Chapter 360 They Need an Antidote

Xavier Academy for Gifted Youth, first floor lobby.

It was break time, and many mutant students of different ages were sitting in groups of three or four in various places in the hall, watching the live broadcast on the TV screen that was destined to affect all mutants.

Facing Warren Worthington II's passionate speech, the people in the hall had different expressions. The younger students didn't care, while the older students who had already recognized the significance of the antidote began to discuss it, some of them were disdainful, some were indignant, and some were worried.

Although their thoughts were different, most of them were relatively negative emotions. They did not agree that mutants needed to be cured. The size of X Academy was limited, and a castle could not accommodate thousands of students, so these students were basically mutants with good potential after being roughly selected.

Mutant abilities often bring them extraordinary powers rather than deformed and weird bodies. Based on this premise, under the guidance of professors and X-Men teachers, these students are quite convinced of their mutant identities, and are even particularly proud of them.

After all, in Professor X's early papers, he was so arrogant that he defined the relationship between humans and mutants as the Neanderthals who were destined to be extinct and the Homo sapiens who were about to occupy the future.

In fact, whether it was Professor X or Magneto, they believed from the bottom of their hearts that mutants were a species that was more advanced than humans, and would eventually replace humans and step onto the historical stage of this planet, so in the early days, the two of them became good friends who fought together.

But in the later period, due to different past experiences, the two sides had quite serious differences in the process and concept of replacing humans. Magneto advocated overthrow by force, and we were born to be superior to weak humans.

The professor advocates for subtle influence and smooth transition. We are born from humans and cannot be separated. As long as we develop slowly, more and more new mutants will eventually gather into a wave of the times that sweeps everything and breaks through all obstacles.

The differences between the two sides were so great that they were almost irreconcilable, so they eventually parted ways and formed the Mutant Brotherhood and the X Academy. However, no matter how big the differences were, their pride and sense of identity never changed. They all firmly believed that mutants would eventually replace humans.

Therefore, this core idea was gradually passed on to every student in the academy in a subtle way, causing them to be indifferent to the so-called antidote of Worthington II, only worry and hostility.

Among these many negative emotions, only one person's emotions were excited and yearning. The little rascal looked at the blue potion held high on the TV screen, his eyes full of hope, and seemed out of tune with his companions around him.

If mutants are divided into different levels, then the students of X Academy are definitely the "upper class". They have controllable abilities, good potential, and live a stable life under the protection of professors. All kinds of oppression and malice from the outside world to the mutant group are isolated by the high walls of the academy.

They belong to the vested interests of mutant genes, so the antidote is meaningless to them.

But Xiao Taoqi is different. Since the awakening of her abilities, the mutant genes have brought her only loneliness and helplessness. Even the process of joining the academy is full of various coincidences, not through normal channels.

Uncontrollable abilities make her dare not approach anyone easily. In this restless adolescence, the instinct of wanting to get close is forcibly suppressed by the mutant ability. All these make her feel deeply disgusted with her own mutant genes.

Now the appearance of the "antidote" is like a ray of dawn that suddenly lights up in the darkness. The key to untie the shackles is right in front of her. How can she not be ecstatic?

Standing up suddenly from the sofa, the little naughty girl didn't notice the puzzled and strange looks from the students around her. After checking the introduction on the screen, she ran towards the principal's office. At this time, she was already overwhelmed by excitement and just wanted to learn more about the "antidote" from the college teacher.

Can it really make me return to normal?

………

At this time, in the principal's office on the second floor, the voice from the TV screen was still chattering, but everyone in the room had already ignored it.

Logan looked out the window and didn't say anything, but the complex emotions in his eyes revealed that he was not calm, while Xu Yue stood beside the professor, quietly watching the fierce argument between Storm and Hank on the sofa.

"Who would want this antidote? Which coward would use this thing to integrate into society?"

