I'm More Used to Protecting Women

On Alcatraz Island, the mutants launched an all-out assault on the main building. Due to the constraints of the doors, windows, and corridors, the U.S. military's defensive fire was highly concentrated, and the mutants charging at the front fell like harvested wheat.

Magneto held his hands out level, sensing the metal construction materials within the building. Before long, the entire structure began to sway. Concrete walls cracked inch by inch, and the internal steel rebar twisted, struggling to break through the walls. Almost every metal object danced in the air, becoming a weapon to slaughter those inside.

Magneto could have lifted a stadium filled with ten thousand people over thirty years ago, and he had once pulled the White House's nuclear bunker up from dozens of meters underground; tearing down a century-old building today was just as easy for him.

From the moment the Battle of Alcatraz began, Magneto had repeatedly defined what it meant to be a "one-man army."

Just as the mutants were filled with anticipation, waiting to see the building crumble into pieces, the tremors suddenly ceased. A layer of white ice rapidly covered the building from the inside out, encasing the entire structure in a thick, protective shell.

Colossus, who had been locked in a struggle with Juggernaut outside, shoved his opponent away and leaped into the building. The next moment, the doors, windows, and every other possible passage were sealed by ice, turning the entire building into a massive block of frozen matter.

Iceman Bobby was also beginning to fully awaken his extraordinary talents in this battle.

The makeshift steel battering ram had little effect, and the massive fireball manipulated by Pyro John only produced a layer of mist. Magneto shouted, "Juggernaut, open a path for us—it's all up to you!"

Though he appeared imposing, Magneto was already burning with anxiety.

Magneto knew full well that the U.S. military had to follow complex procedures to deploy force domestically on a large scale; this was the main reason reinforcements had been delayed and why they had been able to successfully storm Alcatraz.

But with the commotion on Alcatraz now so great—he had even dismantled the Golden Gate Bridge—the U.S. government could not remain sluggish for much longer.

The aggressive intervention of his old rivals, the X-Men, had wasted too much time. There were numerous military bases around San Francisco, and reinforcements could arrive at any moment. Even if Magneto himself was fearless, he was deeply worried that he would fail to achieve his ultimate goal of killing Jimmy amidst the chaos.

Juggernaut Cain Marko roared, accelerated toward the building, and leaped with all his might.

"Boom..."

Just like the ice wall at the bridgehead, the building's frozen shell proved no sturdier against Juggernaut's impact. A massive hole appeared in the second-floor exterior wall, and Juggernaut successfully crashed inside.

At the same time, in the presidential suite of the Hilton Hotel in San Francisco's financial district, Xiang Qian looked at the empty laboratory feed captured by his Spider-Bot. He donned a tactical mask, stepped forward with ease, and crossed through a portal flickering with red sparks, appearing directly in front of Jimmy's room on Alcatraz.

Xiang Qian's target was the island's pharmaceutical laboratory, where all the research data for the genetic cure developed by Worthington Industries was stored.

Unfortunately, to avoid suspicion, Xiang Qian had never entered the laboratory before. Now, unable to open a portal directly inside, he had to compromise and head to Jimmy's room first. After all, the lab was right next door—only a step away.

As the field agents of the Spear Bureau often said: if an operation plan goes from start to finish without a single hitch, that is the biggest surprise of all. The first half of Xiang Qian's plan had gone smoothly, and he had successfully snatched Jimmy away; but in the second half, he had encountered an unexpected obstacle just a single step from his goal.

Just as Xiang Qian closed the portal and before he could take a step, the floor at the other end of the corridor shattered with a roar. A massive figure leaped up from the floor below, coming face-to-face with him.

Xiang Qian recognized Juggernaut, but Juggernaut did not recognize him.

At this moment, Xiang Qian was dressed in a neat, unmarked tactical suit with a tactical mask, and a pistol holster hung on his right thigh. If one ignored the strange monocle over his left eye, it would be easy to mistake him for a soldier.

"Who are you? Where is the boy?" Juggernaut's thick voice echoed in the corridor like a muffled thunderclap.

Xiang Qian observed the mountain of flesh with great interest. As Professor X's legal brother, combined with his incredibly powerful strength and vitality, Cain Marko was a very unique existence among superpowered individuals.

Xiang Qian had also kept an eye on this man.

