As for the third reaction...
It was that Trask's Sentinel Robots had to be destroyed!
One had to realize that one out of every two people might be a Mutant; no one could guarantee they weren't the one.
Even if they weren't, those close to them might be.
From distant relatives and friends to immediate family members.
Who would dare guarantee that not a single person they knew was a Mutant?
Trask's actions undoubtedly placed everyone in a dangerous position.
Consequently, protests of various scales erupted across major cities in America.
The public chanted slogans boycotting Trask and the Sentinel Robots, and some even raised flags saying "Mutant Lives Matter."
Not only were ordinary citizens restless, but those in high positions shared the same concerns and united to pressure the Department of Defense.
Previously, Mutants were a minority group, and no one cared if they lived or died.
But now it was different. More than half the population had the X-Gene in their bodies; they were all potential Mutants.
Instead, pure humans with absolutely no X-Gene became the minority.
Something like the Sentinel Robots, which threatened the safety of the majority, could never be allowed to exist.
Under pressure from multiple parties, the current President of America personally issued an order, demanding that Trask immediately destroy all Sentinel Robots and related data, and permanently banning the restart of such research; otherwise, it would be treated as a crime against humanity.
Trask: "..."
How could the things he developed specifically against Mutants be labeled as crimes against humanity?
Isn't this just bullying an honest man!?
The most frustrating part was that his post-event inspection revealed the Sentinel Robots had been tampered with, but he didn't dare tell the Department of Defense.
What could he say?
Could he tell the Department of Defense that someone had secretly upgraded the Sentinel Robots' genetic recognition system, allowing them to detect the X-Gene even more accurately?
Wouldn't that just further confirm Charles's conclusion?
Trask truly had no other choice, so he finally contacted Darian, wanting to meet.
Darian agreed, telling him to meet at the old place.
A few hours later, Trask pushed open the door to the room in the private club. He saw Darian playing games just like last time, with Psylocke feeding him fruit nearby. Trask went straight to the point: "Mr. Doom, you must help me this time. The Sentinel Program can't go on anymore!"
"What does that have to do with me?"
Trask was stunned. Why did Darian's attitude suddenly change?
He hurriedly said, "If the Sentinel Program doesn't proceed, Mutants will completely threaten the status of humans. By then, the whole World will belong to the Mutants."
Darian spoke with righteous indignation: "Trask, I must remind you, that is racial discrimination!"
Trask: "???"
That's not what you were saying a while ago.
Trask reminded him, "Mr. Doom, don't you hate Mutants the most? Mutants use their abilities to cheat, ruining the game environment. Scum like that must be completely eliminated!"
Darian frowned. "Trask, you seem a bit extreme. Is a game really worth all that?"
Trask: "???"
Are you kidding me!?
Before he could speak again, two purple butterflies suddenly flashed in the eyes of Psylocke beside Darian.
The next second, Trask froze in place, his expression blank.
Darian waved his hand. "Change his memory. Make him stop hating Mutants and instead pledge loyalty to the Hellfire Club."
Psylocke looked a bit troubled. "Black King My Lord, he seems particularly obsessed with eliminating Mutants. My mental powers aren't as strong as the White Queen's, so completely clearing that thought might be difficult."
"Then shift that obsession to something else. Hmm, change it so he's single-mindedly focused on growing taller, struggling for that goal his entire life."
"Uh, alright."
In fact, Darian could have had Psylocke control Trask long ago, but doing so wouldn't have been very meaningful.
Trask was just a catalyst. Even without him, the United States Government still had the data and materials he left behind, and they could still push the Sentinel Program forward.
After all, that's how it developed in the normal timeline.
To completely kill the Sentinel Program, the United States Government itself had to give up the idea.
That's why Darian let Trask orchestrate this whole show. Using his Sentinel Robots, the entire World learned of the Sentinel Program's danger.
This way, without Darian doing anything, those life-cherishing high-level officials would fight to stop the Sentinel Program.
At the same time, the system's notification sound rang in Darian's mind.
