He considered briefly. "Hydra? Or the Hellfire Club?"
In the Marvel Universe, the true behemoths entrenched in the shadows were none other than those two forces.
Hydra had long since infiltrated the centers of power in various countries. Even S.H.I.E.L.D., America's largest agency for handling supernatural affairs, had large numbers of its sleeper agents within its ranks.
The Hellfire Club, meanwhile, consisted of some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the world, with membership subject to a strict invitation process.
Iron Man's father had once been a member; Magneto also held a secret seat among them; even Professor X had once planted an insider there.
At that thought, Chen Xiao rubbed his temples, his thoughts a tangled mess.
He had yet to come into his own, and it really was unwise to become embroiled in these whirlpools too early.
He gathered his thoughts and continued looking through the other folders.
More than two hours passed, and the sky outside was beginning to brighten before Chen Xiao slowly exhaled.
Not the least bit sleepy, he rose and walked to the window, gazing calmly at the streetlights coming on one after another across campus and the figures beginning to stir.
According to the laboratory's findings, mutants carrying the X-Gene were almost impossible to identify before awakening and might well spend their entire lives as ordinary people;
Even the offspring of two mutants would not necessarily inherit or activate their abilities.
Unlike the few people born with supernatural powers, mutants' abilities tended to grow gradually stronger with age.
The crucial point, however, was that the moment of awakening already defined the upper limit of their growth; once they reached the boundaries of their potential, their improvement would naturally cease.
In addition, an extremely small number of "latent mutants" who had originally shown no signs of awakening could have their X-Gene activated unexpectedly if subjected to an exceptionally intense psychological shock.
The researchers therefore theorized that mutant abilities-or rather, the expression of the X-Gene-were actually closely linked to mental state.
Then did that mean someone with a sufficiently resilient will might break through the inherent limits of their abilities?
For precisely that reason, the experimenters had spent years varying their methods of stimulating and tormenting their subjects, all to capture every minute fluctuation at the genetic level.
After repeated attempts, quite a few mutants who had originally possessed only level-one or level-two abilities had indeed experienced leaps in power, even developing new abilities that were more sophisticated and more threatening.
But this path came at an enormous cost. What it depleted was not physical stamina, but the very foundation of the mind, and even of life itself.
Most mutants burned themselves out after a dozen or so experiments, dying of exhaustion on the spot; even injections of potent drugs could not save them.
The exceedingly few who survived twenty rounds of testing and barely broke through a physiological limit reached, at most, the threshold of level three, with unremarkable performance in actual combat.
To date, across the entire experiment, only one person had survived more than thirty rounds of X-Gene stimulation and activation.
Because that person's ability was too unique, the result could not yet be replicated.
Early morning, in the cafeteria.
Carrying a plate of bread, two hot dogs, and a cup of black coffee, Chen Xiao headed straight for a corner.
Clarice was already sitting there waiting for him.
Today, she wore a navy cotton T-shirt with light gray straight-leg jeans and the same pure white flats, looking neat and brisk, with a fresh, bright air.
As soon as Chen Xiao sat down, Clarice lowered her voice and asked, "Vitas, last night... you didn't get hurt, did you?"
She had happened to be there when Scott came to recruit him yesterday and was one of the few students who knew Chen Xiao had also taken part in the operation.
Seeing the undisguised concern in her eyes, Chen Xiao felt a little warmth in his heart. His lips curved as he said confidently, "I'm plenty tough. I'm not that easy to hurt."
"Good, as long as you're all right." She let out a soft breath, her shoulders relaxing.
After the past few days together, much of the gloomy aloofness in the girl's expression had faded. She would occasionally join a conversation of her own accord, and her smiles had grown a little more natural.
Over breakfast, Chen Xiao noticed that her sleeves were slightly tight and the hem a little short. The clothes were clearly a size too small. His gaze paused, but he said nothing.
After breakfast, the students headed toward their classrooms in twos and threes, but Scott stopped Chen Xiao and took him to the underground base.
In the conference room, Professor X sat at the head of the table. To his left sat Cyclops, Iceman, Colossus, and Shadowcat, in that order; to his right were Storm, Anna, also known as Rogue, Wolverine, and finally Chen Xiao.
Nearly every member of the X-Men at the school had gathered for this meeting.
"In last night's operation, we completely dismantled the Chris Laboratory and rescued nine imprisoned mutant children. We achieved outstanding results."
"Although this was Vitas's first battle, he showed no fear, faced danger head-on, and did everything he could to protect his companions."
Professor X's warm gaze settled on Chen Xiao. "Therefore, I propose formally accepting Vitas as a regular member of the X-Men. What do you all think?"
The moment he finished, everyone except Cyclops, who already knew, froze.
Anna and the others had thought allowing him to accompany the team was already an exception. Who would have expected the professor to offer him full membership today, skipping even a transitional period?
After a moment's consideration, Wolverine said, "He really did hold his own last night. His moves were steady, and his judgment was sound. I have no objections."
"But he's still young. If he joins, I'd suggest putting his schoolwork first and keeping him out of nonemergency matters day to day."
