Reborn with Steve Stand-Chapter 861: Back to the MC World… Holy Shit!

"Hey, what’s with the attitude?"

On the playground of Xavier’s School, Fang Mo looked at the silent crowd, both amused and exasperated. “Guys, I’m only leaving—I’m not dying. Could you all stop making such mournful faces?”

“He’s right.”

Standing beside Fang Mo, cigar clamped between his teeth, Logan also nodded. “You don’t have to act like this.”

“It’s only natural, Logan.”

The speaker was Charles, dressed in a neat suit. A kind, benevolent smile rested on his face, giving him a poise that felt well beyond his apparent age. “We’ve known each other for almost a century. Of course parting ways is going to feel sad.”

“I know.”

Logan took a deep drag of his cigar, then turned his head aside. “But I still don’t like this feeling.”

“So… you’ll come back, right?”

It was Raven speaking now, standing at Hank’s side and looking rather conflicted as she gazed at the two of them. “Any idea how long you’ll be gone?”

“Not sure.”

Fang Mo shrugged at her question. “Might be a few months, might be a few years. The flow of time can differ from one world to another, so it’s hard to say.”

“When you two suddenly leave, I bet it’ll go quiet around here again.”

Charles glanced over his mansion grounds, then at the Weapon-Maidens and the Meme People behind Fang Mo. Though he was smiling, there was a sorrow in his tone that words couldn’t fully convey. “We’d only just gotten used to having you all around.”

“Don’t worry. It won’t stay quiet for long,” Fang Mo said with a laugh. “The Mutant Act is officially in place, everything’s on track, and you’re all over TV… I’m guessing the next wave of mutant kids will be knocking on your door soon enough.”

“Perhaps.”

Charles just nodded gently.

“Alright then, Professor.”

Noticing how the mood had sunk, a small figure—Ma Yuling—stepped forward from behind Fang Mo, patting Charles on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll make sure to whisper in the boss’s ear so he comes by to see you all sooner.”

Visit freewebnoveℓ.com for the best novel reading exp𝒆rience.

“Wait, whisper in his ear…?”

“Exactly.”

Before Fang Mo could explain, Shi Zhenxiang poked her head out and chimed in, “Professor, I’ll bring you something delicious next time.”

“!?”

Charles’s face changed at once. “That… won’t be necessary, really.”

“Hahaha, Boss Shi, you’ve scared him again!”

Seeing Charles look as though he’d just swallowed something foul, the Weapon-Maidens all burst out laughing, which brightened the mood on the field considerably.

“Time really does fly. It’s already been half a month.”

After the atmosphere had lightened a bit, the still-childlike Storm heaved a sigh. “It feels like just yesterday we were fleeing from Sentinels.”

“Right?”

Glancing at the lively crowd in front of him, Fang Mo couldn’t help smiling. “Good times always go by fast…”

Indeed, that’s how it was.

Over half a month had passed since the time Fang Mo had ‘realized’ that group of villagers. He’d wanted to leave much earlier, but as he’d mentioned before, starting a massive, globally monopolizing corporation takes time—especially when he didn’t know the first thing about that sort of work.

Apart from the raw materials for the gene-based drugs, all the other tasks were handled by the villagers themselves. Fortunately, they worked with astounding efficiency, and in just half a month, the “Celestial Gene” corporation Fang Mo had founded was already running smoothly.

For now, Celestial Gene only had one office in New York. Even so, the profit it was raking in had already reached astronomical levels—enough to make the U.S. President click his tongue in surprise.

Besides the “Extend Your Life” series of gene solutions that were sold exclusively to those in top political circles, the rest of the awakening agents came in three tiers. Higher tiers contained more of chemical-X, which further stimulated the X-gene and, naturally, came at a higher price. The top-tier agents were so expensive that an ordinary person couldn’t afford them even if they sold everything.

As for Celestial Gene’s earnings… one portion went straight to government departments, while the rest was handled by the Emerald Merchant Guild. No one knew exactly what those villagers were up to, but given how popular the new agents were, chances were good they’d soon be opening offices in other cities as well.

Meanwhile, plenty of other things had gradually fallen into place over these two weeks. One was that Magneto—Erik—fully accepted Fang Mo’s plan and joined the U.S. government.

Overnight, he became the Deputy Secretary of Energy and would likely be promoted to Secretary before long.

His day-to-day routine was easy: after breakfast, he’d fly to the power plant in the suburbs and spin the turbines while reading the newspaper. Considering that in the original story he could rip out a stadium’s foundation and float it through the air, casually spinning turbines for a few hours was nothing to him.

Once he’d generated enough electricity for the day, he’d clock out and do whatever else he pleased.

In truth, Erik had once been a major villain with grand ambitions, for which he fought his entire life. But after Fang Mo developed these gene-based drugs—enabling everyone to become mutants—his life’s goal was basically fulfilled.

No more discrimination or barriers existed between ordinary humans and mutants. On top of that, he’d gained future memories, almost like having lived an extra lifetime, so his outlook was much more composed than before.

You could say he’d become the most content member of the entire Xavier School. If there was one minor regret, it was that Raven had been ‘stolen’ by Hank; but Erik had learned to be open-minded, and he wasn’t about to brood over it.

After all, he had once abandoned a depowered Mystique in X-Men 3. Perhaps, to him, fulfilling his grand vision had always mattered more than anything else.

Raven and Hank’s relationship, on the other hand, had obviously heated up. Since Fang Mo had resurrected Raven in the future and restored her memories, it was as if she’d lived decades longer.

With her mind settled, she figured out who her true love was and agreed to Hank’s pursuit. Now, the two of them were in a veritable honeymoon phase.