From the beginning to the end, Storm was the most hostile to the antidote. The mutant gene gave her the ability to call the wind and rain and manipulate the weather, which is often the power that only gods have. In fact, in some African tribes, she is the real goddess of storms, so she can't understand why there are mutants willing to give up their abilities.

But Hank is different. As the Minister of Mutant Affairs, he has seen too many sufferings of the bottom mutants. Under the mutation of mutant genes, they are like monsters. They can only hide in the dark corners of society like rats to survive. The mutant genes bring them only a complete curse.

So compared with Storm's hostility, Hank can see the positive significance of the antidote for the bottom mutants.

And from a certain perspective, Hank is also a victim of mutant genes. He can better understand the importance of antidotes to certain groups. After all, few people are willing to permanently become a hairy blue-skinned beast. Looking directly into Storm Girl's eyes, he said with great seriousness:

"Rescuing yourself from persecution is called cowardice?"

"Ororo, not everyone can easily integrate into society, and you don't need to shave."

Faced with Hank's last words in a teasing tone, Storm was speechless for a moment. She was just paranoid, not unreasonable.

She knew exactly what Hank's inhuman beast appearance had brought to him, which was countless criticisms and strange looks that never stopped. With their eyes facing each other, it was difficult for her to say anything to refute.

Across the sofa, Storm choked up after Hank's words. The professor in the wheelchair smiled gently. He was quite pleased with the open-mindedness shown in his old friend's words. This represented Hank's appreciation of his beast-like appearance. He is no longer as worried as he used to be.

On the other hand, the professor does not reject the emergence of antidotes. For those low-level mutants who are suffering from mutations, the antidote is their true light of salvation.

Of course, the premise of all this is that the antidote will only be used as a medicine that is voluntarily injected, and will not become a dangerous weapon against all mutants under the interference of the government. The use of these two medicines can cause The impact is hugely different.

As for whether the government and military will develop the antidote into weapons? The answer to this question requires almost no thought.

Anyway, Logan, who was near the window, was extremely sure of this. Having participated in World War II, he knew the behavior of the government and military best. They would never let go of this highly targeted and powerful weapon. .

"This press conference should be led by the government. Perhaps in the government's arsenal, antidote weapons against us are already being produced."

Hearing this, Hank on the sofa immediately retorted decisively:

"They have nothing to do with this. There is no government operation behind the press conference!"

"I heard this a long time ago."

Logan glanced at Hank who spoke, his tone was light, but the disdain in his words was clearly revealed.

After the words fell, Hank was about to continue speaking, but Xu Yue's plain voice soon came from the other side.

"Don't kid yourself. The antidote is a key medicine that involves two races. Without the approval of the government, there is no possibility that the Worthington Group will make it public."

"Hank, the federal government has always had an indifferent, even hostile attitude towards the mutant community. You should know this best. The current press conference is just the beginning, a test."

"If we acquiesce to the prevalence of the antidote this time, the government will definitely continue to promote the spread of the antidote. Once the voluntary injection is successfully completed, it is estimated that there will soon be special penalties for mutant criminals, and then evolve to target all mutants. The forced popularization of humans eats away step by step like a frog boiled in warm water, and eventually the cancer of mutants is completely removed from human society.”

"Even in the near future, the antidote will become a preventive vaccine that all teenagers need to be universally vaccinated to prevent the possibility of the resurgence of mutants. By then, we have lost the past and no future. The mutant will truly meet his end..."

The plain words slowly echoed in the room, causing silence all around. The desperate future described in his words caused everyone in the room to fall into unspeakable silence. Hank opened his mouth to refute several times, but closed it silently.

To be fair, the future speculated by Xu Yue is just speculation from the worst angle, and the possibility is not high. To want to exterminate the entire mutant population with just one potion would be to underestimate the power of mutants. .

But it is undeniable that this possibility is real, and the federal government also has enough power to slowly implement this plan. The whole process may take a very long time, but as long as the goal of peaceful extermination of mutants can be achieved, Then the government will definitely have enough patience to implement it slowly.

