Reading settings
Chapter 632 Omega Kid
"Huh?"
Mark snapped back to reality, realizing he was holding the copy of *The Judas Window* he had treasured for so long. The book was open to page eight, the part where Answell discovers he and his dead father-in-law are trapped in a Secret Room.
So little time had passed? Mark looked down at the watch on his wrist. He thought it had been much longer, but looking at the time, it had only been less than ten minutes.
The sound of shoes scraping against the ground reached his ears. When he turned around, he saw Quentin walking towards him. He had to admit, the kid's pink hair, combined with his carefree movements, really made him look like a street punk.
"What's wrong, Quentin?" Mark asked. His hand unconsciously closed the book. Quentin's gaze flickered when he saw Mark's movement, but he remained calm and said.
"Nothing much. It's just that those guys have discussed it and decided to move the base camp. I'm just here to notify you to pack up your things."
"Moving places? I see," Mark nodded. "What about these guys? What should we do with them?"
"Ignore them, left to their own devices here," Quentin scratched his head. "The Serpent Gang guys already know the position of our base camp. They don't know yet that the vanguard failed. When they react, they will send more people, and they might send even more powerful beings."
"If we withdraw in advance, we can avoid fighting them. As for these people, let the Serpent Gang deal with them themselves."
"Okay, I'll pack up right away." Mark stood up but found that Quentin hadn't turned to leave. This made him feel strange. Quentin was always averse to trouble and didn't like to interact with others much.
He usually just did what he was ordered and turned around to leave, not staying for even a second. What was wrong today?
Mark asked, "Is there anything else?"
"Nothing," Quentin pushed his glasses and asked, pretending to be nonchalant.
"What page are you on in that book, Mark?"
"You mean this one?" Mark waved the copy of *The Judas Window* in his hand. "I'm on page eight. Why, are you interested in this book?"
"A little bit. What kind of story is this book about?"
"I haven't finished it either, how would I know?" Mark rolled his eyes. "I heard it's like a courtroom mystery novel. So far, I've only seen the protagonist trapped in a Secret Room with his dead father-in-law."
"Is that so?" Quentin didn't sense that Mark was lying, but he just felt that something was strange. However, in the end, he couldn't find any weakness. In order not to arouse Mark's suspicion, he could only pretend to be nonchalant and turn to leave.
Quentin's appearance was strange, but because he was a strange kid himself, Mark didn't pay too much attention and just followed Quentin and left with him.
When their figures were no longer visible, Yang Le, who had turned into a stone, revealed his true form. He used X-ray vision to look at Quentin, who was leading the way in front, and became thoughtful.
If he wasn't mistaken, that kid with pink hair should be a rookie in the X-Men, code name **Omega Kid**, Quentin Quire.
Although **Omega Kid** has appeared in comics for a not short time, in the setting, he has always been a rookie, but he is not just any rookie.
Just like Quentin's code name, he is also a mutant with Omega potential and one of the few hosts suitable for the Phoenix Force. In the future, there is also a timeline where he becomes Phoenix.
Yang Le remembered that Quentin's ability was also telepathic ability, but he also had an additional ability to materialize psychic energy. Quentin could manipulate this energy to turn it into swords or even guns.
Quentin's potential is huge. It is estimated that the editors initially had high hopes for him, setting him as one of the most powerful beings among the new generation of mutants, but he gradually became an unpopular character.
Perhaps this is the dilemma of all American comics. Old characters are too enduring. Even if new characters are introduced, there is still no way to reasonably arrange for the changing of the guard. That's why old characters keep doing sit-ups, dying and then coming back to life.
Yang Le withdrew his thoughts. After his brief observation just now, Quentin's ability is still far from its peak, even not as good as when he first appeared in comics.
Now, he is just a rookie who has just gained ability and hasn't explored the full appearance of his ability yet. Just based on the psychic fluctuation just now, Yang Le could feel that Quentin still couldn't directly probe what people were thinking in their brains.
