Settling Matters, the Debate

"Good idea."

Deathstrike looked excited, while Wolverine was indifferent. He preferred chopping off his enemies’ heads in one stroke. Then, the two of them approached Stryker with savage expressions.

Stryker’s face changed drastically. Putting on a brave front, he shouted, "What are you trying to do? I’m an American colonel! If you dare kill me, America won’t let you off!"

"To hell with America, Stryker. You have to pay for everything you’ve done."

Wolverine roared and stepped forward, slashing Stryker’s arm into four pieces with one claw. Stryker screamed and rolled off his chair onto the floor, writhing in agony.

Yuriko sneered. "What a waste, Wolverine. Let me teach you how to torture people. We’ll start with the fingernails…"

Wang Bert, Psylocke, and Wade remained calm in the face of the bloody scene. They had seen this sort of thing plenty of times.

Unlike Wang Bert and the others, Nightcrawler was terrified. He even turned to flee, but Psylocke grabbed him and hauled him back. This was money; they could not waste it.

"Why is this guy here?"

Recognizing Nightcrawler, Wang Bert pretended to be curious and asked, "You are?"

"My name is Kurt. I used to be the best performer in the circus."

Nightcrawler sounded nervous during the first half, but by the second half, he had puffed out his chest with pride.

"A performer?"

Wang Bert laughed. "Why are you here?"

"Those bad people captured me. I don’t know what they wanted to do with me."

Nightcrawler said bitterly, "Maybe dissect me. I heard the guards say that the owner of this base loves dissecting mutants."

"Is that so?"

Wang Bert thought for a moment and said, "Follow me for now. In a few days, once I settle this matter, I’ll send you to the professor. Of course, you can also choose to work for me. I’ll pay you a salary."

Wang Bert had little interest in Nightcrawler. After all, everything the other man could do, Wang Bert could do too, and far better.

The sheltered Nightcrawler looked bewildered. "Professor?"

"A very good man. The problem is that he’s a little too good."

Wang Bert shook his head. "He isn’t suited to be the leader of mutants."

Psylocke strongly agreed. "That’s right. A leader has to be ruthless and know how to make money. The professor isn’t suited to either."

Wang Bert glanced at Psylocke and asked, "Why do I feel like you’re insulting me?"

"You heard wrong."

Psylocke said, "Boss, the mission is more or less done. Shouldn’t you settle our payment?"

At the mention of payment, Wade, who had been staring at Modified Deadpool, immediately turned around. "Right, it’s time to settle the payment."

"Don’t worry. I won’t shortchange you."

Wang Bert smiled and took two checks from his pocket, handing them over. Psylocke immediately beamed and even kissed her check.

Wade had been happy too, but when he saw the amount on Psylocke’s check, more than half his joy vanished instantly—it was a full ten times more.

Wang Bert walked to the center of the laboratory and pointed at the pool of Adamantium. "This is Adamantium, indestructible. Psylocke, want me to forge you an Adamantium blade? I’ll only charge you ten million."

"That’s the legendary Adamantium?"

Psylocke’s eyes lit up. So did Wade’s. They had both heard of Adamantium’s fame. On the black market, even inferior Adamantium was terrifyingly expensive.

Psylocke stared at the pool, somewhat hesitant. She definitely wanted an Adamantium blade. Combined with her powers, it could cut through anything. The problem was that it was so expensive.

Wang Bert reminded her, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Besides, the normal price of an Adamantium blade is at least thirty million."

"I’ll take it. I’ll pay five million as a deposit now, then give you the remaining five million once the blade is forged."

Psylocke gritted her teeth and returned the check that had not even had time to warm up in her hand.

Wade blinked and said, "You took five million from him to help capture this base, then he sold you the spoils from the base for ten million. In other words, not only did you work for him for free, you also have to pay him another five million?"

"Seems like it?"

Psylocke blinked. Why did she suddenly feel like she had suffered a huge loss? "How else do you think I became the boss?"

Wang Bert laughed loudly and put away the check. Then, with a flick of his hand, the Adamantium and the equipment beside it vanished at the same time.

Psylocke blinked, suppressing the bad thoughts in her heart. This boss was an Alpha-Level Mutant, after all, and she could not ruin her reputation.

"Psylocke, stay in New York for a few more days after the mission ends. I have a business deal I want to discuss with you."

Wang Bert said, "If it goes well, you can earn tens of millions of dollars a year."

