Mutants, Money Power

"No, I’m not going. There’s no point. With your strength and wisdom, dealing with Mutant Planet definitely won’t be a problem."

Ancient One waved her hand and said, "I’m going back to focus on severing the light and dark divine sparks, returning to the Ancient One I used to be."

Both the Lord of Light and the Lord of Darkness were gods. Ancient One had fused with them before in order to increase her strength and protect Earth.

Now that she was no longer needed, she naturally had to return to normal. She, Ancient One, had always been one person—a person of Earth.

Hearing this, Wang Bert asked, "Master, do you need me to prepare a new body for you?"

"No need. I’ve already prepared a new body."

Ancient One shook her head. Then, as if she had thought of something, she looked at Wang Bert and said approvingly, "Bert, well done. You are my most outstanding disciple."

Wang Bert said respectfully, "Thank you for your praise, Master. Without you, I wouldn’t be where I am today."

"That is your own capability."

Ancient One said no more. She transformed into black-and-white light and vanished.

The projection asked, "Why does Master’s departing figure seem a little lonely?"

Wang Bert smiled. "Because she didn’t get a chance to appear. According to the script, I should have been driven into a desperate situation, then she would descend from nowhere to help me, and finally sacrifice herself to fulfill me."

The projection mocked, "And then your Little Universe erupts, and you chop Galactus to death? Main body, isn’t your script a little too cliché?"

"It is a little cliché, but Master has always been an old-school person."

Wang Bert smiled. At that moment, a white fist appeared behind both him and the projection, knocking them hard on the head.

"Master, you were actually eavesdropping?"

Wang Bert complained. Ancient One could not be bothered to answer. Her consciousness completely departed—she was lonely because she had spent the past few years working for nothing.

"Being too outstanding is a sin too."

Wang Bert shrugged and sighed. "Still, having a master like this is really nice."

The projection asked, "Enough narcissism. You’ve seen her. When are we leaving?"

"It’s just a drop of blood. We can leave whenever."

Wang Bert flicked out a drop of origin blood and let it float in the air. Then, he withdrew most of its power to keep the blood from being unable to pass through the barrier.

Once everything was ready, Wang Bert waved his hand, and the blood flew straight toward Mutant Planet.

Mutant Planet’s defensive barrier did not stop the drop of blood. Wang Bert narrowed his eyes slightly. It really had been designed that way.

A moment later, Wang Bert frowned. The projection asked, "Main body, what happened?"

"My connection with that drop of blood has become extremely weak. I can only sense that it exists; I can’t sense what is happening to it."

Wang Bert muttered, "Wanda, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Mutants were special humans with genetic mutations. Before awakening, they were no different from ordinary humans. Once they awakened, they gained special abilities or underwent physical mutations.

Most mutants awakened during adolescence. When they awakened, they often caused enormous destruction because they could not control their powers. On top of that, some mutants frequently used their superpowers to do evil. Over time, ordinary people came to hate mutants intensely.

How intense was that hatred? If a son was a mutant, his parents would throw him out of the house and curse him as a demon.

Why did Wang Bert know this so clearly? Because he had just been kicked out of his home half a month ago.

"There’s actually a character setting? Wanda, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Wang Bert, who had just turned eighteen, complained. After entering this world, he had not only gained a new body, but also a background setting. He was almost no different from the "natives."

It was worth mentioning that Wang Bert’s new body had been created using his blood as a template. In other words, he was still himself. This was neither transmigration nor body possession.

At that moment, a piece of information suddenly surfaced in Wang Bert’s mind.

Bert Wang, Omega Mutant, Space Lord, Lord of Blood.

Space Lord abilities: teleportation, storage space, Spatial Exile.

Lord of Blood ability: As long as a single drop of blood remains, I will never die.

Mutant ability: Money Power—give me enough money, and I can destroy the universe.

Goddess's Blessing: ???

"Money Power? I like this mutant ability."

Wang Bert could not help laughing. If Wanda had not deliberately arranged this mutant ability for him, he would buy a block of tofu and smash his head into it.

In other words, Wanda was probably fine. That was undoubtedly good news.

"Wait, what is Goddess’s Blessing? Why is it a question mark?"

After thinking for a moment, Wang Bert temporarily put the matter aside and turned toward a nearby alley, where a white homeless man was sitting on the ground folding newspapers.

"Sir, could you give me one of today’s newspapers?"

Wang Bert asked. He wanted to know what year it was and how far the plot had progressed.

