Encirclement and Counterattack

"Is this the famous Professor X? He looks much younger than he did in the movies."

George watched as Wolverine pushed Professor X out of the water tank, silently thinking to himself.

Come to think of it, if this were 2029 as in the movies, Professor X would already be ninety-seven years old. But it was actually 2009 now, and Professor X was seventy-seven.

"If Professor X can regain his abilities, our safety will be guaranteed. Even if he can't fully recover, as long as his mind returns to normal, he can help these children develop their abilities more effectively."

At that moment, George decided that when he went to Hogwarts to study magic in the future, he would devote more time to healing magic as well.

If modern technology could not cure Professor X, then he would try magical methods.

After all, Professor X was the most powerful Telepath in the world.

Without physical contact, he could read other people's thoughts and memories. Through Psychic Abilities, he could directly strip away and control others' minds, while controlling their actions as well.

With Cerebro, he could even kill every ordinary human and mutant on Earth.

"A new species, new mutants. Good, good, good. Logan, you must help them. They need you!"

Professor X looked at the children standing before him, especially Little Wolf Girl Laura, and tears streamed uncontrollably down his face.

He tightly gripped one of Wolverine's hands.

"Just wait a little longer, just a little longer. You'll have a new family. Don't give up on yourself. Everything will get better."

"Then promise me you won't give up either. They need your guidance too, just like we once did."

Wolverine's gaze gradually became resolute, as though he had once again become that fearless warrior from the past.

At that moment, George walked over.

"There's no time to lose. The people from the Experimental Base won't let us go so easily. We can't stay here for long.

"We'll split into two groups. Logan and I will go to New York and find a way to rescue Tony Stark.

"Professor, Calliban, Gabriella, and Isabelle, take the children to the North Dakota border and wait for news from us.

"Be careful. The Experimental Base created a clone of Logan. Calliban, stay alert for any new mutants approaching. If you detect anything, relocate immediately."

"A clone of Logan?"

Calliban's pupils constricted. Then he pointed south.

"If my senses are correct, the guy you mentioned is here."

Following Calliban's finger, they saw a long convoy gradually emerging across the distant, empty land.

George narrowed his eyes.

"They're faster than I expected. Fine. This is a good chance to deal with them. Otherwise, they'll only cause trouble later."

He had anticipated the Experimental Base's pursuit long ago. With Arkley Gene Company's wealth and influence, obtaining surveillance footage through local agencies would not be difficult.

Their Truck was far too conspicuous. Hiding their tracks had been impossible from the start.

Before, being caught would have been troublesome. Even if he could use magnetism to alter bullet trajectories and become a superhuman marksman, it would have been useless against X-24.

Once his bullets ran out, he would be dead.

But things were different now. It was not that Wolverine could defeat X-24. It was that George knew Wolverine had an Adamantium bullet, originally saved for suicide, and it was perfect for dealing with X-24.

Once X-24 was killed, the Experimental Base would not pose much of a threat for the time being. Creating another Wolverine clone would not happen so quickly.

That way, when they went to rescue Tony Stark, they would not have to worry about the children being threatened by the Experimental Base.

If they got the chance to kill Sandor Reis as well, that would be even better.

"I have a plan."

Turning to Wolverine, George quickly explained his strategy.

Meanwhile, Commander Donald, seated in an armored jeep, was also giving tactical orders over the radio.

"Surround the factory building completely. Don't let a single one escape.

"Shoot anyone who makes a move, especially Experiment Subject 757."

Following his boss's orders, he had mobilized every connection he could and quickly located the Truck. He had also discovered that the escaped mutants had made contact with Wolverine, who was living in seclusion in El Paso.

In truth, they had known about Wolverine and Professor X's whereabouts for a long time.

The reason they had not hunted the two down like the other mutants was because the boss had said that letting them linger on in misery like this was more painful than killing them.

But now, the escaped mutant children had joined up with Wolverine and the others, making things more complicated.

So, after obtaining the boss's approval, they had brought X-24 this time, just in case.

Originally, the boss had intended to come personally to observe X-24's combat performance. But he had been injured in the earlier laboratory explosion, and he was also wary of Number 757's marksmanship, so he remained at the base.

The convoy consisted of more than twenty vehicles, forming a ring around the dilapidated factory building. Every vehicle was packed with burly men in body armor, armed to the teeth. After getting out, they raised their guns and took up firing positions. There were nearly a hundred of them.

At some distance from the factory building, a sniper lay in ambush atop an armored vehicle nearly the size of a bus. Inside the vehicle was their final trump card, X-24.

"I never expected to meet you like this, Wolverine, my former idol. Hand over those children, and I won't disturb the peaceful life you and that old man are living."

Donald removed his sunglasses and clasped his hands behind his back as he sized up Wolverine, who stood alone at the factory entrance. His tone was full of mockery.

From the look of it, he clearly did not take the once-famous Wolverine seriously at all.

"Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about. This is private property. Please leave."

Remembering George's earlier strategy of buying time, Wolverine suppressed the urge to stab this bastard to death with his Claws and patiently tried to reason with him.

Donald pointed at the Truck by the entrance.

"You've disappointed me greatly. You may not be able to bear the price of lying to me."

"I don't know whose Truck that is. The people you're looking for really aren't here."

Wolverine still firmly denied it.

Donald gave a signal to his men behind him, and more than twenty of them immediately rushed into the factory building with their guns.

About five minutes later, they emerged from the building and shook their heads at Donald.

Donald raised an eyebrow at the sight. He looked around, then smiled as his gaze settled on the abandoned water tank beside the factory building.

"Not a bad idea. I'm guessing they must be in there, including that old man."

"That's just an ordinary water tank. The people you're looking for really aren't here."

Wolverine's expression changed as he slowly slipped one hand into his pocket.

Donald ignored Wolverine and directly signaled his men to search the water tank.

At that moment, Wolverine swiftly pulled out a syringe from his pocket and jabbed it into his arm.