Chapter 120 Karma Taj's Attitude (Two in One)
"You know the Mediterranean climate there. July and August are the hottest and driest seasons. The previous tradition was that many commercial activities would stop in August. The Romans used to leave the hot cities in summer for summer vacation."
Eric Lanshere looked at the elegant lady in a black slim dress with a smile. Her hair was coiled up high, revealing her slender neck and a pair of moist pearl earrings just right.
Magda has the tall figure and hearty personality of a typical Italian beauty. Compared with the enthusiasm and initiative of American girls, her elegance and intelligence are more likely to poke a romantic like Eric.
"Tell me about you, Eric, the most popular professor at New York University among female students."
While skillfully handling the lobster's claws, she moved the topic away from herself, and the brilliance in her eyes met with the handsome man opposite her from time to time.
This restaurant called "London Lanes" in Queens has just opened for a few years, but the authentic French seafood quickly became popular in New York, and the seats are often lined up for a week.
"I don't count."
Eric smiled and shook his head. He took a sip of the little Romanticonti that the waiter had just poured from the bottom of the glass, indicating that he had chosen this bottle of red wine.
"Professor and the most popular two conditions should be Professor Charles Xavier from the Department of Gene Mutation and Genetics."
"But I have never seen a physics department teacher lead a large number of female students to see the boring "Manhattan Project" exhibition. Physics is a subject area that has historically had few women."
Miss Magda glanced at Eric tenderly, as if she was concerned about the many girls around him.
"Aren't you Magda? I never expected to meet such a beautiful female scientist in an outreach activity."
"No no no, I'm just a curator."
Magda regretfully said:
“The government feels that a professional business curation model can attract more social visitors. I have no chance for such a special job as a female scientist.”
The chat between the two gradually became more and more heated. Eric found that this lady whom he met unexpectedly at the technology exhibition this morning had a special affinity with him, which was different from the ones he had met in high-end bars before.
They chatted late, and learned that Magda had been imprisoned in an Italian concentration camp with her parents when she was a child, which brought them closer.
After dinner, Eric drove the lady back to her apartment in Manhattan in a silver-gray sports car. It was rare for him to return to the manor on Long Island alone after hugging her.
After returning home, Miss Magda slowly took off her long skirt, put away the hot water in the bathtub, sprinkled some flower petals, and dialed the phone next to her. Water Flower said softly:
"Yes sir, I get on well with Eric Lanshere, he hasn't mentioned Howlett for a while, but he doesn't hide his childhood experience in the concentration camp. I understand."
Magda put down the phone, guessing in her heart that Mr. Eric Lanshere should call her after a while. The way he blinked and asked her for the phone just now is really quite attractive.
After a while, until she dozed off in the bathtub, Magda didn't hear the phone ring. She shook her head, lifted her slender thighs and twisted her narrow waist, and lay on the bed. A day's work is extremely important.
Long Island Howlett Manor, Eric Lanshere picked up the phone with a smile, and said politely:
"Excuse me Mrs. Rogers. Hey, I remember Sister Peggy, please help me find someone Magda Gurzky. Yes, by the way, say hello to Steve, that's all."
Early the next morning.
Mr. Michael Hals, the person in charge of the Mutation Force Research Department, decided to see the newcomers who had just joined Professor Xavier's team before going to the high-level meeting of the bureau.
He is extremely resistant to Director Edgar Hoover becoming a director of S.H.I.E.L.D., the director of the FBI for decades, who has gathered his followers, and the means of eliminating dissidents have gradually become open and transparent, but no one can stop him from doing so. up.
"Miss Salvador, you're late again."
Hank McCoy pointedly reminded the petite black-haired lady that her dark and oily complexion and willow-like eyebrows and eyes have the wild charm of a typical African-Latin American girl, not to mention her boldness. dressing style.
"If your subsidy here is enough to keep me from 'going to work' at night, then I can consider getting up earlier."
Hooking her index finger on the black leather jacket and wearing a camisole that only covered her chest, she licked her lips and dropped the clothes on the shy Hank.
Hank McCoy retracted his gaze, looked at the floor subconsciously, still couldn't help but cast a glance, turned around and swayed away with his waist twisted, leaving behind a **** back full of patterns like insect wings.
"Sean! Try this gliding suit first."
Hank hurriedly called the young Irish boy, Mr. Sean Cassidy, and he tried a special set of gliding equipment for this young man who was a little out of tune but inexplicably happy.
According to Sean's superhuman vocal cords and powerful lung capacity, Hank speculates that he should have the possibility to release powerful sound waves to bring propulsion, and capture the reflected sound waves to achieve subsonic air flight.
