Preparation

"Fifty million? Sure. When you die, I’ll burn it for you—large-denomination banknotes issued by the Bank of Heaven and Earth."

Wang Bert laughed and said, "Disable every collar bomb in the area."

As Wang Bert spoke, the banknote in his hand vanished into thin air. Immediately afterward, the collar bombs around the mutant slaves’ necks all popped open at once.

The mutant slaves were overjoyed. They tore off their collars as fast as they could and threw them far away.

"That’s impossible."

The burly white man pressed the button in disbelief, but nothing happened.

Wang Bert said coldly, "Kill them all. Leave no one alive."

"Gladly."

Wolverine and Thing spoke at the same time. The battle erupted again, but this time, it was completely one-sided.

"I’ll kill you!"

The mutant slaves charged at the burly white man with overwhelming hatred. He tried to flee, but a boy with strange markings on his face glared at him. The man immediately bent over and began vomiting violently.

The mutant slaves took the chance to kick the burly white man to the ground and beat him mercilessly. He let out miserable screams and begged for mercy, but no one paid him any attention.

"A little disgusting, but it’s a good ability."

Wang Bert nodded in satisfaction. These mutants were all good soldiers. The only problem was that their hearts were filled with hatred for humans, and they needed proper guidance.

Before long, the battle ended. The Wild Wolf Gang had been completely erased from history. Wade walked over carrying a box of cash and jewelry and said, "There’s quite a bit of cash. With the jewelry and everything else, it’s worth several million in total."

Wang Bert said, "Better than nothing. Put it away. When we get back, I’ll give you a bonus."

"Thank you, Boss!"

The Security Team shouted excitedly. They knew perfectly well how generous their boss was.

Then Wang Bert walked over to the mutant slaves and asked, "Do you know who I am?"

Vomiting Boy pointed at the blood-covered burly white man, who was deader than dead, and said, "Yes. You’re the Mutant Savior. That guy cursed your name several times."

Wang Bert smiled and asked, "Then this will be easy. Are you willing to join my company and work for me?"

"Of course we are."

Most of the mutant slaves nodded happily, but one Black mutant asked, "What if I say no?"

"If you don’t want to, you can leave on your own."

Wang Bert smiled. "I came here to rescue you. It would be best if you joined me, but if you don’t want to, I won’t force you."

"Fine. Then I’m leaving."

The Black mutant glanced at Wang Bert and strode outside. It was worth mentioning that one of his hands remained inside his coat the entire time. He was clearly wary of Wang Bert and the others.

Wang Bert smiled and gestured for the dissatisfied Security Team to let the Black mutant leave. When the mutant reached the door, he let out a sigh of relief. Then he turned to Wang Bert and said, "I owe you my life. I’ll repay you someday."

Wang Bert waved dismissively. The Black mutant said nothing more and left the Fighting Arena.

After the Black mutant left, Wang Bert said to the other mutants, "Welcome to my Security Team. I will never treat you poorly."

"Thank you, Mr. Wang."

The mutant slaves thanked him one after another. Because of his reputation as the Mutant Savior, they trusted Wang Bert deeply and were more than willing to work for him.

That was the importance of reputation. If Wang Bert did not have that reputation, subduing these mutants would never have been so easy.

"Now that was satisfying."

Juggernaut emerged, covered in blood, and said, "I took care of everyone inside."

When Vomiting Boy and the others saw Juggernaut, they retreated in fear. They had clearly suffered plenty of his punches before.

"Don’t be afraid. He’s one of us."

Wang Bert said, "Juggernaut, well done. Work for me obediently from now on, and I won’t treat you poorly."

"You’re strong, so you call the shots."

Juggernaut said unhappily. He was the kind of person who believed in one unshakable truth—the strong had the right to rule everything.

Seeing Juggernaut submit to Wang Bert, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Then they looked at Wang Bert with admiration. He was incredible. Even Juggernaut had to submit to him.

"Good. We’re heading to the next Fighting Arena. We have to wipe them all out before the other arenas receive word. Otherwise, they may send the mutants out of New York."

Wang Bert said. Thing, standing nearby, asked, "Mr. Wang—no, Boss, should we burn this place down? There are so many bodies. It’ll be troublesome."

"Easy."

Wang Bert took out a stack of banknotes and said, "Erase all the bodies."

