The only player in the Marvel universe.

Du Mu's shout echoed through the corridor, drawing the attention of all the mutant students along the way.

Several senior students showed surprise upon seeing Du Mu.

They were among the first batch of students to join the academy, and also the fraternity's reserve force personally approved by Du Mu, so they naturally recognized the big shot in front of them. A moment later, someone pushed a wheelchair from the other end of the corridor.

"Du Mu, you've finally returned!"

Charles sat in his wheelchair, his face beaming with surprise.

A year has passed, and he is still the same, except that his hair has grown a little longer.

However, just with that head of beautiful hair, he already surpasses 99% of Professor X in parallel universes.

"Yes, I came back as soon as I finished my business."

Du Mu nodded, then his gaze fell on the person pushing Charles's wheelchair, and he paused for a moment.

"Eric? You've switched careers to become a caregiver?"

Eric's lips twitched; he clearly didn't want to answer the question.

Charles chuckled and explained for Eric, "He lost to me at chess, and his punishment was to push my wheelchair all day."

Du Mu raised an eyebrow: "Aren't you wearing a helmet?"

"I'm wearing it."

Eric looked utterly dejected: "That's why it's even more painful."

If Charles loses a game without wearing a helmet, you can say he's playing well; but if he still loses while wearing a helmet, then it's simply because he's bad at the game.

Du Mu shook his head inwardly as he looked at Eric's dejected expression.

In other parallel universes, Magneto has fought Professor X his entire life and basically never won; this is nothing compared to what's to come.

"Speaking of which, Charles, it's been over a year, and your leg still isn't fully healed?" Du Mu asked with a surprised look.

He remembered that Charles's legs were only slightly injured before he left this instance, and should have been healed by now, so why was he still in a wheelchair? Could it be that he was caught cheating in chess and Eric broke his legs in a fit of rage?

Charles smiled but didn't answer directly: "It's a long story. Let's talk in my office. I'll tell you about the changes that have taken place at the school recently."

"OK."

Du Mu followed Charles to his office, and along the way, he saw many students passing by.

They were all mutants, and roughly counted at least a hundred of them, several times larger than before, and they did indeed resemble a proper school.

According to Charles, he has spent over a year using a brainwave amplifier to search the world for mutant children in need of help.

This is why a rumor began to circulate in the mutant community.

If you are a mutant and under the age of eighteen, one day a gentle voice may ring in your mind and send you a special invitation to university.

If you agree, someone will come to your door and take you to a mysterious academy where the teachers and students are said to be mutants. The academy mainly teaches students how to control and use their mutant abilities, and how to cultivate and develop their talents.

Most importantly, all expenses are covered, including meals and accommodation.

For many mutant children who are homeless, rejected by their families, and treated as monsters by ordinary people, this is a dream come true.

So now many mutant children are hoping that one day that voice will suddenly ring in their heads, sending them that life-changing invitation to school.

Of course, Xavier's School doesn't accept just any mutant child; those with wicked intentions or serious character problems are rejected outright. "Wow, is this a mutant version of Hogwarts?"

Du Mu couldn't help but make a comment.

Hogwarts sends out invitations by owl, but Xavier's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry just sends the invitations directly into the recipient's brain.

The group quickly arrived at the principal's office.

Qin left on her own initiative, as the next meeting was a meeting of bigwigs, which was not something a newbie like her could participate in.

As soon as he entered, Charles jumped up from his wheelchair and took a few steps, clearly showing that his legs were perfectly fine.

"Actually, I was faking it."

Faced with Du Mu's strange gaze, Charles explained, "During your absence, many forces have become increasingly wary of us. To put those outsiders at ease, I pretended to be like this. Now everyone outside thinks I am permanently paralyzed from the waist down, and only the members of the Brotherhood know the truth."

"I see." Du Mu nodded.

After the Bagu crisis, the abilities of most of the Brotherhood members were exposed.

Charles, in particular, is a mutant with telepathic abilities, and all factions are wary of him. After all, no one wants a stranger to suddenly crawl into their mind and spy on their inner secrets.

Charles was well aware of how severe those people's paranoia was.