Obviously, Quentin noticed Mark's unusualness. He sensed a trace of unusualness and used language to assist his still-weak ability to perform lie detection on Mark, but he didn't find anything unusual.
This is normal because Yang Le fabricated the memory in Mark's head, downloaded the content of the book he had read into Mark, making the latter believe that he had read the book and knew the content of the first eight pages.
To put on a full act, Yang Le didn't want others to know he had been here, so he naturally had to put in some thoughts. Otherwise, why would he spend a few seconds reading that book? It was for the cleanup afterward.
But unexpectedly, Quentin still noticed the unusualness. He just didn't know what aspect he had found wrong. Because the other party was also a telepath, Yang Le didn't rashly directly read Quentin's mind, even though he was much stronger than Quentin.
Forget it, it's not important. Maybe when Quentin becomes stronger, he will be able to discover the false memory he set up, but that is definitely not now.
As for now, Yang Le has other business to do. The Serpent Gang has provided him with a good idea. Maybe he can discover something somewhere.
After making up his mind, Yang Le didn't delay much. He made his body intangible and flew straight out of the underground tunnel. At the same time, in a state of invisibility, he flew toward the Serpent Gang's territory.
Yang Le learned about the position of the Serpent Gang's base camp by reading Rock Python's memory. He also wanted to obtain more information about the Serpent Gang but found that Rock Python was just a small boss and was not qualified to know more of the inside story.
Rock Python only knew some superficial things, such as the leader's name, the names and identities of the other small bosses, and the positions and distributions of their bases.
As the saying goes, a cunning rabbit has three burrows. The Serpent Gang, as one of the few established gangs in the New York Ruins, naturally has more than one hideout. During outward aggression, they also captured many sanctums. Other bases were byproducts produced at that time.
Almost every small boss occupies a base, but Yang Le doesn't pay any attention to these thugs at all. His current goal is the Serpent Gang leader's base camp.
(End of Chapter)
"Huh?"
Mark snapped back to reality, realizing he was holding the copy of *The Judas Window* he had treasured for so long. The book was open to page eight, the part where Answell discovers he and his dead father-in-law are trapped in a Secret Room.
So little time had passed? Mark looked down at the watch on his wrist. He thought it had been much longer, but looking at the time, it had only been less than ten minutes.
The sound of shoes scraping against the ground reached his ears. When he turned around, he saw Quentin walking towards him. He had to admit, the kid's pink hair, combined with his carefree movements, really made him look like a street punk.
"What's wrong, Quentin?" Mark asked. His hand unconsciously closed the book. Quentin's gaze flickered when he saw Mark's movement, but he remained calm and said.
"Nothing much. It's just that those guys have discussed it and decided to move the base camp. I'm just here to notify you to pack up your things."
"Moving places? I see," Mark nodded. "What about these guys? What should we do with them?"
"Ignore them, left to their own devices here," Quentin scratched his head. "The Serpent Gang guys already know the position of our base camp. They don't know yet that the vanguard failed. When they react, they will send more people, and they might send even more powerful beings."
"If we withdraw in advance, we can avoid fighting them. As for these people, let the Serpent Gang deal with them themselves."
"Okay, I'll pack up right away." Mark stood up but found that Quentin hadn't turned to leave. This made him feel strange. Quentin was always averse to trouble and didn't like to interact with others much.
He usually just did what he was ordered and turned around to leave, not staying for even a second. What was wrong today?
Mark asked, "Is there anything else?"
"Nothing," Quentin pushed his glasses and asked, pretending to be nonchalant.
"What page are you on in that book, Mark?"
"You mean this one?" Mark waved the copy of *The Judas Window* in his hand. "I'm on page eight. Why, are you interested in this book?"
"A little bit. What kind of story is this book about?"
