Chapter 119: Stormfront's Wild Move
Butcher shoved Becca into the passenger seat, slammed on the gas, and vanished into the end of the road, following the route he had mapped out during his days of lurking here.
Under the same starry sky, two other parties were unable to sleep.
Victoria Neuman sat on the leather sofa in her campaign office, the fluorescent glow from several monitors on the desk flickering, with headlines across the entire internet scrolling through her speech from the protest rally earlier that day.
"Homelander must be regulated! We will never bow down to the Carnage of the innocent!"
In the video, she waved her fist, her features appearing even more infectious due to her "anger." The comment section below was in a complete frenzy; the crown of the number one anti-Superhumans figure was firmly placed upon her head by fanatical netizens.
The mahogany office door was knocked upon.
Neuman didn't even lift an eyelid. "I said, no guests tonight, push the schedule to tomorrow..."
"What if the guest could nail Vought firmly to the pillar of shame?"
A short-haired woman in a gray jacket with an upright posture walked into the halo of light.
Neuman's gaze rested for two seconds on the face of the other, which was etched with the wear and tear of time, then she sat up straight.
"Ms. Mallory. Former CIA Deputy Director. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"
Mallory pulled out a chair and sat down, crossing her hands on the table. "You have a very high reputation right now, Congresswoman Neuman. The public treats you as a savior, believing you dare to challenge the Superhumans flying in the sky."
"I only do what is right." Neuman's voice was sincere, without a single flaw to be picked.
"Save the pretty words for the media. I have direct evidence of Vought privately supplying Compound V to Terrorists. I also have real, top-secret data on the civilian casualties they caused in their operations in Nicaragua and the Middle East. It even includes the complete file on the former The Seven member, Lamplighter, burning innocent children to death."
The smile on Neuman's face faded. She looked straight into Mallory's eyes.
"What is your intention?"
"Congressional hearing." Mallory spat out the words. "I want you to take the lead immediately and initiate a special hearing targeting Vought and the Superhumans. Summon Vought's top brass, summon Homelander. Use my evidence, plus your status, to force this bunch of caped bastards into an official iron cage."
"The risk is a bit high." Neuman feigned hesitation, tapping her index finger on the table. "Vought's legal team isn't so easy to deal with, not to mention Superhuman assassinations. On what grounds do you think a few sheets of paper can topple a trillion-dollar military-industrial empire?"
"On public anger." Mallory retorted, "The anger you incited today. As long as the hearing is held on schedule, the capital markets will be the first to execute them."
"I want to see substantial evidence." Neuman did not back down.
"On the day the hearing starts, I will bring the witnesses." Mallory stood up. "I'll give you one day to consider, after all, you aren't the only one eyeing the votes from the anti-Superhumans camp."
"No need." Neuman also stood up and reached out to Mallory. "I'm in. For a safer World."
Mallory looked at her, her eyes complex, and finally shook that hand.
"Pleasure doing business with you."
The door closed, and the footsteps faded away.
The righteous expression on Neuman's face receded like a tide, leaving only an impenetrable gloom. She walked to the table, pulled open the bottom drawer, and took out a small photo frame. In the photo was a picture of her and her daughter Zoe at an amusement park, smiling brightly.
Neuman's fingertips caressed the photo. She needed to climb higher, to obtain greater power, to ensure that no matter what happened in the future, her Zoe would be absolutely safe.
"Mommy will handle everything."
Vought Tower, top-floor luxury apartment.
On the wide, circular sofa, Stormfront sat cross-legged, holding a tablet computer in her hands, her fingers tapping rapidly on the screen.
"Mission accomplished." She whistled and tossed the tablet onto the coffee table.
Not far away, by the bar, Homelander walked over with a glass of whiskey, his face sullen. He had been humiliated at the rally during the day, being pointed at and cursed by a bunch of ants, a sense of humiliation that made him wish he could slice the entire block in half.
"What are you doing?" Homelander was in a foul mood, the ice in his glass clinking noisily.
"Saving your life, big boy." Stormfront patted the empty spot beside her, signaling him to sit.
Homelander walked closer, looking down at her from a height.
Stormfront unlocked her phone and shoved the screen in front of him. "Look."
The screen showed the Twitter trending list. "Homelander get out of Earth" was still high at the top, but below it were several surging topics: "Necessary Sacrifice," "Superhumans Counter-terrorism," and "Homelander Saves the World."
"I made a batch of memes and hired 30,000 bot accounts." Stormfront leaned back, crossing her legs, her suit outlining her graceful curves. "I defined the people you toasted as accomplices hiding super Terrorists. Paired with a few conspiracy theories to set the narrative, plus some majestic photos of you draped in the flag. I even fabricated a few fake bills showing the victims had financial dealings with terrorist organizations. Netizens' brains aren't working well right now; they just need a target to vent their emotions, a totem that can exercise violence on their behalf. Guess what? Your approval rating has rebounded by four percentage points in the last three hours. And it's still climbing."
Homelander froze in place. He snatched the phone, his fingers sliding rapidly across the screen. His gaze swept over lines of vitriolic text, and his heartbeat gradually accelerated.
[Everyone Homelander killed was a damn Terrorist! He protected us!]
[Vought's PR department is full of trash, only Homelander dares to take necessary measures!]
[We don't need weak apologies, we need a tough hero!]
Stormfront struck while the iron was hot, saying pointedly: "Look, I also made some funny memes of you and posted them online to bring you closer to them. You always want to be loved by everyone, but there will always be people who don't understand what you do. Why not accept the thoughts of those who truly support and love you? After all, not everyone is worthy of God's care."
Every comment was like a shot of adrenaline, injected fiercely into his riddled self-esteem. The corners of his eyes twitched; the grievances and rage suppressed in his heart found an outlet. He even saw someone Photoshop his face onto the Statue of Liberty, with the caption "The True Backbone of the U.S."
Since he was a child, everyone at Vought treated him like a nuclear bomb that could explode at any moment, serving him with care, but secretly fearing and distancing themselves from him.
They demanded he be perfect, demanded he smile, demanded he be a saint. But the woman before him and the people in the comment section were not like that at all.
She didn't accuse him of killing innocent people, and didn't even mention the word "apology." She jumped straight into the fray, using the crudest and most effective way to wash black into white.
"You..."
"Don't look at me with those eyes." Stormfront stood up and walked over to him. The radiance she emitted was already catching up to Madelyn Stillwell in Homelander's eyes.
She raised her hand and stroked the emblem on Homelander's chest, her fingertips tracing the edges.
"They fear you because they are weak." Stormfront looked straight into his eyes. "But I understand you. You don't need to apologize to ants. You were born a god. Why should a god need to explain killing humans to mortals?"
No one had ever said such things to him. The black hole in his heart that longed for complete acceptance was being frantically filled at this moment.
Stormfront keenly sensed his emotional shift, and the corners of her mouth curled up. She grabbed the zipper of her black suit and pulled it down hard.
Riiip.
The zipper went straight down to her abdomen, revealing a large expanse of skin. Homelander's eyes widened, staring uncontrollably.
"Attack me."
"What?" Homelander thought he had misheard.
"Use your Heat Vision." Stormfront pointed to her own chest, mixed with a near-maniacal provocation. "Let me see how much power you really have."
Homelander swallowed. He had killed many people, cutting them into pieces with his Heat Vision, but he had never considered this a form of... flirting.
"You will die." He warned.
"I'm not afraid of you." Stormfront stepped closer. "Don't act like a coward, come on!"
Provoked, and surrounded by a certain twisted sense of excitement, a crimson light ignited in the depths of Homelander's eyes.
Sizzle...
Two thin red lasers shot from his eyes, hitting Stormfront square in the chest.
He deliberately lowered the output power, afraid of cutting this woman, for whom he had just developed feelings, in half.
The laser burned her skin, making a "hissing" sound, but Stormfront didn't scream. She tilted her head back and let out a gasp.
"Is that all you've got?" She gritted her teeth, her eyes flashing with a fanatical light. "Harder!"
The red light in Homelander's eyes surged.
The power of the laser increased, and Stormfront was pushed back by the tremendous impact, falling heavily onto the bar counter. Bottles shattered all over the floor.
