American comic: From Beijing with Love, starting with a mutant.

"Command center, the last batch of trapped people in Shiqiao Village have been transferred. We are requesting assistance from special personnel to end the on-site operations."

Zhou Xingxing flipped through the rescue map, crossed out the red circle outside Shiqiao Village, and there were still two locations on the paper waiting to be confirmed.

"The structural team should conduct one last check. Once there are no signs of life, evacuate. No one is allowed to enter the rubble alone!"

"receive."

Director Wang, with dark circles under his eyes, walked into the tent and handed the latest report to Xiao Zhou.

"In seven days, the bureau's special personnel worked with local teams to visit more than a thousand work sites."

"The entire rescue system rescued more than 10,000 people and relocated about 200,000 disaster victims, who were then handed over to local teams."

Zhou Xingxing stared at the numbers but only noticed that the words on the paper were starting to overlap.

Director Wang took the walkie-talkie away and pressed the master channel.

"All rescue teams, listen up! After completing the current handover, all personnel shall return to the temporary command post. No work may continue without approval."

Wolverine's voice came through the walkie-talkie first: "I can still do it."

"Of course you're capable! You can even be strapped to the front of the excavator when it's out of fuel! But no one else can!"

Polaris's weary voice followed, "There's still a section of steel beam on the east side that hasn't been cleared."

"Hand it over to the crane."

"The crane will take two hours!"

"You can't even hold a kettle properly, yet you want to lift a steel beam?"

The Polaris team stopped arguing; if they held on any longer, the rescue team would have to send people to save them.

"Understood, I'll hand over the reins."

Half an hour later, the teams that had gone out returned one after another.

The toad-man's tongue was worn raw, and he even showed Stephen Chow the blisters on it.

"Put your tongue back! I haven't eaten properly for seven days, don't ruin my appetite later!"

The gerbil had all ten fingers wrapped in gauze, and Spot's vision started to go double. Anton said he had tinnitus in his head and ears, and his whole body was buzzing.

The carefree girl immediately found a soft-serve ice cream and transformed it into seven or eight ice creams, each as sweet as she wanted, and stuffed them into her mouth.

Stephen Chow turned around to look for the prophet, and found the little girl still sitting by the communications desk, her nosebleed already dried on her collar. "Little girl, that's a wrap."

no respond.

Stephen Chow stepped forward and supported the back of her neck. When he realized she had lost consciousness, he panicked and immediately called for help outside the tent.

"Medical team! Bring a second stretcher! She's exhausted!"

The doctor arrived and checked Nina's pupils and pulse, then put an oxygen mask on her.

Zhou Xingxing took two steps with the stretcher, but Director Wang grabbed his collar again.

"Don't go back and cause trouble."

A few hours later, the group returned to the new base on a 749 Bureau special plane.

Apart from Wolverine, the first thing everyone else did upon landing was to lie down on the stretchers pushed in from the medical room.

The medical examination lasted three hours.

The doctor slammed the results on the table and pointed to the people sitting in a row.

"Toad Man suffers soft tissue strain, Gerbil suffers dehydration, Polaris suffers nerve tremor, Soft Ice Cream suffers thermoregulation disorder, and Leisure Girl suffers electrolyte imbalance."

The doctor turned to the next page and looked at Anton again.

"Your continuous amplification of the communication signal has caused an overload reaction in your auditory nerves. Do not touch any wireless devices for the next three days."

Anton pointed to his ear.

"Why do I keep hearing people asking me to review application materials?"

"That's an auditory hallucination."

"But he said he had a $600 travel allowance but lacked proof of his itinerary."

Stephen Chow moved his chair aside a bit. "Doctor, his condition is more serious than you initially thought. I recommend isolating him for two weeks."

Director Wang didn't give them a chance to continue the discussion and immediately announced that everyone would be forced to take a break.

Back in his new dorm, all Zhou Xingxing remembers is pushing open the door.

When I opened my eyes again, the light coming through the gap in the curtains had changed direction.

His phone, which was on the bedside table, showed forty-seven missed calls. He picked it up, looked at it, and then threw it back.

After a quick wash, Zhou Xingxing slipped on his slippers and went to the cafeteria, where he happened to find Polaris and Soft Ice Cream sitting in a corner, each holding a bowl of noodles and staring blankly at the chili bottle on the table.

Stephen Chow carried three meals and sat down.

"Are you studying the molecular structure of chili peppers?"

The soft-serve ice cream rolled its eyes. "We're waiting for the noodles to cool down."

"Isn't this what you do?"

"Oh, right, I forgot."

Polaris lifted his chopsticks, but the noodles fell back into the soup as soon as they left his mouth.

"Your hands are still shaking? What did the doctor say?"

"Take a five-day break and do not move more than five kilograms of metal."

Stephen Chow handed over his bamboo chopsticks and pushed a plate of steamed buns between the two of them.

"How have you been feeling these past few days? Are you tired?"

"tired."

She grabbed a steamed bun with the soft-serve ice cream and took a bite, stuffing her cheeks full.

"But I'm very happy."

"Eat two more if you're happy."

The three of them dawdled over their meal, and Polaris and Soft Ice Cream went back to the medical area for a follow-up examination.

Zhou Xingxing, clutching the materials for his mission to Japan, prepared to try and plead with Director Wang one more time.

Before the director's office door was even opened, a series of snores could be heard coming from inside, evenly spaced, sounding like a diesel generator.

Zhou Xingxing began to have doubts.

Is it possible for such a high-ranking leader to sleep in his office?

If word gets out, people will think that Bureau 749 can't even afford to provide dormitories.

Just as he was about to leave, the snoring inside the door stopped.

"Who's outside? Come in."

Zhou Xingxing had no choice but to push open the door. Director Wang was leaning back in his chair, with disaster area handover documents spread out beside him.

What are you doing here?

"Concern for the leader's health and, incidentally, report on your thoughts and feelings."

Speak like a human.

"I don't want to go to Japan."

Director Wang picked up the water glass, shook it, and put it back after finding it had cooled down.

"What's the reason?"

"Even Old Jin himself isn't sure who the child's mother is, how am I supposed to confirm? Asking everyone if you had a child with Wolverine? No wonder people call the police!"

Director Wang glared at him. "You think I sent you just to find a child? How does America deal with mutants? Tell me."

"Those who can fight will be used as weapons, and those who can't will be sent to the laboratory."

"Yes." Director Wang nodded.

"In ordinary society, there's a mix of fear and morbid curiosity. The strong can negotiate, but the weak can disappear without a trace. So tell me, what do we do?"

"After confirming their identity and wishes, they will undergo medical examinations, competency assessments, and job matching upon returning to China. If their skills are inadequate or they are unsuitable for the job, they can be reassigned, receive treatment, or retire."

Director Wang pulled out a document and placed it on the table, then rubbed his eyes.

"The government of Little Days is not an anti-mutant government. They value mutant resources, but at the same time, they are worried about mutants getting out of control."

"In summary, Japan is like a country that has superpowers, so the government needs to manage you."

"In America, you have superpowers, so the country needs to use you."

After hearing this, Stephen Chow quickly replied, "To us, this means you have superpowers, so let's see what you can do."

Director Wang glanced at him sideways and said, "Not bad, you've even learned to answer first."

"So, you have another goal: to resolve a historical issue."