Chapter 2605

"Who is 'the Doctor'?"

Natasha didn't react immediately. After all, the title "Doctor" could refer to a physician, a PhD, or a code name for some specialized research personnel. It was applied too broadly in modern times; even in a place like S. H. I. E. L. D., there were countless people who could be called a doctor.

Natasha saw Nick's expression turn increasingly ugly, and not understanding why, she sat down opposite him, intending to listen to the stories of the past.

"Do you remember the Honshu Island sinking incident?" Nick's expression couldn't even be described as ugly anymore; it was approaching the level of Batman's scowl.

"That was quite a spectacle," Natasha said, recalling the event. "It's been nearly 60 years... but didn't you say S. H. I. E. L. D. didn't have the original classified files? I've always been curious about what kind of nuke could sink an island that large, but that doesn't have anything to do with us, right? It doesn't, does it?"

Nick pursed his lips and remained silent.

Natasha slowly widened her eyes.

Nick let out a long sigh, seemingly having held it in for a long time. "It all started a few months before the liberation of Berlin..."

Nick slowly recounted the events of the past. Natasha listened intently. When she heard Nick say that he had instigated Congress to use that super-nuke from Hydra, the female agent nearly choked on her own breath.

"Cough, cough, cough... So, you're the one who caused the incident known as the greatest extinction event in human history?!"

"Not entirely," Nick tried to argue. "It was that Doctor who intentionally made me think he would keep using that nuke to threaten me, which is why I wanted to use it as soon as possible."

"Besides, the bigwigs in Congress didn't want to take the blame either. They figured that if they were ever held accountable later, they could use the excuse that the nuke was built by Hydra to absolve themselves."

"And you can't say China was entirely innocent either. They must have heard the news early on; otherwise, how could the King of Ten Thousand Realms have opened a barrier the moment Honshu sank, ensuring not only that Chinese cities were unaffected, but even their territorial waters remained safe?"

"I get the feeling you aren't feeling guilty about the deaths of tens of millions of people," Natasha said, hitting the nail on the head. "You're just angry that you were played by Schiller."

"Don't joke around. Tens of millions? How many of those people could even be called human?" Nick curled his lip in disdain. "Don't tell me you don't know about the 'One Hundred Million Die Together' plan. The whole island was full of lunatics. If their thinking had been even remotely normal, things wouldn't have ended up like that."

Natasha also sneered. Clearly, as a Soviet, she didn't have a high opinion of that island nation either.

"I once heard someone remark that Japan always seemed to bet on the rest of the world following their logic. I don't know where they got that confidence."

The two lamented for a moment before returning to the main topic. Natasha said, "If Schiller directed all of this, it's no surprise China received news early. But as for the mutants..."

Nick sighed again. "That was a last resort. Supporting the establishment of a mutant nation was better than bearing the stigma of being the perpetrator of the greatest extinction event in human history. Don't forget, votes are above all else!"

Natasha rested her chin on her hand, gradually sinking into memories. Those were truly turbulent years.

After Honshu Island sank, the whole world was stunned.

To be honest, the U. S. dropping the nuke was tacitly approved by most major powers. Setting aside China, which had a blood feud, the Soviet Union was also dissatisfied with that tiny island nation jumping around behind their backs. The Allied forces, including Britain and France, couldn't accept the casualties of a landing operation. Everyone was in agreement.

The so-called "One Hundred Million Die Together" plan was the culprit behind the international public opinion. In short, the "one hundred million" referred to the entire Japanese population at the time, and "die together" meant mutual destruction.

In other words, the mainstream sentiment on the island was for the entire populace to perish alongside the invading Allied forces.

Under such fanatical conditions, everyone who could join the army did, and those who couldn't tried to support the war effort. Rational voices had long since died out. There were even perverted incidents like wives committing suicide just to put their husbands' minds at ease so they could join the army, all of which were wildly touted by the media. It could be said that other countries had long since accepted that the island was full of lunatics.

Under such circumstances, a landing was indeed not cost-effective. No one wanted to trade the lives of normal people for the lives of lunatics. So, everyone conspired to find a way to scare them into submission once and for all.

Before this, the U. S. had conducted rounds of bombing, leaving no part of the four islands intact, but it failed to provide sufficient deterrence. Instead, the more they pressed, the crazier the islanders became. In the end, they not only refused unconditional surrender, they stopped surrendering altogether.

What else could be done? Drop a nuke.

So, the purpose of dropping the nuke was actually for deterrence—to force them to surrender. Simply put, it was to pour a bucket of cold water on their overheated, broken brains so they would stop thinking about going crazy.

