Chapter 96

Under the steel sky, Chen Ang observed the DNA recombination phenomenon of the two individuals, Nymph and Rending, as their X genes evolved under the influence of the evolutionary agent. The metal cells absorbed the constantly eliminated and split gene combinations during their evolution, transforming into new cells. Chen Ang noticed that some cells lost their activity, while others underwent new changes.

A piece of steel tissue floated in front of Chen Ang, surrounded by a silent laboratory constructed by nanobots. Chen Ang gently clapped his hands, "Clap!"

The sound was not loud, but the steel tissue melted and disappeared into the air. The steel soundproof barrier formed by the nanobots, as if attacked, developed a thumb-sized deep pit. Chen Ang controlled the robots to retrieve the iron piece from the pit.

He placed the iron piece into the quantum scanning channel. Nymph's genetic ability, on the surface, was high-frequency sound waves, but in reality, it was energy transmission. After the evolution induced by the agent, the energy transmission could actually transfer matter. The steel cell tissue with Nymph's X gene could use the energy waves to transmit its own material during sound wave transmission.

This made Chen Ang very curious. The experiment had been ongoing for the entire afternoon, and even the nanocells had updated themselves, but Chen Ang still hadn't found the secret. However, he had made some progress.

Time always passed quickly in the laboratory. When Chen Ang walked out, the moon had already risen. In the hazy moonlight, Chen Ang sighed, "Why does every battle always happen under such beautiful moonlight?"

He walked to the high platform, and the nanobots reformed under his feet, lifting him to a platform hundreds of meters in the air. Chen Ang gazed into the distance, where the bright lights of New York City lay beneath him. What should have been the bustling Manhattan area was now just a river and a crescent moon flowing through it.

Deadpool walked up behind Chen Ang and exclaimed, "What are you thinking, boss?"

He raised his eyebrows and grinned, "Boss, you've been with SkyNet for over ten hours. I think you desperately need a woman. Otherwise, you'll turn into a robot. Seriously, if one day you peel off your skin and say you're an alien hiding among humans, I won't be surprised at all!"

Chen Ang looked at the distant sea and asked, "Do you know? Deadpool hasn't dared to talk to me like this for a long time! If you're trying to disguise yourself, iris and voice recognition won't expose you, but do you know how many indicators of the human body you don't know?"

Deadpool laughed, "How many?"

"Body temperature, stride, mass, density, brain waves, and the quantum effects of the human body, countless. Mimicking a person is easy because people always judge by appearance. But becoming another person is hard. Ordinary people won't notice these things, but I'm not ordinary," Chen Ang said calmly, looking into the distance.

Deadpool's body suddenly wriggled, and blue stripes covered half of his skin. He quickly returned to his original form and laughed, "Now?"

His weight, height, density, and even his small actions and habits perfectly matched Deadpool. The former could be a superpower, but the latter required exceptional special agent skills.

Unfortunately, in Chen Ang's eyes, it was still full of flaws. Even if he mimicked brain waves, Chen Ang looked at 'Deadpool' and said, "Really impressive, but it's useless. The world I see is different from yours. You look like a rabbit imitating a frog, which is ridiculous."

Deadpool looked at Chen Ang for a while and finally gave up. His body twisted into a blue-skinned, red-haired creature, and he laughed, "I can't tell if what you said is true or not. But since you recognized me, you win! How about it, did my appearance scare you?"

"No, very beautiful!" Chen Ang praised, "Full of scientific mystery and beauty!"

"Do you compliment girls like that?" Mystique challenged, "That's not good!"

Chen Ang smiled calmly, his eyes full of curiosity, "I'm just reflecting on myself. I've been doing too many experiments lately. When I saw you, my first reaction was to want to study you."

"Hah! That's not funny!" Mystique shook her head. Seeing Chen Ang's focused gaze, she suddenly realized, "Are you serious?" Many mutants had been studied, and they had a deep aversion to scientists and research.

Chen Ang had touched a sore spot in Mystique's heart. Her face instantly turned dark, and the atmosphere between them became tense. Chen Ang seemed not to care, his face calm as he looked into the distance, where the gravitational threads reflected the subtle movements around New York.

Finally, Mystique spoke first. She had a mission and couldn't let her emotions ruin things, "Magneto values you highly! He thinks you are the future leader of mutants. If you weren't so reckless, I might agree."