On the other side, Miss Salvatore Bohusque sat directly on Charles's chair, raised her sky-high black leather boots, and watched with great interest as he discussed with a lean black man.
"When I was four years old, I had a very serious deformity. I am not afraid that you will laugh at Professor Xavier. I have bald head, long arms, and strange eyes. My parents said that they even wanted to throw me away. Fortunately, after a few years, they gradually grew back to normal. gone."
Armando Munoz is wearing a brown jacket. He looks very talkative, which may have something to do with his usual job as a taxi driver.
"Just call me Charles, so you took the name 'Darwin' yourself, not just a nickname."
Charles is not used to wearing a researcher’s white coat like Hank, he is still a warm man like a university teacher, he likes to wear textured linen suits and Oxford sweaters, and this peer who prefers to be called Darwin Very talkative.
"Yes, there is no more suitable title for me than Darwin, isn't it the survival of the fittest?"
He showed a row of bright teeth, and his skin became darker. He continued to listen to Charles discussing his abilities.
"Darwin, have you tried to actively change your... um, shape? Must rely on external stimuli? How would you react if I hit you with a stick?"
Darwin seems to have experienced this a long time ago. He took off his coat and only wore a gray vest. His figure is not strong, but his muscles are clear, and he looks quite capable.
"You'll know if you try it, but I really can't actively change the body structure."
Charles hesitated for a moment, and found a hollow alloy tube in the laboratory with the mentality of learning. Everyone in the room surrounded him curiously. Minister Hals also lay beside the door, watching and expecting something.
boom!
"Aw"
Darwin yelped in pain, and Charles was saying sorry, when he saw his skin rapidly protrude into flaky cuticles, rapidly proliferating and wrapping his whole body, overlapping like a set of black crocodile leather armor, and it did not affect his physical activities at all. , like a natural shell.
"Again! Hard!"
Boom! Boom! Boom.
Professor Charles Xavier swung the alloy tube as if sweeping the floor, and hit Darwin hard, but with all his strength, he failed to cause the slightest damage to Darwin who was wearing **** armor, as if hitting a human-shaped rubber tire.
People in the room booed and cheered, even eager to try one by one, just like playing candy man in a festival.
"Where is the sound wave! Can you adapt to the sound wave?"
Sean, who was wearing a yellow-and-black striped gliding suit, yelled a little funny. A wing-like special material under his armpit stretched from his waist to his wrist, just like a big bat.
Darwin nodded indifferently, Charles and Hank called everyone to stay away, and let Sean face an empty wall, using Darwin as a target.
buzz buzz.
Boom!
Sean controlled his strength a little, but it still shattered all the windows and glassware in the research room in an instant. Everyone yelled and covered their ears tightly, but the extremely sharp and piercing sound waves still made them have splitting headaches. .
Darwin's face was only in pain for a moment, and soon his ears became thick and thick, a bit like bat ears, and the ear holes twisted and twisted in a spiral shape, and he was able to bear Sean's sonic attack calmly with a smile on his face. Let him continue to increase the power, and even the concrete wall behind him began to have some cracks.
"Cassidy! Damn it!"
The continuous sharp explosions in the room came to an abrupt end, and Charles controlled Sean to stop the sound wave emission by holding his forehead. If this continues, except for him and Darwin, everyone else's brains will explode.
"Sorry, Professor. I'm too busy competing with Darwin."
Sean Cassidy rubbed his curly red half-length hair and smiled embarrassingly.
"If you can autonomously control this mutant ability to adapt to the environment, then in theory, you can even replicate many mutant powers at the physical level."
Hank straightened his glasses, deliberated and analyzed:
"For example, Cassidy's mutation ability is located in the ears, larynx and lungs. You just quickly changed the structure of the ears and even the brain, so that you can adapt to this super-powerful oscillating sound wave like him. If you can change at the same time Your own throat and lungs, you could theoretically replicate Cassidy's abilities."
The insect-like tattoo on Miss Salvador's back squirmed and protruded, detached from her back, and turned into two pairs of bionic insect wings that shone with colorful colors. They flapped rapidly and gently suspended in the air.
"Yes, if he can 'convince' his brain that he has to fly."
Charles pondered while resting his fist on his chin. This kind of mutant ability, which can only show adaptive effects by external environmental stimulation, has huge potential.
As Hanke speculates, once the body tissue can be actively controlled to change its structure, it will not only be a special organ for human mutation, but also simulate the organ capabilities of various creatures according to its own imagination.