As the Minister of Mutant Affairs of the Department of Defense, Hank knows better than anyone what kind of power the national government can unleash after it is fully mobilized. If the situation really develops as Xu Yue described, then mutants will be cannibalized step by step. The end may not be far away.

Not to mention anything else, just using the antidote as a vaccine for teenagers is enough to dig out the foundation of mutants. If this decree is really implemented, there will be no hope for mutants. s future.

Hank is not ignorant of the possible harms of the antidote, but as a government employee, he cannot stop the implementation of the decree, so he can only focus on the beneficial aspects of the antidote as much as possible, thus subconsciously ignoring the disadvantages. .

From ancient times to the present, the butt determines the head. With his current status, his thoughts will be unconsciously biased towards the top levels of the government to a large extent. The pursuit of stability is the primary prerequisite for rule. Hank is not exempt from this, but he can be the worst outcome. After being bloodyly uncovered by Xu Yue and displayed naked in front of his eyes, he still couldn't help but start to waver and hesitate.

Just when the atmosphere began to fall into a dead silence, suddenly a rush of footsteps came from the door of the room, and the little naughty boy burst into everyone's field of vision.

"Is it true? They can cure us?"

The professor was the first to respond. He looked at the little naughty boy at the door with a happy face and nodded calmly:

"Yes, it looks like it should be true."

The professor's response completely broke the silence in the room. Logan lowered his eyes and looked at the professor, hesitant to speak. Xu Yue beside him always had a faint expression. As for the sofa opposite, Hank's eyes flickered, and Storm was as decisive as ever.

"No, professor, they can't cure us. Do you know why? Because there is nothing to cure..."

As she said, Storm stood up and walked towards the little naughty boy at the door, looking into his eyes and slowly said:

"You have no problem at all, and all mutants have no problem. As Xinhuo said just now, they don't want to cure us at all, but want to manipulate and exterminate us."

"From the beginning to the end, we don't need an antidote!"

Storm's tone was not high, but every word was loud and clear, and the firm emotion contained in it was enough to shock anyone.

On the sofa, Hank pressed his swollen temple with a headache. He felt that today's trip was probably in vain. After Xu Yue's words just now, he knew that he could not convince the X Academy to support the release of the antidote. Even his own position was slightly shaken.

However, even if he could not get support, he had to try his best to ensure that the academy would not openly oppose it. Otherwise, with the reputation of the academy among the mutant community, it would inevitably trigger a huge and violent conflict, which would only make the already fragile balance between humans and mutants even more precarious. He could not let this situation happen.

"Ororo, what Xinhuo said is just speculation after all. With the supervision and influence of the Mutant Affairs Department, the situation will not get that bad right away. At least the current antidote is just a drug that provides voluntary injection services. You can't deny its practical significance. There are many mutants at the bottom of society who are in urgent need of it."

"The number of mutants in the Federation is far more than we imagined. In the dark corners that you can't see, there are too many low-level mutants with deformed bodies struggling to survive. They have low abilities and abnormal appearances. Because of their mutant identities, they are abandoned by mainstream society. They have no belonging, no jobs, and even the most basic social supplies are refused to be distributed to them."

"The mutants are so powerful that they are not allowed to go to the mainstream society. They ... The identity of mutants cannot provide them with shelter, only endless persecution. This is the cruel status quo. We have no power to change it now. Whether it is the professor's college or my Mutant Affairs Department, the power they can provide is extremely limited. The only thing that can save them now is the antidote. Only by getting rid of the identity of mutants can they return to society and usher in a new life. "

"The harm of the antidote is very serious, I admit, but many mutants need it. In order to survive and return to normal, they need the antidote. The college's position is indeed not to openly support the release of the antidote, but there is only one thing, don't oppose it. In the eyes of a large number of mutants, it is the only hope left. "