Tashim’s Terror

Alex immediately activated Teleportation the moment the explosion erupted. Faced with such a terrifying blast, he did not think he could withstand it. Staying alive came first; everything else could be discussed later.

The explosion came quickly and went quickly. In an instant, the once magnificent and imposing Poseidonia was reduced to ruins. There were no survivors. Only Tashim stood in the center of the wreckage, wearing a smug smile.

At first, Alex had not fled far, only beyond Poseidonia. Looking at the ruins behind him, he felt nothing but shock. With such terrifying power, even an atomic bomb might not have been any stronger!

Inside the Floating Temple, Emma and Howard saw Poseidonia after the explosion through Alex’s vision. They wore identical expressions, their jaws practically hitting the floor and their eyes nearly popping out of their heads.

Alex did not dare linger another moment and instantly returned to the Floating Temple, his face still filled with unease. "What do you think we should do?"

"First, we absolutely cannot let him know you’re still alive." Emma gently looped her arm through Alex’s and spoke softly. "He came looking for you. As long as you’re dead, he probably won’t come after us again."

"I’m afraid he won’t keep his promise." Alex shook his head with a bitter smile. He did not trust Tashim. His instincts told him that Tashim would still cause trouble for the mutants.

Alex’s words silenced both Emma and Howard. Judging from Tashim’s previous words and actions, he really might do such a thing. "Everyone should submit to the Inhumans." He was not someone willing to remain quiet.

"Howard, I’ll leave the holographic control console to you." Seeing that neither of them had any good ideas, Alex could only think of a solution himself. "If he comes here, do everything you can to stop him." The holographic control console could control the entire Savage Land. Although it could not kill Tashim, it could at least slow his advance.

"Emma…" Alex stopped after calling her name, his brows tightly furrowed. After hesitating for a moment, he continued, "Emma, choose some people. I’ll take them away." Alex did not have a favorable view of the future. He wanted to preserve at least some of the mutant bloodline.

Emma froze at his words and looked up at him, her face full of disbelief. Only after a long while did she slowly say, "Then take those candidates!" The candidates were the most outstanding mutants Emma had selected. If they were to preserve their bloodline, those people were undoubtedly the most suitable.

"Alright!" Alex answered, then turned and vanished.

A short while later, Alex returned. Seeing Emma’s questioning gaze, he said with a light smile, "I told them it was a training mission. Once they complete it, they’ll be selected for the X-Men."

With no more worries holding him back, Alex simply handed all the remaining matters to Emma. He was going into seclusion, striving to make a breakthrough as soon as possible so that he could contend with Tashim.

And surprisingly, under immense pressure, Alex really did break through.

During his battle with Tashim, Alex had deeply regretted filling all four of his Replication Ability slots. After entering seclusion, he kept thinking about it. As he thought, he somehow deleted the copied Invisibility Ability. The moment it vanished, Alex noticed it. At first, he thought the replication period had ended, but then he realized that the other three abilities were still there.

Shocked, Alex tried deleting the other three abilities as well. They disappeared one after another. Overjoyed, he conducted more than a dozen experiments in succession and finally confirmed that he could truly delete copied abilities at will.

But before he could celebrate for long, Alex thought of a crucial problem.

Alex’s Replication Ability had always copied mutant abilities, but Tashim was an Inhuman. Whether Replication would work on him was completely unknown to Alex.

After copying Erik’s, Sebastian Shaw’s, and Tornado’s abilities again, Alex decided to find Tashim and test it. I hope it works.

When he returned to the Floating Temple, Alex saw Howard sprawled over the holographic control console, his eyes bloodshot as he muttered through gritted teeth. The Savage Land displayed on the console was changing drastically. At the border between the plains and the forest, the ground shook as if an earthquake had struck. Massive mountains suddenly rose one after another, forming enormous barriers.

"He really came?" Alex understood at once when he saw this. His expression did not change much; he had expected it.

Hearing him, Howard raised his head and nodded at Alex. "That guy is fast. He’ll be here to kill us in less than two days!" The holographic control console had little control over the plains. Even basic observation relied on mutants tracking Tashim’s trail along the way.

"Alright, I’ll go meet him." Alex nodded calmly, then asked, "Where is he now?"

Howard gave Alex a surprised look, then marked a spot on the map.

Alex glanced at it. There happened to be a city nearby that he had visited before, so he Teleported directly into the city and quickly headed toward Tashim’s location.

When Alex appeared before Tashim again, Tashim seemed somewhat surprised. The expression quickly vanished, and he said with an inscrutable look, "So you really didn’t die."

"Come on, let’s go over there!" Alex did not waste words and pointed toward the distant mountains. This was a city, and he did not want another tragedy like Poseidonia. If he could avoid hurting people, he would.

Tashim sneered and, without hesitation, took the lead in racing toward the distant mountains.

Alex followed behind Tashim at an unhurried pace, though he was thinking about how to copy Tashim’s ability.

Within minutes, the two arrived at the foot of the mountains. The area around them was barren and empty.

"Can I ask you a question?" Alex did not attack immediately. Instead, he actually began chatting with Tashim. Without waiting for him to respond, he asked, "Can you tell me what exactly you’re trying to do?"

Tashim crossed his arms over his chest and looked calmly at Alex. "Kill you," he said indifferently.

"We have no grudge, old or new. Why do you want to kill me?" Alex knew this was merely Tashim’s excuse. He believed Tashim definitely had another reason.

"All mutants deserve to die. Is that reason enough?" Tashim apparently did not wish to continue arguing over the matter. The moment he finished speaking, he attacked first.

Alex had no choice but to repeatedly use Teleportation in an attempt to get close to Tashim. But Tashim was extremely alert, surrounded by Energy Balls. If Alex approached, he would inevitably set off some of them.

Fortunately, Alex had come prepared. Under his control, more than a hundred steel pellets flew into the Energy Balls. Alex wanted to clear out some space so he could seize the chance to get close to Tashim.

Tashim was also highly experienced in battle, and his control over the Energy Balls was extraordinarily precise. Out of more than a hundred steel pellets, only a dozen or so successfully detonated Energy Balls. The others were avoided by the Energy Balls, and many did not explode even when they struck them. It showed just how formidable Tashim’s control was.