The Black King, Sebastian Shaw, leader of the Hellfire Club, can absorb any form of energy and either use it for himself or release it again.
At the same time, he is an ambitious figure among mutants.
When mutants emerged and were feared, ostracized, and persecuted by ordinary people, even treated as a separate species, Sebastian Shaw appeared, aiming to completely change the state of the world.
He wanted mutants to become the rulers of the human world, the masters of this planet.
To achieve this, he was willing to provoke a global war.
While Su Ye was gathering mutant children, Sebastian Shaw was busy with his Hellfire Club.
The Hellfire Club didn't have many members—aside from Sebastian Shaw, there were only three others, but each was a mutant with highly practical abilities.
Riptide, who could manipulate air currents to create various whirlwinds and tornadoes.
Azazel, the Red Devil, who could teleport short or long distances and was formidable in close combat.
The last one, codenamed White Queen, had telepathic abilities and could transform her entire body into diamond.
This White Queen was someone Su Ye had once dreamed of as one of his best potential "get-rich-quick" girlfriend options. If her whole body turned to diamond, even shedding a strand of hair or dead skin daily could make a fortune, right?
What's more impressive about the White Queen is that not only can she transform herself into diamond, but even her bra, panties, and knee-high boots turn to diamond as well.
Those items would be worth a fortune.
Any one of those would be a huge diamond, and being "original," they could fetch sky-high prices from certain eccentric buyers.
Just for this, Sebastian Shaw had to die. The White Queen must be captured and kept as a personal treasury—run out of money? Sell a small diamond item. Super nice!
While Su Ye was contemplating Sebastian Shaw, the U.S. government was holding a major meeting.
The meeting's agenda was a proposal to deploy strategic nuclear weapons within NATO member states.
According to some officials, the U.S. had just suffered an alien invasion. Its national image and international standing were bound to face setbacks and challenges. At this time, it was necessary to divert conflicts and shift the narrative while dragging those who stayed on the sidelines into the fray.
It's like trying to improve your ranking in an exam—you don't necessarily have to do better yourself; you can also try to make others score worse.
When this proposal was first put forward, it received widespread support. Some even said they should have done this long ago—if the U.S. couldn't hold the line, they'd take the whole planet down with them.
Previously, some of the more upright military representatives had firmly opposed this.
The specific reasons were unclear, but they made their opposition very clear.
Today, however, when the topic was raised again, Colonel Hendry, who had strongly opposed it before, suddenly changed his stance and agreed to the nuclear deployment plan.
As a result, the plan was quickly approved and preparations for its execution began.
Even South Korea and Japan, which were not NATO members, were included in the nuclear deployment plan.
The Koreans and Japanese were overjoyed, their emotions surging, proud to have latched onto their "godfather's" leg, wagging their tails eagerly.
Colonel Hendry's change of heart, of course, was thanks to Sebastian Shaw.
They had given Colonel Hendry a harsh lesson at a club in Las Vegas, which led to these subsequent developments.
"Those people are incredible! One can create whirlwinds, another can turn into diamond, and one can teleport! They don't seem like normal humans at all!"
In the Great Wall Guardians' meeting room, a slim female agent, whose beauty rivaled Black Widow's, spoke excitedly to Su Ye.
When she mentioned "not normal humans," she glanced at Captain America, Thor, Max, and others in the meeting room, losing confidence in her statement as she spoke.
In this meeting room alone, there wasn't a single normal human, so what she saw was nothing unusual.
"Four non-humans gathering together and manipulating a military general—this is no trivial matter," Su Ye said calmly.
The female agent quickly nodded. "Exactly, that's what I meant!"
The agent's name was Moira MacTaggert, from the CIA—the same one from the movies who participated in the First Battle, had a romantic moment with Professor X, and ultimately lost her memory from a kiss.
Come to think of it, she could be considered an auxiliary card to Su Ye's "Mystique Girlfriend Card."
However, seeing her slightly aged appearance and her average figure, Su Ye decisively chose not to activate the auxiliary card.
"Alright, I understand. Leave the Hellfire Club issue to us, the Great Wall Guardians. I'll notify your superior."
"Yes, sir!"
Moira MacTaggert stood up and left. The moment she stepped out, she suddenly felt like she had missed something.
"Maybe it's just that such a big mission makes you feel a bit regretful if you miss it," she thought to herself.
Moira murmured to herself, and at the same time, a thought arose: The Great Wall Defenders were just being formed and were seriously understaffed. Perhaps she could find a way to transfer there?
In the meeting room, Su Ye placed a few photos on the projector. They were of Sebastian Shaw and his associates, whom he had just located through Jarvis's search engine, using the club cameras in Las Vegas.
"These are the people Agent Moira MacTaggert mentioned earlier. Biologically speaking, they should be called mutants, a new type of human that gains superpowers through genetic mutation."
Seated in the meeting room were the superhumans of the Great Wall Defenders. Most of them had developed powers later in life, so there was a hint of surprise and envy towards these naturally gifted mutants.
However, it was only a slight envy. When it comes to superpowers, whether innate or acquired, the best kind is what suits you.
"According to Agent Moira MacTaggert, they are inciting officials to deploy nukes globally. This is a major provocation to world peace, and as the Great Wall Defenders, we can't stand idly by!"
"I'll locate them as quickly as possible. After that, it's up to you."
"Yes, sir!" the heroes, including former Avengers, responded in unison.
Unknowingly, Su Ye had begun to assume the role of the Great Wall Defenders' leader. This was partly due to his own abilities and also thanks to the assistance from Zheng Xian.
