Chapter 25: The Mutant

"Judging by how they refer to themselves, it seems they are something called mutants!"

"Mutants are quite rare. In fact, there have been rumors about them throughout history, but since we vampires are creatures of the night, we usually only operate after dark and haven't had much contact with them. I've heard their primary range of activity is in South America; they are quite rare here in Europe."

Seeing Li Yang's expression turn grave, Amelia offered an explanation. Unlike Lucian, her access to the vampire intelligence network allowed her to uncover such information.

"Mutants..."

Hearing this term, Li Yang was suddenly struck with surprise as memories from his previous life surged to the surface. He had certainly heard of mutants. In his past life, he had watched plenty of *X-Men*. Mutants were a subspecies of humanity, born with various superpowers. These abilities were diverse and unpredictable, and their power levels varied wildly. The weak ones were indistinguishable from ordinary people, while the powerful ones possessed abilities capable of destroying the world—even Li Yang would have to avoid their edge.

He had long known this world was not simple, but he hadn't expected it to involve mutants. This was a development he could not afford to take lightly. He knew that among the mutants were many ancient monsters with long histories. While they had significant flaws, Li Yang had to admit that some of their abilities were truly heaven-defying.

However, while he was wary, he was not fearful. Aside from the fact that powerful mutants were rare, their inherent flaws made them impossible for him to truly fear. It was common knowledge that mutant abilities were innate; while some were strong and some were weak, most were one-dimensional. Few mutants possessed dual abilities. He didn't understand the principles behind these powers, but he suspected they were similar to the Golden Centipede gene—all derived from cellular structure. Yet, while mutant genes could be strengthened through training, they remained largely one-sided, unlike the Six-Winged Golden Centipede gene, which balanced essence, energy, and spirit. In terms of potential, the mutant gene was inferior.

The human body is marvelous, divided into the three aspects of essence, energy, and spirit. While the path of cultivation is slow and may focus on only one aspect in the early stages, once one achieves immortality, all shortcomings are mended. Though perhaps not as powerful as one's primary focus, there are no obvious defects. But mutants are different; their abilities are carried in their genes. Great strength in one area inevitably comes with massive flaws elsewhere. As long as one finds the weak point, dealing with them is actually quite easy—though this ease applies specifically to powerful cultivators like Li Yang.

For a simple example, Professor X's psychic abilities would naturally have no effect on Li Yang. At most, they might cause some interference, but attempting to control him would be a pipe dream; if he weren't careful, he might even have his own soul severely wounded by Li Yang. This was the flaw. Although Li Yang had not attained immortality, he cultivated essence, energy, and spirit simultaneously into a harmonious whole. Even without a flawless body, the quality and application of his power far surpassed those of psychic users.

Professor X's ability might be strong, but its quality was not high. This was obvious. The human body is naturally balanced in those three aspects; perhaps his psychic power was vast, but its quality was at best that of an ordinary person. If the body's essence, energy, and spirit are not in balance, the individual will suffer, potentially even dying.

Only now did Li Yang realize who had been lurking in the minds of Marcus and Vincent to monitor him—it was clearly a psychic similar to Professor X.

"Do this: take the Golden Toad and try to stall for time. Bring Rize and Evelyn with you as well."

Thinking of this, Li Yang shifted his intent. The Golden Toad leaped from his sleeve and landed in Amelia's hand. Even with their flaws, mutants were clearly not something the current werewolf and vampire clans could handle, given their own glaring weaknesses. Moreover, any mutant gathered by the human government was clearly not to be trifled with.

"My Lord! If we take them all, what about you? Who will guard the estate? How about this: let Rize stay to serve you, and we will take the rest of the bloodline warlocks."

Compared to Amelia, Lucian, while concerned for the survival of the Lycan race, was clearly more focused on Li Yang's safety.

"Yes, My Lord. Let Evelyn come back with me, and let Ster stay behind!"

As soon as Lucian finished speaking, Amelia chimed in to persuade him. She cursed inwardly, calling him a "thick-browed and big-eyed" treacherous scoundrel. He usually acted so upright and honest, yet at critical moments, he would always fawn over the great Lord. And yet, she always ended up falling behind this seemingly loyal and honest "cunning villain."

"No need. Do you really think I need your protection for my own safety?"

Li Yang had no interest in the internal musings of his two subordinates. He was currently thinking of ways to deal with the mutants and waved them off, dismissively rejecting their proposals.

...

Late at night, at the hour of the Rat.

A group of heavily armed soldiers was pacing not far from the vampire estate. Among them were four oddly dressed individuals in plain clothes. They were a tall, burly white man, a small, thin black man, a tan-skinned, well-proportioned woman, and a spindly white youth.

"Gus, why don't you go in and scout the situation? See what's actually going on inside that castle," the spindly youth tapped the short black man and suggested.

"Asshole... are you trying to get me killed? I'm not that stupid. It'd be better if Tiger went with me," the small black man rolled his eyes and retorted irritably.

He wasn't a fool. Although his ability was teleportation, he possessed no combat power. With his small frame, if discovered by vampires, the outcome would be dire. He knew how fast vampires were; his reaction speed might not keep up with them, and one mistake would cost him his life.

"Coward. Let me go. See if I don't smash those vermin's heads in," the burly white man cast a disdainful glance at him and spoke in a muffled voice.

The small black man didn't bother arguing. It wasn't that he feared the burly man, but he couldn't be bothered to argue with a muscle-brained idiot; it was a waste of time.

"Stop! Tiger, where are you going? Did you forget what I said? All actions must follow my command. Without my order, no one is to act rashly."

Just as the burly man was about to move, Colonel James, who had been watching them from the front of the line, ran over and barked a low reprimand. He found these subordinates to be a headache. While they were talented, they were all troublemakers who ignored his orders or disregarded them entirely. He had to admit that God was fair; while he had blessed them with extraordinary talents, he had clearly magnified their personality flaws.

"Where I go, do I really need your permission?" The burly man looked at Colonel James with utter contempt.

He truly looked down on the posturing Colonel. In his eyes, the man was a useless wretch who could only put on airs and report to superiors. If not for the sake of Marshal Hawk, he wouldn't bother with him at all.

"Fine. I heard you. How about this: Gus, you take him as the vanguard and go into the vampire castle to scout. What do you think?"

Colonel James hadn't climbed to such a high position as a commoner by being incompetent; he just couldn't be bothered with these brainless fools. This proposal played right into his hands. He needed people to infiltrate the castle—or rather, to clear the path. This mission was dangerous, and using his own soldiers would cause heavy losses. Letting these idiots lead the way was perfect.

Compared to letting his own soldiers die, he preferred to let these troublemakers go first. As for their casualties, that was none of his concern. Even if Marshal Hawk asked, he could brush it off as battle damage. After all, what war didn't have casualties?

"Oh... my god! I've never tried carrying a hunk of meat like this before."

As soon as Colonel James finished, the small black man looked at the burly man next to him with hesitation. He was over two meters tall and built like a mountain, while the black man was under 1.6 meters and weighed less than a hundred pounds. He really wasn't sure he could teleport him.

"Fine! But let me state for the record: I've never done anything this risky. If something goes wrong, I'm not taking the blame."

Faced with the oppressive gazes of Colonel James and the burly man, the small black man ultimately chose to compromise, shrugging his shoulders with a helpless expression.

"Heh... never done anything so risky? Does sneaking into the national treasury not count as risky?" Colonel James sneered at the small black man's expression.