136. Set off, capture the White Queen alive!

Sebastian Shaw, the Black King and leader of the Hellfire Club, possesses the ability to absorb any form of energy and utilize it or discharge it at will. He is also a man of great ambition among the mutants. As mutants began to emerge—only to be feared, ostracized, persecuted, and viewed by ordinary humans as a separate species—Sebastian Shaw stepped forward, determined to fundamentally alter the status quo. He aims to make mutants the masters of the human world, the sovereigns of this planet. To achieve this, he is prepared to incite a global war.

While Su Ye is busy gathering young mutants, Sebastian Shaw is equally occupied with his Hellfire Club. The club is small, consisting of only three members besides Shaw, yet each is a highly practical and powerful mutant. There is Riptide, who can manipulate airflow to create various cyclones and tornadoes; Azazel, the Red Devil, capable of short-range and long-distance teleportation with formidable close-combat skills; and finally, the White Queen, who possesses telepathy and the ability to transform her entire body into diamond.

This White Queen is one of the ideal "get-rich-quick" girlfriend prospects Su Ye once dreamed of. If she turns into diamond, wouldn't even a stray hair or a bit of shed skin be worth a fortune? Moreover, the White Queen has a truly remarkable trait: she can turn not only her skin into diamond but also her bra, panties, and thigh-high boots. These items would be immensely valuable. Not only would each piece be a giant diamond, but being "original flavor" would likely fetch an astronomical price among certain collectors with peculiar tastes. For this reason alone, Sebastian Shaw must die; this White Queen must be captured and kept as a personal vault—whenever he needs money, he can just sell a piece of her wardrobe. It’s perfect.

Just as Su Ye is plotting against Sebastian Shaw, the U.S. government is holding a critical meeting. The agenda concerns a proposal to deploy strategic nuclear warheads among NATO member nations. According to some officials, the United States has just suffered an alien invasion, which has inevitably damaged its national image and international standing. They argue that it is time to shift focus and drag those who have remained on the sidelines into the fray. It is like trying to improve one's rank in an exam: you don't necessarily have to do better yourself; you can simply find ways to make others do worse.

The proposal gained the support of the majority from the start. Some even argued that this should have been done long ago, and if the U.S. cannot hold its ground, it should take the rest of the planet down with it. Previously, a few upright military representatives had strongly opposed it. While their specific reasons were vague, their opposition was clear. Yet today, when the issue was raised again, Colonel Hendry, who had previously been the most vocal opponent, suddenly changed his stance and agreed to the deployment plan. Consequently, the plan was quickly passed and preparations for execution began. It even included countries outside of NATO, such as South Korea and Japan, in the deployment list. The South Koreans and Japanese, in turn, were puffed up with pride, thrilled to have secured their "sugar daddy's" favor, wagging their tails enthusiastically.

Colonel Hendry’s change of heart was, of course, the work of Sebastian Shaw. They had taught the Colonel a harsh lesson at a club in Las Vegas, which led to everything that followed.

"Those people are incredible. One can create cyclones, another turns into diamond, and one can teleport! They don't look like normal humans at all!" inside the meeting room of the Guardians of the Great Wall, a slender female agent, whose beauty rivaled the Black Widow, said to Su Ye with visible agitation. When she mentioned "not normal humans," she glanced at Captain America, Thor, and Max, who were attending the meeting, and her voice lost some of its conviction. In this room, there were practically no "normal" humans to begin with, so what she had seen was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Four abnormal humans gathering together and inciting a military general—this is certainly no small matter," Su Ye said softly.

The female agent nodded eagerly, "Exactly! That’s what I mean!"

This female agent is Moira MacTaggert, a CIA operative—the very same one from the movie who participated in the first mission, had a romantic entanglement with Professor X, and ended up having her memories wiped by a kiss. In a way, she could be considered an auxiliary card to Su Ye’s "Mystique Girlfriend Card." However, looking at her slightly matronly appearance and her unremarkable figure, Su Ye decisively chose not to trigger the auxiliary card opportunity.

"Fine, I understand. Leave this Hellfire Club matter to the Guardians of the Great Wall. I will notify your superiors."

"Yes, sir!"

Moira MacTaggert rose to leave. As she reached the door, she suddenly felt as though she had missed out on something. "Perhaps I just feel regret missing out on such a major mission," she muttered to herself, while a thought began to take root: the Guardians of the Great Wall had just been formed and were short-staffed; perhaps she could find a way to get transferred here?

In the meeting room, Su Ye placed photos of the group onto the projector—they were indeed Sebastian Shaw and his associates, found via Jarvis’s search engine through the security cameras at the Las Vegas club. "These are the individuals Agent MacTaggert mentioned. Biologically speaking, they are called mutants—a new breed of humanity that has gained superpowers due to genetic mutations."

The room was filled with the superheroes of the Guardians of the Great Wall. Most had gained their powers through later mutations, so they expressed a hint of surprise and envy toward these mutants who were born with superpowers. But it was only a hint; superpowers, whether innate or acquired, are best when they suit the individual.

"According to Agent MacTaggert, they are inciting officials to deploy nuclear warheads globally. This is a massive provocation to world peace, so we, the Guardians of the Great Wall, cannot stand idly by!"

