Chapter 124: Grand Opening and Heroes

Liang Xiaoyu treated a few people to a grand feast of Chinese cuisine. Bumblebee, disguised as an electric vehicle, had a charging cable plugged into him. For a Transformer, electrical energy could also serve as a power source. Although it was not as convenient as the park’s ambient energy or as rapid as a charging tower, for Bumblebee, it was a pleasant change of pace. Domestic flowers are never as fragrant as wild ones, and he quite enjoyed it. Of course, he would not take a free ride; Mr. Qiao had instructed them to obey local laws. If even celebrities were arrested for crimes, surely a humble Autobot like him wouldn't dare risk it? In any case, Liang Xiaoyu was picking up the tab.

Halfway through the meal, Wang Lang arrived. He brought a bottle of vintage red wine and exchanged pleasantries with Professor X and Magneto. The group chatted happily. That same day, Professor X and Magneto returned to the X-Men plane. After some mobilization, Professor X was the first to bring people from his Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters over. Magneto went to contact his acquaintances and planned to publicize the X-Academy. With the relationship between mutants and ordinary humans already highly strained and many mutants facing persecution, he believed that once the news broke, many would flock to join them.

By the second day, there were over eighty new people at the X-Academy. On the third day, another fifty-plus arrived. The mutants who entered the academy—faculty and students alike—were extremely satisfied with their new home. This was especially true for those who struggled to control their powers, such as Jean Grey or Rogue; although their abilities were suppressed here, they were at least manageable. Aside from a dozen or so recruited as faculty, the rest were admitted as students. The students did not have the right to freely enter or exit between the Fantasy Park and the X-Men plane; they required the Dean's approval to leave. The faculty, however, could move between the two worlds freely.

Among the faculty, Jean Grey served as the head of the infirmary. After gaining control over her powers, although she currently lacked the strength of a Class 5 mutant, she was undoubtedly the most powerful person under Professor X and Magneto. Beast, Hank McCoy, was in charge of the reading room. Professor X and Magneto had discussed that this would become a vital window for interacting with others, requiring someone tactful and well-connected to manage it. Hank had rich social experience and had even worked in government departments, making him perfect for the role. Hank, for his part, enjoyed the work immensely.

Magneto occasionally took Mystique and others back to their original plane to find persecuted mutants and invite them to join the X-Academy. Thus, the academy gradually got on the right track, with scattered mutants joining every day.

Seven days passed. Qiao Mian’s game coins had reached nearly twelve million. However, he did not immediately spend them to open a new plane or purchase mutant X-genes; he planned to wait. Currently, the total number of teachers and students at the X-Academy was over two hundred, and the number of books in the reading room had also reached over two hundred. He prepared to open it to the public to see the probability of ordinary people successfully purchasing the books. If it was like the Horror Haunted House, where a few people every day could get the chance to purchase Class 4 or 5 mutant X-genes, he feared it wouldn't be long before he had enough game coins to purchase the Phoenix Force.

After notifying Professor X that the academy would open to the public the following day, he had Little Dragon Maiden spread the word. The method was simple: Little Dragon Maiden told Liang Xiaoyu and Wang Lang, and by that day, the whole world knew. Major media headlines were replaced with the X-Academy logo. Westerners, in particular, were clamoring on social media. Previously, the "extraordinary powers" in the park, beyond the simple abilities in the Horror Haunted House, were primarily martial arts. To learn martial arts, a craze for the Chinese language had swept the globe, leading many ruffians who couldn't make a living in China to go abroad as Chinese teachers, much to the chagrin of many foreigners. Now that familiar superpowers had finally appeared, they were naturally excited.

The public in China was indifferent. There was no claim that these powers were targeted at Western genetics; everyone had a chance. Moreover, being closer to the source, ordinary people had a better chance of entering, whereas in the so-called democratic countries abroad, the entry slots were firmly held by the wealthy conglomerates.

Zhang Wei was a soldier. His hometown was a village deep in the Ankang mountains. Not long after he was born, his parents went out to work and never returned. His grandmother died early, and he was raised by his grandfather through much hardship. When he was a child, his family was so poor they didn't even have a quilt; the two of them would huddle together in the dead of winter, covered only by a thin straw mat. He wore an old jacket left behind by his father from elementary school through high school, only replacing it once some volunteer teachers brought donated clothes, revealing the many patches on his old one.

Despite his feelings of inferiority, he never gave up. He studied diligently from a young age and was always in the top three in his school. After the college entrance exam, he chose an Air Force university within the province simply because he heard it was tuition-free and even provided a subsidy. During his four years of university, he excelled. After graduation, he worked just as hard, volunteering for the most dangerous missions. He knew that for someone like him to get ahead, he had to risk his life. In just four years, he was awarded one second-class merit and three third-class merits.

However, this did not come without a price. In his final battle against terrorists on the border, he took the lead and was shot in the thigh, shattering a portion of his leg bone and leaving him with irreversible trauma. Even after three months of recuperation, he still walked with a limp. The doctor told him to get used to this life. Just as he was dejectedly awaiting his fate and wondering how the organization would arrange for a "cripple" like him, he received a ticket from his superiors: an opportunity to enter the Fantasy Park.

Zhang Wei could hardly believe it. He had heard of the Fantasy Park and knew its extraordinary nature and popularity. It was said that a single entry slot had been bid up to one billion! He never imagined he would have a chance to enter. He was just a poor boy from the mountains, a disabled cripple! Thinking of what his old commander said before he left, Zhang Wei felt a surge of excitement.

"I had originally applied for you to transfer to the logistics department. A daughter of an old comrade-in-arms works there, and she's still single... I didn't expect the higher-ups to make this decision, but they were right," the old commander said with a mix of relief and solemnity. "We cannot let the heroes who bled for their country feel abandoned!"

"Seize this opportunity, kid. You don't have much talent for martial arts, but you can go take a look at the Horror Haunted House and the X-Academy."