NABC Chapter 4736 X Royal Newcomer (5)
Chapter 4736 X Royal Newcomer (5)
Chapter 4736 X Royal Family: New Life (Fifteen)
Steve sat at the bar in the restaurant and took a glass of wine from Polaris. After taking a sip, he smiled and said, "Not bad, ma'am. You seem to be in a good mood."
“That’s really strange. I should be the one asking you that.” Polaris dried her hands with a towel and said, “I heard your friend is sick. It seems he’s not adapting well to the environment in Krakia. Is he alright?”
"Thank you for your kind words. It's not bad; it's just a minor cold. And we've already found a treatment."
“I know what you’re worried about,” Polaris said bluntly. “Clarkia has only been an independent nation for a short time, and it’s already facing sanctions from so many countries. You’re worried we’ll become the next Cuba. But actually, our situation was much worse before. What is there to worry about now?”
“I forgot about that, but you reminded me.” Steve took another sip of his drink.
“You don’t seem like the type to come here to drown your sorrows at this time,” Polaris said, shaking her head. “It seems you’re still quite worried about him.”
“A little,” Steve admitted. “Tony is a very strong person. Even when he gets sick, he receives very good care and we don’t see it. This is the first time I’ve seen him with a high fever; it was quite frightening.”
Polaris hesitated for a moment, then said, "You might not believe it, but mutants like us get sick too. Especially when we lose our mutant abilities, I've seen it happen a lot... Never mind, why am I telling you this?"
“If you want to talk about it, I’d be happy to listen. But I suppose those things are in the past now. Like you said, Clarkia is a new beginning, and it’s better than ever before.”
“Even so, that’s not all that makes me happy.” Polaris’s tone became lively again. “I swapped my days off with them. I’ll have two days off for the next two days, or rather, two and a half days off. I’m thinking about where to go for fun.”
After a pause, she continued, "Do you know if there are hot springs in the crater to the north?"
"Oh?" Steve seemed somewhat interested.
"The entire Krakia Island slopes from north to south. This is because there's a volcano in the north. I'm not entirely sure what kind of volcano it is. But there are definitely hot springs there; I've seen them before. They seem to be very hot, so you probably can't just soak in them directly; you need to add some cool water to adjust the temperature. But we happen to have Iceman here. I was thinking of persuading him to take two days off so we can go soak in the hot springs together."
"Excuse me for asking, is he your boyfriend?"
“No,” Polaris said. “I know that in many universes I’m entangled with Shockwave and Iceman, but in this universe, I’m single, I’ve never been in a relationship with anyone, and I’ve never dated anyone.”
Just as Steve was about to ask why, Polaris explained to him, saying, "The Professor already knew about the nine reincarnations that Moira brought about ten years ago. He started preparing back then, while I was still very young and was always running around with Magneto, preparing for the mutant nation-building plan. I didn't have time to date. The X-Men were the same."
"Furthermore, after hearing about the dating history of my other peers, I feel that being single isn't so bad. Perhaps I can consider it once things have completely stabilized, but for now, I'll pass."
“When I said going to the hot springs, I meant going together,” Polaris said while wiping her wine glass. “Everyone’s been exhausted lately, so it’s time to relax. The new professor seems easy to talk to; I’m considering whether to talk to him.”
“You might have some misunderstanding about Charles,” Steve said. But he paused, then changed his words, “However, it’s hard to say. He’s always been kind to mutants. And you’re such a hardworking and well-behaved bunch of kids, maybe he really would be willing to give you a hot springs break.”
"What do you mean? He's not gentle with other people?"
“He’s not that easy to talk to,” Steve shook his head and said, “Believe me or not, he’ll be calling me to work in a minute…”
Before he could finish speaking, Charles's voice rang out: "Alright, Captain. I know you're worried about Tony. But while he's not back at his post, you need to keep an eye on him. That's for his own good, isn't it? Finish your drink and come to the docks..."
Steve shrugged at Polaris, downed his drink in one gulp, put down the glass, and headed towards the dock. Polaris quickly called after him, saying, "So, I can't just ask him directly. Could you sound him out for me and ask if he's interested in the hot springs? Maybe we can all go together."
Steve waved to her to reassure her, and soon arrived near the docks on a stone platform. The construction here was in full swing, and on a much larger scale than before, clearly indicating that the mutant leaders of the central universe had greater ambitions.
"Are you planning to build a port that can be used for both military and trade?" Steve asked.
“Yes. But it was only just decided,” Charles said. “The more they impose sanctions, the tougher we need to be. We initially thought it wouldn’t be good to force a large project when we didn’t have enough resources and manpower. Now it seems we were too lenient.”
"Furthermore, I'm planning to withdraw all our personnel from space. The reason is that the dock is too large, and we don't have enough manpower. We can only take care of ourselves first. Although the Shi'ar Empire is now mostly a remnant of its former forces, it's not without danger. If we give them a chance to regroup, Earth will still be in danger."