This time, Wang Bert had two goals in entering Mutant Planet. One was to bring his wife back. He had raised her for several years, so he could not just lose her.

The other was to completely solve Mutant Planet’s problems. To do that, he first had to become the mutants’ leader. Only then would those mutants listen to him.

The white homeless man raised his head, revealing a face covered in scales. Wang Bert was naturally not frightened. He said, "An Epsilon Mutant."

Mutant classifications were different from the crude classifications in the movies. There were eight levels in total, with Omega Mutants being the strongest. Their representatives were Phoenix at her peak and Iceman.

Professor X and Magneto were one level below, Alpha-Level Mutants. The specifics would be explained in detail later.

As for Epsilon Mutants, they were mutants whose evolution had failed. They generally had serious defects, like the white homeless man before him. Around twenty percent of mutants belonged to this level.

"An Epsilon Mutant?"

The white homeless man did not understand mutant classifications. Somewhat surprised, he asked, "Kid, are you a mutant too? No wonder you’ve been wandering around this area these past few days. Your family kicked you out, didn’t they?"

"Yes. After they learned I was a mutant, they threw me out immediately. They didn’t even give me a chance to pack my clothes."

Wang Bert sat down beside the homeless man and spoke indifferently. At that moment, a passerby saw the homeless man’s appearance, cursed in disgust, quickened his pace, and hurried away.

Ordinary people were very hostile toward mutants.

The homeless man bitterly lowered his head again. "You have it better than I do. At least you look no different from ordinary people. Here, this is the newspaper you wanted."

Wang Bert took the newspaper and casually asked, "Sir, how long have you been awakened?"

"Several years. I used to be a vice president at a major company and had a happy family. But after I awakened, I lost everything, including my job and my family."

The homeless man cursed in pain, "Why did God create mutants? Why make us suffer?"

Most Epsilon Mutants were homeless, living lives of unimaginable hardship.

"If I ever meet God, I’ll ask Him for you."

Wang Bert said. In this world, God truly existed.

"Then you must make sure to ask Him clearly."

The homeless man said this, then looked at Wang Bert curiously. This young man was completely different from a few days ago. Back then, he had been weighed down with worries and filled with confusion. Now, he was relaxed and cheerful, as if he had come here to play a game.

Wang Bert said nothing more and picked up the newspaper to read carefully.

The headline of this issue of The New York Times read: In two months, the United Nations would hold a High Summit on Ellis Island to discuss matters concerning the economy, military affairs, mutants, and more. Representatives from over two hundred countries would attend.

"Isn’t this the plot of the first X-Men movie? Could it be…"

Wang Bert looked at the date on the newspaper and discovered that it was the year 2000. He immediately understood. Mutant Planet’s time had reset, and everything had started over. No wonder Deadpool and the others had suddenly disappeared.

It was perfectly normal for the mutant world’s timeline to reset. It had reset countless times in the comics, and once in the movies. Did Wanda reset it, or did something unexpected happen?

As Wang Bert pondered, he continued reading the news. "Senator Kelly called on the White House to approve the Mutant Registration Act. Mutants are extremely dangerous. We cannot allow our citizens to live in danger."

"The Mutant Registration Act?"

Wang Bert snorted. Ordinary humans were full of discrimination and hatred toward mutants. Once this act passed, mutants would suffer a fate worse than death and completely become second-class citizens.

Soon, Wang Bert finished reading the newspaper. He turned to the homeless man and asked, "Sir, do you know Professor Charles and his mutant school?"

The homeless man nodded. "I do. The professor is a very good man. He has helped me a great deal. Every winter, he sends people to bring us food and clothes."

Wang Bert asked again, "Why don’t you stay at the professor’s school? Is he unwilling to take you in?"

"Parents of students often come to visit the mutant school. Mutants like us, with visible defects, aren’t suitable for appearing there."

The homeless man said, "Many parents don’t even know it’s a Mutant Academy. Oh, right, you can go study at the Mutant Academy. The professor will help you. He treats every mutant very well."

"Schools and I are incompatible."

Wang Bert smiled. No wonder none of the students in the movies were Epsilon Mutants.

"Are you very grateful to the professor?"

Wang Bert asked. He wanted to become the mutants’ leader, and Professor X and Magneto were two mountains standing in his way. He had to topple them.

Professor X, whose full name was Charles Xavier, was a famous rich second-generation wastrel and an Alpha-Level Mutant. His Mind Power was incredibly strong. Combined with special equipment, he could kill all humans in an instant.

