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Chapter 888: Twinkling Rotten Stars (33)

In an instant, the Vice President's brows furrowed, but he patiently replied, "I'm looking for Charles Xavier, Professor X. The President's office hopes to have a direct conversation with him..."

"Didn't I say that Professor is busy?" Polaris's voice came through with impatience. She continued, "Are you some sort of sales company? We've received several calls within the past few minutes. Do you know how busy we are? Who has the time to sit by the phone waiting for your calls?"

"But... What is Professor X busy with? What are the mutants up to?" The Vice President immediately sensed something was amiss. The background noise on the phone was chaotic, resembling a fight. At this moment, he heard Polaris's voice becoming muffled, as if she had covered the receiver to speak to someone else.

"Wolverine!! What are you doing?! I told you not to touch the spaceship's controls! Your claws are so sharp; what if you damage the buttons? And you, Cyclops! Put on your glasses! Didn't you create a massive hole in the spaceship's deck last time?"

"Where do you think you are? Is this your run-down school? This is the escort ship provided to us by Lord Thanos! If you blow up this ship, be prepared to face Lord Thanos's wrath..."

With that, Polaris released the receiver, her impatience evident. She continued, "What President? The President of a single nation on Earth thinks he can have an official conversation with us? Even Lord Thanos himself negotiated directly with our leader. Who do you think you are..."

"Lorna! Lorna! Please, don't..." A gentle voice intervened, and the Vice President heard the sound of an exchange on the other end of the line. Charles's voice came through, "I apologize, Mr. President. Lorna has been extremely busy lately, and her temper is not the best. Allow me to apologize on her behalf..."

"Mr. Xavier, what is going on? You mutants... Where have you gone? What are you doing?"

"It's nothing, just an internship at Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. We've taken on a task to help mutants control their powers and assist a certain space faction with some plans."

"A space faction? You mean you're not on Earth right now?" The Vice President's eyebrows were almost touching as he spoke. He continued, "So where are you?"

"Mr. President, this is just an internship. There's no need to be alarmed. Mutants don't have to stay on Earth. The benefits offered for this task are good; it includes food, accommodation, weapons, and a spaceship. We won't be returning anytime soon."

"But... Charles, you have to understand, mutants are still part of the human race. You can't just align yourselves with an unknown space faction; it's a betrayal of humanity..."

"Of course, Mr. President, we will eventually return. But as you know, mutants' development on Earth hasn't been ideal. The school is underfunded, and admission criteria are too strict. We need to find a way to support ourselves."

"Mutants don't have any other capital except their abilities, and fortunately, there are civilizations in space that require this kind of strength."

Charles sighed, saying, "You also know that Magneto and his Brotherhood are always causing trouble. When they were on Earth, they gave me headaches. Instead of that, it's better to let them leave Earth. It's better for everyone, isn't it?"

Before the Vice President could respond, Polaris's voice resounded again, "Stop mentioning Erik! They're the ones who thought mutants were dangerous and troublesome, wanting to drive us out of Earth. We took a step back and left the ant colony, and now they have the audacity to bother us with phone calls?!"

Polaris gave a disdainful snort and added, "Watch out, Erik might return one day and blow up their sun!"

"Lorna! Don't say that. After all, Earth is our homeland. Even while working abroad, we should always think of home." Charles's voice remained gentle and soothing. He continued, "Go outside and take a look at the scenery through the porthole. You need some rest; dealing with those dwarves has been quite a hassle lately. You've worked hard."

Polaris's reluctant voice came through, "If it weren't for Lord Salos's sake, I wouldn't mix with you idiots... Wolverine! Get your claws off the control panel!"

After Polaris left, Charles's voice returned, "Mr. President, I heard you made several calls to reach me. May I inquire about the reason?"

At this point, the Vice President hesitated. He had originally planned to discuss mutants' future with Professor X, apply some pressure through words, then step back slightly and state his own needs, finally offering rewards in a benevolent manner. However, Charles had spoken first, revealing that he was not on Earth and had important matters to attend to. Moreover, he mentioned that Magneto and his Brotherhood mutants wanted to leave Earth entirely. In light of this, the concept of five state slots seemed utterly ridiculous.

Over there, they are in the midst of a Space war, even piloting spaceships. Who would still care about enrollment quotas?

After some thought, the Vice President cautiously asked, "Professor Xavier, is this so-called Lord Thanos your employer?"

"Yes, for the X-Men, that's the case. However, Magneto's daughter, the one who just answered the phone, Lorna, seems to think that Lord Thanos is a just ruler worth aligning with. She's persuading her father to join Lord Thanos. But the X-Men believe that we always remain a part of humanity. We can accept an employment relationship, but loyalty is another matter."

