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The high-ranking officials from the Department of Defense sat in the front row, appearing calm on the surface, but their minds were already racing.
They were all aware of Trask's Sentinel Program; after all, this project had been submitted to the Department of Defense for more than just a day or two.
It hadn't been approved before mainly because they felt that while the Mutant issue was troublesome, it wasn't yet an urgent priority.
Developing a weapon specifically to deal with them was too costly, and whether the technology would even work was still up in the air.
But now, seeing these big guys standing on the stage with their own eyes, their thoughts changed.
The visual impact of the Sentinel Robots was indeed intimidating enough.
They might actually be able to counter those powerful Mutants. As long as these things really worked, they wouldn't mind allocating funds to support Trask's Sentinel Program.
"Next, please allow me to demonstrate a live exercise of the Sentinel Robots."
Trask nodded to Stryker, who was standing at the side of the stage.
Stryker pulled a remote control from his pocket and pressed the start switch with his thumb.
In the next moment, several Sentinel Robots raised their heads simultaneously, their mechanical eyes glowing with a yellow light.
Then they began to walk, slowly stepping off the lift platform and onto the exhibition stage, their mechanical feet making heavy thuds.
Truth be told, their size was indeed incredibly oppressive.
The media reporters' eyes lit up instantly, and they began capturing the scene one after another.
They already had the headlines ready.
It would be called: Dwarf Tech, Shocking the Soul!
Well, one could only say that the atmosphere of the 70s was indeed much more open than in later generations.
Trask faced the audience and said triumphantly, "In addition to the basic capabilities I just mentioned, the Sentinel Robots are also equipped with an advanced genetic identification system."
"It can accurately lock onto a Mutant from half a mile away. No matter where the Mutant is hiding or what they are disguised as, as long as they are within its detection range, they can never escape its pursuit!"
As he spoke, he turned around, intending to point at the robots and boast a bit more.
Instead, he froze.
Because the mechanical eyes of those Sentinel Robots had turned from yellow to red at some point.
As the creator of the Sentinel Robots, Trask naturally knew this was the reaction when a Sentinel Robot identified a Mutant.
"Could it be... that there are Mutants present?"
A look of joy appeared on Trask's face.
Wasn't this the perfect opportunity to prove himself?
If the Sentinel Robots successfully captured a Mutant on-site and demonstrated their true power in front of so many people, the effect would be stronger than him explaining it a hundred times!
When the people from the Department of Defense saw the Sentinel's capabilities with their own eyes, wouldn't they be scrambling to give him money?
As for whether it would cause panic, he wasn't afraid.
To ensure safety, Marvel Industries had them remove all live ammunition from the Sentinel Robots beforehand. Now, those gatling guns were just for show and couldn't fire any bullets.
Furthermore, he was very confident in his genetic identification system; there would absolutely be no cases of accidentally harming normal humans.
Even if a Mutant on-site was injured by a Sentinel Robot, at worst, he'd just pay some compensation.
Compared to this unsolicited promotional effect, it was simply too profitable!
Thinking of this, Trask spoke up impatiently, "Everyone! The Sentinel Robots' attack mode has been automatically triggered. It seems there's a Mutant hiding among us!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the audience below erupted.
"What! There's a Mutant among us!?"
"Where?"
"Who's the Mutant?"
People began to look around and size each other up, trying to find out who the hidden Mutant was.
Below the stage, Charles and the others' expressions changed slightly.
Could it be that their identities had been seen through by the Sentinel Robots?
Trask raised his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.
"Don't be nervous, everyone. The Sentinel Robots will lock onto the Mutant's location very soon!"
Sure enough, several Sentinel Robots began scanning the surroundings, their crimson mechanical eyes slowly rotating in their sockets, their heads swaying slightly as if scanning for something.
Seeing the Sentinel Robots scanning toward them, Erik narrowed his eyes, preparing to activate his power.
However, he discovered that those mechanical eyes didn't stop on them at all. Instead, they continued to move to the side and finally fixed on... Stryker on the stage!
Brotherhood members: "???"
Trask: "???"
Stryker: "???"
In an instant, the entire exhibition hall fell silent.
Whether on or off the stage, everyone's gaze followed the Sentinel Robots' line of sight and landed squarely on Stryker.
Stryker: (°A°=°A°)
Suddenly being stared at by over a thousand pairs of eyes at once, he felt incredibly uneasy.
