Chapter 169: Confrontation at Wu Ke

After several demonstrations by the beasts, Magneto knew exactly how to use this man: whenever he saw a crowd, he'd just throw him in, and the clown would naturally throw the enemies into chaos.

If he kept him by his side, it would be his own people who ended up in chaos. The reason he hadn't acted up before was probably… the luck brought by that lollipop in his mouth.

Tianyou Lollipop.

The clown made not a single protest about being forcibly kept. He simply spat out his lollipop, made a bizarre, almost magical gesture in front of Magneto, muttering, "You can't see me, you can't see me."

Then he stealthily shuffled toward another carriage.

Magneto had no patience for this fool—he clenched his fist! Under his control, several sheets of metal sealed off the only door, completely isolating the two carriages.

Seeing his path blocked, the sulking Clown Super shoved his hands in his pockets, shrugged, hunched his shoulders, and waddled over to the heavy machine gun. He began studying how to mount the ammo belt, load it, chamber a round, and fire.

This was the only toy in this carriage that interested him. He'd used pistols, rifles (!?), but never a heavy machine gun—he had to seize this chance to get his first taste.

Magneto, meanwhile, used his power to control every remaining firearm in the area, arranging them into a gun array. Even the lone heavy machine gun was commandeered by Magneto's ability.

The sight made Clown Super want to rant! Everyone knew rifle ammo was useless—why pile up so many? What's the point?

Better to figure out how to use electromagnetic force to propel bullets—create a psychic version of a Gauss rifle. If the muzzle velocity is high enough, it'll still hurt the Diberyans.

Clearly, this version of Magneto had weak scientific ability—he was more of a hands-on craftsman. Though his mastery of mutant abilities was flawless, his applications were painfully monotonous. He hadn't yet achieved the godlike feat of lifting the Golden Gate Bridge.

But one must admit, the aura of "All Swords Return to the Source" was potent. Hundreds of rifles lined up tightly, with pistols filling every gap above, below, and to the sides—any normal human would have wet himself.

Too bad the opponent wasn't normal—he was an alien, one who had absorbed part of the Phoenix Force.

The Diberyan leader, Wu Ke, stood atop his personal flight unit and flew toward the train. In a dive, he leapt forward, precisely threading through the passage doorway and landing inside the carriage defended by Magneto and Clown Super.

The moment he landed, he was met with Magneto's furious barrage—a storm of bullets, even at point-blank range. The heavy machine gun roared like a gale, firing 12.7x99mm rounds straight into the alien's body.

Had the opponent been those ordinary aliens from before, this welcome would have pierced dozens. But Magneto recognized this alien, disguised as a woman—she was the one who had followed Qin.

Combined with Professor X's words, this woman must be the alien leader. Whether right or wrong, useful or not—he'd kill her first!

But Wu Ke, having absorbed part of the Phoenix Force, was impervious to rifles or machine guns. The hail of bullets merely stripped away her disguise. She walked forward as if untouched, braving the storm.

All rifles quickly emptied their magazines. Only the belt-fed machine gun held out a little longer, but its firepower didn't last long. Even with Magneto's supplementary attacks using iron shards and rods to cut and pierce, nothing worked.

He glanced at Clown Super, still fumbling with the ammo belt and not even understanding how to chamber a round, and barked: "Kid, you better take this seriously! The enemy's about to kill you!"

Frustrated, Clown Super flung his hands up and gave up. He grabbed the open ammo box and hurled it; he did the same to the heavy machine gun—flinging it straight at the alien leader Wu Ke's face.

Of course, this caused no damage. Clown Super spread his hands: "The result's the same as yours—why bother shooting?"

Under Magneto's stunned, "You're dead" stare, Clown Super picked up an empty rifle. Same grip, same vibe—he fondled the barrel with a sleazy caress and murmured: "I still prefer doing it this way… Destruction… hmm, N+1 version."

Then he swung the rifle like a fire poker, preparing to smash it into Wu Ke's face.

But Wu Ke, as if he'd deliberately stepped forward, delivered a lightning-fast punch packed with all his strength—sending Clown Super flying through the air!

As Clown Super flew backward out of the carriage, he could be heard shouting: "You're not playing fair! I used a weapon, and you used your fist!"

Well, of course—he was useless as a teammate. Magneto seethed with resentment—he should've let that woman who wasn't here see exactly what kind of "helper" he'd personally chosen.

With all bullets spent, spent casings carpeted the floor. Magneto reverted to primal methods—ripping apart the carriage walls, shaping countless sharp shards into a swirling vortex to crush the alien walking through it.

But just before the spikes touched his body, every attack was halted—no progress made. He had felt this power gap before—on Qin.

This wasn't a battle of telekinesis versus magnetism—it was a higher-order force, crushing everything beneath it. He could only struggle to hold on.

Finally, Wu Ke flicked her hand—Magneto was slammed into the wall and passed out. Even metal objects under his control crashed down, piling atop him.

The path to the final carriage was now clear. Wu Ke thought, and the iron sheets, blocks, and even the door blocking the passage shot backward, smashing into several unlucky people.

Everyone stared in terror at the female alien who had just broken through Magneto and Clown Super's defense.

Her face held no human expression—cold, emotionless, as if wearing a mask.

Wu Ke spoke for the first time, addressing the humans: "Hand over that girl, and I'll spare your lives. Or at least, not kill you right now."

Had she said only the first sentence, and if no one knew the aliens' true goal, someone might have clung to hope. But Wu Ke had sealed all escape routes—whether mutant or American soldier, humanity had no choice but to fight to the death.

The battle erupted instantly!

Under the cover of American soldiers' gunfire, the mutants surged to the front.

Perhaps because there were too many, Wu Ke couldn't stop them all at once. She could only knock them down one by one, repel them one by one, until no one remained standing before her.

All of this took only a few breaths.

But luckily, Wu Ke hadn't yet mastered the Phoenix Force—otherwise, this would've been far simpler.

(End of Chapter)