[Mission 'Sentinel Program' settlement complete]
[Rewards obtained: 3000 EXP, Mutant Favorability +10, Anchor Fragments *3, Item 'shortys joy', Item 'forging hammer', Equipment 'plastic gun', Dungeon Quest Item 'fifty-year rocket launcher']
[Item: shortys joy (After drinking, you can grow 10cm taller; a divine object craved by many short villains)]
[Item: forging hammer (A hammer used by dwarves for forging; as long as there are suitable materials, it can repair any damaged object)]
[Equipment: plastic gun (Nemesis of the King of Iron)]
[Dungeon Quest Item: fifty-year rocket launcher (Upgraded version of the Ten-Year Bazooka. Teleports the target to the World fifty years later. Will not swap with future self. Can be used up to seven times. Lasts for one month. After time ends, everyone will be automatically sent back to their original timeline. Limited to use in this dungeon)]
shortys joy?
Darian glanced at it and skipped right over it.
He had a face-sculpting system; he could adjust his height at any time and had no use for this thing.
Besides, his height was always approximately 1.8 meters; why would he need such an external object?
The forging hammer, on the other hand, was a good item.
It just so happened that his game warehouse was piled with damaged equipment. He had planned to recycle them for experience if they were unusable, but with this item, that equipment could return to duty.
As for the plastic gun, there was nothing to say; he sent it straight to second-hand recycling.
Darian turned his gaze to the dungeon quest item.
The fifty-year rocket launcher could directly travel to the World fifty years in the future.
The effect of this item was quite heaven-defying, though it was a pity it could only be used seven times and was limited to this dungeon.
"Could it be that the system is guiding me to the future Logan's time point?"
While Darian was thinking, the system's voice rang out again.
[Dungeon prerequisite mission completed. Beginning official distribution of dungeon quest]
[Quest: Days of Future Past]
[Goal: Use the Time Anchor to travel to the future, help the surviving Mutants, and save that World full of despair]
[Reward: Settlement will be based on mission completion level]
The dungeon quest was finally here!
But after Darian finished reading the mission goal, he was stunned for a moment.
The future Logan wanted to change the past, yet the game system wanted him to save the future?
One must know that the future World was practically doomsday for Mutants, with Sentinel Robots everywhere.
The difficulty of saving such a future was no ordinary feat.
Darian thought about it and went straight to the future Logan, telling him the news that the Sentinel Program had fallen through.
Hearing this news, the future Logan was initially pleasantly surprised.
He didn't expect Darian to move so fast, handling Trask and his Sentinel Program in just a few days, helping him complete his mission.
But immediately after, a look of confusion appeared on his face: "Since the mission is complete, why has nothing changed? Why am I still here?"
Darian explained, "Then there are only two possibilities. Either this is a parallel Universe that has nothing to do with your past—you traveled to the wrong place—or changing the past doesn't change the future; it only creates a new timeline."
The future Logan barely understood Darian's meaning.
He gave a bitter smile.
"In other words, we returned to the past at all costs, and it was all for nothing?"
Actually, he had long anticipated this result.
After all, this timeline had already become unrecognizable without his interference. If the future could be changed, it would have changed already.
Despite this, the future Logan still found it somewhat hard to accept.
The Mutants of the future had pinned all their hopes on him, and in the end, nothing had changed at all.
How could he accept this?
Charles looked at the future Logan and sighed, not knowing how to comfort him.
Though he wanted to help, everything that could be done had been done. If the future didn't change, there was nothing he could do.
Darian said cheerfully, "Don't be discouraged. Since we can't change the past, let's change the future."
The future Logan shook his head.
"You don't understand. Our World is beyond saving. Mutants are either killed by Sentinel Robots or locked up as experimental subjects by pure-blooded humans. With just the few of us, we can't change anything."
In the future, they were constantly hunted by Sentinel Robots and forced into hiding. Keeping their lives was already good enough, let alone changing the World.
If it could be done, they would have done it long ago.
Darian patted his chest.
"Isn't there still us?"
"You guys?"
The future Logan was somewhat helpless. "We are from two different times. You can't travel through time; what can you do?"
"Who said we can't travel through time?"
Darian grinned.
