Marvel: Awakening the Universe.

Chapter 499 The End of the Banquet (Second Update!!)
The dinner was held in a newly built white house at the Quantico military base.

But the cook wasn't from the military base itself; he was rushed over from 1660 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Moreover, they brought their own ingredients.

Even the waiters were the same.

From this point alone, it is clear that President Barron Turner put a lot of thought into the dinner invitation and showed considerable respect for Hawke.

wrong.

This is no longer just respect, it's downright reverence.

When Hawke arrived from his rest room, President Baron Turner was already waiting at the door to greet him.

The moment Baron Turner saw Hawke, his aged face was already beaming with a smile as he greeted him.

Good evening, Mr. Phoenix.

"good evening."

Hawke remained polite and shook hands with the very enthusiastic Baron Turner.

"Please come in, Mr. Phoenix."

"it is good."

Hawke responded and, under Baron Turner's enthusiastic guidance, arrived at the oval-shaped restaurant, which had been set up quite luxuriously after several hours of urgent preparation in the afternoon.

The huge oval dining table is divided into eye-catching, ornate dining chairs, and the tableware placed in front of each chair is also quite eye-catching.

The candlesticks on the dining table, in particular, were extremely luxurious.

When Hawke and Baron Turner arrived at the restaurant, the other diners were already waiting.

This includes Baron Turner's chief of staff, his assistant Ida, and the head of the Quantico military base, among others.

Hawke glanced first at the candlesticks on the table, then his gaze fell on the curtains on either side of the dining room.

Baron Turner, who was standing to the side with an enthusiastic expression, followed Hawke's gaze and looked over as well.

"Mr. Phoenix, what's going on here...?"

"Let me see if there are any executioners behind the curtain."

Hawke looked away and smiled at Baron Turner beside him: "Just wait for you to smash the glass as a signal, and they'll rush in and chop me into mincemeat."

Candlestick.

curtain.

This is definitely a setup for a "candlelight and axe shadow" scenario.

Baron Turner listened to Hawke's words, then looked at Hawke's ambiguous smile, and laughed heartily without showing any emotion: "Mr. Phoenix, you're joking."

As he spoke, Baron Turner had the curtains covering the windows drawn back.

into the eye.

Outside the window, there were no executioners, only soldiers who, even those on guard duty or patrolling, wore expressions of an indescribable, fanatical sense of belonging.

Baron Turner looked at Hawke: "You see, Mr. Phoenix, please believe me, we have put a lot of sincerity into this dinner, hoping that you will change your opinion of us before you leave."

His words were sincere and heartfelt.

I even believed that this was my plan.

After all, the highest level of lying is to deceive yourself first in order to fool others.

but……

Hawke believed it.

He listened to Baron Turner's words, smiled slightly, looked at the latter, and spoke calmly.

"That would be best. I sincerely hope that there will be no unexpected events at tonight's dinner."

"I can guarantee you with my life."

Baron Turner's expression was serious, and his tone was full of sincerity.

A promise is for the living; for the dead, no amount of words can change that.

It's a dinner party, not a continuous meal. He's so old, it's normal for him to go to the restroom in the middle of the meal.

The most important thing.

The Sentinel robots were activated by Professor X, and theoretically, it was Professor X who awakened them to attack Hawke.

Therefore, Baron Turner felt there was nothing wrong with his promise, and he didn't even feel a little guilty when he said it.

So after Baron Turner bailed out his life, he showed absolutely no interest in continuing to enthusiastically invite Hawke.

"Please take a seat."

"it is good."

Seeing this, Hawke smiled slightly and stopped discussing the topic of "if you don't court death, you won't die".

After all, he had once again tried to give the other party a precious chance.

Unfortunately, the other party did not accept.

Well then, let's leave it at that. There's a saying, right? You can't reason with a damned devil. Since they want to court death, let them do it.

All he could do was ensure that after these people courted death, he would actually send them to their deaths.

That's it.

soon.

Hawke, along with Wanda and their daughter Jean, took their seats at the table, followed by President Barron Turner, and then the rest of the guests at the dinner.

There were no mutants among the guests at the dinner.

Neither Professor X nor Magneto are there.

The former was not invited.

As for the latter——

Magneto had already left Quantico after Hawke and Wanda arrived in the morning. Hawke figured that if Magneto hadn't come, Magneto would probably have been invited anyway.

Because they are barbarians.

They fear power, not virtue.

