After stepping through Blink's portal, Richard and the others emerged in a secluded suburban area.
They located a modest coffee shop and took seats inside.
After ordering coffee for the three of them, Sabretooth questioned Richard:
"How was your father captured?"
Richard briefly explained the circumstances of his father's arrest and his subsequent disbanding of Crimson Manor.
After satisfying Sabretooth's curiosity, he posed his own question.
"What did you want from my father?"
"I have personal business to attend to and hoped your father might look after Clarice temporarily."
"That's clearly no longer an option," Sabretooth sighed.
Though Sabretooth didn't elaborate on his "personal business," Richard didn't press the issue. Instead, he wondered why Sabretooth hadn't simply taken Clarice to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.
Wolverine was currently there, after all.
Even if Wolverine weren't present, Xavier's School offered far better protection than Crimson Manor.
Crimson Manor was merely an obscure organization with minimal influence.
In terms of reputation and resources, it couldn't compare to Xavier's institution.
"The School is too far—clear across the country. I don't have time for such a journey."
After a brief pause, Sabretooth seemed to formulate a new plan.
"Your father's been arrested, and you've disbanded Crimson Manor."
"More significantly, you've killed Department of Mutant Affairs agents."
"Though you possess considerable strength, you're still not powerful enough to challenge the Department directly—"
Before Sabretooth could finish, Richard interrupted with a frown:
"You want me to take Clarice to Xavier's School?"
Sabretooth didn't deny it. "That's precisely my plan."
"Though both you and Clarice are unregistered and technically illegal mutants..."
"If you agree to this favor, I promise you can join Xavier's School."
"You're familiar with Wolverine of the X-Men, right? He's my brother!"
Half-brother with different mothers, and he doesn't even remember you're related! Richard thought sarcastically.
"I'm sorry, but I have no interest in joining Xavier's School," Richard declined.
Though Professor X and Wolverine were admirable figures, neither the X-Men nor the School aligned with his current objectives.
For someone possessing the Plunder ability, residing at Xavier's School during this critical early phase would severely limit his growth.
His optimal strategy involved hunting other mutants and plundering their powers—something impossible to pursue while under Xavier's watchful eye.
Though powers of the same type merged and strengthened rather than accumulating separately, he'd been in this world less than a day and already possessed eight distinct X-gene abilities.
Continuing at this rate, he could potentially surpass one hundred unique powers before long!
"Only by joining Xavier's School can you eventually become an X-Man. Doesn't that interest you?" Sabretooth pressed.
"Since this morning, I've killed eight mutants and twenty ordinary humans."
"For a 'killer' mutant like me, avoiding X-Men pursuit would be achievement enough—joining them is unthinkable."
"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave. It was a pleasure meeting you both. Enjoy your coffee."
With that, Richard retrieved a hundred-dollar bill from his system space and placed it on the table.
Under Sabretooth and Clarice's watchful gaze, he stood and departed.
After leaving the café, Richard used Blinkstep to locate a used vehicle dealership that didn't require identification documents. He purchased a reasonably well-maintained Class C motorhome.
After paying extra for immediate servicing at the dealership's maintenance facility, he drove away in his newly acquired RV.
Leaving the dealership, he stopped at a supermarket to purchase a week's worth of supplies before heading toward Los Angeles.
Though Los Angeles remained his ultimate destination, he didn't plan to drive directly into the downtown area. He intended to stay at an RV campground outside the city for several days to practice his skills.
With this in mind, he opened his attribute panel to examine his current skill proficiency and mana reserves.
[Skills: Octaslash (Level 1, 12/100), Gravesong (Level 1, 3/100), Skyshatter (Level 1, 0/100), Zanshin (Level 1, 3/100), Shift Slash (Level 1, 2/100), Thundaga (Level 1, 1/100), Blizzaga (Level 1, 0/100)]
[Mana: 20 points]
Including his practice sessions, he had performed Octaslash 12 times, Gravesong 3 times, Zanshin 3 times, Shift Slash 2 times and Thundaga once.
Since each Level 1 skill consumed one mana point, he should have only 9 points remaining.
Yet he still possessed 20 mana points.
The expended mana gradually regenerated through rest and nourishment.
Based on his observations since morning, complete mana recovery required approximately five to six hours.
As Richard drove his newly purchased RV toward the campground, he remained unaware that videos of his earlier confrontation had appeared online.
Not only had they appeared—they'd already accumulated hundreds of thousands of views.
Though filmed from various angles, each video captured the same event: his battle with Inessa and the other mutants agents.
Despite the brevity of the conflict, numerous restaurant patrons had recorded his elimination of Inessa, her fellow agents, and the tactical team members.
The footage showed a handsome silver-haired young man wielding an eight-foot silver sword, harvesting lives like some modern grim reaper.
Fluid movements, devastating attacks, and an expression of complete composure!
Combined with his striking appearance and extraordinary weapon, the videos became an instant internet sensation.
"Is this footage from a new sci-fi action film?"
"Silver hair and a silver sword—what an incredible aesthetic!"
"Does anyone know where this was filmed?"
"This has to be special effects, right?"
"I can't pull off combos this smooth even in fighting games!"
"Who says all mutants are freaks? If mutants looked like this, I wouldn't mind my future boyfriend being one."
"Half an hour and still nobody knows who this guy is?"
"Internet detectives these days are seriously letting me down!"
"We demand all future action movie leads meet this standard!"
Internet users bombarded the comment sections, propelling the videos toward the million-view milestone.
Yet Richard, the videos' unwitting star, remained completely oblivious—focused instead on a critical question:
How could he accelerate his Sephiroth template fusion?
Though he'd plundered numerous powers, his template fusion remained at merely 5%.
Compared to his stolen abilities, the potential granted by Sephiroth's template represented his most valuable asset.
Meanwhile, at the Los Angeles branch of the Department of Mutant Affairs, staff monitoring online content quickly discovered the viral videos.
Without hesitation, the monitoring team immediately alerted their supervisor.
Shortly thereafter, the operations director—the imposing Black supervisor who oversaw the mutant agents—received an urgent email from the intelligence chief.
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