Her chest was burned with a charred mark, but she laughed instead. There was no fear in her laughter, only utter madness.
"Did you see that?" Stormfront panted heavily, climbed up, and walked step by step back to Homelander.
She hooked her fingers into Homelander's collar and pulled him toward her.
"I'm not afraid of your power." She whispered against his ear. "I will accept your darkest, most terrifying side, the one everyone else is too afraid to face."
He had lived for over thirty years, treated as a lab rat in the laboratory, and as a puppet in front of the cameras. Everyone wanted the perfect "Homelander," but no one wanted the cruel, twisted "John" who would roast people alive.
She was an exception, the only exception.
Homelander let out a low roar, lifted her entire body into the air, and slammed her hard against the blast-proof glass.
The glass made a dull thud, cracking with a few spiderweb-like fissures.
Stormfront not only didn't struggle, but instead took the opportunity to cup his face in her hands and kissed him fiercely.
Violent lightning surged from her body, electricity dancing wildly around the two of them, illuminating the entire luxury apartment as if it were daytime. Homelander's Heat Vision swept wildly around the room, slicing valuable oil paintings, leather sofas, and the huge crystal chandelier into pieces.
Destruction and fusion reached their peak at this moment.
Chapter 120: Actually, I'm Not Your Dad
Northern Canada, Yellowknife.
Cold wind mixed with ice crystals swept across the bare ridge. Lu Chen sat cross-legged on the edge of the cliff. Ryan was wrapped in a thick down jacket, curled up into a ball, leaning against Lu Chen's leg, looking up at the night sky.
"Dad, look!" Ryan pointed overhead.
Ghostly green auroras rolled silently under the starry sky.
At the moment the aurora was brightest, in the void at the bottom right of Lu Chen's vision, the progress bar jumped suddenly, hitting the end.
[Copy progress 100%, Heat Vision LV4 fused, Heat Vision LV5 (Fused Enhancement) solidified]
Lu Chen closed his eyes. An extremely terrifying scorching sensation came from deep within his eyes, and violent energy spread through his optic nerves to his whole body. The blue heat energy belonging to the super infant, and the red heat energy inherited from Homelander in Ryan's body, were completely merged at this moment.
The feeling of fullness of power made him very satisfied. He opened his eyes and turned his gaze to another progress bar he hadn't paid attention to for a long time.
[System charging...]
[Estimated time to reach 100% is 20 years.]
[Charging source: Host's internal thermonuclear energy, Heat Vision energy, electrical energy]
Twenty years. Lu Chen recited this number in his heart, much faster than the distant hundred-year plan from before. With the completion of the LV5 fusion enhancement of Heat Vision, the charging speed had visibly increased.
If he copied a few more energy-type abilities later, this time could be significantly shortened. The initiative to travel through the World was finally firmly in his hands.
He lowered his head and looked at Ryan beside him.
The little boy was watching the aurora with full attention, the green light reflecting in his eyes, his mouth carrying an unguarded smile. In the last two days, Ryan's dependence on him had reached its peak, truly treating him as the reliable, omnipotent father.
Lu Chen silently pulled back the hand Ryan was holding.
The game of house ended here.
He had gotten what he wanted, but before leaving, he suddenly had a bit of malicious humor.
"Ryan." Lu Chen spoke.
Ryan turned his head, his nose frozen red. "What is it, Dad?"
Lu Chen looked into his eyes, his tone casual: "What if I told you I'm not your real dad, what would you think?"
Ryan froze. He couldn't understand the logic of this sentence at all; the smile on his face stiffened, and he answered subconsciously: "Dad is Dad. You took me flying, took me to see the aurora..."
Lu Chen looked at him and suddenly laughed out loud. This child was too well protected by Becca and couldn't understand the subtext at all. He stood up and took Ryan's hand. "Let's go, it's time to go home. Your mom must be worried."
Lu Chen took Ryan and shot into the sky, tearing through the aurora, and sped toward the southern night sky.
A few hours later.
Above the safe house set up by Vought Company in the suburbs.
Lu Chen held Ryan with one hand, hovering in the night sky hundreds of meters up. He looked down. The Woods below were brightly lit, a dozen searchlight beams sweeping crazily between the treetops, figures moving, the sound of dogs barking and walkie-talkies sounding particularly harsh in the night wind. The originally secret wall gate was violently broken open, several off-road vehicles parked on the lawn, headlights bright.
Something had happened.
"Ryan, it seems your mom is gone."
"Huh?" Hearing this, Ryan looked down blankly in the direction of Lu Chen's gaze.
Lu Chen directly took Ryan and descended slowly.
Bang.
After his feet touched the ground, a Vought Company security guard wearing a black tactical vest turned sharply, his rifle leveled. When he saw the face of the person who arrived, his legs went soft, and his gun dropped to the ground.
"What are you doing?"
The security guard was so scared his mind went blank, his mouth wide open.
Lu Chen didn't bother waiting for him to recover. His eyes instantly lit up with a rose-pink glow—this was the color resulting from the fusion of the original blue Heat Vision and red Heat Vision—and the temperature of the surrounding air soared.
"Speak."
"Becca... Ryan's mother has disappeared!" The security guard screamed. "We are looking for her!"
The red light in Lu Chen's eyes faded.
Butcher moved quite fast, taking advantage of the two days he took Ryan away to sneak in and steal his wife.
"Alright, get lost."
The security guard felt like he had been granted an amnesty, scrambled and crawled into The Woods, and disappeared instantly.
Lu Chen turned around and put Ryan on the ground.
Ryan was panicked now, looking at the messy scene around him. "Where is my mom? They said my mom is missing..."
Lu Chen looked down at him. The surrounding searchlights swept over from time to time, making his face flicker between light and shadow.
He bent down slightly and leaned into Ryan's ear.
"Ryan."
This time, he didn't use Homelander's voice.
Ryan shuddered violently, looked up, and stared blankly at the face in front of him.
Blonde hair, blue eyes—this was Homelander's face.
But the voice that just came out had completely changed. That was definitely not his father's voice.
"Actually, I'm not your dad." Lu Chen watched Ryan's shocked eyes and continued to speak in his own voice.
Ryan backed away repeatedly, holding his head with both hands, as if he couldn't accept this fact.
Lu Chen pressed on: "Actually, your mom has had it pretty rough too. Although you might not understand it now, your mom and dad aren't the kind of married couple you imagine. They are on opposite sides, they are enemies. You are caught in the middle, and you will have to make a choice sooner or later."
"Stop it... I don't want to hear it..." Ryan covered his ears, faint red light flickering in his eyes. This was a precursor to emotional breakdown.
Lu Chen stopped and looked at this boy on the verge of collapse.
"Think about your future path."
Lu Chen turned around, walked two steps, and looked back with a meaningful smile.
"By the way, if you are confused or don't understand, you can find me. I believe you can find me. After all... I was your dad for a few days. Goodbye."
After speaking, Lu Chen bent his knees slightly and shot into the sky. He flew to the Vought Company staff who were frantically directing the search nearby.
He hovered in mid-air, switching back to Homelander's voice and that high-and-mighty posture.
"Take good care of him."
The lead supervisor knelt on the ground with a thud, nodding busily: "Yes! Officer! We will definitely..."
Lu Chen didn't listen to his assurances, turned, rose into the sky, and completely disappeared above the clouds.
Vought Tower, top-floor luxury apartment.
It looked like it had been hit by a Category 10 hurricane. Expensive oil paintings had turned into charred waste, the leather sofa was torn to shreds, a huge crystal chandelier had smashed onto the bar counter, and glass shards and dark red wine were mixed together all over the floor.
The room was filled with a strong scent of hormones.
Stormfront was naked, lying on the only carpet that was still somewhat intact, fast asleep. Her back was full of scorched marks, but those wounds were slowly healing. There was even a satisfied smile on the corner of her mouth.
Homelander was not asleep.
He was wearing those star-spangled briefs, stepping barefoot on the glass shards, and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window.
When venting on Stormfront, he felt like he was an omnipotent god. That woman accepted his brutality, endured his Heat Vision, and let him experience extreme ecstasy.
