The lie detector was weak. He could easily kill her by snapping her neck. But her presence will make his job very difficult because of his goal to replace Black Mantis quietly.
It would be best if he replace Black Mantis quietly and without suspicions. That meant he couldn't have trouble sprouting up during the mission. It also meant the lie detector could be a real problem for him.
If he failed, it could lead to far-reaching repercussions, such as a hunt for his life. Even if he succeeded and people suspected him of replacing Black Mantis, it would bring a whole lot more trouble than the kind of trouble the real Black Mantis is currently in.
Fortunately, the guards rarely underwent screening from her, so he stood a chance of success..
The only good thing was that he was at very little risk of becoming enthralled by Black Mantis even if there was trouble thanks to his new Mental Network ability. This and the fact that Black Mantis's guards were not a threat to him gave him the confidence to continue the mission.
He said, "Fuck it. If it doesn't work out, I'll just kill all of them and be done with it. I don't like their gang anyway."
He strapped a bomb into his jacket as he went to infiltrate the gang. Despite this, he managed to enter the establishment and pass through the first inspection without trouble.
The first inspection was just for his identification, which he passed with flying colors. But he knew immediately he entered the fortress that there was no chance of achieving his mission peacefully after he saw the state of things.
This issue was something that he had expected could happen. Black Mantis was always being watched with vigilance. He was in too much danger from anyone and had suffered too many assassination attempts for his gang to be lax. They were cautious of everything.
This is why he didn't kill the guard he was impersonating. He had only bound up the guy and rendered him unconscious so that they wouldn't sense his death and become vigilant.
But apparently that wasn't enough. Something seemed to have spooked the Black Mantis gang and made things difficult for him. So he made up his mind as he stood in line for the head of security to ask him and the other guards just coming in for their intentions.
She was asking the person in front of him, "Do you want to kill Black Mantis?"
The guard replied. "No."
"What's your intention for coming to work today?"
"To guard the boss?"
"Who is the boss?"
"Black Mantis."
"Is that all you came here to do today?"
"I also came to play some cards with Austin."
She was thorough with her questioning. She was like a detective. She didn't let her targets get away with using unclear words. They had to state everything straightforwardly. Then she asked them yes and no questions that left no room for wiggling.
She wasn't supposed to do this with the guards today. Her inspections were random and usually took place once a week. But Black Mantis had been on edge ever since Purple Cloud and her gang were wiped out by the Justice League.
It was not a suspicion. The Purple Drag gang is no more, and Fire Rose had been on TV claiming responsibility for the raid. This put Black Mantis on edge because he too had been involved in trafficking as of late.
So he was feeling guilty and couldn't feel at peace until every precaution was taken. That's why even his guards were not exempt from the daily screening.
The guards were frustrated by the long questioning and the need to line up for it. Kelvin was also frustrated. He was so frustrated that he would rather endure an explosion than bear with it for any moment longer.
His skin turned silver as his whole body took on a metallic hue. Then red tattooes appeared on his body from head to toe. This was followed by a red phantom knight armor.
These changes to his person caught everyone off guard, but then fire, heat, sound and light spread out in extreme quantities in a short amount of time right in front of him as the bomb exploded.
The two men in front of him died immediately. Shrapnel injured many more, but it was those two closest to him and in front of him that bore the most damage.
The remaining people surrounding him were stunned, confused, and disoriented by the explosion. They were two behind him and five in front of him. But the worst was only about to come.
The five in front of him were four male guards and the female head of security. Two of the male guards were wielding guns, while the other two were unarmed.
The unarmed guards were the ones closest to the head of security. They flanked her on both sides as she questioned the guards. Their position was at the second barrier that he had to pass to gain access to the Black Mantis.
As for the other two, they were further back guarding the man door to the establishment. Beside them at the far corner of the room were two sentry guns. Between them was the door that led to the establishment proper.
There were more guards behind that door. They ought to be 30 guards in total guarding Black Mantis at a time. Ten of them were still in the front room guarding it or undergoing screening before they could gain access to the main establishment.
Two of the ten were dead. One was Kelvin. Five was in front of him, and two behind him. So there were still 20 beyond the door, and the alarm was already ringing.
The good news is that they won't be able to gain access to the first room quickly, as the blast door seperating the first room from the rest of the establishment was designed to be slow and difficult to open.