So when the first generation of Sentinels appeared, those powerhouses continued to watch coldly from the sidelines, leaving the mutants to clash head-on with the government.
The first-generation Sentinels were extremely limited in both numbers and combat power. At the time, Professor X and Magneto both considered them manageable.
Those lofty beings paid them no heed either. After all, everything was still within their predictions.
Who could have expected the Sentinels to evolve far faster than anticipated, striking a devastating blow just as Thanos descended and wiping out all of Earth's top-tier fighting forces?
With nothing left to keep them in check, the Sentinels accelerated their upgrades. In just ten years, they not only exterminated nearly every mutant but slaughtered the entire human population of the world.
Even Thanos had failed to accomplish that.
At that moment, thoughts flashed through Chen Xiao's mind. Following the thread of the "peak agreement," he connected one previously inexplicable detail after another.
Of course, these were only deductions and might not have been entirely true.
"Whew."
He slowly exhaled, momentarily at a loss for words.
Precisely because of this agreement, the professor had to go, no matter how dangerous the trip was. This was an internal mutant crisis, and outsiders were forbidden from intervening.
If he could not contain the situation and Jean ultimately lost control completely, causing a widespread catastrophe, beings like the Ancient One would inevitably intervene, leaving the agreement intact in name only.
No!
Chen Xiao suddenly froze, his pupils contracting slightly as he stared at the professor in astonishment.
He suddenly realized that the professor was not merely going to eliminate a threat. He had even deliberately paved the way for his own death, letting Jean kill him herself to vent the resentment she had suppressed for years.
There was only one goal: to help Jean break free of her dark personality's shackles, allowing her primary personality to regain control and truly command the Phoenix Force.
Only his "death" could break the shackles of hatred that had lingered for years. Only then might Jean reclaim control over her body and mind.
And the professor was willing to take this tremendous risk because mutants were already at an absolute disadvantage and desperately needed a strategic-level fighting force capable of deterring the entire world.
Just imagine: if a mutant who controlled the Phoenix Force truly emerged, who on Earth could stand against them? Even Thanos himself would probably have to bow.
Of course, if Thanos gathered the Six Infinity Stones, the outcome against Jean, who controlled only part of the Phoenix Force, would be hard to predict.
At this thought, Chen Xiao could not help giving Professor X a long, searching look.
The professor opposite him looked slightly bewildered, not understanding why he seemed so shocked.
"Vitas, what occurred to you?"
Chen Xiao forced a smile and gently shook his head. "Nothing."
As he recalled more details from X-Men: The Last Stand, he grew increasingly certain of his theory.
For example, when the professor and Magneto arrived outside Jean's house in the film, he strictly forbade anyone other than the two of them from entering.
Why had he issued that prohibition?
Precisely because he feared Wolverine and the others would forcibly stop him from having himself killed.
He knew perfectly well that Magneto had long coveted Jean's power and would never allow him to bring her back safely.
In other words, from the moment he confirmed that Jean was alive and had nearly killed Scott during her rampage, the professor had already decided to use his life as the catalyst to awaken her true self.
Because he was certain he would not truly die.
No wonder he had kept his vegetative twin brother alive all this time. That was simply the second body he had reserved for himself.
No wonder the mission the system issued this time was to defeat Juggernaut rather than rescue Professor X.
Clearly, the system had already determined that the professor's life was not in danger and Chen Xiao did not need to intervene.
At this point, Chen Xiao instead began to feel a headache coming on. There were too many clues, their truth difficult to distinguish, making it even harder to judge which were genuine arrangements and which were deliberate misdirection.
His unusual behavior made Professor X's gaze sharpen slightly.
Suddenly, a gentle voice sounded directly in the depths of his consciousness. "Vitas, have you guessed... that I'll 'die' this time?"
"Don't speak. Just respond with your thoughts."
"Professor." Chen Xiao's heart jolted.
"So you did guess." Professor X smiled calmly across from him, his voice still flowing through Chen Xiao's mind, a measure of approval in his eyes.
Although he could not forcibly invade Chen Xiao's consciousness and read his memories, there was no obstacle to conducting a two-way mental conversation through telepathy, just as he could ordinarily sense Chen Xiao's shifting moods through the emotional fluctuations he gave off.
The professor's voice sounded again, carrying a trace of wistfulness. "Vitas, you're exceptional. You have strength, intelligence, and, most importantly, a sense of responsibility."
"If only you'd appeared twenty years earlier."
Chen Xiao shook his head gently, responding through mental fluctuations. "Professor, you think too highly of me."
The professor smiled. "No. I'm never wrong about people."
"You may usually seem like a loner, unwilling to get involved in trouble or take things upon yourself, but beneath that, you're tenderhearted and steadfast, with shoulders capable of bearing responsibility."
"Otherwise, when you sensed that something would happen to Scott, you wouldn't have rushed so urgently to find me."
"By then, you'd already deduced that Jean was about to lose control, and that forcing your way into the matter would put you in danger."
"But you came anyway."
"And then there was the Chris Research Institute. Kitty told me that you utterly despised those who persecuted mutants. Though it was your first real battle, every move you made was clean and decisive, without the slightest hesitation."