The two were stunned. Charles asked in disbelief, "Darian, you have a way to travel to the future?"
"Of course."
Darian nodded confidently.
"Charles, call all the official members of the Brotherhood over. I have something for them."
Hearing this, Charles could only suppress the confusion in his heart. He used his Telepathy to call over all the Brotherhood members in the X-Mansion. Soon, the Brotherhood members arrived one after another.
Before they could ask, Darian held a cigarette, his expression indifferent.
"Think carefully; it should have already implanted all of this into your brains."
Think carefully?
Everyone was surprised, then suddenly felt something added to their minds. It was the God Space... oh no, it was about the future Logan. After digesting the memories in their minds, the faces of those present varied.
They finally understood why Darian had them perform that scene that night.
Scott's face turned green.
He suddenly remembered: since the Logan that day wasn't himself, what did he mean by saying he liked Jean?
Erik's face darkened.
"So, this is our future?"
He had fought the Sentinel Robots that night. Although he couldn't control them, he had a hundred ways to deal with them.
He really didn't expect that these things he hadn't taken seriously at all could actually become so terrifying in the future, hunting Mutants to near extinction.
"That's right."
The future Logan nodded.
"I was sent by the future you and Charles to save the past, but now..."
"The past changed, but the future didn't."
Erik wasn't stupid and understood immediately.
He frowned. "Is it possible that the key isn't Trask at all, but Raven? Didn't you say the Sentinel Robots were upgraded because they got her blood? So as long as Raven doesn't die, the Sentinel Robot crisis won't be resolved?"
Raven: "???"
Well, Erik, I have no grievance with you, yet you're so eager for me to die?
Believe it or not, I'll transform into you and go streaking in the streets!?
Darian waved his hand.
"Stop guessing. Facts prove that no matter how we change things here, it won't affect the future Logan's timeline. Don't ask why; the answer is quantum mechanics."
"Then what about the future Logan's World? Can't we help?"
Alex had a good relationship with Logan, after all, Logan had been serving as his target practice. By extension, he naturally wanted to help the future Logan. Hank shook his head.
"It's hard. Our two timelines don't affect each other, like two parallel Worlds. To affect another World, you'd have to cross over, but we have no way to travel between parallel Worlds."
"No, we do."
As Darian spoke, a strange bazooka appeared out of thin air in his hand.
"A bazooka?"
Everyone was momentarily stunned.
Darian shook his head.
"This isn't an ordinary bazooka. This is called the fifty-year rocket launcher. Just stuff a person inside and fire a shot, and it can send them to the future."
Everyone: "..."
With one shot, they were afraid they'd just be reincarnated into the future World.
Charles's eyes lit up, however.
He knew Darian had traveled through parallel Worlds; it was perfectly normal for the other party to have a method to do so.
He asked impatiently, "With this bazooka, we can travel to the future?"
Darian nodded. "Yes. However, my fifty-year rocket launcher can only be used seven times, so I plan to assemble a small team to go to the future World where Logan is."
"I'll go."
Charles said without hesitation.
"I'll go too."
Seeing Charles sign up, Erik immediately followed.
"We'll go too."
Other Brotherhood members raised their hands to sign up one after another.
They had seen that future full of despair. As fellow Mutants, everyone wanted to contribute.
However, considering the limited spots, besides Darian himself, he could only take six people at most. Moreover, this journey was extremely dangerous; team members had to have some self-preservation ability, or going would just be throwing their lives away.
After careful consideration, the candidates Darian finally settled on were: Charles, Erik, Hank, Darwin, and... the intern, Jean.
Needless to say for Charles and Erik, the two giants of the Brotherhood; they had to be taken.
As the chief scientist, Hank was also indispensable.
Darwin's ability was the most suitable for a doomsday environment.
As for the intern Jean, she was the biggest 'cheat' in the X-Men.
Although there was a risk of losing control, she was someone who could turn the tide at a critical moment.
Jean was originally fishing by the lake when she suddenly received news about heading to the future World; she was as dazed as if her underwear was too thick.
But upon hearing she could become a full member after returning, she immediately agreed.
After all, what was more tempting than becoming a permanent employee?