Mystique threw in a barb for the earlier incident. Using a woman's unique mental victory method, she adjusted her mood and regained her composure.

"Oh! Magneto!" Chen Ang, with his absent-mindedness, had the ability to drive anyone crazy. His tone, as if evaluating experimental materials, was full of cold and cruel disregard for personality. Mystique felt he wasn't saying Magneto's name but the code name of a lab mouse.

If she could visit Chen Ang's laboratory, she would be surprised to find that custom-made experimental equipment for the two of them was already in place. With a careful look, she might even find experimental data and preparations in the corner, with her and Magneto's names on the sterile suits. Chen Ang was always a person who planned ahead.

He had already designed the experiment and was just waiting for the materials.

Unexpectedly, one was delivered today. Chen Ang thought, "Too bad there wasn't a conflict; otherwise, I could have detained her and conducted the experiment tonight." Chen Ang's personality had changed a lot, but he still couldn't bring himself to capture someone for experimental purposes without a reason.

But it wouldn't be long, Chen Ang thought with a smile, as he noticed the faint red light in the distance.

Mystique suppressed her anger and said coldly, "You are a mutant, and you should know that no matter how powerful you are, in the eyes of humans, you are a monster. You can never live a normal life. As long as mutants haven't gained dominance, no matter how strong you are, you will be marginalized, exploited, and despised."

"You're right," Chen Ang agreed, "That's the reality. But first, why should I want to live a normal life? Second, I'm not a mutant!"

"You forgot one thing: my stance is always with ordinary humans. I'm here not to fight for mutant rights but to utilize the value of mutants. If you want to win me over, you should show the value of the Brotherhood, not use dreams. My dreams are different from yours."

Chen Ang's eyes were calm. Mystique almost suffocated; she couldn't believe that such a powerful mutant would deny his identity and value. In the Brotherhood, weaker mutants initially felt excluded, but once they truly identified with their identity, they all felt proud.

Mystique believed that Chen Ang had a similar cognitive bias.

"Mutants are the future of humanity, the new humans. We are the pride of evolution, the future masters of Earth. We will replace humans and become the true rulers of the world. Abilities are power, wealth, just like when apes developed brains, hands, and tools, they replaced their ancestors and became humans."

"Our future, like our ancestors, is a new humanity, the future. Ordinary people envy us, humans fear us, because we are their future, and we will replace them. Being a mutant is a source of pride, and the Brotherhood is the organization that unites mutants to move towards the future," Mystique said excitedly.

But Chen Ang just sighed, "Did Magneto learn all this from the Nazis? Old racist ideas? When he grew up, he became like them. Shaw shaped him, but why didn't he teach him to be smarter?"

"The struggle between mutants and humans can only have two outcomes: either humans step over our corpses, or we step over theirs."

"If someone says, 'You're dreaming!' I can only answer, 'You fool, if I weren't a dreamer, where would we be today? I have always believed in mutants, and you call me a dreamer; I have always believed that mutants will rise, and you call me a fool; I have always believed we can reclaim our rights, and you call me crazy; I have always believed that oppression will end, and you call it a utopia. Who is right? You or me? I am right, and I always will be!'"

Chen Ang played a segment of Hitler's speech, replacing the key words to create a highly inflammatory demand for mutant rights. He turned to Mystique and asked curiously, "Is there any content about the survival space of mutants, social Darwinism, and the principle of leadership?"

Seeing Mystique's ashen face, he nodded, "It seems there is!"

"Has Magneto bought the copyright to Hitler? When will the Brotherhood of Mutants be renamed the New National Socialist Party? When will the concentration camps be set up?"

Chen Ang's words were like sharp knives, piercing through the things Mystique tried to hide.

"Why learn from a failure? Why not see if you're worthy?" Chen Ang said coldly, "What does Magneto want to do? The economy, politics, culture, science, all the most beautiful and advanced things of human civilization, are created by humans. Does he want to be a medieval pope in the age of technology?"

"Or a 21st-century Roman emperor?"

"To be frank, besides abilities, I don't see the potential of mutants. If the world is about survival of the fittest, humans have eliminated a few unsuitable species, which is not new. Since the emergence of upright apes, more species have gone extinct than ever before, comparable to a mass extinction."

"Nature creates species, but humans decide their fate. Any race that cannot adapt to human transformation of nature will die out. Mutants are no exception." (To be continued...)