From Fang Mo’s outsider viewpoint, it felt a bit like a grandmother/grandson dynamic, but Hank didn’t mind at all—he’d probably be a tier 10 VIP on any dating platform—yet he swore this was real love.

Beyond the school grounds, the outside world had also undergone a dramatic shift in just half a month. The government was quietly pushing pro-mutant policies, and day by day, popular opinion of mutants improved.

Many companies were now hiring people with very specific abilities: steel mills wanted fireproof mutants; nuclear power plants needed workers immune to radiation; salvage crews, fisheries, and maritime rescue teams were all seeking underwater-capable mutants.

It’s worth mentioning that Darwin had stopped by Xavier’s in that half-month to visit Fang Mo. But once he heard that practically everywhere in America was understaffed, he ran off to take up four different jobs at once—fully living up to his “mutant adaptability” persona.

Meanwhile, the crimes Raven had exposed began to ferment. Once the public saw the blood-soaked evidence of Bolivar’s human experiments, countless outraged liberals took to social media in an uproar.

With some mutants leading the charge, a “Mutant Lives Matter” movement swept through the country. Now, if anyone dared to speak out against mutants, they would be fiercely attacked: fired from their jobs, even threatened with death. In other words, political correctness had won the day.

Mutants, of course, had a special advantage that other minorities didn’t. A white person might discriminate against a black person knowing they’d never turn black—but the X-gene could manifest in absolutely anyone.

Most ordinary folks figured that defending mutant rights meant defending their own future rights. Under that logic, few people dared publicly oppose them anymore, because who could guarantee they wouldn’t awaken as mutants themselves?

Even though only half a month had passed, the first wave of the “mutant bonus” was already evident, thanks in large part to the government’s support. Since mutants had unexpectedly become both popular and well-received, plenty of them raked in huge profits—whether through specialized jobs, media appearances, or even street performances.

Ordinary people jealous of such earnings weren’t rejecting mutants at all; on the contrary, they were desperately looking for ways to become mutants themselves.

All in all, this peaceful evolution went remarkably smoothly. Mutants—or, to put it another way, superpowers—were being accepted and integrated by society. Before long, the entire world would be transformed.

Fang Mo, meanwhile, hadn’t been idle, even if he did spend most of his time over those weeks hanging out with his “Weapon” group. Rather than goofing off, he’d been studying certain functions of his mod system—like the “Feminization Module,” for instance.

By researching its configuration files, Fang Mo discovered that the process was reversible: any living entity that had been “feminized” could revert to its original, inanimate form.

All he had to do was immerse his consciousness into the config file and enable the option “Allow creatures to choose their own entity model.”

Once he turned that on, his unruly weapon-girls were free to change back into their standard weapon forms.

That was good news, because Fang Mo had no desire to grab Ma Yuling by the hair and swing her feet like a club in every single fight… even though it worked just fine. That was way too surreal. Sure, maybe it’d be all right if he were just beating up some minor boss like Apocalypse—but if he ever found the Dragon Ball “Book of Era,” there was no way he’d grab Yuling by the head to beat up Frieza.

Even though Fang Mo often liked messing around, he occasionally wanted to cut a truly cool figure.

By the same token, once Fang Mo allowed for “model reversion,” not only could his personal weapons revert, but Logan’s cigar could revert to its former self as well—something that had kept Logan happy for quite a while.

“All right, that’s enough chit chat.”

Recalling all that had transpired during these past two weeks, Fang Mo summoned his Stand, Steve. “We’ll see each other again if the chance comes. I’ve got to head off now.”

“Goodbye, Professor.”

“Later, everyone.”

“Farewell, our dear producers.”

“Bye-bye.”

“Raven, see you next time!”

“Come rain or shine, I’ll be waiting for you in India.”

“MAN!”

“I won’t bother you any longer—I’m off.”

The Weapon-Maidens and the Meme People behind Fang Mo all waved as they said their goodbyes.

“Farewell, old friend.”

Everyone at Xavier’s offered Fang Mo a warm smile and goodbye. Although sadness was inevitable, they tried hard to keep their expressions upbeat.

“Mm, bye.”

Fang Mo didn’t drag things out. He merely waved and then activated the Linking Book. Instantly, black mist billowed to engulf everything. The weapons turned into streams of light and slipped into Fang Mo’s body; Logan and the memes were swallowed up by the White Earth. In one fleeting moment, all sound and clamor vanished, replaced by absolute silence.

Not long after, as the black mist dissipated, Fang Mo opened his eyes to find himself back in the same quiet, white realm.

“Phew. Back again.”

He let out a long breath, gave a lazy stretch, and took a habitual look around. Unlike before, though, there didn’t seem to be any new machinery here. Perhaps his little partner really had been slacking off—or maybe it was because he hadn’t stayed long enough in the X-Men world. Either way, it looked exactly as it had when he’d left.

“Is that guy just loafing around in the White Earth?”

Fang Mo scratched his head. He wasn’t in a hurry, so if the other side wanted to rest, that was fine with him. But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he caught sight of Alex in the distance.

“Huh?”

Fang Mo blinked, realizing Alex wasn’t lazying about after all. He watched as Alex glanced around furtively. Since Fang Mo was over by the warehouse, Alex didn’t notice him. Then Alex quietly dug up a grass block on the ground and started tinkering with something underneath.

Curious, Fang Mo teleported over and tapped Alex on the shoulder. “Hey, what are you up to?”

“!!!”

Alex nearly jumped out of his skin, pulling out his quantum sword on reflex.

“Huh? What’s this?”

Fang Mo didn’t pay much attention to the sword. Instead, he looked under the grass block. Sure enough, there was a wooden chest hidden below. Acting on instinct, he used Steve to open it—and saw an entire row of Era Books inside, none of them mass-produced. Each one could lead to a different instance world.

“…Holy crap!?”