But now, the ecstasy had faded, leaving only endless emptiness and a trace of panic.
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow he had to go to Congress to attend that special hearing against him and Vought Company.
He had to face the cameras of the entire United States, face the judgment of those politicians he regarded as ants. That woman named Neuman had incited thousands of rioters to nail him to the pillar of shame.
In the past when encountering such things, Madelyn would handle everything. She would sit on his lap, stroke his hair, and tell him in that gentle voice: "Don't worry, everything is under control. You just need to put on your cape and show the camera your most perfect smile."
But Madelyn was dead. He had personally burned through her brain with his Heat Vision.
What about that old guy, Stan Edgar?
Homelander turned his head to look at the phone thrown in the ruins.
No calls. No texts. No response plan from the PR department.
Edgar didn't inform him what he should do tomorrow. That old black man seemed to have given up on him completely, leaving him to fend for himself.
"FUCK..."
What should he do?
If those politicians produced fatal evidence at the hearing, if they stripped him of his power in public, if those stupid masses held up signs again asking him to get off Earth...
He didn't know.
He looked at the bustling night view of New York outside the window, scarlet death rays lighting up in his eyes.
Chapter 121: I'll Take You to See Her
Bang.
A heavy iron door was kicked inward, causing it to buckle, sending chunks of concrete from the doorframe crashing into the dim pool hall.
Wearing the face of a middle-aged, jowly white man, Lu Chen walked inside, stepping over the debris scattered across the floor.
Before the few Russian thugs in the room could even draw their guns, Lu Chen had already flashed in front of the bald boss, grabbing him by the neck with one hand and hoisting him into the air.
Read memory.
A chaotic jumble of images flooded his mind: vodka, buxom prostitutes, and ledgers. Lu Chen quickly filtered through them, finding the information he wanted.
He had previously seized these guys' drugs, and under his orders, the bald boss had reported it to the big boss, Little Nina, that very night. But now, two or three days had passed, and Little Nina's only response was, "Got it, will send someone to handle it soon," and then nothing more.
So you like leaving people on read, huh?
He felt speechless. It seemed this Russian mafia had deep pockets; unless he hurt them badly enough, that woman Little Nina wouldn't bother coming to the United States herself from Russia.
Need to add some spice.
Following the clues remaining in the bald man's mind, he proceeded to take down an underground casino and two money-laundering dens three blocks away. After digging through the brains of each person in charge, he finally pieced together a valuable location.
On the edge of Brooklyn, an abandoned meat processing plant.
Half an hour later.
Lu Chen hovered in the night sky two hundred meters above the processing plant. Several heavy trucks were parked around the perimeter of the factory below, and armed personnel leading Caucasian Shepherds were patrolling back and forth.
According to the memories of those in charge, this was Little Nina's largest arms transit hub in New York, packed with large-caliber Russian-made weapons and explosives smuggled from Eastern Europe.
He closed his eyes, feeling the violent thermonuclear energy within his body. When he opened them again, his eyes were filled with an extremely dangerous rose-red light.
The LV5 enhanced Heat Vision, fused with Ryan's and the Super Baby's, bared its fangs in actual combat for the first time.
Two rose-red beams of light pierced through the factory's reinforced concrete roof with overwhelming force.
There was no resistance.
The high-temperature rays sliced through steel bars like tofu, sweeping directly into the underground warehouse filled with arms.
Boom!
A deafening explosion shot into the sky, and a fireball instantly swallowed the entire plant area. The massive shockwave flipped the trucks on the perimeter, and those armed personnel were torn apart by the blast wave and heat rays before they could even scream.
Lu Chen watched the rolling sea of fire below from mid-air and nodded with satisfaction.
That should be loud enough. With at least a hundred million in arms and the stronghold blown to pieces, if Little Nina could still resist showing her face, he would have no choice but to go to Russia to find her.
The muscles on his face rippled, and Lu Chen deactivated his physical mimicry, restoring his original face as a young Chinese man. He changed direction, his figure carving a wake of air under the propulsion of anti-gravity flight, as he returned to Godolkin University to rest and await news.
Godolkin University, dormitory building.
Lu Chen floated directly into the room through the open window, and the moment his feet touched the ground, his brow furrowed.
The lights were off in the room, with only a faint glimmer of light filtering in from the streetlamp outside.
Cate was curled up on the bed, wrapped in her own oversized jacket, staring blankly at the ceiling like a soulless ragdoll.
In the dim light, Lu Chen could clearly see her eyes were badly swollen and red, with dried tear tracks on her cheeks—she had clearly been crying for a long time.
Lu Chen's heart sank. He quickly reviewed his recent arrangements in his mind; he had gone to handle Ryan and the gang matters, so no one at the school should have been able to threaten her.
He walked over.
Hearing footsteps, the girl on the bed turned her head sharply. The instant she saw it was Lu Chen, large tears instantly welled up in her previously dead eyes.
She didn't even put on shoes, stumbling off the bed barefoot and throwing herself into Lu Chen's arms.
"Lu Chen..."
Cate gripped his neck tightly, burying her face in the crook of his neck, and her suppressed sobbing finally broke free completely.
Lu Chen wrapped his arms tightly around her slender waist.
The girl's body was ice-cold, and he could feel that desperate sense of fragility even through her clothes. Lu Chen felt a pang of heartache. He knew Cate too well; since she had been with him, although the girl was usually a bit emotionally unstable, she rarely displayed this kind of near-breakdown emotion.
"What's wrong?" Lu Chen stroked her back, his voice very soft. "Who bullied you?"
Cate just shook her head desperately, her tears quickly soaking a large patch of Lu Chen's collar.
She was crying so hard she couldn't catch her breath, sobbing intermittently.
Lu Chen didn't press her further, just held her quietly, patiently waiting for her to calm down.
After a full few minutes, Cate's sobbing finally began to subside. She lifted her face slightly from Lu Chen's arms, looking at him with red, swollen eyes.
"Last time... you taught me how to turn my mind-reading ability on and off..."
Lu Chen nodded. To prevent Cate from being tormented by her own abilities, and to help her better control her psychic powers, he had indeed taught her techniques for this.
"I... I often practice on my own. I think I'm almost succeeding..." Cate sniffled, her fingers gripping Lu Chen's clothes tightly. "This afternoon, Shetty returned to her office early. I was practicing in the lounge next door at the time."
Lu Chen's gaze instantly turned cold.
He knew the reason.
"I heard her inner thoughts." Cate's eyes welled up with tears again, her body trembling uncontrollably. "I didn't mean to, I just didn't have time to turn off my ability... I heard what she was thinking."
Lu Chen held her tighter, resting his chin on the top of her head.
"She was thinking all about how to break us apart." Cate's voice was filled with extreme fear and anger. "She thinks you're an uncontrollable variable, and she wants to find an opportunity to take you out."
He wasn't surprised at all that Shetty had such thoughts. On the surface, that old woman was a kind educator, but deep down, she was a lunatic who wanted to kill all Superhumans.
He had left Shetty alone before because he didn't want Cate to face such a cruel truth too early.
But he hadn't expected that Cate would pierce through this layer of paper herself.
"She also wanted me to control the students..." Cate looked up, her eyes full of pain and disbelief. "She sees me as a weapon. She was plotting in her mind how to use me to brainwash those disobedient Superhumans."
Cate broke down.
The two people she trusted most in this school were Lu Chen and Shetty. Shetty had shown her concern, given her medication to suppress her abilities, and even guided her like a mother.
It turned out all of this was just to forge her into an obedient blade.
"Did you ask her?" Lu Chen asked softly.
Cate shook her head desperately while crying.
"No. I couldn't believe it... I was terrified at the time. I was afraid she would discover I was reading her mind, and I didn't know what to do. I ran back to the dorm while she wasn't looking."
She buried her face back into Lu Chen's arms.
"I only have you, Lu Chen. I really only have you."
Lu Chen raised his hand and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumb.
"With something this big happening, why didn't you contact me?" He looked at the girl's reddened eyes, his tone carrying a hint of reproach.
Cate bit her lip aggrievedly, and tears fell again.
"Because you said before... you were a bit busy these past few days. I was afraid of disturbing you, and I was afraid you'd think I couldn't even handle this little thing, that I was a burden..."
