Vortex

In the underground base, heavy, hurried footsteps echoed through the dim corridors as several figures raced across the cold, polished floor.

As he ran, Cannonball Sam could not help asking Dani, "Dani, that bear you released earlier was..."

"I'm sorry..." Dani's voice was full of apology. "It was all my fault before. I made everyone have nightmares..."

"No, no need to apologize!" Sam hurriedly waved his hand, then gave her a thumbs-up. "I mean, that was awesome!"

Dani froze for a moment, then nodded gratefully. "...Thank you."

At the same time, Rebecca frowned. "No, I still can't sense any plants nearby that I can control..."

"That means we're still far from the edge of this underground base. Otherwise, there should at least be some seeds or roots in the soil layers." Miles's voice was slightly hoarse. Madeleine on his back was like a furnace; the heat radiating from her red hair nearly scorched his skin, yet she still showed no sign of waking up.

Miles carefully adjusted Madeleine on his back, then laboriously pulled out his X Terminal and activated it. "Aurora, try hacking into this place's wireless networks!"

Aurora's voice came from the terminal, though it sounded much stiffer than usual. "Eighteen available networks detected. Attempting to breach..."

"No need to make it that complicated." Miles closed his eyes as he spoke.

In his perception, those complex network firewalls might as well not have existed. He broke through them with ease and obtained access. Then, under his guidance, Aurora's subprogram instantly connected to every network and began frantically extracting data.

"Miles, you actually brought Aurora with you?" Charlotte asked in surprise.

"This isn't Aurora's main consciousness. It's a subprogram, so its functions are much more limited, but it's normally enough. Every X Terminal has one." Miles sounded annoyed. "I remember explaining that when I handed out the terminals. Have you seriously not studied how to use them at all since then?"

"Uh... sorry."

Miles had wanted to say more, but when he noticed Madeleine's faint breath against his neck, he could only sigh. "Aurora, do you have the results?"

"A three-dimensional model of the current area has been successfully established!"

The next moment, the X Terminal projected a beam of light forward, unfolding an enormous blue 3D map before them. From the maze-like passages and corridors to the hidden ventilation ducts, even the paths of every wire and the locations of key facilities were all displayed in full detail. Several blinking green dots clearly marked their current location.

"All right, let me see... power room... staff passage... elevator shaft... lounge... prison area... Looks like they've already begun emergency evacuation for the others. Oh, there seem to be a few Mutants locked up here too... Maybe we can consider letting them out if we pass by..." Miles studied the map, his thoughts racing as he interacted with the data. We're currently in the lower section of the base's core. That's troublesome... This underground base doesn't have many exits...

"That's so cool, Miles!" Charlotte's eyes lit up.

It was not just Charlotte. Even Gideon, who was usually quiet, cast him a surprised look. At that moment, the blue glow dispelled much of everyone's panic and unease.

However, Miles himself was frowning tightly. "Aurora, is that all?"

"Yes," Aurora's subprogram replied. "Much of the classified data here is not connected to the local network and has been physically isolated."

"What a pain..." Miles muttered.

In this area, his Telepathy range was severely suppressed. Otherwise, no electronic data within ten kilometers could have escaped his senses.

Then Miles asked, "Aurora, where is the core database server?"

"It has been marked for you." As Aurora's subprogram spoke, a new location appeared on the map. It was not far from them.

"I'm going to take a look there!"

Miles turned to the others. "My instincts are telling me something is seriously wrong about this mess. We know too little right now! This is our chance—a chance to learn more!"

"I agree!" Charlotte nodded without hesitation.

"No problem."

"Let's go!"

After the previous battle, Miles had completely earned everyone's trust.

"Oh, right, Miles." Gideon carefully walked over and asked, "Do you need me to carry Madeleine? Won't she get in the way while you're moving like this?"

"No. She's not heavy."

Miles shook his head, instinctively lifting Madeleine higher on his back as he thanked Gideon for the offer.