"I haven't finished it either, how would I know?" Mark rolled his eyes. "I heard it's like a courtroom mystery novel. So far, I've only seen the protagonist trapped in a Secret Room with his dead father-in-law."
"Is that so?" Quentin didn't sense that Mark was lying, but he just felt that something was strange. However, in the end, he couldn't find any weakness. In order not to arouse Mark's suspicion, he could only pretend to be nonchalant and turn to leave.
Quentin's appearance was strange, but because he was a strange kid himself, Mark didn't pay too much attention and just followed Quentin and left with him.
When their figures were no longer visible, Yang Le, who had turned into a stone, revealed his true form. He used X-ray vision to look at Quentin, who was leading the way in front, and became thoughtful.
If he wasn't mistaken, that kid with pink hair should be a rookie in the X-Men, code name **Omega Kid**, Quentin Quire.
Although **Omega Kid** has appeared in comics for a not short time, in the setting, he has always been a rookie, but he is not just any rookie.
Just like Quentin's code name, he is also a mutant with Omega potential and one of the few hosts suitable for the Phoenix Force. In the future, there is also a timeline where he becomes Phoenix.
Yang Le remembered that Quentin's ability was also telepathic ability, but he also had an additional ability to materialize psychic energy. Quentin could manipulate this energy to turn it into swords or even guns.
Quentin's potential is huge. It is estimated that the editors initially had high hopes for him, setting him as one of the most powerful beings among the new generation of mutants, but he gradually became an unpopular character.
Perhaps this is the dilemma of all American comics. Old characters are too enduring. Even if new characters are introduced, there is still no way to reasonably arrange for the changing of the guard. That's why old characters keep doing sit-ups, dying and then coming back to life.
Yang Le withdrew his thoughts. After his brief observation just now, Quentin's ability is still far from its peak, even not as good as when he first appeared in comics.
Now, he is just a rookie who has just gained ability and hasn't explored the full appearance of his ability yet. Just based on the psychic fluctuation just now, Yang Le could feel that Quentin still couldn't directly probe what people were thinking in their brains.
Obviously, Quentin noticed Mark's unusualness. He sensed a trace of unusualness and used language to assist his still-weak ability to perform lie detection on Mark, but he didn't find anything unusual.
This is normal because Yang Le fabricated the memory in Mark's head, downloaded the content of the book he had read into Mark, making the latter believe that he had read the book and knew the content of the first eight pages.
To put on a full act, Yang Le didn't want others to know he had been here, so he naturally had to put in some thoughts. Otherwise, why would he spend a few seconds reading that book? It was for the cleanup afterward.
But unexpectedly, Quentin still noticed the unusualness. He just didn't know what aspect he had found wrong. Because the other party was also a telepath, Yang Le didn't rashly directly read Quentin's mind, even though he was much stronger than Quentin.
Forget it, it's not important. Maybe when Quentin becomes stronger, he will be able to discover the false memory he set up, but that is definitely not now.
As for now, Yang Le has other business to do. The Serpent Gang has provided him with a good idea. Maybe he can discover something somewhere.
After making up his mind, Yang Le didn't delay much. He made his body intangible and flew straight out of the underground tunnel. At the same time, in a state of invisibility, he flew toward the Serpent Gang's territory.
Yang Le learned about the position of the Serpent Gang's base camp by reading Rock Python's memory. He also wanted to obtain more information about the Serpent Gang but found that Rock Python was just a small boss and was not qualified to know more of the inside story.
Rock Python only knew some superficial things, such as the leader's name, the names and identities of the other small bosses, and the positions and distributions of their bases.
As the saying goes, a cunning rabbit has three burrows. The Serpent Gang, as one of the few established gangs in the New York Ruins, naturally has more than one hideout. During outward aggression, they also captured many sanctums. Other bases were byproducts produced at that time.
Almost every small boss occupies a base, but Yang Le doesn't pay any attention to these thugs at all. His current goal is the Serpent Gang leader's base camp.
(End of Chapter)
