Steve Chapter 818: We're finally saved! (Patreon)

Upon seeing the woman's appearance, Fang Mo instinctively let out an exclamation.

Yes, not far from him, a group of oddly dressed individuals were cautiously watching him. Among them were tall men, a disheveled samurai, and seemingly ordinary people. However, each of them carried bags full of tattered belongings and plastic containers, as if they were gathering survival supplies.

The leader of the group had a highly recognizable face, although compared to the original, her eye color and hair had changed. Her eyes were green, her hair had a pinkish-purple hue, and she wore some inexplicable makeup. She was also clad in a black, deep-V, tight leather outfit.

Honestly, she looked like a gothic or punk aristocrat from the "Sha Ma Te" subculture.

"Well, this is a rare sight..." Fang Mo couldn't help but click his tongue in amusement as he took in her appearance.

If he wasn't mistaken, this was his first time encountering a famous Chinese celebrity—well, in a way. He couldn't help but feel a little out of place.

The experience was bizarre.

Every time Fang Mo looked at her, it felt like they were shooting a movie, making it hard for him to immerse himself in the situation. This was something he'd never experienced before. With other figures like Tony Stark, Nick Fury, Wolverine, or Professor X, he could easily immerse himself in their characters.

But with this woman? It felt strangely disjointed.

This brought back memories of an old friend. Due to some accidents, this friend was forced into a space similar to a "Lord God" dimension. However, the guy was an incorrigible pervert with a particular fondness for a certain Chinese actress. After accumulating enough points, he immediately wanted to summon a replica of her from the system's store.

But the "Lord God" seemed to have foreseen this, making her exorbitantly expensive—around 800,000 points, enough to exchange for a set of 1,024 "命丛" or life-saving items. In the end, he settled for an alternate character.

Looking at this uncanny resemblance in front of him, Fang Mo finally understood what it felt like to be pulled out of a scene.

Of course, he wasn’t particularly interested in her; he just found the situation amusing. "This is too good; I need to tell people about this. I'll say 'Bingbing was hunted down by Sentinel robots for tax evasion… and died twice.'"

"What… did you just say?"

Upon hearing Fang Mo's mutterings, the group seemed slightly puzzled.

“Blink, do you know this guy?” asked one of the tall men carrying a burlap sack, from which bottles and jars, presumably food or medicine, could be seen.

“No, I don’t know him.” The woman, referred to as Blink, quickly shook her head. “He must have mistaken me for someone else.”

“Hurry up, let’s go,” another man urged. “Kitty and the others are still waiting. We said we wouldn’t stay apart for too long. If the Sentinels find us, the consequences will be dire…”

"So, this is 'Days of Future Past'?" Fang Mo realized the timeline they were in.

It was obvious: this was the 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' storyline. It depicted a world where humans invented Sentinel robots capable of identifying mutants and began ruthlessly hunting them. These robots eventually became uncontrollable, targeting even ordinary humans with latent mutant genes, pushing the world to the brink of destruction. The X-Men then decided to go back in time to prevent the creation of the Sentinels.

"Seriously, how useless is Charles?" Fang Mo muttered, rubbing his face in exasperation. "I put him on a golden throne, and yet he still couldn't change history?"

But just as he finished speaking, the group that had been about to leave suddenly stopped in their tracks.

“Wait… did you just mention Professor X?”

The tall man looked at Fang Mo with a puzzled expression. “You know Professor X? Are you a mutant too?”

“Sort of,” Fang Mo replied, rubbing his chin. “If I recall correctly, they gave me some kind of title back in the day.”

“A title? You were a student at Xavier’s School!?” The tall man, clearly excited, introduced himself, “That’s amazing! I’m Colossus, one of Professor X’s students. What’s your—”

However, before he could finish, another man with disheveled hair abruptly looked up at the sky. He was wearing tactical gear, with black smudged makeup around his eyes, and appeared to be a fierce warrior. But at that moment, his face was filled with terror as if he had seen a nightmare.

"They're here!" he said in a trembling voice. "Sentinels! A lot of them!"

“So fast!?” the others reacted with alarm and immediately looked at Blink, the woman Fang Mo had mistaken for someone else. "Hurry! Open the portal!"

Without hesitation, Blink activated her powers, casting a purple aura from her palm that formed a large portal on the ground.

Fang Mo glanced at the portal. It resembled the portals used by the masters of Kamar-Taj, and on the other side, he could see a bunker-like environment. It seemed like a secret base where this group was hiding.

“Hurry! Run!”

Someone shouted, and the group immediately prepared to rush into the portal. But just as they were about to escape, a woman suddenly came running out in panic, followed closely by a man who fired two shots behind him as he rushed out.

“Bishop? Kitty?” The group froze at the sight of them. “What happened?”

“We’ve been discovered!” Kitty hurriedly explained. “It’s no longer safe there; the Sentinels have invaded! Close the portal now!”

“What!?”

Panic gripped the group. There was nowhere to run now, and they were already being pursued.

