Plan

"It might not be so certain. America’s elections are rather special. Many voters vote for parties, not candidates."

Wang Bert said, "In other words, Mr. President, you can still obtain a large number of votes."

The president shook his head and said, "Iron Plate State will indeed continue voting for me, but there are also swing states. This time, they’ll definitely lean toward Acton."

"Not many Americans care about politics. When they vote, they generally base it on the candidate’s reputation and slogans."

Wang Bert said, "These people are easily influenced. We still have a chance."

Thinking of something, the aide hurriedly reminded him, "Mr. Wang, presidential elections must follow the rules. Otherwise, the military will definitely turn against us, and America will fall into a Civil War."

"Don’t worry, I’ll follow the rules."

Wang Bert smiled. It was not yet time to flip the table.

"That’s good."

The aide breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Mr. Wang, it’s basically impossible for the president to win reelection. His reputation is completely ruined."

The president also said, "Yes. Many people are shouting for me to step down now. They aren’t even willing to wait out the final two months."

"With me here, your bad reputation is nothing. Psylocke, Angel, and I will fully support you."

Wang Bert said, "Besides, the public is short-sighted. As long as you can give them benefits, they’ll vote for you."

The president smiled bitterly. "The problem is, what benefits can I give them? They won’t believe my promises. Am I supposed to hand out money directly? I don’t have that much money, and it isn’t allowed."

"I have a way for you to give the public benefits."

Wang Bert smiled. "The key is whether you, Mr. President, are willing to take a gamble. If you are, I’ll help you with everything I have."

"This…"

The president hesitated. The aide said from the side, "Mr. president, as your adviser, I must remind you that if you go all out in the election, Acton may retaliate against you after taking office."

"I know."

The aide’s words reminded the president of how Acton had seized his authority. He gritted his teeth and asked Wang Bert, "Mr. Wang, how confident are you that I can win reelection?"

"I’ll tell you my plan. You can judge for yourselves how confident it makes you."

Wang Bert smiled and explained his plan in detail. When the president and his aide finished listening, their faces were blank. This could work? "Isn’t this a little too absurd?"

The aide rubbed his bald head and asked with a frown. He had lived this long, yet he had never seen such a method of canvassing for votes.

"Running for president is absurd to begin with."

Wang Bert smiled. "Besides, does it matter whether it’s absurd? What matters is whether it works. Mr. Carter, if you were an ordinary person, would you vote for the president?"

The aide rubbed his head again and said, "I probably would. How could the president be more important than my hair?"

Wang Bert burst out laughing, while the president was somewhat embarrassed. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Bert, is your method safe? Don’t misunderstand me, I’m more than willing to become one of you. I’m just worried about side effects."

Wang Bert said, "It’s one hundred percent safe, with one hundred percent no side effects. If there are any, I’ll give you one hundred million dollars for every side effect."

"That’s good."

The president sighed in relief. After hesitating, he asked again, "Bert, why did you change your mind and decide to support me? You never cared who became president before."

"I truly didn’t care who became president before, because there was no Doomsday Master or Evil Believers then."

Wang Bert explained, "Back then, all we had to deal with was the conflict between humans and mutants. Even if Acton took office, it wouldn’t have mattered much. After all, he appeared to be pro-mutant.

"Things are different now. The Evil Believers may attack again at any time. I don’t want to waste my energy fighting Acton, and I especially don’t want Acton to stab me in the back. Therefore, Acton cannot take office."

"The most important thing in war is a stable rear. If Acton takes office, he’ll definitely hold you back."

The president nodded in deep agreement. Acton would never support Iron Man with all his strength as he did. There was no doubt about that.

"Besides that, Acton is too close to the military. They’re practically wearing the same pair of pants now. That is something I cannot tolerate."

Wang Bert continued, "The military is full of hostility toward mutants. A president can make use of their power, but he cannot wallow in the mire with them."

The president said righteously, "I definitely won’t wallow in the mire with the military. If I win reelection, I’ll do my best to suppress them and stop them from continuing to harm the public and mutants."

Wang Bert smiled. There was actually another reason: this president was obedient enough, even more obedient than President Ellis in the Marvel World.

Of course, this guy was not without flaws. He was extremely greedy for money, and his abilities were far inferior to Acton’s—the military had caused so many incidents, yet he knew nothing about them. That showed just how poor his abilities were.

