Beast hurriedly left, and it wasn't long before a pitch-black teleportation portal appeared above the airport, entirely different from the pristine white one opened by Loki. This was a wormhole created by Magneto.
The commotion caused by Beast's departure caught the attention of others, and since it was nearly lunchtime, everyone gathered in the lounge to discuss the Andromeda Galaxy biological riot incident.
Stark and Reed both believed that it was very likely a genetic virus that only affected certain gene sequences. Changes to the genes would not affect the creature's blood or bodily fluids, or even its physical structure.
For example, if human genes were modified to include a third hand, from a certain moment, all children born would have a third arm, but examining the blood and bodily fluids of these children wouldn't reveal any anomalies; their data would resemble that of normal humans.
Similarly, if the altered genes affected the brain structure, it's very likely that a person might become insane at birth or at a certain stage of development. At that time, routine inspections would still be useless, and brain scans might not show any abnormalities either; the problem might lie in the neurons, beyond the reach of current human detection methods.
According to the information provided by mutants, some creatures had minor physical mutations, but the changes were not drastic. They didn't suddenly transform from eight-legged crabs into bipedal humans. Instead, they developed sharper teeth, more lethal claws, or lower limbs that enhanced their movement speed.
However, without exception, all the rioting creatures developed a heightened aggressiveness, and even some plants, originally void of any intelligence, sprouted thorn-like whips that would tear any passerby to shreds.
Thus, Stark and Reed believed that the genes of the riotous creatures must have been finely edited, indicating that it was man-made, not a natural disaster.
If it were a natural disaster, the mutations would be random; many creatures would develop body structures unsuitable for the planet's environment, similar to insects magnified thousands of times and then crushed to death by gravity, instead of being lively and gaining attack power.
This was actually good news, because some mutants had already been affected. If it had been random mutations, many could have died, but if it was just an enhancement of aggressive behavior, it was always manageable.
Sure enough, before long, Professor X sent a message directly to Shiller, telling him not to worry. The one affected was an animal-mutable mutant who had already been contained.
After asking Shiller in detail, it turned out that the mutant was unlucky. His patrolled planet was extremely remote. Even traveling there in a spaceship took a long time, and he, being careless, had not carried a communicator and plunged straight into the untouched forest.
When the disaster erupted, he had no clue. By the time they started counting heads and found him missing, the creatures on that planet had already begun to riot, and he too was afflicted.
His current state was such that he couldn't transform back at all and had lost his reason, unable to speak anything coherent and had to be temporarily imprisoned.
Shiller knew that since Reed had come in person, it was likely because Osborn's research was not going smoothly, and he wanted to acquire some clues from Stark and Reed. Although they were not specifically biological scientists, their tangential knowledge and particularly their inspiration, which distinguished them from ordinary scientists, might just directly point to the truth.
Reed promptly took out a tiny box containing a bird spider from a larger box, stared at for a long time, and then said, "Injecting the mutated sample's body fluid into Earth's original species is an idea, but didn't you consider the risk of infecting all creatures on Earth before starting this plan?"
"My father said it wouldn't happen; he believes the behind-the-scenes manipulator specifically targeted the creatures of the Andromeda Galaxy. Their genetic sequence doesn't correlate with Earth's creatures," he replied.
"He thought it was a genetic issue even back then?"
Harry nodded and added, "Think about it. If it were something low-level like transmission through blood, bodily fluids, or air, it couldn't infect over twenty planets, two of which are over 100,000 light-years apart. What kind of animal's droplet can travel 100,000 light-years?"
Stark nodded and remarked, "I don't doubt Old Osborn's determination; otherwise, he wouldn't dare easily undertake this task. If things on Earth did get infected, he wouldn't just die from disease, but from being cursed to death."
"Are there infections in other star systems?" Shiller asked.
Harry shook his head and responded, "Not that we've found."
Loki chimed in, "I haven't heard of any biological riots elsewhere. The infection scale isn't weak. If there were any, they would at least report it to the Star System Alliance. It's impossible that there wouldn't be any news."
"So they're targeting mutants. If that's the case, why infect creatures at all? Why not directly infect mutants?" Peter asked, puzzled.
Shiller laughed and said, "Don't forget what the symptoms of the infected are. They attack everything around them like maniacs. Which civilization could withstand Magneto and Professor X going mad?"
"Oh, right," Peter realized.
For other races, losing intelligence and retaining only aggressive instincts is a massive debilitation, but for individually powerful mutants, this is like a War Roar buff. They were already strong enough; a boost and indiscriminate attacks—could this universe even handle it?
Considering the consequences of these two old treasures attacking indiscriminately, Peter shuddered.
The objective of the behind-the-scenes manipulator was to weaken the mutants, not to drive them to destruction or madness. This proved that the opponent also had assets to preserve, not just some lunatic intent on destroying the cosmos, greatly narrowing the scope.
"Could Thanos have any clues?" Loki suddenly spoke up, "Or should I call him and ask?"
