Who is this?" Walking towards them was a mature beauty with an alluring chocolate complexion and silver-white hair.
"Let me introduce, this is Yi Zhou, a guest invited by Professor." Jean Grey said to the dark-skinned beauty with a complaining tone, clearly in the state of a close friend.
Ororo at this moment was clearly very interested. She circled Mr. Zhou a few times, scrutinizing him with a peculiar gaze. As she circled, she remarked,
"Is such a young man worth Professor's high regard?"
"From the abilities that have appeared so far, he is very powerful. But whether he is a Mutant or not still needs to be confirmed." Jean Grey replied while adjusting the instruments.
"Not necessarily a Mutant? Could he be one of those mutated super-powered individuals?" Ororo continued to ask curiously.
Many people assume Mutants are mutated humans, but with the gradual development of time, the Mutant race has already formed a distinct racial identity. Their appearance also stems from stable genetic changes, specifically the X-gene. One could say that with the X-gene, Mutants have become a race independent of the human populace. This is also why Governments around the World implement high-pressure policies against Mutants; their mature group identity poses a huge potential threat.
In this regard, the special cases that appear due to various reasons, which we often call super-powered individuals, their threat is comparatively more acceptable to the Government because these special cases are simply too few. So few that even the well-informed Professor Charles, who has even used his psychic abilities to observe all of humanity, tries his best to win over such individuals. For example, Mr. Zhou.
Of course, his attempt to win over Mr. Zhou was partly for research, but more importantly, he did not want a potential power to fall into the hands of an enemy. The best way to prevent this was to turn that potential power into a friend.
While Ororo was observing Mr. Zhou, Mr. Zhou was also observing Ororo. Unlike common dark-skinned people, Ororo did not have the prominent thick lips and flat nose bridge. On the contrary, her nose bridge was high and her lips were full and charming.
Coupled with her alluring complexion and exquisite, captivating face, she was even comparable to the most charming models in fashion magazines, not a whit inferior.
Especially her fiery figure, enveloped in a form-fitting leather suit, exuded a tempting allure that made one's blood boil. And her beautiful silver-white hair added a touch of mysterious charm to her.
At this point, Mr. Zhou could only say that the claim made by Mutants about their biological Rank being higher than humans was correct, not just in terms of ability. In terms of appearance alone, they were several streets above the average. Of course, this was just a joking thought of his.
Seeing Mr. Zhou brazenly observing her, Ororo did not get angry. Instead, she walked forward, extended her hand to Mr. Zhou, and said with a captivating smile: "Hello, Mr. Zhou, I am Ororo, a teacher at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters."
Naturally, taking Ororo's soft, boneless hand, Mr. Zhou said very earnestly: "It's a pleasure to meet you, Young Miss Ororo. Honestly, you are one of the most charming ladies I have ever met."
Ororo smiled naturally and said, "Is that so? Then I am truly honored. Even if it's coming from a big boy!"
Mr. Zhou looked at their slight height difference and could only sigh, lamenting in his heart. Trying to conquer an older woman in this half-grown state was truly not easy. At least for now, he couldn't see any hope!
However, this did not dampen Mr. Zhou's spirits. He began to use all his charm to communicate with Ororo, but the progress was pitifully small, merely a casual chat. With Ororo's past experiences, dealing with a Young Master like Mr. Zhou was absolutely no problem, after all, she had once been a gang leader.
The two bantered and chatted quite happily. Jean Grey didn't concern herself with this. After adjusting the instruments, she directly interrupted their conversation and said,
"Alright, you two, if you want to chat, you can arrange another time. Now, Yi Zhou, take off your shirt, let's begin."
"Of course!" Mr. Zhou, who had already tried every means to get Ororo's contact information, naturally wouldn't pester her. He promptly took off his shirt and stood before Jean Grey.
Mr. Zhou, only sixteen years old, like most East Asians, was still developing, but his body was extremely strong. His muscles and bones were almost perfectly proportioned; even by White aesthetic standards, he could not be described as thin.
