Reborn with Steve Stand-Chapter 853: Political Correctness
“So if you’re going on this talk show, why bring me along?”
Inside the CIA’s top-tier official car, Erik looked baffled as he stared at Fang Mo across from him. “You ought to realize, I absolutely despise those disgusting, hypocritical buffoons.”
“People have to learn to grow up someday.”
Fang Mo seemed in an unusually good mood, gazing out at the passing scenery while answering casually. “I was really poor as a kid, and I used to hate that classmate who kept flaunting his wealth. But wouldn’t you know it, now I’m rich myself…so people always end up becoming what they hate most.”
“Becoming what they hate most…”
Hearing Fang Mo’s words, Erik surprisingly didn’t argue. He remembered Sebastian Shaw—the man who almost singlehandedly shaped his life’s trajectory. After briefly pondering, Erik sighed. “All right, maybe you have a point.”
“Right?”
Fang Mo chuckled.
“By the way, you’ve given that ring to the President, yeah?”
Erik soon asked, “So now he’s become a mutant, too? Is he going to publicly announce that today?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
Fang Mo stroked his chin. “Judging by how cautious those politicians are, he’ll probably keep it secret for a while longer.”
“Honestly, you shouldn’t have brought me along.”
Hearing that, Erik once again voiced his disgust for politicians. “I’ve thought more than once about killing them. For all we know, John’s death might’ve been their doing.”
“If you really miss old John so much, I can arrange for him to do a resurrection match with Ampere next time.”
Fang Mo shrugged, his mind suddenly drifting to some interesting ideas about building his personal dimension. “But back on topic, if I went to the talk show alone, you guys wouldn’t be at ease anyway. So bringing you along should set Logan’s mind at rest, right?”
“Like I can keep you under control,”
Erik said, seeing right through him. “If you really wanted to cause trouble, you might as well bring Charles. At least he can wipe people’s mem— Wait, huh?”
He paused, suddenly realizing. “So why not ask Logan or Charles to come instead of me?”
“Well…”
“Wait, you’re not planning to screw me over, are you?”
For no apparent reason, Erik became guarded. “You said something before about ‘a job’—the position of Energy Minister. Explain that properly!”
“It’s just as I said.”
Fang Mo mumbled halfheartedly, “I mainly want you to infiltrate the enemy’s ranks—”
“No way.”
Erik instantly questioned him. “If that were Charles and the others, it might make sense. But you? You definitely have something else up your sleeve. I—”
“Ah, we’re here.”
Before Erik could finish, Fang Mo interrupted, opening the car door. Erik froze, then looked out and realized Fang Mo was actually telling the truth: they’d arrived at the destination.
Because the interview’s content was somewhat special, it wasn’t being held inside a TV station but rather at an outdoor factory site in the suburbs of New York. The area had already been set up, with security at a high level. They could see many reporters busy with equipment checks.
“Come on.”
Not giving Erik time to complain, Fang Mo beckoned. “Today’s a historic day for mutants—don’t be late.”
“…”
Erik sighed and followed him out of the car.
Once he’d stepped out, he noticed the perimeter was jam-packed with people. A huge crowd of civilians thronged the area, sporting all sorts of signs. Erik focused and saw these posters bore slogans referencing mutants—like “We Support Mutants,” “Mutants Are Heroes,” “Mutants Deserve Rights,” etc.
He could tell these weren’t government-hired actors. They were just ordinary American citizens, possibly influenced by certain cultural factors—believing wholeheartedly in peace and love, all fired up. Take Beast Hank’s rescue story which had just aired on TV: they’d already formed an opinion, proclaiming that America’s a land of freedom and inclusion, that all races—including mutants—should be privileged. They waved their signs, voices spirited and excited.
“…”
Truth be told, Erik disliked such folks. In his eyes, they were mere pawns manipulated by those in power—a flock of brainwashed fools.
Yet Erik couldn’t deny that seeing all these strangers holding up signs, shouting seriously in support of mutants, wanting them to have equal rights despite being unrelated to them, still deeply moved him.
“So this is the scene Charles kept describing to me?”
A complicated expression settled on Erik’s face. “Humans and mutants…truly able to coexist peacefully?”
“Of course they can.”
A voice spoke up. Fang Mo cheerfully walked over. “Mutants suffer a miserable fate purely because their ‘creator’ was malicious. They wouldn’t get attention otherwise, right?”
“Malicious…creator?”
Erik frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing.”
Fang Mo shook his head, then patted Erik’s shoulder in a comforting way. “Relax, this is my world now. And my fetish…er, I mean my preference…just so happens to be happy endings…”
“You might want to change how you phrase that.”
Erik sighed helplessly.
“You’re not into happy endings?”
Fang Mo asked, genuinely confused. “So I guess I could give you a bad end?”
“I’m not talking about ‘ending’—I mean your fetish!”
Erik pressed a hand to his forehead. “Don’t tell me you get… ‘excited’ just from seeing a happy ending?”