Everyone agreed, and Loki went out to make the call. After a short while, she returned and said, "Salos says that the Andromeda Galaxy is tightly sealed off by mutants, and under Professor X's comprehensive surveillance, almost no living creature can get close to it."
"Did he have any news?"
Thanos only said, "The Three Great Empires did indeed conduct biological experiments in some independent dimensions in the past, but it was legal, and there has never been a major pollution leak."
"After all, the entire cosmos' civilized forces are divided by the Three Great Empires. A pollution leak leading to widespread destruction of civilization isn't in their interest."
"So, there's been no large-scale leak, does that mean there have been smaller ones?"
Loki nodded and said, "It's somewhat inevitable. Sometimes, one or two specimens escape from an experimental base, causing a bit of chaos, but they are quickly dealt with."
At that moment, Shiller looked toward Rocket Raccoon standing beside him. Rocket and he exchanged a glance, clearly understanding each other's thoughts.
The Half-World where Rocket Raccoon was from had been a typical independent dimension used for biochemical experiments. A crisis had erupted there, with a group of unknown persons storming in, slaughtering scientists and specimens, causing chaos.
But unlike Rocket Raccoon, who had escaped without causing much trouble, this mass biological uprising in the Andromeda Galaxy was incomparable in scale.
"Who among the Three Great Empires would want to bear the wrath of the mutants?" Shiller said. "In reality, none, because mutants are like a band of roaming desperados. If you don't provoke them, they only operate within the Andromeda Galaxy. But if you destroy the Andromeda Galaxy, what if they decide to move into your capital?"
Others thought about it and indeed found the logic sound; neither the Kree Empire nor the Skrull Empire actually needed to provoke the mutants.
The Milky Way is relatively remote, and the Andromeda Galaxy, being close to the Milky Way, is like the outskirts—popularly speaking, it's like reaching Zhangjiakou. If you destroy it, what if these people impulsively decide they want to live in the Second Ring Road?
In the cosmos, basically no one wants to mess with these street thugs. Like back in the days of Asgard, if they set their sights on you, you just considered yourself unlucky. You either avoided them or abandoned cargo to save your life.
Magneto also followed the rules of the underworld: besides collecting protection money, he rarely appeared. Sometimes, when two civilizational fleets had a dispute, he would take sides based on how much protection money he collected.
Some civilizations with lower levels practically regarded him as a Guardian God. They would give him whatever he wanted, keeping the old man comfy and cozy, so he didn't have much free time to go looking for trouble with these civilizations.
The Three Great Empires saw them as a threat, but to be honest, every threat emerging from the Nine Major Kingdoms had been significant. Asgard had been crapping on their heads for many years, and still, none dared to touch Odin's homeland.
"I've got it," Peter suddenly said. "Look, if the mutants' homeland is destroyed, not to mention whom they seek revenge on, they'll definitely need to find a new place to settle. Where do you think they will choose?"
"They've worked so hard to build up the Andromeda Galaxy for so long; it turning to ashes overnight, they definitely won't want to start from scratch. They'll at least choose a place with similar developmental levels, which inevitably is the territory of the Three Great Empires," said Matt.
"Yes, so there will definitely be conflicts between the mutants and the Three Great Empires," Shiller continued. "And if the mutants also perceive the Three Great Empires as the culprits behind the destruction of the Andromeda Galaxy, then their differences will be irreconcilable."
"Are you suggesting that the behind-the-scenes manipulator wants to sow discord?"
"It must be so. Professor X must have thought of this as well, which is why he ordered a full-scale lockdown of the Andromeda Galaxy," Shiller speculated.
Those present from the Luminous Alliance could see that Professor X seemed to be preparing for the worst-case scenario. If the Andromeda Galaxy became uninhabitable, they would inevitably reroute to the Shi'ar Empire. The lockdown of the Andromeda Galaxy was to prevent anyone from knowing their next destination.
Though mutants indirectly controlled the Shi'ar Empire, they couldn't overdo it; otherwise, with rising public dissent, it would be hard for them, so the Shi'ar Empire conceding territory to them was a one-time opportunity. Once the target location was revealed and sabotaged in advance, fighting for territory would truly become a matter of life and death.
"Can you provide me with a specimen?" Reid suddenly said. "I'm confident I can figure out the essence of the mutation."
Harry glanced at Peter who did not react, then looked at Stark, and Stark also didn't speak up to stop him, while Shiller asked, "Are you going back to New York?"
"No, right here," Reid said. "I just need some basic equipment and plenty of drafting paper."
Peter was about to speak out to stop him, concerned that conducting experiments outside a professional lab could lead to another disaster.
But Shiller and Nick agreed with Reid; even though conducting experiments here wasn't professional, Reid's technical expertise was a good compensator. More importantly, as The Avengers and the Gray Mist were all here, if something really happened, it could be handled immediately.
Besides, if a problem did occur, SHIELD agents would have to travel from New York to provide support, which would mean a substantial travel expense—the opportunity for reimbursement was just too good to miss.