"Who's this?"
Walking toward them was a mature beauty with alluring chocolate-colored skin and silver-white hair.
"Let me introduce you—this is Yi Zhou, the guest the Professor invited." Jean Grey spoke with a tone of mild complaint toward the dark-skinned beauty, as if scolding a close friend.
Ororo clearly showed great interest. She circled around Zhou Yi twice, examining him with a strange, probing gaze. As she walked, she commented:
"A boy like this is worth the Professor's attention?"
"In terms of the abilities he's shown, he's very powerful. But whether he's a mutant still needs confirmation," Jean replied as she adjusted the equipment.
"So if he's not a mutant, is he one of those mutation-type superhumans?" Ororo continued curiously.
Many people assumed mutants were simply mutated humans. But as time passed, mutants had long formed a stable species of their own, originating from a consistent genetic change—the X-Gene. With the X-Gene, mutants had essentially become a race independent from ordinary humans.
This was also why governments around the world treated mutants with high pressure and suspicion—the stability of their population made them an enormous potential threat.
In contrast, those rare individuals who developed powers due to special circumstances—what people commonly called "superpowered humans"—were actually considered less threatening, simply because they were far too few in number. So few, in fact, that even Professor Charles Xavier, who had once used his psychic abilities to observe the entire human race, would try his best to recruit such individuals.
Including Zhou Yi.
To be honest, Charles wanted to recruit Zhou Yi partly out of research interest. But more importantly, he didn't want a potential powerhouse to fall into hostile hands. Making that potential ally into a friend was the best solution.
While Ororo inspected Zhou Yi, Zhou Yi inspected Ororo as well. Unlike common features found among people of her skin tone, Ororo lacked the thick lips and flat nasal bridge. Instead, she possessed a high, elegant nose and full, attractive lips. Combined with her alluring skin tone and exquisitely beautiful features, she easily rivaled the most stunning models in fashion magazines.
Her figure, wrapped in a tight leather outfit, was fiery hot enough to make one's blood stir. And that long, flowing silver-white hair gave her a mysterious, striking charm.
At this point, Zhou Yi could only admit that the claim about mutants being biologically superior to humans wasn't wrong—not just in power, but even in appearance. Just a playful thought, of course.
Noticing Zhou Yi openly admiring her, Ororo didn't get angry. She stepped forward, extended a soft hand, and smiled enchantingly.
"Hello, Mr. Zhou. I'm Ororo, a teacher at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters."
Naturally, Zhou Yi took her delicate hand and said sincerely, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Ororo. Truly, you are one of the most charming women I've ever seen."
Ororo laughed lightly. "Is that so? Then I'm honored. Even if the praise comes from a big boy."
Zhou Yi glanced at the small difference in their heights and sighed inwardly. Trying to win over an older beauty in his half-grown stage… the difficulty was definitely not small. For now, he didn't even see hope.
But that didn't stop him from trying. He put in all his effort, chatting and flirting with Ororo—though the progress was minimal. With Ororo's past experiences, especially having served as a gang leader once upon a time, handling a little flirt like Zhou Yi was no trouble at all.
Still, the two bantered pleasantly enough.
Jean Grey, however, paid them no mind. Once the equipment was ready, she cut in:
"Alright, you two. If you want to chat, you can schedule a time later. Now—Yi Zhou, take off your shirt. We're starting."
"Of course."
Having successfully secured Ororo's contact information, Zhou Yi didn't push his luck. He simply took off his shirt and stepped in front of Jean.
At sixteen, Zhou Yi, like most East Asian boys, was still growing. But his physique was exceptionally well-built—muscle and bone aligned in near perfect proportions. Even by Western standards, he couldn't be called thin or frail.
The most striking part, however, was the vibrant crimson three-legged sun-crow emblazoned across his back. Two golden eyes glowed with fiery light, radiating an overwhelming aura. Its massive wings spread across his shoulder blades, coiled in swirling winds and flame. The sharp three talons stood atop a blazing sun, the solar disc resting near his lower back. The corona and flames were carved with vivid, intricate precision—majestic enough to take one's breath away.
Jean and Ororo, who had never seen such a mythical beast, were momentarily entranced. Their eyes held the admiration reserved for a piece of art.
Zhou Yi, however, didn't mind—letting two beautiful women admire it wasn't exactly a loss.
But they were seasoned mutant teachers, and soon regained composure.
Jean asked in disbelief, "What is this? I can sense some kind of extraordinary power from it."
"This is the Three-Legged Golden Crow—symbol of the sun in Chinese mythology. It's my birthmark. My mom tried many ways to remove it, but failed. That's all I know." Zhou Yi shrugged and explained.
"You're saying your power is innate—something like divine blessing?" Ororo stepped close and traced the lines with her fingers. "That's incredible."
"All I can say is—I don't know. If I did, I wouldn't have agreed to come here for testing."
