Magneto was extremely surprised by this, as Professor X seldom refused him, especially regarding such serious matters. Charles couldn't possibly be unaware of the benefits this would bring to mutants, yet he still refused.
It was only after remote communication that Magneto learned it wasn't that he didn't want to, but rather he couldn't, as someone was protecting that part of China.
Simply put, during the catastrophic free-for-all among demons at the beginning of the 20th century, the Chinese people suffered greatly due to their lower level of life. Nearly all demons and ghosts capable of causing even the slightest ripple could read minds, with many able to read minds on a large scale.
The reason that disaster became so severe was that humanity's initial resistance strategies were completely exposed. Human intelligence was transparent to the higher-level demon and demon races, rendering high intelligence and firm willpower useless in such circumstances.
Not to mention the fact that the majority of demons specialized in beguiling the human heart. Many problems couldn't be solved by sheer willpower since the enemy's opening move was powerful mind control—how could you fight that?
So, starting from that era, the Chinese have been climbing the technology tree of anti-mind reading and anti-mind control, from science to magic. Techniques like Magneto's helmet are basically antiques from the World War II era.
The current anti-mind reading and mind control technologies used in China mainly come from Taoism and Chinese Buddhism, somewhat like the Temple system of Kamar-Taj.
However, while Kamar-Taj has only a few Temples worldwide, China has countless Taoist and Buddhist temples, which have become energy nodes, building together a vast network that resists brainwave reading and manipulation.
Having this network alone isn't enough. It is connected to the demon disaster management and defense team under SWORD on one hand, and to the police network on the other. As soon as an abnormal output of brainwaves is detected, alarms go off on both ends, and the source of the brainwave output can immediately be pinpointed.
If Professor X were to fall out with all of humanity and fully unleash his abilities to brainwash people worldwide, this network would probably not be able to withstand it. But as long as he doesn't intend to do so and is merely using his brainwaves to peek at things, he would certainly be detected.
That is to say, secretly searching for someone within China and transmitting messages to them would not work. Perhaps Professor X's first sentence would hardly be delivered before the person would already be invited to the station for a "tea talk."
After hearing Magneto's explanation, Professor X also felt a headache coming on. It felt like the answer was right in front of them, but as distant as heaven and earth, with the answer outside and themselves caged within.
Perhaps this was his karmic retribution, Professor X thought. He had often heard that China kept mutants caged, and now ironically, it was he who found himself imprisoned, as though he was a lion gazing at the outside world from within a cage.
However, there was no way to ignore an answer that was practically handed to them on a plate. After much hesitation and struggle, Magneto still went to find Shiller.
Shiller wasn't in a hurry, knowing that this day would come. Although he wasn't very familiar with the situation in China, he understood America very well in any lifetime: lies would eventually be exposed.
If Shiller's guess was right, Clark, who flew over Shenzhen, must have been detected already, but someone knowledgeable within SWORD must have chosen not to stop him.
Or rather, since the move toward interstellar age, many people have begun to see the world with open eyes. Controlled by public opinion, many used to fear the Eastern Great Nation, especially the brainwashed mutants among them.
Among these were strong individuals, some of whom longed for China yet dared not enter rashly, hovering around the borders of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, stealthily flying in to take a peek now and then. The mutant management bureau in Shenzhen turned a blind eye to this.
Most of them are irretrievable, ending up landing and applying for temporary residence permits. Clark has only come a couple of times and isn't even a key surveillance target yet.
After listening to Magneto's request, Shiller expressed his willingness to help contact the people at SWORD, but he also made it clear in advance that they weren't fools who would give away their accumulated mutant infrastructure experience for nothing. They should be prepared to pay a price.
At that time, Magneto and Professor X were prepared to bleed greatly for it. Magneto even thought of the two spare planets he had found and was ready to give them to China if need be.
But the pain was real when thinking of handing over those planets, which were not in bad condition themselves; they just lost out due to a lack of space and now had to be given away.
Surprisingly, SWORD agreed very readily, even suggesting terms so lenient that both Professor X and Magneto could hardly believe it. No, it couldn't even be called a condition, it seemed more like a pie falling from the sky.
SWORD proposed that they also had many planetary infrastructure plans urgently needing implementation, but they were short on materials and couldn't spare many hands for such advanced projects. They planned to send a group of Chinese mutants to assist with the Andromeda Galaxy development project, especially the planetary environmental transformation projects.
Magneto was already struggling to find people for pioneering work and would not have sent an Epsilon Class otherwise—isn't this just the pillow he needed for his slumber?
As for whether these mutants would work wholeheartedly with him, Magneto couldn't care less. In his eyes, they were too weak; even if he stood there letting them hit him, they might not manage to touch him. He wasn't afraid they'd steal the planet and run away, were they?
Moreover, they are all mutants, establishing a homeland for mutants. If he couldn't count on mutants from other countries, shouldn't he use the Chinese ones?