The most peculiar thing was the fiery red three-legged Crow mark firmly entrenched in the center of Mr. Zhou's spine. A pair of golden eyes flickered with fire, exuding an air of invincibility as they surveyed their surroundings. Giant wings stretched above his shoulder blades, surrounded by countless winds and fires. Three sharp talons stood upon a great Sun, which was positioned above his lower back, with divine flames soaring all around. Even the Corona and flames were depicted vividly, making this Golden Crow appear extraordinarily majestic, creating a breathtaking visual impact.
Jean Grey and Ororo, who had never seen such a Divine Beast, were momentarily dazzled, their eyes filled with admiration for the artwork. Mr. Zhou, however, didn't care about it; letting two beauties look at it was no loss to anyone.
However, Jean Grey and Ororo were, after all, well-informed Mutant mentors, and they quickly recovered their senses.
Jean Grey spoke with some disbelief: "What is this? I feel as if there's some incredible power?"
"This is the Three-legged Golden Crow, a symbol of the Sun in Chinese mythology. And this is my birthmark. My mother tried many ways to get rid of it, but unfortunately, she didn't succeed. Well, that's all I know." Mr. Zhou shrugged and turned to explain.
"Are you saying your power is innate, and a blessing like that of a deity?" Ororo stepped forward, touching the markings on Mr. Zhou's back with her hand, and exclaimed,
"Then this is truly amazing!"
"Regarding this, I can only say I know nothing. If I knew, I wouldn't have agreed to come here for any tests."
"You will get answers, and so will we!" Ororo's soft whisper echoed in Mr. Zhou's ear, her fingers simultaneously tracing lightly over his spine, the soft touch bringing waves of electric stimulation. It made him involuntarily tingle all over.
This feeling was great, but Mr. Zhou didn't like it. Ororo's behavior was like a cat whose curiosity had run wild, beginning to delve into his secrets.
Mr. Zhou could only change the subject, saying to Jean Grey: "Can we start now!"
"Of course!" Jean Grey nodded. She was also a little worried that her friend might go too far, and if a conflict were to arise, it would not be good for either party or for Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. So she quickly set up the instruments and simultaneously said to Ororo, "Ororo, could you do me a favor? You know I have classes scheduled today, but I don't have time right now. I'd like to ask you to cover two of my classes, okay?"
Ororo shrugged indifferently.
"As long as you're willing to swap classes with me, I have no objection. Well then, big boy, we'll see each other again later." With that, Ororo waved her hand and, swaying her seductive figure, walked out of the laboratory.
"She's truly charming!" Mr. Zhou exclaimed, then immediately changed his tone and said to Jean Grey, "Of course, you are too."
Jean Grey rolled her eyes, forcing a stiff smile.
"Thanks, but now we're starting the experiment."
Directing Mr. Zhou to stand on a hexagonal platform, Jean Grey explained while operating the instruments: "This is experimental equipment we developed for physically enhanced Mutants. It can create a stable and controllable gravity field, and it's also equipped with sensitive light detection devices. By using calculation formulas, we can measure most of your basic physical data, such as strength, resistance, neural response speed, and your own movement speed. Now, I'm going to start increasing gravity. Release your force field defense and only use basic physical protection. Tell me when you're ready, and if you feel uncomfortable, please say so immediately."
Mr. Zhou nodded after understanding the general meaning, then made a gesture to indicate he was ready to start.
Jean Grey switched on the instrument, and her clear voice reached Mr. Zhou's ears through the microphone.
"Experiment beginning, currently 1.2 times gravity, lasting 1 minute... Everything normal, no adverse conditions observed in the target, gravity increased to 1.5 times... Normal, target gravity increased to 5 times. Mr. Zhou, how do you feel now?"
As the experiment progressed, Jean Grey became increasingly surprised. As the lead researcher, she understood very well what five times gravity meant. It wasn't just a simple addition of weight to the body; every muscle, every bone, even every strand of hair, and every cell was bearing five times its original weight. A creature that could survive under such gravity, when exposed to normal gravity, could shatter a bus with just a burst of strength. And this was only a part of it.
