Press Conference

"America belongs to the American people."

Wang Bert said flatly, "The American people would be more than happy to see you destroyed."

President Richard cursed, "Not only would they be happy, they’d spit on your graves. Vice President, your name will stink for eternity."

The Vice President roared, "Richard, once mutants control the world, you’ll never have a good ending. You and all the other humans will become slaves to mutants."

"Have you ever seen a slave worth tens of billions?"

President Richard looked disdainful. "If Iron Man truly wanted to rule the world, he would have done so long ago."

The Vice President shouted hysterically, "Richard, Iron Man, neither of you will have a good ending! Humanity will definitely wipe out mutants! This world belongs to us humans—"

"The wailing of a defeated dog."

Wang Bert sneered and gestured for Colossus and Thing to seize him. Seeing him continue to bark wildly, Thing simply took off his sock and stuffed it into his mouth.

The Vice President could only make muffled noises, but no one paid him any attention—the teleporting mutants had all been taken down.

"Take him away and guard him closely."

President Richard shouted, "Also, have the FBI Director, the Secret Service Director, and Minister Hank come see me."

"Yes."

The Secret Service immediately carried out the order. After the Vice President was escorted away, President Richard asked Wang Bert, "Bert, how much do you know about the Human Supremacy Organization?"

"Everything. I’ll make the Vice President tell us all of it."

"I forgot you had that ability. The Vice President really was foolish, picking a fight with you."

President Richard smiled. He had been smart enough to cling to a powerful backer the moment he made a mistake.

"His mistake was being too greedy."

Wang Bert shook his head and said to President Richard, "Mr. President, the Human Supremacy Organization has enormous influence. If we want to bring them down, we must cut through the mess quickly. Otherwise, things will become troublesome."

"I understand. I’ll have all relevant departments act at once. I will never let that damned Human Supremacy Organization off the hook."

President Richard nodded decisively. He was already tied to the mutants, with no way back. In fact, he had no desire to turn back either. Tens of billions of dollars—why would he?

With that much money, President Richard would have been willing to side with demons, let alone Wang Bert, the Savior God.

President Richard continued, "Once I’ve met with the two Directors and Hank, I’ll immediately hold a press conference. Bert, this matter is too significant. You need to attend with me."

"No problem. My main body will be here soon."

Wang Bert nodded. Then President Richard remembered something and asked him in a low voice, "Bert, does the Human Supremacy Organization really have hundreds of billions in funds?"

"Possibly more. They have many wealthy tycoons and major entrepreneurs among them."

Wang Bert replied, and President Richard immediately smiled. "Looks like we can make quite a profit this time."

Thing and Colossus pretended not to hear. After serving as bodyguards for so long, they knew exactly what kind of person President Richard was.

Fortunately, America had Iron Man.

"There’s a lot of meat waiting for us to eat."

Wang Bert smiled. What came next would be a grand feast—a feast to divide up the Human Supremacy Organization’s wealth.

Wang Bert did not care if others took some of that meat, because only then could the Human Supremacy Organization be nailed down for good.

"The biggest piece of meat will definitely be ours."

President Richard smiled. At that moment, the two Directors and Hank rushed over. When they heard about the Vice President’s and the Human Supremacy Organization’s plan, they were all shocked. These people had been far too bold. How was this any different from an armed coup? "Leech, Sentinel Robots, mutant clones? Damn it, they wanted to completely exterminate us mutants!"

Hank stared at the documents, both shocked and enraged. After a moment, he put them down and said sincerely to Wang Bert, "Bert, thank goodness the mutants have you."

"It’s what I should do."

Wang Bert said, "Everyone, next we must wipe out the Human Supremacy Organization in one sweep. Something like this must never happen again."

Everyone nodded in agreement. President Richard signed the order to strike against the Human Supremacy Organization nationwide. Whoever was involved would be arrested without exception. Anyone who resisted would be killed on the spot.

Next, the FBI, military, Secret Service, and police launched their operations simultaneously, attacking the Human Supremacy Organization with thunderous force.