"All right..." Gideon silently sighed.

He was Sharkman. His powers could only truly shine in water, and he had been unable to help in the previous battle. That left the already introverted boy feeling somewhat dejected.

Miles did not think much of it. He simply blamed himself. If he had acted against Obadiah sooner, perhaps Madeleine would not have been so badly hurt...

"Someone's coming!"

At Aurora's warning, Miles's heart stirred. His senses also caught two vague streams of thought coming from around the corner ahead.

Soon afterward, two researchers in white lab coats rushed around the corner and ran headlong into the uninvited group. When they saw the fully armed teenagers, their faces went deathly pale. Without a second thought, they turned to flee!

However, the instant they took a step, their movements abruptly stopped. Their eyes lost focus and turned vacant, as though an invisible hand had seized every nerve in their bodies.

"Perfect timing..." Miles activated his psychic power and muttered, "Let's see what you're thinking..."

As Miles invaded their minds, countless chaotic, fragmented memories flooded into his head like a tidal wave.

Piercing alarms, the monotonous beeping of machines, heartfelt terror of genetic monsters... All kinds of emotions and memories exploded in his mind at once, yet Miles remained unmoved.

After being "cleansed" by the Phoenix Force, his psychic power had long since broken past the limits of Delta-level and reached the threshold of Beta-level, not far behind Delia. Memory reading, which had once been difficult for him, was now something he had basically mastered. As for the higher-level cognitive modification, that belonged to the realm of Alpha-level.

Very soon, clarity returned to Miles's eyes. He had obtained enough information.

At his silent command, the two researchers stiffly turned around and walked in synchronized steps into a nearby stairwell like puppets following a preset program. Then came a click as the door was locked from the inside.

"Get ready. This time, the enemy is coming..." After doing all that, Miles spoke to the others.

"Enemy? What enemy?"

"It's hard to... describe."

Soon, a series of heavy THUD! THUD! THUD! footsteps rang out from the other end of the corridor!

More than a dozen grotesque Mutant monsters of all shapes and sizes charged from the darkness with snarls, rushing straight toward them!

"ROOOAR!!"

The two figures at the front gleamed with an alloy-like metallic sheen. Their massive bodies crashed toward them with the unstoppable force of giant beasts!

"What are those things?!" Charlotte cried.

"Mutant gene Chimeras, Obadiah's genetic products. They usually possess two or more combined Mutant abilities," Miles explained. "Those guys in front are Chimeras codenamed Collision. They have Colossus's physical defense and Juggernaut's strength and destructive power. In short, they're a real pain."

With Miles's explanation, everyone immediately braced themselves for a fierce battle.

Sam began to glow, preparing to force himself into another charge. Dani activated her psychic power and began trying to manifest a new monster. Gideon and Rebecca took up fighting stances, ready to rely on their combat skills for protection.

Yet before any of them could act, the leading Chimera Mutants suddenly changed expression, spun around on the spot, and slammed headfirst into their companions behind them!

BAM!!

With the dull crack of shattering skulls and splattering fluid, the Chimera behind them twitched twice. Then, enraged, it lunged forward and tackled its attacker to the ground.

Another giant was even more direct. It lowered its head and, like an out-of-control truck, launched a Collision against its own kind behind it!

"AARGH!"

"Ugh... aaah..."

Amid screams and howls, the group of Chimeras suddenly descended into a brutal internal battle. Flesh and blood flew everywhere, creating a horrendous scene.

Charlotte stared blankly, then instinctively turned to look at Miles.

"They're just a few more beasts..." Miles lightly touched his forehead with one hand and muttered with a savage grin.

Beta-level psychic control was enough to manipulate even more targets simultaneously. The only reason Miles controlled only a few was because his Telepathy was suppressed in this underground facility.

He was still no match for Apocalypse, but against everyone else, he had more than enough power!