"Especially on the fifth basement level. When you saw the miserable state of those imprisoned children, and then saw what Yidileisi looked like, your anger nearly overwhelmed your reason."
"You left no one alive, whether they were armed personnel carrying guns or researchers in white coats, regardless of age or sex."
"Logan even came to speak to me specifically about it. He said your killing intent was too strong and asked me to find some time to counsel you."
"Well..." Looking at Professor X across from him, Chen Xiao's eyelid twitched, and for a moment, he found himself speechless.
Was he really that dependable?
Then Professor X continued in a steady tone. "But I don't think there was any need to hesitate over that step."
"If someone witnesses their own kind being slaughtered and feels neither outrage nor the slightest pain, then they've already lost the foundation of their humanity."
Fine. With the professor putting it that way, what could Chen Xiao possibly say?
Since the other party had already laid his cards on the table, he stopped beating around the bush and transmitted directly through mental fluctuations. "Professor, are you really planning to do this? Transferring your consciousness... how confident are you?"
The corners of Professor X's mouth lifted slightly, his voice settling quietly into Chen Xiao's mind. "Just as I thought, Vitas. You'd already guessed."
"I..." Chen Xiao's pupils abruptly contracted.
He'd actually been tricked into talking! It turned out the professor had not been sure at all whether he had seen through the purpose of this trip. Those earlier words had been nothing but a feint.
What an old fox. Ruthless and precise, Chen Xiao cursed inwardly.
This also served as a wake-up call: he would have to be extra careful in future dealings with the professor. Otherwise, one day, he might have all his secrets pried out of him without even realizing it.
After a brief silence, Professor X's voice sounded again. "You must have deduced it from the subject of consciousness transfer I mentioned in earlier years, correct?"
"...Yes." Chen Xiao nodded lightly.
Beyond that single word, he did not utter another sound.
The more he said, the more he might let slip. Since the professor liked guessing games, he could take his time puzzling it out. Better yet, let him imagine everything himself-the more far-fetched, the better.
Professor X said slowly, "To be honest, I can't guarantee that consciousness transfer will work. If I fail this time, I really will be gone."
"Then why would you..."
Chen Xiao's brow furrowed. He had not expected the professor to lack complete confidence.
He had thought the technique was already fully developed, which was why the professor dared to stake everything on it.
Professor X gently shook his head, signaling him not to worry, the warm smile still on his face. "But with some things, someone has to take the first step."
"Though I can't promise absolute certainty, I do have a seventy percent chance of success."
"To stake that seventy percent on whether Jean can overcome her instincts with her true self and genuinely transform into an omega-level mutant-that's a calculation I can justify."
Looking at Professor X's iron resolve and unwavering gaze, Chen Xiao's throat shifted slightly, but in the end, he said nothing.
He wanted to say, You won your gamble on the transfer, but lost the one you placed on her. Jean failed to suppress her instincts and later lost control completely on Alcatraz.
Wolverine forced his way into the heart of the storm, passing repeatedly between destruction and regeneration, and finally brought back a sliver of her clarity. She screamed, "Kill me," and in the end, he ended her life with his own hands.
But the words caught at his lips, too heavy to let fall.
Blame the professor? He'd staked even his life.
Blame Wolverine? At that moment, there had been no way to stop the collapse except to end her.
Blame Jean? The power she awakened was telepathy. Who could have foreseen the flames of the Phoenix lying dormant deep within her bloodline?
If blame truly had to be assigned, perhaps it was only that she had not been strong enough. If her psychic power had been enough to suppress those world-burning flames, all the blood and ashes that followed should never have happened.
The car passed through the city and turned onto a somewhat deserted highway.
After traveling several dozen more kilometers, a distinctly British-style town came into view: red tiles, white walls, every home a detached house, so quiet it seemed like a corner forgotten by time.
Professor X said gently, "Ororo, turn left at the intersection ahead and keep going to the end of the street. That's where Jean used to live."
They were here?
Chen Xiao drew a silent breath.
Following the professor's directions, Storm soon brought the car to a steady stop by the roadside.
He got out first, reached for the armrests on either side of the wheelchair, and steadily lifted Professor X out of the car.
Looking around at the bricks, window frames, and paths, which were almost unchanged from more than twenty years earlier, Professor X sighed softly. "Erik and I came here together back then and took Jean away."
"After coming full circle, we've returned here because of her."
Before his words had faded, a strong, weathered voice came from the distance. "The world is unpredictable. Who can know what tomorrow will bring?"
His cape billowing and a cold gleam flashing across his helmet, Magneto walked slowly from the end of the road, several mutants following behind him.
Storm and Wolverine instantly tensed, their gazes sharp as blades, their guard fully raised.
Professor X's expression remained unchanged. He simply looked quietly at the other man. "What brings you here?"
Magneto smiled calmly, utterly unbothered. "The same thing as you. Visiting an old acquaintance."
Professor X gave him a long look. "I don't want any complications today."
"Of course." Magneto's smile did not fade. "I have no intention of causing trouble either." As he spoke, he actually extended a hand toward the professor like an old friend. "Come on. Let's go inside."
Seeing that the other man had clearly been waiting here for some time, Professor X turned to Wolverine and the others and said gently, "Stay outside. I'll go in alone."
"What?" Storm blurted out.