The Vice President breathed a sigh of relief, but then he grew nervous again. He asked, "Are you involved in fighting? Who are you fighting against?"

"Mr. Vice President, we're quite busy. The X-Men's interns lack combat experience, so they need my assistance. If you don't have any further business, I'll have to hang up."

Professor X always spoke with a smile in his voice, but the Vice President couldn't find it in himself to smile anymore. Previously, when he had called the mutants, it had been him who wanted to hang up the phone, but Charles had wanted to chat. Now the situation was reversed, and he realized it wasn't a pleasant feeling.

However, he couldn't continue pressing for answers. His professional demeanor reminded him that his recent questions had bordered on interrogation, and the other party's mood wasn't very cooperative. Pushing further might backfire.

After hanging up the phone, the Vice President felt a sense of absurdity. How had he come to feel that he was oppressing the mutants?

The Vice President wasn't an outright mutant hater, but he was certainly a vocal critic of mutants. There had been reports linking him closely to mutants, but it had all been a facade. Every time he communicated with Professor X, it was to force mutants to step back further or to promise empty favors, using them for his own purposes.

In the past, mutants had no alternatives. The Vice President would advance, and Professor X would have to retreat. But no matter how much mutants retreated, they were facing a dead end. They could only have their living space gradually compressed until there was nowhere left to go. This allowed Congress to relax for a while, give them some breathing room, and then continue to exert pressure, gradually sapping mutants' strength to prevent them from causing any trouble.

But now, the situation had changed. The wall behind mutants had crumbled, revealing another bright land on the other side called Space.

Compared to ordinary humans who needed to wear thick space suits and use extremely safe spaceships to enter Space, mutants were not so delicate. Mutants who could control magnetic fields and stances were one thing, but even Wolverine could withstand Space radiation. Though his mobility was limited, at least he wouldn't die.

Furthermore, they had hitched a ride with other Space factions. This so-called Lord Thanos, who could casually provide spaceships to mercenaries, indicated that he was no ordinary small civilization leader; his civilization was far more advanced than humanity.

Yet the Vice President still had doubts. He wondered if the mutants were putting on an act. Just as he considered finding someone to confirm this, an aide entered, holding a report, and said:

"Mr. President, there's some bad news—or perhaps it's good news. There's trouble on the planet where humans mine Molten Steel. The Sulphur Dwarf collective has risen in rebellion, and spaceships are involved."

"Stark Industries' robots haven't been updated for a long time and are retreating in the face of the attack. Now, Stark has died, and access to the advanced laboratories has been locked down. We can't control those robots that are rebelling."

"In the past three weeks, Molten Steel production has decreased by at least half. Sulphur Dwarves have reclaimed half of the mines. If this continues, Molten Steel may cease to flow."

"What did you say?!" The Vice President's voice rose in shock. "Molten Steel ceases to flow? But all our space equipment uses this new material. We have at least fifty to sixty projects in progress. If Molten Steel stops flowing, what will happen to our initial investments?"

"However, due to the drop in Molten Steel production, the price of Vibranium will rise. We have plenty of Vibranium reserves." The aide didn't seem to understand economic matters, and the Vice President slapped his forehead in frustration, saying, "My goodness! Don't you realize? Vibranium has already been allocated for something else!"

He took a deep breath and said, "Thor, the God-King of the so-called Nine Realms, is forging a new king's crown. Sanctum Sanctorum is negotiating with him to use human-specific metal Vibranium for the crown's decoration."

"The general public is gradually becoming aware of Asgard's existence. Once this news is publicized, Vibranium will go from being an industrial metal to a precious gem, just like colored gemstones. Would you use a gem to build rockets?"

The Vice President's face turned pale. "We've already reached agreements with several jewelry conglomerates, and Vibranium-made jewelry is already in production. We're just waiting to announce it and hike up the prices before going public."

"But if Molten Steel, which serves as a universal industrial metal, completely ceases to flow, returning us to the Vibranium era, Congress will undoubtedly demand that we maintain sufficient Vibranium reserves as a strategic resource to compete with other countries. They won't allow us to sell it as jewelry!"

"What can we do?" The aide asked anxiously. "The general public may not know, but we do. That planet is outside the Solar System, and we have no control over it. Only Stark..."

"Not necessarily! As long as we can persuade the mutants... they have the ability to go to Space!" The Vice President gritted his teeth. "We must make them deal with this trouble, whether it's inside Earth or beyond Earth."

Just then, another person burst into the room, saying, "Mr. President! We have a problem! JARVIS has released footage of the Sulphur Dwarf's main star engaging in combat, and we've discovered that mutants are aiding the Sulphur Dwarves' uprising!"

"Mr. President! Mr. President! Wake up! Quick, someone... a doctor! A doctor! The President has fainted!"