But that was not important. What mattered was that he would fully cooperate with him. That was enough.

"Mr. President, whether you take this gamble is up to you."

Wang Bert said, "If you’re willing to take a chance, I’ll help you with everything I have. Also, you don’t need to worry about what happens if you fail. With my abilities, protecting you won’t be a problem."

Those words removed the last trace of hesitation in the president’s heart. He shouted, "I’ll do it. Why shouldn’t I? I don’t want to become America’s laughingstock."

If a sitting president had his power taken by the next president and did not fight back, he would be mocked for the rest of his life.

The aide smiled. The president’s choice had not surprised him at all—four years as president could earn at least several billion dollars. There was no reason for the president not to fight for it. Besides, power had always been addictive.

"Very good."

Wang Bert said, "Mr. president, there’s only a little over a month before the election. We can’t waste time. You need to get your party back on your side as soon as possible. Without their help, you can’t become president."

"No problem. As long as there’s hope, those old fellows will definitely stand with me. If I become president, I can bring them enormous benefits."

The president nodded and said to his aide, "Arrange for them to visit my Horse Farm."

Yes, the Horse Farm Wang Bert had given him. There was even a Pure Blood Horse shipped from Europa inside.

The aide said, "All right."

"Once everything is settled, we’ll launch our full campaign half a month before the election and catch Acton and the others off guard. As for campaign funds, don’t worry. I’ll support you with everything I have."

Wang Bert nodded in satisfaction. With him around, Acton would never take office. At worst, he could travel back to the past and take a regret pill.

After discussing matters with the president, Wang Bert returned to the Rebirth Group. White Queen and Yuriko came to report on the group’s affairs while carrying a stack of reports.

"I’ve already negotiated acquisitions with several TV Stations. Before long, we’ll have our own TV Stations and newspapers."

White Queen said proudly. Her charm was irresistible. Acquisitions that Yuriko had been unable to negotiate were easily settled once White Queen stepped in.

Wang Bert nodded in satisfaction. "Very good. The more media outlets we have, the better. Also, the internet is becoming increasingly important. Put more effort into that area."

White Queen nodded. "I know. I’m keeping an eye on several promising portal websites."

After White Queen finished her report, Yuriko said coldly, "The Universe Recycling Company’s collection stations have already spread across America. In addition, the branch offices in Mexico and Great Canada are currently conducting inspections. Both Mexico and Great Canada have stated that they can provide us with environmental protection funds.

"Besides that, we’ve acquired a large number of labor-intensive businesses. All the mutants who came to us have been assigned jobs."

It was worth mentioning that president Zuo Yi was the one conducting the inspections in Mexico and Great Canada, so he was not here at the moment.

"Very good."

Wang Bert nodded in satisfaction. The purpose of opening Recycling Plants was to arrange jobs for mutants.

Wang Bert asked, "Are many mutants still coming to join us?"

"Not as many as before."

Yuriko answered, "The social environment is improving. Mutants can find jobs elsewhere now."

Wang Bert smiled. "That’s a good thing. How are the mutant prisoners doing? Has anyone escaped again?"

"Not a single person has escaped in the past half month. They’ve accepted reality. Quite a few are even behaving proactively in hopes of earning their freedom."

Yuriko said, "By the way, Wade submitted a report saying that the last batch of prisoner reinforcements performed very well. He wants to invite them to join the Security Company. The Security Company has a major staffing shortage."

After thinking for a moment, Wang Bert said, "Find some experts and professors to conduct psychological evaluations. Once I’ve read their reports, I’ll decide whether to invite those prisoners."

"BOSS, with your talents, why do you have to live so exhaustingly?"

White Queen could not help asking, "Why do you insist on carrying mutants on your back? Wouldn’t it be better to live for yourself?"

Wang Bert said, "Because I came here for mutants. Emma, after leaving Mutant Academy, have you truly ever been happy?"

"Of course I’ve been happy. I earn hundreds of millions every year. Why wouldn’t I be happy?"

White Queen scoffed. "Do you know how many women envy me?"

"I don’t know. I only know that a happy person doesn’t need to spend tens of millions on beautifying her body."