"Hm?" Just then, Miles's expression shifted, and he abruptly looked behind him.

A patch of air seemed to distort almost imperceptibly. A hand identical to the wall's pattern emerged from it and silently reached for the back of Dani's neck.

But the moment Miles's gaze landed on it, the hand froze in midair.

Then, amid ripples in the air, a strangely outlined humanoid Chimera revealed itself. Its whole body trembled, and pain covered its face.

"Ah?" Only then did Dani realize what was happening and retreat. "What is that thing?"

"A composite Chimera with Chameleon's concealment ability and Rogue's Ability Drain. Their internal codename is Stalker. Be careful—if that thing touches you, you're finished." Miles warned her, then added, "And Dani... as a Telepath, you need to be more vigilant."

BANG!

As Miles spoke, a blue-skinned, long-tailed monster suddenly emerged from the smoke behind him, its claws stabbing straight for Madeleine's back.

But the sharp claws likewise stopped in midair the next instant, unable to move.

"Chimera Night Demon, just like the one I encountered at General Lake's place." Without turning around, Miles said, "Nightcrawler's teleportation, plus Sabretooth's claws and regeneration. It's powerful, but it seems that guy was just a mass-produced unit here after all."

As Miles spoke, he controlled Stalker to turn around and grab Night Demon by the neck!

Night Demon's body shook violently. A soundless howl emerged from its throat as all its energy and life force were forcibly drained by Stalker. Its body visibly withered at a rapid pace before it finally collapsed helplessly to the floor.

This was the Ability Drain that had originally belonged to Rogue. Through physical contact, it could absorb other Mutants' powers and life force.

"Move." While controlling the Chimeras to continue slaughtering one another, Miles ordered the others, "Take these Chimeras down quickly. We leave immediately afterward!"

"But... isn't this killing people?" Sam looked at the monstrous creatures. Though grotesque, they still faintly retained human shapes, and he hesitated.

"Chimeras don't really count as people... Forget it. If you can't bear it, just beat them until they can't move." Miles could not be bothered to explain further.

"Okay!" Sam nodded, then transformed into an energy projectile and charged straight into the battle!

With everyone working together, the dozen or so Chimeras that had already been fighting among themselves were quickly all brought down, sprawled across the floor.

"Time is tight. Let's go." Miles spoke as he prepared to lead everyone away.

"Wait, Miles!" Sam pointed at the fallen Chimera Mutants on the ground and asked with a pale face, "What's happening?!"

Before their eyes, barely ten seconds had passed before the bodies of the fallen Chimeras began to rot and decay rapidly like fresh meat left exposed to the air. Nauseating pus seeped from them in waves. Their bodies were clearly collapsing!

"Chimeras are disposable products temporarily manufactured by Essex Corporation. They have no independent intelligence. Once activated, they die from genetic collapse within a dozen hours or so. If they lose consciousness, the process accelerates dramatically." Based on the researchers' memories, Miles explained, "Fusing multiple Mutant abilities isn't easy... Obadiah has always been looking for a way to mass-produce stable Mutants with combined powers, but he has never succeeded. These Chimeras are merely byproducts."

"What about him?" Rebecca asked.

"Like the Night Demon I encountered before, he was just an exception."

"..."

Listening to Miles's explanation, Sam stared deeply at the gradually disintegrating rotten flesh, then gritted his teeth and turned away.

Before this, he had never imagined that Mutant genes could be treated as such cheap materials, used to create something so horrifying and tragic.

"Stop standing around. Let's move!"

At Miles's command, everyone continued onward.

They passed through a corridor lit by dim, cold light and soon reached the central server room Aurora had marked. There was no one inside. It was unnaturally quiet, save for the continuous hum of the servers. As far as the eye could see, the entire space was packed with countless server racks.

"This is it..."

With Madeleine on his back, Miles walked forward step by step. He did not touch a single physical key. He merely stood before the mainframe and slowly closed his eyes.