"After all, life shouldn't revolve entirely around fighting."
Professor X nodded with a smile. "Naturally. After Vitas joins, his daily routine will remain the same as Kitty's and the others': classes and training as usual. They're all students, after all."
"I agree."
"I support it too."
Cyclops and Storm voiced their positions in turn, followed by Shadowcat and Colossus nodding their agreement.
During last night's battle, the two had personally witnessed Chen Xiao's resolve as he stepped forward to hold the front line in a crisis. Who wouldn't welcome a teammate so willing to fight and so dependable?
Anna and Iceman, who had not taken part in the battle, saw everyone's unanimous approval and nodded as well, indicating that they had no objections.
Professor X looked at Chen Xiao with a smile, his tone gentle. "Then, Vitas, would you like to join the X-Men?"
Chen Xiao paused briefly, then said sincerely, "Thank you all for thinking so highly of me. Honestly, I'm a little surprised. Anyone would have lent a hand last night. I really can't claim much credit."
"I am interested in joining the X-Men, but I'm also worried that I'm too inexperienced to shoulder that responsibility."
He looked directly at the professor. "Professor, may I ask what specific duties a full member has to fulfill? And what would I be doing day to day?"
In truth, he was weighing things up: once he agreed, he would be taking on another burden, which conflicted somewhat with his original plan to lie low and grow steadily.
Professor X smiled calmly. "The X-Men's mission is clear: to safeguard the foundation of coexistence between mutants and humans, and to handle incidents involving mutants who abuse their abilities to harm society."
"Naturally, membership also comes with certain benefits."
"For instance, visa-free entry to friendly countries, unrestricted access to the school's base, and authorization to consult certain classified files."
"In addition, there is a base stipend of ten thousand dollars a month, with another hundred thousand dollars paid for each mission."
"Wait." Chen Xiao froze. "The X-Men get paid?"
This world's monetary system was no different from the one he remembered. One US dollar was worth roughly eight yuan.
That meant ten thousand dollars a month was eighty thousand yuan, and a hundred thousand dollars per mission was eight hundred thousand yuan. If he took one mission a month, his income would rival an annual salary of a million in his previous life.
He sucked in a breath.
As the thought flashed through his mind, his fingertips twitched slightly, and his composure was already wavering.
As the most powerful telepath, Professor X never pried into his subordinates' memories, but he keenly caught that ripple of emotion.
His smile deepened. "Of course there's compensation. The X-Men defend peace, not the nobility of going hungry."
"Take last night, for example. Vitas, you've already automatically earned a hundred-thousand-dollar mission bonus."
A hundred thousand dollars? If I'd known there was money in it, why would I have waited for the system to hand out work? Most of the hesitation in Chen Xiao's heart instantly vanished.
The reasoning was simple: money made things easier; without it, he could hardly take a step.
No matter the world, cash was always the most powerful pass.
One look at Batman and Iron Man made that clear: without substantial wealth backing them, even the strongest will and the coolest equipment would struggle to truly reach the top.
Since he could get paid-and at such a high rate that he could bring in around a hundred thousand yuan a month without lifting a finger-what reason did Chen Xiao have to refuse?
And so, from that moment on, he officially became a member of the X-Men, charged with protecting world peace and defending the shared future of humans and mutants.
The slogan sounded impressive, but as for putting it into practice... that was another matter.
Next, Professor X briefly reviewed the details of last night's mission before announcing the end of the meeting.
Chen Xiao, however, was asked to stay behind. The professor was taking him to the underground base's central control room to record his facial features, register his fingerprints, and grant him the corresponding permissions.
In the deep underground passage, the wheelchair glided silently along, Professor X seated steadily in it as Chen Xiao walked beside him.
"Vitas, the chain you brought back last night contains a large amount of adamantium. We estimate that a full kilogram can be extracted."
Though it was only as thick as a thumb, it actually weighed over a dozen kilograms.
But compared with its weight, the real difficulty lay in the extraction process.
Once this metal cooled and set, it would not soften even at five hundred thousand degrees Celsius. The difficulty of melting it down again was easy to imagine.
"It is currently the most indestructible metal known on Earth." Professor X continued explaining in a gentle voice. "Its core component comes from meteorites and is then smelted with carbon alloy in precise proportions. At present, the entire synthesis process is held exclusively by the American government."
"On the black market, a gram sells for twenty times the price of gold, and it's perpetually out of stock. Even money won't necessarily buy it."
"By that calculation, the chain you brought back has a market value of roughly twenty million dollars."
"That expensive?" Chen Xiao looked a little surprised.
Professor X looked at him with a smile. "Yes, that expensive. You personally captured this chain as spoils, so the right to dispose of it belongs entirely to you."
"Have you decided? If you'd like to cash it in, I can transfer twenty million to your account at any time."
Chen Xiao considered for a moment, then nodded frankly. "...Professor, to be honest, I really am a little tempted."
"But I'm not selling."
A trace of approval crossed Professor X's eyes. "Oh? It seems you have other plans for this alloy?"
"Yes, Professor," Chen Xiao answered with a nod.