To avoid upsetting them, he simply continued to use a wheelchair and claimed that he was paralyzed from the waist down due to an accident, thus adding a debuff of mobility to himself.

Although this is a bit troublesome, it can at least make those people lower their guard a little.

Of course, if those people knew that Charles's abilities had no limits and that he could spy on the world from Xavier's School at any time, they probably wouldn't be able to sleep soundly at night.

Charles sighed. "Even so, they're still not entirely at ease. I wanted Eric to fake an illness too, like intellectual disability and dissociative identity disorder, to think of himself as a three-year-old girl, and ideally, wear a dress to make himself look harmless, but he absolutely refused." Eric: 凸(艸皿艸)

Damn it, is this even human language?

Eric snorted: "Only you are afraid of those guys. If you ask me, those guys should be taught a lesson. They even dared to make a move on us the other day."

Du Mu raised an eyebrow: "What's going on?"

Charles explained, "That's right. A few days ago, the American army sent people over, trying to forcibly recruit a group of male mutants from our area. Their claim was that, regardless of whether they are human or mutant, as long as they are their citizens, they must serve their country."

It must be said that the military's move was quite clever.

They first acknowledged that humans and mutants are equal, and since they are equal, they should all serve in the military. If they refused, it would be tantamount to denying that mutants and humans are equal.

Eric retorted coldly, "That sounds nice, but all they want is to use our abilities to work for them and weaken our Brotherhood. They're dreaming!"

Du Mu asked, "So, have you agreed?"

Charles shook his head: "No, the military representative had just finished speaking when the helicopter they arrived suddenly turned into a metal ball. They didn't dare to say anything more, and in the end, I gave them some money so they could go to the roadside and take a taxi back."

Du Mu was immediately delighted.

This kind of thing can only be done by Lao Wan.

Otherwise, given Charles's personality, he might actually be swayed by the military's theories and, like an incompetent husband, watch helplessly as teachers and students are sent to the battlefield, ultimately leading to the school's closure.

It was fortunate that Charles was there; otherwise, given Eric's personality, that military representative would probably have been turned into mincemeat on the spot.

Indeed, these two complement each other perfectly; neither can be dispensed with.

Du Mu nodded: "That's how we have to do it. Otherwise, once you give in, those guys will definitely take advantage of us. If they dare to forcibly conscript our people today, they'll dare to send troops to garrison the academy tomorrow."

Eric wholeheartedly agreed: "They'd love for us to back down so they can test our limits step by step. If we back down for one step, they can take three steps forward." Charles smiled helplessly: "It's not that bad. In the past year or so, the CIA has helped us a lot, and the military doesn't dare to act recklessly yet." During this time, the Brotherhood has cooperated with the CIA many times, helping the CIA solve many difficult cases. In addition, with Charles's old flame Mora and that bespectacled fat man acting as a go-between, the relationship between the two sides is quite good.

With the CIA connection, the military has to give them some face.

Besides, the military was also afraid of really provoking the Brotherhood.

The image of Eric hovering missiles over their heads is still vivid in their minds.

Charles then changed the subject and began to talk about the changes that had taken place in the fraternity over the past year.

First, there's the size of the team. The number of students at X Academy has increased several times over, and a considerable number of prospective members have been selected from among them.

The Brotherhood now has over thirty full members, including its reserves. In the mutant world, this size is unparalleled. If Sebastian were still alive, he would probably be green with envy at the sight of this force.

Secondly, there are advancements in science and technology.

Since the Brotherhood now has an excess of fighting power, Hank simply withdrew from the front lines and chose to stay behind the scenes to focus on technological advancement.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of the most brilliant mutant minds, and the various groundbreaking technologies left behind by Du Mu before his departure, the Brotherhood's technological level has been improving day by day.

Despite its 1970s style, the intelligent robots have gone through several generations of iterations. If they were displayed outside, they would definitely leave those scientists working on military projects speechless.

There are countless cutting-edge technologies and equipment.

Almost every official member of the Brotherhood has their own exclusive equipment, which is based on the Green Goblin armor and then adjusted in detail according to each person's mutant ability to maximize their ability, with the main focus on a tailor-made approach.

