"Ouch!"
The chubby boy slammed headfirst into Li Jie's stomach and immediately bounced backward like he had collided with a wall of steel. He collapsed onto the ground clutching his head, tears streaming down his cheeks as he wailed in pain.
"Henry!"
The other two boys shouted at the same time. The taller one clenched his fist instinctively, and the vines wrapped around Li Jie's body began tightening automatically as if responding to his anger.
"I'm fine," the chubby boy cried while rubbing his forehead. "It just… it hurts! This guy's body is harder than steel!"
As he complained pitifully, one of the vines suddenly slid down from Li Jie's shoulder and wrapped around the boy's ankle.
The chubby boy froze.
He struggled for a moment, then turned around and shouted angrily, "Henry! Why are you messing with me?"
The taller boy panicked immediately.
"That wasn't me!"
"Henry, stop joking and let me go!" the chubby boy shouted.
He struggled wildly, but the vine only tightened further. Within seconds he was bound tightly from head to toe like a wrapped rice dumpling.
"I told you it wasn't me!" the tall boy shouted again.
Then he turned sharply toward Li Jie.
"You did this, didn't you?"
A faint smile appeared on Li Jie's lips.
The vines wrapped around him slowly loosened and fell to the ground. Instead of retreating, they began creeping toward the other two boys like curious snakes.
Both boys were sweating nervously now, but neither of them tried to run away.
The vines stopped less than a meter in front of them.
Li Jie raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Why aren't you running?" he asked.
The taller boy clenched his teeth.
"We'll die together if we have to! We're not abandoning our brother and running away!"
Li Jie chuckled softly.
"Not bad. You've got some backbone."
He tilted his head slightly.
"You're students from Xavier's School, right? What are your names?"
The freckled boy snorted.
"Why should we tell you?"
"Ow! Ow, ow, ow!"
The chubby boy suddenly screamed again as the vines wrapped around him tightened painfully.
Seeing this, the taller boy immediately panicked.
"Okay! I'll tell you, just stop hurting him!"
He took a deep breath.
"My name is Hunter. This is Henry… and that's Henry."
Li Jie blinked slowly.
Those names were… impressive.
Apparently these three brothers had extremely creative parents.
"Why did you attack me?" Li Jie asked calmly.
Hunter, who seemed to be the eldest of the three, hesitated before answering.
"We didn't mean to attack you. We just… we just wanted to protect the school."
"I see."
Li Jie waved his hand slightly.
The vines instantly loosened and released the chubby Henry.
The moment he was free, the boy scrambled up and ran behind his two brothers like a frightened hamster.
Hunter studied Li Jie carefully.
"Are you a mutant too?"
Li Jie paused for a moment before answering.
"I guess you could say that."
Technically speaking, mutants gained their powers through genetic mutation.
Li Jie's abilities came from absorbing skills from others, so his DNA hadn't actually changed. Strictly speaking, he wasn't a mutant at all.
But admitting it here would make things easier.
"How many students are still at Xavier's School?" he asked.
The three brothers immediately fell silent.
They clearly didn't want to answer.
Li Jie smiled gently.
"Don't worry. I'm not here to hurt anyone. Professor X invited me."
As he spoke, he casually walked over and stored the fallen mech into his spatial storage.
The three brothers stared in shock.
Their jaws nearly dropped.
Normally a mutant only possessed one ability. Even having two powers was incredibly rare.
But Li Jie had just demonstrated three different abilities in front of them.
Superhuman durability.
Plant manipulation.
And the ability to make a massive mech disappear into thin air.
In the eyes of the three boys, he instantly became something like a legendary figure.
"Professor X really invited you?" Hunter asked cautiously.
"If you don't believe me," Li Jie replied calmly, "you can ask him yourself."
The chubby Henry suddenly poked his head out from behind his brothers.
"The professor already—"
"Shut up!"
Hunter and the other Henry both turned and clamped their hands over the boy's mouth at the same time.
The chubby boy immediately realized he had almost revealed something important and quickly covered his own mouth with both hands.
Hunter turned back to Li Jie.
After a moment of hesitation, he said carefully, "We can take you to see the professor."
"But first you'll have to let us handcuff you."
