Human Torch Causes Trouble

Hearing Wang Bert’s words, Cable sighed and said blankly, "I want Jing Jing."

"Who’s Jing Jing? Ahem, I’ll have the butler arrange a room for you. Get some proper rest for a few days first."

Wang Bert coughed and went to the backyard to check on Silver Fox. When the Life Mutant saw him coming, he said with a smile, "BOSS, good news. This lady is out of danger."

"That’s good."

Wang Bert nodded. Wolverine and White Queen both breathed sighs of relief, overwhelmed with emotion. Silver Fox had truly come back to life.

Wang Bert said to Wolverine and White Queen, "I’ve fulfilled my promise to you two."

"BOSS, I’ll work for you until the day you die."

Wolverine patted his chest and promised. White Queen scoffed. "You call that working? You spend every day at Mutant Academy instead of working. Once I become general manager, the first thing I’ll do is cut off your salary."

Wolverine said smugly, "You can’t. I don’t have a bank card. BOSS pays all my wages in cash."

White Queen complained, "What’s there to be proud of? And are you even a modern person? You don’t have a bank card?"

"I’ve lived for more than a hundred and fifty years. My identity was revoked long ago. Forget a bank card—even my driver’s license was bought with money."

Wolverine spread his hands and said helplessly, "It bothers me too. BOSS, can you help me get a legal identity? Silver Fox and I want to buy a house and have children."

"You’re an undocumented immigrant over a hundred years old?"

White Queen was speechless. She gritted her teeth and said, "I’ll never let my sister marry you and suffer alongside you."

"I’ll have Hank restore your identity. That’s what the Mutant Affairs Department is for."

Wang Bert smiled and said, "Emma, what happens between Logan and your sister is ultimately their private matter. You can offer advice, but you can’t control them."

White Queen sneered. "I’ll tell my sister every last thing this bastard has done. For example, how he harassed Cyclops’s girlfriend at Mutant Academy."

Wolverine immediately looked embarrassed, while Wang Bert chuckled. What went around came around.

Silver Fox’s injuries were severe, and it was not until three days later that she could receive visitors. Lying in her hospital bed, she held Wolverine’s hand and said tenderly, "I thought I would never see you again in this lifetime."

"You will. I’ll always be with you."

Wolverine said, "I’m sorry I forgot you all these years."

Silver Fox said gently, "That wasn’t your fault. You were a victim too. Besides, I lied to you back then as well."

Wolverine smiled. "I don’t remember any of that. I only remember that you’re my Moon Goddess."

Silver Fox laughed happily. "From now on, we’ll create even more wonderful memories."

The lovey-dovey display made White Queen uncomfortable all over. She said, "Sis, this guy is no good. I’ll tell you all about it later."

"He is my Wolverine."

Silver Fox turned to White Queen and exclaimed, "Emma, I never expected you to become so beautiful after growing up. Even I feel inferior."

"I spend at least ten million dollars a year on beauty treatments and maintenance. Of course I’m exceptional."

That was why White Queen earned so much money. It was simple: to maintain herself and stay forever young and beautiful.

Wolverine gaped. "Ten million? Is your body made of gold?"

"No, it’s made of diamonds."

White Queen snorted and said, "Sis, this era is much better than before. Recover quickly, and then I’ll take you around to properly enjoy this new age."

Silver Fox said, "As far as I’m concerned, having Logan is enough."

Wolverine said, "I don’t have much savings, but I’ll spend all my money on you. At worst, I’ll mooch cigars off BOSS in the future. He never smokes them anyway; he just leaves them in his office for guests."

"You’ll get fired sooner or later if you keep acting like that."

Silver Fox did not know whether to laugh or cry. She said, "Thank your BOSS for me. Without him, I would have died long ago."

"Once you’re better, I’ll take you to meet him. Come to think of it, he’s been pretty busy lately, holding meetings with the professor and Hank every day. Big shots like them always have endless meetings."

Wolverine said, "I’m better off. I can do whatever I want, and I only need to help him eliminate a few bad guys now and then."

White Queen snorted. In her view, Wang Bert and the professor were simply making trouble for themselves. It was enough to manage their own affairs; why bother with ordinary people? No matter how many times they saved those ordinary people, they would never be grateful. That was human nature.

Wolverine and Silver Fox ignored White Queen and continued showing off their affection. White Queen secretly gritted her teeth. My sister and Logan are deeply in love. It won’t be easy to break them apart.