The next instant, every light in the server room began flashing violently!

All the mainframe screens lit up at once. Instead of their usual displays, they became a raging waterfall of data. Countless characters, genetic sequence charts, experimental reports, three-dimensional structural models, even images of twisted faces and silent roars all became a chaotic torrent, scrolling and reorganizing at a speed the naked eye could not possibly follow.

Under Miles's control, the stream of information seemed to find an outlet. It became a raging river and surged entirely into his mind!

Sam stared in stunned silence and cautiously asked, "Is he downloading data with his brain?"

"I think so," Charlotte answered.

After only a dozen seconds, the torrent of data on the screens came to an abrupt halt, and every monitor instantly returned to calm darkness. The server room was once again filled only with the low hum of the servers.

At the same time, Miles opened his eyes again, shock and horror filling his pupils.

"Damn it... so this is what the Apocalypse Plan really is!"

"Metempsychosis technology! Dr. Nathaniel... He really is a genuine genius!!"

"Miles, what are you talking about?" Rebecca asked curiously.

"I'm saying that maybe we don't need to waste time looking for an escape route anymore..." Miles murmured slowly. "I have a better plan now. Obadiah captured quite a few other Mutants besides us..."

"Warning! A large number of Chimera life signs detected! Evacuate immediately!"

Aurora's subprogram's piercing alarm interrupted Miles. His expression shifted, and he opened the 3D map again.

Then they saw that dense clusters of red dots near their current location were continuously rushing toward them!

"Current number: 107."

Meanwhile, thousands of kilometers away.

The Blackbird slowly descended into a hidden valley in the Rocky Mountains of Montana.

Logan emerged fully armed with Richter, Laura, Delia, Bobby, and Mona. Even Caliban followed behind them with a grave expression, carrying the X-0 Reaper electromagnetic sniper rifle they had recovered from the academy battlefield on his back.

After Charles made his decision, they had regrouped as quickly as possible and taken the Blackbird to their destination.

The members of this operation were the X-Men's remaining active force. Even Charles, who usually stayed behind at the base, had personally come to the battlefield this time!

"Aurora, are you sure Erik is being held here?" Logan looked up at the military base in the distance, disguised as a geological survey station, and asked gravely. "I remember you saying that bastard Erik was supposed to be locked up in Northern Europe?"

"That is because Mr. Erik's detention location is not fixed." Aurora's voice came through the communicator. "According to my surveillance records of military networks, because Mr. Erik has many followers, the military secretly transfers him every few months to prevent radical Mutants from breaking him out."

"When I first learned of his whereabouts, he was indeed in Northern Europe. But two months later, he was transferred to Canada, and then sent here three months ago..."

"Tch. Most of us old relics are nearly dead already, yet these people are still being this careful..." Logan muttered casually, then asked, "Hey, old man, can you sense anything?"

"This place is indeed unusual."

Aboard the Blackbird, Charles sat in his seat with his eyes closed. His powerful psychic force spread outward without reservation. He could sense that deep underground in the secret base, there was also a small Psychic Shielding Zone.

"All right, another shielding zone. But the range is very small. Looks like this technology really is starting to become widespread." Charles sighed through the communicator. "The nearby structures are all nonmetallic materials such as organic plastic and carbon fiber. That should be where Erik is being held."

"Then leave the rest to us."

Logan nodded and gestured for the younger group to follow. Under cover of the night, they silently infiltrated the base.

"Honestly, Charles, you really have changed." As Logan moved, he said casually, "In the past, you would never have assigned me a job like 'illegal infiltration.'"

"Because I can feel that we've already stepped into a massive vortex. One wrong move, and there will be no recovery, Logan." Charles sounded weary. "We need Erik's power, but it would be difficult to get him released through proper channels, and we no longer have time to waste on those politicians."

"No need to explain. I'm just amazed that an old fossil like you finally learned how to adapt."

