While Wade and the others were communicating in the group chat, the situation on the field had already become clear.
"No, get down! You too." Stormfront darted left and right on the arena stage, moving with effortless ease through the siege of over fifty students with various superpowers.
A student condensed a rock and hurled it down; she tilted her body to dodge, pointing a finger at the opponent's forehead. As purple electric arcs leaped, the student stiffened and collapsed to the ground.
Another person fired pure white lasers from their eyes from behind. Without even turning her head, Stormfront waved her hand backward, and an arc of lightning lashed out like a whip, dispersing the laser and knocking the opponent off the stage.
She moved her feet frequently, her fingertips controlling purple lightning as she wove through the crowd, striking and binding them.
With every wave of her hand, several people fell. Wherever her gaze landed, lightning followed, showcasing an exceptionally brilliant ability for group combat.
As the last challenger was overturned by an electric arc, Stormfront elegantly levitated into mid-air, her arms slightly spread.
Countless deep purple electric snakes wove into a web of destruction covering the entire field with her as the center. The sizzling arcs of light illuminated her figure like a descending God of Thunder.
Stormfront looked down at the students sprawled all over the ground and clapped. "Don't be afraid to show your edge, to express your attitude... What this country, this world, needs are true powerhouses who can protect and inspire the people."
"Keep it up, students. I have high hopes for you!"
The entire stadium fell into a sea of fanatical cheering. Her approachable yet powerful image was deeply etched into everyone's heart at that moment.
Wade silently put away his phone, his gaze deep as he looked toward the figure in the center of the field receiving the adoration of thousands.
By heavily promoting Stormfront as someone who could take on a crowd alone, Vought was using a powerful new hero with an outstanding persona to build their brand effect.
The opening ceremony of this assessment was meticulously arranged by Vought. Being in the middle of it, he didn't even have a chance to prepare, let alone the power to interfere.
'Is this Edgar's handiwork again?' A sense of helplessness crawled up Wade's spine, only to be replaced by a surging restlessness.
He looked at the fanatical faces around him, sensing the compound v-filled blood flowing through their bodies. An efficient, crazy thought suddenly flashed into his mind: 'If... if I turn this grand event into a slaughterhouse, wouldn't Vought's perfect script be ruined?'
This highly tempting thought of destruction made his head feel slightly hot. Under the sense of crisis, his killing intent was longing for a complete release.
Rivers of blood in the stands, superpowered students fleeing in all directions, Vought's unscrupulous retaliation against potential opponents... He abruptly closed his eyes, forcibly severing that dangerous imaginary scene.
'No, Mena and the company are already being watched; doing this would be suicidal.' The churning aura was forcibly suppressed back into his body. Wade leaned his head on his hand and sighed,'Sacrificing the weak to achieve a goal—what difference would there be between me and those sanctimonious bastards?'
Violence is a means, but it should not be the first choice, and certainly not directed at innocent people.
If one path is blocked, he would observe as he went and simply take another... In the afternoon, at the main peak of the Adirondack Mountains.
A figure pierced through the clouds, gliding toward a cave entrance hidden by vines on the peak, vanishing into the precipice.
Inside the cave was dark and silent, save for the faint whimpering of the airflow through a gap at the top.
To Wade, this place was as bright as day; every inch of the rock texture was crystal clear.
He pulled open the large leather suitcase in his hand and took out two large fuel tanks—one blue and one white—pouring them into a nearby rectangular stone water tank.
Recalling the three rounds of practical combat he participated in this morning, he switched fuel tanks and continued pouring: "Fighting against those students in the school who have varying levels and can't even control their own abilities properly provides no pressure at all. It's a complete waste of time."
Wade did not intend to waste his precious time on the house-playing games meticulously choreographed by Vought.
He took the opportunity to sneak out this time mainly to settle A-Train and, while he was at it, deliver regular supplies to Anand and Nisha, who were living in a RV on the mountainside.
Shetty was currently working for him in a law-abiding manner at the school. If he let her only remaining relatives starve to death, that vengeful woman would surely turn traitor in an instant.
Wade put down the fuel tank in his hand and watched the white liquid creature in the tank slowly absorbing and merging with the compound v. Its volume seemed to have expanded another circle. Only then did he walk over to a stone platform on the side with peace of mind.