Hmph. No matter how hard it is, I’ll break them up. Wolverine is a jinx. Those who stay with him never end well.

At the New York Mutant Affairs Department headquarters, Hank, covered in blue fur, said unhappily, "The president sent my report back again. It seems he doesn’t agree with my plan."

"It’s not that he disagrees. He just doesn’t want to deal with it. He’ll be leaving office in three months, and all he wants now is to make money peacefully. He has no desire to stir up trouble."

Wang Bert shrugged and said, "The Mutant Affairs Department forming Guardians to protect America? He can’t avoid that fast enough. Why would he agree?"

"The problem is that the threat of the Evil Believers is right at hand. If we don’t form the Mutant Guardians, a lot of people will die."

Hank said, "Besides, the Guardians can manage mutants and prevent them from causing trouble."

Wang Bert asked with a faint smile, "Gathering a large number of combat-capable mutants and establishing branches in every city… Hank McCoy, what are you planning? Leading mutants in a rebellion?"

Hank froze, then said unhappily, "A rebellion? What rebellion would I lead? I’m doing this to protect America."

"Having the ability to rebel means there is a possibility of rebellion. Unless it is absolutely necessary, those higher-ups will never agree to form the Mutant Guardians."

Wang Bert said, "The president knows that. He doesn’t want to wade into this mess, so he sent your report back."

"Those damned bureaucrats."

Hank cursed, then turned to Wang Bert and asked, "Bert, it’s been almost half a month. Why haven’t those Evil Believers made a move? Given America’s situation, there must be plenty of people who worship Doomsday Master."

"Because they fear me. I can use Teleportation, so no matter where they commit crimes, I can rush there immediately."

Wang Bert said calmly, "That’s why they don’t dare act rashly. If I’m right, they’re building up their strength, and then they’ll have two options.

"The first is to focus all their strength on killing me. Once I’m dead, they can run wild across America. The second is to launch attacks in multiple cities at once. No matter how powerful I am, I’m only one person. I can’t cover that many cities."

Hank said, "I hope they choose the first option."

"Hm?"

Wang Bert turned to look at Hank. Hank smiled awkwardly and said, "With your strength, those Evil Believers can’t do anything to you. No matter how many come, they’ll all die.

"If they choose the second option, far more people will die. No, I need to submit another report and form the Mutant Guardians."

"It’s useless. Unless America suffers devastating losses, the president will never approve your report. If you want to form the Mutant Guardians, you’ll probably have to wait until Acton takes office."

Wang Bert said. Though Acton was a sinister petty man, he had ideals and ambitions. For America’s sake, he would overcome all obstacles to form the Mutant Guardians.

However, Acton would definitely insert some of his own people into it, such as having ordinary humans lead the Mutant Guardians.

Hank said with a headache, "Acton won’t take office that soon. The election is in November, and he can’t officially take office until January next year."

"Then wait patiently."

Wang Bert shrugged. At that moment, he suddenly received a call from Translucent, and his body vanished in an instant.

Hank shook his head. In such a hurry? I hope nothing major happened.

Let us turn the clock back a little. In a bar somewhere in New York, Human Torch John was drinking and playing games with a group of hot girls.

John had been in a terrible mood lately, so he found a group of beautiful female fans to have fun with. As for why he was in such a bad mood, it was simple: the New York Police Department had rejected his application.

"Damn Bert Wang, stopping me from becoming a Super Police again and again."

When John received the news, he cursed furiously. The one who rejected him was not the New York Police Department, but Bert Wang. Approval authority for Super Police had always rested with Wang Bert, and the Director did not dare defy him at all.

Without Bert Wang, New York would have been destroyed who knew how many times already. In New York, Bert Wang’s prestige was growing ever greater, as could be seen from the fact that his merchandise was always sold out.

John had once admired Iron Man, but now he hated him to the bone. In his view, Wang Bert was stopping him because he feared John would surpass him.

Thus, the depressed John called over a group of beautiful female fans to keep him company. Under their enthusiastic attention, his mood gradually improved. This luxurious, decadent life was something he had never even dared dream of before, but now it had all become reality.

"To hell with Iron Man! I’ll definitely surpass him and become New York’s most popular Super Hero!"

John gulped down a mouthful of beer and shouted drunkenly. The beautiful women cried excitedly, "Human Torch is the strongest!"

Translucent, hidden nearby, snorted inwardly. If BOSS hadn’t told me not to act, I would have shoved this bastard’s head into a toilet. Trash like you thinks you can compare to BOSS? BOSS is the Mutant Savior. Without him, you wouldn’t even have the right to stand openly among the crowd.

