Hellfire Club

Black Phoenix’s words left Wang Bert deeply puzzled. "With Wanda and Scarlet Witch’s strength, who could possibly hurt her?"

Black Phoenix replied, "Help me break free of the seal, and I’ll tell you everything. Otherwise, just wait to regret it for the rest of your life."

"If she were really going to die, you wouldn’t be talking to me this much. Black Phoenix, I’m not as stupid as you think."

Wang Bert snorted and conjured a stack of banknotes. "Repair the Mind Barrier."

The previously damaged Mind Barrier instantly returned to normal. Black Phoenix said irritably, "If this were the previous cycle, your method really could have sealed me. But this is already the next cycle. I have my complete memories now. The Mind Barrier can’t contain me."

"Is that why you can control Jean?"

Wang Bert said, "Black Phoenix, tell me about Wanda. My true body can grant you one condition. I mean my true body—Space Lord, Lord of Blood, Creator God, Bert Wang."

"Creator God’s promise?"

Black Phoenix was somewhat surprised. She smiled. "If it were anyone else, I really would agree. After all, that’s a promise from the Creator God. But I won’t, because I am Black Phoenix. No one can force me to do anything I don’t want to do. No one."

"There’s no such thing as absolute impossibility in this world."

Wang Bert condensed a banknote and sent it before the barrier. "Black Phoenix, when you’ve thought it through, destroy this banknote."

"Bert Wang, I’ll be waiting for you to beg me."

Black Phoenix sneered. "Wanda not only failed to advance to Creator God, but also suffered a backlash that left her seriously injured. Without your help, she’s dead for sure."

"Isn’t that exactly what you want?"

Wang Bert sneered, waved his hand, and left the mind space. Black Phoenix gritted her teeth, her heart filled with rage and jealousy.

"Wanda, I’ll definitely steal your man. Whatever I, Black Phoenix, want, I will get."

Black Phoenix’s voice echoed madly through the mind space. She was Jean’s negative personality. The kinder Jean was, the more evil she was.

In the real world, Wang Bert rose from the ground, worry flashing through his eyes. Black Phoenix was definitely lying—there was no doubt about that—but Wanda’s condition was probably truly not good. Otherwise, she would not have avoided meeting him all this time.

He had to find a way to get information about Wanda from Black Phoenix and Original Sin. It was important.

"Black Phoenix is a bit troublesome. It would be better to make a breakthrough through Original Sin."

After thinking for a moment, Wang Bert used Money Power to place a mental suggestion on Jean—a suggestion that everything that had just happened was merely a dream.

Jean’s love life was far too complicated, and Wang Bert had no interest in getting involved. He was a good man, after all.

Then, with a wave of his hand, Wang Bert sent Jean back to the Medical Room and made it look like she had been taking a nap.

After doing all that, Wang Bert returned to his office. Being Secretary of Defense was no easy task. Leaving aside everything else, the mountain of accumulated documents alone gave Wang Bert a massive headache.

But Wang Bert had to read them. Only by understanding everything clearly could he completely take control of America’s military.

Half an hour later, Jean slowly woke up in the Medical Room. Recalling the dream she had just had, her face could not help turning red. What was going on? Why had she had such a dream? Jean looked bewildered. "I do admire Iron Man, but I don’t have feelings for him. Why would I dream about kissing him? And why was I the one who kissed him first?"

"Perfect opportunity."

Within the mind space, Black Phoenix sent a wisp of flame into Jean’s consciousness. A thought suddenly surfaced in Jean’s mind. Could she have a crush on Iron Man? "That’s impossible. I like Scott."

Jean shook her head, stopped thinking about it, and got up to prepare for her afternoon classes.

"This is a seed. From now on, you’ll dream about Iron Man every night. Then this seed will sprout and grow, making you truly fall in love with Iron Man."

Black Phoenix muttered to herself, "You’re a conservative person. You can’t accept falling for someone else, so you’ll suppress your love for Iron Man. The problem is, suppression will make you suffer.

"The more you suffer, the stronger my power becomes. Sooner or later, I’ll break the seal and reclaim everything that should have been mine.

"Iron Man, wait for me. It won’t be long before I come for you. When that happens, I’ll let you know just how hot I am.

"Hahaha, Wanda, your man is mine."

The name of this plan was self-conquest, or self-attack for short!…

Naturally, Wang Bert had no idea Black Phoenix was preparing to set him up. His head hurt from reading documents, so he decided to visit the Hellfire Club.

"There’s definitely something wrong with the Hellfire Club. I need to make some preparations."

