Those words made Logan glance sideways at him. This kid's killing intent had surfaced awfully early. The mission had not even begun, and he was already asking whom to take down.
What surprised him even more was that this was clearly Chen Xiao's first real battle, yet he could detect not the slightest panic or hesitation in him.
At that moment, Kitty could not help leaning closer to ask, "Vitas, aren't you nervous?"
Chen Xiao thought for a moment, then answered, "Not really."
Kitty's eyes lit up. "No wonder the professor always says you keep your cool. In terms of mental fortitude alone, I'm miles behind you. The first time I went into battle, my heart nearly smashed through my ribs."
"Mm." Chen Xiao smiled faintly.
Naturally, the women did not know that he was not originally from this world and always felt a thin layer of detachment from it. Combined with his teleportation speed of two hundred meters per second and the explosive force of dozens of tons in a single punch, these were the true sources of his composure.
So he felt neither fear nor apprehension toward the tough battle ahead. Instead, he was faintly itching to try his hand.
At last, I can cut loose completely.
Mexico ranked eleventh in the world by population. On the surface, it possessed vast territory; in reality, public security had collapsed and order had broken down.
Late at night, on the outskirts of Coro City, a dazzling light suddenly streaked across the sky above the Chris Research Institute, followed by the air-rending shriek and roar of a diving aircraft.
The two guards in the gatehouse jerked their heads up, instinctively grabbed their compact submachine guns, and rushed outside while frantically pressing the alarm button.
A piercing buzzer instantly erupted. Lights blazed throughout the five-story ring-shaped building as figures rushed about.
Corridors, stairways, the surveillance room... armed men carrying pistols, submachine guns, and even shoulder-mounted rocket launchers poured out from every corner, their movements practiced and their equipment excellent.
This was Mexico, where private armies and gangs often possessed fiercer, more ruthless firepower than the regular police.
Whoosh!
A gale struck without warning. Force-ten winds descended from the sky, whipping up sand, stones, and dust and instantly engulfing the entire institute. Those who had rushed outside could barely open their eyes and staggered backward.
A hundred meters overhead, Storm hovered in midair, slowly descending. Her eyes had turned pure white, and electricity flickered around her as her cape snapped behind her. The fierce winds obeyed her every command, supporting the Blackbird as it descended vertically and settled precisely onto the open ground before the institute's main entrance.
Just then, behind a third-floor window, an armed man braved the hurricane and lunged toward the glass, a rocket launcher on his shoulder. He aimed at the aircraft and was about to pull the trigger.
Crack!
Storm lightly swept her right hand. The heavens abruptly split, and a white-hot bolt of lightning tore down through the sky, striking the man squarely in the chest.
Boom!
Lightning flared. The man fell to the ground, charred black on the spot, and the rocket on his shoulder detonated. A fireball rose as the shock wave blasted apart the surrounding walls, sending rubble flying.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Before the first flash of lightning faded, a second, a third... struck in succession, as dense as a sudden downpour, covering the entire plaza and the building's perimeter.
In the blink of an eye, all dozen or so armed men who had rushed out of the building fell. Not one escaped.
Lightning rained down, accompanied by the deafening howl of wind, pinning down the remaining armed personnel and forcing them to cower inside the building, afraid to take even one step outside.
Storm raised a hand, and the fierce winds abruptly drew inward. The Blackbird hovered steadily, then touched down lightly.
The hatch opened, and Scott strode out, his expression cold and hard as iron.
His gaze swept over the grim gray-white institute building before him. His fingers slowly pressed the edge of his glasses, and the lenses instantly blazed with dazzling red light as two full-power laser beams erupted!
Boom!!
Scorching, violent beams carrying unstoppable destructive force crossed a hundred meters in an instant. By the time they struck the building, they had expanded to half a meter in diameter. They punched savagely through the walls, then unleashed a rolling, roaring mass of flame and shock waves.
Scott tilted his head slightly, and the beams swept sideways.
Like a red-hot blade slicing through firm fat, they silently cleaved the entire building from left to right.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
Wherever the beams reached, rebar twisted, concrete shattered, and fireballs rose. Rubble and flames flew together, shaking the entire underground structure until it groaned.
This world-shattering display terrified the ordinary staff inside out of their wits. Cries, doors banging, and the sounds of people falling mingled into chaos as they scrambled for the exits.
Faced with these mutants wielding supernatural power, they did not even have time to think of resisting.
While Storm controlled the wind and Cyclops opened fire, Chen Xiao, who leaped down close behind them, could not help murmuring, "That's some brutal firepower."
Before his words faded, he was already racing along the base of the wall with Kitty and Logan. The three headed straight for the flank, preparing to slip inside amid the chaos.
Inside a brightly lit corridor on the building's first floor.
Shadowcat gripped Chen Xiao's wrist with one hand and Logan's forearm with the other. Their figures abruptly turned intangible, like smoke and mist, and passed through the wall.
An armed man about to round the corner happened to witness the scene head-on. His steps froze, and his pupils abruptly contracted.
Shlk!
In the instant he lost focus, Logan released Kitty's hand and turned solid. With a metallic ring, three coldly gleaming claws sprang from the back of his hand, drove straight through the man's chest, and emerged from his back.
The adamantium claws easily tore through his body armor, slicing flesh like paper.
Having casually disposed of one man, Logan did not even blink. His voice was low. "Through that room ahead, then we can go straight down to the fifth level."
