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In the vibrant, Japan-lit cityscape, a young girl in a black, form-fitting suit moved through the night.
Her figure was petite, her entire body encased in a specially made uniform, her long hair flowing down her shoulders, and a hint of childishness in her brows, making her appear quite young.
As she traversed between tall buildings, the girl's keen eyes scanned her surroundings, constantly keeping a close watch on everything.
Suddenly, as the girl passed a streetlamp sign, a metal claw burst forth from within the sign!
The metal claw, reflecting the colorful Japan lights, shimmered with a dazzling yet deadly brilliance.
It pierced through the sign, heading straight for the girl's heart!
But the girl remained unruffled; she seemed to have discovered the claw long ago, as her body deftly distorted to the side, dodging the incoming claw.
Then, her body suddenly leaped, jumping onto a high-rise building on the other side.
The owner of the claw pursued her relentlessly, his sharp steel claws once again striking at the girl's back.
This time, the girl did not dodge; she spun around, facing the attacker who was hot on her heels, and at the same time, flung both hands to the sides, revealing almost identical steel claws that sprang from between her fingers.
Those were claws almost identical to the ones that had just attacked her, but the difference was that the attacker's blade-like claws had three on each hand.
The girl only had two.
However, the difference in number didn't seem to be a significant issue; the girl, with her extended claws, collided with the burly man wielding the three claws.
The two individuals, upon impact, immediately engaged in a bloody, close-quarters battle.
Their steel claws pierced each other's bodies; blood and shouts echoed on the rooftop, transforming the area into an extremely gruesome, special battlefield.
And just as the two were locked in an intense battle, a helpless voice interjected:
"Stop... stop, Laura! That's enough... end simulation!"
As the voice fell, the brawny man fighting the girl froze, and then his entire being, along with the surrounding tall buildings, slowly dissipated into data particles.
The space transformed into a pure white domed plaza, and in the center of the plaza, the girl who had been fighting the brawny man boringly shook her neck.
Her body was perfectly fine, and even the clothes that had been torn by the brawny man were restored to their original state.
Clearly, everything just now was not real; it was merely a special simulated battle.
Seeing the simulated enemy disappear, Laura Kinney retracted her claws with a sense of boredom and turned to walk towards the simulation room entrance.
As soon as she reached the entrance, a young Black man, wearing the same black uniform as her, walked up to her and said:
"Laura... your exam results are still unsatisfactory. This is already your second failed retake..."
"Boring," Laura rolled her eyes at Richtor, who had approached. "You were boring before, and now that you're a teacher, you're even more boring. Instead of arranging these useless simulated battles for me, why don't you just find me a real opponent?"
"Alright, if you don't want to fight, that's fine, as long as you give up on becoming an X-Men."
"Don't even think about it!"
Laura said without hesitation, glaring at Richtor.
Richtor, who had officially graduated from the Mutant Academy and was now a proud X-Men member, sighed helplessly at her words.
"You won't take the simulated battles seriously, and you don't want to give up being an X-Men. What am I supposed to do?"
Richtor's face was full of exasperation.
As Richtor and Laura argued, Logan, still sporting his beard and wearing a leather jacket, walked from the end of the hallway.
Seeing the two standing in the middle of the hallway, and Laura's defiant expression, he also looked a bit helpless:
"Didn't pass the exam again?"
"Hmph."
Laura snorted lightly, turned, and walked away, ignoring Logan who stood there.
Richtor sighed and replied:
"She never takes the simulated battles seriously. She doesn't use any tactics; she just charges in and fights the enemy with a 'damage for damage' approach... Professor Logan, I really don't know what to do."
"Professor?"
Logan hadn't even replied when Kevin, dressed like a traveler, poked his head out from behind Logan and asked him with schadenfreude:
"Oh, you're a professor now?"
"..."
Logan's expression grew even more helpless.
And when Richtor saw Kevin, he was first surprised, then exclaimed with delight:
"Mr. Kevin?!"
...
Kevin hadn't expected that so much time had passed in the Wolverine 3 world.
It was now 2034 in the Wolverine 3 world, a full five years since Kevin had left.
In those five years, the world had changed significantly.
Firstly, after various countries stopped using Alkali's genetic food and listed it as contraband, mutants began to resurface.
Newborn mutants started appearing, and the abilities of older generation mutants, who had lost their powers from regularly consuming genetic food, gradually recovered.
And with the reappearance of mutants, Logan's Mutant Academy, with the help of the entertainment group Kevin had left behind, was finally successfully established.
The location was the former site of the Weasel Genius Academy. Logan borrowed money from Kevin's entertainment company, repurchased the land, and established the academy.
The interior design of the academy remained the same as before: the upper levels housed the academy, while the lower levels served as the X-Men's base.
Various experiments and high-end technologies were conducted there.
