"Jean, Professor X is still waiting for us."
His words were directed at Jean, but his scrutinizing gaze was entirely on Lin Ent.
The air in the club seemed to thicken with the tension of the confrontation.
Lin Ent felt like a cracker caught between two prehistoric beasts.
Just as the tension mounted, a fragrant figure elegantly inserted herself from the side.
Raven was back.
She was still the fiery blonde beauty, a perfect business smile on her face, naturally extending her arm to intimately link with Lin Ent's, her body pressing close to his.
This gesture of claiming ownership was executed with practiced ease.
"Darling, I'm back."
She whispered to Lin Ent, then turned her head to Jean, her blue eyes full of smiles, yet with a needle-sharp glint.
"Is something the matter, Miss?"
She paused, and without waiting for Jean's reply, she added lightly,
"Stay away from my man."
Jean's brows furrowed.
Scott's body tensed further, one hand already on the frame of his glasses.
The atmosphere instantly dropped to freezing point.
Some curious guests around them instinctively stepped back a few paces, afraid of being caught in the storm.
Lin Ent felt his scalp tingle.
Big sister, you're provoking Phoenix!
Do you know who she is! Yes, you should know.
But didn't you say you wanted to keep a low profile??
He now just wanted to immediately grab Raven and run, the further away from these X-Men, the better.
"Heh heh, your taste is still so... unique."
A lazy yet pleasant female voice broke the deadlock.
A platinum-haired woman, wearing a pure white diamond dress and with an equally stunning figure, walked gracefully over, holding a glass of champagne.
The White Queen of the Hellfire Club, Emma Frost.
She was also a powerful telepath.
Emma walked to the center of the group, her gaze sweeping across Raven and Jean's faces, finally landing on Scott's hand resting on his glasses.
"Scott, this isn't Xavier's training ground. If you break anything, Charles's reputation won't be enough to cover it."
Her tone was understated, yet carried an undeniable authority.
Scott snorted coldly and lowered his hand.
Emma then turned to Raven, a playful smile on her face.
"Take your new toy and go play somewhere else. Don't scare our esteemed guests here."
Raven gave Emma a cold look, but said nothing.
She hooked Lin Ent's arm and turned to leave, without any hesitation.
Lin Ent was pulled along by her, almost stumbling behind.
As they passed Jean, he didn't even dare to look at her again.
It wasn't until they walked out of the Hellfire Club and got into a black car parked on the side of the road that Lin Ent finally caught his breath.
The atmosphere inside the car was terribly oppressive.
Raven had returned to her original blue form, sitting in the driver's seat, silent.
She started the car, and it smoothly merged into the traffic of the night.
After a long while, she finally spoke, her voice as cold as ice.
"That redhead is Charles's person, a top-tier telepath."
"From now on, you are not allowed to have any contact with her."
Raven suddenly turned her head, her amber beastly eyes fixed on Lin Ent in the dim car interior.
"Do you understand?"
"She is an enemy, very dangerous."
"I don't care what secrets you have, but as long as your abilities are useful to me, you'd better be obedient."
"Otherwise, I don't mind crippling you first, then hiding you away."
The killing intent in that last sentence was almost palpable.
Lin Ent shivered, but after the fear, a sense of absurdity welled up.
He spread his hands, a helpless expression on his face.
"Crippled? Oh, come on, big sister. This model of me is a limited edition, one of a kind in the World. If it's crippled, it's truly gone."
He pointed to himself, then to Raven.
"Besides, if the power bank is broken, where will you find such a compatible charging head? It won't be compatible."
"And with five limbs, if only one is left, you'll get bored very quickly. It's better to help each other."
Lin Ent spoke, but his hand was not idle, beginning to touch Mystique's skin.
Raven's amber pupils contracted slightly.
She hadn't expected this man to say such things under such a threat.
The killing intent in the car inexplicably dissipated a bit.
"Stop playing word games."
She snorted coldly, restarted the car, implicitly allowing certain actions.
"Charles's hypocritical theory of peaceful coexistence will only turn Mutants into human pets and experimental subjects. Stay away from his people; they, like Eric, are complete lunatics, just crazy in different ways."
Her tone carried a deep-seated loathing.
The car twisted and turned, finally stopping below an ordinary apartment building in Brooklyn.
This was their new safe house.
The room wasn't large, but it was clean, and all daily necessities were available, clearly a place Raven had prepared long ago.
As soon as they entered, Raven went into the bathroom to wash off the decadent aura of the Hellfire Club.
Lin Ent, meanwhile, sank into the sofa, took out his new phone, and opened a financial app.
On the screen, the colorful K-line charts and constantly jumping numbers gave him a familiar feeling, as if he had returned to a past life.
Stark Industries, Hammer Industries, Osborn Corporation... these names, famous in movies, now became symbols that could be leveraged by capital.
When Raven emerged from the bathroom, completely unencumbered, this was the scene she saw.
Lin Ent was intently staring at his phone screen, his fingers sliding rapidly, muttering to himself.
"What are you up to now?"
Raven, wiping her wet hair, asked warily.
"I'm thinking, we can't keep hiding like this."
Lin Ent didn't even look up.
"This isn't living, this is imprisonment. Every day, walking on eggshells, not knowing when Magneto will tear down this building, or Professor X will send people to give you psychological counseling."
Raven's movements stopped. She walked in front of Lin Ent, looking down at him.
"Oh? So according to you, what should we do? Go rely on Charles and be locked up in his academy as a mascot? Or kneel before Eric and beg him for another chance to serve him?"
"Neither."
Lin Ent finally looked up and turned off his phone screen.
He leaned back on the sofa, looking up at the blue Mistress.
"We'll take a third path. A path neither of them would think of, or would look down upon."
"What path?"
"The path of capital."
Lin Ent's voice was not loud, but every word was crystal clear.
Raven froze, then let out a scoff, as if she had heard the funniest joke of the century.
"Capital? Money? Lin Ent, have I slept you silly?"
She extended her finger, her nail glinting coldly under the light.
"Can money stop the steel storm Eric unleashes? Can money block Charles's pervasive psychic intrusions? In this World, only power is fundamental! Your kind of thing is just waste paper!"
"No, you're wrong."
Lin Ent shook his head, his expression more serious than ever.
"You're oversimplifying the problem. Money itself certainly can't stop powers, but money can do much more than that."
He stood up, facing Raven's scrutiny directly.
"I ask you, can a specially made bullet, one that can penetrate your scales, kill you?"