“Yes, so what!?”
Fang Mo raised his voice proudly. “We champions of pure love are like that. Seeing people in bliss, we clap and cheer while getting…worked up…”
“Which part of you is the ‘champion of pure love’!?”
Erik nearly snapped.
“Only the most indescribably pure champion can defeat those omnipresent cuck bullfiends,”
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.
Fang Mo declared solemnly. “Your beloved was never stolen away, so you can’t understand how heinous these so-called ‘bull men’ are.”
“I and Raven—”
“Can you imagine Charles getting taken from you?”
Fang Mo cut him off in a startling manner: “Wouldn’t it feel awful? Terrible? Like the entire world lost its color?”
“Ow, the pain…”
Erik clutched his temples, feeling his blood pressure rising from sheer exasperation.
“I rest my case.”
Seeing Erik’s tortured grimace, Fang Mo laughed, tugging him along toward the backstage area. “All right, c’mon, I’ll introduce you to Mr. President.”
“…”
Erik took a deep breath and followed. Though they were in a factory’s outer zone, the space itself wasn’t huge—most citizens were blocked outside, leaving staffers from various TV networks inside. After walking a short distance, Fang Mo soon spotted the President.
He stood in the factory yard holding some blueprints, flanked by two probable engineers and a few unfamiliar lawmakers, apparently going over details.
Notably, the President had changed drastically since last time. Formerly balding and out-of-shape, he’d now become vigorous, eyes sharp as a hawk. Merely standing there, he radiated a confident, imposing aura. This transformation was clearly from that ring Fang Mo gave him—like a powerful person who’d trained in “magnetic field rotation,” carrying an aura of might.
Moreover, his perception was extremely keen now. The moment Fang Mo spotted him, the President looked up in Fang Mo’s direction, smiling warmly and walking over.
“You’re here.”
“Yep.”
Fang Mo smiled back.
“That fellow beside you looks familiar,”
the President likewise smiled, exuding the effect of his newly gained powers. “So he must be the famed Erik Lehnsherr, right?”
“That’s him.”
Fang Mo nodded, still in high spirits. “The metal-controller himself.”
“…”
Erik, unlike them, wore a complicated expression. He could sense the President’s startling power, reminiscent of the ancient Apocalypse. If Fang Mo hadn’t seemed at ease, Erik might have suspected Apocalypse had possessed the President in some new plan to destroy the world.
But as Erik worried, the President extended a friendly hand:
“Hello, Mr. Erik. Today’s main performance depends on you.”
“Main performance?”
Erik blinked. “What performance…?”
He barely finished the question when the President gestured to one of his subordinates, who handed Erik a document.
“What’s this?”
Erik was baffled, glancing warily at Fang Mo before flipping through the file. The more he read, the more shocked he became: “Erik” as the new director of New York’s Third Power Plant, vice-minister of the U.S. Department of Energy, the first high-ranking mutant official, plus a “Political Correctness Bill” outline for mutants… What was this nonsense?
Having read it all, Erik’s first thought was that Fang Mo had sold him out. Without hesitation, he turned to Fang Mo. “You—”
“Oh, Old Man,”
Fang Mo cut in with a grave tone, patting Erik’s shoulder. “You don’t want us mutants to remain voiceless, do you?”
“…”
Erik fell silent. His face was conflicted—inside, he was definitely struggling. In truth, the doc’s content was hardly unacceptable: a well-paid, stable, high-level political position, championing mutant interests. But Erik was more used to solving things through violence. It was like a naive newb who only knows how to drop his pants and fart. Then one day, an online sugar mama tricked him over, gave him an RTX 4090, and he realized in a daze, “Oh… you can do it that way?” That was the sort of face he was making now.
“What’s wrong?”
The President, noticing Erik’s hesitation, turned inquisitively to Fang Mo. “Why does he look like that? Isn’t this what you asked me to do?”
“…”
Erik’s expression grew even darker.
“It’s nothing.”
Fang Mo remained serene. “He’s just figuring out his role. He used to solve everything by fighting, so he’s not sure how to handle working in a ‘system’ for the first time…”
“Ah, got it.”
The President laughed. “Don’t worry, the whole venue is on our side. You just follow the plan in that document. If you’re not ready, you can skip it. No problem.”
“This…”
Erik still looked hesitant. But recalling Fang Mo’s words, he braced himself and nodded. “Fine… I’ll do it.”
“Yes!”
Fang Mo couldn’t help beaming. “That’s the mutant champion I know. Come on—here’s to our future together.”
“Here’s to our future together.”
Before Erik could respond, the President smiled meaningfully at Fang Mo.
“I…”
“All right, the interview’s about to start.”
Seeing Erik’s uncertainty, the President glanced at his watch, then headed for the stage. “Let’s show the world the potential of mutants.”
“Let’s go!”
Fang Mo said excitedly, giving Erik a tug. “I can’t wait to see this!”
