Chapter 93

"Eric Lehnsherr, don't you feel despicable?" The thunder could not drown out Zhou Yi's roar; at this moment, he was truly enraged.

"Despicable? Young man, when you have experienced as much as I have, you will find that the honor you take pride in is actually worthless. As long as you can achieve your goals, even the most despicable means are acceptable. Conversely, no matter how much honor you have, you are still a failure."

In response to Zhou Yi's anger, Magneto wore a contemptuous smile, even assuming a lecturing posture, as if he were a social studies teacher expounding his philosophy.

"So you can display your despicability without any qualms?"

Magneto reined in his smile.

"Indeed, you cannot understand us. Talking to you about these things was a mistake. So, the final choice. Surrender, accept your failure. Or, try to block my attack. Don't waste our time with the same tactics again. I can tell you that my magnetic senses have already detected the electromagnetic fields of all the remaining humans in this city. If you delay any longer, I don't mind using their lives to send you a warning!"

"Stop it, Eric! They are innocent people, and this has nothing to do with them." Zhou Yi, who was already at a loss, could only hope to persuade the leader of the mutants to show some mercy, but it was clearly meaningless. Magneto's hardened heart was far stronger than his abilities.

"This war has no so-called innocents. Too many innocents among my people have already been sacrificed, so it's time for these humans to taste this pain. Of course, you have other choices. Or rather, everything depends on you."

Zhou Yi fell silent, his eyes began to survey everything in the city. The already chaotic city still had hundreds of thousands of humans fleeing in panic. The scenes of earthquakes and lightning strikes destroying the army had terrified these ordinary people. On the other side, Rogue was lying in the cage, nervously watching them.

This was the choice he had to make: admit his failure and let Magneto take Rogue, or continue the stalemate and let Magneto vent his anger on innocent humans. These were not things Zhou Yi wanted to see, of course, he had other choices.

"Come on, Magneto Eric Lehnsherr. As you said, let me see your skills."

This was the final choice Zhou Yi made. He could not let Magneto take Rogue like this; otherwise, his promise would be worthless, and all his plans would be in vain. The war between humans and mutants would become an imminent issue.

Of course, he could not stand by and watch Magneto slaughter the civilians of Paris. Perhaps people die every moment in the world, but as a superhero, no one should die in front of him. His sense of mission made him protect the lives of these innocents, so he would not allow Magneto to do such a thing.

So, there was only one choice left. To block Magneto's attack twice on his home turf. This was a very dangerous thing, but under the current circumstances, it was the only way to stop him.

Hearing Zhou Yi's response, Magneto's face showed a satisfied smile. To him, this was the most satisfying answer. Zhou Yi's displayed abilities made him feel threatened, especially since he was not a mutant. This situation made Magneto directly categorize him as an enemy. And for enemies, especially powerful and threatening ones, destruction was the best method.

At first, he was somewhat worried that such a person might make a choice between his own life and others' lives, but he soon realized that this worry was meaningless. He was the kind of hero who should die in an epic, willing to risk his life to save others. This determined his fate. And the fate of a hero is always tragic.

"You have made a great decision, but it is absolutely the wrong one," Magneto Eric rarely sighed, as he had not seen such a person in a long time.

"That's not for you to judge! Come on, Eric. Let me see what Magneto can do. If it's just those little lightning bolts, don't bother showing them!"

Zhou Yi stood in the air with a cold smile, lightning began to strike his body, but at the moment of contact, it was distorted by the gravitational field. The blinding lightning could only circle around his body but never touch him.

This did not surprise Magneto. In his eyes, this was the level a superhuman who could challenge him should have.

"Rest assured, young man. You deserve a more grandiose funeral!" He pointed to the city below. "This is what you are protecting. As a hero, your job is simple: prevent it from being destroyed by me. If you fail, I don't need to do anything more; this will naturally become your grave. Perhaps many years later, someone will place flowers here for you."

"If it's your funeral, I would be happy to place flowers for you. Maybe the Paulownia flower would be nice." (Paulownia flower, supposedly for male homosexuals, to break free from世俗的眼光 and be together. You know what I mean, Magneto's actor!)

"I hope you can still make such jokes later!" Magneto's face darkened; he was already tired of being mocked. Engaging in pointless verbal disputes was not as satisfying as directly building his grave. So he ignored Zhou Yi and raised his hands to the sky.

