The competition at the top of the scoreboard had become extremely intense.
If Magneto managed to win just one more fast-answer round, he would instantly overtake everyone and claim first place.
Natasha smiled faintly.
"Honestly, I wouldn't mind losing to you."
As she spoke, she deliberately glanced at Homelander. Erik Lehnsherr might not be a conventional hero, but he was still far preferable to Homelander. As long as Homelander did not win the game, the outcome was acceptable.
Homelander let out a cold laugh and issued a threat.
"Just wait. I'll surpass every single one of you."
He was currently ranked third overall—hardly without a chance to win.
At that moment, the quiz segment ended, and the light screen began playing the footage corresponding to the correct answer. The scene shifted to Stryker's secret base.
Jean Grey had been focusing intently on Professor Charles Xavier's hidden telepathic message and was momentarily unaware of her surroundings. A guard happened to pass by and spotted them immediately. Without a word, he raised his weapon and pulled the trigger.
Fortunately, Nightcrawler reacted in time, using his teleportation ability to pull all three of them away from danger.
However, the gunfire had already alerted Stryker. Watching the intruders on the surveillance feed, he frowned and issued an order, dispatching guards throughout the base to hunt down and eliminate the "three rats."
Elsewhere, Nightcrawler transported Cyclops and Jean Grey deeper into the facility. Their objective was the power generator—if they could destroy it, the entire base would lose power, making the rescue much easier.
They teleported into a hidden laboratory and found the generator there. The room contained surgical tables and various medical instruments. In addition, there was a massive iron cage, from which deep, guttural growls echoed.
Cyclops recoiled.
"What kind of beast are they keeping in here?"
"It's not a beast—it's a person," Jean Grey replied after probing with her telepathy.
"He's lost his memories… They turned him into a weapon."
Outside the screen, the players could already guess who was locked inside the cage.
Tony Stark frowned.
"That doesn't make sense. Based on what we've seen of the future, Wolverine traveled from the future to the past—at that time, he hadn't yet been bonded with adamantium.
Logically speaking, since he already knew the future, why would he still be captured and experimented on?"
Erik Lehnsherr glanced at him.
"You didn't watch the earlier footage carefully enough. After Logan altered the future, he fell into the water and was later retrieved by Stryker. That's probably when he was taken to the lab."
"No, that's still wrong," Tony shook his head.
"I've watched that scene twice. The Stryker you're talking about was clearly Mystique in disguise."
Erik froze for a moment. He really had overlooked that detail.
Quickly recovering, he added,
"Maybe Raven couldn't intervene at the time. Either way, Logan still ended up in the lab in the end."
Tony didn't argue further and simply sighed.
"It seems no matter what, Logan is destined to be bonded with adamantium and become Wolverine. This really does feel like a fate he can't escape."
Wolverine's story was undeniably tragic. Even after altering the future, he still ended up walking the same path.
Back in the footage, while Jean Grey and the others were distracted by the cage, the pursuing guards burst into the lab.
This time, Jean didn't hesitate. She used telepathy to erase the three of them from the guards' perception.
At the same time, she slowly opened the cage.
A shirtless man stepped out, his body covered in strange monitoring devices. Rage burned in his eyes as he extended gleaming adamantium claws toward the guards.
The guards clearly knew what kind of opponent they were facing and immediately opened fire.
Gunfire erupted like popping beans. Wolverine roared, standing amidst the storm of bullets. He was not merely unharmed—he was completely unaffected.
The only ones in trouble were the guards. The moment they paused to reload, it became Wolverine's turn.
He lunged forward savagely, followed by a chorus of terrified screams.
Against enemies like these, Wolverine cut through them effortlessly, like slicing vegetables. After finishing them off, he charged out of the lab.
Jean Grey, Cyclops, and Nightcrawler stood stunned, then hurried after him.
Elsewhere, Stryker panicked when he realized Wolverine had escaped. Watching the ferocious figure on the surveillance monitors, his face turned pale. He muttered, "I'll be back soon," before immediately fleeing the scene.
Seeing this, Erik Lehnsherr sneered coldly.
"An idiot like that actually thought he could control mutant power? He doesn't deserve it."
Natasha shook her head.
"People like him exist in every world."
Tony Stark offered a sharp observation.
"Jean and the others were smart. They didn't confront the enemy head-on—they let Wolverine clear the path for them."
Homelander watched Wolverine's rampage on the screen and was suddenly reminded of his own past.
Why had no one helped him when he was imprisoned in a lab?
Even if someone had freed him out of mere kindness—or for selfish reasons—if only someone had opened the door, perhaps everything afterward would have been different.
"No… before the quiz game appeared, my life wasn't that bad…"
Homelander shook his head forcefully. Without the quiz game, he would still be living a life of privilege and admiration, enjoying fame and power.
Back in the future footage, once Stryker fled, the base was left leaderless.
The guards were no match for Wolverine even under normal circumstances. Without coordination or command, they were quickly overwhelmed. Wolverine carved a bloody path through the facility, leaving behind mangled corpses and pools of blood—a brutal lesson for Jean Grey, Cyclops, and Nightcrawler.
These well-behaved students, raised in the safety of a school, were finally confronted with the raw cruelty of the real world.
Gathering her courage, Jean Grey approached Wolverine, who was still lost in his killing frenzy. She carefully drew close and used her telepathy.
"We can help you."
She placed her hand gently on his temple, helping him recover his lost memories.
After regaining them, Wolverine silently met Jean's gaze for a moment. Then he tore the monitoring devices from his body, burst through the door, and disappeared into the snowy wilderness outside.
With his help, Jean Grey and the others were able to successfully rescue Mystique, Quicksilver, and the rest from their cells.
___
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