This was a military Base.
The buildings visible on the surface did not look particularly conspicuous, but the scale underground was several times larger than what was on the surface; it appeared to have been converted from a missile silo.
At this moment, in the center of the Base where missiles were originally launched, a huge glass room was suspended in mid-air, and within a hundred meters around it, there was not a single piece of metal.
Below the glass room, a device similar to a sonic emitter was installed.
This device could create a special force field; although it could not completely suppress Magneto’s power, it could significantly weaken it.
Otherwise, relying solely on a glass room like this, it would not have been so easy to trap Magneto.
And the provider of this device was none other than Magneto’s old friend, Professor X.
A passage opened at this moment, slowly connecting to the glass room.
Professor X moved his wheelchair and came before Magneto.
“Eric, I have come to see you.” “You know I don’t welcome you here, Charles.” Magneto didn’t even look up as he fiddled with the chess piece in his hand, which was, of course, made of glass.
“But I have come nonetheless.” Professor X arrived opposite Magneto.
Fiddling with the chess piece, Magneto suddenly looked up.
“Do you wake up in the middle of the night, worried that those unfair laws will harm you and your descendants?” “Of course I do.” Professor X glanced at Magneto and nodded.
“Then what do you do after you wake up?” Magneto continued to press him.
“I pity those who are ignorant, and those…” Professor X paused as he spoke, deliberately glancing at Magneto.
“Those who provoke.” “Bang!” Upon hearing this, Magneto dropped the chess piece and locked eyes with Professor X.
“I really don’t know why you came here.” “You know perfectly well why.
I came to show you hope.” As Professor X spoke, he looked outside the glass room at Ethan, who was leaning against the corner of the wall, lost in thought.
“Ethan, alright, it’s possible.
His ability is truly perfect, powerful, and fascinating.
Even without having tapped into his full potential, he has already reached this level.
This is what a Level 5 Mutant is.” Magneto stared at Ethan, his eyes full of admiration.
“I think Ethan should be taught by me.
Only I can truly help him achieve his potential.” “You know that is impossible, because you would only destroy him.” “I destroy him?
It should be you who destroys him.” Magneto became agitated upon hearing this.
“You are just a docile sheep, and you can only teach more sheep.
Look at Jean Grey; what have you done?
You turned a Level 5 Mutant into a little girl who only knows how to play house at school.
Do you want to do that again?” This was the point of the most intense conflict between Magneto and Professor X.
Professor X wanted to build a bridge of communication between Mutants and ordinary humans.
But in Magneto’s view, blind communication and friendliness would not enable Mutants to obtain legal rights; instead, it would lead to more discrimination.
At such times, one must stand up and resist; only by making them feel pain and feel your power would they have the patience to communicate with you.
“Jean’s ability is flawed.
She cannot control her powers like Ethan can.
What she brings can only be destruction, not hope.” Professor X said, growling at this moment.
“Charles, we need to show our fangs so those guys know how formidable we are and dare not offend us easily again.” Magneto continued, unwilling to give up.
“So you orchestrated the Liberty Island incident.
You almost ruined everything.
Is this what you wanted?” “I…” Faced with Professor X’s piercing remark that hit the nail on the head, Magneto was stunned for a moment, and his expression suddenly turned gloomy.
“I must admit, that machine was a mistake.” As proud as Magneto was, he finally conceded.
His philosophy was to let Mutants gain legal rights, or even gradually replace humans in turn, completing a leap in human evolution.
But if he killed everyone in New York, it would only turn the relationship between Mutants and ordinary humans into an irreconcilable feud.
The final result would only be total destruction, which was not what Magneto wanted to see.
“How are things outside now?” Magneto looked up at Professor X.
“Progress is not bad.
After Mystique escaped from Liberty Island, she disguised herself as Councilor Kelly and publicly opposed the Mutant Registration Act.
Coupled with your radical behavior on Liberty Island, the government is considering this act more cautiously.
Now, the act has been temporarily shelved.” Professor X explained.
“Oh, that can be said to be the best news I’ve heard since I entered prison.” “Eric, although I don’t like your methods, I have to say, sometimes your methods are quite effective.” Professor X hesitated for a moment before saying this to Magneto.
“But you sent me to this hellhole and even helped them perfect the methods to imprison me.” Magneto held the chess piece, looking at Professor X with a playful expression.
“Eric, I had no choice.
I needed to give them an explanation, to let them know that Mutants are just dissatisfied, not declaring war!
They won’t kill you easily because only you can control the Mutants of the Brotherhood and keep them from acting recklessly.” Professor X explained with some helplessness.
“Forget it, Charles.
You don’t need to explain, because you and I both understand.
I don’t mean to blame you.” Magneto dropped the chess piece and said with a calm face.
He was very clear about his position and Professor X’s.
Among Mutants, there was a need for someone to play the good cop, just as there was a need for him to play the bad cop.
“Charles, do you think Mutants really have a future?” After a moment of silence, Magneto’s expression suddenly became gloomy, making him look like an old man in his twilight years, not the fearsome Magneto.
Magneto was a true fighter.
For the rights of Mutants, he had been struggling for more than half a century, but when he came to his senses, Magneto also found that he was still standing in place, not having moved even one step closer to his ideal.
And although he didn’t know the miserable future of Mutants like Ethan did, based on his own experience accumulated over more than half a century, he could also infer that the future of Mutants was not bright.
Magneto was still fighting; he would not stop until death.
But Magneto was truly desperate.
This despair even made him sometimes want to launch a real war, letting Mutants and ordinary humans suffer together and be finished once and for all.
“Eric, I don’t know if I can see true hope, but I will never give up searching and trying.
I hope you will do the same.” As Professor X spoke, he had already controlled his wheelchair and moved out of the glass room.