Lu Chen fell silent; the grievance and reliance in Cate's eyes made his heart feel as if it were being fiercely gripped by a hand.
Looking at the girl in his arms who had endured betrayal and fear alone so as not to disturb him, a nameless rage surged up from the bottom of his heart.
He had been too cautious before, always thinking of finding a foolproof plan, always thinking of dealing with Shetty without attracting Vought's attention. But his hesitation and caution had made Cate suffer all this alone.
Anger caused a rose-red light to unconsciously glow in the depths of Lu Chen's eyes, and violent thermal energy pulsed wildly in his optic nerves.
"It's my fault."
He looked down at Cate's tear-stained face, the red light in his eyes gradually fading, but the tangible killing intent growing ever stronger.
"Let's go."
Lu Chen swept his arm around Cate's waist, lifting her up entirely.
Cate gasped, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck: "Where are we going?"
"I'll take you to see her."
Chapter 122: Run
The wind whistled past their ears, and Cate Dunlap subconsciously tightened her arms around Lu Chen's neck.
"Go see her."
Lu Chen's voice still echoed in her mind.
Cate Dunlap buried her face in Lu Chen's chest. She didn't know what would happen next, but wrapped in his solid embrace, the panic of being betrayed miraculously subsided significantly.
Lu Chen hovered in front of a small, lit-up Villa.
It was the private residence of Shetty.
The lights inside were off. Lu Chen landed on his feet and his gaze swept across the spacious room.
The bedroom was elegantly furnished but empty. The bed was meticulously made, without even a trace of having been slept in.
No one.
"She's not here?" Cate Dunlap raised her head from Lu Chen's arms, confusion and bewilderment flashing in her red, swollen eyes.
Lu Chen's gaze swept across the room. At this hour, if she wasn't resting at home, that woman was likely in her real "office."
"I know where she is," Lu Chen said in a low voice. He turned while holding Cate Dunlap, leaped out of the window again, and flew towards The Woods, which were sealed off by tight security deep within the university.
The Woods research facility.
It was a secret facility Vought Company kept hidden beneath Godolkin University, specifically used to imprison, torture, and study Superhumans students. Shetty was the one who actually controlled it.
Lu Chen slowly descended with Cate Dunlap in front of the facility's surface entrance. He was in no mood to ask for access authorization.
He raised his free right hand, fingers spread, aiming at the blast door that claimed to be able to withstand C4 explosives.
The multi-ton alloy door panel was like a piece of crumpled tinfoil, suddenly caving inward from the center. Immediately after, the hydraulic connecting rods on both sides snapped, and the entire door was forcefully ripped out of the wall by an irresistible force, crashing into the side of the mountain with a loud boom.
A piercing alarm immediately echoed wildly through the underground passage.
Lu Chen walked in holding Cate Dunlap, stepping over the scattered rubble.
At the corner at the end of the passage, a dense sound of tactical boots stomping approached rapidly.
"Target intrusion! Fire! Fire!"
A fully armed tactical team rushed out. They held automatic rifles equipped with armor-piercing rounds, their tactical flashlight beams swaying wildly, instantly locking onto Lu Chen and Cate Dunlap in the center of the corridor.
Tongues of fire spat out.
The dense gunfire was deafening in the enclosed underground space. Hundreds of large-caliber armor-piercing rounds formed an impenetrable metal storm, heading straight for Lu Chen's face.
Cate Dunlap closed her eyes in fear, burying her face into Lu Chen's chest.
However, the expected pain did not arrive.
She only heard an eerie silence.
Cate Dunlap cautiously opened her eyes a slit, and the scene before her left her completely stunned.
Hundreds of high-speed rotating bullets were frozen in mid-air, as if a pause button had been pressed.
A violent magnetic field enveloped the fan-shaped area in front.
He walked forward with Cate Dunlap, strolling as if in a leisurely courtyard.
The tactical team soldiers had just recovered from this scene and wanted to fire again, only to find their firearms making strange "click-click" noises.
The rifles suddenly seemed to have lives of their own; barrels twisted, magazines flew off, and receiver covers shattered directly. In a mere second, over a dozen refined firearms disintegrated automatically under the pull of the magnetic force, turning into a pile of scrap metal parts scattered on the ground.
"Monster..." The leading Captain took a step back in terror, reaching for the pistol at his thigh.
Before he could draw the gun, Lu Chen had already covered the dozen-meter distance while holding Cate Dunlap and appeared directly in front of him.
Lu Chen ripped off his tactical mask and clamped his fingers directly onto his scalp.
Memory read.
He filtered out the useless daily memories and locked directly onto the floor plan of The Woods facility and Shetty's whereabouts for the night.
Third underground level, core research lab.
Found it.
Lu Chen let go, leaving the Captain, whose brain had suffered severe trauma, to slump to the ground like mush.
He didn't spare a glance for the other soldiers and continued walking forward, holding Cate Dunlap.
"Stop him! Use the stun guns!" The remaining soldiers were still trying to resist.
Lu Chen, back turned to them, clenched his right hand in the air.
The hundreds of armor-piercing rounds hovering in mid-air, along with the scattered firearm parts on the ground, instantly melted and reorganized under the frantic compression of the magnetic force.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
The sounds of flesh tearing rang out one after another.
The reorganized metal turned into a dozen streaks of light, flying back at a speed the naked eye couldn't catch, precisely piercing through the chest of every soldier.
Blood splashed onto the walls.
The metal didn't fall after penetrating the human bodies; instead, it quickly condensed in the air into half-meter-long metal spikes.
Over a dozen blood-stained spikes floated silently behind Lu Chen, like a slowly unfolding pair of steel wings, bobbing up and down in the air with his footsteps.
Cate Dunlap opened her eyes and looked at the tragic scene around her. Instead of feeling fear, she hugged Lu Chen even tighter.
Meanwhile, on the third underground level, in the core observation room.
Shetty stood in front of the giant surveillance screen, her hand holding the coffee cup shaking uncontrollably.
Coffee spilled onto her expensive beige business suit, but she was completely oblivious.
The screen clearly played the entire process of Lu Chen killing the tactical team in seconds. Especially those blood-stained spikes floating behind him—even through the screen, they exuded a suffocating sense of oppression.
"My God..." A researcher's legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the floor.
The others were also pale, shaking like chaff.
Shetty stared fixedly at the girl in Lu Chen's arms on the screen. Why?
Why would Lu Chen bring Cate Dunlap to kill his way here? And with such brutal methods?
Cate Dunlap.
A terrifying thought flashed through her mind.
Could it be... did Cate Dunlap hear it?
She remembered when she returned to her office this afternoon, the plans she had been mentally calculating about how to dispose of Lu Chen and how to forge Cate Dunlap into a weapon.
Damn it! It must be that!
It was just a little off; her plan was about to succeed. Use Cate Dunlap to control those Superhumans students, then extract data to perfect the lethal virus targeting Superhumans.
Now, it was all ruined.
"Dean, he... he's coming for us! The third line of defense can't stop him at all!" The researcher looked at Lu Chen, who was unstoppable in the surveillance, and his psychological defense completely collapsed.
"Release them." Shetty took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
"What?" The researcher was stunned.
"Release all the test subjects in the B-sector and C-sector cells!" Shetty turned her head sharply. "Immediately!"
"But... those students have already been tortured to the point of insanity. If we release them, they will attack indiscriminately, and even our own people will die!"
"Press it!" Shetty roared sharply.
The researcher's hands trembled as he slammed the red emergency button on the console.
A piercing Level 2 alarm instantly covered the entire underground facility.
Shetty didn't even look at the surveillance, turning and walking towards a bookshelf in the deepest part of the observation room. She pressed a few times on the side of the bookshelf, and it slid open to both sides, revealing a dark, secret escape passage.
The passage was pitch black, with only the emergency lights emitting a faint green glow. Shetty quickened her pace, her high heels making rapid echoes on the concrete floor.
After she entered, the entrance quickly sealed shut, leaving only those researchers who couldn't escape behind.
She felt no guilt in her heart, only burning hatred.
The image of Flight 37 crashing flashed through her mind again. And Homelander, just watching them die with such indifference.
