"Is this... our future?"
"I did it!"
Charles couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. The method described in the diary had truly worked.
This seemingly fantastical feat—traveling to the future by examining memories—had actually succeeded!
*Truly worthy of being a magical diary that can predict the future,* Charles thought to himself.
By now, every prediction in the diary had come true with perfect accuracy, without the slightest deviation.
Charles's attitude toward the diary had undergone a profound, almost subconscious transformation.
Now, he believed in it completely, without a shred of doubt.
Amidst this faint exhilaration, Charles cautiously began to survey his surroundings.
He saw the Mutants standing on high alert, their faces grim and serious, as they prepared for the arrival of the Sentinel Robots.
A man who looked exactly like Wolverine lay on a platform, while a young woman used her abilities to perform some procedure on him.
Without a doubt, the woman was Shadowcat.
The man on the platform was undoubtedly Wolverine from fifty years in the future.
*Good heavens, he's exactly the same as he was fifty years ago.*
*Not a single trace of change.*
As his gaze slowly swept over the room, an old man in a wheelchair quickly caught Charles's attention.
Charles recognized him instantly—it was himself.
*His future self, fifty years from now!*
Without wasting a moment, Charles hurried over to Old Charles.
"Charles?" Old Charles spoke slowly, greeting him.
At that moment, Charles was communicating with the future through Wolverine's consciousness. To everyone present, he was an invisible ghost, unseen by any.
Yet Old Charles immediately sensed Charles's presence and initiated contact.
*This mental power is truly remarkable.*
"Charles!" Charles replied, his voice filled with excitement.
A smile tugged at the corners of Old Charles's lips.
*My past self has come to me. The plan to reverse the future must be working.*
*Whether it will succeed remains uncertain, but at least we've made a good start.*
*That's something.*
"So, is this our end?"
Charles glanced around, his resolve wavering. "Erik was right. We've been too soft."
"Unless we can create a different future," Old Charles said calmly.
"You still have faith in humanity?" Charles asked, surprised.
*The future has become a mutant apocalypse. Humans are on the verge of exterminating us all. And you're still clinging to hope?*
"People stumble and lose their way occasionally, but that doesn't mean they're lost forever," Old Charles replied with the classic quote.
"Is that so?"
"Why don't I see it that way?"
Charles laughed, as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world.
His laughter was filled with boundless disappointment, bitterness, and self-mockery.
*If it were my younger self, I might have actually believed my future self's "bullshit."*
*But now?*
*Through the diary, Charles had learned more about the future.*
*Mutants had faced extinction crises more than once!*
*Besides the Sentinel Robots, there was the incident with Stryker's son, and the time Stryker used Mastermind to control his future self.*
Heaven knows what else might be lurking beyond this!
This is what they call an "occasional event"?
Wolverine chose to reverse the future because mutants were on the brink of extinction at the hands of humans, but what was the result?
The future was successfully averted, yet the fate of mutant extinction remained unchanged!
This is what they call "not being lost forever"?
*Heh.*
How foolish I was to cling to such unrealistic fantasies, hoping mutants and humans could live in peace, becoming one loving family.
*I was so naive!*
What about my future self?
Like my past self, he's still too optimistic about humans, still thinks too highly of them.
But the current Charles has awakened.
Through countless bloody examples, he has seen the truth, seen the real face of humanity.
Give them even the slightest opportunity, and they'll crush mutants to death. It's impossible to change them.
*This is who they are!*
"I understand. I've been through that phase myself."
Unaware of Charles's current thoughts, Old Charles continued to comfort him, hoping to rekindle his faith in humanity.
Under normal circumstances, Old Charles's silver tongue, no less potent than Naruto's, would have easily persuaded his past self.
But now?
The Charles of the past was no longer the same Charles.
Despite Old Charles's lengthy, rambling speech, he couldn't change Charles's mind.
"Charles, I don't have time to discuss this. I need to stop Erik."
"He plans to kill Raven, and I can't control my powers yet. I can't stop him."
Charles cut through the useless chatter and stated his purpose plainly.
Old Charles began to address Charles's inner turmoil.
This conflict was purely psychological, unrelated to any doubts about humanity's hope.
Under Old Charles's guidance, Charles gradually came to understand and accept the truth.
The knot in his heart that had festered for years vanished like smoke!
One had to admit, Old Charles lived up to his reputation—he was truly something else.
*Whoosh!*
Having achieved his goal, Charles didn't linger in the future. He withdrew from Wolverine's mind.
Wolverine immediately sensed that Charles before him was different.
Completely different.
"It seems Professor X is back," Wolverine said, a smile of relief and satisfaction curving his lips.
"I had to come back," Charles declared, his voice ringing with conviction. *For Raven!*
"Professor!" Hank appeared at the doorway, his voice filled with excitement and relief as he saw Charles's current state.
How long had it been?
He had always hoped Charles could overcome his inner demons, that the original Charles would return. But each attempt had ended in failure.
But now?
Charles had truly returned!
"Hank, do you remember where my wheelchair is?" Charles asked with a smile. "I think I'll need your help finding it."
