Magneto's Purpose

Xiao Han exchanged a glance with Professor X, and they instantly reached an understanding.

"Scott, Ororo, activate the defensive protocol immediately!" Professor X ordered the X-Men through telepathy, while his wheelchair automatically turned toward the entrance.

"Mr. Xiao, it seems our cooperation will have to begin ahead of schedule."

The corners of Xiao Han's mouth lifted slightly. "That suits me perfectly."

He pressed a button. The battle armor began to retract, revealing the combat uniform underneath. Then his figure blurred, and he shot straight out of the building, hovering above the academy.

Super-Sight pierced the darkness, locking onto the figure hovering a kilometer away—Magneto.

Erik Lehnsherr wore a dark-red cloak, and his metal helmet gleamed coldly in the moonlight.

With both arms spread wide, the surrounding metal wreckage, abandoned vehicles, and even the streetlights were all controlled by invisible magnetic force, swirling around him like a storm.

"Charles!"

Magneto's voice resonated through the magnetic field and spread across the entire academy. "I know that alien energy body is with you! Hand him over."

Xiao Han raised an eyebrow.

So Magneto had come for the blue crystal? It seemed he had sensed that special energy fluctuation.

"Mr. Lehnsherr." Xiao Han's voice was not loud, but with the support of his Biofield, it reached Magneto's ears clearly.

"That thing has already been safely dealt with."

Magneto sneered. "Safely dealt with? You have no idea what that is!"

He raised a hand, and the metal structure of the entire academy began to tremble. "It is a creation. It can rewrite Mutant genes and grant Mutants new abilities!"

The information made Xiao Han narrow his eyes slightly. Rewrite genes?

It seemed the origins of that alien crystal were more complicated than he had imagined.

Could it be an experimental product of the Kree Empire? Did it accidentally fall to Earth?

But no matter what, the thing already belonged to him. No one could take it away.

Professor X's voice rang out in both their minds at the same time. "Erik, if you have information, we can sit down and talk. Violence won't solve anything."

"Talk?" Magneto mocked. "Like we've been talking for decades?"

He crooked a finger, and three abandoned cars suddenly smashed toward the academy's main building!

Xiao Han moved instantly. His Biofield expanded and caught the cars firmly.

But in the next second, the ground beneath his feet suddenly split open. Rebar buried underground shot out and instantly wrapped around all four of his limbs!

"You think you can stop the master of magnetic fields?" Magneto sneered, his palm suddenly clenching!

The rebar abruptly contracted, attempting to crush Xiao Han.

Crack!

Every piece of rebar shattered the instant it touched Xiao Han's skin, like fragile stalks of straw.

Magneto's pupils contracted. "What?"

"Not a bad attempt." Xiao Han shook his head, abandoning the thought of holding back. With a light tremor, all the remaining metal fragments fell to the ground.

"But my body is harder than steel."

Magneto stopped wasting words and swept both arms outward! Every piece of metal within a hundred meters was drawn in by magnetic force, forming a metal torrent that surged toward Xiao Han with overwhelming force!

Golden light flashed in Xiao Han's eyes, and Heat Vision erupted!

Sizzle!

Crimson beams swept across the battlefield. The metal torrent was instantly melted apart, turning into molten iron that rained down.

But Magneto had already used the opportunity to retreat, pulling a miniature device from inside his clothes.

Hum!

A strange magnetic fluctuation spread out, and Xiao Han suddenly felt his body grow slightly heavier!

"An antigravity field?" Xiao Han was mildly surprised, but then sneered. "Unfortunately, my flight doesn't rely on technology."

He accelerated violently, breaking the sound barrier as he charged toward Magneto!

At the critical moment, a streak of silver lightning suddenly cut into the battlefield!

Quicksilver!

The world seemed to fall into slow motion. Pietro Maximoff circled behind Xiao Han at supersonic speed, attempting to strike him with a knife-hand blow.

Smack!

Xiao Han caught his wrist with his backhand.

Quicksilver's eyes widened. "You...!"

"You're very fast."

Xiao Han suddenly turned and seized Quicksilver's wrist precisely. "But not fast enough."

Pietro's eyes widened. His speed, which he had always been proud of, had been directly countered for the first time.

Before he could react, Xiao Han's Biofield had already bound him securely.

"Let him go!"

Magneto roared, and the metal framework of the entire academy began to twist and deform.

The steel plates on the teaching building's outer walls were ripped off by force and assembled in midair into a gigantic metal palm that slammed toward Xiao Han.

Xiao Han held Quicksilver with one hand and raised his other hand to meet the giant palm.

The instant the two forces collided, the shock wave sent nearby debris flying.

Seeing this, Magneto suddenly changed tactics.

He pressed both hands downward, and the underground structure of the entire academy began to shake violently!

"Since you refuse to hand over the fragment, I'll find it myself!" Magneto roared.

Professor X's voice suddenly turned stern. "Erik! You're putting innocent students in danger!"

Just as the situation was about to spiral out of control, Xiao Han suddenly spoke. "Stand down."

Sensing how dangerous Xiao Han was, Magneto chose to stop temporarily and said coldly, "I only want that fragment."

Xiao Han exchanged a glance with Professor X.

"I've already absorbed the fragment." Xiao Han was frank.

"But I've completely absorbed its energy structure. If you want trouble, I'll be happy to play with you."

Magneto narrowed his eyes. "You absorbed it?"

He suddenly burst into laughter. "Charles, this ally you found is even more reckless than I imagined!"

Professor X replied steadily, "Erik, Mr. Xiao already has the thing. We should stop."

Magneto fell silent for a moment, and the metal storm around him gradually subsided.

In the end, he glanced at Professor X and said meaningfully, "Charles, blindly pursuing peace will not bring about a better world."

With that, he created a metal platform and left with the Brotherhood of Mutants.

Xiao Han watched them disappear into the distance before turning to the X-Men who had rushed over. "Charles, I almost couldn't stop myself from killing him just now." (He deliberately chose not to kill Magneto because it involved a certain female lead.)

Professor X remained calm. "Erik has always been like this. He and I have been arguing for decades."

Beside Xiao Han, Quicksilver was still struggling within the Biofield. "He just left like that? He's leaving me here?"

Xiao Han carried him down to the ground.

"Pietro." Xiao Han looked at him and asked tentatively, "What's your relationship with him?"

Quicksilver turned his face away. "He just wants to save the Mutants... That thing really is useful."

Xiao Han said nothing, simply watching him in silence.

After glancing at Xiao Han's sturdy build, Quicksilver ultimately gave in and hurriedly said, "My sister and I were separated during the war. He saved me and let me join the Brotherhood of Mutants."

At this, Pietro looked somewhat despondent. "My sister has been missing for a long time. I've been searching for her all this time, but..."

He lowered his head. A flicker passed through Xiao Han's eyes as he roughly understood the relationships involved.

Perhaps when I have time, I'll have another task to take care of.

For example, saving a wayward young woman?

Meanwhile, in the academy's laboratory, Hank McCoy had already begun testing the residual energy in the bodies of Andrew and the other two.

Andrew looked at his trembling hands and asked in a low voice, "Could what Magneto said be true? Will the energy in our bodies change our genes?"

Hank pushed up his glasses. "That's exactly what we need to find out. But don't worry. With Charles and Mr. Xiao here, we'll find the answer."