Perilous Situation

Looking at Crystal’s proud, haughty expression, Alex did not know whether to laugh or cry, but there was nothing he could do. He could not just leave her behind and go on his own!

After pondering for a moment, Alex turned to glance around, then nodded. "In that case, let’s keep killing. That way!" As he spoke, Alex pointed in a direction, grabbed Crystal’s wrist without further discussion, and charged straight through the enemy ranks.

Strucker had been anxiously waiting for reinforcements when he suddenly saw Alex charging toward him. His face immediately twisted in panic. With a startled cry, he swiftly mobilized his men to stop Alex.

Unfortunately, AIM was short on ammunition. How could they possibly stand against Alex? No matter how many they sent, they were only marching to their deaths.

Crystal had been dragged along by Alex the entire time. She tried several times to break free but failed, so she simply let Alex pull her while she controlled a massive hand of earth and stone to sweep through the AIM soldiers around them.

Behind the two of them, the remaining dozen or so X-Men followed closely. Although Alex had not said it outright, both his earlier words and current actions made it clear that he had recognized the danger. These people could only ensure their safety by staying with Alex, and that was precisely what Alex had left unspoken.

The group cut through the enemy like a hot knife through butter. Just as they were about to reach Strucker, roars suddenly rose one after another from outside the battlefield, accompanied by violent tremors shaking the ground.

Alex paused slightly and released his Psionic Power. In an instant, he saw a scene straight out of the movie Jurassic Park: a Tyrannosaurus Rex leading a vast horde of dinosaurs of every kind as they charged toward them at high speed. AIM soldiers in their path were trampled to death without the slightest hesitation.

"So this is their dinosaur army?" Crystal stepped out from behind Alex. As she watched the dinosaur horde draw ever closer, there was not the slightest fear on her dirty, catlike face. Instead, she seemed somewhat excited.

Hearing her, Alex turned to look at Crystal, then glanced at the other X-Men behind him before trying to persuade her again. "Crystal, there are too many dinosaurs. They could be in danger!" Alex knew persuading Crystal would not be easy, but if he used the safety of the other X-Men as leverage, then given Crystal’s kind nature, she would most likely not refuse.

Just as Alex expected, Crystal hesitated for a while. She turned to look at the dozen or so exhausted X-Men, guilt flashing across her face, then nodded. "Okay, let’s go back!" Her little face immediately scrunched up in resentment as she added, "But I won’t forgive you!"

The fact that she no longer said she would never go back was already progress. Alex did not press her any further. He could slowly win her over after they returned. Sooner or later, they would make up.

With that thought in mind, Alex immediately activated Teleportation. But to his horror, Teleportation failed once again!

Noticing Alex’s drastic change in expression, Crystal could not help worrying. "What’s wrong, Alex?" No matter how angry she was, she still cared deeply about him.

"Electromagnetic Interference. Teleportation has failed!" Alex had not expected Strucker to be so clever, much less that Strucker would act so quickly.

Crystal’s face paled in panic, and tears immediately streamed down her cheeks again. She looked at Alex with utter misery. "It’s all my fault…"

"How could it be your fault?" Alex gently wiped away Crystal’s tears and softly comforted her. Then he turned toward Strucker and said coldly, "Don’t worry. Even if we can’t leave, we’ll be fine!"

As he spoke, Alex equipped each of the other seventeen X-Men with a pair of energy wings and told them to leave at once.

Naturally, the X-Men refused. They insisted on staying behind.

"Fine. Those with long-range attack abilities can stay. Those without them, go back." Alex swept his gaze over the seventeen of them, his expression turning stern as he said mercilessly, "Otherwise, you’ll only be dead weight if you stay!"

The seventeen X-Men looked at one another. In the end, eleven of them turned and flew away with unwilling expressions. The energy wings could not support them all the way back to the Floating Giant Island, but as long as they left this battlefield, they had many ways to escape. The remaining six eagerly gathered beside Alex. Fighting shoulder to shoulder with Alex was the dream of many X-Men.

Alex looked at the dinosaur army already rushing toward them, then shifted his gaze to the endless stream of AIM soldiers behind it and the rocket launchers they carried. His expression became extremely grim.

Crystal and the six X-Men who had remained also noticed the AIM soldiers behind them, and all of their expressions changed drastically. Though they had never personally experienced the power of rocket launchers, they had certainly felt it in the holographic projection earlier.

"What do we do now?" Crystal was so consumed by guilt that she felt she might die from it. Grasping Alex’s shoulder, she took the initiative to say, "How about we run back? Once we get outside the range of the Electromagnetic Interference, it’ll be fine!"

Alex shook his head with a bitter smile. With Strucker’s intelligence, how could he possibly fail to guard against that? Most likely, before Alex could even run out, the range of the Electromagnetic Interference would expand again.

Of course, Alex would not say that aloud, lest Crystal feel even guiltier. Smiling calmly, he pointed toward Strucker and declared confidently, "To catch the bandits, first capture their leader. As long as we seize Strucker, they won’t dare make a move against us!"

"Get into the sky, spread out as much as possible, and be careful!" Alex’s smile faded as he stared gravely at Crystal and the six X-Men, warning them sharply, "Don’t be greedy for credit. Staying alive is what matters most!"

The moment his words fell, Alex shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. He rushed toward Strucker and the AIM army, charging headlong into the dinosaur horde.

Seeing Alex move, Crystal could not help crying out. Without a second thought, she prepared to rush forward to help him, but just as she moved, Alex turned his head to look at her and smiled. "Don’t worry about me!"

Along with Alex’s voice, long, narrow silver blades flashed into existence, forming a Blade Wall in front of him. The dinosaurs that crashed into it were instantly cut apart by its razor-sharp edges, and gushing blood splashed over Alex, dyeing him red in an instant.

"Ah!" Crystal screamed, then froze completely as tears burst from her eyes once more.

Seeing Crystal suddenly go still, one of the people beside her hurriedly tugged at her clothes and shouted, "What’s wrong, Crystal?" Getting distracted on a battlefield was no joke. One careless mistake could cost someone their life.

"Alex… he changed back into his own body!" Crystal had been too angry to notice anything unusual about Alex until this very moment, when she finally understood! Thinking of the toxins in Alex’s body, Crystal was on the verge of collapse. Self-blame and guilt nearly drove her mad.

The six X-Men were all stunned when they heard that answer. So she had not noticed until now! They grumbled inwardly, but still hurried to persuade her. "Crystal, now isn’t the time to space out. Staying alive is the greatest help you can give Alex!"

Crystal paused at those words, raised a hand to wipe away her tears, and stared resolutely at Alex’s back. The aura around her was rapidly surging.