb and could communicate with the spirits of their ancestors.

Being familiar with the storyline, Leo knew that the old man, Badu, wasn’t lying. Burying themselves underground was an essential step in the process of enhancing the herb’s powers, and Leo wanted to give it a try.

Other than that, he hadn’t heard of anyone in Wakanda dying from consuming the herb, so he wasn’t afraid of any danger,

As Leo presented his reasoning, Bucky pondered for a bit before nodding. If they were going to bury themselves, so be it. After all, he had been frozen in a cryogenic chamber countless times, so he had no psychological barriers to being buried underground.

However, Bucky glanced around and frowned, “But they are always people in the temple. How can we use their sandpit, not, the sacred pool? Or maybe we should just find a random spot and bury ourselves with some dirt?”

“Let’s wait until night and see. Maybe by then, the temple will be empty! If we can use the sacred pool, that would be ideal. If not, we’ll think of another way.” Based on Leo’s guesses, the specific location and the material used for burying weren’t vital.

As shown in the movie, T’Challa was even buried under the snow, not in the temple, and yet he was successfully powered up and brought back to life.

So why did Leo want to use the sacred pool in the temple? Simply because it would be more comfortable to be buried in!

The so-called sacred sand in the temple was meticulously sieved and selected by the priests. It was cleaned of impurities and even treated to eliminate toxins. The priests would often kneel and pray before the sacred pool.

Who would want to lie beneath the cold snow when they could lie beneath such sand?

Not to mention lying beneath the layer of gravel!

Bucky nodded in agreement after listening and accepted Leo’s suggestion. Since it was still early afternoon, they wouldn’t just sit around and wait.

They returned to their base and had lunch. Afterward, they went about their tasks, patiently awaiting the arrival of the evening.

……

At 10 o’clock in the night, in the Temple of Panther God.

As expected, the people of Wakanda had never anticipated someone silently infiltrating their inner area. Most of the guard forces were concentrated around the perimeter of Azure Firmament, leaving the internal defenses extremely fragile, almost non-existent.

It was probably why Ulysses, an ordinary person, could successfully steal a large amount of Vibranium with just a “Wakanda D-Rank e-Pass.”

And most importantly, the Wakandan seemed oblivious to the concept of closing the stable after bolting the horse. Even after the “Ulysses incident,” they hadn’t improved their security measures!

Take the temple for example, it was only 10 p.m. and yet all the priests had returned home. Even the four good-looking guards at the entrance were nowhere to be seen!

After flying around the temple, Leo was astonished to find that there wasn’t a single living person apart from himself and Bucky!

The entrance of the temple wasn’t the only entrance, he also discovered at least three-vine covered caves that bypassed the main entrance and connected directly to the temple!

To his careful inspection, the whole temple lacked any security measures, not even a single surveillance camera. Whether it was out of the reverence of the Panther God or simply due to a lack of awareness, the Wakandans hadn’t installed a single one.

No wonder in the movie, Nakia effortlessly stole a herb from the temple when Erik ordered the temple to be burned.

It wasn’t because the Wakandans were all blind, it was because they lacked foresight!

‘What a distorted utopia! No lost property, no locked doors at night. It must be referring to them.’ Leo, with no attempt to conceal his emotions, landed right next to the sacred pool and reverted to his normal size while exclaiming in his heart.