"Tens of millions of dollars?"

Psylocke’s eyes shone. "Fine, I’ll wait for you in New York. However long it takes, I’ll wait. It’s a date."

Wang Bert teased, "Are you sure you’re not confessing to me?"

"Tens of millions of dollars?"

Wade could not help swallowing. "Boss, what business is it? Can I join? I’ll do whatever you want."

That sentence reminded Wang Bert and Psylocke of Wade’s coy behavior from a few days ago, and both of them looked disgusted. Wang Bert said, "Not you. What I need are mutants. But I can hire you as the head of security for my company. Interested? A million a year after taxes."

"A million a year?"

Wade’s eyes brightened. As a mercenary, even when business was good, he could not earn a million a year—before taxes.

But remembering Psylocke’s tens of millions, Wade instantly found the million-dollar salary less appealing. He said, "I’ll think about it."

Wade felt speechless. "Both five hundred thousand dollars and a million a year are huge gains. Why do I feel not happy at all?"

"I’ll wait for your answer, but you only have one month."

Wang Bert said. He believed Wade would agree, because Wade had a wife. A man with a wife needed a stable, high-paying job.

People always called single men dogs, but after getting married, that was when they truly became "dogs"—house-guarding dogs.

Remembering something, Wade pointed at Modified Deadpool and asked, "By the way, boss, who is that guy? Not only is he unbelievably ugly, I especially want to chop him up. I keep feeling that his existence is an insult to me."

"Ugly?"

Wang Bert smiled. "He’s an unlucky mutant who was turned into a puppet. Oh, before he became a puppet, he loved talking more than anything, so Stryker sewed his mouth shut."

Wade blinked. He had the feeling Wang Bert was implying something else.

"Enough of that. Wade, go collect every hard drive in the base for me."

Wang Bert said. It was worth mentioning that he had already taken all the key documents from the base, including the plan to "assassinate the president and frame the mutants."

Nightcrawler was the tool meant to carry out that plan.

"Okay."

Wade nodded and went out to get busy. Not long after, Stryker finally blissfully breathed his last—truly blissfully. If his tongue had not been pulled out, he might even have said thank you.

Wolverine let out a breath. "I finally got my revenge."

Deathstrike, her hands covered in blood, raised her head and stared at Wolverine with murderous intent. "I’ve only avenged half of my grudge."

Wolverine fearlessly replied, "I don’t remember killing your father, but if you want revenge, I’ll take it."

"Yuriko, while telling someone not to avenge their father’s death may be going too far, I believe Logan wouldn’t kill someone for no reason."

Wang Bert walked over and said, "Logan may be savage, crude, and bloodthirsty, but he has his own principles."

"I’m savage, crude, and bloodthirsty? Thanks a lot."

Wolverine rolled his eyes. Was this guy here to help him or mock him?

"My father truly wasn’t a good man. Wolverine killed him because he wanted to use Wolverine for experiments. But a father’s murder is still a father’s murder. It cannot go unavenged."

Yuriko glanced at Wang Bert and said, "Don’t worry, I won’t make a move now, because I’m not confident I can kill him. Wolverine, one day, I will cut off your head and offer it to my father."

Wolverine had felt a little guilty earlier, but after hearing Yuriko’s words, he sneered. "I’ll be waiting. And don’t expect me to hold back. I never hold back against enemies."

"I don’t need you to."

Yuriko snorted. Wang Bert smiled and said, "It’s best if you don’t fight. Yuriko, what are you planning to do next?"

Yuriko looked somewhat lost at the question. Stryker had controlled her for years, and she had no idea what to do next.

"If you don’t have a goal, I can hire you as my secretary with a high salary."

Wang Bert said, "Believe me, I’ll never enslave you like Stryker did."

"You saved me. I’m willing to work for you, but you can’t stop me from seeking revenge on Wolverine."

Yuriko lowered her head. She might not have been a good person, but she still understood that kindness had to be repaid.

Wang Bert waved his hand. "It’s fine. Get your revenge whenever you want. At worst, I’ll spend some money to resurrect him."

"Resurrect?"

Yuriko was stunned. Wolverine rubbed his nose, never expecting himself to be worth several billion dollars. He decided that from now on, he would no longer smoke cheap cigars. Cheap cigars no longer matched his status.

"Alright, everything that needed to be dealt with has been dealt with. Let’s get ready to leave."

