In fact, Michael even thought:
If this could make Jean Grey directly turn into Dark Phoenix, that would be wonderful.
However, a moment's thought revealed that this was impossible.
She wasn't like the sorcerer Mordo, who, for decades, stubbornly believed there was only good and bad, and nothing in between. Upon seeing Ancient One was actually a dark sorcerer, he immediately embarked on the path of becoming Dark Phoenix.
Jean Grey had been meticulously trained by Charles for many years; deep down, she was a docile girl. Making her directly turn into Dark Phoenix was impossible! But it didn't matter! Michael had plenty of time to wait! What Michael was doing now was merely planting the seed of becoming Dark Phoenix in Jean Grey's heart.
Michael didn't intend to personally make Jean Grey turn into Dark Phoenix.
The Phoenix Force is, after all, the embodiment of the primordial cosmic life and psychic energy. If Michael were to personally make Jean Grey turn into Dark Phoenix, even though Michael already possesses top-tier Single Universe Level strength, the Phoenix Force would still easily discern it.
In that case, it would be harder than ascending to heaven for Michael to advance by devouring the Phoenix Force Fragment. With this seed, Jean Grey's becoming Dark Phoenix would only be a matter of time.
In fact, there's a high probability that he won't even have to wait another ten years for the Dark Phoenix storyline.
Perhaps, by next year, when the Apocalypse storyline begins, Jean Grey might successfully become Dark Phoenix and attract the Phoenix Force Fragment of This Universe... Of course, all these considerations are for the future.
And now, Michael needs to 'reasonably' deal with the matter of neighbors trespassing.
After all, Michael doesn't want to directly become a major villain, or rather, before Jean Grey attracts the Phoenix Force Fragment, Michael still needs to maintain a 'righteous' 'persona' in front of the Phoenix Force's host.
But it's also impossible for Michael to just let Charles and his group go.
In the U.S., for trespassing, even if the Master shoots you dead, there won't be any problem.
The actions of Charles and Impact are no different from trespassing, so even if Michael were to kill Charles and his group, there would be no problem.
Of course, Michael definitely wouldn't do that.
The effort and reward are not proportional; Michael would not do something as short-sighted as killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
They definitely have to be released, but Charles and his group will absolutely not leave the Base without paying something.
...the Base... "Speak!"
"How do you plan to resolve this matter?"
With a wave of his hand, a cup of clear tea materialized. Michael picked up the tea, took a sip, and asked.
Damn! Michael's movements were completely undisguised, and everyone who saw them felt their pupils shrink sharply.
Illusionary space ability or something else? In any case, everyone knew that Michael was not a simple individual either.
Similarly, this also meant that Charles and the others wouldn't be able to resolve this conflict without a significant loss.
"Hiss..."
"I am willing to compensate you ten million U.S. dollars!"
"I wonder if that can resolve our misunderstanding this time?"
After carefully considering what he had witnessed in this Base, Charles realized that, apart from monetary compensation, he really couldn't think of anything else he could offer.
Technology? Look at the robots standing by, with their incredibly strong combat power.
Weapons and equipment? Look at the personnel Equipment in his Base; there are some things that Charles doesn't even have access to! After careful consideration, Charles realized that, apart from money, he seemed to have nothing to offer...
"Heh heh."
"Ten million U.S. dollars?"
"Are you trying to send away a beggar?"
Michael, of course, knew what ten million U.S. dollars meant in 198X.
However, since Michael didn't intend to let Charles and the others off so easily, a mere ten million wouldn't be enough to pass muster...
Gulp. Stared at by Michael, Charles subconsciously swallowed. He didn't know why his heart felt such extreme fear towards Michael.
"One hundred million!"
"One hundred million U.S. dollars!"
"I am willing to pay one hundred million U.S. dollars to resolve the misunderstanding between us!"
It must be said that Charles was quite wealthy. One must know that in this era, Stark Industries was only worth a few billion U.S. dollars! However, not to mention his noble background, just with his Mutant abilities, making money was extremely easy...
"No!"
"Besides one hundred million U.S. dollars."
"There are also these two!"
Michael naturally knew that one hundred million U.S. dollars was not Charles's ultimate bottom line, but one hundred million U.S. dollars was already an incredibly frightening sum in this era; at the very least, Charles was already feeling immense pain in his heart.
Moreover, the most important thing was that Michael wanted even more to poach the two Mutants who had rushed over to rescue them!
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