Steve looked at Charles. He knew that their universe's professors had plenty of strength and resources; dealing with political struggles on Earth was a piece of cake for them.
The Shi'ar army, though weakened, was no match for mutants. Magneto or Apocalypse could easily wipe them all out. But the exhausted Avengers might not be able to do that, and ordinary people had no chance.
If the mutants back down now, that would be a huge problem. It's clear to everyone that this is because the Earth government announced sanctions. Whether or not they lift the sanctions, it will at least put pressure on them and make them understand that opposing Clarkia is unwise when the mutants have the ability to protect Earth.
“This might not work,” Steve pointed out the flaw. “Krakia is on Earth. If the military attacks, it won’t benefit them either. Perhaps other governments will take a gamble, but you’re afraid to completely give up.”
“This is my next step,” Charles said. “Mutants always have to leave Earth. They’ve bullied us for so long, it’s not unreasonable for them to take some of their specialties with them, is it?”
Steve's eyes widened slightly. He said, "You're not thinking of taking the whole island with you, are you?"
“Why not?” Charles asked, looking at him. “Anyway, ordinary people can’t stay on this island. It’s completely useless to ordinary people, so giving it to us is a win-win situation.”
“This isn’t a gift, it’s outright robbery!” Steve shook his head, but didn’t object. The mutants had too much control over Clarkia. Leaving a group of people here instead of taking the island was a way to potentially provoke a bigger conflict.
“Tony thinks so too,” Charles said. “Otherwise, why do you think he’s been studying the location of the dock? If you want the whole island to take off, the center of gravity is very important, and the engine arrangement is also very important. The current location of the dock is probably an important location, so he wants to move the dock to another place.”
"Then why are you still building here?" Steve asked, somewhat surprised. "What if it conflicts with the engine later?"
“Isn’t Tony sick?” Charles said with some helplessness. “We’re not that heartless to make a sick person do this kind of work. Since he’s sick, we have no choice but to completely abandon technological means.”
"So you're thinking of using mutant abilities?" Steve thought for a moment and said, "Magneto should be able to do that, after all, he can even drag planets away."
“Absolutely not,” Charles said. “Haven’t you noticed? This island also suppresses the mutant abilities of mutants. Some weaker mutants will completely lose their mutant abilities, and even powerful Omega and Alpha mutants like us will be greatly weakened.”
"Is that so?" Steve was genuinely surprised. "Then why did the mutants choose this island?"
“Of course it’s related to totems,” Charles said. “And while weakened mutant abilities aren’t good for powerful mutants, they’re a godsend for many defective mutants. They can finally be happy, ordinary people without being bothered by their incomplete mutant abilities.”
“In that sense, the two leaders of this universe are indeed idealists,” Steve exclaimed, “willing to sacrifice so much for those weak mutants.”
"While that might be part of the reason, the main reason is that powerful mutants can leave the island at will. Being restricted on the island isn't a big deal; at most, it just makes building houses a bit more troublesome. Otherwise, why hasn't this dock been completed for so long?"
Steve nodded. He had thought about it before; there was really no need for so many mutants at just one dock. Polaris could have used them all. He hadn't expected it would be because their mutant abilities were restricted.
“How long until the dock is finished?” Steve asked.
"Not necessarily. I think the kids are exhausted, and I'm thinking of giving them a break. Sharpening the axe won't delay the work," Charles said with a smile.
"Polaris was just about to tell you... Oh, I forgot, you must have heard it. What do you think?"
"They will definitely soak in the hot springs, but the process can't be that easy. Otherwise, they'll have to sneak over every now and then. Not only will it delay their progress, but the volcano is also quite dangerous."
"So what are you planning to do?" Steve asked, somewhat curiously.
"Tonight, Apocalypse and his team will be back. Magneto of this universe told me that Apocalypse is interested in seeing the abilities of the new generation of mutants. So we plan to set up a arena on the island, where the winner will get a hot spring ticket and the loser will have to work."
"Isn't this a bit too cruel?" Steve said. "Everyone else went to the hot springs, and you're the only one left behind. Doesn't that make it harder for them to socialize?"
“I never said we’d leave it to build a dock. Don’t we need to build a hot spring?” Charles shrugged. “The winners can enjoy it, but the losers have to help us build the hot spring. But in the end, we can still go and soak in it.”
“That’s better,” Steve said. “Okay, I’ll go keep an eye on things over there. I see some of them are getting all worked up next to the crane, and they’re not wearing helmets.”
“Professor.” Charles heard someone calling him, his tone tinged with despair. He replied, “What is it, Schiller?”
"Tony's having another nightmare. Could you come over and help him sort out his mind? I really don't want to go back into his territory and face Jurassic dinosaurs and Darth Vader's lightsaber again."