Wang Bert clapped his hands. This time, the haul had been quite good. It had been a perfect trip.

"Boss, I suggest you dispose of the bodies in the base."

Psylocke professionally reminded him, "Intelligence agents can find a lot of clues from corpses."

"Good suggestion."

Wang Bert took out a stack of Banknotes and said, "Erase all the bodies, along with the clothes on them. Also, remove all traces of the crime."

The next second, the Banknotes vanished. Every corpse, including Stryker’s, simultaneously turned to ash and disappeared.

Yuriko, Psylocke, and the others stared in shock. This power was far too incredible.

"No matter how many times I see it, it still feels unscientific."

Wolverine shook his head, but excitement filled his heart. The more unscientific it was, the more likely it could resurrect his wife, because resurrection itself was unscientific.

Wang Bert glanced at Wolverine, and the meaning in his eyes was clear: You understand science? Wolverine flew into a rage. How could he not understand science? Sure, he had not finished elementary school, and sure, he had amnesia, but he was still an experienced driver who knew how to drive, alright?

At that moment, Wade returned carrying a pile of hard drives. He said, "All done. Oh, something really strange happened just now. The bodies around me suddenly disappeared."

Wade had expected everyone to cry out in surprise, but they all looked like they already knew. He blinked. Had he missed something? Wang Bert said, "Wade, help that, uh, puppet over there up. Uncle Wolf, bring Mastermind. We’re heading back."

Wade complained, "Why bring that guy? I really hate him."

"Just bring him. Why so much nonsense?"

Wang Bert said irritably. Wade was unhappy, but it was the boss’s order, so he could only walk over and grudgingly help Modified Deadpool up.

"He’s so heavy? I really do hate this guy."

The more Wade looked at Modified Deadpool, the more he wanted to stab him several times.

Meanwhile, Wolverine pushed Mastermind over. Though the other man was Stryker’s son, Wolverine had no intention of blaming the son for the father’s sins. Mastermind was pitiful, after all.

Yuriko glanced at Mastermind and asked with a complicated expression, "Boss, do you want to keep extracting Jason’s brain fluid to make special drugs?"

"Do I look that evil?"

Wang Bert said irritably, "Once this is over, I’ll send him to the professor for treatment. Mutants should help each other."

Everyone nodded, seeing no problem with that. After all, those words fit Wang Bert’s image perfectly—a hot-blooded young man who wanted to save mutants.

Nightcrawler secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The other man did not seem to be a bad person.

After everything was ready, Wang Bert snapped his fingers. Everyone vanished from the base at once and returned to the mountain outside.

"Come on. We’ll drive to the airport, then take a private plane back."

Nightcrawler asked in disbelief, "You can teleport through obstacles? Aren’t you afraid of getting stuck inside a mountain?"

"Of course not."

Wang Bert did not explain further. Would the mighty Space Lord teleport into a mountain? Not even a comedy would be that ridiculous. "Now, all that’s left is the bill debate four days from now."

Wang Bert gazed in America’s direction and lightly tapped his fingers. Four days later, a massive storm would sweep through America.

Mr. President, I’ll be waiting for you to come begging me.

Four days passed in the blink of an eye. At a venue in New York, Wang Bert entered the hall with his secretary, Yuriko. The moment Senator Kelly saw him, he immediately came over with a broad smile.

Senator Kelly shook Wang Bert’s hand and said, "Mr. Wang, it’s wonderful that you came. I was worried you wouldn’t honor us with your presence."

"The Mutant Registration Act is very important to mutants. I had to take part."

Senator Kelly said righteously, "It is indeed very important. Mr. Wang, let me state beforehand that I’m not targeting mutants. I simply want to protect public safety."

"Protect public safety? What about mutant safety?"

Senator Kelly said, "Mr. Wang, the Mutant Registration Act will not sacrifice mutants’ interests. It merely gives mutants a form of identification, like a driver’s license or gun permit. I believe that once the act is passed, both mutants and the public will be safer."

"Senator Kelly, you really know how to talk."

Wang Bert smiled. He was clearly a staunch anti-mutant, yet he kept claiming he was doing it for mutants’ own good. Politicians all had black hearts.

As he spoke, Wang Bert glanced at Senator Kelly’s assistant, Henry. If he remembered correctly, this Henry should be Mystique in disguise.

The Mystique who, once she had someone, could sleep with whoever she wanted.