Stryker and Lucien

"Mr. Rorschach, goodbye."

"Jarvis, goodbye!"

At a crossroads on 75th Street in New York, Rorschach waved goodbye to Jarvis, who had politely seen him off.

He subconsciously glanced at a car not far behind him, and a dismissive sneer curled up on his lips.

That car had been following him the entire way.

Rorschach knew it was someone sent by Peggy Carter.

He hadn't expected Peggy Carter to react so strongly to his extraordinary powers.

Indeed.

Rorschach wasn't a special agent and didn't have any counter-surveillance skills, but it was very easy for him to notice this, knowing Peggy Carter wouldn't give up.

He just needed to use his super hearing to listen, and he'd know immediately.

Actually, if Peggy Carter had asked him nicely, Rorschach wouldn't have hidden anything.

After all, being a mutant wasn't something shameful.

Rorschach had never done anything wicked or harmful, so what was there to hide?

But with that old woman's attitude, Rorschach couldn't be bothered.

Furthermore, he certainly wouldn't let Peggy Carter succeed in secretly following him, which was why he had Jarvis stop the car here on 75th Street.

"Agent Carter, I'm not a pushover!"

Rorschach muttered to himself, then without any hesitation, he walked directly towards the black sedan that was following him.

Knock, knock, knock!

Rorschach directly knocked on the car window.

Soon, the window rolled down, revealing a middle-aged man eating a hot dog.

"Kid, what do you want? Get lost!"

The middle-aged man deliberately pretended not to recognize Rorschach and glared at him, scolding him.

Rorschach said nothing and simply grabbed the middle-aged man with one hand.

With a gentle tug, he pulled the man out of the car.

Holding him by the collar, Rorschach lifted him into the air.

The middle-aged man, a large person, was like an infant in Rorschach's hands, utterly powerless to resist.

"Go back and tell Peggy Carter not to bother me! My temper isn't always this good!"

Rorschach sneered at the middle-aged man, then threw him upwards.

Whoosh!

The middle-aged man flew straight up and landed heavily on the roof of a nearby building with a thud.

He was so disoriented that his entire skeleton felt like it was about to fall apart.

After doing all this, Rorschach acted as if nothing had happened and casually walked away, blending into the crowd.

He disappeared.

Leaving only the middle-aged man trembling and on the verge of tears on the rooftop.

What kind of monster did Commander Carter have me track?

After shaking off his tail, there were no more incidents on the rest of the journey.

Rorschach returned to Xavier's Manor smoothly.

He saw everyone in the living room laughing and chatting, the atmosphere was wonderful, completely unlike the previous dull and oppressive mood.

As soon as Rorschach appeared, everyone enthusiastically greeted him.

After the Black King incident, Rorschach had completely established his authority in the hearts of the mutants.

"Rorschach, man, you really did it!"

Siren's eyes were shining, full of admiration. "You saved Howard Stark? That's insane!"

It seemed Raven had already returned and embellished the story for everyone.

"Yeah, that's definitely the craziest thing I've ever heard, and the coolest too!" Wrecker was also extremely excited.

"Man, how is Mr. Stark? Is he easy to get along with?" Even the usually mature and steady Darwin was unfazed.

It was no wonder. Howard Stark was a truly significant figure to everyone present.

It was like everyone attending a class reunion and suddenly hearing that their dorm brother had saved Jack Ma.

The shock, excitement, and thrill were unimaginable.

"Mr. Stark is a very good person. Apart from not being as handsome as me, he has no flaws."

Rorschach grinned cheekily and plopped down on an empty spot on the sofa.

The atmosphere in the hall was relaxed and cheerful.

With the Black King no longer a concern, the mutants didn't need any further encouragement. They were all comfortably staying at Xavier's Manor, waiting for Charles and the others to arrive.

They were thoroughly enjoying the high-class life they had never experienced before.

Some were even starting to feel reluctant to leave, wishing Charles and the others would return a little later.

The Bronx.

A very dilapidated, abandoned building.

In the incredibly messy courtyard, filled with garbage and sewage, sat a magnificent Cadillac.

It was a stark contrast to the surrounding environment.

Four people stood in front of the Cadillac.

They were Stryker, Wade (who wasn't Deadpool yet), and two other regular special agents.

Of course, this was only the visible force.

In other hidden corners, undetectable by outsiders, Stryker had also arranged for some snipers.

Judging by Stryker's setup, it seemed he was waiting for someone.

"Commander, you know I'm a bit of a neat freak, so the smell of this place is really making me uncomfortable..."

Wade started chattering again.

"Shut up, Wade!" Stryker hissed at Wade, feeling incredibly annoyed.

Wade finally shut his mouth sullenly.

But Stryker knew it was useless, because Wade would start up again in ten seconds.

Fortunately, at this moment, another car slowly drove over.

A man in a black trench coat with shoulder-length hair walked up to Stryker.

The person they were waiting for had finally arrived.

"I told you, minimize unnecessary meetings. I need to keep a low profile!" the long-haired man said to Stryker with some displeasure.

"Only the weak blindly pursue a low profile, while the strong solve problems, Lucien."

Stryker said with a meaningful tone.

Lucien wasn't here to listen to Stryker's lecture. He asked directly, "Speak, what is it?"

"Considering our previous cooperation was very pleasant, I think I need to continue hiring some personnel from you." Stryker didn't beat around the bush.

"No! Our cooperation ended long ago. I helped you catch the person you wanted, I fulfilled my promise. But what about you? You never found the person I asked you to investigate! Moreover, you already have mutants now, you don't need my people anymore."

"No, Lucien, I really do. Logan is gone, Ling and Sabretooth are dead, my mutant team has fallen apart. In fact, besides Wade, I have no one to use."

"That's not my problem, Stryker. You know my situation, I can't be exposed! Three days ago, three of my people were beaten to death by an Easterner, and I chose to forget about it. So, I'm sorry!"

Lucien said it without thinking, but Stryker's heart skipped a beat.

Beating a Werewolf to death was not something an ordinary person could do.

It was highly likely to be a mutant.

And that person was an Easterner?

Back then, Stryker had asked a sketch artist to draw a picture of the murderer who killed Sabretooth, and it seemed to be an Easterner as well.

Although it was dark at the time, and the witness didn't see clearly, severely affecting the accuracy of the sketch.

But whether they were Western or Eastern was undeniable.