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[T/N: Finished on Patreon]
What is it like when a roller coaster you're riding suddenly derails and plunges from above?
I believe very few people can answer that question.
Because in such an accident, those who survive are ultimately a minority. However, as an observer, Kevin said that the moment the roller coaster flew off, it was actually quite beautiful.
It was like a flying dragon preparing to soar into the sky, hovering and taking flight.
But if this 'flying dragon' truly flew, that would indeed be a beautiful thing. However, this 'flying dragon,' immediately after taking flight, plummeted directly towards the ground.
The front of the car was aimed at the ground and pedestrians below, on the verge of causing a terrible disaster.
Because the incident happened too suddenly, Kevin's actions were quicker than his thoughts as he rushed forward.
In that moment, everything in the world seemed to slow down before his eyes. In just two or three short seconds, Kevin had already sprinted to the roller coaster and manipulated the nearby water to gush out from underground.
Water erupted at an extremely fast speed from nearby fountains and fire hydrants along the road.
Under Kevin's control, they condensed and took Shape, using the newly learned Shape magic to create a buffer roller coaster track in front of the roller coaster.
Although Kevin had only just learned Shape magic and couldn't precisely gauge the details of the roller coaster track, the passengers on the car experienced some 'bumping'.
But overall, the passengers on the roller coaster were not seriously harmed.
Except for the fright.
"Hey! Is everyone alright?!"
Once the roller coaster came to a safe stop, Kevin asked the passengers on board.
The passengers were still in shock; they looked at each other for a long time before someone let out a cry of pain, overwhelmed by shock.
At the same time, the onlookers finally realized what had happened.
They gathered around, discussing or marveling at the scene, and then, led by someone unknown, they began to applaud.
"The Deep! Well done!!"
"What? Is it The Deep?! Deep, I love you!!"
Apparently, someone recognized Kevin and immediately surrounded him.
Few people even paid attention to the condition of the victims.
Kevin was helpless; he wanted to push through the crowd but was worried about hurting his enthusiastic fans, so he could only squeeze his way out while greeting them:
"Thank you, thank you for your support, but could you please make way and also call an ambulance!"
Kevin was surrounded by fans. Although he knew the victims on the roller coaster were probably fine, he still felt that the fans focusing on him instead of the injured victims was a bit too indifferent.
Moreover, more than that, he wanted to go see why the roller coaster had flown off the track.
Unfortunately, he couldn't get away at the moment.
Helpless, Kevin could only turn his gaze towards Annie for help.
Upon realizing Kevin was exposed, Annie, who had further disguised herself by wearing a rabbit mask bought from a roadside stall, gave Kevin an 'OK' gesture, indicating she knew what to do.
She then turned to Cate beside her and said:
"Cate, please take Kimiko to play over there first. I have something to do."
"Do you need my help?"
"No, you two just play. We'll meet up with you after we've dealt with things here."
Annie smiled at Cate.
Cate was young, and Kimiko's mental age was also not mature. In Kevin and Annie's eyes, they were both children.
It didn't make sense to have children accompany them to work.
Annie asked Cate to take Kimiko away, and after seeing them walk off into the distance, she herself went to the roller coaster to investigate.
After such a major incident, a crowd of staff and security guards gathered next to the roller coaster ride.
They maintained order while also protecting the scene from being disturbed, preventing passersby from getting too close.
Annie moved closer, using her face to get the person in charge to let her in without revealing her identity, which allowed her to observe the situation of the roller coaster ride up close.
Then, she saw a very obvious gap at the rail connection point above the roller coaster track.
It was as if something had erased it.
"Another Supe…"
Annie frowned in thought.
The gap in the roller coaster track was clearly not caused by human effort.
Even if this roller coaster was old and in disrepair, such a large gap could never appear without anyone noticing.
Or, before the gap became a large one, the roller coaster project would have experienced a very serious accident, so there's no reason it would have been allowed to get this big.
Therefore, the explanation that the gap suddenly appeared was very reasonable.
And the only ones capable of doing this, besides Supes, Annie couldn't think of anyone else.
Was it Super Villains?
Annie pondered as she investigated.
Although the Supervillain Alliance had been annihilated by The Seven, Super Villains continued to appear one after another.
Many Supes dissatisfied with the status quo, many abandoned Supes, united in unknown places, forming one small Supervillain Alliance after another.
The Supervillain Alliance previously taken down by The Seven was just a spark.
The Seven did not extinguish it; instead, through television broadcasts, they ignited the evil fire in the hearts of other Supes.