"I wonder if A-Train can evolve once it swallows enough? This inability to speak is really a problem, and mental communication is useless. It's so troublesome..."
He muttered as he walked to a stone platform where a smooth sand table covered with fine sand was placed.
Wade's gaze swept across the sand table, and with a slight movement of his will, the fine sand seemed to be stirred by an invisible airflow, churning to quickly outline the sand-art portraits of all current members of The Seven, looking lifelike.
Starlight, currently the "Star of Tomorrow" heavily promoted by Vought, was enjoying the spotlight and traffic, her career flourishing.
"Contacting Annie now would instead likely alert the enemy. The fruit isn't ripe yet; there's no rush."
Queen Maeve already had one foot on his pirate ship; she was a complex woman with a conscience.
"All she needs is a catalyst. With her growing disappointment and disgust toward Vought, she is bound to rebel."
Wade looked at the phone floating in front of him, checking the activity info for A-Train and the new Black Noir on Vought Plus.
He found that these two had clearly become Homelander's new lackeys, following him inseparably to various movie premieres and promotional events. For now, there was no chance to make contact.
Especially the new Black Noir, 'Sleepyhead-Nathan.' The G-Men at school had collected quite a lot of dirt and leverage on him getting too deep into his roles and taking them seriously. He had numerous rumored girlfriends and had even produced two children.
"He only just joined; forcing him to defect at a critical moment is the only way it'll be effective. It's too early to expose it now." Wade shifted his gaze to the portrait of Stormfront on the side.
Stormfront was currently in the spotlight. The image she had built before the media and the public was somewhat in a position to rival Homelander. "This kind of internal competition and confrontation is beneficial to me. There's no need to interfere for now."
In the center of the sand table, Wade condensed the face of a middle-aged Black man with a buzz cut.
Edgar. This legitimate CEO, who usually hides behind the scenes, has personally taken action with sophisticated methods.
Although the FBI and FDA investigation into Vought's compound v was still ongoing, someone was deliberately blocking and delaying progress, and no key evidence or witnesses could be found. Pushing for a trial against Vought seemed distant and indefinite.
He glanced at the information on his phone, pounded the stone table a few times, and said in a low voice, "These people really do their jobs after taking money! They're actually still protecting Vought to the death... Butcher and the others submitted compound v samples and related case files to the CIA, and as expected, nothing was released."
Wade thought for a moment, knowing that until the Vought higher-ups led by Edgar took the initiative to move against his company, remaining still to control the situation and meeting changes with constancy was the optimal choice.
His finger tapped lightly on the sand table, his gaze sweeping over the portraits one by one.
After a rigorous comprehensive analysis, he found that the person currently easiest to target and most worthwhile was only one person left.
The Deep, who ranked last in The Seven and was completely marginalized.
Wade clicked on Vought's official streaming platform, Plus. He skipped the homepage promotions for Starlight's new interview and Homelander's movie trailer, finding content related to The Deep in a corner section.
He clicked on the only live stream link.
In the video, The Deep was wearing that dark green scale suit, standing on a beach in Atlantic City with a forced smile, holding a grabber tool in front of the camera... bending over to pick up trash.
The title read: "The Seven · The Deep: Protecting Our Shared Blue Home!"
The bullet-chat comments were not friendly, filled with mockery and ridicule:
"The King of the Aquarium is here again? Where are your ocean buddies?"
"Did Vought forget he's still on the job?? Why is he always doing announcements by the sea?"
"Hahaha... An ocean hero has to stay by the sea! Look, he seems to be talking to that crab. So funny."
"I bet fifty cents he's going to cry in the next second."
In the footage, The Deep held a trash bag and tried to strike up conversations with people everywhere, only to find that no one paid him any attention. His eyes were filled with unconcealable embarrassment and loneliness.
Wade smiled as he put away his phone and flew out of the cave. "There are three members of The Seven I can turn into moles at any time. Especially one like this who craves attention and is vain—adding one more won't hurt."
He hadn't forgotten the video of 'The Deep's Night Meeting with a Dolphin' he had accidentally filmed on the sea at night. "It's time to have a good talk with our King of the Sea."
Wade wanted to pry open this marginal gap in The Seven and plant another bomb that could explode at any time in the lower deck of Vought's giant ship.
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