Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Border Factory
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Upon hearing Wolverine's words, George showed no concern; instead, a faint smile appeared on his face.
Since Wolverine was already considering this direction, it meant his guess was correct: Wolverine was tough on the outside but soft on the inside, and deep down, he still wanted to help.
"What kind of person Tony Stark is, we'll need to judge after we meet him.
If he's not trustworthy, then you can still get a substantial reward from this endeavor and leave.
With the money, you can take the Professor to live the life you want, without having to worry about us anymore.
How does that sound to you?"
"I need to think about it."
Wolverine took a bottle of strong liquor from the car seat, chugged it down in one go, then closed his eyes and pondered for a long time before slowly replying:
"Alright, I agree to help you, but there's one condition: we can't bring the Professor.
The Professor's condition isn't as good as you think. He can't actively control his powers, and once he appears in New York, it will cause panic with the government, which would lead to even more trouble!"
"No problem."
George thought for a moment and nodded.
He had only considered utilizing Professor X's abilities but had forgotten the impact of Professor X, this "weapon of mass destruction," entering New York. It might even attract S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
Rather than that, it was better not to bring him.
Worst case, he could just torture Obadiah Stane. He believed that under the threat of death, the man would honestly reveal Tony Stark's whereabouts.
Actually, this was better. Professor X was, after all, still mobility-impaired. With only him and Wolverine acting, efficiency would be much higher.
"Then let's get out of here quickly. Those thugs fired guns, so the police will probably be here soon."
Seeing that George had reached an agreement, Gabriela visibly relaxed. Then, looking at the thugs' bodies on the ground, she quickly warned him.
Wolverine, meanwhile, bent down again, preparing to reattach the wheels.
"Don't worry, precisely because there were gunshots, the police won't arrive so quickly."
"Alright, how dedicated of them."
At this point, George also crouched down, his hands constantly performing gestures:
"Reparo!"
The Repairing Charm took effect, and the detached wheel immediately restored itself.
This was currently the second spell he could cast using gesture-casting.
"It seems you have more than just the Professor's and Magneto's genes in you?"
Wolverine's face showed surprise at the sight.
George shrugged with a smile:
"Actually, I'm not even sure how many kinds of genes they fused into me."
"Your situation reminds me of a very talkative friend I once had. He also had many mutant genes fused into him and had his mouth sealed shut."
Wolverine remembered a deep memory and couldn't help but sigh.
"Too bad they're all gone now."
"Friends, well, old ones go, new ones come. Life always moves on. Don't be so pessimistic."
George casually offered a comforting remark.
He always had a question: did the current Wolverine remember Days of Future Past, did he have memories from two different timelines, or did this universe simply not have two timelines?
In X-Men: Days of Future Past, changing the past would alter the present.
However, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, changing the past only created a new timeline and didn't alter the present.
But he couldn't very well ask about such a thing now; he'd have to wait until they were more familiar.
Wolverine looked at him with a hint of surprise:
"It seems you really do have some of the Professor's genes in you."
With the car repaired, Wolverine drove the luxury stretch limo, leading the way, with Isa driving the truck carrying George and the children close behind. They drove steadily towards the border.
The Professor's situation was special, so Wolverine had hidden him in a sparsely populated border area.
"This used to be a factory owned by a multinational smelting company with its headquarters in Shanghai. It eventually had to be abandoned and left due to the chaotic public security. Normally, no one would come here."
The car stopped in front of a dilapidated factory building at the border. Wolverine introduced it to George.
It was precisely because El Paso bordered Mexico, with a large number of Mexicans illegally crossing over to live, causing chaotic public order, that they had been able to remain hidden.
If they were in a city with good public order, it would have been impossible to stay hidden.
"Logan, who are they?"
Just then, a man wrapped in a scarf and wearing a hat, with only his eyes visible, cautiously emerged from inside the factory building. He looked at George and the group of mutant children with a puzzled expression.
"Caliban, these children are all mutants. Get inside first, and I'll explain everything in detail."
Wolverine waved them in, leading everyone into the factory building.
George glanced at the man wrapped in the scarf, and relevant information instantly flashed through his mind.
Caliban, a mutant with the ability to track other mutants, was once a black-market merchant who profited immensely from selling information on mutant whereabouts.
He had also helped Alkali Genetics pursue mutants for money.
Later, he contracted albinism and could no longer tolerate sunlight. He began to repent for his past crimes and started helping Wolverine and Professor X hide their tracks.
In the end, upon seeing Professor X killed, he detonated two grenades in grief, taking down enemies with him.
So, for now, he was considered a trustworthy mutant.
"No wonder... no wonder he always said he was communicating mentally with some people, saying there were many new mutants. So there really are. But Logan, are you really sure about this? It's very dangerous."
Inside the factory, after hearing Logan's explanation, Caliban's brows furrowed tightly.
He sympathized with the mutant children, but he was more concerned about Wolverine's safety.
They were the last three of the old generation of mutants, and after all these years together, he had already come to regard Wolverine and the Professor as his only family.
"George is right. Maybe this is the only way to truly cure the Professor. You know, that water tank won't hold the Professor forever. This can't go on.
We need money, and better equipment and medicine to treat him.
Besides, I don't trust the Canadian government to treat those children well. Human governments are never any good."
Wolverine tossed a bag of medicine and a card to Caliban.
"This medicine is enough for the Professor for a month. This card has all the money I've saved over the years. I originally planned to buy a yacht to take you and the Professor to live on the ocean.
If something happens and I don't come back, please take care of the Professor."
"Alright, I know I can't stop you either. I can only tell you that if you don't come back, I won't take care of that difficult old man by myself. I'll abandon him and leave with this money."
Caliban took the medicine and the card, remained silent for a moment, then finally replied with a smile.
Wolverine, in turn, smiled, a rare occurrence for him:
"No, you won't. Otherwise, you wouldn't have given up all that money you saved to help us back then."
"It's your turn to feed him the medicine. I've been at it all night."
Caliban shook his head helplessly, took a bottle of medicine from the bag, and placed it in Wolverine's hand.
Clearly, Wolverine had hit a nerve.
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