Until now, no Mutant at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, aside from Beast Hank and Colossus who used their abilities, had been able to withstand this level of gravity. And judging by Mr. Zhou's current appearance, he clearly still had plenty of reserve strength.
Mr. Zhou did a few warm-up exercises in place, feeling the continuously emerging power in his body under the pressure. He gave Jean Grey a thumbs-up and said loudly, "I feel great, keep going."
Jean
Grey was slightly surprised, then immediately resumed her work.
"Test continues, gravity increased to 6 times, monitoring target's cardiopulmonary function, everything normal. Experiment continues..."
Under Jean Grey's increasingly astonished gaze, the gravity Mr. Zhou endured increased step by step, until it reached 9 times, which was the current limit of the instrument. Only then did Mr. Zhou show a slight reaction, and this reaction was not outwardly visible, but discovered through the detection of cardiopulmonary function.
To give an analogy, it was similar to the reaction of an ordinary person running a thousand meters. According to Jean Grey's calculations, Mr. Zhou could withstand at least one to two more times the gravity, but unfortunately, the instrument could no longer detect it.
"Yi Zhou, can you perform normal exercises? Like running? If so, try a slow jog in there."
Mr. Zhou nodded after hearing this and began his slow jog with ease. After a few laps, Mr. Zhou started to increase his speed, stabilizing only when he reached a speed similar to a hundred-meter sprint. This speed lasted for about ten minutes before Mr. Zhou stopped and looked at Jean Grey.
For Mr. Zhou, the current environment seemed very suitable for his training. He could feel his body strengthening little by little in this high-gravity environment. Although small, it was a rapid increase compared to the past few years.
This made him feel the potential for improvement in his abilities. And now, what he cared more about was how this preliminary stage of testing would interpret his physical power.
Jean Grey also seemed to understand Mr. Zhou's current mood, so she didn't beat around the bush and said directly,
"Due to the limitations of the instrument itself, we can only make a preliminary estimate of your physical fitness. The calculated result now is that the strength value generated by your pure physical body should be around 50,000 pounds (approximately 22 tons) to 60,000 pounds (approximately 27 tons). This does not include your explosive power, only the value generated when you use your physical strength normally. Of course, there will be some data deviation due to different ways of exerting force."
"In addition, your pressure resistance: the preliminary result is that your body strength can withstand about 50,000 pounds of pressure. This is the minimum value. If we look at current individual weapons, except for some high-tech individual weapons, among existing conventional individual weapons, only large-caliber sniper rifles can cause you harm. This is due to the point of impact. If you can control your muscles to provide some cushioning, this kind of attack should actually not be a problem for you."
"Also, your speed. Calculations show that your current high-speed movement has broken the sound barrier. Without setting limits, your regular high-speed movement speed should be around Mach 4. Of course, due to the limitations of the moving environment, your speed will definitely be affected. It is estimated to be around Mach 3."
"Finally, your neural reaction speed. This can only be an estimated value. Your neural reaction speed is estimated to be only seven ten-thousandths of a second. This value has already reached the peak of living organisms in nature. Speaking of this, do you usually watch movies? What do you feel?"
Mr. Zhou thought for a moment and said, "Normally it's nothing, but if I concentrate, the feeling of looking at a still picture is quite uncomfortable."
Jean Grey could only say with emotion after hearing this: "I've seen many Mutant students suffer unimaginable pain because they couldn't control their superhuman auditory, visual, and neural response arcs. For you, I can only say that you are like a Child favored by Heaven. If I had to describe it, I would say you are like a Divine Child. Your physical body is simply too perfect. The strength of your physical body alone is already at Alpha-level for a Mutant. Not to mention you have other superpowers..."
Hearing this, Mr. Zhou could only chuckle. "Divine Child? I'd rather believe I'm a human who will eventually become a deity."