First Battle

Not long after the hundred candidates left, Alex departed as well, flashing back to the Floating Temple. Inside, Emma and Howard were gathered around a display screen, observing something. Alex had specifically brought them in to evaluate these candidate X-Men.

"There’s nothing wrong with that thing, right?" Alex glanced at the flickering, distorted image on the screen and looked at Howard with some concern. Besides taking part in the evaluation, Howard was responsible for technical support, providing surveillance and recording the candidates’ actions.

There was a massive holographic control console in the Floating Temple. It could alter the terrain, climate, and more across most of the Savage Land. Unfortunately, the territory under the Descendants of Atlantis was not included. That plain was displayed on the holographic console, but it could not be altered or even examined.

To observe the candidates’ performance throughout the entire process, Alex had brought in Howard.

Howard solved Alex’s problem in no time at all. It had been so easy that Alex could not help feeling suspicious. The image currently flickering across the display seemed to confirm his doubts.

Howard looked a little embarrassed too. He gave an awkward laugh and buried his head in the device in his hands, not forgetting to defend himself. "Let me calibrate it. It’ll be fixed soon."

After quite a while, Howard finally stopped. The lake on the display screen finally stabilized, though the image was still somewhat blurry.

"This is the best I can do. You’ll have to make do!" Howard turned back to glance at the screen, shrugged helplessly, then pointed at the enormous holographic console before him. "This thing is just too incredible. I still haven’t figured it out."

"This is fine." Alex was not picky. As long as he could tell who was who, see their movements clearly, and hear what they said, that was enough. "Sorry to make you work through the night. I’ll treat you when I get the chance."

Howard rolled his eyes, walked back over, and quickly fixed his gaze on the display.

Three people appeared on the screen. One of them apparently possessed super jumping ability and was carrying the other two along as they leaped continuously between the city’s skyscrapers, leaving streaks of afterimages as they sped forward.

"They know where the base is?" Howard had already heard Alex explain the situation. Seeing the three advance without stopping, he could not help feeling puzzled.

Alex shook his head and explained seriously, "That’s one of the challenges of this mission. I didn’t tell them. But there are telepaths among them, so it isn’t strange for them to find clues so quickly." The candidate X-Men were all exceptionally talented. Alex was not at all surprised that someone had obtained information about the base so quickly. "Let’s look at the others."

Under Howard’s control, the images on the display kept switching. Some groups had many people, seven or eight at most, while others had only one. Some disguised themselves, while others forced their way in with their abilities. Employing every method at their disposal, they all entered Poseidonia within minutes. What came next was the truly crucial part.

After all, telepaths were few among the hundred candidates. Most encountered difficulties with the very first task. They had no choice but to use other methods to obtain information, and this revealed each candidate’s ability to handle problems.

Some asked the Descendants of Atlantis for information. Others searched the city for traces and clues. Still others deliberately caused destruction, seemingly intending to draw Hydra out.

As for the teams with telepaths, after consecutively destroying several of Hydra’s small temporary outposts, they too lost their direction.

As they watched, Alex and the others discussed the candidates and Alex’s plans as well.

"Destroying the underground base probably won’t accomplish much." Alex’s plan was to wipe out every Hydra agent who had entered the Savage Land. If possible, he also wanted to seal off the entrance Hydra had found completely, thoroughly crushing Strucker’s ambitions. Neither Emma nor Howard thought much of Alex’s plan. "Given Strucker’s current situation, he won’t give this place up."

Alex gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "I’d like to kill Strucker and be done with it, but I can’t find him at all." Alex’s current method was merely a temporary measure. As long as Strucker refused to give up on the Savage Land, they would never truly be safe.

"It would be much better if you could fully control that holographic console." As he spoke, Alex pointed again at the huge circular platform behind him and said with some regret, "Then I wouldn’t care how many people he sent. I’d bury one if he sent one, drown a pair if he sent two."

"Not without a few decades." Howard shrugged, his expression calm. "That is, if you can wait that long."

Just as Alex and Howard were joking around, Emma suddenly spoke, looking slightly flustered. "Alex, something’s wrong."

Hearing this, Alex turned to look at Emma in surprise, then followed her finger. At some point, the image on the display had turned into a battlefield.

A five-person candidate team stood pressed back-to-back. Surrounding them were over a hundred people wearing hooded jackets much like beekeepers’ suits, armed with weapons resembling energy guns.

"Damn, I forgot about this!" Alex’s expression changed drastically. Without the slightest hesitation, he vanished from where he stood and appeared in the image on the display.

Alex used Teleportation to arrive directly at the battlefield. He swept his gaze around the area, and his expression relaxed slightly.

The display was black and white, and the image had been blurry. Only upon arriving at the scene did Alex realize that the weapons wielded by these yellow-clad beekeepers were not the energy guns Hydra had commonly used during World War II. Thinking about it, that made sense. Without the Tesseract, what gave Hydra the ability to manufacture energy guns?

Once he confirmed that there would be no major danger, Alex decided not to immediately take the candidates away. Instead, he said, "Rookies, get ready to fight!"

The five-person team could not help growing excited when they saw Alex appear. They were all quite young, around fifteen or sixteen, still students at the academy. In their eyes, Alex was a superhero. Encouraged by him, the five shouted in unison. Then, before Alex could make a move, they had already charged at the beekeepers.

Alex chuckled, shook his head, and swiftly rushed toward the group of beekeepers as well. He did not use any other abilities, fighting solely with the combat techniques he had learned during World War II. Even as he fought, he continued giving instructions, explaining every move—how to exert force, the best timing to strike, and more—using a real battle as the most authentic lesson.

Back in the Floating Temple, Emma’s heart had nearly leaped out of her chest with worry. When she saw Alex and the five quickly deal with the beekeepers, she finally let out a long breath.

Listening to Alex’s voice coming from the display, Emma could not help laughing helplessly. "At a time like this, he’s still teaching?"

"Looks like he really enjoys teaching." Howard watched Alex in the image and said expectantly, "When I have children someday, I’ll definitely ask him to be their teacher."

Emma knew Alex’s intentions very well. He was working so hard at teaching now only so he could slack off more in the future. Hearing Howard’s words, she burst out laughing, shook her head, and said, "I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. When the time comes, he’ll definitely run as far away as possible."

"Then we’ll drag him back!" Howard seemed to have made up his mind as he said confidently.