Driving the Tiger to Swallow the Wolf (Bonus 2/12 for FFF Regiment Chief)

Chapter 116: Driving the Tiger to Swallow the Wolf (Bonus 212 for FFF Regiment Chief)

Scott and the others walked out of the Pentagon with grim expressions because Colonel Stryker had disappeared, and Professor Charles had vanished along with him.

In fact, if he had carefully investigated the list of test subjects in the base, he would have discovered that one was missing from among the rescued Mutants.

Subject 143 was gone.

But the rescued Mutants had split into two groups, leaving with him and Magneto respectively. Even if he found out, he would probably assume that Subject 143 had gone with Magneto.

If the military conducted a detailed investigation, they could also discover that someone was missing. But since all the Mutants had been rescued, the military did not continue investigating.

Thus, through a series of coincidences and misunderstandings, everyone overlooked the missing Subject 143.

Although Colonel Stryker and Professor Charles had disappeared, the deal between both sides was still barely concluded.

That was because the Mutants’ side had already been at a disadvantage.

The X-Men needed the military’s help to reverse society’s hostile attitude toward Mutants, and they also needed the military’s vast influence to help search for Professor Charles.

Therefore, making concessions to the military was unavoidable.

After leaving the Pentagon and boarding the stealth aircraft, Scott said to the pilot, Ororo, "Return to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. There’s a Cerebro underground. Jean needs it to locate the professor."

"If it’s for Cerebro, then we don’t need to go back. The machine has already been destroyed." Ororo started the aircraft and took off as she spoke helplessly.

"Destroyed? How could it have been destroyed?" Scott asked in surprise.

"I don’t know the details either, but we found some scattered fragments of Cerebro at the scene. The main body was probably taken by the military."

Remembering how she and Jean had been toyed with by the military’s little tricks, causing the children to suffer for several extra days, Ororo was filled with fury.

"If the machine hadn’t been destroyed, we would’ve located you long ago. We wouldn’t have been deceived by the military for so long."

"Damn it! Without Cerebro, there’s no way we can find Professor Charles quickly. If Stryker is driven into a corner and kills the professor, we’ll be in trouble!" Scott paced back and forth anxiously.

"Alternatively, we could contact Beast and have him make another one. With the original blueprints, it shouldn’t be difficult." Ororo made the suggestion.

Scott shook his head. "I’m afraid we won’t make it in time. Magneto isn’t someone who can sit patiently. Once he settles the children he brought back this time, he’ll most likely begin his plan."

"We may only have two or three days. Even with the blueprints, making this thing would be impossible without at least ten days to half a month."

"Then what should we do?" Ororo began to worry as well.

"Let me think. I need to think carefully…" Scott held his head and began racking his brains.

The military once again sent an envoy to the Ultimate Limit Hall. It was Linderman again.

Linderman got out of his car in the parking lot and walked along the gravel path toward the Martial Arts School.

Although the Martial Arts School had only recently reopened, it was already packed with people who had come to become disciples and study martial arts.

There was a guard booth by the outer courtyard gate, specifically responsible for checking the student passes of people entering and leaving.

Not far from the booth was the disciple admission examination area.

Under the standardized management of Secretary Natasha, people could no longer become disciples whenever they pleased. Instead, new students were admitted once a month on the first day, and the examination consisted of the Chinese Level Four test.

Natasha had originally planned to add requirements such as age and physical fitness, but Zhan Liu rejected them all. As for tuition fees and enrollment limits, there were none either.

Whatever the rules had been before, they remained the same now.

The first hurdle to becoming a disciple was Chinese. There were no other requirements.

This left those who wanted to play little tricks with no way to begin.

The area around the Martial Arts School was crowded and bustling, but once one entered the inner area, it became deserted and quiet.

There was no helping it. Most of the inner disciples had been wiped out, and those who remained no longer dared to come to the Martial Arts School to practice for no reason. Practicing at home was slower, but at least it did not put their lives at risk.

When Linderman saw Zhan Liu from a distance, he immediately beamed and greeted him with a smile. "Mr. Zhan, it’s been a long time. Your Martial Arts School is becoming more prosperous by the day."

"Mm." Zhan Liu still replied with a single word.

Linderman did not dare show the slightest dissatisfaction. He continued smiling and flattering him, sending over one grand compliment after another.

Zhan Liu frowned. "Say what you came to say. Don’t waste your breath. I don’t have time for you."

"Uh… It’s like this. I’ve come today because the military has something it would like to ask for your help with." Linderman spoke obsequiously.

"No time." Zhan Liu did not even listen to the rest of his words before shutting down the conversation completely.

Coming to someone else’s home to ask for a favor and arriving empty-handed—this damn foreigner truly understood none of the rules.

Although he did not care about such things, basic courtesy was still necessary.

Whether I want to help is my business, but whether you bring a gift is yours.

Perhaps Linderman thought this was a negotiation, a transaction where both sides would discuss terms. But had he never considered what qualifications he had to negotiate with Zhan Liu?

Could the military or the Federal Government offer any conditions that would satisfy Zhan Liu?

At least until Magnetic Field Force became widespread, Zhan Liu had no desires or demands.

The only prerequisite for Zhan Liu to be willing to help was that the person asking had some bond with him, such as being a friend or disciple.

Of course, whether he would actually do it in the end still depended on his mood.

Just like last time, when Jean and Ororo asked him for help, he normally would not have refused to lend them a hand.

But he had his eye on The Way of Erik, so even without the military’s unnecessary interference, he definitely would not have rescued Erik in the end. Most likely, everyone else would have been saved, with Erik being the only one left behind.

However, after the two of them stood by and watched during the previous fight, he had removed them from his list of friendly people. The next time they came to ask him for help, Zhan Liu definitely would not agree.

With a wave of his hand, Zhan Liu sent Linderman flying, causing him to crash directly into the parking lot.

Linderman endured the pain and climbed to his feet. But this time, he did not dare curse even once. He scurried into his car and drove away.

When he returned to the Pentagon and reported the situation to his superiors, the generals could not help frowning deeply.

This time, they had paid a very high price to drive the tiger to swallow the wolf. They had prepared extremely generous conditions, hoping to move Zhan Liu and make him fight Magneto to the death.

Ideally, they wanted the two unstable factors to perish together.

But Zhan Liu had rejected them without even hearing the terms. The implications behind this made the generals think deeply.

He holds a grudge!

As expected, we’ll still have to find a chance to kill this guy!