He suspected he was standing in the wrong spot and blocking the Sentinel Robots' view, so he shuffled a few steps to the side.
As a result, the mechanical eyes of those Sentinel Robots moved along with him, still staring fixedly at him.
Stryker's pace faltered, and he moved a few more steps in the other direction.
The mechanical eyes followed him again.
Stryker stopped.
The mechanical eyes also stopped.
Sentinel Robots: (#=)*8
Stryker: (; °A°)
Wait, why are you looking at me? I'm a law-abiding citizen!
"Stryker, you're actually a Mutant?"
Trask looked on in disbelief. The person he trusted most by his side was actually a Mutant mole!?
"How is that possible! I'm a human! A human as pure as they come!"
Stryker hurriedly waved his hands in denial.
He had lived for most of his life and, aside from his right hand being relatively strong, hadn't discovered anything out of the ordinary, let alone superpowers. Trask looked at him with a complicated expression.
"But the Sentinel Robots' genetic identification system doesn't make mistakes. They automatically lock onto the nearest Mutant target."
"I don't know what's going on either!"
Stryker was on the verge of tears. He was a die-hard anti-Mutant hardliner; how could he possibly be a Mutant?
Before he could explain further, those Sentinel Robots had already moved, their eyes flashing red as they approached him with heavy steps. Stryker's hair stood on end instantly.
He knew exactly how terrifying these things were.
Even though these Sentinel Robots weren't equipped with live ammunition, their raw stats were still quite fearsome.
He had thought these were vicious hounds specifically meant to bite Mutants, but now one of these hounds had suddenly turned around and was salivating at him.
It was truly terrifying. Stryker quickly pulled out the remote, wanting to make the Sentinel Robots stop.
Bang!
Unexpectedly, one Sentinel Robot suddenly charged forward and slapped him hard.
Stryker was sent flying, crashing heavily below the stage. His eyes rolled back, and he passed out on the spot.
VVVIP Lounge.
Darian watched this scene on the screen, rubbing his hands in excitement.
"Hehe, the good show is about to begin. Psylocke, help me make a telepathic call. Send the script to Charles and the others; let these protagonists make their entrance."
Meanwhile, at the expo site.
After the Sentinel Robots swatted Stryker away, their mechanical eyes didn't turn back to yellow. Instead, they turned toward the several high-ranking Department of Defense officials and other big shots in the front row below.
Sentinel Robots: (#=)*8
Big shots: (; °A°)
Wait, don't come over here!!
Trask watched from the stage, dumbfounded.
What's going on?
Is the Mutant content among the human elite really this high?
In the next moment, the Sentinel Robots began to walk, charging toward the area below the stage.
"Run!"
"Quick! Stop them!"
"Damn it! Stop these robots!"
The big shots were so scared they ran backward for their lives, some screaming for help.
Dozens of soldiers and bodyguards braced themselves and charged forward, shielding the big shots and firing their pistols at the Sentinel Robots in a frenzy.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bullets hit the hard shells, sending sparks flying, but those Sentinel Robots didn't even pause. They simply knocked aside the obstructive bodyguards and rapidly closed in on the big shots.
"Why are you chasing us!"
The big shots looked back and almost peed themselves, wishing they had more legs.
But after all, they were used to a pampered life; they were out of breath after just a few steps and were soon caught by the Sentinel Robots.
Seeing this, Trask panicked immediately.
Regardless of whether these big shots were actually Mutants, they weren't people he could afford to offend.
If anything happened to any one of them, he would be in deep trouble!
The problem was that the control device was in Stryker's hands, and the area below was now a chaotic mess with people running everywhere.
Never mind a small item like the remote control; he didn't even know where Stryker had rolled off to.
It's over! It's completely over!
At this moment, the foremost Sentinel Robot had reached a balding old man.
This balding old man was a business tycoon. He had never seen such a spectacle before and was so scared his legs went weak.
His mind went blank, and he could only watch helplessly as the massive mechanical palm swiped down at him.
Bang!
An iron frame suddenly flew in from the side, slamming heavily into the Sentinel Robot in front of the balding old man!
That Sentinel Robot was sent flying sideways, knocking down two other Sentinel Robots beside it, and they tumbled into a heap on the ground. Everyone was stunned and turned to look behind them.
They saw a man walking slowly, with various metal objects floating around him like guards.
Beside him was a long-haired man in a wheelchair.