Of course, Professor X would never do that. He was part of the moderate faction among mutants and had always wanted peaceful coexistence with humanity. He had also led the X-Men in protecting humanity many times.

In Wang Bert’s view, Professor X was a naive idealist. He wanted to coexist peacefully with humans, yet he did not realize that humans had always wanted to wipe out mutants.

Attacking the Mutant Academy, developing mutant "cures," manufacturing Sentinels—the human upper class was full of hostility toward mutants. Their seemingly moderate attitude was merely meant to buy time and make use of the X-Men.

That was perfectly normal. Mutants could take the lives of those human elites at any time. If they did not eliminate mutants, how could the human elites ever feel at ease?

As for Magneto, he was the leader of the mutant Radical Faction. He had always wanted to eliminate all humans and let mutants occupy this world.

Magneto’s actions made ordinary people hate mutants even more. The fact that mutants lived such difficult lives was largely thanks to Magneto.

Also, it was worth mentioning that Magneto was Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver’s biological father.

In response to Wang Bert’s question, the homeless man said as if it were only natural, "Of course I’m grateful to the professor. All the mutants in New York City are grateful to him. Without him, we wouldn’t have survived until now."

"Looks like shaking the professor’s position as leader won’t be easy."

Wang Bert returned the newspaper to the mutant and said with a smile, "I understand. Thank you for the newspaper. I’ll come find you again later and offer you a job."

The homeless man laughed. "Offer me a job? Kid, you should first think about how you’re going to survive. This world is cruel to us mutants."

"It is cruel to you, but not to me. It isn’t qualified to be cruel to me."

Wang Bert said no more. He waved, turned, and left.

"Young people really don’t know the immensity of heaven and earth."

The homeless man shook his head and decided to report the young man’s information to the professor, lest something happen to him.

"First thing: make money. Let’s start with a small target."

After thinking it over, Wang Bert headed to Hell’s Kitchen, the most chaotic place in New York and the area with the most gangs.

That night, the banks where Hell’s Kitchen’s major gangs stored their money were robbed. More than fifty million dollars vanished without a trace, leaving only a Joker playing card behind. The major gangs were furious and went to Kingpin, demanding an explanation.

That was right, Kingpin existed on this planet as well. Moreover, that bank belonged to Kingpin.

Kingpin was enraged that someone dared to steal his money. He offered a ten-million-dollar reward for information on "Joker." For a time, New York became tense as drawn bows, and the underworld could erupt into war at any moment.

"Only a little over fifty million? Why are these gangs so poor?"

Wang Bert, the culprit, looked disdainful. He had wanted to achieve a small target, but he had only gotten half of it.

In America, it was difficult to spend large amounts of cash. Generally, only gangs conducted transactions using large sums of cash. If Wang Bert wanted to turn this cash into real money, he needed one more step: money laundering.

The problem was that money laundering companies were basically connected to gangs. If Wang Bert laundered money through normal channels, Kingpin would definitely come after him.

Fortunately, Wang Bert had a special way of laundering money.

"Turn all this money into legal money."

Wang Bert took out a suitcase of banknotes and threw it into the sky. The banknotes quickly disappeared. Immediately afterward, the mountain of cash below abruptly vanished, while Wang Bert’s account gained more than forty million dollars in legal funds—the few million that had disappeared went toward taxes. In America, death and taxes were unavoidable.

Money laundering was just that simple.

"Laundering fifty million only costs a few hundred thousand dollars. It looks like my Money Power is incredibly strong. Heh, it’s only because I keep myself clean. Otherwise, I could become the richest man in the world through money laundering alone."

Wang Bert nodded in satisfaction. It was worth mentioning that the money in his account could also activate his superpower.

In America, money could make anything possible. In just seven days, Wang Bert, a newly minted multimillionaire, acquired a villa and a garbage Recycling Company.

Wang Bert had specifically purchased the garbage Recycling Company and renamed it the Universe Recycling Company.

On the eighth day, Wang Bert drove a Rolls Royce to the homeless man and said with a smile, "Mr. Bula, would you be interested in working for me? My garbage Recycling Company is short of an executive president."

Zoe Bra’s ability was not top-tier. Wang Bert chose him for two reasons.

One was fate. The other was that he was a mutant. The garbage Recycling Company needed mutants.

Zuo Yi stared dumbfoundedly at the completely transformed Wang Bert. The sharp suit on the other man cost at least hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the Rolls Royce beside him was even more valuable. But how was this possible? Seven days ago, he had still been a prospective homeless man.