"Of course I’m the strongest."

John burst into laughter. With a flick of his hand, the candle flame on the table roared to life. The beautiful women were startled at first, then cheered loudly.

Just as everyone was having a good time, the bar’s doors were slammed open with a bang. More than a dozen burly men strode in. Seeing his girlfriend pressed against John, the bald man at the front shouted angrily, "Bertha, what are you doing?"

Bertha had drunk quite a lot and was not fully clear-headed. When she saw her boyfriend arrive, not only was she unafraid, she cried excitedly, "Honey, I’m keeping Human Torch company. I like him so much."

"You’re coming back with me."

The bald man glared hatefully at Human Torch John, then walked over and tried to pull Bertha away.

John was in the middle of having fun. How could he allow someone else to take away his woman? He slapped away the bald man’s hand and shouted unhappily, "What are you doing? Can’t you see she doesn’t want to leave?"

"Human Torch, you stole our jobs, and now you want to steal our women too?"

A burly man behind the bald man roared angrily. The others also glared hatefully at John—they had all once been Firefighters.

"Jobs? Oh, you’re those losers."

John suddenly understood. He said arrogantly, "Your jobs were taken because you’re useless. Your girlfriends were taken for the same reason. This world belongs to strong people like me."

"Go to hell!"

The bald man flew into a rage and smashed his fist into John’s face. John was sent flying straight onto a sofa.

The bald man had no intention of continuing the fight. He grabbed Bertha’s hand and shouted, "Let’s go!"

"Stop right there!"

John climbed off the sofa, his eyes bloodshot as he shouted, "What the hell are you? How dare you hit me?"

The bald man snorted. "So what if I hit you? People like you deserve to be beaten. You were never a hero. You’re just an asshole. The real Super Hero is Iron Man. He has always been helping us, unlike you, who only knows how to cause trouble."

"That’s right! You’re not a Super Hero. Iron Man is the real Super Hero!"

The Firefighters all shouted. John was already deeply dissatisfied with Wang Bert, and hearing that made him explode with rage. He raised both hands, and the candle flames on the table floated into the air, forming a fireball that crashed toward the bald man.

The bald man was shocked and hurriedly dodged, but the clothes on his arm were still set alight, blazing fiercely. The Firefighters were both alarmed and furious. Some helped their companion put out the fire, while others charged toward John.

"Die! All of you, die!"

John was beginning to lose control as he prepared to strike back with the flames. At that moment, a figure appeared out of thin air. Seeing the situation in the bar, he grabbed a stool beside him and smashed it over John’s head. John’s eyes rolled back, and he fell straight down.

Then Wang Bert circled a finger, and a spatial portal appeared out of thin air. A torrent of seawater poured down from above, extinguishing the flames on the bald man’s arm.

"Mr. Wang."

When the Firefighters saw Wang Bert, they all stopped and greeted him—they were employees of Rebirth Group.

"Call the police and have them handle this matter."

Wang Bert said to the Firefighters, "When the police arrive, tell them exactly what happened. You don’t need to worry about anything. You’re employees of Rebirth Group. The legal department will help you."

"Thank you, Mr. Wang."

The Firefighters said gratefully. Wang Bert had not only saved them, but also stood up for them. He truly deserved to be called Iron Man.

Wang Bert nodded. At that moment, Translucent’s voice sounded in his ear. "BOSS, someone over there is quietly slipping away. He was secretly recording earlier."

Wang Bert snorted. "So it really was a trap. No wonder everything was such a coincidence."

Translucent asked quietly, "BOSS, should I take him down and force him to reveal the Behind-the-Scenes Manipulator?"

"Follow him and find his contact. As for the recording, it isn’t important. I don’t intend to cover up what happened tonight, though doing so would not be difficult for me."

Wang Bert said, "This is a good opportunity to use John’s incident to accomplish something."

Translucent was a little worried. "BOSS, the Behind-the-Scenes Manipulator will definitely make a big deal out of this."

Wang Bert said, "It’s not a major problem. No one died, after all. Translucent, we have you to thank this time. If all these Firefighters had been burned to death, that would have been a serious problem."

Stealing the Firefighters’ jobs, taking their wives, and then burning the Firefighters to death—if that had truly happened, the image of mutants would have plummeted. The Behind-the-Scenes Manipulator’s heart was black indeed.