Li Jie raised an eyebrow.
"Sure."
He was actually curious to see what these kids were planning.
"Henry, go get it," Hunter ordered.
"Oh… okay."
The chubby boy glanced nervously at Li Jie before waddling off into the woods.
A few minutes later he returned carrying a small metal box.
He set it down in front of Li Jie and quickly stepped back.
Li Jie opened the box.
Inside was a large pair of black handcuffs.
"What are these?" he asked.
"Ability-suppressing handcuffs," the chubby Henry replied.
"Shut up!" Hunter and the other Henry shouted simultaneously.
Hunter quickly explained.
"They can temporarily suppress mutant powers."
"If you're willing to wear them, we'll take you to see the professor."
Li Jie smiled slightly.
So they suppressed mutant abilities.
In other words, they probably wouldn't affect him at all.
"Alright."
He picked up the cuffs and calmly locked them around his wrists.
Hunter and the others were clearly surprised.
They hadn't expected him to agree so easily.
Still, the gesture earned their trust.
"Follow us," Hunter said.
On the way to the school, Li Jie casually chatted with the three boys.
Although they tried to remain cautious, they were still just children.
Before long, Li Jie had learned quite a bit.
The chubby Henry possessed a body-hardening ability that could turn his skin as hard as stone.
The taller Henry had the ability to disable electronic devices within a certain range.
Hunter's power allowed him to control plants.
At the moment, the three of them were the only normal mutants left in Xavier's School.
Everyone else had been infected and turned into zombies.
To prevent those mutated zombies from escaping and harming people, Professor X had placed ability-suppressing handcuffs on them and locked them in the school's underground basement.
Since then, the three Heinz brothers had taken on the responsibility of guarding the academy.
Eventually they arrived outside Professor X's office.
"You go in alone," Hunter said.
Li Jie nodded and pushed open the door.
Inside, he immediately noticed that the original office had been divided into two sections by a thick metal wall. In the center of the wall was a small iron window about waist-high.
Through the window, he saw Professor X sitting quietly in his wheelchair with a blanket covering his legs.
The old man was gazing outside at the birds perched on nearby branches.
"Jack," Professor X said as he turned his chair toward the window. "You're finally here."
"Professor," Li Jie replied, "let's continue where we left off."
He had no intention of wasting time.
Professor X frowned slightly as he tried to recall their earlier conversation.
"Where were we…"
"Oh yes."
"You asked how I discovered the coming war."
"That's right," Li Jie said.
Professor X remained silent for several seconds.
"That question is difficult to answer."
"The conflict between mutants and humans stretches back more than a century. Perhaps even longer."
"War between the two sides has never truly stopped."
Li Jie quickly realized something.
The zombie virus had clearly affected Professor X's thinking. The fact that he could remain conscious at all was already remarkable.
"Professor," Li Jie said patiently, "let's talk about the war that's about to begin."
"Oh… yes."
Professor X nodded slowly and gathered his thoughts.
"I don't know much," he admitted.
"All I know is that the war will begin because of a certain dilemma."
"Who is behind it?" Li Jie asked.
Professor X hesitated.
"Magneto… no."
"There is someone else. A powerful mutant hiding behind Magneto."
His voice grew heavy.
"He hates humans. Especially after the zombie crisis."
"In his eyes, humanity is responsible for everything that has happened."
"So he intends to destroy all humans on Earth."
Li Jie's thoughts immediately jumped to two possibilities.
Apocalypse.
Or Scarlet Witch.
There were very few mutants stronger than Magneto.
Unfortunately, even Professor X didn't know the person's true identity.
The virus had weakened his psychic abilities, leaving him with only fragments of information.
"Jack," Professor X said quietly, "you must investigate this quickly."
"If the war begins… humanity could be wiped out."
The conflict between humans and mutants had never been truly resolved.
Especially now.
Mutants wouldn't even need to fight directly. They could simply open a gap in the defenses and allow zombie hordes to pour in.
That alone could destroy humanity.
Since he couldn't learn anything else useful, Li Jie eventually returned to the shelter in downtown New York.
Wonder Woman had already finished investigating the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent murders.