Both parties almost hit it off immediately. SWORD prepared numerous plans, covering almost all aspects of the initial infrastructure possible on a planet.
Moreover, they didn't act unilaterally but instead held several discussions with Magneto, essentially settling on the future transformation direction for these planets.
Considering the current predicament of Magneto and his people, China was willing to provide a batch of reserve food supplies. After all, those working on this project would need to eat, and they hadn't reached the level where eating was optional, as it was for Magneto.
Everything was going smoothly, and a bright future seemed within reach. Magneto and Professor X were very satisfied with the planetary development plans, and even Professor X was tempted to visit the Andromeda Galaxy again. After all, how could he not be part of such an inspiring and massive project?
But, as the saying goes, nothing is ever completely smooth sailing. When you deal with cesspits every day, how can you not expect someone to stir trouble?
God knows who the hell leaked the plan, but the world's biggest troublemaker showed up excitable as ever.
First, people from the U.S. Military sought out Magneto. Magneto outright refused to meet them, and in response, they issued a warrant for his arrest for treason. The charge was participation in research on China's aircraft carrier electromagnetic weapon system, a serious accusation of war crimes.
This left Magneto both angry and amused. Treason? Can't you open your eyes and see which country I belong to?
But before he had much time to laugh, he was stripped of his German citizenship. The German government declared that Magneto had renounced his German citizenship as early as 1956, and before fleeing Germany, he had committed murder, robbery, and incitement of NAZI ideology.
Fine, Magneto thought. He had no real attachment to Germany, and he had been stateless for more than a year or two. It didn't matter to him; he didn't care.
But the news that truly hit him hard soon followed. Israel claimed that Magneto's publicly shared past of entering a concentration camp was fabricated. They found several witnesses who had been in the camps to prove that Magneto had never been there and subsequently revoked his Jewish citizenship.
Then came a series of accusations stating that Magneto was in fact in cahoots with the SS, committing horrendous acts of carnage, being the purest remnant of the NAZIs. They argued that any country interacting with him was ignoring their national trauma and exhibiting extreme anti-human behavior.
Professor X had to use Cerebro to hold down Magneto; if he had been a second slower, Magneto would've been not just a NAZI remnant but reached a new level altogether.
Magneto fell ill again.
It wasn't just the anger that did it; it was mainly the exhausting half-month of non-stop work discussing the collaboration. He ran back and forth between China and Mexico, traveling multiple times a day between Earth and the Andromeda Galaxy.
Since the Chinese needed data for the plans and all of Magneto's renovation projects were based on his powers and instinct, lacking detailed construction data, he had to run back to take measurements. Sometimes he had to bring people and equipment, maintain their survival in space, often multitasking. That he didn't collapse from exhaustion was thanks to him being Magneto.
He hadn't fully adapted to the current lifestyle, and this added strain took its toll on the old man, who was in his seventies or eighties. When Shiller saw the news about Clark's accident, he feared that Magneto would suffer a stroke.
The craziest part was that it was almost time for the elections, and this year there was a heavyweight candidate who loved badmouthing China.
In various campaign speeches, he repeatedly said that there must be a consciousness of opposition against China, that the peaceful evolution in the interstellar era was absolutely unacceptable. He claimed that only by remaining vigilant could they secure the greatest benefits in the era of interstellar colonization.
His words resonated greatly with the American rednecks – in their view, the cosmos was a huge cake just waiting for them to help themselves. If others took more, they would naturally get less, and they couldn't be happy about that.
So, for a while, this man was extremely popular, and the Mutant population was his example of what not to do. He said Mutants would eventually lose their independence and become puppets of governments. Therefore, Americans should whip them into working for their own benefits instead of letting such a powerful force slip from their grasp.
Professor X used Cerebro twice in a short period to contain Magneto's thoughts of destroying the world along with himself.
Knowing that Magneto was sick, the younger mutants were all extremely anxious. They were even more eager for China's help, not just because Magneto had a lot of work, but they too were overloaded.
If they could actually work effectively, that'd be one thing, but most of them had no idea what they were doing and were just dragging their feet. They were sick of those days.
This time, Magneto's illness was quite severe; he ended up hospitalized. When Wanda and the others heard about it, they were greatly concerned. Wanda rushed to the hospital upon hearing of Magneto's admission and ended up being directed straight into the maternity ward to give birth.
Wanda knew she was expecting twins and, being the Scarlet Witch, she was aware there were no dangers in childbirth for her. Jarvis was also aware of the twins but didn't know that Wanda could use her powers to avoid childbirth risks. When he heard that Wanda had gone into premature labor, he was frantic like an ant on a hot pan.
He called over all the friends he could think of, but Jarvis was still beside himself with worry. Every time he thought about Wanda's premature delivery being because of Magneto, and Magneto's illness being due to the blowhard on TV, Jarvis boiled with rage.
Indeed, he couldn't just go over and punch the man, but he could snitch, couldn't he? Jarvis painted a vivid picture over the phone, embellishing the story when he relayed it to Stark.