The Name of Russell

I wondered if Professor X was naturally fond of chattering with unfamiliar mutants, but in any case, Russell truly experienced what buzzing flies felt like for the first time.

And it was that kind of giant fly that you could never chase away.

"Child, you possess a very rare talent. I can sense more than one power surging within your body, and this kind of awakening of multiple abilities is extremely rare in the history of mutants..."

"You know what? I've also encountered a similar situation to yours—it was a girl named Jean Grey, and her power was so formidable that even I felt awe..."

"The future of mutants requires our joint efforts. If you are willing, I can help you better control your power and avoid tragedy..."

Russell: "..."

While enduring the loop of "Professor X's Private Radio" playing inside his mind, he expressionlessly cooperated with Laura to teach those two ill-intentioned burly men a vivid lesson.

When robbers run into counter-robbers, the ending is doomed from the start.

That greedy man, who relied on his bulging muscles to try and force a deal, didn't even get his hand on Felicity—who refused to get in the car—before two bone-deep claw marks appeared on his thigh.

Swish!

The crisp and clean sound of blades slicing through flesh rang out.

Laura crouched halfway, like a cheetah ready to pounce.

On her right hand, three alloy steel claws flashing with a chilling cold light extended from between her knuckles, crimson blood droplets dripping from their sharp edges.

The blood droplets fell onto the scorching sandy ground and were instantly swallowed by the dry earth.

"Ahhh!!!"

Clutching his bleeding thigh, the injured man raised his neck and let out a truly tragic howl, his voice as sharp as a groundhog that had been stepped on its tail.

"Mu—mutants! Damn it, she's a mutant."

Witnessing his companion's miserable state and seeing the metal claws on the little girl's hand that obviously didn't belong to a normal human, the pale-faced man sitting in the passenger seat of the SUV let out a hoarse and ear-piercing scream like a duck whose neck had been stepped on.

"Th—this voice sounds so damn annoying."

Russell, who was originally irritated by Professor X's endless chatter, caught off guard by this hair-raising duck-like screech, felt thoroughly awful.

That voice was like fingernails scratching across a blackboard, or a rusty iron gate squeaking in the wind, striking straight at the annoyance center deep within his soul.

"F***, shut up."

The pale-faced man didn't take a "child's" reprimand seriously at all.

Through the opened car window, his eyes stared fixedly at Laura, who was covering her ears with a vigilant expression. While continuing to howl and shout like a ghost crying, he fumbled around for his phone, his trembling fingers trying to dial for help.

"Help! Mutants are kill—Mm-mm?!"

The moment the words left his mouth, he suddenly found he couldn't make a sound.

A sharp pain hit his mouth, as if squeezed by an invisible force. His upper and lower lips seemed to be instantly glued together by some kind of strong adhesive, seamless without even a sliver of a gap left behind.

[Psychic Telekinesis Experience +0.5]

The pale-faced man's eyes widened in horror, his eyeballs almost popping out of their sockets. One hand trembled as it felt his own mouth, while the other hand waved wildly in the air, leaving only despairing "Mmm-mmm" whimpers like a trapped beast coming from his throat.

The way he looked at Russell was as if he had just seen a ghost.

No, even more terrified than seeing a ghost.

[Fear Emotion +1]

[Fear Emotion +1]

Russell shook his head slightly on the side.

Good words fell on deaf ears, forcing him to take action instead.

Why bother?

Upon seeing this, Laura slowly lowered the hands covering her ears, her eyes wide open as she stared at the man whose mouth had been strangely sealed shut, and then looked back at Russell, her gaze filled with curiosity and a somewhat indescribable light.

It was the first time she had ever witnessed such a novel application of an ability.

Felicity beside them wore an identical expression of astonishment.

Although she had long since concluded that Russell was powerful, every time she saw him use those incredible methods, she still couldn't help feeling a wave of shock.

A minute later.

On the dirt road beneath the sand dunes, the half-old SUV slowly drove away, kicking up a trail of smoke and dust.