From that day on, she swore to kill all Superhumans.
Lu Chen was strong, strong like a monster. But so what?
As long as I get out alive, as long as I can perfect that virus targeting Compound V, you monsters will all eventually die from genetic collapse!
It's almost dawn now. As long as I escape from here and return to the surface, Lu Chen definitely won't dare to kill me in front of everyone. Vought Company wouldn't allow him to do so either.
As long as I don't die, there is still a chance.
Shetty gritted her teeth and ran desperately in the darkness.
Meanwhile, the second underground level corridor had completely turned into a purgatory.
Accompanied by the mechanical sound of the cell door locks opening simultaneously, dozens of Superhumans students imprisoned here rushed out.
Some had tubes inserted all over their bodies, while others were covered in stitches left by dissections. Long-term drug injections and inhumane torture had long since destroyed their sanity.
"Kill! Kill them all!"
A boy spitting acid attacked his surroundings frantically.
A girl whose arm could turn into a sharp blade cut a passing Vought Company security guard into several pieces.
Demons dancing in chaos, destroying everything indiscriminately. The entire corridor was filled with Beast-like roars and a pungent smell of blood.
Lu Chen walked along this chaotic corridor, unhurriedly holding Cate Dunlap.
The surrounding walls were shaking, and the light tubes overhead flickered on and off.
A burly man covered in bone spurs, having completely lost his sanity, saw Lu Chen and roared as he lunged over.
Lu Chen didn't even look at him directly.
The dozen blood-stained metal spikes floating behind him moved instantly.
Swish!
Two spikes drew a deadly arc in the air, directly piercing the burly man's knees and pinning him firmly to the ground. Immediately after, a third spike pierced in from his chin and exited from his crown.
The burly man's body twitched twice, then went completely still.
The spikes pulled out, bringing up a string of blood droplets, and flew back behind Lu Chen to continue floating quietly.
This scene was too bloody and eerie, so much so that several Superhumans who had fallen into madness nearby instinctively stopped their actions and retreated in fear.
Beasts are afraid of death, too.
Lu Chen walked towards the third underground level, stepping over the blood and shredded flesh covering the floor.
He could feel that Shetty was no longer in the observation room.
Lu Chen looked down at Cate Dunlap in his arms. The girl's long eyelashes were still trembling slightly; clearly, the trauma she had received in the dormitory earlier had not yet fully subsided.
He remembered how Cate Dunlap cried until she could barely breathe, and her words, "I only have you."
"Run, Shetty."
"Use all your strength to run. Go and fantasize that your revenge plan can still continue."
"Before I catch you, I will let you experience the fear known as despair. Consider it a little interest collected for the tears Cate Dunlap shed."
Chapter 123: Casting Off the Shackles
Basement Level 3, core laboratory.
Several researchers in lab coats were huddled in the corner of the control room, shivering like a pile of quails. They no longer had the strength to run, only staring at Lu Chen in terror.
Lu Chen slightly spread his five fingers.
Invisible telekinesis erupted instantly.
Four researchers were lifted off the ground by a brute force, dragged into mid-air, and moved in front of Lu Chen while flailing about.
"Spare us... We were only..."
Lu Chen had no interest in listening to nonsense. He stretched out his left hand and pressed it directly onto the forehead of the Mediterranean-looking man in front.
Shetty's plan, the development progress of the virus, and the backup locations for all data were clearly displayed in Lu Chen's mind.
Found it.
Lu Chen let go, and the Mediterranean-looking man collapsed to the ground, rolling his eyes. He walked to the main console, typed on the keyboard, and copied a folder marked in red as encrypted onto a nearby hard drive.
This virus, specifically targeting Superhumans gene collapse, was a significant hidden danger to his plan. Taking the data back and giving it to the Wise One, letting that woman develop an antibody, or simply adding a defense mechanism to the potions she would develop in the future—taking precautions was never a bad thing.
Unplugging the hard drive and stuffing it into his pocket, Lu Chen turned around and took Cate Dunlap's hand again.
The hidden escape door was violently torn open by his magnetic field.
There were only eerie green emergency lights in the passage. Lu Chen walked slowly; he was not in a hurry.
"If we catch her, what do you want to do?" Lu Chen spoke, his voice echoing in the narrow passage.
Cate Dunlap lowered her head, her footsteps pausing for a moment.
She did not answer immediately.
Lu Chen did not rush her, just holding her hand and continuing to walk forward.
After a long time, Cate Dunlap's voice came from behind.
"I don't know."
She gripped Lu Chen's hand tighter, "I need to confirm one more thing."
"Okay."
The end of the passage was a hydraulic door disguised as rockery.
Lu Chen waved his hand, and the hydraulic door twisted and deformed, opening the exit.
It was already dawn.
The exit was located in the woodland on the edge of Godolkin University. In the distance, on the main campus road, some early-rising students could already be seen moving about.
Sunlight spilled onto the lawn, a scene of peace.
Who could have imagined that beneath this tranquility, a group of Superhumans driven mad by torture were tearing at the throats of security personnel.
Lu Chen wrapped his arm around Cate Dunlap's waist.
"Hold on tight."
The two shot up from the ground, hovering several hundred meters in mid-air.
The wind blew Cate Dunlap's long golden hair into a mess; she buried her face in the crook of Lu Chen's neck, not daring to look down.
Lu Chen looked down at the entire campus.
Sweeping across every building and every path.
Soon, he caught sight of a figure running wildly on the edge of the plaza on the east side of the campus.
Shetty.
Her expensive beige business suit was already covered in mud and grass clippings, her hair was disheveled, and she looked back in panic as she ran.
Lu Chen adjusted his posture and glided toward the plaza with Cate Dunlap.
Shetty was indeed a smart woman.
On the way to escape, she had already contacted Vought's top brass and the school's security director.
When Lu Chen brought Cate Dunlap flying over the plaza, Shetty was already tightly protected by a group of people.
Two black Vought armored vehicles blocked the middle of the road.
A fully armed tactical team held riot shields, surrounding Shetty in the center.
On the perimeter, there were also more than a dozen Superhuman students from Godolkin University who had been urgently called in. These students clearly didn't understand the situation yet; they had only received orders to protect the Dean.
Shetty hid behind the riot shields, panting heavily, staring fixedly at Lu Chen in mid-air.
"Open fire! Shoot him down!" Shetty ordered.
No one dared to move.
The tactical team members looked at Lu Chen. The tragedy of the underground laboratory had long since spread through internal communications. Everyone knew that the one floating in the sky was a monster who killed without blinking.
Lu Chen held Cate Dunlap and slowly landed ten meters directly in front of the crowd.
The surroundings instantly fell silent, leaving only the sound of the wind.
Cate Dunlap stepped out from Lu Chen's arms and stood behind him, her gaze crossing the crowd, staring at Shetty behind the shields.
The dozen or so Superhuman students looked at each other; some clenched their fists, some had energy lights glowing on their bodies.
Lu Chen swept his cold eyes over this group of blocking Superhumans. These idiots had no idea that the person they were protecting was a madman who wanted to wipe them all out.
"Move, and you die."
There was a boy whose skin had turned to rock who didn't believe it. He roared and took a step, charging toward Lu Chen.
"Protect the Dean!"
Swoosh!
A high-intensity Heat Vision shot from Lu Chen's eyes, directly piercing the rock boy's chest.
The hard rock skin offered no resistance in front of the Level 5 Heat Vision.
The beam penetrated his heart, and without losing momentum, it melted a large hole in the armored vehicle behind him.
The rock boy's charging movement froze in place. He looked down at the bowl-sized transparent hole in his chest and fell to the ground with a thud.
The whole scene was dead silent.
The remaining few Superhuman students who were just about to make a move froze their steps in place.
The soldiers of the tactical team tucked their heads behind the riot shields even further, not daring to even breathe hard.
No one wanted to die; they had only come because they couldn't disobey orders.
Lu Chen raised his hand, his palm aimed at Shetty hiding in the center of the crowd.
Telekinesis activated.
"No! Stop him!" Shetty screamed, reaching out to grab the clothes of the soldier next to her.
An invisible giant hand grabbed her by the throat.
