An A-level Wanted Order?
Upon hearing Cyclops's words, Professor X immediately frowned.
"The Los Angeles Branch issued an A-level Wanted Order days ago. Why didn't they notify us immediately?"
"According to the agreement, once an A-level Wanted Order is issued, they should contact us at once and ask for our opinion."
Professor X asked Cyclops.
Although he had failed to stop the Mutant Restriction Act from being passed, he had not done nothing, contrary to the rumors outside.
The Department of Mutant Affairs and the X-Men had a confidential agreement.
The agreement was not complicated and contained only a few clauses.
One of them stated that after the Department of Mutant Affairs issued an A-level Wanted Order, it had to notify the X-Men immediately and ask whether they wished to join the capture operation.
If the X-Men joined the operation, the captured mutant would first be handed over to them, and they would determine whether it was necessary to send them to Mutant Prison.
If the wanted mutant had a chance of turning over a new leaf, the X-Men would be responsible for persuading them to do so.
The reason Professor X had included this clause in the agreement was simple.
To limit the Department of Mutant Affairs' power and preserve strength for the Mutant Race.
An A-level Wanted Order was second only to an S-level Wanted Order.
No matter why a mutant ended up on an A-level Wanted Order, it proved one thing: the wanted mutant was an elite among the Mutant Race.
To put it bluntly, ordinary mutants were not even qualified to make it onto an A-level Wanted Order.
Cyclops sighed helplessly and slowly said, "It's not just the Los Angeles Branch. The other branches of the Department of Mutant Affairs aren't really honoring the agreement either."
"Only after we discover it do they reluctantly send over the information on the wanted targets."
Although Professor X possessed the strongest Telepathy, he still sometimes overestimated human nature.
No organization liked outsiders meddling in its internal affairs!
The X-Men did not like the United States government interfering in their affairs, and the Department of Mutant Affairs likewise did not like the X-Men interfering with capture operations.
Even with an agreement in place, dislike was still dislike.
"How long has this been going on?"
Professor X asked with a frown.
"It's been like this ever since the agreement was signed."
Cyclops replied quickly.
It had always been like this?
Professor X's expression grew increasingly unpleasant.
"Why didn't you tell me? I could have gone to the Minister of the Department of Mutant Affairs and demanded that he strictly follow the agreement."
Professor X continued.
"Professor, it's not that we didn't want to, it's just..."
Cyclops stopped, leaving the rest unsaid.
"It's just what?"
"Scott, I don't want to use Telepathy on you."
Professor X said with a frown.
Upon hearing Professor X's words, Cyclops unconsciously clenched his fists.
After meeting Professor X's gaze for several seconds, he finally said, "Professor, do you know how people outside see us after the Mutant Restriction Act was implemented?"
"People now say the X-Men are the government's dogs, only capable of wagging their tails for the government and dealing with their own kind."
"Even the school is now called a dog-training base, specifically meant to turn mutants into the government's dogs."
Under normal circumstances, Cyclops would never have said such things to Professor X.
Although he did not fully understand why Professor X had not fiercely opposed the implementation of the Mutant Restriction Act, he had chosen to trust Professor X.
However, as time passed, he began to doubt his original choice.
He did not deny that Professor X was a good man, one who had devoted his entire life and everything he had to the Mutant Race.
But the truth was that after the Mutant Restriction Act was implemented, the discrimination mutants faced had not decreased. Instead, it had grown even worse.
Or rather, the appearance of the Mutant Restriction Act had turned every mutant into a second-class citizen.
"Scott, do you also think I was wrong back then, that I shouldn't have agreed to the Act's implementation?"
Professor X looked at Cyclops and asked seriously.
"I don't know. I really don't know."
"All I know now is that the discrimination against mutants has become worse, the X-Men's reputation has deteriorated, and there are fewer and fewer students at the school."
"I also know that after watching the footage of Richard killing the Los Angeles Branch's agents and Special Forces Members, as well as the current livestream, I don't think he is utterly evil. I even sympathize with him somewhat."
"Before coming to your office, I briefly looked up information on the father and son in the database."
"Other than failing to register as required by the Act, neither of them had done anything bad."
"Not only that, Roy Wesley was a widely praised philanthropist in Los Angeles."
"He had done many good things in Los Angeles, establishing charitable funds to support vulnerable groups and frequently participating in public welfare work and donations."
