After handling the aftermath, the Professor wheeled himself alone to inspect the Cerebro device.
The silver-white doors slowly opened, revealing a familiar figure.
Erik's visit in this manner was somewhat unexpected, yet also within reason.
Magneto was too familiar with X Academy—entering quietly was almost like returning home.
The Professor was only surprised for a moment before proceeding inside as if nothing had happened, closing the doors behind him.
Magneto turned around. His expression was calm, devoid of any emotion, showing no signs of having just suffered a crushing defeat.
"You failed, old friend," Professor X was the first to speak.
Hearing the Professor's words, Magneto's expression did not change in the slightest.
Instead, he openly admitted his failure. "Yes, I failed this time."
In the end, he had followed Ian's advice.
After arriving at X Academy, he had quietly reviewed Senator Kelly's experiment records.
He had to admit that this plan was doomed to fail from the very beginning!
But Magneto was an idealist—one temporary defeat would not shake his resolve.
The Professor knew Magneto well and tried to persuade him again. "Stop doing things like this, Erik!"
"I won't make the same mistake next time," Magneto replied.
"You're only leading mutants into the abyss!" the Professor continued to warn.
"Mutants have already fallen into the abyss! I'm the one pulling them out. Without me, most of them would have already died in human laboratories!" Magneto's eyes burned with fury.
If it weren't for various ambitious figures capturing mutants and using them for experiments, he would not have become so extreme.
The two old friends, who understood yet opposed each other, could not change each other's minds.
Before leaving, Magneto warned the Professor, "You all had better be careful in the near future—humans are not to be trusted!"
The battle at the Statue of Liberty last night had caused significant destruction.
Although the government didn't know the full details, the damage to the monument had already triggered alarm in Washington.
There would undoubtedly be people using this as an opportunity to stir up trouble.
Magneto had already obtained some troubling intelligence through the Brotherhood's channels, even spotting some familiar names among them.
This time, Magneto had not been severely injured. With him still in command, the Brotherhood could retreat and regroup.
But X Academy was out in the open—it couldn't hide!
That was why Magneto had come to see the Professor in person.
After all, they were old friends, and the academy was full of mutants.
As for Ian's sudden appearance last night, both of them tacitly avoided mentioning it.
Ian had not deliberately hidden his identity. With the resources of both X Academy and the Brotherhood, obtaining information on Ian was easy.
His years of rescuing mutant children were not concealed, and he treated all mutants equally, regardless of their abilities. The existence of Carnegie Mutant Academy was no secret to them.
Thus, both the Professor and Magneto had always held a positive impression of Ian.
That afternoon, as soon as Ian arrived at Carnegie Alloy Company, General Manager Aisha Watson came in with a stack of documents.
"Boss, the military placed three urgent orders today—all for non-magnetic alloys!" Aisha reported.
"Looks like last night's events really rattled the military," Ian chuckled.
The three orders were substantial, but Ian knew this was only the beginning. The demand for non-magnetic alloys would extend far beyond just the military.
Ian felt like he should thank Magneto—he was about to make another fortune. The price of non-magnetic alloys was not cheap.
"Increase non-magnetic alloy production immediately. Assign an additional backup smelting facility. Orders for this material are going to skyrocket soon," Ian instructed.
"Understood, boss!" Aisha swiftly noted his instructions.
"Anything else?" Ian asked.
Knock, knock, knock!
Right then, someone knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Ian responded, then turned to Aisha. "That will be all for today."
Seeing that the visitor was Butler Anderson, Ian got up and walked over. "Uncle Anderson!"
"master, the lady requests your immediate return home," Burton Anderson said.
"I'll head back right away!"
When his mother summoned him, Ian dared not delay—coincidentally, he had finished his work for the day.
The company wasn't far from home, both being near Washington, only a short drive away.
Originally, their family had lived in New York, but who would dare live in New York in times like these?
At Ian's insistence, the family had moved to Washington.
If it weren't for the inconvenience, Ian would have preferred moving all the way back to Georgia.
Ian's house in Washington was simple—just a standalone villa with a garden.
Seeing Mary leisurely tending to the flowers, Ian breathed a sigh of relief.
Carrying a full watering can, he walked over. "Mom, what happened today?"
"Your father just sent word—many in the Senate expressed dissatisfaction with mutants today, and some in the military are considering taking action," Mary said calmly, as if she wasn't worried at all.
"The military wants to target my mutant academy?" Ian asked, though his tone carried a hint of disdain.
"Who would dare!!!"
Mary's voice wasn't loud, but it was firm, radiating authority.
Ian had no doubts about that!
His efforts in rescuing mutants were no secret among America's elite, yet no one dared to comment or interfere.
The real rulers of America had always been the major financial and corporate elites, and the Carnegie family was among the very top.
Those senators and high-ranking officials might appear powerful, but they were essentially just employees.
Which employee would dare meddle in their boss's affairs? Unless they wanted to lose their job?
Magneto and Professor X had gathered a large number of mutants, making the military see them as a threat and a destabilizing factor.
Ian had also gathered a large number of mutants, but no one saw him as a threat. No one would view the Carnegie family as a danger.
After all, as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the current system, the Carnegie family would never rebel against a structure that worked in their favor.
After clearing the trimmed branches, Ian asked, "Mom, if Dad sent you a message personally, it must be about more than just this, right?"
Mary didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "The military reached out to your father—they want the mutant gene database you have."
"The mutant gene database?..." Ian weighed the pros and cons in his mind.
A gene database was both important and unimportant. It couldn't be given away freely, but it also wasn't something that needed to be kept entirely secret.
On its own, a gene database held little research value. The military had invested vast resources in studying mutants for years—how many successful results had they produced?
As far as Ian knew, not a single one!
Even the two so-called "creations" taken down by Wolverine were merely incomplete products. Without the test of time, their stability was highly questionable.
Ian made his decision. "Fine, they can have it—but not for free! I want all of the military's research data on mutants, including their own mutant gene database!"
(End of Chapter)