Beyond his near-mortal hatred for the Professor, what intrigued Xiang Qian more was the source of Juggernaut's powers. In the classified files Xiang Qian had read, although Juggernaut was labeled as a mutant, there was an additional note beneath the label: Unverified.

In other words, this guy, who was deeply involved in radical mutant affairs and served as the primary vanguard under Magneto, was very likely not a mutant at all.

In a different setting, Xiang Qian would have certainly tried every means to move this mountain of flesh back to his laboratory to properly test his X-Gene. But now, he had more important things to do, so he could only let his gun do the talking.

Xiang Qian lowered his right hand and gripped the P226 hanging at his thigh.

"I'm asking you a question, answer me!" Juggernaut, receiving no reply, flew into a rage and charged toward Xiang Qian. The twenty or thirty-meter corridor was only six or seven strides for him.

Xiang Qian drew his gun in a flash, but before he could raise it, a petite figure rose from the floor in front of him like a phantom.

Seeing the charging Juggernaut, the figure instinctively cried out, "Oh no." She turned and collided with Xiang Qian, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist.

"Don't move, I can protect you." The soft, delicate voice clearly belonged to a girl.

As a sensation similar to weightlessness washed over him, Xiang Qian felt his body, his clothes, and his belongings turn intangible in an instant.

Xiang Qian's vast memory bank immediately identified the girl who had offered to protect him without a second thought.

Shadowcat Kitty.

Xiang Qian remembered that when he first visited the X-Mansion, this girl was still a child. Nearly a decade had passed, and she had grown up and was now participating in combat as an X-Man.

However, was this girl a bit malnourished? Why was she so small? Well... small in every sense of the word.

All these thoughts flashed through his mind in a split second. Xiang Qian thought as he gently reached out to nudge the girl behind him, pushing her away to a safe distance. In that brief moment, Juggernaut had already covered two-thirds of the corridor.

As soon as he pushed Shadowcat away, Xiang Qian felt his body weight return. He raised his gun and fired.

"Bang—Boom!"

With the help of the auxiliary targeting lens, the shot hit Juggernaut's knee with precision. The tough skin that ordinary firearms couldn't penetrate failed to stop the P226's bullet, and as the round pierced through to the bone, it triggered a violent explosion. Juggernaut's right leg was blown into two pieces.

"Argh—"

Amidst a thunderous scream, Juggernaut crashed to the ground, his massive body sliding along the floor due to momentum.

The P226 in Xiang Qian's hand fired continuously. Gunshots and explosions rang out in a rapid, rhythmic sequence as blood and explosive fire sprayed from Juggernaut's limbs and torso.

When Juggernaut finally slid to a stop at Xiang Qian's feet, his body was riddled with horrific bloody holes, and his limbs were shattered. Flesh and gore splattered everywhere, turning the corridor into a slaughterhouse.

The unstoppable tank had been stalled.

Juggernaut was not dead; the sound coming from his throat, whether a scream or a roar, was still full of vigor. Xiang Qian calmly observed the wounds on Juggernaut's body. After only a moment, new human tissue had already begun to squirm within the gashes.

The terrifying vitality and regenerative power made Xiang Qian marvel. However, at the rate his wounds were healing, it would be impossible for him to stand up and continue fighting today.

Xiang Qian holstered his gun, turned to Shadowcat, and smiled. "My lady, I appreciate your kindness just now. However, I am a man who is more accustomed to protecting women than being protected by them."

"Who... who are you?" Shadowcat asked, trembling. The scene of erupting flames and flying gore from moments ago had terrified the young girl, and she still hadn't quite recovered her senses.

Back when Xiang Qian frequently interacted with the academy, Kitty had only been a little girl of eight or nine. Later, as she grew up, Xiang Qian returned to his home country, and his contact with the academy dwindled significantly. Consequently, she had almost never had any direct interaction with him.

Xiang Qian was able to recognize her thanks to his powerful memory, but Kitty could not recognize him—not to mention that Xiang Qian was currently wearing a tactical mask.

Xiang Qian had no intention of saying much to the young girl. He pointed toward Jimmy's room, which was already empty, and said, "I know you came looking for that child; his room is right there. As for who I am, that is not important. You only need to know that I am not your enemy; I am here for a different mission."

Having said that, Xiang Qian walked with light steps, treading over the blood and gore covering the floor as he headed toward the laboratory at the other end. Under Shadowcat's curious gaze, he pushed the door open and walked inside.