In the top floor of the church in the lakeside town, only Charles remained.
Zhou Yi did not stay there to continue his pointless arguments with him; he left early with the unconscious Jean Grey.
Of course, before leaving, he connected to the academy's communication system and informed them of Charles's location.
The Mutants suffered heavy losses because of Professor Charles, and if they didn't receive news of Charles's safety, these unstable individuals might do many dangerous things.
Especially with the President about to issue a decree.
Fortunately, Charles was finally rescued.
For both humans and Mutants, this was a cause for celebration, as his existence was enough to avert an impending war.
No one doubted Charles's power of persuasion, not even Zhou Yi.
As long as he was there, the President would not sign that bill.
While Charles was still pondering what Zhou Yi had told him, the sound of people running came from the stairs.
Sensing familiar mental fluctuations, Charles smiled and looked towards the stairwell exit.
Soon, two familiar figures appeared before him.
His oldest pal, his old assistant Hank, and the rebellious but sincere Logan.
The moment these two saw Professor Charles, they rushed towards him.
Hank hugged his old friend tightly; for him, nothing was happier than seeing his old friend safe.
Even the unruly Logan barely suppressed the excitement in his heart.
He couldn't hug Charles like Hank, but that didn't stop joy from blossoming within him.
Charles treated others with the utmost kindness throughout his life, and naturally, he received the utmost kindness from all his compatriots.
In terms of how he lived, he hadn't done anything wrong, but as a leader, this was far from enough.
"Old pal, how did you get out safely?
My God, we all thought you were already..."
Hank embraced Charles, his monstrous Beast face filled with surprise and relief.
He didn't finish his sentence, but Charles understood his meaning.
They had prepared for the worst, and thankfully, it hadn't come true.
"We have our friend to thank; it's our luck to have his help!"
Charles didn't say who, but they all knew he was referring to Dawn Knight.
Only he had the ability to rescue him in such a situation.
As one of the insiders who entered the final battlefield, Logan naturally knew how perilous the situation was at the time, so much so that he still had lingering fears.
So when he heard Charles's reply, he quickly pressed on.
"Professor, where is that pal, and Jean?
Why aren't they here?"
"Mr. Zhou Yi seems to have something else to do; he has already returned ahead of time."
Charles's smile remained unchanged, but he had to start weaving a lie.
"As for Jean, I'm sorry.
She seems to have left on her own, and she refused my mental communication."
As an experienced person and a Great Master of the mind, he naturally understood Logan's and Scott's feelings for Jean.
But at this moment, this emotion had become a ticking time bomb.
He had clearly felt Jean's ardent feelings for Zhou Yi, so he also understood that these two were destined to be losers.
But they didn't necessarily have this intuition.
Especially Scott; he knew this favorite student too well.
Obsession was his biggest weakness, especially emotional obsession.
When he learned about Jean Grey's current situation, he might do things Charles didn't want to see.
The Mutants were already in a precarious situation and could not afford to add another terrifying figure to their list of enemies.
Especially when the root cause was a relationship destined to have no outcome.
Therefore, even if Charles was unwilling, he chose to use a lie to deflect the question.
Because this was already his best option.
Logan keenly sensed that there must be a hidden story, but he wisely did not delve deeper.
Since their safety was not an issue, he felt relieved.
As for other things, he no longer hoped for anything.
In this regard, Charles actually only needed to worry about Scott.
"Logan, Professor needs to rest now.
Let's go back and talk about Jean and the others' problem later."
Hank didn't want to dwell on Jean Grey anymore; he had a natural apprehension towards the Jean Grey who had awakened the Dark Phoenix personality.
He could feel the terror of the Dark Phoenix, and he had a very ominous premonition about this Dark Phoenix with terrifying power.
This premonition came from her madness and tyranny, and also from his own inner speculation and fear.
In any case, he did not wish for this person to return.
Charles sensed his fear, so as Hank pushed him forward, he quietly connected to his mind.
"You seem very uneasy, Hank?
Is it because of Jean?"
"Professor, you must already know.
That personality in her mind has awakened.
To be honest, that personality makes me very uneasy; she is too powerful, so powerful that she herself cannot control herself.
And I can see that that personality never intended to control it!"
"Could this be you being too cautious, Hank?
She is one of us, after all."
"Jean is one of us, yes, but is that personality truly with us?
I don't feel any affection between her and us."
Professor's soft sigh echoed in Hank's mind, followed by no other words.
And Hank didn't continue to say anything; for him, the current situation was already the best.
The terrifying Dark Phoenix was not present, so she naturally wouldn't harm everyone in the academy.