A gentle smile appeared on Charles's face as he comforted, "Don't be afraid, everything is fine now."
Erik glanced coldly at the disheveled big shots and whispered, "Stop talking, Charles. They're coming."
As soon as he finished, the remaining five Sentinel Robots charged forward, locking onto the pure Mutant Erik. They swung their massive mechanical fists and aimed right for Erik's head!
Boom!!
Two thick red beams of light fired simultaneously, directly knocking back two of the Sentinel Robots.
It was the two brothers, Alex and Scott.
Their abilities were very similar; both could fire powerful energy beams from their bodies.
The difference was that Scott could only fire from his eyes, while Alex could fire from any part of his body. If he wanted to, he could even fire from his crotch.
Simultaneously, a burly Black man whose entire body had turned into rock charged in front of the other three Sentinel Robots.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three mechanical fists slammed into the rock layer on his body, making dull thuds but causing no substantial damage.
Darwin, whose ability was Reactive Evolution, could automatically evolve corresponding adaptations based on external threats.
But the drawback was that if the damage sustained at once was too great, the evolution speed might not keep up, leading him to exit the biosphere or evolve into a different species.
Based on this, Darian had specifically arranged targeted training for him to improve his defenses both internally and externally.
External defense was easy to improve; they just sent him to the X-Academy's training grounds and tied him to a post as a target.
As for internal defense, they used an oral method, making Darwin swallow several miniature bombs before every meal and rinse his mouth with sulfuric acid. The intensity was gradually increased to toughen up his stomach and other organs.
After long-term training, Darwin's interior was now much harder than his exterior. Even if Alex fired a few shots into his mouth, he wouldn't suffer much damage.
The mere fists of Sentinel Robots were no different from an itch to him.
Erik waved his hand, and the floating metal objects transformed into countless sharp, tiny blades, swarming toward the three Sentinel Robots like a dense cloud of bees.
In an instant, the three Sentinel Robots were caught in this small metal storm.
Accompanied by the piercing sound of metal grinding, the exposed armor plates were instantly covered in countless scratches, and wires were severed, causing a large amount of oil to leak out.
Even more tiny metal blades squeezed through the armor gaps into the interior, rampaging and cutting wildly inside the Sentinel Robots.
The mechanical eyes of the three Sentinel Robots flickered violently, their red light wavering before finally being extinguished with a pop.
The entire frames lost support and crashed to the ground, showing no further movement.
Erik followed the same pattern, controlling those metal blades to rapidly swarm toward the other five Sentinel Robots that had just scrambled up from the ground.
A dozen seconds later, all the Sentinel Robots lay on the ground, with oil pooling everywhere.
Everyone watched as the Sentinel Robots, which had been so formidable moments ago, were easily defeated by Erik and the others.
For a moment, they couldn't quite process it. Trask on the stage was even more dumbfounded.
The eight Sentinel Robots he had spent countless efforts and so much money to build were gone just like that?
By this time, several high-ranking officials from the Department of Defense and the Military also regained their composure.
One of them, the highest-ranking Deputy Secretary of Defense, looked at Charles and the others with a complicated gaze.
"You are Mutants?"
Charles rolled his wheelchair over and nodded with a smile.
"Yes, we are the Brotherhood, a peaceful organization dedicated to maintaining World peace and promoting friendly coexistence between humans and Mutants."
Deputy Secretary: "..."
They knew the Brotherhood—a "nuclear peace" organization that hung missiles over their heads.
The Deputy Secretary's mouth twitched. He glanced at the scrapped Sentinel Robots all over the floor, then at Charles and the others, not knowing what to say for a moment. The onlookers, however, didn't think as much and began chatting excitedly.
"MY GOD, these are Mutants?"
"Did you see those moves just now? That one who can control metal—with a wave of his hand, those robots were finished! So cool!"
"That Black guy was even more exaggerated; those robots punching him didn't do a thing."
"Didn't they say Mutants were very, very bad? But if those Mutants hadn't acted just now, those crazed robots would have sent these big figures to see God long ago."
"Exactly. They clearly could have just watched, so why did they step in to save people?"
"Then again, why did those robots attack these big shots? Could it be that they're also Mutants?"
As soon as those last words came out, the expressions of the big shots present all changed.
The Deputy Secretary stared intently at Trask on the stage, his voice turning cold.
"Trask, you'd better explain this clearly to me. Why did those Sentinel Robots attack us? Could it be... that we are also Mutants?"