"Elsa requests a call!"
The sudden alert interrupted Ian's thoughts.
"Connect!"
Elsa's holographic projection appeared beside Ian.
"Elsa, what big event happened today?" Ian asked.
Elsa wouldn't call the lab directly unless it was something significant.
"Ian, look at this news!" Elsa pulled up a television broadcast.
"Alright!" Ian connected to the live news feed.
It wasn't an earth-shattering event but a press conference. At the conference, Worthington Labs announced they had found a solution to the mutant gene.
Watching the broadcast, Ian immediately recalled the relevant plot: "Is the storyline of X-Men 3 about to begin?"
"Jean should be waking up soon, right?" Ian thought of Jean Grey, still sleeping in the lake.
Less than a year was far from enough for the Phoenix Force to fully awaken. If Scott hadn't woken her, she would have continued to sleep.
However, even an incompletely awakened Phoenix Force was enough for Jean Grey to display Level 5 power.
And an incompletely awakened Phoenix Force had the potential to erupt at any moment. If it fully exploded, its power would be catastrophic.
Although in the original plot, the Phoenix Force ultimately didn't fully erupt, too much interference from him might change the outcome!
So Ian decided not to take that risk:
"Better let her get plot-killed on her own!"
Compared to Jean, Ian was more interested in the little boy named Jimmy. He was curious about the mechanism behind his ability to suppress the X-gene.
"Elsa, keep an eye on Worthington Labs. I want to see their 'cure.'" Ian instructed.
"Anytime!" Elsa replied.
Whether through the Carnegie family's connections or the action team's arrangements, getting into Worthington Labs was easy.
"Keep a low profile!" Ian reminded her before hanging up.
With his experiments completed and both X-Gene Studies and Elemental Dominion reaching Level 5, Ian was eager to go out.
But just as he was about to leave the lab, John stopped him.
"@#%￥#@..." John spoke so quickly that Ian couldn't understand him.
John looked pale, with heavy dark circles under his eyes, clearly sleep-deprived for at least two days. However, his expression was full of excitement, his eyes brimming with energy.
When John was in this state, all he cared about was research, and no one could stop him.
Ian sighed and stopped. "Alright, John, slow down and explain!"
"Okay!" John took a deep breath and said:
"I found that Anna's X-gene ability is incomplete. She can only absorb and release rule energy but cannot store or utilize it."
"I know that," Ian nodded, waiting for John to continue.
John went on: "So, I searched through the gene database and finally found Mystique's genes.
Her X-gene ability is simulation—not just simulating appearances but also genes, including the X-gene.
If she can simulate the X-gene, she might also be able to simulate rule energy!"
"And then?" Ian asked.
"I found that Anna's X-gene is highly compatible with Mystique's. The two can perfectly complement each other…" John trailed off.
Ian could tell that John wasn't just here to discuss. "So? What do you want?"
"I want Mystique!" John finally revealed his true intentions.
"Why not just say you want Magneto too?" Ian rolled his eyes.
Speaking of Mystique, Ian suddenly remembered there might soon be a chance to recruit her.
"I wouldn't mind Magneto either!" John joked, not sure if he was playing dumb or being serious.
"Go to sleep—everything is possible in your dreams!"
"I'm serious! Is there really no chance with Mystique?"
"Mystique isn't some naïve girl—she's been around for decades. Recruiting her isn't easier than recruiting Magneto. But…"
"But what?!" John's eyes lit up.
"But there might be an opportunity soon."
"When?"
"You just wait. When the time comes, I'll bring her back myself!"
…
After arguing with John for a while, night had already fallen.
Ian took advantage of the darkness and boarded an aircraft bound for the West Coast.
Within half a day, Elsa and her team had everything prepared.
Late that night, Ian and Elsa silently infiltrated Alcatraz Island—once a maximum-security prison, now home to Worthington Labs.
The security was tight, and the guards were diligent, but none of it mattered to Ian and his team.
Illusions, hypnosis, invisibility, even spatial teleportation—they had countless ways to slip in undetected.
By the time Ian and Elsa entered Jimmy's room, the boy was already asleep.
Not wanting to wake him, Ian quietly approached his bed.
There was indeed a suppressive effect!
But it was only suppression—Ian didn't completely lose his X-abilities.
He could still manipulate elements, perform decomposition and synthesis, and even use Elemental Furnace.
After a few quick tests, Ian estimated the effect: "Around a 10% reduction in efficiency!"
With the test complete, Ian and Elsa left the facility without a trace, taking only a small sample of Jimmy's DNA and a vial of the 'cure' from the lab.
Back on the aircraft, Ian asked, "Elsa, the team tested it, right? What were the results?"
"Yes, I had the team test it. For X-abilities without rule sigils, Jimmy can fully suppress them. But once a rule sigil is formed, his suppression weakens significantly—at most, by 50%," Elsa reported.
After Ian returned, Jimmy's DNA and the cure sample were immediately sent to John.
Such an interesting sample caught John's attention instantly.
By the very next day, John had preliminary results:
"This boy, Jimmy, is also a mutant. His ability should be called Gene Suppression, and it specifically suppresses unstable gene fragments.
The X-gene falls into that category, so it's within his suppression range.
For normal mutants, the X-gene is the core of their abilities, so they are fully suppressed. But for us, the core is the rule sigil—the X-gene is only auxiliary—so the suppression is only partial.
Also, Jimmy's ability merely suppresses unstable genes rather than eliminating them.
So the Worthington Lab's 'cure' is only temporary—it's not the permanent solution they claim it to be."
Ian wasn't surprised by this tactic: "That makes sense. Normally, maintenance drugs are more profitable than permanent immunity drugs.
But the mutant 'cure' is an exception.
The mutant issue is mostly hype—across the entire U.S., there are fewer than 5,000 mutants.
If they don't market the cure as a permanent solution to regular humans, how many doses do you think they'd actually sell?"
(End of Chapter)