"Of course, no problem!" Hank replied eagerly, turning and rushing off.
He dug out Charles's long-forgotten, dust-covered wheelchair from its corner, meticulously cleaned it, and pushed it back to Charles's side.
Seeing Charles seated in his wheelchair once more, Hank felt an unprecedented sense of peace.
*The Professor is truly back!*
"Get ready. We're going to bring Raven back."
After a moment of familiarizing himself with the wheelchair, Charles greeted Wolverine and Hank.
Without further ado, they retreated to their rooms to freshen up.
About two hours later, the mutants reconvened.
"Is it just me, or do you seem like a completely different person, Charles?" Erik immediately noticed the change.
He studied Charles with surprise, his brow furrowed.
*How could he have changed so drastically in just a few hours?*
*The old Charles had been listless and withdrawn, like a drug addict. But this new Charles... he looks like someone who's successfully kicked his habit and been reborn.*
*What happened in those few hours? What could have caused such a profound transformation?*
Erik was genuinely baffled.
"Is that so? Perhaps... I'm not the same person I used to be."
Charles said meaningfully.
Unconsciously, his attitude toward Erik had shifted somewhat.
Previously, he had viewed Erik as extreme, disapproving of his actions in ten thousand ways.
But now?
Charles found himself understanding Erik a little better.
"Alright, let's go!"
Without further delay, Charles called out to everyone present.
The group began boarding the Blackbird Fighter Jets and once again set off in a whirlwind.
"This conference will be known in history as the Paris Agreement. At this meeting, the leaders of both nations will formally sign a peace treaty."
"Unlike previous peace negotiations, the successful signing of this treaty will bring the war to an end."
"But for us, everything is just beginning."
"Trask will also attend this conference. Raven will disguise herself as a Vietnamese officer to infiltrate the meeting and successfully assassinate Trask."
"She will then be captured by the military and subjected to brutal experiments, which will lead to the development of the Sentinel Robot."
"Our task is simple: infiltrate the conference and stop Raven."
"Now that Charles's abilities have been fully restored, this mission will be a breeze for us."
On the Blackbird Fighter Jet, Hank continued to serve as the pilot, as always.
Charles, Erik, and Wolverine were reviewing the mission plan together, each brimming with confidence.
Even before Charles's powers had been restored, Erik alone could have easily completed this mission. After all, Erik's abilities were practically a cheat code in human society.
With Charles's powers now back in play, the risk of failure was virtually nonexistent.
"I never thought we'd be working together again," Erik couldn't help but remark.
Ever since their split during the Cuban Missile Crisis, they had been on opposing paths, clashing countless times in both overt and covert conflicts. Who would have imagined that this "old camaraderie" would ever return?
"We're almost there, everyone," Hank announced from the front. The mutants straightened up, ready to spring into action.
***
At that very moment, at the Royal Grand Hotel, with just an hour remaining before the official start of the Peace Conference, most of the US and Vietnamese dignitaries had already arrived.
A group of Vietnamese officers had gathered in a private reception room, chatting and laughing.
Unbeknownst to them, one of the Vietnamese officers present was no longer himself!
"The conference starts in an hour."
"We've prepared a private room upstairs for your distinguished guests."
Trask, flanked by two assistants, strode briskly down the corridor leading to the conference room. His next task was to aggressively pitch his Sentinel Robot project to the Vietnamese dignitaries.
*Bang!*
The door swung open as Trask strode in.
"Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for attending."
"First, congratulations on winning the war."
"I know you'll be taking photos and shaking hands shortly, so I'll get straight to the point and save you time."
"A new enemy has emerged," Trask declared to the Vietnamese officials, launching into a tirade about the horrors and threats posed by Mutants.
He then vigorously promoted his Sentinel Robot project.
However, as he demonstrated how the Sentinels could automatically detect the X-Gene and lock onto Mutants, the Mutant Detector in his hand suddenly blared an alarm.
This startled Trask and the Vietnamese officials in the reception room. What did this mean?
A Mutant had infiltrated the room!
The group immediately swarmed forward and seized the Vietnamese officer identified by the detector.
"I don't know what you're talking about," the officer protested, his face still maintaining an innocent expression.
"I swear!"
But as he spoke, blue "waves" suddenly surged across his body.
The crowd's vision blurred momentarily.
The original Vietnamese officer vanished without a trace, replaced by a woman with blue skin.
Raven made a dazzling entrance.
"Seize her!"
"Quick, grab her!"
The crowd erupted in shock, swarming forward to apprehend Raven.
But Raven's combat prowess was undeniable. With a dazzling display of skill, she effortlessly knocked everyone to the ground.
Then, she pulled out a gun and aimed it squarely at Trask.
Just as she was about to pull the trigger—
*Whoosh.*
The entire world froze as if someone had pressed the pause button.
"Raven."
Simultaneously, a voice echoed in Raven's mind.
This familiar scene, this familiar voice—how could she not understand what was happening?
"Charles!"
Raven murmured, her voice trembling with excitement.
How long had it been?
She was seeing Charles again!
-----------------------
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