He wondered if Raven, who also has the talent to control body changes independently, also has this possibility, but considering that she is still angry these days, let's talk about it later.
Darwin shrugged helplessly, looked at the surprised eyes of Sean and Salvador, spread his palms and said generously:
“I have tried too many times, but no matter how much I fantasize in my mind, I can’t really change the body structure as stimulated by the outside world. For example, if you want to grow gills, you must immerse yourself in the water.”
"In the beginning, this change was very slow. I had to soak in the water for dozens of seconds, and even gradually felt a sense of suffocation before the gills could grow. As I often practiced it as a game, now it can change in the blink of an eye. Finish."
Just as everyone was talking about suggestions to Darwin, Miss Salvador, who has insect wings, even asked him if he had tried to jump off a building and grow wings to fly.
The chubby Minister Hals stepped down carefully, avoiding the shards of glass that had just shattered on the ground, and called Charles to the laboratory.
"I'm going to attend a meeting in the bureau soon. If you have the opportunity, you should contact and communicate with Mr. Howlett. He has too much to do with him. The SHIELD has listed the Howlett Group and his family. It is the highest investigation level."
After an unexpected encounter with Emma Frost at Rikers Island Prison, Charles finally explained what happened to Agent Mora and Minister Hals and restored their memories of the day.
American officials have attached great importance to the Howlett family since World War II under President Roosevelt, but their business and political power did not allow the government to conduct any public investigations and inquiries.
From the federal Senate, the House of Representatives, to the election of local states and mayors, the Howlett family is one of the thickest roots that constitute the towering tree of America.
The president can be changed, but the Howlett Group cannot be messed up.
"The most troublesome thing is that we still don't know what Mr. Howlett really wants. Keep busy. These young people are very good. I think their talents will definitely make great contributions to this society. "
Charles Xavier looked at Mr. Minister's chubby back swaying away, and recalled what he had said to Eric and his feelings after contacting that Mr. Howlett.
Yeah, what the **** do they want?
“All I want is peace of mind.”
In the depths of the Himalayas, on top of snow peaks.
James Howlett nodded and thanked the young master apprentice from Bashu, took the teacup, and sat opposite Master Gu Yi on their respective futons.
This side hall has a square hollow patio, casting golden light from the sky, looking up at the white clouds, gray dogs, and blue sky tourmaline. Compared with the European and American Western-style buildings that have lived for more than a hundred years, James enjoys such an oriental antique atmosphere. .
"Mr. Howlett, peace of mind and ease may sound insignificant, but compared to ordinary people's pure primitive desire for money, status, pleasure and indulgence, what you are asking for is simply the ultimate luxury."
James looked at the non-gold and non-wood black teacup. He didn’t know what kind of tea was used in it. It smelled extremely bitter, but Kepin only had a mellow aftertaste in his mouth. He smiled freely and said:
"One must always have a positive energy. Since those things are already within easy reach, it is always difficult to pursue something. Do you think so, Master Ancient One?"
The copper bells at the four corners of the side hall are playing Qingyue, and Kama Taj's mana enchantment is very good at resisting the violent wind, snow and severe cold, but it does not appear to be stuffy and hot, and it is always like the most comfortable spring in the south. , autumn season.
"Kama Taj will not intervene in the grievances or rise and fall of the mortal world, just like the major powers have created weapons that have the potential to exterminate human beings, and the mystics who guard the dimensional space and hidden power will not actively intervene, so."
Gu Yi picked up the teapot and added another half cup of tea for James.
“.As long as you don’t associate with alien demons or extraterrestrial life coveting the earth, other actions have nothing to do with Kama Taj.”
Master's speech is not fast, but she doesn't appear to be protracted. In James' view, she is like an interesting person with a cold humor without knowing it.
After hearing the words of the Ancient One, James asked more curiously:
"Then what is the purpose of holding on to the Holy of Holies? Is it determined to defend this world, but divides crises into three, six, and nine grades?"
"What do you think of guarding this behavior, Mr. Howlett."
The mage also took a sip of tea. She still felt that Yunding Snow Water was worse than the pure spring on Shengshui Peak. Before James could give an answer, Gu Yi continued without the slightest emotion:
"A mother on the prairie did not allow her child to leave the yurt in order not to be picked up by wild wolves, and did not let him get out of bed in order to prevent him from knocking over the hot buttered tea. The child stayed on the bed several feet square forever. Live on, and don’t even know how to walk.”
James looked at the green tea in the cup, and suddenly looked up at the mage with burning eyes.