"Even after establishing Crimson Manor, he never had Crimson Manor's people commit any extreme or vicious acts. He merely quietly brought mutants in need of help to the manor and cared for them."
"Although his son Richard Wesley was a rich second-generation heir, he did not indulge in a life of luxury like the others. He did not even own a sports car, only an ordinary Ford."
"And what happened?"
"Roy Wesley was arrested, Richard Wesley was wanted, and all assets under their names were seized and frozen."
"Did they sell drugs? Traffic people? Or secretly support terrorists?"
"No, none of that. They just wanted to live ordinary lives and help people who needed help."
"To be honest, if I were Richard Wesley, I might be doing even worse than he is right now."
Professor X had not expected the usually steady Cyclops to become so emotional.
Moreover, from Cyclops's words, he could hear Cyclops's intense dissatisfaction with the Mutant Restriction Act.
Or rather, his intense dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs.
After several seconds of silence, Professor X said to Cyclops, "Notify Jean, Logan, and Ororo. Go to Los Angeles immediately and bring Richard and Victor back."
"If the Department of Mutant Affairs tries to stop you, tell them this is my decision, Charles Xavier's decision."
"If they are dissatisfied, tell their minister to come find me personally."
Cyclops froze for a moment and looked at Professor X in surprise.
He had thought that after saying all that, Professor X would once again lecture him about lofty principles.
For example, the necessity of mutant registration, or how the Department of Mutant Affairs existed to allow mutants and humans to coexist peacefully.
Yet he had not expected Professor X to send them to Los Angeles and even tell them to ignore the Department of Mutant Affairs' interference and bring Richard and Sabretooth Victor back.
"Professor, I..."
Cyclops did not know what to say for a moment.
"If there's anything you want to say, say it after you bring them back."
Professor X looked at Cyclops kindly, as though he had not cared about anything Cyclops had just said.
"Alright. I'll notify Jean and the others right away."
Cyclops nodded at Professor X, then turned and left the office.
Brotherhood of Mutants headquarters.
Magneto's office.
"This kid is interesting. From the look of things, he won't leave tonight until he has killed to his heart's content."
"Raven, take a few people over and ask whether he is interested in joining the Brotherhood of Mutants."
Magneto watched the livestream on television and spoke to Mystique, who sat beside him.
Upon hearing Magneto's words, Mystique immediately replied, "He won't join the Brotherhood of Mutants."
"You've met him before?"
Magneto looked at Mystique in confusion.
"You could say that. His name is Richard Wesley, and he is Roy Wesley's son."
Mystique said slowly.
Roy Wesley? Magneto thought for a moment, then an expression of realization appeared on his face as he smiled and said:
"Still, take some people over. Two months ago, he never would have imagined that he would awaken superpowers, much less that he would go from a rich second-generation heir with no worries about food or clothing to an A-Class Fugitive."
"Also, pass a message to him for me. As long as he joins the Brotherhood of Mutants, I will help him reclaim the Wesley Family's assets, principal and interest included."
Mystique rose to her feet and slowly said, "I can take people there, but I can't guarantee that I'll be able to bring him back."
"A mutant capable of destroying three Sentinel Robots cannot be forcibly brought back unless you act personally."
After saying that, Mystique left the office without waiting for Magneto's reply.
Los Angeles Branch.
Richard had no idea that both Professor X and Magneto intended to send people to take him away.
However, even if he knew, he would not care much.
Right now, he only cared about one thing: whether the returning Mutant Agents would number eleven.
He still needed to kill eleven Mutant Agents to complete the system mission. He had no desire to spend the next two days searching for and hunting Mutant Agents everywhere.
Once the entire Los Angeles Branch had been surrounded by Los Angeles police officers and Special Forces Members, he finally saw the Mutant Agents who had returned.
The moment he saw them, he began counting.
One, two, three... twelve, thirteen, fourteen! Fourteen Mutant Agents!
Seeing that fourteen Mutant Agents had returned, Richard revealed a satisfied expression.
If it had been another mutant, seeing these fourteen Mutant Agents might have made them nervous, perhaps even consider fleeing.
But not him.
Because to him, the arrival of these fourteen Mutant Agents not only meant that he could obtain Vergil's Summoned Swords tonight, but also that he could Plunder some decent superpowers afterward.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, he rose from the "throne" made from Sentinel Robot wreckage and pulled the Masamune from the ground.
After casually flourishing the blade, he Silently Recited in his heart.
"The hunt... begins!"
Before you continue