“What’s going on?” Kitty, noticing the change in their expressions, felt a deep sense of foreboding. “Don’t tell me…”

“The situation is bad. We’ve been discovered by the Sentinels too,” Colossus quickly replied. “There’s no way to run anymore, Kitty. We might have to rely on you.”

With that, he immediately prepared for battle. Clenching his fists, his body transformed into gleaming silver, like it was made of indestructible steel. He looked up at the sky, ready for the fight.

The Sentinels arrived quickly. Out of the dark clouds, massive metal fortresses began to appear, resembling towering buildings. These futuristic ships didn’t have propellers, instead using plasma engines at their base. Their gates opened slowly, releasing pods that dropped to the ground with heavy thuds.

As the pods hit the ground, they cracked open, revealing tall, slender humanoid machines. These Sentinels were covered in small, scale-like plates, with only two glowing yellow electronic eyes. They stood about three meters tall, exuding an eerie, cold presence.

“It’s all up to you now, Kitty,” said another man, his body igniting into a blaze of flames as the Sentinels approached.

“What?!” Kitty was visibly shaken. “Right here? You must be joking…”

Kitty, also known as Shadowcat, had the mutant ability to phase through solid objects. Initially, this ability was only for passing through walls, but under the extreme pressure of this dystopian world, her powers evolved. She could now allow others to phase through "time" itself, sending a person’s consciousness back to the past to warn their former selves about future events, potentially preventing deadly encounters with the Sentinels.

In previous encounters, the group would hold off the Sentinels while Kitty and Bishop used her ability to transport Bishop’s consciousness to the past, saving everyone.

But this time, they were in the middle of a barren wasteland with nowhere to hide, and using her power required time—a luxury they didn’t have. Realizing the dire situation, Kitty began to feel desperate, unsure of what to do.

Meanwhile, the Sentinels wasted no time. Upon landing, the mechanical monsters immediately charged toward the group.

“They’re coming!” one of the group members shouted, and everyone quickly formed a protective circle around Kitty and Bishop. “Kitty, hurry!”

“I…” Kitty, startled, knelt down and began to activate her ability, placing her hands on either side of Bishop’s head to start transferring his consciousness.

As soon as she initiated her power, the Sentinels reached them. The leading machines raised their arms, their armor twisting and transforming into sharp spikes aimed directly at the group.

“Argh!” Colossus rushed forward, but the force from the Sentinels was too strong, and he was knocked back. His feet dug into the ground, carving deep grooves as he was pushed back, struggling to hold his ground.

At that moment, the true terror of the Sentinels was revealed. Their yellow electronic eyes flickered, and their bodies began to shift, turning into a bright, metallic silver—mimicking Colossus’s steel form.

“Damn…” Colossus tensed as he realized the danger.

In the next instant, one of the Sentinels swung its fist at Colossus, delivering a powerful blow that dented his metal skull and sent him crashing to the ground.

The long-haired warrior also charged at the Sentinels, but the result was even worse. His knife did no damage, and with one kick, the Sentinel sent him flying like a rag doll, leaving him on the ground, coughing up blood.

“Damn it!” The flame-covered mutant unleashed a torrent of fiery plasma, burning through the air and melting the very ground beneath the Sentinels. The temperature soared as the flames engulfed the area.

But even that wasn’t enough. The Sentinels adapted once again, their silver armor turning transparent like ice, emitting a chilling cold that suppressed the flames in an instant.

The mutant known as Iceman, who had been standing nearby, stared in disbelief. He quickly activated his powers, releasing a blast of cold air, trying to freeze the Sentinels in place. But the machines responded by raising their internal temperature, melting away the ice as they transformed into walking suns, leaving molten footprints behind as they advanced.

Seeing this overwhelming display of power, the group was gripped by a deep sense of helplessness. The Sentinels were capable of mimicking mutant abilities, adapting and countering them with ruthless efficiency.

As the Sentinels prepared to finish off the group with their deadly spikes, Fang Mo finally stepped in.

He raised his hand toward the advancing Sentinels. In the next second, the power of his Void Ring activated, and a gravitational field spread forward, pressing the Sentinels to the ground. The crushing force distorted their metal bodies, grinding them into fragments.

The Sentinels tried to resist, their bodies changing into hardened silver metal again, but it was futile. The overwhelming gravity crushed even their strongest form, reducing them to piles of sparking debris.

The group watched in stunned silence as the Sentinels were wiped out.

“What… just happened?” they stammered, turning toward Fang Mo in disbelief. “What did you just do?”

“Wait!” Kitty suddenly realized something. “I know you! You’re…”

“You know him?” Colossus, still recovering from the fight, looked confused. “Was he a student at the academy?”

“He’s the Celestial! The strongest, legendary first X-Man!” Kitty exclaimed excitedly. “Peter, Bobby, don’t you remember? He helped with the Jean Grey incident! And when the army invaded the school!”

“...We’re saved! Finally, we’re saved!”