Wang Bert took out a stack of banknotes and used Money Power to divine Black King’s trump card. To his surprise, he did not have enough money.

"I can currently use hundreds of millions in funds, and it’s still not enough? Could there be an ancient god behind Black King? Who could it be? Apocalypse?"

Wang Bert frowned deeply, but he had no intention of giving up on his visit to the Hellfire Club. He had to get to the bottom of this, lest someone sit back and reap the benefits.

As for whether the other side might kill him, Wang Bert’s answer was that no one on this planet could kill him.

After thinking for a moment, Wang Bert used Money Power again. "Give me two hundred million dollars’ worth of good luck."

Two hundred million dollars vanished directly from Wang Bert’s account. At the same time, he felt as if he had become the world’s chosen one, as though everything he did would go exceptionally smoothly.

It was no illusion. This was the good luck he had exchanged for two hundred million dollars. Until the two hundred million dollars’ worth of luck ran out, the goddess of fortune would remain by Wang Bert’s side.

"This luck won’t just work against Black King. It will work against Original Sin as well. That guy is probably planning some major move."

Wang Bert did not waste time. He got up and teleported to the entrance of the Hellfire Club in Las Vegas. Then he said to the attendant at the door, "Tell Black King I’m here."

"Iron Man, please wait a moment."

Seeing Wang Bert appear out of nowhere, the attendant secretly swallowed and hurried inside to report it.

A moment later, the scantily dressed Angel came out. She looked Wang Bert up and down and said, "I never expected Iron Man himself to grace us with his presence. Where’s Emma? Didn’t you bring her along?"

Wang Bert said flatly, "I don’t want her to see anything too bloody."

Wang Bert had originally planned to bring Wolverine and the others to attack the Hellfire Club, but now that he knew the Hellfire Club was dangerous, he naturally would not create unnecessary complications.

For Wang Bert, who possessed spatial abilities, acting alone was more convenient.

Angel’s gaze sharpened, and she snorted. "Iron Man, you want to wipe out our Hellfire Club all by yourself? Isn’t that a little too arrogant?"

"Whether I’m arrogant or not isn’t for you to judge."

Wang Bert said coldly, "Where is Black King? I don’t want to waste time."

Angel secretly gritted her teeth. "Black King is waiting for you inside. If you’ve got the guts, follow me."

With that, Angel turned and walked inside. Wang Bert said nothing and strode after her.

In the most luxurious lounge of the Hellfire Club, Black King led over a dozen Elite Mutants in welcoming Wang Bert. He smiled. "Iron Man, I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time."

As Black King spoke, the others glared at Wang Bert with hostile expressions. Some were even itching to make a move against him.

"Sorry, but I have no desire to meet you at all."

Though the difference in numbers between the two sides was enormous, Wang Bert showed not the slightest fear. He asked sternly, "Black King, was it your order for Shadow to assassinate Brigadier General Lance?"

Seeing Wang Bert being so impolite, Black King could not be bothered with nonsense either. "So what if it was?"

Wang Bert sneered. "Then you’re all under arrest. If you resist, I’ll be more than happy to send you to meet God."

Black King laughed in fury. "Iron Man, do you think you can wipe out the entire Hellfire Club by yourself?"

All the mutants took a step forward in unison, glaring at Wang Bert with killing intent.

"Isn’t that obvious?"

Wang Bert said, "I’m busy. For the sake of us both being mutants, I’ll give you one last chance. Surrender."

"Iron Man, die!"

Angel, who had long been displeased, opened her mouth and fired bolts of light at Wang Bert. Wang Bert waved his hand, and the light bolts abruptly appeared behind Angel, smashing toward her back.

Seeing this, Black King immediately raised an arm to block the light bolts. The bolts sank directly into his arm and vanished.

"Kill him!"

Black King shouted. He refused to believe the Hellfire Club could not deal with an Iron Man without his armor.

At Black King’s command, the Elite Mutants attacked together. Hydro thrust both hands forward, sending a dense swarm of wind blades into a small tornado that swept toward Wang Bert.

Mist dispersed his body into fog, lingering around Wang Bert as he prepared to launch a sneak attack.

Empath’s eyes turned white as he tried to pull Wang Bert into an illusion.

Flame Controller clapped his hands, and massive flames burst from beneath Wang Bert’s feet, intending to burn him to death.

Space Disruptor interfered with the surrounding space, preventing Wang Bert from using Teleportation. He sneered. "Iron Man, sorry, but I’m your nemesis."

"Iron Man, you’re too arrogant. Not only did you come without helpers, you didn’t even wear your armor. You’re dead today."