But to call it high-end technology, it was actually just a simulation room for combat training, something that already existed in the former X-Men Academy.
Laura had just been conducting simulated combat in the simulation room.
Logan stipulated that to become a new X-Men, one must achieve an A+ score in the simulated battles.
Unfortunately, Laura's score had always been a C.
"It seems you're doing quite well as a professor," Kevin said to Logan, sitting in Logan's office and drinking coffee, then looking at Logan's leather jacket, he added:
"It's just that your image isn't very proper; you don't really look like a professor."
What kind of professor wears a leather jacket and smokes during work hours?
"At first, I even tried to imitate Charles, but later I found that it didn't suit me, and after a while, I just felt it was better to be relaxed. Besides, there aren't many kids here anyway."
Logan said casually, simultaneously pulling out a cigar from under his desk and putting it in his mouth.
Although the Mutant Academy had reopened.
Firstly, Logan didn't possess Professor X's ability to make ordinary people ignore this place, and secondly, while mutants had reappeared in this world, their numbers weren't very large.
Especially children.
Up until now, most children with superpowers were under five years old, and they were clearly not suitable to be sent to the Mutant Academy.
Moreover, thanks to Kevin's actions and the entertainment company he left behind, the situation for mutants was now much, much better than before.
They weren't treated like monsters and hunted by everyone, as in Logan's active era; instead, they would join Logan's entertainment company and use their superpowers for performances.
It even led to the emergence of a profession called 'Superhero.'
This was clearly a development strategy Kevin had left for Paul, the Black man, before he left.
Develop the entertainment company according to Vought's development strategy.
Looking at the bastard in front of him, who knew where he came from, and recalling the impact he had left on this world, Logan was quite lost in thought.
After a while, he slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, and amidst the swirling clouds, he asked Kevin:
"How long do you plan to stay this time, now that you're back?"
"I just came to take a look; I don't plan to stay long. What? Do you need something?"
Kevin's return was merely to confirm the time progression in this world; he didn't intend to stay here for long.
Once he confirmed how much time had passed here and checked on his friend, Logan, Kevin's objective would be achieved, and there would be no need to remain here.
Logan smoked without speaking. After a while, he suddenly asked Kevin:
"You're not from this world, are you?"
"Oh, getting smarter?"
"It's been so long; even if I were stupid, I'd figure it out through brute force. After all, that machine you brought is something that couldn't possibly be manufactured on Earth right now."
The hacking device that Rocket Raccoon had made, which Kevin had given him last time, could not be replicated with the current technological level of the X-Men world.
It was unique in the entire world.
When he learned this, Logan had already vaguely guessed Kevin's origins. Moreover, for such a long time, Logan had heard no news of Kevin, and combined with some inexplicable things Kevin had said before, it made Logan wonder if Kevin might not be from Earth.
He might be from outer space, or... from another timeline.
However, Logan didn't care where Kevin came from. After finishing a cigarette, Logan said to Kevin:
"If you have time to come back later, please take Laura out to see the world too."
"What's wrong with Laura?"
"Maybe it's her rebellious phase? I'm not very good at raising children. Anyway, Laura seems to have become a bit... more and more rebellious these past two years. You saw it just now; she just half-assed the simulated battle, or rather, she just charges in recklessly and doesn't know who she learned it from..."
Bringing up Laura, Logan poured out his grievances.
And listening to Logan say, 'doesn't know who she learned it from,' Kevin didn't reply, just silently stared at him.
Logan also fell silent, then after a moment, he said:
"...Alright, she learned it from me, but I'm not fighting that way anymore, am I? Besides, the X-Men haven't fought anyone in years."
During the period when mutants gradually disappeared, the conflicts between mutants had already ceased, and the X-Men also lost their jobs.
Now, mutants were gradually recovering, but there hadn't been any mutants like Magneto, who wanted to exterminate humanity, appearing again.
Most criminal work also didn't require the X-Men to handle.
The X-Men only dealt with mutant-related matters.
Therefore, the X-Men now seemed more like an honorary position, and their members were very few, only the adult children who had come out of Alkali serving in it.
Including Logan, there were only three of them.
So Logan believed that the X-Men, rather than being a job, was more about nostalgia for the past, and Laura didn't necessarily need to become an X-Men.
And currently, she wasn't suitable to be an X-Men either.
"You want me to handle Laura? Forget it. I don't have any experience managing children."
Even though Kevin knew Logan's thoughts, he had no intention of taking Laura away.
Dealing with children was the most troublesome, especially since Laura might be in her rebellious phase.
Just thinking about managing a rebellious child made Kevin's head ache.
So Kevin would not agree to Logan's request.
Besides, Kevin was going to undergo his second class advancement soon, and it wasn't suitable to bring a burden to the instance world for his second class advancement.
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