Shetty's feet left the ground, passing over the shield-bearing soldiers, passing over the shivering students, and she was dragged into mid-air by Lu Chen.
She kicked her legs desperately, her hands clawing at the intangible restraint at her neck, her face turning crimson.
Lu Chen pressed his wrist down.
Shetty fell heavily to Lu Chen's feet.
"Cough, cough... cough..." Shetty covered her neck and coughed violently. She raised her head, looking at Lu Chen with eyes full of resentment.
"You monster... Vought won't let you go..."
Lu Chen ignored her. He turned his head and looked at Cate Dunlap who had been standing behind him.
"Go ahead."
Lu Chen stepped aside, leaving Shetty on the ground entirely for Cate Dunlap.
Cate Dunlap took a step forward.
Her gaze fell on Shetty's once incredibly familiar face. This face had smiled at her countless times, had given her the warmest hugs when she lost control and broke down, and had once sworn that she was special and loved.
Now, this face was twisted, ugly, and filled with hatred for Superhumans.
Shetty watched Cate Dunlap approach and shrank back in a panic.
"Cate... Cate, listen to me, you are different from them..." Shetty tried to squeeze out a gentle smile, but failed, "I was doing this for your own good, I just wanted to help you control your abilities..."
Cate Dunlap did not speak.
She slowly squatted down, looking into Shetty's eyes.
Then, she raised her right hand and completely tore off the black leather glove that represented the psychological shackle.
Cate Dunlap looked at this person she had once trusted the most and reached out her hand.
"No... don't touch me!" Shetty struggled violently as if electrocuted.
But under the suppression of Lu Chen's telekinesis, she could only watch helplessly as that hand pressed against her skin.
Chapter 124: The Desperate Howl
Cate's palm pressed against the side of Shetty's face.
Shetty's face, previously twisted in fear, froze the moment they made contact.
"Look at me." Cate's voice trembled slightly. She didn't force her way into Shetty's memories; she wanted this woman to say it herself.
Shetty lifted her head blankly, meeting Cate's reddened eyes.
"Why?" Cate stared at the face that had once given her countless moments of warmth, asking through gritted teeth, "Why did you want to tear Lu Chen and me apart? Why did you want to kill him?"
Shetty's lips parted slightly, devoid of any emotional fluctuation: "Because he is an uncontrollable variable."
"I want you to have no one by your side." Shetty revealed her true inner calculations, "I want you to fall back into a situation where you can only trust me. Only when you are isolated and helpless, feeling as if the whole World is rejecting you, will you be willing to be used by me and become the most obedient tool in my hands."
Cate bit her lower lip.
A tool.
So this was her true positioning in Shetty's eyes. Just a blade sheathed and waiting for its Master to draw it.
Anger finally overcame the sorrow in her heart, and Cate's fingers tightened abruptly.
"What do you want me to do for you?" Cate's voice rose, "What do you want me, this tool, to do!"
"Control. In the underground facilities of Godolkin University, a large number of uncontrollable Superhumans are imprisoned. They are extremely dangerous and do not cooperate with research. I want you to use your mental abilities to erase their resistance, make them lie obediently on the operating tables, and cooperate with me for live experiments."
"What kind of experiments?" Cate pressed, having already vaguely guessed the terrifying answer.
"Collecting large amounts of Superhuman genetic samples and analyzing the Compound V structure within your bodies." Shetty's hollow eyes stared straight ahead, "To develop a lethal virus specifically targeting Superhuman genetic collapse. Once developed successfully, it will be spread to the entire World."
"And then, eliminate all Superhumans."
As soon as these words were spoken, the dozen or so Superhuman students who had been urgently called in as bodyguards instantly erupted.
"Fuck! What the hell is she talking about?"
"A virus? Eliminate everyone?"
"This crazy woman wants to kill us all? We were just protecting her!"
Panic and anger spread through the crowd. Several students with glowing energy stepped forward, wanting to rush over and tear this woman apart.
The next instant, Heat Vision swept across their bodies, drawing a line in front of this group of Superhuman students and tactical Agents. Their severed upper and lower bodies fell half inside the line and half outside.
"I believe I already said: move, and you die."
Lu Chen couldn't be bothered to think about whether they took that step out of anger or some other reason; he had already given them one chance.
The commotion was instantly and forcibly suppressed. No one dared to speak; even their breathing was deliberately quieted. This group of Superhumans, who usually looked down on ordinary people, were now desperately restraining themselves under Lu Chen's pressure.
Cate didn't pay attention to the commotion around her. She looked at Shetty, the last glimmer of hope still lingering in her eyes.
Those heart-to-hearts in the dead of night, those times she was cared for while sick. She didn't believe a person could feign it so perfectly.
"You doing these things..." Cate's voice carried a stubbornness bordering on pleading, "Is someone forcing you? Is this an order from Vought's top brass?"
She wanted to find an excuse for Shetty. As long as Shetty said she was forced, a single brick might remain of her collapsing mental defenses.
"No one forced me."
But Shetty's reply shattered Cate's last fantasy.
"I wanted to do it myself." On Shetty's blank face, a twitch of facial muscles appeared for the first time—an obsession carved into her bones, "For my husband, for my child. I want your filthy species to disappear completely, and I want you all to be buried with them."
The last shred of fantasy was extinguished.
Cate stumbled back half a step.
Bzzzz—
The phone in Lu Chen's pocket suddenly vibrated.
The urgent ringing sounded exceptionally harsh in the deathly silent plaza.
Lu Chen pulled out his phone; Ashley's name was displayed on the screen. He pressed the answer button and held the phone to his ear.
"Lu Chen! Thank god you picked up! Listen, it's an emergency!" Ashley panted heavily, "Mr. Edgar has already gone to attend the congressional hearing, and he just gave me a death order that I must relay to you!"
"Control Shetty! Do not kill her under any circumstances!" Ashley's voice revealed undisguised anxiety, "This isn't just about the company's stock price and your approval rating; Shetty holds many of Vought's internal secrets. Mr. Edgar said that as long as you spare her life, you can make any request you want! Resources, permissions, whatever you want can be negotiated!"
Lu Chen listened to the screaming coming from the receiver, his gaze falling on Cate's slightly trembling back.
"Ashley." Lu Chen interrupted her chatter,
"This doesn't depend on him." Lu Chen looked at Cate, "Nor does it depend on me."
"What? Lu Chen, listen to me, this concerns..."
Lu Chen hung up directly; he had no interest in listening to Ashley having a breakdown on the other end of the line. Whether it was Vought's PR crisis or Edgar wanting to protect Shetty after finding out about this Superhuman virus, it didn't matter. He came here today solely to resolve Cate's inner conflict.
He stuffed his phone back into his pocket and walked over to Cate's side.
"Are you sure?" Lu Chen looked at Cate's rigid back and asked softly.
Cate's hand was still pressed against Shetty's face. She slowly turned her head and looked at Lu Chen. Her eyes were filled with shattered tears, like a lost child who had finally seen the true face of a monster.
"I have one last question."
Cate turned back around and looked at Shetty again.
"Shetty... your feelings for me, that care, that affection, those things you said to me... were they all fake?"
This was Cate's deepest fear. She wasn't afraid of being used; she was afraid that the warmth of the past was all a meticulously choreographed play.
"No."
As those two words were uttered, a weak flicker of hope flared up in Cate's gray, defeated eyes. As long as a little bit of it was real, that was enough.
She thought that, at the very least, she had been genuinely loved.
But Shetty hadn't finished speaking.
"But after my husband and child died, everything in this World could be utilized."
"Including you, and including me."
This sentence completely ended all of Cate's struggles.
It wasn't pure exploitation, but betrayal mixed with genuine emotion. For the sake of revenge, Shetty treated everything as a bargaining chip, placing it on the gambling table without blinking an eye.
Cate slowly let go.
She didn't look at Shetty again, turned around, and threw herself directly into Lu Chen's arms. Her arms wrapped tightly around Lu Chen's waist, burying her face in his chest, suppressing her voice.
After a long time, Cate lifted her head.
"Let's go." Cate's voice carried heavy fatigue and disgust, "I don't want to see her again. Never again."
