Professor Charles had already detected Nick Fury and his companions while their Quinjet was still some distance from the academy.
He had more or less guessed why Nick Fury had come.
After all, his good buddy Magneto had just swept a seed bank clean of all its seeds.
And during this time, the X-Men had been constantly collecting all kinds of living organisms, roaming all over the world.
For an intelligence agency like S.H.I.E.L.D., discovering their activities was, of course, very easy.
The professor had dealt with Nick Fury quite a few times and knew that the man wanted to look into even the slightest stir.
This time, both the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants had inexplicably started collecting living organisms, and Magneto had even gone so far as to raid a seed bank.
He would not have been at all surprised if Nick Fury suspected some secret behind their strange behavior.
The professor simply had not expected Nick Fury to come straight to the academy. Was he here to fish for information?
The professor was already thinking about how to send Nick Fury on his way.
Although Krakoa had now begun to develop, some basic infrastructure was still needed before mutants could actually live there.
They had been collecting living organisms all this time so that Krakoa could have a self-sustaining ecosystem as soon as possible.
As such, they had not yet begun building the various living facilities. They still needed some time before mutants could truly live there.
Even with Krakoa as a world for mutants, most mutants would still need to live in human society, especially since mutants were constantly awakening among ordinary people.
The professor still wanted to avoid causing unnecessary trouble as much as possible.
The professor and the X-Men stood at the academy gates, quietly watching the sky together.
Through the aircraft's windows, Nick Fury and his companions immediately spotted the group looking up at the sky.
"It seems our host already knows we're here."
There was no discernible expression on Nick Fury's face.
Coulson and the other two accompanying him were not nearly as composed. At this point in time, superpowered individuals of any kind were still a rare sight.
Even though Nick Fury had already briefed them on mutants beforehand.
The fact that they could detect their arrival from so far away and wait for them here still struck them as incredible.
The four of them stepped out of the aircraft parked outside the academy, and Nick Fury led the way toward the professor and the others.
As he walked, Nick Fury also studied the professor's group.
His gaze lingered on the professor's fully functional legs for a second before sweeping over Cyclops's eyes. He did not see the signature glasses shown in Cyclops's file.
His eyes flickered, confirming his suspicions. Something he knew nothing about must have happened to the professor and the others.
Coulson and the other two followed behind Nick Fury, also discreetly studying the professor's group. They were all thoroughly curious about a superpowered race like mutants.
"Long time no see, Professor Charles. You look to be in good health!"
"Director Nick, so do you."
After a brief exchange at the gates, the group headed into the academy.
The mutant students playing along the way gave Coulson and the other two quite an eye-opening experience.
Some controlled water and fire, some turned invisible, some grew larger or softer, and some moved incredibly fast...
Had Nick Fury not told them a little about mutants beforehand, they might have thought they had arrived at a magic academy.
But it was precisely these students' displays that gave them a thorough understanding of how dangerous mutants were.
As they looked at the professor and the others ahead of them, the three men's gazes unconsciously grew increasingly wary.
The professor keenly noticed their wariness. It did not surprise him. The powers mutants possessed meant ordinary people were bound to regard them differently.
Especially since these people all came from an intelligence agency like S.H.I.E.L.D.
Before long, the group arrived at the conference room where they had last spoken with Magneto.
"Professor Charles, you've been collecting living organisms everywhere lately. Can you tell me why?"
"Magneto, Erik Lehnsherr, robbed a seed bank of its stock. That was probably for the same reason, wasn't it?"
Once they were seated, Nick Fury wasted no time and bluntly stated the purpose of his visit.
Coulson and the other two privately broke into a sweat. Wasn't he afraid of angering them with that attitude?
They secretly observed the X-Men's reactions and, sure enough, saw their hostile looks.
Wolverine's gaze in particular looked utterly vicious, as though he might hit someone at any moment.
Nick Fury had, of course, noticed the X-Men's looks, but he was not worried that they would do anything. A bunch of pacifists could always put up with a great deal.
"Director Nick, I never imagined S.H.I.E.L.D. would concern itself with even such trivial matters. What an eye-opener!"
As the X-Men's leader, Cyclops naturally could not stand by and let Nick Fury act so arrogantly. He shot back with a little jab.
The others said nothing, but their expressions all said that S.H.I.E.L.D. was overstepping its bounds.
The professor did not interrupt Cyclops. In the past, he had always given ground to them, but now that they had Krakoa as a fallback, he was no longer quite so wary of human government agencies.
Looking at the silent professor, Nick Fury's heart sank. Could the mutants really have gained something to rely on?
In the past, the professor would certainly have interrupted Cyclops, but now he had not.
"Director Nick, we're only collecting some living organisms. That shouldn't be illegal, should it?"
Only after Cyclops finished speaking did the professor calmly pose his question.
"Of course it isn't illegal, Professor!
"But Magneto went so far as to rob a seed bank to get the seeds inside. Surely there must be some reason for that?"
Nick Fury did not dispute the professor's words. He simply brought up Magneto's robbery.
The professor was just about to speak again when he suddenly seemed to notice something and turned his head toward a corner of the conference room.
Nick Fury was wondering why the professor had stopped speaking. Seeing his movement, he followed his gaze.
Everyone else in the conference room had been watching the two of them, and now they all looked over as well.
Wisps of golden sparks slowly appeared in midair, spinning outward from the center in every direction until they formed a ring of sparks taller than a person.
Through it, they could clearly see an old-fashioned training ground on the other side, where several people in mage robes were continuously gesturing at the air.
Before they could observe any further, a figure stepped through the ring of sparks into the conference room. The ring instantly contracted, and the scattered sparks flickered a few times before disappearing.
Everyone in the conference room stared at the person who had suddenly appeared. For a moment, no one spoke.
"Professor, what's all this?"
"Did I come at a bad time?"
The newcomer was none other than our protagonist, Li Ge. During this time, he had already recorded almost all of Kamar-Taj's magical knowledge.
So, aside from seeking advice on a few questions, he no longer needed to stay at Kamar-Taj all the time.
After saying goodbye to the Ancient One and the others, Li Ge had decided to return to the Mutants Academy for a good rest.
He had simply set his teleportation destination to the more familiar conference room, never expecting to find so many people here.