Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Sixty: Heartfelt, Old Iron
Magneto was not the type to beat around the bush. Since Bai Luo had asked, he wouldn't waste time with small talk; he got straight to the point. "I hope you can join us."
This wasn't the first time Magneto had invited Bai Luo, but it was the first time he did so in a formal manner.
Bai Luo wasn't particularly surprised.
He couldn't be surprised. For one, Magneto's prison break was a plotline straight out of the movies—Mystique injected an excessive amount of iron into the body of one of Magneto's guards, and Magneto simply performed a "human iron extraction technique," effortlessly escaping. In a modern world filled with iron products, Magneto's abilities were sometimes insurmountable.
Moreover, as the saying goes, nothing good comes without a price. Bai Luo didn't believe that Magneto would genuinely offer his green-haired daughter to him. Considering this guy's character, it was likely he was here to recruit him.
Bai Luo couldn't help but silently scoff: As a heavyweight mutant, your behavioral patterns are too easy to guess.
Furthermore, Bai Luo understood that Magneto had misunderstood his previous actions at Charles Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, thinking he was willing to side with mutants.
Bai Luo was indeed willing to stand with mutants, but he didn't want to align himself with Magneto. Although Lao Wan seemed like an interesting fellow in his eyes, Lao Wan was rather single-minded and had a bit of a temper. He had already started collaborating with S.H.I.E.L.D., and it looked like he was about to con—no, persuade the biggest financier, Tony Stark, to join him. Jumping ship now and teaming up with Lao Wan would be like "going down the wrong path."
Still, Bai Luo feigned surprise and said, "You want me to join? I think you should know that I'm not a mutant."
Magneto replied, "But your sister is a mutant, and you've been helping us. You helped Charles's school out of crisis and assisted me in finding my daughter Lorna. In this era, mutants need help. Although you're not a mutant, you're not an ordinary person either; you're also an extraordinary being. From this perspective, you're no different from mutants.
"This world is undergoing rapid development and change. You once called yourself a prophet and even predicted Lorna's existence. I believe you understand better than we do that the future will be ruled by people like us. The term 'mutant' is derogatory; in my view, mutants are the superior race of the new century."
Bai Luo sighed as he recalled that he had indeed boasted about being a prophet to Magneto before.
After thinking for a moment, Bai Luo said, "Lao Wan and I have known each other for twenty years; we can consider ourselves friends, right?"
Magneto sensed that Bai Luo's statement aimed to bridge their relationship and nodded slightly.
However, Lorna Dane on the side scoffed disdainfully, thinking to herself how shameless it was for someone to claim friendship with someone three or four decades older than him.
But she was just thinking about it, nothing more.
Bai Luo continued, "Since we are friends, let me be honest with you. Putting aside what the future holds, Lao Wan, I know you have a certain influence among mutants, but let me ask you a question: do you have a fixed headquarters?"
Magneto replied, "What do I need a headquarters for?"
"Look, Charles' X-Men have a Mutant School, S.H.I.E.L.D. has several headquarters spread across the globe, even someone like Howard Stark, who is known for his womanizing, has a Stark Tower. What about you? Do you have a campsite? Or some abandoned building that's been left to rot for years?"
He was clearly mocking X-Men 1 and its tropes. Of course, no one in the room could catch the reference Bai Luo was making; they only noticed that Magneto's expression had turned somewhat awkward.
Magneto thought for a moment and said, "I just got out of prison. Soon, my Brotherhood will have a real base of operations."
"A base is one thing," Bai Luo waved his hand dismissively. "The most important thing is: do you have money? Do you have equipment? Mutants are indeed powerful; having a group of them is like having an army. But do you really plan to send your subordinates into battle without any gear and then come back to eat plain bread? Also, do you have intelligence? If you're really planning to carry out some terror actions, Charles' X-Men will definitely be the first to stop you, right? S.H.I.E.L.D. will come to thwart you too. Do you know their every move? You can't rely on Lorna to keep an eye on Charles; you probably already know she would never help you spy on the X-Men's intel. And there's..."
"Cough." At this moment, Mystique couldn't take it anymore. She cleared her throat and called out, "Bai Luo."
Bai Luo wisely stopped talking, still wearing a smile as he looked at Magneto.
Magneto's face had turned green by now.
It was quite painful for him.
Lorna Dane glanced between Magneto and Bai Luo. To be honest, she didn't particularly like either of them, but she wasn't overly annoyed either. After all, the former was her father, and Bai Luo had helped significantly during Strucker's raid on the Mutant School. So now as she looked at Magneto, she felt a bit sorry for him—how could Magneto seem so defeated in Bai Luo's words?
Moreover, the key point was that Lorna found Bai Luo's arguments to be quite reasonable.
Magneto was staring intently at Bai Luo; he opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. Truthfully, he was already feeling an urge to smash something.
Especially since Bai Luo was still smiling innocently at him.
But Magneto also understood that Bai Luo's points were indeed things he had overlooked; although they were hard to hear, they were very much to the point.
At that moment, the door to Bai Luo's room was suddenly knocked on.
Bai Luo frowned slightly, stood up, and asked, "Who is it?"
A familiar female voice came from outside: "Aren't you going to take me out for dinner?"
It was Natasha's voice. The Black Widow, who had disappeared for a whole month, had shown up at this very moment.
Bai Luo glanced towards the door and then at Magneto sitting nearby, and in an instant, everything clicked into place.
Natasha arriving at this time for Bai Luo's "candlelight dinner" was no coincidence.
Her previous urgent mission was likely to track down the escaped Magneto. Only someone like Magneto could keep Natasha on his trail for over a month without any results. Now that Magneto had come to Bai Luo's place, it was clear that Natasha had received the news and followed him here directly.
Comment 0 Comment Count