A team needs a leader to achieve better cohesion and efficiency.
Take the Avengers as an example: when two leaders like Captain America and Iron Man emerge, division and conflict are inevitable.
To better establish his leadership, Su Ye subtly revealed his identity within the Great Wall Defenders' superhero team.
Spider-Man, Batman, and Wusheng—when these three identities converge in one person, even the rebellious Tony Stark couldn't help but bow to Su Ye.
Batman had haunted Tony Stark's nights countless times. Now, he realized that this figure had been by his side all along.
The moment Stark learned the truth, he almost donned his Iron Man suit and fled Los Angeles.
He feared that with Batman around, Los Angeles might become another New York—a second Waterloo for Iron Man.
As for the times Su Ye had appeared alongside Batman, even receiving the Bat Shield to fight Thor, Su Ye explained it as a stunt double helping him deliver gear and handle minor issues.
Soon, everyone's doubts faded, and they generally accepted Su Ye as the leader of the Great Wall Defenders.
Thor, however, still remembered that his duel with Su Ye hadn't yielded a clear winner. He wondered if he should take this chance to challenge him again. Leadership didn't matter; having a good fight was what counted.
Of course, the duel never happened. Once, when they were alone, Su Ye casually lifted Mjolnir, played with it for a while, and then set it down as if it was nothing.
This was one of the abilities he passively gained after acquiring the [Sharon Carter Girlfriend Card].
Since Sharon Carter's officially recognized boyfriend was Captain America, Su Ye gained the power to lift Mjolnir, along with a passive ability to fight evenly with anyone.
So far, he hadn't encountered an opponent strong enough to force him to activate this balanced state.
When Thor saw Su Ye lifting Mjolnir, he was completely stunned. Even the way he looked at his hammer changed.
Was this still the trusty little hammer that had fought alongside him, sworn to be his lifelong companion? Why was it now being casually toyed with by someone else?
First, it had followed a drunkard from New Mexico to New York. Now it was all buddy-buddy with Su Ye.
Thor suddenly recalled their previous duel. What would have happened if Su Ye had taken Mjolnir away mid-fight?
"So, he was sparing my dignity all along?' Thor thought.
Believing he understood the truth, Thor never brought up dueling Su Ye again. At a party, he even brought a 50-liter keg of beer imported from China and offered it to Su Ye.
"Su Ye, we got to know each other through battle, but from now on, whether on Earth or within the Great Wall Defenders, just say the word, and I'll follow your lead. No questions asked! This keg's for you. In your words—bottoms up!"
With that, Thor didn't wait for Su Ye's response and began chugging from the steel keg.
Watching Thor drink so heartily, Su Ye couldn't help but wonder if he was just using this as an excuse to guzzle his premium beer.
This was fresh draft beer air-shipped from China, and Thor downed an entire keg in one go. Did Asgardians have dimensional pockets in their stomachs?
Thor, true to his word, underwent a complete attitude shift towards Su Ye from then on. He was even more obedient to Su Ye than he'd ever been to his father, Odin.
Soon, Su Ye used telepathy to pinpoint Sebastian Shaw's location. The Great Wall Defenders wasted no time and boarded a Quinjet to set off.
There was no Beast in Su Ye's team, nor did he possess Beast's abilities. However, in his current lineup, Beast's presence—or absence—made little difference.
For research and inventions, they had Dr. Fox and Tony Stark. In terms of combat power, most members of the Great Wall Defenders left Beast trailing far behind.
As for aircraft, they had long since upgraded to the Quinjet. And it wasn't the first-generation turbine-powered model; it had been revamped by Tony Stark to run on an Arc Reactor.
It had a longer wingspan, faster speed, and greater payload. However, it lacked the capability for space travel, unlike the version from Avengers: Age of Ultron, where Hulk used it to reach Sakaar.
Of course, it was more than sufficient for their current mission.
The Quinjet was packed with nearly the entire Great Wall Defenders team, along with students from the Red Genius Academy and H-Men reserve member, Logan.
After joining Su Ye, Logan quickly bonded with the Great Wall Defenders.
Outside, he was the mutant with bone claws, feared by many. But here, he was just another hero with average abilities, good at taking hits and healing quickly.
Within the Great Wall Defenders, he didn't even make it to the first tier—his standing was somewhere below average.
This surprised Logan but also brought him a sense of relief.
Wolves, after all, are pack animals. Solitude is only a last resort.
Given the chance to rejoin a pack, even a lone wolf wouldn't refuse. At the very least, he longed for a mate who wouldn't fear or shun him.
After fully integrating into the Great Wall Defenders, Logan formally adopted his name: Logan.
The Quinjet was swift. Amidst their banter, they soon reached the eastern coastline.
A yacht was slowly cruising away on the open sea.
"Alright, folks, break time's over. Time for action," Su Ye clapped his hands.
Everyone in the cabin immediately dropped their jovial expressions, adopting a vigilant demeanor as they prepared their gear.
"First wave assault," Su Ye commanded from the center of the cabin.
"Tony, Cap, Thor, Harry, Max, Logan—you're with me. The telepath inside is mine. The rest of you, follow the battle plan, form your teams, and move out!"
With that, the Quinjet's rear hatch opened, and Su Ye led the charge, gliding out on his Great Wall Wings.
The others followed, descending from the sky in a direct assault on the yacht below.
Su Ye's team had one goal: capture the White Queen alive. Everything else was secondary.