Alkali Lake in Alberta, Canada, during winter, presented a desolate yet mysterious scene. The lake surface was sealed under a thick layer of ice, while the surrounding landscape was buried beneath snow. The distant Rocky Mountains rose in continuous, jagged silhouettes under a sky of falling snow.
A dam stood over the lake in this remote place. No one would ever have imagined that beneath it lay a hidden facility—nor that it was a human experimentation base.
Inside, the facility's corridors stretched in all directions like a maze. Long metallic hallways were lined with bright fluorescent lights that cast a cold, sterile white glow. On both sides were tightly shut metal doors, each reinforced with electronic access systems.
High-tech equipment filled every corner—advanced computer systems, biological experimental instruments, medical devices, and surveillance networks. Screens covered the laboratory walls, constantly displaying streams of data and images.
There were even complete sections for hangars and equipment storage, making the entire complex a fully operational underground base.
At this moment, during the day, people moved about the facility in an orderly manner. Within a specially designated restricted zone lay the holding area. The walls here were damp in places, and the metal bars on the cells carried the faint, rusted scent of decay.
Row after row of sealed confinement rooms held men and women of all kinds.
Not far away, in a sunken pit beneath the ground, more than a dozen children were also imprisoned. The youngest looked no more than a few years old, while the oldest was not even fourteen. A metal grate covered the pit like a lid.
The environment alone made it clear how little regard their captors had for them.
Everything appeared strictly organized and efficient—but no one knew that far away, on the road near the lake, a vehicle had been parked briefly before turning around and leaving.
...
Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters was located at 1407 Graymalkin Lane, Salem Center, Westchester County, New York, USA.
This historic mansion, once belonging to the Xavier family and passed down through ten generations, had since been converted into a school.
Spanning 100 hectares, the estate retained an ancient and dignified appearance. Surrounded by forests and lakes, it was blessed with beautiful natural scenery, and it accepted only mutant students.
Compared to the tragic world outside, life inside the school could only be described as paradise.
Inside the principal's office, a rather open space, an elderly bald man in a suit sat gracefully in a specially designed wheelchair. He was currently explaining something to a group of seven or eight teenagers.
The students listened attentively, completely absorbed. However, suddenly, the old man's deep and gentle voice stopped.
He raised his head slightly, his eyes shifting as though sensing something beyond the room.
Then he closed the book resting on his lap and smiled warmly at the students.
"That's all for today's lesson. We'll continue next time."
"Goodbye, Professor."
"Goodbye, Professor."
The students were well-behaved. None of them asked why the class ended halfway through. Instead, they politely said their farewells, gathered their books, and quietly left the office while chatting among themselves.
The wheelchair turned smoothly. The professor placed the book on the desk, and when he turned back, his eyes were already met with a dazzling figure composed of hundreds upon thousands of golden particles.
The particles formed the shape of a young man—handsome, upright in posture, wearing a dark green flight jacket and jeans.
"Incredible," the professor said, his aged face filled with genuine astonishment.
Even for someone with decades of experience, this level of manifestation was beyond belief.
"Professor, I've come to make a deal with you."
A few minutes later.
"A nutritional serum?"
After a brief exchange, Charles Xavier—Professor X—had not expected that the young man who had suddenly appeared, introducing himself as Matthew, would have come for something like this.
He found it puzzling, yet at the same time, it sparked his interest.
Because he could clearly sense it—the young man standing before him… was not a mutant.
The reason for this was simple—Charles Xavier himself was one of the most powerful telepaths in the world. He could sense the unique brainwaves emitted by other mutants within a certain range.
But Matthew… did not emit that kind of signature at all.
And yet, that dazzling ability from earlier—what exactly was it? Some kind of superpower?
"So then, what is your bargaining chip?" Xavier asked with a gentle, almost amused smile.
Because Matthew was young and showed no hostility, the professor treated him with the kindness of an elder speaking to a junior.
However, the very next sentence made that calm expression change instantly.
"The exact location of a human experimentation base holding a significant number of mutants."
Xavier's gentle demeanor disappeared in an instant as he studied the boy in front of him with renewed seriousness.
A faint psychic ripple rose within him—but at that moment, he suddenly felt something within Matthew respond.
It was like a volcano erupting—an overwhelming, terrifying presence that stirred violently beneath the surface.
This is…?! Xavier's mind was shaken.
"Professor X, I suggest you don't do that," Matthew said coldly. His dark brown pupils were now tinged with red as he stared directly at the old man. An immense aura spread outward in waves, causing the entire office to tremble slightly.
For a brief moment, the room felt like a stormy ocean in turmoil—anyone within it could be torn apart and swallowed at any second.
Relying on his vast psychic power, Xavier barely managed to withstand the pressure.
But his attitude had already changed.
He was no longer regarding Matthew as an elder would a child. Instead, he had placed himself on equal footing.
"I apologize," Xavier said seriously. "Please forgive my earlier rudeness."
"It's just that what you said… stirred my emotions."
"I understand," Matthew replied indifferently. The overwhelming aura around him gradually faded, and the heavy atmosphere in the room began to ease.
"I accept this deal. Hank will develop the nutritional serum and formulation you need."
Xavier agreed immediately. In fact, Beast—Hank—who was part of the agreement wasn't even present in the room.
Matthew did not dwell on that. Instead, he calmly outlined the specifications he wanted for the serum, then straightforwardly provided the exact location of the experimental facility in return.
"At the bottom of Alkali Lake in Alberta, Canada?" Xavier frowned.
As one of the leaders of the mutant faction, he had witnessed countless conflicts between humans and mutants. He was well aware that among humans, there were always those driven by ambition.
Some sought power, some wealth, and many of them viewed mutants as nothing more than test subjects.
Because deep within mutant DNA lay something humanity still did not fully understand.
Especially in recent years, powerful mutants had begun to emerge one after another—such as Magneto, who could control magnetic fields, and Xavier himself, possessing one of the strongest psychic abilities in the world.
Alongside them were other dangerous mutants hidden in classified records, individuals whose abilities far surpassed what ordinary humans could ever hope to achieve.
Such extraordinary power lay right in front of humanity's eyes.
If its secrets could be unlocked—if the underlying genetic code of mutants could be deciphered—it might become possible to mass-produce mutant soldiers, extend human lifespan, or even generate immense wealth and political power.
And so, one after another, human experimentation facilities had quietly come into existence.
Countless mutants had already died on operating tables long before the world even knew their names.
And Xavier knew it all too well.
...
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