The First Battle Wasn't on Alcatraz Island

The Professor and his group departed; he had rejected Nick Fury's plan while also failing to provide a direct response to Xiang Qian's suggestion.

Xiang Qian did not mind, for from their brief exchange, he had already confirmed the Professor's stance—if a conflict were to break out on Alcatraz Island, the X-Men would inevitably intervene. Everything else was merely a trivial detail that would have no impact on his predetermined plan.

Xiang Qian poured himself another glass of wine and impatiently shooed away the unwelcome guest who refused to leave. "Mr. Fury, your target has already left. The mission is a failure; you should head back and write your summary report."

"What exactly are you trying to do?" Nick Fury asked, his face darkening.

"What do you think I'm trying to do? I am merely a law-abiding businessman doing his utmost to protect his legal property." Xiang Qian turned the tables as if it were only natural. "It is you, Mr. Fury, who just tried to incite mutants to damage my assets."

Nick Fury accused, "You are sitting by and watching as mutants go to war with the United States government. Motherfucker, you could have stopped all of this if we had just cooperated..."

"Everything I am doing now is the result of communication with the White House and the United States Department of Defense. It is you who are attempting to sabotage the U.S. government's plans."

Nick Fury raged, "Drop this diplomat act, motherfucker! S.H.I.E.L.D. belongs to the World Security Council, not the U.S. government."

"Even though the U.S. government covers 60% of your funding?" Xiang Qian sneered. "Even a street vendor knows that whoever has the most money speaks the loudest."

"You can't fool me, James Zion! I will be watching you." Nick Fury vowed. "I am not one of those idiots in the White House or the Department of Defense. I know you have ulterior motives, and I will keep a close eye on you."

Xiang Qian spread his hands while holding his wine glass. "Suit yourself. My intentions have nothing to hide; I could even stand in the White House and say them out loud in front of everyone. I intend to promote the integration of mutants and ordinary people."

Nick Fury scoffed, "Oh? Incredible. Am I facing a saint? What should I call you, Moses? Do you want to lead mutants to create a promised land?"

"No, the mutant race can never be independent; they must integrate into the society of ordinary people, otherwise, they will only head toward extinction." Xiang Qian sighed with a hint of regret. "The mutant population has inherent social flaws."

"Flaws?"

Xiang Qian nodded. "Yes, flaws. Natural flaws caused by the differences in mutant abilities. High-level mutants have an overwhelming advantage over low-level mutants. It is obvious that if mutants were to establish an independent society, it would inevitably evolve into a distorted society where social classes are divided by ability levels."

"How much vitality could a society have if one's social class were determined at birth and could never be changed for the rest of one's life?"

Nick Fury looked at him with distrust. "So, you intend to guide them? You want to be the Moses of mutants?"

"Mutants don't just live in the United States." Xiang Qian sneered at Nick Fury's narrow-mindedness. "Even by the most conservative estimates, the number of mutants in our country must exceed ten million. This is a very serious social issue."

"Although I don't like the United States, if the mutant problem here isn't handled well, it will substantially affect us as well. Now is the best time to solve the North American mutant problem. They currently have the two most selfless leaders; whether it is the Professor or Magneto, at least on the issue of mutant rights, they are truly selfless."

"If they fall and are replaced by an ambitious, politician-style figure as the mutant leader—like Sebastian Shaw, who created the Cuban Missile Crisis back in the day—that would be the worst-case scenario."

"You all turn a blind eye to such a simple fact. I thought you were only blind in one eye? Do you need me to sponsor you a new eyepatch?"

Xiang Qian spoke incessantly, and Nick Fury was so angry that his eyes were almost entirely white.

Xiang Qian paced to the window with his glass, looking down at the street in front of the hotel. There, the Professor and his group had just left the entrance and were preparing to cross the street.

Although the X-Men's Blackbird had an advanced stealth system, it could not land in the bustling city center.

Bang— A roar of metal colliding violently echoed from the street in the distance. A small car parked on the side of the road suddenly lifted into the air, traced a graceful parabola, and crashed down toward the Professor's group on the crosswalk.

Cyclops Scott stepped forward, and a searing laser beam shot through his visor, slicing the car in two mid-air.

Both upstairs and downstairs, everyone's gaze turned simultaneously toward the spot where the car had been launched.

There, in the center of the street, a thin figure hovered in mid-air. He wore black, and under the reflection of the surrounding colorful lights, one could only see the dull-colored metal helmet on his head.

Every vehicle that approached this figure involuntarily slid to the sides, triggering a chain reaction of collisions, and the street instantly descended into chaos.

Magneto had arrived.

The honking, shouting, screaming, crying, and even the distant sirens after the car crash seemed to be the accompaniment to his entrance.

Magneto flew slowly, approaching the Professor's group; but others were much faster.

A massive figure turned out from the intersection beside Magneto. Nearly three meters tall, his body was three or four times the width and thickness of an ordinary person. The behemoth charged toward the Professor like a mountain of flesh, each step he took emitting a loud "thud."

Even Xiang Qian, watching from the high floor of the hotel, had the illusion that the ground was trembling.

"Charles!" the behemoth roared, his voice reaching the clouds.

"Juggernaut."

"Cain Marko!"

Nick Fury and Xiang Qian spoke the same name for the same person.

The laser beam led the charge again, the searing light crossing dozens of meters to slam into Juggernaut's chest.

"Charles, you must die!" Although Juggernaut was howling in pain from the high heat, he still charged forward, pushing through the laser beam that could melt steel plates. Small cars on the side of the road that couldn't dodge in time were swiped aside by him as if he were playing bowling.

Seeing Juggernaut closing in, Beast, sensing the danger, shoved the Professor's wheelchair aside and lunged forward, tackling Cyclops, who was blocking Juggernaut's path, to the ground.

Juggernaut couldn't stop his momentum; he veered across the crosswalk and crashed headlong into a storefront on the side of the road.

The street was already in chaos, with crowds fleeing in every direction. But the confusion lasted only for a moment. When the Professor looked up and scanned his surroundings, the crowd near the center of the chaos suddenly went quiet. Everyone, regardless of age or gender, began to evacuate toward the perimeter at a fixed, uniform speed.

The originally chaotic crowd suddenly displayed an eerie order.

The Professor's powerful telepathic ability had taken direct control of the scene.

Scott's laser beams continued to blast at Juggernaut, who was buried in the storefront, suppressing his ability to turn back. Beast guarded the Professor's side, while Wolverine stood by the Professor with his claws extended, keeping a vigilant watch on Magneto.

From behind Magneto, a figure rushed rapidly from the far end of the street; Magneto's second helper had arrived.

This phantom moved with incredible speed. Even Xiang Qian, who was overlooking the entire situation from above, could only vaguely distinguish a blurry shadow dragging a long trail across the street. In the blink of an eye, it moved from outside the range of the Professor's telepathic control and lunged straight at the Professor.