Ti goes back to about a month and a half ago. At this point, there were still ten days left until Steve’s birthday. Solar System. Earth. The capital of the New Xanadu Country, inside the office of the Congress Building. Charles put down the phone and smiled, saying: "Zhengxian said they are ready. Now we just wait for Shiller to act. The doctor usually doesn’t keep us waiting long. I’m afraid the U.S. Congress, Stark Group, and Kamar-Taj will soon reach a consensus. Earth is ready to set sail."
Opposite Charles, Erik took a sip of tea unhurriedly and said, "I’ll call Polaris and the others back later. Officially, it’s to attend Steve’s 100th birthday banquet. But in reality, we need to prepare for Earth’s departure and the Asgard banquet. Whether we can hit the target in such a chaotic situation depends on this strike."
"Honestly, when they proposed the ’Earth Departure Plan’, I was truly startled. I didn’t expect our neighbors to be bolder than we imagined. But no matter what, this is a good thing for mutants. Our nation is too close to them on Earth. From a geopolitical perspective, it’s almost impossible to decouple from them. If the superluminal engine is built on our side, even if you blatantly appear at the United Nations eting, they could only swallow their resentnt."
Erik just curled the corner of his mouth but didn’t genuinely smile. Charles lowered his gaze, and the atmosphere fell silent for a mont.
"To be honest, I don’t care anymore," Erik shook his head, "We now have our own country. My nationality is New Xanadu Country. My race is mutant, and those past matters don’t count anymore."
"You really are quite generous," Charles sneered, "Don’t count? Why shouldn’t they count? When you were down, those despicable people altered history, deceived the public, ignored your pain and achievents. But when you succeeded, they sward like sharks slling blood, eager to bite off a piece of you. No, maybe they’ve already bitten. And your attitude to all this is that the past doesn’t count?"
"Calm down, Charles," Erik was not surprised by Charles’ drastic change in deanor, he simply said, "Didn’t Israel already say? This is just a routine visit. If we show too much excitent, won’t we fall into their trap?"
"Yes, Israel is a routine visit, Germany is a routine greeting. Don’t you rember they both declared a few years ago that you were neither Jewish nor German?" Charles laughed out of anger and said, "They said the history of you being in a concentration camp was fabricated by you. The surviving witnesses were threatened by you to testify falsely for you. They said your ancestors had no religious beliefs and living in a Jewish community doesn’t an you’re Jewish..."
Listening to Charles recount everything, Erik seed amused. He turned the ring on his index finger, looking at Charles with a half-smile. Charles took a deep breath and said, "I just enjoy swiping short videos more than you, so what? Modern online public opinion monitoring is a very sophisticated course. Even the Beast knows these things."
"Since it’s a routine greeting, handle it routinely. If they don’t say they’re anxious because New Xanadu and China are too close, let’s assu they an well. Anyway, over 60 countries have established diplomatic relations with New Xanadu now, half of them are developed countries. Even for a routine visit, they’d have to wait over two months. By then, Earth would have already left the Solar System. Their biggest headache wouldn’t be us."
Charles thought silently for a while, seemingly finally cald down, and said, "Most European countries and at least half of the Middle Eastern countries rely on Arica. The rise of China’s influence feels like a death warrant to them. By that ti, even if Arica says nothing, they will definitely incite Congress."
"Do you expect Congress to honor old ties?" Erik sneered, "The benefits China holds with the superluminal engine surpass all other countries combined. Even if Arica isn’t willing, they have to find a way to reconcile with China. Once China and the US enter a honeymoon period, they’ll jointly carve up most of the benefits from this event. Other countries might not even get a sip of the soup. Especially those small countries, if they don’t learn from this and realize that they need to unite as regional powers to avoid falling behind, then they’ll deserve extinction."
Charles paused, then said, "I heard that King Doom of Latvia joined in the construction on the Himalayan side early. Latvia chose to stand with us. Wakanda has maintained a good relationship with the Avengers, so they should have chosen Arica."
"That’s true. But if you want to benefit from taking sides, you must have value yourself. Doom has formidable research abilities, and Latvia’s geographic location is important. Wakanda is technologically advanced and has a good international reputation. New Xanadu has strong military prowess and an Outer Space enclave in the Androda Galaxy. What about the other countries? What do those Middle Eastern countries have to offer? Oil?"
At the ntion of oil, Erik laughed himself. Although many chemical products still require oil today, compared to before, its importance has significantly decreased. The supremacy of the US Dollar has also been shaken. If not for the Solar System developnt plan, the global economy would have undergone a major reshuffle.