Wang Bert shook his head. "Let’s not talk about that. You can handle your own matters. How is Silver Fox?"

White Queen said, "She can walk around now, but her mind still isn’t working very well. She still refuses to dump that bastard Wolverine."

"Is that any way to talk about your own sister?"

Wang Bert complained. Just then, Wade arrived with a Black woman with an afro. Wang Bert gestured for them to enter, then said to Yuriko and White Queen, "In half a month, I’ll need a huge sum of money. Prepare some funds for me."

"No problem."

Yuriko nodded. "We have plenty of funds we can mobilize. The government just placed a long-term order with the Security Company. In addition, all Super Hero merchandise is sold out."

"Government money is free money."

Wang Bert laughed. Then Yuriko and White Queen left, while Wade brought the Black woman into the office. He introduced her, saying, "BOSS, this is Domino. She came to apply for a job with me today. She says her superpower is good luck, so I wanted to ask you to help verify it."

At this point, Wade could not help complaining, "Seriously, does being lucky even count as a superpower?"

Domino said, "My luck really is very good. Last time I got into a car accident, everyone else in the car died. I was the only one who survived, and I didn’t even have a scratch."

"It seems your luck really is very good."

Wang Bert pretended to take out a stack of banknotes. A moment later, the banknotes disappeared. He feigned surprise and said, "Huh? Your superpower is rather interesting. Domino, right? Are you interested in joining the Mutant Brotherhood?"

"I’m very interested… Wait, the Mutant Brotherhood?"

Domino nodded at first, then came to her senses and asked in astonishment, "Don’t tell me you’re actually with the Mutant Brotherhood."

Wade blinked and asked, "BOSS, could it be that we’re undercover agents for the Mutant Brotherhood?"

"Do you think Magneto can afford to hire me?"

Wang Bert said irritably, "Domino, your ability isn’t good luck. Your ability is absorbing other people’s luck to enhance your own."

Domino was stunned. "Absorbing other people’s luck to enhance my own?"

"That’s right. In your last car accident, everyone else died because all their luck was absorbed by you."

Wang Bert said, "It seems luck also follows the law of conservation of energy."

Wade quietly moved a little farther away from Domino. Then he said, "So the luckier she is, the unluckier the people around her become?"

"That’s more or less what it means."

Wang Bert nodded. In the movies, a group of people parachuted from a plane. Other than Domino and Wade, everyone else died, and some of them died especially horribly.

"So I’m not lucky at all."

Domino gave a bitter smile. No wonder people around her often died. It turned out that she had absorbed their luck.

"Life and death are fated. Meeting you was their fate."

Wang Bert said, "Domino, I’ll ask again. Are you interested in joining the Mutant Brotherhood? After you join, you won’t need to do anything deliberately. You just need to act alongside them."

Wade complained, "BOSS, your heart is so dark. You’re actually using Domino to harm the Mutant Brotherhood."

Wang Bert sneered. "Then should I let her join your Security Company?"

Wade hurriedly waved his hands. "Forget it. A talent like this is better suited for the Mutant Brotherhood."

Domino glared at Wade. Somewhat self-destructively, she said, "Fine, I can join the Mutant Brotherhood, but I want double pay."

Wang Bert smiled. "Sure. I can even calculate performance bonuses for you."

Wade complained, "What the hell kind of performance bonus is that? A bonus for every person she gets killed?"

Domino was also speechless. Was the man before her really the legendary Mutant Savior? His heart was far darker than Magneto’s.

"Take this. If you’re in danger, it will teleport you to my side."

Wang Bert tossed a bracelet to Domino and said, "I won’t let my people come to harm."

Domino was delighted. She immediately caught the bracelet and said, "Thank you, BOSS."

Wang Bert asked again, "Do you need my help with joining the Brotherhood?"

"No. I know people in the Brotherhood. They invited me before, but I refused because the Brotherhood’s ideology was too extreme."

Domino shook her head and said, "BOSS, who will be my supervisor? Also, how will you pay me?"

Wang Bert said, "Very professional. Your supervisor is Wade. As for your salary, Wade will take you downstairs later to open a new bank account."

"Wade?"

Domino glanced at Wade with a look of disgust. Wade was not very pleased either. He asked, "BOSS, if I become her boss, will she absorb my luck?"