Explosion

"Not even a hundred million dollars?"

Nightcrawler stared at Wang Bert with excitement and disbelief. He had never imagined that, in Mr. Wang’s eyes, he was more important than a hundred million dollars.

Having grown up in a circus, Nightcrawler knew very well what a hundred million dollars represented—five hundred dollars was enough to get anyone in the circus to keep you company.

"Bert Wang, just you wait."

Azazel left behind those hateful words and turned to flee, but to his shock, he lost his sense of space, just like last time.

Azazel shouted in panic, "That’s impossible! Bert Wang, when did you tamper with me?"

Wang Bert shrugged. "You mean the spatial seal? I sealed you up while beating you just now. No need to thank me. It’s what I should do."

Wang Bert’s true body was the Space Lord. Using spatial abilities was as easy as drinking water to him. However, this avatar had limited energy; unless he enhanced it with Money Power, it could only seal Azazel for about a day.

"Bert Wang, I’ll never let you off!"

Azazel roared and turned to run. Nightcrawler was speechless. Could he possibly be any more cowardly? Wang Bert turned to Nightcrawler and asked, "This is between you father and son. You can handle it yourselves, right?"

Nightcrawler nodded. "No problem. I’ll capture him and lock him in the academy, then read him the Bible every day until he understands his mission."

Wang Bert was puzzled. "Mission?"

Nightcrawler wore a holy expression as he said, "We mutants are angels sent by God to save the world. I believe he has only been temporarily tempted by the devil. As long as I work hard, he will surely be reborn."

Wang Bert was a little dumbfounded, and a little embarrassed. Someone really believed wholeheartedly in this angel nonsense? Why do I suddenly feel like I’m steeped in sin?

Wang Bert rolled his eyes inwardly and said, "Then Azazel is yours. I’ll go deal with Firebird."

Without waiting for Nightcrawler’s response, Wang Bert vanished. Nightcrawler nodded firmly, teleported beside Azazel, and shouted, "Azazel, stop. I forgive your malice toward me, because you have merely been beguiled by the devil."

"Devil my ass."

A dagger appeared in Azazel’s hand, and he stabbed it at Nightcrawler. Nightcrawler immediately teleported behind Azazel and kicked him in the back. Sensing the movement behind him, Azazel wrapped his tail around Nightcrawler’s right leg and hurled him into the air.

Nightcrawler disappeared midair. When he reappeared, he was already to Azazel’s right. He then wrapped his tail around Azazel’s right leg and flipped him onto the ground.

Thus, father and son began fighting. In terms of combat skill, Nightcrawler was far inferior to Azazel, but fortunately, he could teleport and repeatedly escaped danger.

Meanwhile, in the sky, Psylocke controlled the Green Goblin Glider to dodge nimbly while rapidly swinging the purple whip in her hand. The surrounding fireballs were struck apart one after another, exploding in the air with bang after bang.

"Damn it, why hasn’t BOSS come back yet?"

Drenched in sweat, Psylocke was growing anxious. There were simply too many fireballs, and the temperature around her kept climbing. She could barely hold on.

"Die! All of you, die!"

The two Firebirds attacked frantically, wanting to kill Psylocke before Wang Bert returned, then focus all their strength on killing that bastard Wang Bert.

Without Wang Bert, he would never have fallen to such a state.

Elsewhere, Storm and the other four surrounded and attacked Firebird. Firebird was overwhelmed and wounded repeatedly, but unfortunately, he possessed an immortal body. No matter the injury, a flash of fire healed it immediately.

Storm and the others had no solution for this and could only suppress him for now.

At that moment, the sound of helicopter rotors suddenly came from above. Everyone turned and saw a New York TV Station helicopter flying toward them. The reporters had received word and rushed over to broadcast live.

Reporters were famous for being fast and fearless.

"We can see Ms. Psylocke fighting Firebird, but her situation seems rather unfavorable. She is being pressured by two Firebirds."

The reporter loudly narrated, "Besides Ms. Psylocke, the mutants known as the X-Men have also arrived. Their abilities are very powerful, and they have wounded Firebird repeatedly.

"Also, we have noticed that the residential complex below has become a sea of flames. We do not know whether the people inside managed to escape."

The viewers before their televisions frowned at the live broadcast. Had there been too many disasters lately? They had just killed Senator Cabo, and now another Firebird had appeared? In a bar, one viewer commented, "Ms. Psylocke is still stronger. She can hold back two Firebirds alone, while those so-called X-Men need five people working together to deal with one."