Unfortunately, she hadn't found the killer or any useful clues.
Li Jie wasn't surprised.
If S.H.I.E.L.D.'s investigators hadn't discovered anything, it was unlikely that ordinary methods would reveal the truth.
The deaths were extremely strange.
The three agents had no external injuries, no signs of poisoning, and no visible trauma.
They looked as if they had simply fallen asleep.
Li Jie suspected the killer was a psychic mutant.
"Jack," Coulson said in shock after hearing the explanation, "you're saying mutants have infiltrated the shelter and are preparing to start a war against us?"
"That's the current situation," Li Jie replied.
"So what should we do?" Coulson asked quickly. "Find the mutants hiding in the shelter?"
Li Jie thought for a moment.
"The mutant inside the shelter probably isn't very powerful," he said.
"He's killing S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to spread fear."
"More importantly, the mutants haven't started the war yet because their preparations aren't complete."
"So for now, we should ignore the one hiding here."
Coulson frowned.
"You mean we should find mutant settlements in the city first?"
"Yes."
Coulson lowered his voice.
"Strike first and wipe them out?"
Li Jie stared at him.
"Coulson… I'm only now realizing how aggressive you are."
He crossed his arms.
"Tell me something. If humans and mutants really go to war, what do you think our chances are?"
Coulson coughed awkwardly.
"If the superheroes were still around… I'd say we'd win."
"But now…"
He sighed.
"Fine. Just tell me what you're planning."
Li Jie shrugged.
"I want to find the mutant settlements so I can talk to them."
"And convince them to abandon the war."
Coulson frowned.
"And if they refuse?"
Li Jie patted his shoulder.
"Don't worry."
"I'm very good at negotiating."
Coulson sighed.
"Alright."
He pulled out a document and handed it over.
"These are locations where mutants were previously active in New York."
"Though recently S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn't been able to monitor them closely."
Li Jie glanced through the information before handing the investigation to Bane and his two companions.
Then he returned to his room alone.
He removed the Eye of Agamotto and activated its power.
The Time Stone allowed him to glimpse possible futures.
Among the countless visions, one image stood out.
The municipal building used as a shelter lay in ruins.
Broken tanks and crashed aircraft littered the ground.
Every survivor was dead.
Coulson.
Melinda.
Wonder Woman.
None of them had survived.
Magneto's corpse lay among the rubble, his body pierced by a metal pillar.
Standing above him was Scarlet Witch.
Her body was covered in blood as she stepped on Magneto's chest.
Was she the powerful mutant hiding behind him?
Most people believed Scarlet Witch was Magneto's daughter.
But Li Jie knew that story was a lie.
"Jack."
A knock sounded at the door.
Wonder Woman's voice came from outside.
Li Jie quickly hid the Eye of Agamotto before opening the door.
When Diana stepped inside, he couldn't help feeling uneasy.
He had just seen her die in the future.
"Jack, what's wrong?" Diana asked gently as she took his hand.
"Oh… nothing."
Li Jie hesitated.
"I was just thinking about—"
Before he could finish, Diana lightly punched his chest.
"Jack, you're so naughty," she teased.
"Thinking about that in the middle of the day."
Li Jie blinked in confusion.
What exactly did she think he meant?
Diana didn't give him time to explain.
Later that evening, Joker, Bane, and Scarecrow returned from outside carrying a heavy iron box.
"Boss," Scarecrow said excitedly, "we caught a hedgehog."
Li Jie opened the box.
Inside was a mutant covered in sharp spikes from head to toe.
"I'm warning you," the man snarled fiercely, "you'd better release me right now, or I'll stab all of you!"
Scarecrow immediately grabbed a steel pipe.
"How dare you speak to our boss like that?"
He slammed the pipe down on the mutant's head.
Blood instantly began flowing.
The blow enraged the captive completely.
"Bastard! I'm going to kill you!"
The chains binding him rattled violently as he struggled.
Scarecrow struck him again and again until the pipe itself bent out of shape.
"Stop hitting me! Stop!"
The spiked mutant finally collapsed on the ground, trembling.
Li Jie crouched down in front of him.
"Tell me something," he said calmly.
"Where is Magneto?"
....
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