"Europe has no advantage either. They lack resources, and their technology isn’t advanced. They can’t unify internally completely, and even if they appear harmonious on the surface, they’re all harboring ulterior motives, which further reduces their competitiveness. As for Germany, they’re not considered top-tier even within Europe, let alone visible on the international stage."
Charles was silent, but internally he agreed with Erik. In the past, whether it was Middle Eastern oil magnates or the old European aristocrats, they could rely on their first-mover advantage to reap from the world. No matter how bad it got, it would always be better than other countries.
But now, China has even brought out the superluminal engine. The future of Earth is practically in the hands of two superpowers. These small countries will have no more say. This ans they’ve transitioned from rulers to civilians, and in the new interstellar era, they will no longer have any decision-making power, only the option to execute.
Thinking of it this way, Charles felt sowhat alleviated. He took a deep breath and said, "It’s what they deserve. Had they treated you slightly better, it might have been possible to bring them along."
"Let’s forget it." Erik said, "I’ve fought all my life for the cause of mutants, and it has nothing to do with my birthplace or the race of as an ordinary human. If they don’t want to sever ties with , I must sever ties with them."
"But you’re the one who has to sever ties first!" Charles grew angry again while speaking, slapping the table, "And they didn’t just sever ties; they even sared your na!"
"They weren’t entirely wrong. I spent half my life as a terrorist, with countless civilians dying by my hands, how isn’t that inhumane and ruthless?"
Charles paused his hand just before hitting the table a second ti, then slowly clenched it into a fist. He sighed and changed the subject, saying, "They haven’t told Doctor Schiller about moving the Earth to Asgard, have they?"
"No," Erik said, "but he would definitely figure it out. Because Asgard is likely planning to station troops in the Nine Major Kingdoms soon. Instead of waiting for them to co over, we might as well go there."
"How do you know Asgard wants to station troops? Do you have contacts there?"
Erik shook his head and said, "Because I had Mystique send emissaries to pressure Asgard. The Shi’ar Empire sent people over, so the other two empires at war with them would certainly send people too, worrying Shi’ar might actually win Asgard over. With all three empires applying pressure, fearing they might take extre asures, Thor would definitely strengthen the defense within the Solar System. Sending troops is the best solution."
Charles knew he was referring to Mystique disguised as Queen Lilandra of the Shi’ar Empire, and understood why Erik did it—for an honorable cause.
If Asgard did nothing, and Earth suddenly appeared above their heads, even if Asgard didn’t dare to force them away, they would protest sohow. After all, it severely threatened the security of their capital, and they would be reasonable not to allow it.
But if Asgard wanted to station troops first, then Earth moving there would have a justified reason: we’re making the long journey to help reduce your troop deploynt in Asgard. What can you say?
Even if we do pose a threat to your capital’s security, your troop deploynt also threatens the security of our ho planet. We didn’t say a word back then and welcod you warmly. Shouldn’t you welco us too?
To make Asgard accept this willingly, Erik, upon learning of China’s "Planet Launch" plan, pressured Asgard through Mystique, even spreading rumors about "destroying the World Tree," forcing Asgard to take action regarding the Nine Major Kingdoms. This way, Earth’s move was justifiable.
"We did China a big favor." Erik said, "I believe Chief Zheng will return the favor and help us out too."
"You an..."
Dingling!
Charles picked up the phone next to him and said, "Hello? Chief Zheng? Alright, I’ll hand the phone to him now." Finishing, he handed the receiver over. Erik took it and said, "It’s . No need to thank . Is that so? Okay, I’ll have them return as soon as possible."
After hanging up, Erik said to Charles, "Call Lorna and the others now, and have them return soon, preferably before tonight. SWORD has sothing for them."
"What for?" Charles beca wary when it involved these young mutants. He said, "Surely not sothing dangerous for them, right?"
"Of course it’s a good thing," Erik raised an eyebrow and said, "SWORD is willing to give the new generation of mutants the chance to fire the first shot."
Charles’s expression changed, and his hand, pressing against the table, slowly tightened again. He gently inhaled and said, "Lorna and the others are still very young. I’m worried they..."
"They’re not as young as we once were," Erik turned his head, speaking in a tone that brooked no argunt, "We’ve done all we can. They must take up their responsibility and not always hide under our wings. The future of mutants lies with them."
Charles’s grip loosened slightly, but he still said, "You need to give them so ti. And you must promise , if they don’t want to..."
"If Lorna doesn’t want to, I’ll have her boyfriend go. She’ll surely agree."
Charles opened his mouth, but thinking of Polaris’s complicated romantic relationship, he ultimately said nothing more.
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