Lu Chen looked at the girl in his arms. Cate had still softened. Even after being hurt to this extent, even knowing that the other party wanted to kill all Superhumans, including her, she still couldn't bring herself to kill.
But that didn't mean Lu Chen would let Shetty go.
"Let her forget about the virus." Lu Chen said softly to Cate, "Leave the rest to me."
Cate nodded. She extended a hand again and activated her ability on Shetty; all details in Shetty's mind regarding the virus development were completely erased.
After doing all this, Lu Chen took her hand and turned to walk towards the edge of the plaza.
The two walked side by side, passing by Shetty who was slumped on the ground.
At the moment they passed by Shetty.
Lu Chen's left hand, hanging by his side, seemed to brush against Shetty's shoulder casually.
Lu Chen didn't change the content of Shetty's memories; he only did one thing.
He injected hundreds of times more negative emotions into that memory of Shetty's regarding the death of her husband and daughter.
Fear, self-reproach, despair, agony.
Whenever she closed her eyes, she would see her daughter covered in blood, asking her why she didn't come to save her; whenever she opened her eyes, she would see those Superhumans she had tortured to death coming to claim her life.
This was a form of mental torture that could not be alleviated by medicine or suppressed by reason. She would go completely insane in endless panic until she couldn't take it anymore and ended her own life in the most painful way possible.
Lu Chen withdrew his hand, wrapped his arm around Cate's waist, and exerted force with his feet.
The two rose from the ground, turning into an afterimage and disappearing into the sky.
On the plaza.
Shetty's previously hollow eyes suddenly contracted violently. She clutched her head, and a scream of the utmost misery erupted from her throat.
The sound was not something a human could emit; it was more like a Beast being skinned alive, howling desperately in the sunlight.
Chapter 125: Come Be My Assistant
Lu Chen had his arm around Cate Dunlap's waist, gliding steadily beneath the clouds.
Cate Dunlap buried her face in his chest, her hands clutching his clothes.
Lu Chen lowered his head to take a look at the girl in his arms.
She certainly couldn't stay at Godolkin University any longer.
Today, in front of so many people, he had used Heat Vision to slice those Superhumans students in half and had tortured Shetty until she went insane.
The students and administrators at the school, even if they didn't dare say a word to her face, would definitely avoid her like the plague behind her back.
Implicit exclusion was more disgusting than face-to-face insults. The way those Superhumans students looked at her had changed, shifting from previous awe to current fear and wariness.
Not interacting, not speaking, and treating her like Translucent—this was also a form of bullying.
Cate Dunlap was already sensitive, and she had just experienced such a devastating betrayal from Shetty. Throwing her back into that environment alone was equivalent to driving her to her death.
"Where do you want to go next?"
Cate Dunlap slowly raised her head, her eyes filled with confusion.
She used to think that as long as she was obedient and wore those gloves, she could graduate from Godolkin University peacefully and prove to her parents that she wasn't a monster.
Now, that dream was completely shattered.
"I don't know." Cate Dunlap gripped Lu Chen's clothes tighter. "I just want to be with you. Anywhere is fine."
Feeling the strength in her grip, Lu Chen tightened his arm around her waist slightly.
Lu Chen looked at the skyline ahead. "It just so happens I need to make a trip to Russia, and I expect to stay for a while. Consider it a trip to clear your head."
He was going to Russia to cause trouble for that mob boss Little Nina, and he might as well bring this little trouble along so she wouldn't be alone in New York overthinking things.
Besides, with his current strength, protecting one person was more than enough.
"Okay." Cate Dunlap didn't hesitate at all.
Lu Chen looked down at her and suddenly threw out a question: "Do you want to join The Seven?"
Cate Dunlap was stunned for a moment.
The Seven. That was the ultimate dream for all Superhumans in the World; it was the most glamorous stage, symbolizing wealth, status, and privilege.
But hearing it spoken by Lu Chen, it sounded as casual as asking what to have for lunch.
Cate Dunlap looked up at Lu Chen's chin. She knew this was absolutely not a joke. As long as Lu Chen spoke the word, he could definitely make it happen.
Even if it meant kicking out an existing member of The Seven, or simply killing one to make room for her, Lu Chen would absolutely do it.
But after thinking for a moment, she shook her head.
"Forget it." Cate Dunlap's voice was a bit low. "I don't think I'd get used to that kind of life. The spotlight, the cameras, and those hypocritical smiles... just looking at them makes me sick."
She was now severely allergic to the words "packaging" and "hypocrisy." The lesson Shetty had taught her was too profound, so profound that it made her want to vomit.
"Fine," Lu Chen nodded. "Then come be my personal assistant."
"A personal assistant?"
"Yeah. Help me handle some daily affairs," Lu Chen said. "Answer calls, schedule appointments, and block out unnecessary trouble along the way. Vought Company will cover your salary."
Cate Dunlap's dull eyes finally brightened a little.
It wasn't just because she could legitimately stay with Lu Chen twenty-four hours a day.
More importantly, as a personal assistant, she could be the first to come into contact with anyone trying to get close to Lu Chen.
She could effectively control those self-righteous bitches who wanted to climb into Lu Chen's bed.
Like that stinky woman called Starlight.
What makes her think she can stand by Lu Chen's side? Just because she can glow? I can control people too!
The corners of Cate Dunlap's mouth couldn't help but curve slightly. She pressed her face back against Lu Chen's chest. "That sounds good, I'd be happy to serve, Boss."
Seeing that she finally had a smile, Lu Chen breathed a sigh of relief.
As for the incident of killing people in public at Godolkin University today and driving the dean insane, he didn't care at all about how the school and Vought Company's top brass would react.
He also didn't take Ashley's screaming on the phone to heart.
Edgar was a smart man. If Vought Company's top brass wanted to make an issue of this, or tried to use this incident to suppress him, they would soon understand one thing.
Failing to find and deal with him when he was weak—trying to make a move now was too late.
His trump cards were now strong enough—strong enough to flip the table and rewrite the rules directly.
It's easy to invite a god, but hard to send one away.
If it really came to a falling out, it was hard to say who would be the one rolling out of the Vought Company building in the end: those Vought Company executives, or him, Lu Chen.
"Edgar, I hope you can make the right choice."
He brought Cate Dunlap down to a lower altitude and found a high-end hotel in New York, planning to let her rest for a while to calm her emotions.
Meanwhile, in Washington, at the hearing site.
Flashes were flickering frantically, and the sound of shutters blended together.
Homelander sat in the first row of the hearing gallery. He still wore a smile on his face.
But if you looked closely, you would notice that the hands he had placed on his knees were trembling slightly.
Panic.
An unprecedented panic was gnawing at his nerves.
He looked at the congresswoman on the podium, Victoria Neuman, who was speaking eloquently into the microphone, and wished she would die right now.
The woman on the podium was listing the crimes of Vought Company one by one, from the illegal transport of Compound V to the creation of Superhumans Terrorists. Every word was like a hammer, smashing against his approval rating.
Once the verdict came down, Vought Company would be disgraced. And he would be pulled down from his pedestal.
The love he relied on to survive, the cheers of those fans, would all disappear.
He could hear the whispers of those ordinary people in the back rows, could hear the frequency of their heartbeats.
Usually, these sounds made him feel superior, but now, these sounds were like a tight, impenetrable net, trying to strangle him to death.
He needed to be loved. If even love was gone, what would he have left?
Stormfront was sitting next to him.
She, on the other hand, had her legs crossed, her posture extremely relaxed.
She glanced at the rigid Homelander beside her, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
A bunch of idiots.
Stormfront looked at the people on the podium and in the audience; people a hundred years ago were stupid, and people now were even stupider. Did they think they could judge a god with a few sheets of paper and a few judges?
She couldn't wait for this hearing to produce a result immediately, couldn't wait for the judge to strike that gavel down and sentence Vought International to death.
Only when the big tree of Vought International fell, only when Homelander lost all public support and love, becoming an isolated and helpless abandoned pawn, would he truly belong to her.
By then, the unsupported Homelander would be able to focus entirely on following her, on building her army of Superhumans, and on realizing that great ideal of hers that had been dormant for a century.
