High Evolutionary Captured

Red Skull and Sebastian Shaw exchanged a look, their expressions extremely grim. Neither had expected the X-Men to have grown so powerful. By the look of it, they were even stronger than the forces under their own command.

While Red Skull, Sebastian Shaw, and the others secretly discussed countermeasures, Nick and Natasha beside Alex were equally baffled. Because of their special relationship with Alex, they knew the X-Men’s strength well. Every one of them was exceptionally capable in battle, but there definitely weren’t this many of them!

"What’s going on?" Nick covertly glanced at Alex, his face expressionless, though his single eye was filled with deep confusion.

The smile on Alex’s face remained unchanged, but he answered through Mind Telepathy, his voice somewhat ethereal. "Some are illusions. They’re fake."

Nick’s single eye widened at once. He turned to look at the X-Men, who had nearly surrounded the entire area, and tried hard to distinguish the real from the fake. Unfortunately, he could not tell at all. In Nick’s eyes, every one of them was real; they were so lifelike that he could even sense their breathing!

Red Skull and the others had not noticed anything amiss either. After some discussion, they seemed to have come up with a plan, and Red Skull was pushed forward.

"What do you want, Alex?!" There was no expression on Red Skull’s blood-red skull face as he stared coldly at Alex. The specially made pistol in his hand never lowered.

Alex frowned at that, then gave a careless smile and said casually, "What if I said I wanted to use this chance to wipe all of you out?"

"Then let’s see if you’ve got the nerve. At worst, we’ll both go down together!" Red Skull’s sunken eye sockets twitched sharply before returning to normal. He looked calmly at Alex and said threateningly, "Besides, these are probably all the X-Men you have. If they’re gone, then you’ll truly have nothing left!"

The X-Mansion had suffered a terrible disaster, and the X-Men had nearly been wiped out. Though they had made tremendous progress over the past decade or so, there could be no more than the people before them. Population was their greatest limitation. If even some of them died or were injured, it would be a devastating blow. Hydra and the Hellfire Club were different. Their foundations ran far deeper, and they had countless subordinates. Even if this group were wiped out, it would be no more than plucking a single hair.

Alex’s expression changed immediately, but inwardly he was overjoyed. He had never intended to clash head-on with Red Skull and the others. Their bringing it up themselves was exactly what he wanted.

"What do you want, then?!" Alex forced his brows together, putting on a look of barely contained fury. His eyes practically seemed to be spitting fire.

"We each take a step back!" Red Skull’s face brightened. After putting on airs for a moment, he said slowly, "You let us go, and we won’t interfere with the matter of the High Evolutionary!" The High Evolutionary was important, but compared with their own lives, Red Skull, Sebastian Shaw, and the others cared more about themselves.

Alex’s expression grew even uglier. After hesitating for a long time, he let out a long sigh and said as though deeply unwilling, "The Sage, let them go!" The Sage possessed an extraordinarily powerful mind comparable to a computer, and she was also the X-Men’s apparent leader this time, as could be seen from where she stood.

The expressionless Sage was silent for a moment, then nodded and waved for the X-Men to open a gap.

The gap was huge. People from Hydra, the Hellfire Club, and the other factions immediately surged through it. Red Skull, Sebastian Shaw, and the others took the lead and ran out first.

In less than ten minutes, the vast valley was completely deserted. Only the X-Men and the lone High Evolutionary in the center remained.

In truth, the High Evolutionary had tried to fight his way out, but under Alex’s control, he had no ability to resist at all. He could only stand obediently where he was and await his final judgment.

The High Evolutionary was not Apocalypse, much less Adam. His genetic modification of himself was still at a very primitive stage and focused more on physical alterations. Though he was immensely powerful and could even fight Apocalypse to a draw, some of his abilities were terribly weak, such as his psionic abilities.

"Let’s head back too!" Alex turned and swept his gaze around. His Psionic Power instantly enveloped the entire valley, and Teleportation activated at once, taking everyone away.

When they appeared again, they had already returned to Alex City.

"Charles, you did exceptionally well!" The moment they returned to Alex City, Alex immediately looked toward Charles among the crowd, his face full of praise. Creating the illusions to intimidate Red Skull and the others had all been Charles’s work, and he had played an incomparably vital role in completing the task.

Charles smiled with pursed lips and pointed to a winged girl beside him. "We also had to thank Sprite for her illusion dust. Combined with my Psionic Ability, that was how we managed to fool them."

Alex looked at the girl called Sprite. She was tiny and adorable, especially with those transparent wings on her back. She really did have the look of a little sprite.

"Thank you, Sprite!" Alex thanked her with great sincerity. This time, they truly had to thank her. Otherwise, things would have been genuinely dangerous.

Sprite gave a radiant smile, her pretty little face filled with excitement. "It was what I should have done. I’m an X-Man!"

Alex chuckled, then turned to Charles and instructed him seriously, "Charles, keep a close eye on Alex City’s defenses lately. I’m worried they’ll send people to infiltrate us. They may not know we’re here yet, but it’s better to be cautious."

Having said that, Alex carried the High Evolutionary away. Before he had gone more than a few steps, Emma came up to meet him, with Audrey and the other women beside her. Crystal was among them as well.

"Looks like you got a good haul!" Seeing Alex return safely, Emma secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She then looked at the High Evolutionary in Alex’s grasp, and her eyes immediately lit up. "This is the High Evolutionary?"

Alex nodded, but his brows unconsciously furrowed. After pondering for a moment, he looked troubled. "Lock him up first. Keep him under strict guard!"

Given Alex’s current temperament, he should have eliminated every potential threat. A menace like the High Evolutionary absolutely could not be allowed to remain. Yet Alex was reluctant to discard the High Evolutionary’s abilities. His research into genetics was of immense significance to mutants, and that was precisely why Red Skull, Sebastian Shaw, and the others had fought so fiercely over him.

But Alex did not feel at ease using him directly, either. The High Evolutionary was no good person. If he harbored any malicious intentions, there would be nothing anyone could do. Left with no choice, Alex could only lock him up for the time being.

Emma was not surprised in the slightest. She also understood the High Evolutionary’s significance, so she nodded and began arranging for people to take him away.

After watching the High Evolutionary being taken away, Emma sighed softly and said with a bitter smile, "We can’t keep him locked up forever."

"Actually, we can send someone to learn from him in secret." Before Alex could speak, Charles strode over, explaining as he walked, "The High Evolutionary’s value isn’t the man himself, but his vast and extraordinary knowledge of genetics. As long as we can learn his knowledge…"

Before Charles could finish, Alex excitedly slapped his thigh and cut him off, unable to contain himself. "That’s a great idea!"

It truly was a good idea, but unfortunately, it eventually led to a series of unforeseen "accidents"!

I’d originally wanted to maintain my perfect attendance, but I didn’t expect to be late on the very first day…