Black King looked smug. One reason he had dared provoke Wang Bert was Space Disruptor. Without his armor and spatial abilities, Iron Man was no different from an ordinary person.

"Nemesis?"

Wang Bert could not help bursting into laughter. He snapped his fingers, and the void twisted. The small tornado appeared directly beside Space Disruptor, who screamed miserably as though he were suffering Death by a Thousand Cuts.

Immediately afterward, Wang Bert clapped his hands. Aside from Black King, Angel, and Mist, all the other Elite Mutants vanished. He had transferred them ten thousand meters into the sky.

Seeing everyone else disappear, Mist was startled. He wrapped Wang Bert’s body in fog, then viciously drove a dagger into Wang Bert’s head.

Wang Bert teleported aside. Then he lightly tapped the void with a finger. The void shook, and Mist let out a scream, materializing on the ground as he continuously vomited blood.

Black King and Angel’s expressions became incomparably grave. Neither had expected that the enormous Hellfire Club would be unable to hold off Iron Man for even one minute.

The Hellfire Club only recruited Elite Mutants.

"Black King, I really want to know whether you can absorb Space Energy."

As Wang Bert questioned him coldly, he controlled space to form a hammer that knocked Angel flying into the wall. She fell to the ground.

"Sorry, I can absorb Space Energy. In fact, I can absorb all forms of energy. I, Black King, have never lost. Even Magneto cannot defeat me."

Black King snorted and raised his hand, firing the light bolts he had absorbed earlier at Wang Bert. Wang Bert formed a gun with his hand and fired a shot at Black King. A black sphere shot out and instantly swallowed the light bolts.

Immediately afterward, the black sphere slammed into Black King and transformed into a black hole. Black King placed both hands beside the black hole and exerted himself to absorb its energy. Phantom images of him continuously appeared around him, making the scene look exceptionally surreal.

"As expected of Black King."

Seeing the black hole gradually shrink, Wang Bert nodded. If Black King were not so selfish, he could definitely become the third pole of mutantkind. His strength was no weaker than Magneto’s and the others’.

"Unfortunately, you ran into me."

Wang Bert raised his hand and guided Space Energy into the black hole. The shrinking black hole rapidly expanded. Black King’s expression changed, and he hurriedly intensified his absorption.

"Space Power is infinite, Black King. How much can you absorb?"

Wang Bert sneered. Black King roared, and a pair of spatial wings suddenly spread from his back. Then vast amounts of spatial light transformed into blades and shot toward Wang Bert.

Black King shouted, "Iron Man, I can take in energy, and I can release it too. If you want to kill me, your Space Energy is far from enough."

"Space will not attack its master."

Wang Bert shook his head. The next moment, all the spatial blades turned around and shot toward Black King. Moreover, the spatial wings behind Black King exploded, transforming into two enormous spatial rifts that slashed at him.

Black King’s expression changed. He did everything he could to absorb the surrounding Space Energy, but there was simply too much of it, and he could not release it. His body gradually began to swell.

"Want more? I don’t mind giving you some."

Wang Bert smiled. Black King’s expression became hideous. He knew Wang Bert was strong, but he had never imagined he would be this strong. Without even using the Iron Man Armor, he had forced him into a desperate situation.

At that moment, Black King, who had always thought highly of himself, finally understood just how vast the difference between himself and Iron Man was. They were not on the same level at all.

Black King was powerful. Aside from Magneto and Professor X, most mutants were no match for him. Unfortunately, Wang Bert was even stronger.

On the verge of exploding, Black King cried out in terror, "Save me!"

Before Black King’s words had even finished, time around them abruptly froze. Whether it was the black hole or Wang Bert, everything stopped.

Then, an annoyed child’s voice shouted, "Why are you yelling? I told you long ago that I wanted to sleep and not to call me. Huh? Blood God!"

Wang Bert’s consciousness quickly broke free from time’s restraints. He asked with his psychic power, "You know me?"

"Of course I know you, you bastard."

A child who flickered between existence and nonexistence suddenly appeared in front of Wang Bert. Puffing out his cheeks in anger, he shouted, "Do you know how badly you screwed me over? Blood God, you’re too awful."

"I screwed you over? Who are you?"

Wang Bert asked, "Come to think of it, your state is quite interesting. It’s like you’re in this spacetime, but also like you aren’t."

"Interesting my ass! Why do you think I’m like this? Isn’t it all thanks to you?"

The child gritted his teeth. Wang Bert was stunned. "Thanks to me? What do you mean? Kid, this is our first time meeting, isn’t it?"