Professor X

Yet Du Yang was completely beyond control, a mutant who harbored a blood feud against those who oppressed his kind.

These people did not know that their greatest fear had already manifested right here.

The next day.

The door to Du Yang's cell was suddenly thrown open.

He understood exactly what this meant, for at this hour, all mutants were in their rest period and were never to be disturbed.

Once disturbed, it could only mean something urgent.

But he was puzzled; he hadn't even initiated his prison break yet, so why had these people come for him?

Could it be that they were capable of reading his innermost thoughts?

Or had the researchers decided he no longer had any utility and needed to be thoroughly dissected?

Two white prison guards with displeased expressions appeared, waving their batons and looking at him as if he were trash: "Number 812, you're in luck. Someone has come to visit you; perhaps you can leave this place."

"You've got better luck than the rest of them."

Du Yang wore a look of astonishment.

Immediately, he was handcuffed and escorted toward a certain location.

It was clear that the two guards were extremely impatient.

During the escort, they found him too slow and gave him a harsh kick.

The mutant prison did have a visitation room, after all, some appearances had to be maintained.

On the way to the visitation room, one could see many cells, packed as densely as a honeycomb.

But Du Yang wasn't thinking about these; he was wondering who on earth had come to see him.

His parents were both dead, and he had no decent relatives to speak of; logically, he should have been unburdened by any ties.

It wasn't until Du Yang arrived at the visitation room that he suddenly realized the truth.

Because the person he saw was Professor X, the man named Charles Francis Xavier.

The entire visitation room was left to just the two of them. Professor X sat in his wheelchair, his hands folded on his lap. When he saw Du Yang, his eyes revealed wisdom and compassion.

Professor X said very earnestly: "Child, I know you have suffered here, but I have come today to take you away."

Du Yang fell into silence, realizing why Professor X had come for him.

As one of the most powerful telepaths in human history, having become an Omega-level mutant, how could he not have sensed his potential?

The facts were exactly as Du Yang had guessed. Professor X continued to explain: "I have foreseen some things regarding you. Your potential goes far beyond this; you cannot remain trapped in this prison forever."

"Come back to the school with me; that is the home for mutants. We can help you control your abilities and teach you to use them to promote peace between mutants and humans. This world needs hope, and it needs beings like you to build bridges of understanding."

Du Yang looked at him—at this legend revered by countless mutants as a savior and viewed by some human factions as the only rational voice.

Then, he laughed.

At first, it was just a low, mocking chuckle.

Then the laughter grew louder, echoing in the empty prison room, becoming sharp and grating.

Professor X maintained that same smile on his face. "I know what you are confused about. Next, I will provide you with the answers."

"I think, Professor X, that won't be necessary." Du Yang said with a calm expression: "You were born into one of the wealthiest families in New York, you own an estate in Manhattan, and a castle-like school in Westchester County."

"Even if you are a mutant, you sit atop billions in assets. No wonder you keep 'peaceful coexistence and mutual understanding' between mutants and humans on the tip of your tongue."

Professor X's expression did not change much. "There is, in fact, no great divide between us."

Du Yang said very seriously: "Professor, you are wrong. There is a massive divide between us. Have you ever experienced being chased and beaten on the street because you were discovered to be a mutant? Have you ever starved because you couldn't find work, or been left homeless because your landlord kicked you out?"

"You wouldn't know, because you have never been that desperate, nor have you ever considered what life is actually like for the vast majority of mutants at the bottom."

Du Yang leaned forward, the chains of his handcuffs scraping against the metal table with a harsh sound, and continued to interrogate him:

"Your peace is for us to turn the other cheek when hit and stay silent when cursed. It is for Scott Summers to holster his optic blasts, for Ororo Munroe to hide her divinity over the weather, and for all mutants to act like obedient children."

"Your peace is for us, the mutants born different, to cater to the majority who fear and hate us?"

Professor X tried to speak, but Du Yang raised his voice to drown him out.

"You sensed my potential, so you came to get me. But what have you done before this? You have already arrived at this mutant prison; why have you turned a blind eye to it?"

"Isn't this a prison for mutants? Isn't this a place built by the very humans you insist we must get along with?"

"Where were you when mutants were being abused? Where were you when they were being experimented on? Where were you when they were being slaughtered? You sent the X-Men to help the humans who hurt us?"

Du Yang felt a sense of absurdity and ridicule.

He continued to expose Professor X, speaking incessantly: "You built a school and took in young mutants—how noble. And then what? You trained these children into your X-Men, letting them fight, get injured, and even die for your 'vision of peace'."

"And you yourself remain safely in the rear. You wrap them in idealism, letting them believe they are sacrificing for a noble cause, but in the end, whose order are you maintaining? It is the order of humans, which must not be challenged."

Du Yang stared at Professor X, saying each word clearly: "The moderate leader of mutants, the most agreeable mutant friend of humanity—Charles, your hands are stained with the blood of mutants, yet you fancy them coated in the honey of hope."

"My parents died at the hands of humans. Has your theory improved the plight of us bottom-tier mutants? No, it has only made it worse."

"Only when humans truly understand the power of mutants can mutants survive better in society."

Upon hearing that last sentence, Professor X's expression suddenly shifted.

The next moment, a surge of telepathic power was unleashed upon Du Yang.

For a moment, he felt as if his consciousness had been split in two; one half contained malice toward humanity, while the other seemed to be left with nothing but pure kindness.

He realized instantly what was happening, and Professor X, knowing the extent of his potential, was attempting to seal away the version of him he deemed evil, just as he had done with Jean Grey.

Suddenly, the entire room began to tremble.

Professor X had never truly been the person he claimed to be.

Du Yang sneered:

"Professor X, do you still think you can succeed?"

Professor X was, after all, nothing more than a powerful Level 4 mutant.