Zhou Yi followed his movement and shifted his gaze to the sky above. His superhuman vision clearly showed him what was above him.

It was a giant artificial machine that traversed the endless space. A space station suspended in low Earth orbit. It was also the largest spacecraft humans could currently build—the International Space Station. A product of a super project jointly promoted by six major international space agencies and developed by sixteen countries.

This spacecraft, which only officially began construction after the end of the Cold War and was only recently completed, had a total internal volume of 1,200 cubic meters and a total weight of 419,000 kilograms. In terms of technology, it had already reached the limits of current human technology. Many participating countries were proud of this project, but they never imagined that today, a mutant would turn this massive object into a deadly weapon.

Yes, a deadly weapon. In Magneto's hands, the International Space Station had lost all its original functions. Its current function was only one: to fall from space like a meteor and strike the land beneath his feet.

This reminded Zhou Yi of a U.S. military project called "Rod from God," a space-based kinetic weapon system. This system mainly consisted of two satellite platforms in low orbit, one responsible for communication and target locking, and the other carrying metal kinetic projectiles called "Rod from God." These projectiles were 0.3 meters in diameter, 6.1 meters long, and weighed 100 kilograms, made of tungsten, titanium, and uranium. These metal rods were equipped with small booster rockets and could strike any target on Earth within minutes using satellite guidance. When the metal rods fell from 1,000 kilometers above the Earth's surface, their speed could reach 11,587 kilometers per hour, close to the speed of a meteor, giving them enormous kinetic energy and destructive power exceeding that of most strategic weapons.

Compared to Magneto's method, the U.S. military's weapon system was weak. In Magneto's hands, Zhou Yi could clearly see the International Space Station, which had cost countless funds and human resources, being decomposed into countless metal particles in space, then reassembled into a massive alloy projectile. Under his magnetic control, it was accelerated by electromagnetic pulses and shot into the atmosphere at an extremely high initial speed. Soon, the flames of high-speed friction covered its entire body.

According to the U.S. military's estimates, a 20-ton kinetic projectile with a volume of no more than five cubic meters could easily shatter the ground and trigger earthquakes, tsunamis, and other geological effects, with a certain probability of causing small-scale tectonic shifts. Magneto's kinetic projectile would be even more powerful. With its own weight and the acceleration from space to the atmosphere, it far exceeded the U.S. military's "Rod from God" standards. Once it fell into the city, the massive destructive power would be catastrophic, possibly erasing this famous romantic city from the map.

This was not just a wild imagination but a real possibility. Magneto had the audacity, and the weapon in his hands had the power.

"This is my first test, Dawn Knight. A space-based kinetic projectile developed by humans to replace nuclear weapons. Think about its power to change the geology. I believe even you would be amazed by human ingenuity. They always like to use their intelligence to create tools of destruction. But thank them; they gave me inspiration. Go, Dawn Knight, now it's your time to show your skills. The lives of Paris are in your hands. If you win, they will survive. If you lose, you will die with them."

Magneto had stopped his actions. At this point, the alloy kinetic projectile no longer needed his control; it would land and everything would be settled. So he looked at the superhero in front of him with some regret, lamenting his soon-to-end life. In his eyes, Zhou Yi was already a dead man. No one could survive such an attack.

Zhou Yi had no time to listen to this man's rambling. He had to seize every second and intercept the projectile before it hit the ground. Otherwise, everything that happened would be an irreparable disaster.

So he flew directly into the sky, his black figure like a sharp arrow tearing through the sky, leaving a red trail as he soared upward.

On the ground, countless surviving citizens watched him. Magneto's voice, amplified by the magnetic field, spread to every corner of the city. These survivors looked up at the sky, where two fiery trails extended from the ends of heaven and earth, gradually closing the distance.

In such a situation, most of them had already lost hope of survival. A weapon comparable to a nuclear bomb; just this phrase was enough to shatter their psychological defenses. The weak had already fallen to their knees, sobbing uncontrollably. Some had begun to pray aimlessly.

However, there were always exceptions. These people gazed at the black figure in the sky, as if pouring all their strength into that figure. In their eyes, this was hope, the hope of survival.

Zhou Yi seemed to feel this power. He moved forward without hesitation, heading straight for the massive alloy projectile.