"Unrestrained protection is essentially control, another kind of obliteration. There have been too many endangered moments in human history. When I was young, I experienced the ravages of the Black Death in Europe and saw nearly extinct animals. The horrors in the world, but Kama Taj, still did nothing."
"You adhere to certain rules and beliefs, which belong to the contract at the level of mysterious power?"
Master Gu Yi listened to James' question, and after a moment of deliberation, he still nodded slowly:
"The mystics of Kama Taj and most of the magic practitioners in the universe have a common characteristic, that is, to borrow power, just like the ancient gods Osset, Hogos, and the first generation of Supreme Beings who were born on the earth. The trinity Visandi formed by the mage Agamotto borrows the most powerful white magic power."
"There are also mages who draw power from great but dangerous and even evil existences such as the dark dimension and the crimson dimension. Unlike your unrestricted martial arts, the rules that mages must abide by are more complicated and unpredictable. Respecting the laws of nature is one of Karma Taj's rules of conduct."
"Can I practice in Karma Taj for a while?"
James said seriously suddenly, Master Gu Yi put down the teacup in astonishment, she was wearing a black pleated robe today, looking more solemn and solemn.
"With all due respect, you don't have the talent of a mage, and your spirit and soul form have long since cut off the possibility of communicating with all dimensions. It can be said that you are a magician, immune to many magical powers, and at the same time lost the possibility of harnessing and communicating them."
"You misunderstood."
James shook his head with a smile. His clothes had already been destroyed in the battle with the Ancient One mage. He finally found a blue mage robe of the largest size in Kama Taj, which looked extraordinarily mighty when he wore it.
The supreme mage looked at the man sitting cross-legged in front of him. He was in harmony with this world, and he seemed to be out of this world. Buddhism said to jump out of the three realms and five elements, and Taoism said to break the void and transcend things. This Mr. Howlett has really achieved Such a state has been reached.
"I have no ambition to master the hidden magic of magic, but I am very interested in the way Kama Taj uses mana. You shape and forge magic into weapons and other forms, which is essentially the development and utilization of borrowed energy."
"The so-called Tao has no skills, but skills can still be sought, and skills but no ways stop at skills."
The two communicated in the purest Chinese language from the beginning to the end, occasionally citing scriptures and playing the game forward, but the chat became more tacit.
"There are too many explanations for this sentence in the "Tao Te Ching", but what you said is not bad, but...well, 177 Black Street in New York is your property, right?"
James didn't understand the meaning of the sudden change of the topic by Master Ancient One, and said strangely:
"Black Street? You say yes. I have too many real estate properties. I have someone to take care of them. I don't know myself."
Master’s tone stagnated, he pursed his lips and continued:
"That house is the most suitable location for the new Sanctuary. Master Wang has checked it out. It should be a property under your name. I don't know if it can be sold to Karma Taj."
"I remember you said that the barriers of Emperor Weishan created by the three most holy places have been used for thousands of years, can they be replaced?"
"The Weishandi enchantment is the most powerful enchantment that can cover and protect the entire planet from various dimensions and mysterious forces. In addition to the geographical location of the magic node, it also needs a vast and huge magic power to supply. At the beginning, Karma Taj relies on the ascetic to bear the backlash of magical borrowing to maintain the enchantment."
"Later, I gradually learned to use the spirit of all beings and even the majestic atmosphere of the nation to bear the price of power. New York, London, and the Oriental Pearl Tower will be the newly selected sanctuary locations, which will further enhance the power of the enchantment."
James smiled knowingly, nodded frequently, folded his hands, and saluted seriously, thank you:
"It's just a house, and it was given to the mage as a consummation practice in Karma Taj. Please bear with me if I disturb you in the future."
In the old house of Howlett Castle, Steve Rogers and Bucky took on the burden of training a new generation of wolf cubs. The chief wolf, Colin Pete, led most of the winter wolves and wolf pack fighters to garrison the Greenland wolf den.
Miss Peggy is in charge of the family's intelligence organization, and is closely related to Emma's work. She just hung up the phone call to Eric. Wearing a comfortable red and white checked pastoral dress, she walked across the square of the castle to find a woman with ten Steve, who is practicing basic skills with many boys and girls.
"Go, little Foss, remember not to trouble your grandpa again!"
The grandchildren of the old butler, Mr. Casper Foss, are a few years older. They have really survived in the hard and boring old house, and like the children of the Gatsby family, they are becoming more and more outstanding.
"When will the sir come back, the 'shadow president' of the United States has started to poke his eyes."
Steve kissed Peggy on the cheek, smiled like a sunny man and said:
"Don't poke this eye now, the teacher must have found something interesting."
(end of this chapter)