The Advantage of Reading the Script Ahead of Time

If Yinsen had been Charles, he probably would not have told Erik that they would later part ways over ideological differences. But Charles readily recounted that part of the story.

Hearing what he would do in the future, Erik’s expression became a little strange. But when he learned that even at the height of their conflict, neither of them had ever truly tried to kill the other, he felt that he had really made a good friend this time.

To an outsider like Yinsen, the friendship between these two always seemed a little odd. Even Ada leaned close to Yinsen and quietly asked, "Could these two be…?"

"No." Still, Yinsen was certain that the bond between them surpassed that of most couples and married pairs in the world.

The X-Men Timeline was actually quite chaotic, with plenty of contradictions in sequence. Because of Days of Future Past, some of it could be explained by changes to the future altering certain developments.

For example, in the earliest Worldline, Deadpool had carried out many missions alongside Logan as a mercenary. Later, he was transformed into a super weapon, and after a final battle with Logan, he was destroyed.

But because of the events of Days of Future Past, the Timeline was rewritten. Deadpool was not modified during his mercenary days. Instead, he successfully left that team and only underwent the procedure after being diagnosed with cancer, becoming the most irresponsible superhero, Deadpool.

There were many such changes, but they no longer meant anything to the people here. They only needed to understand the troubles and enemies that might appear in the future, then find ways to deal with them.

Ever since Yinsen arrived, this world had begun heading toward an unknowable future. Nothing else could be certain, but the plot of Days of Future Past was destined not to happen. Charles and Erik, having learned of the Sentinel Program in advance, would definitely prevent it. The future would not fall into such great trouble, and Kitty Pryde naturally would not be able to send future Logan’s consciousness back into the past to warn them.

Besides the Sentinel Program, enemies like Sebastian Shaw could also be dealt with more clearly. They now knew what he would do in the future, understood his exact strength, and knew how to properly resolve this problem.

For enemies like that, they only needed to improve their own strength to deal with them—at least for the current Charles, Sebastian Shaw was no longer much of a threat.

The only one they needed to treat cautiously was Apocalypse, the powerful enemy known as the first mutant. At present, they would probably have a hard time dealing with him. In particular, Jean Grey, the Dark Phoenix and their main Trump Card, had not even been born yet. Charles and the still-inexperienced Erik alone were simply no match for that man.

"Next, I may need to give you a thorough education."

Magneto became so powerful later not only because his own ability was strong enough, but also because he had persistently studied and developed his powers.

Magneto could control Magnetic Fields, and magnetism, as one of the Four Fundamental Forces of the Universe, was an incredibly powerful force.

Just how strong was Magneto at his peak?

He could manipulate Magnetic Fields to create natural disasters such as tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. He could even use Magnetic Fields to move planets. As for moving metal objects, that was merely the most basic operation.

By controlling Magnetic Fields, Erik could gain the ability to fly. He could also enter a state of Optical Invisibility, use Magnetic Fields to enhance his physical abilities, and even develop a degree of symbiosis with Earth through long-term study of its Magnetic Field, thereby gaining a lifespan as enduring as Earth itself. As long as Earth was not destroyed, he would not die. Even if Earth were destroyed, as long as Magnetic Fields still existed somewhere in this universe, he could continue living for a very long time.

He could also create a special Energy Field to protect himself. Even nuclear weapons could not break through that defensive field, and it would allow Magneto to survive in outer space.

He could even use Magnetic Fields to create wormholes and achieve spatial teleportation.

At his peak, Magneto was basically an absurdly overpowered cheat character, the kind with no solution.

To achieve all that, aside from persistent training over a long period, he needed to expand his knowledge. Controlling Magnetic Fields required understanding an enormous range of knowledge, covering enough disciplines to drive a top scholar mad.

The Magneto of the Comic Universe became so powerful because, through self-study, he turned himself into one of the greatest scholars alive. Though he had no academic credentials whatsoever, the wisdom Erik possessed then stood at the very pinnacle of all life on Earth.

As for this one… he had never properly attended school. He had spent the early part of his life in a concentration camp, then spent years wandering all over the world fueled by vengeance. Clearly, he could not possibly possess such extensive knowledge.

"So, to deal with the problems that may appear in the future, I have to become stronger. And if I want to become stronger, I have to study?"

"More or less."