The next moment, both the banknotes and the bodies disappeared. Everyone stared in shock. What kind of ability was that? It was far too terrifying. "Wade, send two people to take them back. Thing, Juggernaut, come with me to the next Fighting Arena."

Wang Bert gave the order, and everyone nodded. Wolverine and Juggernaut both looked excited. Today, they could finally fight to their hearts’ content.

In one night, Wang Bert raided three underground Fighting Arenas in succession, alarming the entire New York underworld. Fortunately, word soon spread that Bert Wang was rescuing mutant slaves.

That was not all. Through Kingpin’s channels, Bert Wang issued a warning to the underworld: whoever dared enslave mutants, he would kill them.

Although the gangs were unhappy with Wang Bert’s warning, no one went looking for trouble with him. On one hand, he was difficult to deal with. Those three gangs had been almost completely wiped out, and not even their bodies remained. On the other hand, there was no profit in it—there were not many gangs that enslaved mutants.

In short, Wang Bert had won a complete victory this time. The Security Team had officially taken shape and was no longer an empty shell.

However, there were still problems. Officer George came to see him on behalf of the New York Police Department.

Officer George said unhappily, "Mr. Wang, don’t you think you went a little too far?"

Wang Bert asked with a blank look, "What did I do? How come I don’t know? Officer George, we may know each other, but if you keep talking nonsense like this, I’ll still sue you for defamation."

George snorted unhappily. This kid was young, yet he was no different from an old fox. He said, "We don’t want to see this happen again."

Wang Bert snorted coldly. "You don’t want to? Then work harder and stop letting mutants be bullied."

George had no answer to that. He said, "If you encounter something similar again, you can call the police. We’ll do everything we can to rescue those mutants. Mr. Wang, you’re clean. There’s no need to dirty yourself."

"Sometimes, being a little dirty isn’t a bad thing. At the very least, no one will dare provoke you so casually."

Wang Bert said calmly, "Enough of that. Have there been any more Black Qi monsters lately?"

George hesitated before answering, "No, but I don’t think this will end so easily. That Behind-the-Scenes Manipulator must be plotting something."

"I feel the same way."

Wang Bert nodded. Thinking of something, he asked, "By the way, are you in charge of security for the High Summit seven days from now?"

"The police are mainly responsible for maintaining order. The actual security is handled by the FBI and the Secret Service."

George shook his head and said, "I don’t think anyone would dare cause trouble. More than two hundred countries are participating in this High Summit."

"Let’s hope so."

Wang Bert shrugged. Magneto had already been dealt with, so this High Summit should proceed smoothly.

George asked, "I heard Mr. Wang will be giving a speech?"

Wang Bert nodded. "Yes, a speech about mutants and environmental protection. Also, after my speech, the president will announce the establishment of the Mutant Affairs Management Department."

George asked curiously, "That’s a good thing. Mr. Wang, will you serve as its minister?"

"Too tiring. Not interested."

Wang Bert shook his head. He would not become a Super Hero, nor would he become a minister. It was too troublesome. What he wanted to be was a boss.

"That’s a pity."

George stood up and gave one final reminder. "Mr. Wang, what mutants need is to obey the law."

"What mutants need is equal treatment."

Wang Bert replied calmly. Given America’s situation, if mutants truly obeyed the law, there would only be two outcomes—they would either be enslaved by the human elite, or wiped out.

Mutants were different from the Blood Clan. The human elite did not intend to exterminate the Blood Clan, but they did intend to exterminate mutants.

George said nothing more and turned to leave. With the High Summit approaching, he was very busy.

It had been mentioned before that New York was a city full of darkness, and that was reflected in its sewers as well. Some people could not survive in New York and could only move into the sewers to barely cling to life.

These people were called the Rat Clan. They were even more miserable than homeless people. No one cared whether they lived or died. According to their original fate, they would survive here in silence, then die in silence, becoming garbage in the sewers.

However, on this day, their fate reached a turning point, because someone came to find them. It was Senator Cabo.

Senator Cabo spread his arms and asked the old, weak, sick, and disabled members of the Rat Clan before him, "Do you hate this world?"

The Rat Clan looked numb. No one answered Senator Cabo, but instead of getting angry, he burst into laughter.

Then a large amount of Black Qi rose from Senator Cabo’s body and flowed into the Rat Clan. Their eyes immediately turned completely black, and intense resentment surged from their bodies.

"Why do we have to live here like rats?"