"Of course Ms. Psylocke is strong. I wonder whether Iron Man has arrived? If he has, those Firebirds are dead."

Another viewer spoke, and everyone nodded. Iron Man was the strongest.

"Iron Man’s greatest strength isn’t his combat power, but his ability to make money. Mutant celebrities—what a genius idea."

A potbellied bar patron stared intensely at the mutants on television and muttered, "Fortunately, copying others isn’t illegal. If he can make mutant celebrities, so can I."

At that moment, Firebird, who was being beaten up by Storm and the others, went berserk. He let out a roar, and the flames below flew toward him under his control.

While controlling fierce winds to scatter the flames, Storm shouted, "Human Torch, Iceman, destroy as many flames as you can!"

"Okay."

Human Torch John nodded and did his utmost to extinguish the flames. Iceman Bobby also frantically fired icy blasts. Flames that had frozen solid kept falling to the ground and shattering.

Seeing this, the potbellied patron’s eyes lit up. "Those two mutants have moneymaking potential."

Although Storm and the others gave it their all, most of the flames still flew to Firebird and were absorbed by him. Immediately afterward, Firebird cried out toward the sky, and his body swelled wildly. Storm and Cyclops hurriedly retreated.

Once Firebird’s body had expanded to a certain point, it suddenly exploded, transforming into five Firebirds that beat their wings arrogantly in the air.

Storm and the others’ hearts sank. They could not even take down one, and now there were five. How were they supposed to fight this? "All of you, die!"

The five Firebirds shouted at once. Then, countless fireballs rained down densely upon Storm and the others. There were simply too many fireballs to block, so they could only scatter in every direction, fleeing in a wretched state.

"So many Firebirds?"

The viewers cried out in alarm. The X-Men were in danger. In fact, it was not just the X-Men; Psylocke’s situation was also getting worse and worse.

"Where the hell did BOSS go?"

Psylocke could not help cursing. Their main fighter had vanished at the critical moment—was there anything more infuriating? "Where is Bert Wang? Only he can deal with Firebird."

Storm and the others also kept searching for Wang Bert, but they could not find him at all, as if he had never been there in the first place.

"Hahaha! Bert Wang fears my power and ran away!"

Firebird shouted smugly, "You’re all dead! I’ll burn you into ashes, then I’ll burn all of New York!"

Firebird’s voice was loud enough for the viewers before their televisions to hear. They were deeply shocked. Bert Wang had actually run away? And that guy was planning to burn down New York?

The citizens began to panic, and some were even preparing to flee the city.

One Iron Man fan shouted, "Iron Man would never run away! That bastard Firebird is as good as dead!"

"Sorry, kid, but he already ran."

Someone else replied, and the two sides immediately began arguing. Similar scenes were playing out in many places. Everyone wondered where Iron Man had gone. Just then, the seven Firebirds suddenly sensed something. Their expressions changed dramatically, and they all flew to the left. Psylocke and Storm were stunned for a moment before immediately chasing after them.

"Something seems to have changed. My instincts tell me it has something to do with Iron Man. Let’s catch up and take a look."

The reporter excitedly told the pilot to follow them. Cyclops also wanted to go, but he could not fly, so he turned to Jean and said, "Jean, watch over Iceman and Human Torch. I’ll go help Nightcrawler deal with Azazel."

"Okay."

Jean nodded. Looking at Psylocke’s Green Goblin Glider, she thought to herself, I wonder if Professor Hank can develop a similar flying device? Without one, fighting is very inconvenient.

After following them for a while, they saw Wang Bert in his armor fighting a man whose entire body was engulfed in blazing flames. The flaming man was no match for Iron Man and was being pummeled so badly that even his body had become deformed.

"I told you Iron Man wouldn’t run away."

Iron Man’s fans cheered one after another. The others had nothing to say, because the truth was right before them.

The flaming man shouted at Wang Bert in disbelief, "Impossible! How did you know I was hiding here?"

This flaming man was Major Geli’s true body. As for those Firebirds, they were merely avatars created by his powers. That was why Firebird possessed an immortal body.

It was worth mentioning that Major Geli had secretly hidden himself only after seeing Magneto. He knew very well how terrifying Magneto was.

Wang Bert grabbed the flaming man by the neck and held him high in the air. Then he sneered, "You think your plan was clever? I noticed something wrong with you from the very beginning."

The flames on the Major’s body exploded, forcibly breaking free of Wang Bert’s grip. Then he kicked off the ground, trying to fly into the sky and reunite with the Firebirds.

