join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for hundreds of additional chapters and over a dozen stories
Underwater, Kevin not only improved his physical abilities but also enhanced his hearing and vision.
His vision allowed him to see clearly in the dim depths of the The Deep.
His hearing could pick up all sounds within a radius of several miles.
Though this was limited to underwater.
If he followed the ocean currents, Kevin could hear even further.
Therefore, even underwater, Kevin could clearly hear cries for help coming from the distant surface.
Hearing the cries for help, Kevin hesitated for a moment, then swiftly swam towards their source.
Kevin didn't consider himself a superhero; he would never do anything self-sacrificing.
However, if he encountered someone he could save within the scope of his abilities, Kevin probably wouldn't refuse.
So, upon hearing someone calling for help in the ocean, Kevin immediately swam over, intending to assess the situation first before deciding what to do next.
The cries for help were not too far from Kevin's location.
After all, Kevin's underwater hearing range was only a few miles, a distance he could cover in about half a minute at his underwater speed.
Upon reaching the underwater accident site, Kevin realized something was amiss.
He had initially thought someone had accidentally fallen into the water and couldn't swim, hence the cries for help on the surface.
But in reality—
"Don't let her get away!"
"The one over there has been caught, and this one can't be let go either! If necessary, kill her!"
"No... don't! Don't kill me!! Help!!!"
The brutal voices of men and a woman's screams echoed from beneath a small boat.
A raggedly dressed woman was desperately swimming towards the brightly lit city on the coast.
Behind her, a fishing boat shone its searchlight directly on her, and on board, a group of obvious villains, with tattooed arms and guns in hand, aimed at the fleeing woman below.
Kevin, seeing all this from underwater and noticing many other shabbily dressed foreigners on the boat who looked like refugees, immediately guessed what was happening.
Human trafficking... specifically, the trafficking of foreigners under the guise of 'illegal immigration'.
This group must be a New York gang.
"...It doesn't seem like a normal emergency, so can I leave now? After all, they have guns."
Kevin muttered to himself.
If it were just a typical drowning incident, Kevin could rush in to save people and gain some fame.
But this situation involved a gang, and they were armed.
While Kevin was confident that his defensive capabilities were comparable to Starlight's, making him unafraid of common firearms, and even high-powered sniper rifles should be ineffective against him.
However, he had never tested this, so Kevin was still a bit intimidated.
According to his previous mindset, he should turn around and leave immediately, handing the matter over to those who should handle it, like the police or the FBI.
But looking at the familiar East Asian faces on the boat, Kevin couldn't help but sigh.
"I am a superhero, after all. Today, I'll do what a superhero should do for once."
After a quick assessment of the people above, Kevin began his move.
He lurked underwater, and just as the few people above were about to shoot the fleeing woman, he directly dragged her underwater and covered her mouth and nose to prevent her from choking.
Two seconds later, Kevin, with the woman, reached the back of the boat, first pulling the nearly unconscious woman onto the boat, then immediately subduing the two armed men at the stern.
His immense strength and speed meant the two men at the stern had no time to react before Kevin knocked them to the ground.
At the same time, Kevin crushed the firearms in their hands with brute force.
"Wait... it's! It's The Deep!!"
Kevin, wearing his hero costume, stood under the boat's lights, and these gang members quickly recognized his identity.
One of them pointed at Kevin and shouted loudly, while the undocumented immigrants looked at Kevin in terror.
They were all foreigners and seemed not to recognize The Deep, nor did they understand what the gang members were shouting.
Seeing that these people recognized him, Kevin placed his hands on his hips, striking a standard superhero pose, and said:
"It seems you all know me, which makes things much simpler. Now, put down your weapons and surrender. I can guarantee your lives will not be in danger."
"The Deep? You... you can't attack me! We... we were arranged by Homelander..."
One of them suddenly stepped forward, pointing at Kevin and about to say something.
But upon hearing the word 'Homelander' from this person's mouth, Kevin's expression instantly changed. He moved incredibly fast to stand before the man, pinching his mouth shut with one hand, blocking all his subsequent words.
"?!"
Kevin's sudden action startled the remaining gang members. They instinctively aimed their guns at Kevin, their empty muzzles pointed directly at his head.
His gaze swept over the guns in the gang members' hands, and Kevin sighed softly, whispering to the man he was holding, who was clearly the leader:
"Why did you mention Homelander?"
"Mmm mmm!?"
"What a pity, I didn't want to kill anyone."
As Kevin spoke, he subtly moved his fingers.
With his action, ripples spread across the water surface near the boat, and droplets of water rose from the surface, gathering in the air to form transparent water arrows.
The water arrows hovered behind the gang members' heads, unseen by them, aimed at their vital points.
Including the two men Kevin had just knocked unconscious, there were ten gang members on the boat in total, all now targeted by water arrows.
"Shoot!!"
"Tsk."
Kevin was still hesitating whether to act, but then someone suddenly fired, pulling the trigger, which made Kevin stop hesitating entirely.
Bullets shot from the gun muzzles, hitting Kevin's body, then bouncing off his tough skin.
His Level 4 supe physique could already withstand most firearms, which did not surprise Kevin.
And as the opponents made their move, Kevin also controlled the water arrows, piercing through the weakest points on the back of their heads.
Whoosh—
With an almost perfectly synchronized sound, the water arrows plunged into the back of the gang members' heads, and in an instant, all the gang members were deprived of their lives by Kevin's water arrows.
Killing for the first time in this life, Kevin's emotions were a bit difficult to calm, but surprisingly, there was no feeling of revulsion, just a sense of discomfort.
"Don't blame me; you mentioned Homelander."
Kevin muttered to himself.
He didn't want to kill anyone, but these guys mentioned Homelander, which proved they were connected to him. Remembering the original plot where Homelander secretly leaked Compound V and conducted human experiments, Kevin knew he was probably in trouble.
There was no other way; to prevent Homelander from knowing that he was aware of this matter, Kevin could only kill them.
Anyway, once this matter passed, with no witnesses to contradict him, Kevin would stick to his story, saying he had merely carried out a regular crime-fighting operation, and Homelander would have no way to touch him.
After all, what Homelander did was inherently illicit.
As for now...
"Vessel ahead! All personnel, please put down your weapons! Repeat! Please put down your weapons!!"
The patrolling marine police arrived at the scene at a very opportune moment.
Kevin put down the bodies in his hands, raised his hands amidst the many lights, his expression calm, even sporting a professional smile.
It seemed he wouldn't have to handle the cleanup himself.
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence: 9 Reader for hundreds of additional chapters and over a dozen stories