As for those two robbing fellows, they had long since been casually dealt with by Russell and left behind forever in that Gobi Desert, keeping company with the sand and scattered stones on the ground.

The interior of the car fell into a brief silence.

With his hands gripping the steering wheel and his eyes fixed on the endless desert highway ahead, Russell suddenly spoke: "Do you guys think I'm too cold-blooded?"

He was referring to the fate of those two people just then.

Felicity in the passenger seat hesitated for a moment, then stammered in reply, "I... I think they didn't deserve to die..."

She didn't like killing, nor did she think that someone with great power could casually strip weak people of their lives.

Even though those two men indeed harbored malicious intentions, killing them outright still made her heart somewhat unable to accept it.

Laura in the back seat remained completely silent. Her gaze was icy cold, and her face bore no excess expression—as resolute, crisp, and unhesitating as when she had attacked earlier.

In her view, anyone who wanted to hurt her deserved to die; the logic was just that simple.

Russell glanced at Laura through the rearview mirror and did not answer.

His thinking was equally simple.

From the very moment those two revealed their intent to rob them, they had already entered his must-kill list.

What was more, they had later witnessed Laura's mutant identity with their own eyes and knew they were mutants.

If those two were allowed to leave alive, it wouldn't be long before news about "three mutants wandering in the wilderness" spread locally, attracting even more trouble.

Those bounty hunters who hunted down mutants, those government agencies with ulterior motives, those remnants related to the base... wave after wave, endlessly annoying.

Russell, whose strength had not yet reached a truly "invincible" realm, hated trouble the most.

Rather than leaving future troubles behind, it was better to settle it once and for all.

Meanwhile, New York, hundreds of miles away.

Deep underground in a seemingly ordinary school.

Inside a huge spherical metal room, soft artificial light was evenly distributed. A well-dressed bald old man sitting in a wheelchair slowly removed the uniquely styled instrument helmet he wore on his head.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose, a trace of fatigue showing on his face.

"Professor, did you discover new mutants near New York again?"

Behind him, a young man wearing red quartz glasses stepped forward, care in his tone.

He was Scott Summers, codename Cyclops, a backbone of the X-Men.

"Yes." Charles Xavier, the most powerful telepath on Earth, controlled the wheelchair to turn toward Scott, his voice gentle yet carrying a hint of solemnity.

"But he is very special. His mind seems to have a natural mental barrier that can block my power to a certain extent. I tried to probe deeper, but could only get a vague perception."

He paused, a look of thought showing in his eyes: "I can feel that there is more than one tremendous power contained within his body, and... the nature of some of those powers even makes me feel unfamiliar.

In any case, we must find him, guide him, and prevent him from causing irreversible catastrophe to himself or others due to losing control of his ability."

"More than one power?" Scott nodded thoughtfully. "So you're saying, besides psychic mutation abilities, this person has other abilities? He's a multi-ability mutant?"

"That's right." Professor X nodded slightly. "Although the perception is very vague, this person's potential... is probably not below Jean's. I must see him in person and talk to him face-to-face."

He put the helmet back on, briefly concentrating his mind: "I'll sense his location again and have a good chat with him.

Scott, go notify Ororo and get ready to depart; I'll send the specific coordinates to you guys later."

"Okay, Professor." Scott responded, but a trace of hesitation flashed across his face, and he couldn't help urging, "However, you should also rest more. To monitor Magneto and his Brotherhood, you've already been tired enough."

Professor X smiled and waved his hand to signal him to hurry.

Scott turned and walked out of the basement, yet he was secretly pondering in his heart.

He temporarily didn't know just how strong that mutant was—the one he had never met, yet who could make the Professor value him so much.

However, he was very clear about the strength of his teammate Jean Grey, who was a super telekinetic second only to the Professor, with a mysterious, terrifying power lurking inside her body that even the Professor felt awe toward.