Once she pulled Homelander completely to her side, she would let these ants know what true power was.
"Don't be nervous," Stormfront whispered into Homelander's ear. "They don't love you, but I do. You don't need the approval of these ants; you are a god."
Homelander swallowed hard, said nothing, and just stared fixedly at the podium.
At the other end of the first row, Stan Edgar sat quietly, his eyes as calm as Water, without a ripple.
Facing the accusation from Neuman on the podium that was practically rubbing Vought International's face in the dirt, he even had the leisure to pick up the cup of Water in front of him and take a slow, unhurried sip.
Everything was going according to his script.
On the podium, Neuman's speech was drawing to a close.
"...Vought International, in order to cover up their crimes, will stop at nothing. But the truth will never be buried." Neuman rested her hands on the podium and swept her gaze across the audience. "We not only have documentary evidence, we also have an eyewitness."
The buzzing of the entire room instantly fell silent.
Everyone's eyes were focused on the judge's bench.
The gray-haired old judge struck the gavel, the sound echoing throughout the hall.
"Call the witness to the stand."
Chapter 126: Identity Exposed
The echoes of the judge's gavel still reverberated beneath the dome of the hall when the double doors at the back of the hearing room were pushed open from the outside.
Homelander, sitting in the front row, turned his head to look.
His gaze swept over the media's telephoto lenses and cameras, landing on the two people walking in one after another.
The Asian woman walking in front was wearing a jacket.
Following behind her was a young man with his head lowered, his hands cuffed in specialized restraints.
The fake smile on Homelander's face froze instantly.
He recognized these two people.
The man was Kenji, the Super Terrorist that The Seven had mobilized in full force to capture.
The woman was the test subject that Butcher's crew had rescued.
No wonder those highly-paid wastes in the criminal analysis department had been searching for so long without even catching a hair of these rats.
So, someone had been hiding them.
Not only were these bastards not dead, but they had also swaggered right into the congressional hearing.
They had walked right under the cameras, in front of the entire United States!
Kimiko walked all the way to the front of the judge's bench.
The camera flashes in the hall were bright enough to turn her face deathly pale.
She pulled a USB drive from her pocket and handed it to the clerk beside the judge.
The USB drive was inserted into a computer, and several giant screens in the center of the hall lit up simultaneously.
They were all raw, top-secret files.
The first file was the shipping manifest and financial records of Vought Company privately supplying Compound V to terrorist organizations.
Immediately after, a set of bloody photos popped up on the screen.
These were the real data from Vought's so-called "peacekeeping operations" in Nicaragua and the Middle East years ago.
There were no heroic figures saving the World, only civilians cut in half, children crushed by collapsed buildings, and a Death list hundreds of names long.
Finally, there was an internal report marked "Top Secret": the complete file on former member of The Seven, Lamplighter.
The screen clearly displayed crime scene investigation photos showing how he had burned several innocent children alive into charred corpses with Fire.
The entire hall was in an uproar.
Reporters were frantically typing on their keyboards.
Cameras and lenses were pointed at the screens on stage, shutters clicking wildly.
Gasps and exclamations drowned out the hall like a tsunami.
Homelander, sitting in the front row, felt some difficulty breathing.
On the stage, Neuman gripped the podium with both hands, her face full of sorrow and anger.
She glanced at Edgar in the front row.
Edgar remained seated there.
Facing this earth-shattering scandal capable of bankrupting any multinational giant in an instant, he slowly raised his hand and rubbed his brow.
This was the signal they had agreed upon.
The CIA's trump card had been revealed, and public anger had been stoked to its peak.
Next, it was time to let this farce end in an "accident."
Neuman took a deep breath, her gaze locking onto Kenji, who was standing in front of the judge's bench.
As long as she activated her ability and blew up the heads of a few key witnesses, the scene would descend into total panic.
The hearing would be forced to a halt, and Vought Company could use the chaos to push all responsibility onto an "unidentified Superhuman terrorist attack."
As for her, she would escape the chaos unscathed and continue to be the flawless progressive female politician.
Just then, Kenji, who had been keeping his head down, suddenly raised his hand.
He did not look at the big screen.
Instead, he pointed straight at the front row.
He pointed at Stormfront, who was sitting next to Homelander, crossing her legs and watching the show.
Neuman was stunned for a moment, her ability, about to be activated, abruptly cut off.
Did the CIA have another ace up their sleeve?
Kenji took a deep breath and shouted in accented English: "There is one more thing! Vought Company has been hiding a Nazi!"
His voice traveled through the microphone across the entire hall, drowning out all the noise.
"She! She is Liberty from a hundred years ago!" Kenji's finger pointed at Stormfront.
The hall instantly fell silent enough to hear a pin drop.
Even the reporters who had been frantically clicking their shutters stopped in their tracks.
Everyone's gaze followed Kenji's finger, all looking at Stormfront.
Neuman's brows furrowed tightly.
She looked at Edgar again and discovered that even this old fox, who always had a poker face, was slightly frowning.
As soon as he finished speaking, the projection screen in the center of the hall suddenly flickered.
It was an old black-and-white photo.
Although the image quality was a bit rough, the faces on it were clearly visible.
It was Stormfront.
She was wearing a vintage wedding dress, arm-in-arm with a man.
That man had a face that all the Vought Company executives present recognized—the founder of Vought Company, the chief Nazi scientist, Frederick Vought.
And behind them was a huge, glaring Nazi swastika flag.
Immediately after, various newspaper clippings began to scroll rapidly on the screen.
They were all reports from decades ago about a superhero named "Liberty" brutally murdering Black people using extremely cruel methods.
The miserable state of the victims, paired with Stormfront's face that hadn't changed in a hundred years, created a sickening impact.
The smile on Stormfront's face vanished completely.
She stared fixedly at the photo on the big screen.
How could this be?
These files had clearly been destroyed long ago!
Who dug them up?
How could Mallory have gotten her hands on these things!
She turned to look at Homelander and found that Homelander was looking at her with a strange, even betrayed expression.
Stormfront's heart sank abruptly.
What Homelander needed was someone who could love him wholeheartedly, not a hundred-year-old hag full of lies who hid her true identity from him.
She hadn't yet had the chance to fully tell Homelander about her extremist ideology and identity, hadn't yet had the chance to make him fully accept that grand plan to build a World of White Superhumans!
Now it was all ruined.
She had spent decades lying low, changed her identity, and finally managed to use the tailwinds of the internet to package herself as an outspoken internet-famous hero.
She was about to succeed, about to fully win Homelander over, about to raise an army of Superhumans that belonged to her.
Now, it was all ruined.
Those stupid netizens would no longer cheer for her; they would only see her as a damned Nazi remnant.
The era of her secretly spreading her ideology was completely ended at this moment.
Anger, humiliation, and the frustration of her plans being disrupted instantly overwhelmed Stormfront's reason.
Since she couldn't keep up the act, she would just kill all these meddlesome ants!
"Go to hell! You lowly bastards!" Stormfront stood up abruptly, blinding purple lightning erupting from her body.
Violent electrical currents gathered in her hands and blasted directly toward Kenji on the stage.
"Boom!"
The massive explosion overturned the tables and chairs in the front row, and screams instantly tore through the hearing scene.
Inside an underground safe house on the outskirts of New York.
The television on the wall was broadcasting the live feed of the Washington hearing.
The moment Stormfront erupted with lightning, the live broadcast flickered a few times and went directly to a black screen.
Hughie's mouth hung wide open, and the half-eaten sandwich in his hand dropped to the floor.
Mothers Milk widened his eyes, and Frenchie cursed out loud, kicking over the coffee table in front of him.
This was a turn of events they hadn't fucking expected.
Only Butcher sat on the worn-out sofa, motionless.
He held Becca tightly in his arms.
Becca buried her face in Butcher's chest, looking at the screen.
The madness regarding Superhumans always reminded her of that nightmarish afternoon when Ryan was taken away.
"It's okay, it's okay." Butcher's large hand gently patted Becca's back, his voice surprisingly gentle.
But when he looked up at the blacked-out television, he grinned, revealing a cruel and excited smile.
Butcher took a big gulp of beer and tossed the empty can onto the floor.
"This is only the beginning."