"You'll get your answers. And so will we." Ororo's soft whisper brushed against his ear as her fingertips slid lightly across his back, sending electric tingles through him. His whole body shivered subconsciously.
The sensation was pleasant, but Zhou Yi didn't like it. Ororo was acting like a curious cat whose interest had been thoroughly piqued, now eager to uncover his secrets.
Zhou Yi quickly diverted the topic and turned to Jean. "Can we start now?"
"Of course." Jean nodded—she too worried her friend might go too far. Any conflict would be bad for both sides and for the school. So she promptly arranged the equipment and said to Ororo:
"Ororo, could you help me with something? I still have two classes today but I don't have time right now. Could you teach them for me?"
Ororo shrugged easily."As long as you swap a class with me later, no problem. Well then, big boy, see you next time."
With a wave, she sashayed out of the lab.
"She's really stunning," Zhou Yi sighed, then quickly switched tone to Jean. "Of course, so are you."
Jean rolled her eyes and forced a stiff smile.
"Thanks, but let's start the experiment."
She instructed Zhou Yi to stand on a hexagonal platform while she operated the controls.
"This device was developed for testing physically enhanced mutants. It creates a stable, controllable gravity field and includes highly sensitive optical sensors. Through calculated formulas, we can measure most of your basic physical metrics—strength, durability, reaction speed, and movement speed.
Now, I'm going to increase the gravity. Drop your energy defenses and use only your natural body to withstand it. Tell me when you're ready. If you feel unwell at any point, say so immediately."
Zhou Yi nodded, indicating she could begin.
A moment later, Jean's cool voice came through the microphone.
"Experiment start. Gravity at 1.2 times. Holding for one minute… everything normal. Increasing to 1.5… normal. Raising to five times. Zhou Yi, how do you feel?"
As the experiment progressed, Jean grew visibly astonished. As the lead researcher, she knew exactly what five times gravity meant—not just additional weight, but every muscle, bone, hair, and cell bearing five times its original mass.
A creature living under that kind of gravity—once exposed to normal gravity—would be strong enough to knock over a bus with pure physical force. And that was only one aspect.
At Xavier's school, aside from Beast Hank and Colossus—who relied on their powers—no mutant could withstand such gravity. Yet Zhou Yi still seemed to have plenty of strength left.
Zhou Yi warmed up with a few stretches, feeling the power flowing through him under the pressure. He gave Jean a thumbs-up.
"I feel great! Keep going."
Jean was stunned again, but quickly refocused.
"Continuing. Gravity at six times. Monitoring cardiovascular function… normal. Proceeding…"
Under Jean's increasingly shocked gaze, the gravity climbed step by step. Only at nine times—the machine's limit—did Zhou Yi show faint physiological strain. Not outwardly, but detectable through cardiac and pulmonary readings.
In comparison, it was like an ordinary person after running a thousand meters.
Based on her calculations, Zhou Yi could probably handle one or two more levels—if the equipment had the capacity.
"Yi Zhou, can you move normally? Running, for example? If you can, try jogging inside."
Zhou Yi nodded and began jogging easily. After a few laps, he increased speed until he reached roughly sprinting pace. He maintained that for about ten minutes before stopping and looking at Jean.
To him, this environment felt ideal for training. He could sense his body growing stronger—slowly but noticeably faster than it had over the past few years.
This made him appreciate just how much potential his abilities held.
Jean seemed to understand his anticipation and didn't hide anything.
"Because of the machine's limitations, we can only estimate your physical stats.
Based on calculations, the force generated purely by your muscles is between 50,000 pounds (approximately 22 tons) and 60,000 pounds (27 tons). That's not counting explosive strength—this is your normal muscular output. Actual numbers may vary depending on technique.
As for durability, your body can endure around 50,000 pounds of pressure—that's the minimum estimate. Regarding modern weapons, aside from some advanced technology-based weapons, only large-caliber sniper rifles could harm you—mainly due to concentrated impact points. If you adjust your muscles to cushion the impact, even that might not be a problem.
Next is your speed. Your high-speed movement has already exceeded the sound barrier. Without environmental limits, your typical top speed should be around Mach 4. In real environments, probably around Mach 3.
Lastly, your neural reaction speed—we can only estimate. It's roughly seven ten-thousandths of a second. That's the pinnacle of biological reaction time in nature.
Speaking of which—you watch movies, right? Any particular experiences?"
Zhou Yi thought for a moment. "Normally it's fine. But if I concentrate, watching a single still frame feels… uncomfortable."
Jean sighed softly.
"I've seen many mutant students suffer terribly because they couldn't control their enhanced senses or reflexes.
But you—you're like a child favored by the heavens. To put it simply, you're like a divine son. Your physical body is too perfect.
Just your physical strength alone already reaches Alpha-level. And that's not even counting your other abilities…"
Zhou Yi could only chuckle.A child of the gods?
He preferred to believe he was someone who would one day become a god.