Take Charles, for example. His equipment is a suit of steel armor that can be armed at any time, with astonishingly high defensive capabilities—the kind that even missiles can't destroy. Although he doesn't have much combat power, Charles doesn't need it. His greatest strength is his intellect; all he needs to do is survive.

With the glider wheelchair that Du Mu had given him before, Charles is now arguably the toughest guy in the fraternity. Even Darwin, who is known for being able to adapt to any environment, probably can't withstand as much as him.

Then there's the aspect of influence.

Thanks to the cooperation with the CIA, and the financial support of the Hellfire Club behind them.

The Brotherhood is now considered powerful and influential. Although many people still dislike them, at least no one dares to openly cause trouble, let alone publicly clamor to boycott mutants.

Because the Brotherhood stands behind the mutants.

It is precisely for this reason that the Brotherhood's reputation in the mutant community is ridiculously high, and mutants who want to join the Brotherhood are endless.

But the fraternity is no longer the small group that accepted everyone; not just anyone can join them now.

To become a member of the fraternity, one must first pass the joint test of Charles and Eric. One judges character, and the other judges ability; if either of them shakes their head, one cannot pass.

Those who pass the assessment can enter the reserve force, which is basically an intern.

The process of becoming a full-time member from an intern involves numerous challenges and has a high attrition rate.

After more than a year, only a handful of people have actually had the opportunity to become new members, and they are currently still in the observation phase.

Two of them deserve Du Mu's attention.

One is Qin, who needs no introduction. She's a pure prodigy, and was favored by both Charles and Eric from the very beginning.

But Charles admitted that there was a major hidden danger in Jean: her abilities were too powerful, far beyond what he could control, and her mental state was extremely unstable, posing a risk of losing control at any time.

Simply put, they are more prone to turning evil.

Charles's concerns are valid; in Qin's system evaluation, there is an entry specifically for sacrificing one's own people.

Therefore, Charles could only create a mental prison in Jean's mental world, temporarily sealing most of her abilities, and then consider lifting the seal once she could fully control them.

Upon hearing this, Du Mu felt that the setting was strangely familiar.

Isn't this Wanda from another world?

Both possess superhuman abilities and are mentally unstable.

Du Mu pondered for a moment and then said, "I remember there's a small lake on your estate, Charles, right? From now on, give Qin an extra homework assignment: she must fish for two hours every day until she catches three fish before she can stop. She can't cheat by using her abilities."

Eric was taken aback: "Fishing? Is that even possible?"

Du Mu nodded and said seriously, "Of course, fishing is the best way to cultivate one's character. Old Wan, speaking of which, your emotions are not very stable, which are early signs of turning to the dark side. I suggest you fish with Qin for two hours every day."

Eric: .

Do you believe I'll turn evil right now and show you?

Du Mu opened the file of another intern.

Scott Summers, also known as Cyclops in this world.

This is Alex's younger brother, a veteran member of the fraternity. He's definitely someone who got in through connections; you can tell he got in by pulling strings.

Du Mu chuckled and said, "This kid has some potential. Let Logan mentor him; I'm sure they'll get along very well."

"Okay, I'll make arrangements for them."

Charles nodded, offering no objection to Du Mu's suggestion and immediately following it.

Although Du Mu often acted unconventionally, the other party's judgment was never wrong, so they simply trusted him.

Charles had almost complete trust in Du Mu. In his heart, Du Mu was even more important than Eric. After all, Du Mu had come first, and they had built the Brotherhood together, fought side by side, and defeated the enemy together.

In a way, Du Mu was the starting point of all this; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a "white moonlight" (ideal figure in Chinese literature).

Looking at Du Mu's unchanging face and the familiar conversational style, Charles couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

It feels like a long time ago.

[Charles Xavier's favorability rating has reached 95 or higher. Do you want to extract this NPC's skin card?]

Suddenly, a system notification sounded in Du Mu's mind.

Du Mu: "?"

No, what's going on?

How come the favorability rating suddenly broke through 5?

Charles, say something! Don't look at me like that, I'm scared!