The current Erik still believed his power came from anger. He used his rage to indirectly control his ability. Not only was that method difficult to activate, but its effects were terrible and it was not conducive to further development.

Charles had considered helping Erik escape his state of being consumed by anger before. But at the time, he did not understand Magneto’s powers well enough. All he could do was force-feed Erik encouraging platitudes, hoping that Erik would let go of his hatred and walk toward the light.

Now that he had inherited old Charles’s knowledge and memories, he understood enough about his old rival Magneto. He knew exactly how Magneto’s ability worked, and he knew how to help him improve it more effectively.

In Charles’s eyes, making Magneto study properly was far better than feeding him comforting platitudes. If he learned more and understood more, perhaps Erik would figure out many things for himself.

Moreover, Erik currently had an enormous, enormous, enormous number of subjects to make up. Learning all that knowledge would take a great deal of time. That would also occupy most of Erik’s time and energy. Without the time or energy, he naturally would not run off and cause trouble.

No matter how one looked at it, this was a perfect choice.

Erik fell silent for a while. He decided to accept Charles’s suggestion and study properly, but he made one demand.

"Sebastian Shaw must be dealt with by my own hand."

Charles was about to try persuading Erik again when Yinsen, who sat across from him, suddenly spoke.

"That is your right. No one has the ‘right’ to stop you."

Yinsen deliberately stressed the last word and stared fixedly at Charles. He bore Charles no grudge, but he strongly disapproved of Charles trying to stop Erik from taking revenge.

Perhaps Charles did not want Erik to become consumed by vengeance and ultimately turn into a murderous lunatic. But Yinsen felt that if someone could not personally avenge the death of his own mother, that was what would truly drive him insane.

It was not that Charles’s approach was wrong. It was simply rooted in Charles’s life, upbringing, worldview, outlook on life, and values: he could not take anyone’s life. He had always believed this was right, had always acted accordingly, and hoped his friend would do the same.

Erik stared blankly at Yinsen. He did not even understand what was happening. This stranger he had met for the first time supported him, while Charles, his friend, was vehemently opposed.

He recalled what Charles had said about the future. The two of them would head in completely different directions because their ideals did not align, even becoming opponents. At that moment, he could already sense the enormous difference between their beliefs.

Charles still wanted to say a few more words, but Yinsen lightly tapped the coffee table in front of him.

"Put yourself in his shoes, Charles. If your parents were murdered right before your eyes solely for an experiment, what would you feel?"

Charles had "seen" that scene through Erik’s memories, but it had not been his own experience. It was difficult for him to truly understand how desperate and furious Erik had been at that moment.

Still, through those deeply etched memories, he had sensed some of Erik’s emotions from back then. It truly had not felt good.

He gained a little understanding of Erik’s determination to kill Sebastian, but he was still bound by his own beliefs and still felt that killing was wrong.

The conversation temporarily came to a stop. Having reached this point, no one was interested in continuing to discuss what would happen in the future. They decided to focus on the present and resolve the problems before them first.

Sebastian Shaw believed that the appearance of Nuclear Bombs stimulated the awakening of the Mutant Gene. After nuclear weapons appeared, large numbers of mutants had emerged over the past few decades. Before that, mutants had been an exceedingly rare group, so rare that they had nearly seemed nonexistent.

Therefore, he intended to provoke a conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, the two great nuclear powers, and trigger a Nuclear War. Then the entire world would become a paradise for mutants.

As for ordinary people? They were destined to die in the Nuclear War.

It had to be said that Sebastian’s idea was extreme. He seemed never to have considered that most mutants had the same constitutions as humans. Nuclear War would kill his own kind as well.

Or perhaps he simply did not care about those weak beings. What he wanted was a population that was small in number but elite in every individual?

Whatever the reason, Sebastian Shaw’s plan was insane. If it succeeded, it would cause an enormous disaster, something Charles could never accept.

Whether or not they intended to kill this madman, they had to stop his insane plan.

"What should we do now?"

"I don’t know what plans you have, but if I were making the plan, we should already be on our way to ambush that guy."

Charles thought for a moment. His memories lacked information on Sebastian’s current whereabouts. That man had a nuclear submarine and roamed the seas, making him impossible to track down.

But the memories of the future still gave him an idea.

"Or we can quietly wait for him to come to us."