Wang Bert gave a disdainful smile and opened his palm. A dragon-shaped bolt of lightning blasted into the Major. The Major screamed and crashed to the ground, the flames on his body rapidly fading to reveal his original form.

Wang Bert then pressed the Black Hole Cannon against the Major’s head and said, "Dismiss those Firebirds, or I’ll kill you immediately."

Wang Bert had gone through all this trouble because he wanted to capture the Major alive and obtain information related to God from him.

Otherwise, Wang Bert would have killed this guy long ago.

Facing the icy cannon barrel, the Major chickened out. He shouted, "I surrender! But Bert Wang, don’t think this is the end. This is only the beginning. Knowing the military, we will meet again soon."

Wang Bert sneered disdainfully. "You think I’ll hand you over to the military?"

"Of course you will—"

The Major was about to speak when the energy in his body suddenly went berserk, turning his entire body crimson. Immediately afterward, his body began swelling wildly.

It was not only the major. All the other Firebirds did the same. The major cried out in terror, "No! Master, spare me! Don’t—"

Wang Bert cursed and waved his hand. The pursuing Psylocke and Storm vanished at the same time. Then he teleported into the helicopter and shouted, "Grab onto me!"

The reporter, cameraman, and pilot did not dare hesitate. All three grabbed Wang Bert at once. Wang Bert activated his ability and vanished with them.

Just as Wang Bert teleported away, the Major and the Firebirds exploded with a thunderous boom. The heavens and earth shook as several small mushroom clouds rose.

At the residential complex, Wang Bert appeared out of thin air with the reporter and the pilot. Still shaken, the reporter said gratefully to Wang Bert, "Iron Man, thank you for saving us."

"Don’t get too close next time. These kinds of monsters are very dangerous."

Wang Bert said this while inwardly cursing the Behind-the-Scenes Manipulator’s ruthlessness. He had directly controlled the Major to self-destruct. Now the trail had gone cold again.

"Monsters? Mr. Wang, how much do you know about those Firebirds? And that flaming man just now looked very familiar. Who was he?"

The reporter immediately pressed for answers. The helicopter had been destroyed, so he needed enough material, or the TV station would not let him off.

The cameraman efficiently pointed the camera at Wang Bert. It was worth noting that, without the necessary equipment, he was only recording, not broadcasting live.

"That man was Major Geli, who came to my Recycling Plant a few days ago to tell the truth."

Wang Bert briefly explained, "His superior, General Cassol, wanted to kill him to quiet public opinion. Filled with resentment, he was tempted by the Behind-the-Scenes Manipulator and turned into a demon—the Firebird we saw earlier."

The reporter was both shocked and excited. "General Cassol wanted to kill Major Geli to silence public opinion? That’s utterly inhuman! I must expose his ugly face to the public."

"No need, because Major Geli already killed him. There is a secret base over there. You can go investigate it."

"Good riddance."

The reporter cursed, then continued asking, "Mr. Wang, who is the Behind-the-Scenes Manipulator? And do demons really exist?"

"Demon is only a descriptive term. As for who the Behind-the-Scenes Manipulator is, I don’t know either. I only know that he can tempt humans filled with resentment into becoming demons."

Wang Bert said, "Senator Cabo and Major Geli were both tools under his control."

The reporter cried out, "He can tempt resentful humans into demons? Then isn’t the world in great danger? Resentful people are everywhere."

"Perhaps."

Wang Bert shook his head. "I originally wanted to capture Major Geli alive and question him for information, but as you saw…"

The reporter wanted to ask more, but Wang Bert waved his hand. "This is enough for you to report. I need to deal with the scene."

The reporter knew Wang Bert was helping him and was filled with gratitude. "Thank you, Mr. Wang."

"You’re welcome."

Wang Bert said nothing further. He flew over to Storm and Psylocke and asked, "You weren’t hurt, were you?"

Psylocke shook her head. "No, BOSS. Thanks."

Storm hesitated before asking, "Mr. Wang, will monsters like this really appear often?"

"Most likely. We’re going to be busy from now on."

Wang Bert shook his head and flew into the sky. "Enough talking. I’ll see whether there are any survivors nearby."

"I’ll help you."

Psylocke immediately followed him. Storm sighed and went back to find the other mutants, only to discover that they had already subdued Azazel and were putting out the fire with the survivors.

Storm thought to herself, Although things turned out a little differently than expected, everything went smoothly in the end.