"Jean, we have injured!" As the school's biology professor and a medical doctor, Jean also served as the school's physician.
Many superheroes were also top students, which made Liu A'dou feel a bit ashamed, as he had no academic titles. Liu A'dou shamelessly followed Dr. Jean into the basement. The X-Men had their own aircraft and cutting-edge technology.
Their aircraft was maintained by a mutant called the Artisan, who could communicate with machines. This kind of unscientific superpower, who knows how it came about.
The ones they had rescued were Wolverine and Rogue. Wolverine was unconscious, while Rogue had only been frightened.
"Take him to the infirmary," Jean and Storm pushed the cart toward the infirmary.
Liu A'dou took the opportunity to greet Cyclops, "Hello, Cyclops."
Cyclops looked up at Liu A'dou, giving a slight nod in acknowledgment.
Liu A'dou didn't think much of it and then looked at Rogue, "Is this the mutant you brought back?"
"Yes, this is Rogue," Cyclops replied.
Rogue was still a bit scared. She didn't fully understand why she was so unlucky. She had run away from home and met Wolverine, a good-hearted guy, only to be attacked by a strange person immediately after. It was unbearable; she almost got consumed by the fire, and her heart was still racing.
"I'll take this lady upstairs for a warm drink. You go report to Professor X," Liu A'dou said.
Cyclops nodded and left, trusting Liu A'dou. Liu A'dou finally confirmed that Cyclops indeed considered him a friend.
"Come on, miss. I'm Liu A'dou, and this is the X-Mansion. It's very safe here."
Rogue only tightened the blanket around her and remained nervous.
The two of them went upstairs, and Rogue curiously looked around at the kids using their superpowers without a care. "Are all these people mutants?"
"X-Mansion is a place where mutants are trained. Let's have a drink first, and the principal will definitely meet you later." Liu A'dou led her to the kitchen.
"Are you a student too?" Rogue asked.
"No, I'm a friend of the professor, just here as a guest."
"Then are you a mutant?"
"No, I'm just an ordinary person," Liu A'dou said. "But I know a lot about mutants. I'm not afraid of you like other clueless humans. I understand your emotions, your joys and sorrows, and your fears. That's why I'm friends with the mutants here."
Rogue thought the boy in front of her was very mature.
After only a couple of sips of the drink, Cyclops came to take Rogue to see Professor X. Liu A'dou was left alone with his warm drink, helpless. He didn't want to drink, and just then, Elsa, who was staying at his place, walked in.
"Elsa, is class over?" Liu A'dou asked.
Elsa gracefully swayed in, her long skirt flowing. For her, even in December, there was no need for thermal underwear, because it wasn't cold at all. "Pope, when do you plan to recruit the Saints?"
"After you've developed your small universe," Liu A'dou replied. "You know, only Saints can train other Saints. Right now, the only Saint is Ada, and she's very busy. We'll have to wait until you've mastered your small universe before we can start recruiting and training new ones."
But Elsa said, "Don't you have a small universe too? Why don't you train new recruits?"
"I'm the Pope," Liu A'dou said. "As the leader of the Saints, I can't train them myself. How would I maintain the dignity of the Pope if I did?"
"Tch!" Elsa's expression remained calm, but in her heart, she was thinking about how Liu A'dou had no dignity as the Pope. She had seen right through him. Only Liu A'dou could make her frozen heart feel a bit of joy. Yes, even mocking Liu A'dou made her feel happy. It was strange, but it was the reality.
"You won't get anywhere cutting corners. Focus more on your training," Liu A'dou said. "It's because your physical abilities aren't sufficient. You were a princess and a divine envoy before, but to become a Saint, you're still not there. You need to increase your body density to unlock your small universe."
"I know," Elsa replied. She had been training, but her method was quite unusual—she used ice to fill the gaps in her body's cells, tightening and relaxing to compress the cells and exercise them. It was working well, and Elsa figured she'd soon master the small universe.
Liu A'dou had undergone devilish training in the world of detectives, facing life-or-death battles and countless strange encounters. Ada Wong had also endured grueling experiences, along with a natural talent for understanding the small universe. Both of them were able to master the small universe with ease. But Elsa had to start from scratch with her physical training, so it naturally took more time.
In the original story, the Saints began their training at around seven or eight, wore their armor by the age of fourteen or fifteen, and reached the peak of their small universe by seventeen or eighteen. Those with good talent could achieve the seventh sense and become Golden Saints, but there were only twelve of them. In fact, mastering the small universe wasn't too difficult; as long as the Saints were willing to teach, anyone with some talent could succeed. Looking at the example of Seiji Hoshino's 100 children, seven or eight of them became Saints, proving that one in ten had the potential to be a Saint.
Liu A'dou believed Elsa would definitely succeed in her small universe training.
"When will your wife come to guide me in my small universe training?" Elsa asked.
"My wife is your teacher. Could you be a little more ladylike?" Liu A'dou thought to himself, "Ada really spoils Elsa too much." "Wait until she's done. You know she's a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent now, busier than when she was a police officer. Superheroes are causing trouble everywhere, and she's running around the world."
"If you miss her, hurry up and train your small universe. Once you understand the seventh sense, you'll be able to chat with her anytime, anywhere," Liu A'dou added.
Elsa thought to herself, "Can't I just call her?" and continued to disdainfully ignore him.
"By the way, have your classmates seen your movie? Did they ask you for an autograph?"
When it came up, Elsa was quite helpless. Now, when her classmates looked at her, they gazed at her with admiration, almost as if she had returned to the mythological era and announced Zeus' divine will. It was as if those students resonated with Elsa, treating her as another version of themselves, the representative of mutants. They saw Elsa as a reflection of the helplessness mutants felt, and they admired how Elsa could freely express herself in the film—doing the things they wished they could do but were too afraid to attempt. So, they respected Elsa. Elsa wasn't just an actress; she was their spokesperson.
"No, maybe your plan failed," Elsa replied.
"You're someone who lived through the mythological era; you should understand the power of idol worship even more than I do. Modern celebrities are like gods from the ancient world—though they don't have power, they still share the adoration of superheroes. Pretty impressive, don't you think? I think the reason they didn't ask for your autograph isn't because they don't worship you, but because they worship you too much," Liu A'dou said. His intuition told him the plan would work.
"Let's hope so," Elsa replied. She understood, but only showed an obedient demeanor. Her greatest wish was still for Liu A'dou to quickly recruit all the Saints and take them to Mount Olympus for Zeus' inspection, allowing the Saints to wear the emblem of Olympus.
"Don't worry, I'm confident. You need to have confidence in me too," Liu A'dou said. "Soon, you'll be a world-famous figure. When you meet more people, you might even find your own disciple. At that point, we'll expand the ranks of the Saints, and I'll finally be the Pope in name and reality." Right now, Liu A'dou as Pope was just a figurehead. He only had Elsa as his Saint, which was pretty pathetic.