The Professor had personally admitted that if Jean's ability completely awakened, he and Magneto combined might not even be her match.

If the newly emerged mutant's potential really wasn't below Jean's...

Scott took a deep breath and quickened his pace.

At the same time, Washington.

Inside a highly classified military facility somewhere.

"General Darian, I have bad news to report to you."

The confidant assistant wearing a white lab coat walked into the office, his expression solemn.

"An underground base of ours in the northeastern part of New York State... has been completely destroyed."

Hearing this, General Darian, who was lowering his head to review experimental plans, raised his head, his brow tightly furrowed.

"What's going on?"

"A mutant riot broke out there." The assistant handed over the tablet in his hand. "Although the garrisoned troops resisted with all their might, in the end... they all died in the line of duty. Including Colonel Connolly, not a single one survived."

General Darian took the tablet and looked at the shocking scene photos on the screen—twisted and deformed metal doors, charred corridors, piles of soldier corpses, the bombed-out control room, a structure completely collapsed from within...

The fingers with which he held the tablet turned slightly pale from exertion.

Bang!

Darian slammed a fist fiercely onto the desk, causing the documents on the table to scatter all over the floor.

"Dammit!"

As the main person in charge of the military's mutant experimental project, General Darian possessed extremely high authority and tens of billions in operational funds each year.

Yet the loss of a single underground base still made his heart ache almost to the point of vomiting blood.

That was a loss starting at a baseline of several billion dollars; equipment, samples, data, personnel... all gone.

He took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down as a chilling murderous intent flashed in his eyes:

"Did you find out who did it? Those self-righteous X-Men? Or those disgusting rats from Magneto's Brotherhood?"

No matter who it was, this matter could not end well. As long as the target was confirmed, the other party had to pay a heavy price.

Yet the assistant's next words left him stunned.

"General..." The assistant hesitated. "According to the analysis of the transmitted surveillance footage, the source of this riot... was not an external invasion. It was a mutant inside the underground base."

"What?"

"There is a test subject, Number 47, who for some reason suddenly awakened or mutated a second mutant power."

First, he destroyed the core control system of the suppression collar, released all the prisoners, and then... almost single-handedly destroyed the entire base.

General Darian's first reaction was that it was impossible. A mutant awakening a second power? This had never appeared in all known data and cases.

But he knew his confidant. This person's loyalty was beyond doubt, and he would not and dared not deceive him.

Then... it was true.

There really was a mutant who had awakened a second mutant power?!

"Is there video footage? Bring it here for me to see."

Realizing the importance of the matter, General Darian stood up immediately, practically snatching the other tablet handed over by the assistant.

The footage began to play.

From the prison break, to the destruction of the control room, to manipulating the elevator to reverse and ascend, to withstanding the concentrated rocket fire, to counter-killing all the soldiers... until finally, that white figure pushed open the door and disappeared into the sunlight.

General Darian's eyes gradually changed from initial shock to excitement, and finally... to a scorching light bordering on greed.

"Brilliant..." he muttered to himself, his voice trembling slightly with excitement. "He is so perfect, his performance is simply flawless, and his value to us is immense."

He stood up abruptly, pacing back and forth in the office, his hands trembling slightly with excitement. "The first case in history, the first case of awakening a second mutant power, his research value is immeasurable.

Even his gene samples, his brain structure, the operating principle of his power... as long as we can figure these out, the Sentinel Program and Weapon X project, which have stagnated for years without progress, will step into an entirely new level."

Finished speaking, he stopped in his tracks, turned to the assistant, and his gaze was frighteningly intense. "Notify the intelligence department to immediately conduct a comprehensive investigation into everything about this mutant.

Including his original name, his genetic source, his adoption records, and the possible direction of his escape. I want exact information on him in the shortest time possible."

Colonel Connolly, being a pure military man, only wanted to kill Russell to get his revenge.

Yet a mad scientist like Darian saw things on another level.

An unprecedented research sample, a key to opening a new world.

He had to have him.

No matter the cost.