Failed Mutants

"Stop, or I'll call the police."

Susan took out her phone as a threat. Her words enraged the tattooed men, who aggressively surrounded her. Startled, Susan could not help backing away. At that moment, a tall figure appeared in front of her.

"Get lost."

Andrew shouted. The tattooed men were suddenly filled with terror and turned to flee in panic. One of them was so frightened that he fell to the ground with a bang.

Susan blinked. The Boss's presence was way too imposing, wasn't it? Then again, following the Boss really gave her a Sense of Security.

Seeing the tattooed men run away, the two Homeless People breathed a sigh of relief. They got up, bowed gratefully to Andrew and Susan, and ran toward a dark alley nearby.

Susan sighed. "Mutants are pitiful, but Mutants whose mutations have failed are even more pitiful."

Andrew was surprised. "Mutants with failed mutations?"

"That's right. Not every Mutant successfully awakens. Around twenty percent of Mutants suffer mutation failure, leaving them with major defects and weak abilities. Like those two just now, their official classification is Epsilon-class Mutants."

Susan nodded and said, "In recent years, life has been getting harder and harder for Mutants. Other Mutants are doing all right since they can hide themselves, but these Mutants with failed mutations have it terrible. Many are driven out of their homes, lose their jobs, and become Homeless People."

Remembering something, Susan explained, "I once studied Mutant genes, so I know a little more about this."

"Twenty percent of Mutants suffer mutation failure?"

Andrew's eyes lit up. Whose souls were easiest to deceive? Ahem, easiest to make contracts with? Naturally, those with no hope. And all those failed Mutants had no hope.

I remember there's a Mutant who can disable the X-Gene. Oh, right, I happen to have a Mutant expert in my Hell.

Andrew thought to himself. Those failed Mutants would definitely be willing to Exchange For a return to normal in return for their souls after death. When the time came, he might count souls until his hand cramped.

There were quite a lot of Mutants in this world.

Rebirth Hell.

In just over half a month, Rebirth Hell had completely changed. Factories rose one after another, while large numbers of Demon-Men corrupted by demonic energy worked overtime under the command of a Dwarf to construct them.

These factories included a robot manufacturing plant, a large steel mill powered by volcanoes, and various component factories. Clearly, Andrew wanted to manufacture robots.

The main reason the factories had risen so quickly was Andrew himself. He possessed control over this Hell, making factory construction incredibly easy. However, he could not create various precision instruments and had to either purchase them from Earth or have the Dwarf make them personally with others.

"There are too few workers. The efficiency is too low."

Andrew, in his Demon King's Body, shook his head. Rebirth Hell currently had only a few hundred Demon-Men, whom he had acquired from Las Vegas. That was nowhere near enough.

"Boss, were you looking for me?"

The Dwarf, in ghost form, floated before Andrew and asked respectfully. His name was Bolivar Trask, a scientist who believed Mutants would replace humanity in the future. Thus, he developed Sentinel Robots to exterminate Mutants.

To achieve success, the Dwarf had experimented on Mutants. After Mystique Raven learned of it, she shot and killed him at a conference.

Trask had made a deal with Mephisto while alive, so Mephisto collected his soul after his death. Now, he had fallen into Andrew's hands.

Andrew asked, "I want to know whether you have a way to strip the X-Gene from a Mutant's body?"

"Mutants?"

Trask's eyes lit up. Now this was a topic that could keep him awake. He said, "Boss, stripping away the X-Gene is very difficult. It isn't something foreign to the body. The best method is to kill every Mutant without leaving a single one alive."

Andrew was speechless. "Do you hate Mutants that much?"

Trask said righteously, "No. Everything I did was to prevent humanity from being replaced by Mutants."

"That's disgusting."

Andrew snorted and said, "There's a Mutant named Leech. He can erase the abilities of Mutants around him, but it isn't permanent; their abilities undergo Restoration once they leave his side. If I give you his blood, can you research a way to permanently eliminate the X-Gene?"

Leech was the little boy from X-Men 3. Worthington Industries had used his blood to develop a Mutant cure, but it was only temporarily effective—America had not verified the cure beforehand at all. Of course, for them, that was standard procedure.

Worthington Industries probably had not developed the cure yet. Of course, even if they had, Andrew would not use a temporary drug to deceive souls. He did not have as little of a Bottom line as Mephisto.

"There's a Mutant like that?"

Trask's eyes lit up. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Permanently eliminating it is unlikely, but I can design an Inhibitor Device. Worn on the body, it would suppress the X-Gene and turn Mutants back into normal people."

Andrew stroked his chin and asked, "An Inhibitor Device? Do you think those Mutants with failed mutations, whose lives are unbearably miserable, would be willing to trade their souls after death for one?"

Only then did Trask understand Andrew's idea. He said, "Quite a few probably would be willing. Uh, using high technology to trade for human souls... why does that feel a little strange?"

"Because the whole style has gone off track."

Andrew quipped. "There are too many problems with an Inhibitor Device. More importantly, someone else might crack it. It's not as if we can file a patent."

"We can use a Chip instead of an Inhibitor Device, but it will take quite a bit of time."

Trask said, "Boss, can't your Demon King Power suppress the X-Gene?"

"I can use a Curse to make them lose their Mutant abilities, but casting a permanent Curse on a large scale is difficult even for me."

As he spoke, Andrew suddenly had an idea. "Wait. If I have a special medium, my expenditure will be greatly reduced."

Trask asked, "A special medium?"

"That's right. Trask, can you extract the factor in Leech's blood that disables Mutant abilities and reproduce it in large quantities? Those factors can serve as my medium."

Andrew said excitedly, "Using those factors to activate a Curse will make it easy to suppress a Mutant's X-Gene."

"No problem, but I'll need some time and the appropriate equipment."

Trask answered confidently. Though he was from a bygone era, his intelligence had not become outdated.

Decades ago, Trask had already developed a portable device capable of identifying Mutants. After his death, that technology had been completely lost, and scientists still had not managed to replicate it.

"Excellent. I'll have someone acquire Leech's blood and the equipment. Start researching as soon as possible. Trading Curses for souls—now that fits the style again."

Andrew smiled. The path of combining technology and magic seemed quite promising. In fact, Asgard followed that very path.

I have quite a few Hell Runes In Hand. I should study them carefully. That can also increase my strength.