As for other things, he didn't care.
The Mutants began to silently lick their wounds; for them, the losses in this war were truly immense.
But similarly, they also gained huge rewards.
The most important point was that large numbers of Mutants who had been captured by Stryker joined Magneto and Charles after gaining freedom.
For the powerful Magneto, this might not be much.
But for Charles, this was very important.
Because the addition of this group of compatriots not only made him stronger.
It also meant that his gentle views were increasingly accepted by his compatriots.
In any case, this was a good start.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yi also tried every possible way to take care of Jean by his side.
Jean Grey, who had suffered severe mental trauma, fell into a long coma, and Zhou Yi didn't even know when she would wake up.
Because this was not a general trauma, but the annihilation of personality will.
If Jean hadn't had two personalities, she would have almost been declared Death.
Even so, her current situation was very critical.
Moreover, Zhou Yi was helpless about how to treat her.
The mind is a mysterious thing; ordinary people find it difficult to fathom its depth, let alone treat it.
So, what Zhou Yi was doing was actually just waiting.
He placed Jean in a life support pod in a secret laboratory, relying on cutting-edge technology to maintain her physical health, and at the same time began to spend more time by her side.
He hoped this would help her wake up, and this was all he could do.
As for the rest, it could only depend on her own efforts.
Times change, and Dawn Knight and the Mutants have ceased hostilities.
But for some, their work has just begun.
The flood at Lake Elicia had not yet spread in the media, but S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents had already appeared around the lakeside town.
They were there to do cleanup work.
The team leader was still Agent Coulson, Director Fury's most capable subordinate, so naturally, he handled the most difficult problems, just like Stryker's crazy revenge plan this time.
As the largest intelligence organization, how could they not understand Stryker's plan?
Especially since they had provided intelligence to Zhou Yi, even if they were unaware, in front of a group of outstanding intelligence analysts, his plan would be fully exposed.
However, they did not intervene in this incident.
The reason is simple: they also disliked Mutants.
If Stryker's plan succeeded, it would naturally be a joyous occasion, with Mutants erased from the World, and then this crazy general taken out by the angry Dawn Knight.
If they were quick enough, they could even take over Stryker's legacy.
This was the best-case scenario they anticipated.
If the plan failed, they would still be the beneficiaries.
Because not only Dawn Knight, but even the Mutant side had received their benefits; they not only provided information but even dispatched personnel.
Even if Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver's actions were not by command.
And, similarly, they could still inherit the legacy.
But there's a saying that reality often turns out unexpectedly; Stryker's failure was within their expectations, but everything that followed was beyond their expectations.
The overwhelming flood not only turned everything Stryker left behind into an underwater mystery but also left them with a huge mess.
They had to explain the flood's appearance.
Why the Elicia Lake dam suddenly collapsed, why there were no prior signs, the strange sights of Mutant battles seen by a few people, etc., all information had to be blocked, and a unified story maintained.
The Security Council's order was that Stryker's research must never be exposed, including his damned Base.
This became the most vexing thing for Coulson.
Because he had to find a way to fill every loophole and tell every lie well.
To this day, he has met with many Canadian Government personnel as well as many annoying reporters and free speech advocates.
This made him still rubbing his temples even now.
To be honest, this kind of work was really exhausting, but fortunately, it was almost done.
"Officer, we have completed information unification with all departments and media.
What is now being publicly announced to the public is that the Elicia Dam collapsed due to a terrorist attack by remnants of a Nazi organization, and Dawn Knight's appearance was merely a coincidence.
We believe this explanation will soon be accepted by the public."
Taking a sip of bitter coffee to lift his tired spirits, Coulson took the relevant report from his subordinate and glanced at it, asking casually.
"Have the analysis data for the Valley come out, and have you obtained any useful information about that one?"
"Sorry, Officer!"
His subordinate's face showed a wry smile.
"The data from that Valley is truly terrifying; the information we obtained is very limited."
"It was just some people's wild ideas anyway."
Patting his subordinate's shoulder, Coulson advised.
"Not many people have hope for this mission, relax.
That's a real Superman; if he could be restrained by simply building a few models, would so many people still miss Captain America?"
"Uh, Officer?
Who is Captain America?"
His subordinate's expression was bewildered, but Coulson was very surprised.
"You don't even know Captain America; where did you come from?"
"I just transferred from the India branch, Officer!"
After a minute of silence, Coulson turned around, leaving an order that left his subordinate baffled.
"I'll give you three days to memorize this person's information firmly.
Otherwise, go to Human Resources and request a re-assignment."