"Why can’t we eat our fill or wear warm clothes?"

"Why don’t we even have basic security in life?"

"Why do we live worse than animals?"

"It’s all this world’s fault. We’re going to destroy the world."

"Destroy the world!"

The Rat Clan roared hysterically. Senator Cabo laughed again. He had chosen correctly. The Rat Clan were the most suitable soldiers, because they hated this world beyond measure.

Senator Cabo shouted with a savage expression, "Seven days from now, we will destroy the world."

Hundreds of Rat Clan members roared at once, "Seven days from now, we will destroy the world."

At Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, Mystique transformed into a Gardener and strolled into the school with a relaxed expression. No one noticed that she was disguised, not even the professor.

"After all these years, this place hasn’t changed at all. Charles, when will you understand that this is just an illusionary Heaven, ready to collapse at the slightest poke?"

Mystique secretly shook her head. She was about to gather intelligence when a passing girl said to her companion, "Did you know? Nightcrawler is preparing to become a priest."

Her companion stared wide-eyed. "Really? I’m not discriminating against him, but with how he looks, is he really suited to be a priest? It feels like a mouse being a bridesmaid for a cat."

"I heard it was the professor’s suggestion. Still, Nightcrawler is truly devout toward God. He even memorized the entire Bible."

"The entire thing? Isn’t that a little exaggerated?"

The two girls kept chatting as they walked away, but a storm had already risen in Mystique’s heart. Could the Nightcrawler they spoke of be the child she had abandoned?

"No wonder Azazel has never been willing to come back and ask for help."

Mystique’s expression was complicated. The reason she had abandoned Nightcrawler was that she deeply hated Azazel. She hated everything connected to him as well.

"A priest who believes in God?"

After hesitating, Mystique headed toward the backyard. She pushed open the church doors and saw a blue devil wiping down a statue. He hummed as he cleaned, clearly in a very good mood.

Hearing the door open, Nightcrawler turned around, smiled, and asked, "Uncle Mog, why are you here?"

It really is him.

Mystique composed herself and pretended to ask curiously, "I heard you want to become a priest, so I came to take a look."

Nightcrawler was a little embarrassed. "I don’t know whether I can become a priest either. The professor told me to give it a try."

Mystique walked inside and asked, "To be honest, I’m curious. Why do you believe in God?"

"When I was little, I was sold to a circus. Later, the circus disbanded, and I had nowhere to go. I could only hide in a church."

Nightcrawler said with a nostalgic look, "At first, my heart felt completely empty. Later, I came into contact with the Bible. The more I read it, the fuller I felt inside. I think everything I went through was a test God gave me. One day, God will take me to Heaven and let me bathe in His holy light."

Mystique fell silent. Nightcrawler believed in God because, aside from God, he had nothing.

Mystique felt a little heartbroken and a little guilty. She asked, "Do you hate your parents?"

"I used to, but thinking about it now, it was normal for them to abandon me. I should be grateful they didn’t kill me outright."

Nightcrawler said forgivingly, "That proves they still had me in their hearts."

Mystique was moved. She secretly sighed and began chatting with Nightcrawler.

More than an hour later, Mystique stood up and said, "I think you have what it takes to become a priest."

Nightcrawler was overjoyed. "Really? Thank you, Uncle Mog."

Mystique shook her head and turned to leave. She made a decision in her heart: she absolutely could not let Azazel capture Nightcrawler. She was certain that Azazel had ill intentions toward him.

Afterward, Mystique continued eavesdropping around the school. Once she got the information she wanted, she quietly left the school and contacted Magneto.

"Seven days from now, Charles will attend the United Nations Summit. That will be the best opportunity to rescue Azazel."

Mystique said, "When the time comes, send some people to draw the X-Men’s attention away. I’ll quietly take Azazel and Rogue away."

"Charles won’t be there seven days from now?"

Magneto’s heart stirred. He said, "Good. Then I’ll pay the Mutant Academy a visit."

"You’re going to attack the Mutant Academy? Erik, Charles will go mad."

Mystique cried out in alarm. With the professor’s abilities, if he went mad, the Mutant Brotherhood would face its end.

"Don’t worry. I’m only going to give a speech and take away those willing to come with me."

Erik, who could never feel comfortable without stirring up trouble, said, "The Brotherhood needs fresh blood."

"That would be fine."

Mystique nodded. The Mutant Brotherhood was where mutants truly belonged.