The Human Supremacy Organization is pretty much finished. Come to think of it, they’ve been really good to me. Not only did they give me Leech, Sentinel Robots, and clones, they also gave me a chance to completely deal with the anti-mutant faction.

Next, he would have President Richard pass legislation classifying anti-mutant activists as Terrorists. At that point, they would never be able to rise again.

Without the anti-mutant faction, mutants and humans would gradually merge together, with no distinction between them.

There are only two matters left on this planet: Apocalypse and the Celestial Group. Once they’re dealt with, I can begin the final step.

The final step was naturally to return Mutant Planet to the universe and completely resolve this problem.

Resort villa.

Professor Charles and the others were watching the president’s press conference. "Two hours ago, America suffered an armed rebellion. The Vice President and the Human Supremacy Organization intended to murder Iron Man and murder me. At the same time, they were preparing to wipe out mutants across the country…"

The more Professor Charles and the others listened, the angrier they became. Wade even cursed loudly, "Those damned bastards! I’m going to chop off their heads and use them as chamber pots!"

"They actually wanted to commit genocide against mutants. They’re truly vicious."

Wolverine gritted his teeth, wishing he could rush into the prison and chop the Vice President into pieces.

Wade shouted, "I’ve decided to lead the mutants in a protest march! Without us mutants, America would have been destroyed by the Doomsday Master long ago."

Leech could not help glancing at Wade, his eyes full of confusion. This guy clearly was not a mutant, so why was he so worked up? "Leech, Sentinels, clones… Looks like Erik’s blood pressure is going to rise again."

Mystique shook her head. In the past, she would have been furious, but now she felt nothing but numbness.

"Raven, this is their final counterattack. There will be no more Human Supremacy Organization after this. Bert has already taken care of everything."

Seeing Mystique’s expression, Professor Charles hurriedly comforted her, afraid she would overthink things.

"Charles, don’t worry. I won’t be so extreme anymore."

Mystique shook her head and said, "I don’t want to become a hateful monster like Erik. I’ve let it go.

Charles, I’ll have Iron Man inject me with the cure. From now on, I’ll live as an ordinary person."

Professor Charles was stunned. "Raven, there’s really no need. With your abilities, it makes no difference whether you take the cure or not."

"No, it’s a release. A release from my past life."

Mystique Raven said, "Charles, I’m tired. I just want to live the rest of my days quietly."

Professor Charles held Mystique’s hand and did not try to persuade her further. "Raven, I support you."

"It really is a release."

Wolverine looked at them and said, "Once everything settles down, I’ll take the cure too. I’ll grow old slowly and die slowly like an ordinary person."

Leech and Laura blinked in confusion. Why choose to be normal people when they could clearly live forever?

The body might not die, but the mind would grow old.

Wade put an arm around Wolverine’s shoulders and said, "Logan, I completely understand. Even though I can become immortal by changing bodies, I won’t do it, because that body is way too ugly."

Wolverine slapped Wade’s hand away and said irritably, "Wade, I’ve told you many times. That body looks exactly like you."

"Hey, Logan, keep slandering me like that and see if I don’t turn on you. I’m way more handsome than that guy."

Wade said unhappily. The group continued chatting while watching television. To be honest, the scale of the Human Supremacy Organization shocked them. It included not only the Vice President and military generals, but also major bankers and leading scientists—virtually all of humanity’s top elites.

These are humanity’s upper ranks. I really was too naive before, thinking humans would eventually accept us. If not for Bert, mutants would definitely have been eliminated by humans.

Professor Charles felt a lingering fear. Thank goodness for Bert. He is unquestionably the Mutant Savior.

At that moment, a reporter asked Secretary of Defense Wang Bert, "Mr. Iron Man, will America fall into Civil War? The Human Supremacy Organization’s influence is simply too terrifying."

"Don’t worry. America will never fall into Civil War. I am confident that I can uproot the Human Supremacy Organization within a month."

Wang Bert stepped onto the podium and said loudly, "In fact, of the Human Supremacy Organization’s thirteen core members, eight have already been arrested and one has been killed. Only a few are still at large, and we will catch them soon.