"I will locate them as quickly as possible. The rest is up to you."

"Yes, sir!" the superheroes, including the former Avengers, replied in unison.

Without realizing it, Su Ye had begun to emerge as the leader of the Guardians of the Great Wall. This was partly due to his own capabilities, but also inseparable from the support of Zheng Xian. A team needs a leader to achieve better cohesion and execution. In teams like the Avengers, where Captain America and Iron Man shared the leadership, fragmentation and conflict were inevitable. To better establish his status and authority, Su Ye had exposed his identity on a small scale within the team.

Spider-Man, Batman, and the Martial Saint—when these three identities were concentrated in one person, even a thorn like Tony Stark had to bow down. Batman was the nightmare that had haunted Stark for countless nights; only now did he realize that the man had been by his side all along. The moment he learned the truth, Tony Stark almost donned his Iron Man suit to flee Los Angeles. He feared that with Batman around, Los Angeles would become the second New York, a second Waterloo for Iron Man. As for the time Su Ye appeared in the same frame as Batman and took the Batarang from him to fight Thor, Su Ye explained that it was a body double, specifically hired to deliver gear and handle minor troubles.

Soon, everyone’s doubts were dispelled, and they generally accepted Su Ye as the leader. Thor, however, was still hung up on their unfinished fight and considered using this opportunity to challenge him again. Who led the team didn't matter, but a good, satisfying fight was the priority. Of course, the fight never happened. Once, when only the two of them were present, Su Ye casually lifted Mjolnir, toyed with it for a while, and set it back down. This was one of the abilities he gained after passively acquiring the "Sharon Carter Girlfriend Card." Since Sharon Carter’s officially recognized boyfriend is Captain America, Su Ye gained the ability to lift Mjolnir—along with the passive "fifty-fifty" chance of winning any fight. He hadn't yet encountered an opponent powerful enough to force him into that state.

Seeing Su Ye lift Mjolnir, Thor was stunned. He looked at his hammer with a strange expression. Was this still the "little meow-meow hammer" that had fought by his side through thick and thin, the one that promised to be his soulmate forever? Why, upon arriving on Earth, was it being handled by everyone so casually? It had followed a drunkard from New Mexico to New York, and now it was flirting with Su Ye. Thor suddenly realized that if Su Ye had pulled the hammer away during their duel, he would have been helpless.

'So, he was just sparing my pride back then?'

Convinced he had discovered the truth, Thor never again mentioned a duel. At a party, he even brought a 50-liter keg of draft beer imported from China to Su Ye. "Old Su, we didn't know each other until we fought, but from now on, on Earth and within our Guardians, just say the word, and I, Old Thor, will follow. No questions asked! I toast you with this barrel—as you say, bottoms up!"

Without waiting for Su Ye’s reaction, Thor began gulping down the beer from the stainless steel barrel. Watching his bravado, Su Ye briefly suspected that this guy was just using the toast as an excuse to swindle his original-brew beer. This was premium stuff air-freighted from China, and the guy had finished an entire barrel in one go. Did Asgardians have a pocket dimension in their stomachs?

Thor kept his word. From that day on, his attitude toward Su Ye underwent a 180-degree turn; he might never have been this obedient to his father, Odin.

Soon, Su Ye located Sebastian Shaw via telepathy. The Guardians didn't hesitate and set off in a Quinjet. Su Ye’s team didn't have Beast, nor did he possess Beast’s abilities, but in his current team, Beast’s presence was irrelevant. For research and invention, they had Dr. Fox and Tony Stark; in terms of combat power, most of the Guardians left Beast in the dust. As for the aircraft, they had long since upgraded to a newer Quinjet model, powered by an Arc Reactor thanks to Tony Stark. It had a wider wingspan, greater speed, and higher payload capacity. While it couldn't travel to space yet, it was more than sufficient.

Almost the entire team of Guardians was on board, accompanied by students from the Red Genius School and the X-Men’s reserve member, Wolverine. After returning with Su Ye, Wolverine quickly integrated with the Guardians. Outside, he was a mutant with bone claws, feared by many, but here, he was just a hero with average abilities—mostly just durable and capable of rapid regeneration. Within the Guardians, he wasn't even in the first tier. This result surprised Wolverine, but also brought him a sense of relief. Wolves are pack animals, after all; solitary life was merely a necessity. If there was a chance to return to the pack, a lone wolf wouldn't refuse—at least he needed a partner who wouldn't fear him. Upon integrating into the team, he officially began calling himself Logan.

The Quinjet was fast. Amidst the casual chatter, they reached the eastern coastline. A yacht was slowly sailing away into the distance.

"Alright, guys, break time is over. Time to move," Su Ye clapped his hands. The team members ceased their banter and began checking their gear with alert expressions.

"First wave of the attack," Su Ye stood in the center of the cabin and began assigning roles. "Tony, Cap, Thor, Harry, Max, Logan—you’re with me. Leave the telepath to me. The rest of you, follow the pre-planned strategy, group up, and go!"

With that, the rear hatch of the Quinjet opened. Su Ye led the way, stepping onto his Great Wall glider and soaring out. The others followed suit, launching a direct assault on the yacht from the air. Su Ye’s squad had only one objective: capture the White Queen alive. As for the rest, it didn't matter.