They will not take Professor X, who chooses peace through peaceful means, seriously, but they will certainly take Magneto, who seeks peace through violence, seriously.

As for Professor X?

He's still in the Sentinel Robotics Lab right now.

While Hawke and the others were attending the dinner, the scientists in charge of testing the Sentinel robots suddenly noticed abnormal data from them and were puzzled. So they called Professor X over as well.

"No."

"The temperature continues to rise."

"what happened."

"You were fine this afternoon, weren't you?"

"I don't know."

The scientists, who were also deemed necessary sacrifices, were now completely bewildered in front of the Sentinel robot's detection equipment.

Professor X, sitting in his wheelchair, looked up at the five-meter-tall, imposing Sentinel robot in front of him.

For some reason, he felt increasingly panicked.

Hawke had clearly stated that this mysterious entity had nothing to do with him and that it would leave when the time came.

He did feel a little more relaxed that afternoon, but after learning that the temperature of this unknown thing was rising abnormally, his anxiety gradually increased along with the temperature inside the Sentinel robot.

So where exactly did things go wrong?
Professor X lowered his eyes, lost in thought, before looking up to meet the gaze of the Sentinel robot in front of him, which had no real eyes.

at this time.

One of the scientists in the discussion looked at Professor X: "Professor, can you see exactly what changes have occurred inside this thing?"

Professor X snapped out of his reverie, looked at the scientist who had spoken, and nodded: "I'll give it a try."

As he spoke, Professor X looked up and used his psychic abilities to look at the Sentinel robot once more.

next second.

His mind instantly sank into the Sentinel robot's interior.

Then--

He was shocked.

Because before this, he had used his psychic abilities to probe the Sentinel robot once, and it turned out that the Sentinel robot had no mental world at all; it was just an inanimate object.

This time, however, he not only entered the mind world of the Sentinel robot, but the world there even gave him a sense of déjà vu.

Professor X, already inside the Sentinel's mental world, stared wide-eyed at the manor that appeared before him in disbelief: "This is... Xavier's Manor?"

Yes.

The building that appeared in the Sentinel's mental world was none other than the manor that Professor X was unusually familiar with.

But how could such a building appear in the mind world of a Sentinel robot?
Professor X was completely puzzled.

While Professor X was still reeling from the sight, the scientist who had just spoken up for Professor X revealed a triumphant smile, nodded subtly to one of the scientists, and then the two exchanged a glance. As the scientists were still looking at Professor X in his wheelchair with expectant eyes, they slowly retreated outside.

at the same time.

The dinner portion of the banquet has concluded.

After all, the focus of a banquet is never dinner; the main event is the banquet itself.

In the room next to the banquet hall, a bonfire blazed in the fireplace, while President Barron Turner and Hawke chatted over a bourbon after dinner.

Baron Turner was mainly talking, and Hawke was listening.

one more time.

Being able to speak fluently for hours is a basic skill for a politician, so even if Hawke didn't say a word, Baron Turner was able to keep the conversation flowing.

at this time.

Baron Turner felt the sudden jolt in his pocket, his heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained unchanged. He naturally clinked glasses with Hawke again and took another sip of his drink, then apologized, "Excuse me, Mr. Phoenix, I'm going to the restroom."

Hawke finally spoke.

He raised an eyebrow and looked at Baron Turner, who said he needed to urinate. He then placed his wine glass on the waiter's tray and said, "Perfect timing. I'm going to the restroom too. Let's go together."

Baron Turner's expression remained unchanged.

"Okay."

"Walk."

Hawke smiled broadly.

In the restroom.

Hawke, in the prime of his life, solved the problem quickly and easily, while the white-haired Baron Turner seemed to be willing but unable to do so.

Baron Turner looked embarrassed as he glanced at Hawke, who had finished dressing and seemed to be waiting for him. "I'm sorry, I'm getting old. Mr. Phoenix, you can go ahead. I'll be right there."

Hawke crossed his arms: "It's okay, I can wait."

Baron Turner smiled wryly: "Your presence puts a lot of pressure on me."

Hawke nodded in agreement.

"You should definitely feel a lot of pressure."

"Ok?"

"After all, I'm here, how can you run away?"

Hawke chuckled as he looked at Baron Turner, his tone calm, but his gaze gradually sharpening and turning cold as he said, "That sentinel robot that's specifically designed to deal with me should be activating soon, so you're planning to make a quick getaway, aren't you, old man!"

Baron Turner: "..."

(End of this chapter)