Kitty glanced at the twitching body on the floor, her expression as calm as ever. She reached out to take hold of Logan again, and that strange force field spread once more.
Chen Xiao felt as though his body had dispersed into countless particles, light and weightless. Led by Kitty, he passed through two thick walls in succession.
The next second, the ground vanished beneath their feet. The three silently passed through the floor and landed steadily on the first basement level.
"Ah!"
Below was a spacious surveillance room. Two guards had just cried out and risen, their hands reaching for the guns at their waists.
This time, however, Chen Xiao released Kitty's wrist before Logan could act.
His body instantly turned solid, and his right foot stamped hard against the floor.
Bang!
The concrete floor shuddered, and spiderweb cracks spread across it. A string of blurred afterimages trailed behind him as he swept before the two men like a dark gale.
Both fists shot out, swift as thunder!
Boom! Boom!!
The air burst beneath the force, producing muffled thunderclaps as his two heavy punches slammed into their chests.
Crack!
Their ribs shattered, their chests caved in, and their backs abruptly burst open. Blood mist mixed with shattered organs sprayed several meters, staining a row of surveillance screens a glaring crimson.
Even Logan and Kitty, accustomed as they were to life and death, could not help twitching at the corners of their mouths at such violent, naked slaughter.
The thick smell of rust flooded Chen Xiao's nostrils, yet he felt no fear. Instead, a burning fighting spirit surged within him, as though a ferocious beast that had slept for years was slowly opening its eyes.
He lightly ran the tip of his tongue over the corner of his mouth, suppressed that restlessness, and turned back with a slightly apologetic smile. "Sorry. First time fighting. I didn't hold back enough."
Logan said little, merely urging in a low voice, "Move. Before we're exposed, hurry and get them out. Keep them safe."
"Hold on tight." Kitty nodded and extended her hand toward Chen Xiao. The three sank into the floor again, dropping downward.
This time, they landed in an empty surgical preparation room.
Without stopping, they continued sinking and reached a corridor on the third basement level.
At a corner more than ten meters away, two armed guards were looking around warily. The moment the three appeared, the guards' expressions changed drastically. Their muzzles rose instantly, and bullets poured out in rapid succession!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!
Gunshots erupted, but every bullet passed through their intangible figures, striking the wall behind them in a crackling shower of sparks.
Without so much as a glance, the three passed straight down through the floor and landed on the fourth level. It was deserted. They continued downward, reaching the fifth level.
Under dim yellow lighting, a long, stark-white corridor was eerily silent.
Logan furrowed his brow. "We're here. The mutants whose powers they've been draining are locked in the rooms on both sides. Split up. Make it quick."
"Got it," Chen Xiao answered. His figure flashed, and he was already standing before a cell door.
These cells were built extremely solidly: solid concrete walls and doors made from single steel plates, secured by electronic sliding-rail locks.
Without a password or an identity card, there was no getting inside.
But to Logan and Chen Xiao, they were little more than sheets of thin paper.
Over there, Logan raised his claws and, with a few tearing screeches, ripped a large opening in a steel door.
Kitty had already passed through a wall and begun rescuing the prisoner inside.
Standing before a door, Chen Xiao drew a deep breath. He clenched his right fist, his muscles tensing, and drove a savage punch at the lock.
The air crackled explosively!
Boom!!
The instant his fist struck the steel plate, a vicious, washbasin-sized dent caved in around the lock. Electrical sparks flew as the metal twisted out of shape.
Though he had not punched through, the lock mechanism was completely ruined.
He inserted all five fingers into the gap beside the door, veins bulging along his arm. Exerting force like an ancient giant elephant, he forcibly tore the entire warped steel door open amid grinding creaks.
Under that crushing strength, the hydraulic arm driving the sliding rail behind the door twisted out of shape on the spot. The metal gave a piercing groan, a display of sheer, overbearing force.
Inside, a teenage boy in a hospital gown huddled in the corner of a bed. Blood-seeping gauze wrapped numerous parts of his body. His pupils contracted, his teeth chattered, and he even held his breath.
Chen Xiao stepped inside, his tone steady and calm. "Don't be afraid. I'm a mutant, just like you. I'm here to take you out."
A moment earlier, he had crushed an entire armed squad with his bare hands without batting an eyelid. Yet before these wounded children, he seemed like a different person: gentle, restrained, and entirely unthreatening.
He had never needed to prove his strength by trampling the weak.
"R-really?" The boy's voice was faint. His eyes were filled with trust that had been repeatedly crushed and barely pieced back together, and he trembled so badly he could hardly form a complete sentence.
"Really." Chen Xiao nodded, deftly removed the IV tubing and monitoring wires attached to him, then turned and walked outside.
Boom!
The second door burst open beneath his palm. Its frame shattered, and its hinges tore free.
But the room was completely empty, with only a bloodstained hospital gown lying crumpled on the floor.
From the third room, he rescued a little girl of about seven. Needles covered her thin arms and legs, and dark-red blood seeped along the edges of her bandages.
The fourth room was empty.
From the fifth, he dragged out a boy with an ashen face and faint breathing. His lips were bluish, and cold sweat still seeped from his temples.
As Chen Xiao reached the end of the corridor, only a few steps from the final door, the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood on end. An icy chill bored straight into his marrow, and he stopped dead.