Guidance (Part 1)

Hearing Alex’s assessment, the ever-proud Remy felt somewhat displeased. Disregarding Alex’s status, he snorted and threw more than a dozen playing cards at once, covering a large area in front of Alex. The spinning cards flew straight ahead, accelerating as they went, the energy within them steadily increasing—far stronger than the previous card.

Alex frowned slightly, shifting his gaze from the dozen cards to Remy. He asked curiously, "You can’t control their flight?"

Remy had not expected Alex to spot the weakness of his ability at a glance. He immediately lost all interest in sparring, awkwardly lowering his hands with a bitter smile. "I have no way to control them."

Alex said nothing more. With a wave of his hand, he gathered all the cards into his grasp. After carefully sensing them for a moment, he casually threw one out. The card flew straight ahead, then exploded after traveling several meters without Alex deliberately controlling it.

"Let me try again!" Alex’s interest in sparring gradually faded, replaced by a powerful fascination with Remy’s cards.

A moment later, Alex threw out another playing card. This time, however, he continuously controlled the energy inside it, using that energy to direct its flight.

Under Alex’s control, the card’s flight path became intricate. It moved like a ghost, disappearing from sight with the slightest lapse in attention. By the time someone reacted, it had already exploded beside them.

Not many people knew Alex possessed Energy Control. Seeing him so quickly gain perfect control over Remy’s cards, many people in the crowd could not help crying out in amazement.

Remy was among the few who knew about Alex’s ability. The moment he saw Alex’s actions, he thought of Energy Control. He was not overly surprised, only somewhat envious.

But when Alex threw out the third playing card, Remy’s expression finally changed, his face full of astonishment.

After the third came the fourth, the fifth…

The noisy sports field gradually fell silent. Everyone stared blankly as playing cards continued to fly from Alex’s hand. Beginning with the third card, its stiff, tiny curves gradually developed until the final card swept smoothly through a vast, graceful arc, circling from in front of Remy to behind him.

In the stands, Emma wore a faint smile as her beautiful eyes remained fixed on Alex in the center of the field, carrying a trace of pride and showmanship. "I knew he would be an excellent teacher!" From Remy’s expression shifting from shock to admiration, Emma saw his longing. That was precisely what a teacher needed to do: kindle a student’s desire to learn and improve. Alex had done it.

"If you control the force and angle properly, the cards can fly in an S-shape, or along even more complicated trajectories." Tessa, beside Emma, pursed her lips and instinctively added a comment. After realizing Alex’s intention, Tessa had begun calculating with her computer-like mind. Countless flight paths, along with the necessary force and angles, appeared in her head.

Emma paused slightly and turned to Tessa. "Later, you should teach at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters too!" Only after Tessa said this did Emma realize she had been wasting Tessa’s abilities all along. With a computer-like mind capable of high-speed, massive calculations and processing, Tessa could save an unknown amount of time if she applied it to teaching. Take Remy’s ability, for example—if Tessa guided him, he would surely master control over his cards’ flight paths very quickly.

On the sports field, Alex used up all the dozen or so cards. He turned toward Remy with a bright smile, as though much of the pent-up irritation in his chest had been released.

Remy looked at Alex gratefully and gave him a solemn bow. "Thank you for your guidance, Teacher!"

Alex nodded casually, then looked around and called out loudly, "Who’s next?"

In an instant, tens of thousands across the field erupted, crazed to rush into the arena. It had originally only been a sparring match. Though quite a few people had dared to take the field, the enthusiasm had never been this intense. But now there was guidance in addition to sparring, and no one could remain calm. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Many people with weaker abilities and lesser strength were eager to make a move.

As the scene grew increasingly chaotic, the agitation Alex had just suppressed inexplicably surged back up. A nameless fury flared within him. Had he not retained some reason, he might have erupted on the spot.

Even so, the anger on Alex’s face was unmistakably real, and even his voice carried a trace of fire. "All of you, sit down!"

With those words, carrying a faint but furious authority, the noisy sports field instantly fell silent. Everyone obediently returned to their seats, sitting upright and not daring to make the slightest move.

In the stands, a trace of surprise unconsciously flashed across Emma’s smiling face. Alex’s temper was not particularly good, but neither was it bad. His sudden anger was rather inexplicable—and somewhat strange.

Just as Emma was about to ask about it, she discovered that Alex had returned to normal. There was not the slightest trace of anger left on his face.

While Emma was thoroughly puzzled, Alex welcomed his second challenger: Darwin, who had joined them alongside Charles.

Ever since the Cuban Missile Crisis, after bringing Charles and the others in, Alex had rarely interacted with them, apart from occasionally seeking out Alex to use his Replication Ability. Thus, when he saw that the newcomer was Darwin, Alex was exceptionally enthusiastic, as though making up for his neglect over the past half year.

Darwin was startled by Alex’s enthusiasm. Only after waiting for Alex to calm down did he finally speak. "Mr. Alex, what do you think I should do in the future?"

Darwin’s Mutant Ability was Reactive Evolution. In theory, it was nearly immortal, and it was one of the abilities Alex envied most. But it had to be said that Darwin’s ability was both extraordinary and remarkably useless. In combat, it was practically worthless except in certain special environments.

Thinking about Darwin’s ability, Alex frowned slightly and said after some consideration, "Let’s spar first and see." Although Alex knew about Darwin’s ability, he had never personally witnessed how Reactive Evolution actually worked.

Hearing Alex say that, Darwin hesitated. Restricted by his ability, the CIA had mainly trained him in hand-to-hand combat. But compared to Alex, his skill was simply far too lacking. How could Darwin not feel embarrassed?

"Don’t worry. I just want to see your ability and its potential." Seeing through Darwin’s thoughts, Alex smiled and comforted him. "How strong an ability is matters, but its potential matters just as much."

Hearing Alex say this, Darwin no longer hesitated. He assumed a fighting stance and lunged at Alex first.