Everyone knew the U. S. was arrogant and ruthless, but no one expected them to resort to physical extermination. Once Honshu sank, everyone in the world felt endangered.

Originally, as the war reached this stage, everyone had more or less seen the situation clearly and were preparing to consolidate their remaining forces and recuperate. But after the U. S. dropped that nuke, it seemed like the Fourth World War was about to step on the heels of the Third.

However, after consolidating their forces, everyone realized they truly couldn't afford to fight anymore. The Soviet Union, as the main force of WWII, had been severely damaged. Britain and the U. S. didn't have deep human resources to begin with. The U. S. wanted to play the role of an offshore balancer, providing money but not men. Where would they find the manpower to fill another world war?

Furthermore, other countries thought: the U. S. suffered the least damage, as the flames of war didn't reach their mainland. Was this move a deliberate attempt to stir up world chaos so others would throw themselves into the fire, allowing the U. S. to reap the rewards?

Thinking of this, those who had intended to take extreme actions restrained themselves. They calculated that there were only four islands in total. Honshu was the most populous and developed, and now it was gone, so the remaining three weren't much of a threat. The country could be considered swept into the dustbin of history.

The country was gone, but the islands remained. These three islands were in excellent locations, practically pearls of the Pacific. Without those annoying lunatics, the surrounding countries found the islands increasingly appealing.

Therefore, the top priority wasn't to condemn the U. S.'s heinous act of extermination, but to find a way to occupy these three islands.

As the greatest victim, China had to stand up and say a few words. Whether it was "since ancient times" or "by reason and logic," one way or another, they were determined to have these islands.

The Soviet Union naturally wanted a piece of the action. They had contributed significantly to WWII, and considering future Asian-Pacific geopolitics, these three islands were must-haves.

The U. S.'s original plan was to use Japan to control the Asia-Pacific. Even if the country was gone, the islands would do. In fact, it was even more convenient to develop them into naval and forward missile bases. They were also determined to have these three islands.

Although China's national strength was slightly weaker, they had the advantage of proximity. While the Soviet Union wasn't far, their political and military centers were in Europe, making them unable to reach this area. Thus, China had the advantage of geography and could stand on equal footing with the other two giants.

Not to mention anything else, at such a close distance, just moving people from the Northeast to occupy the islands first would make it impossible for the U. S. to drop a second nuke. As long as they were actually occupied, there wouldn't be much use in arguing later.

So, on the issue of the ownership of the remaining three islands, it was a three-way standoff. It wasn't that no one suggested giving one island to each, but they didn't want the islands for natural resources, but for strategic status. So, it was either all or nothing.

As the saying goes, when gods fight, mortals suffer. The surrounding small countries watched these three giants with trembling fear as they refused to give an inch.

Finally, seeing constant friction and the Cold War threatening to turn hot, China stepped in to mediate and proposed a compromise that everyone could accept: let's build a new country.

Of course, there were protests from the original inhabitants of the three islands, but they were a defeated nation, and with over 90% of the population gone, they couldn't stir up any trouble. Everyone chose to ignore their voices and decided their fate.

However, the problem was which group to support in building the country. Both the U. S. and the Soviet Union felt China had too much of a geographical advantage and would surely use its cultural influence to slowly bring the country into its sphere of influence, so they refused to allow any migration from Asia.

But if they talked about migrating white people, another problem arose: the islands had just been nuked. Even Superman would cough there. Who would be so foolish as to rush into the center of the radiation?

So, there weren't many choices left. The criteria for selection shifted from "who is willing to go" to "who can go." The choices weren't just few; there was only one left.

Besides those mutants that most countries treated like trash, who else could theoretically withstand the radiation?

To be honest, the vast majority of mutants in most countries couldn't withstand it either. But the U. S. and the Soviet Union didn't want these mutants to have it easy anyway. Dying in the radiation was fine; it would weaken their strength and prevent them from causing trouble.

With the U. S. and the Soviet Union leading the way, other countries naturally followed, and the most cruel mutant persecution act in history was born.

Any mutant discovered with the X-gene had to enter the remaining three islands as quickly as possible and establish their own mutant nation there.

Theoretically, such cruel treatment should have triggered a massive backlash. But for some reason, many mutant leaders who were usually troublemakers in their local areas only protested symbolically this time and then took their people away.

And even more magically, they didn't just take the Alpha or Omega-level mutants who could withstand the radiation; they took the Epsilon-levels too, which was exactly what some countries wanted.

By this time, many countries realized something was wrong, but it was already too late.

For some reason, the expected tragedy of mutants dying in large numbers from radiation didn't happen. The mutants stood their ground as soon as they landed on the three islands.