Coupled with the Compound V issue, which made many Supes realize they weren't born this way, their criminal activities became increasingly rampant.
The Super Villain Homelander killed in Africa a few days ago was not an isolated case.
New York itself was fine; because The Seven were there, even if Super Villains wanted to cause trouble, they had to consider whether they could withstand a group beating from The Seven.
But in other places… Super Villains had far fewer restrictions.
Now, even within the city where Vought is located, The Seven's main Stationed city, Super Villains attacking ordinary people have appeared. One can imagine how grim the current situation is.
"Attackers… There don't seem to be any around here."
After a check, confirming that this was indeed the work of a Supe, Annie turned to look around, preparing to find the Supe who attacked the roller coaster.
But perhaps because of Kevin's appearance, that Supe knew that continued destruction was no longer possible, and thus hid.
No matter how Annie searched, she couldn't find any overly suspicious individuals.
Even after Kevin broke free from the fans and returned to her side, Annie had not gained much.
"How is it?"
Kevin, who finally got away from the fans' 'Chase and intercept' after the police and fire department arrived, leaned closer to Annie and asked.
Annie recounted what she had seen and said:
"More and more Supes are becoming Super Villains now, Kevin. We have to find a way to stop them, or more people will be harmed."
"I know, I'm working on a solution, but this isn't something that can be rushed."
Kevin, of course, knew how troublesome the mess Edgar had left him was.
The Supervillain Alliance was a fuse; even if the Alliance was annihilated, it at least made many people with ulterior motives realize that Supes with bad intentions could also gather to form an evil alliance similar to The Seven.
It was precisely because more and more Supes had similar ideas that Kevin thought of researching a potion that could make Supes lose their superpowers.
At the same time, he planned to establish The Super-Hero Association to regulate the Supes under his command and also select true heroes to deal with Super Villains.
Kevin was truly doing things, but whether it was the potion that could make Supes lose their abilities or the establishment of The Super-Hero Association, both required time.
…
In The Seven's theme park, the roller coaster being attacked and derailing was not widely known at first.
And this matter could be big or small. On a large scale, it meant that Vought's Compound V had created so many Super Villains, and they needed to be held responsible for this matter.
On a smaller scale, this was just the irresponsible behavior of a specific Supe, unrelated to Vought.
Which direction it would develop depended on the Reality of the situation.
And the Reality was that some congressmen, led by Victoria Neuman, began to protest and condemn Vought over this matter.
Kevin was forced to hold a press conference under their pressure to respond to the escalating issue of Super Villains.
The one responsible for questioning Kevin was the currently popular Congresswoman Neuman.
Because she had always targeted Vought, she was labeled as Vought's enemy by the public. This was her political asset, so upon learning of the incident at the amusement park, Neuman was the first to stand up and accuse Vought.
"As everyone knows, the appearance of Supes is inextricably linked to Vought. Although Super Villains now seem unrelated to Vought, if there were no Compound V, Super Villains would not appear, do you agree, Mr. Moskowitz?"
In front of reporters, Neuman mercilessly pointed out the pain point Vought was currently facing.
Compound V originated from Vought. Regardless of whether Madelyn or Edgar was in charge, it was ultimately a product of Vought.
Vought should be held responsible for this.
"Congresswoman Neuman… right."
Kevin stood at the microphone, looking expressionlessly at Neuman:
"I suggest Congresswoman Neuman think carefully before speaking. The Compound V matter has not been fully defined yet, and it's still uncertain whether it originated from Vought's laboratory.
"Perhaps, as former CEO Mr. Edgar said, this was merely Madelyn Stillwell's personal action."
"So you're trying to shirk responsibility, are you?"
Neuman pressed on relentlessly, and Kevin frowned.
He met Neuman's gaze and said:
"I have never said I would shirk responsibility. In fact, Vought is already taking steps to address all matters related to Compound V. If you investigate carefully, you will know that Vought is currently doing its utmost to compensate families who have suffered difficulties due to Compound V.
"Not only that, we are also recalling all Compound V on the market and destroying it, striving to minimize Compound V's impact on society."
"But even so, it's a fact that Compound V led to the emergence of Super Villains. What you're doing doesn't seem to prevent Super Villains from continuing to appear."
Neuman clung to the topic of Super Villains.
Because this was indeed a difficult problem for Vought to face now.
Regardless, the existence of Super Villains was related to Vought. Even if Kevin recalled Compound V, Super Villains would not disappear, and their superpowers would still exist.
This was not something that could be solved by simply recalling Compound V.
Vought needed other means to deal with this matter.
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