An Accident Happened After All

The Hilton Hotel in the San Francisco financial district was a scene of utter devastation; the bustling streets that once teemed with traffic were now a chaotic mess.

Corpses, blood, shattered vehicles, and ruined building facades—the harsh red and blue strobe of police lights illuminated the carnage. The relentless, shrill wail of sirens served as the background music to this scene of catastrophe.

Magneto had retreated, doing so with graceful ease, even taking along Juggernaut, who was still in a blind, furious rage over failing to kill Charles.

It had to be said, watching such a massive behemoth being lifted into the air by an invisible hand, flailing and dancing as he was carried away, was a truly shocking visual.

Perhaps it was just his imagination, but Xiang Qian felt that before Magneto vanished into the sky, he had cast a glance—intentional or otherwise—toward the window of the room where he stood. Xiang Qian had simply raised his glass and taken a sip, treating it as a salute.

Nick Fury had left as well, taking his heavily battered S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Task Force with him.

Looking down from his vantage point, Xiang Qian could still see a few agents in black suits communicating with the police maintaining the scene, while others, lacking any official identification, were efficiently collecting the bodies of the fallen agents and clearing away the weapons and equipment left behind.

Before Nick Fury departed, he and Xiang Qian had stood in a silent standoff for a long time. Their respective security details had also eyed each other with hostility, remaining on high alert.

Xiang Qian knew full well that Nick Fury had been weighing the pros and cons in that silence. The fact that the man ultimately chose to leave without a word meant he had calculated the reality that the risks outweighed the benefits.

A burly middle-aged man walked in from the door, handing Xiang Qian a tablet and several wireless signal amplifiers.

Xiang Qian took them and asked, "How were the results?"

"Met expectations," the middle-aged man replied. "From the moment Nick Fury appeared in our line of sight to the moment we breached S.H.I.E.L.D.'s tactical communication channel, it took two minutes and thirteen seconds—seventeen seconds faster than estimated."

"Looking at it this way, is S.H.I.E.L.D.'s tactical communication system on par with what we use at the Bureau?"

The middle-aged man nodded. "Yes. And that voice-mimicry program is nearly flawless. Unless they have professional acoustic analysis equipment, it's completely indistinguishable from the real thing."

Xiang Qian smiled with satisfaction and opened the still-running program. Through the speakers came Nick Fury's booming command: "Full intervention, I repeat, full intervention. Magneto is the primary target..."

This was the truth behind the attack order issued by Nick Fury; the "Black Director's" first instinct had been correct—the culprit was indeed Xiang Qian.

"I only intended to run a live-fire drill for electronic intrusion, but I didn't expect such a pleasant surprise."

The middle-aged man analyzed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s vulnerabilities. "They were likely too careless. If they had set up specific code words for important directives before the operation, it would have been very difficult for an outsider to forge orders. Besides, they probably didn't expect that we would have mapped out the basic patterns of their operational commands during our previous joint operations."

"I don't care about improving security protocols; go report that to the Director yourself." Xiang Qian busied himself packing up the equipment, taking care to delete the logs in the voice-mimicry system to thoroughly destroy the evidence.

The middle-aged man hesitated, then couldn't help but suggest, "Xiang Qian, can you try not to take such risks in the future? Seeing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s posture just now made me break into a cold sweat. After all, this is American territory, not back home; it's hard to fix things if something goes wrong."

Xiang Qian laughed dismissively. "More exercise, more sweating—it's good for your health. Besides, I couldn't just sit by and watch the Professor get into trouble, but I couldn't let our own people get directly involved either. Even if we helped the Americans catch Magneto, they might still hold us responsible for overstepping our authority."

"The Yanks are certainly capable of that kind of dirty business," the middle-aged man agreed with a nod.

"Exactly. So, I had to find someone with a thick skull to take the heat; better them than us."

The middle-aged man shook his head helplessly and walked out. He had been specifically handpicked by Zheng Xian from Xiang Tian's Special Task Force and assigned to provide security for Xiang Qian during this operation.

He was a veteran field agent of the Spear Bureau, surnamed Hong, with an unknown real name and the codename "Red Star," also known to the outside world as "Red Giant."

Red Star's personality was significantly more steady than Saber's, and he had no direct conflict with Xiang Qian. If it had been Saber seeing Xiang Qian's "reckless" attitude, they likely would have started arguing again.

Just as Xiang Qian finished disposing of the "criminal evidence," his phone rang.

He picked it up to hear Jean's voice.

"James, the Professor is hurt." Jean's voice was filled with anxiety.

Xiang Qian couldn't help but take a deep breath—it had gone wrong after all.

"Is it serious? Have they returned to the academy?" Xiang Qian calculated the flight speed of the Blackbird; three hours had passed, so they should be back in New York by now.

Jean replied, "Yes, I just finished operating on him. The bullet was removed, and his life is not in danger. But it was a deformed ricochet; it caused a cavitation effect in the Professor's body, and he is very weak right now."

Xiang Qian gritted his teeth. A ricochet's trajectory was impossible to predict; if you got hit, it was just bad luck.

The Professor's greatest strength was his mind, while his body was his weakness—he was a seventy-year-old man, after all. Even a fit young man wouldn't fare well after taking a bullet.

Alcatraz Island was already under a gathering storm, and yet the X-Men had lost their greatest asset before the battle had even begun.

"Hank was also shot while protecting the Professor, but fortunately, it was just a flesh wound," Jean added, her voice laced with intense agitation.

Thousands of miles away, there was nothing Xiang Qian could do but offer comfort. "Don't worry, Jean; the Professor will be fine."

"I'm afraid we can't send many people to support Alcatraz. With the Professor down, the academy is now extremely vulnerable. And then there's that device you created." There was no lack of resentment in the beautiful woman's tone.

Xiang Qian scratched his nose guiltily and braced himself. "Don't worry, I've got things covered here. However, I suggest you send a few representatives over."

"Magneto's actions will inevitably intensify the conflict between mutants and ordinary humans. At a time like this, the academy must clarify its stance. When relations deteriorate, you need to act as the brake." Xiang Qian suggested sincerely.

"I understand... When do you think Magneto will act?"

"Tomorrow!" Xiang Qian's answer was absolute.

"Why?"

"Because he attacked the Professor tonight, and now everyone knows he's in San Francisco. That includes many law enforcement agencies that have been hunting him for a long time. The longer he drags this out, the worse his situation becomes. He must deal with Worthington Industries before the situation escalates further."

"I understand." Jean hung up the phone.

Xiang Qian put the phone down and raised his left hand; the screen of the electronic bracelet on his wrist was flashing an encrypted signal.

He hadn't told Jean that his certainty regarding Magneto's timing wasn't just based on a strategic assessment, but on clear intelligence from within the radical mutant group.

The intelligence came from Mystique, Raven.