All evil will be swept away. As always, I will protect humanity and protect America."

"Long live Iron Man!"

The reporters cheered. They trusted Iron Man completely, and Iron Man deserved that trust.

For example, if it had not been for Iron Man this time, America would have faced only two outcomes. One, it would descend into Civil War. Two, mutants would be slaughtered, ordinary people would die in massive numbers, and America would become the ugliest, most disgusting country in the world.

Another reporter asked, "Mr. Iron Man, is the cure real? Can it truly turn mutants back into normal people?"

Many viewers in front of their screens stared fixedly at the television. Some hoped the cure was real, such as Rogue and those Epsilon Mutants, while others were furious, such as Magneto.

"First, I need to correct you. Mutants are normal people too. You should say ‘turn them back into ordinary people.’"

Wang Bert said, "The cure can suppress the Mutant Gene, but we do not yet know whether its effects are permanent. That is because Mr. Worthington mass-produced the cure without clinical trials, then turned it into bullets."

"He really deserves to die."

Many reporters and viewers cursed loudly. He dared use untested medicine on people? He was worse than a beast.

In prison, Angel Warren could not help asking his father Worthington, "How could you do this?"

Worthington said, "I only wanted to cure you and turn you back into a normal person."

Warren shouted, "I’ve always been normal! You’re the one who isn’t normal, Father. What you did may kill tens of millions of people."

Worthington had no answer. He sighed and said, "There’s no point saying this now. Iron Man has won. From now on, it will be the mutants’ world. The cure is no longer important to you."

Warren shook his head in disappointment. "Father, I will donate all our assets to Mutant Academy to make up for what you owe mutants."

"What?"

Worthington was stunned at first, then roared, "You can’t do that! This is the wealth the Worthington Family accumulated through centuries of hard work. You have no right to do this."

"I do have the right. Professor Charles did the same thing. He is my guiding light, and I will learn from him."

Warren turned and left. No matter what Worthington shouted or cursed behind him, he never looked back.

Warren had never lacked money, so he did not care about it. Besides, he had an example before him. He hoped to become as selfless as the Professor.

A prodigal second-generation heir had officially been born.

For now, setting aside the enormous donation Mutant Academy was about to receive, the previous reporter continued at the press conference, "First, I apologize for my earlier slip of the tongue. Mr. Iron Man, how do you plan to deal with these cures?"

Wang Bert answered without hesitation, "I will continue developing it."

The reporters were greatly shocked. Logically, should he not destroy the cure?

"That’s wonderful, Iron Man!"

"Damn it, Iron Man! You’ve betrayed the mutants!"

Among the mutants watching the screen, some cheered loudly while others cursed furiously. Wang Bert had expected this long ago.

"Everyone knows that I used to be homeless. During that time, I met Mr. Zuo Yi. He was an Epsilon Mutant with scales on his face, and he dreamed of getting rid of those scales."

Wang Bert said slowly, "In fact, Mr. Zuo Yi was relatively fortunate. At the very least, he was only ugly. Some Epsilon Mutants cannot even live normal lives, and they desperately need the cure.

Furthermore, some high-level mutants need the cure as well. For example, I know a young girl who absorbs the life force of anyone she touches.

Because of that, she cannot be intimate with her boyfriend. She worries every day, terrified that some little vixen will steal her boyfriend away."

The reporters laughed. Rogue’s face reddened slightly, then she shot Iceman a sideways glance. Recently, he seemed to have gotten a little too close to Shadowcat.

"I also know a Translucent who possesses the invisibility men dream of. The problem is that his ability is passive and cannot be turned off, so since he was eleven, he has never seen his own handsome face again."

Wang Bert continued, "They all need the cure. In addition, certain criminals guilty of heinous crimes need the cure as well."

After hearing Wang Bert’s words, the audience nodded one after another. Even the mutants who opposed the cure could not help but fall into thought—after all, they knew how miserable Epsilon Mutants could be, and they sympathized with that young girl as well.

As for that handsome invisible man… well, let him stay invisible. Under no circumstances should he be turned back into an ordinary person.