"After all, because of my indecision, we've already lost too much." A trace of melancholy entered Charles's voice. "During those days at the water tower in Mexico, I fantasized countless times about returning to the past... But I know we can never go back... Some of the principles I once held onto were indeed unrealistic, now that I think about them..."

"Shit, so you had already figured this out back then?" Logan cursed. "Last year, when you were sick, you were stubborn as hell! You even threw away your medicine in secret. You always made me want to lose my temper!"

"Because I knew I did not have much time left. Can't you understand an old man who's about to die wanting to be a little willful before the end?" Charles smiled, then continued, "Do you remember when I was shot at the casino? I must have caused Miles a lot of trouble then... I hope he has forgiven my selfishness."

"Shit, hearing a nearly hundred-year-old fossil like you say that makes me sick!" Logan cursed, though his footsteps became even lighter. "So what are you saying? You're different now?"

"...Yes." Charles spoke softly. "Logan, can you understand the feeling of... when the whole world has abandoned you, when you are waiting for death in despair, and then a child suddenly appears before you and gives you an entirely new world?"

"...I probably can." Out of the corner of his eye, Logan glanced at Laura walking not far behind him.

The girl wore a stern expression, savagery glinting in her eyes. She was clearly another younger version of himself.

"That's how I feel now," Charles continued. "I am still willing to believe in the goodness of humanity. I will still uphold our ideal of peaceful coexistence with humans... But that does not mean we must swallow every grievance when our family is hurt."

"Erik and I are two sides of Mutant ideology. I always criticized his beliefs as too extreme, but in truth... was my own way of thinking not another kind of extremism?"

"Hearing you say that really makes me happy, old man." Logan smiled. "One last question. Why did you decide to work with those people in the government before?"

"It is something I learned from those politicians." Charles explained, "For the sake of a shared goal, we can temporarily work with people we dislike. Likewise, if they have ulterior motives, then naturally we have our own methods... Just like now."

"Haha..." Logan laughed. "Now I'm getting more and more impatient to see what expression Erik will have when he sees who you are now!"

"So am I." Charles chuckled softly as well.

In the silent night, Logan led the others onward without a sound.

But as they drew closer and closer to their destination, something suddenly stirred in his heart!

Danger!

It was a beast-like instinct, warning him not to get any closer.

Logan abruptly stopped and threw out an arm, blocking the young people behind him.

"Wait. Something's wrong!"

Everyone immediately stopped and turned to look at him.

Logan offered no explanation. He merely stared at his arm for a second, then with a sharp shink, a steel claw shot from the back of his hand. Expressionless, he lightly sliced open his other forearm with the claw tip.

The others looked over, and their pupils contracted.

The wound, which should have healed almost instantly, was now healing at an extremely slow rate!

"Logan, has your ability failed? Wait..." Caliban frowned as soon as he spoke, realizing something was wrong as well.

"No." Logan shook his head. He could feel that his vitality was still strong, but it seemed to be suppressed by some special force field, making it impossible for it to function properly.

After a brief moment of thought, Logan tried retreating a considerable distance.

One step, two steps, ten steps...

As the distance widened, the invisible sense of suppression visibly weakened. The wound from before completely healed in less than a second.

"Fuck, Charles! There's something wrong with this base!" Logan said to Charles. "Something is suppressing our abilities!"

"Wait, let me investigate..." As Charles spoke, his powerful psychic force silently flowed into the base like an invisible tide. He bypassed the Psychic Shielding Zone and instead probed the minds of ordinary guards and technicians, sensing their thoughts as he rapidly sifted through countless scattered fragments of information and pieced together the truth.

Before long, Charles's voice came again, carrying an unprecedented gravity.

"Logan, we have a problem."

"Go on. What new toy have those military lunatics come up with this time?" Logan asked.

Charles fell silent for a moment.

"The ATHENA Project, and... the Super Leech!"