And this was only the beginning.
The next day.
The Galactic Human Federation government held an emergency press conference for the public.
The spokesperson for the Supreme Ministry of Justice of the Federation announced with a serious expression:
"After a thorough investigation by the Federal Security Bureau, high-level executives of the former top four global grain merchants are suspected of secretly colluding with aliens during the Skrull crisis, hoarding supplies for speculation, and artificially creating a global food crisis, resulting in the starvation of millions of civilians."
"Currently, the relevant suspects have been arrested by Federation Agents and are undergoing further investigation."
As soon as this statement was released, the stock prices of the four major grain merchants plummeted off a cliff.
But just one day later, another piece of news broke.
Vought International had completed negotiations with the boards of directors of these major grain merchants and officially announced a comprehensive acquisition and restructuring of the four major grain merchants.
And established "Vought Global Eco-Tech."
On the afternoon the acquisition contract was signed, the dozen or so arrested grain merchant executives were released by the Federal Security Bureau that same day due to "insufficient evidence."
After seizing control of over eighty percent of the global food lifeline, Vought International followed up with a series of combined maneuvers.
First was the enactment of a series of "Vought Light Aid Programs" targeting the former third-World countries, slums, and underdeveloped regions.
The content of this plan could be described as insane.
It included comprehensive satellite network coverage, educational aid, medical aid, unlimited food aid, and the construction of numerous non-profit movie theaters in these areas, exclusively showing Vought-produced films for free.
Vought's leader, Homelander, vowed before the cameras: "With the establishment of the Galactic Human Federation, all of humanity is a single entity, with no distinction. Vought International will shoulder its corporate responsibility. Our goal is: everyone has books to read, everyone has food to eat!"
But there is no such thing as a free lunch.
Vought's aid policy had very clear additional conditions.
If the impoverished wanted to receive free food or free medical treatment from Vought medical staff when sick, they had to meet one condition:
Children of school age must attend schools built with Vought International's aid, while adults must receive free solar-powered televisions provided by Vought and were required to watch the "Adult Self-Study Courses" on the Vought Channel.
Vought's material distribution system was directly linked to academic performance.
The better a family's exam results, the more rice, flour, grain, and oil they could receive each month.
Among all the courses at Vought schools, the compulsory course with the highest credits was "Character Education."
As long as one passed this course, the supplies provided by Vought were enough to support a family of three.
Once Vought's policy was released, it encountered no resistance or delay.
That day, dozens of Vought heavy transport planes took to the skies.
Hundreds of millions of tons of grain, antibiotics, building materials, home appliances, and other supplies were packed into Vought Capsules and flown to impoverished areas around the World.
Under such strong execution, the aid results were immediate.
In a certain slum in the Middle East.
Skinny children gathered curiously in front of a school that had just been built like magic.
Adults stood in long lines, taking heavy bags of rice and canned meat from the hands of fully armed Vought staff.
Inside a tent, a brand-new television was playing a promotional video for Vought International.
A teacher hired by Vought at a high salary to teach in the area stood before the television, holding a copy of the "Vought Character Education Manual."
"Children," the teacher said loudly, pointing at the man draped in the stars and stripes on the television screen.
"Remember this face; his name is Homelander."
"He is the one who drove away the monsters in the sky, and he is the one who sent us food. Without him, we would still be starving today."
"Praise the Homelander..."
In the face of material temptation and survival security, all ideological barriers were fragile, and the indoctrination of ideology became incredibly easy.
Those who had never even heard the name Homelander, who lived below the poverty line year-round, had no contact with modern civilization, and were indifferent to what happened in the outside World.
Now, they ate the food sent by Vought every day, watched the TV sent by Vought, and wore free clothes printed with Homelander's face.
They all knew that in this World, there was a man named Homelander.
He was the Great Savior; he had defeated the alien monsters, and he ensured everyone could eat their fill.
This gratitude, stemming from survival instinct, quickly transformed into the purest popularity.
But its strength lay in being a steady, continuous stream.
As long as these people were still eating from Vought's rice bowl, this popularity value provided on time every day would never run dry.
...
Vought Vanguard Hero Academy.
Peter Parker was walking briskly through the academy's central plaza.
The environment here was much better than at Midtown High School.
Surrounding him were teaching buildings filled with a sense of future technology, and from time to time, teachers with the ability to fly would whistle past in the sky.
"Hey! Peter!"
A familiar voice came from behind.
Peter stopped and looked back, a look of surprise appearing on his face.
"Ned? MJ?"
The ones who called out to him from behind were his best friend from Midtown High School, Ned, and the girl he had a crush on, Michelle Jones.
Little Ned and Michelle Jones were walking quickly toward him. Both were also wearing the Vought Academy uniform.
"What are you guys doing here?" Peter's eyes widened.
Ned ran over excitedly and punched Peter on the shoulder.
"Surprise, brother! We signed up too, and we both got in!" Ned was so excited he was dancing around.
"I didn't tell you in advance because I wanted to surprise you. But we searched every class in the Osiris Division and didn't see you at all."
"We were just about to go check out Helios Academy."
Michelle came up to Peter, her gaze sizing him up.
"We were looking for you in the Osiris Division because that's the branch that takes ordinary people. But now..." Michelle pointed at Peter's uniform, "the color of your clothes is for the Obelisk Branch."
She raised an eyebrow. "As far as I know, the people in that branch already had superpowers before entering the school."
Ned also realized and gasped.
"God! Peter, you guy actually kept it from us! You awakened long ago? What is your superpower?" Ned's eyes widened, and he asked impatiently.
Peter scratched his head sheepishly, his cheeks slightly red.
"Uh... actually, I didn't mean to keep it from you. I just didn't know how to say it."
He looked around and saw that no one nearby was paying them any attention.
Peter took half a step back.
He raised his left hand, middle and ring fingers bent, palm aimed at a high oak tree branch beside the plaza.
"Thwip—"
A white, tough strand of silk shot out from the web-shooter on his wrist, accurately sticking to a branch over ten meters high.
Peter exerted force with his wrist, and his whole body shot up like a cannonball.
He flipped gracefully in the air, his feet landing steadily on the branch, and then he turned his body upside down.
A strand of spider silk descended, and Peter, like a real spider, lowered himself back in front of Ned and Michelle, hanging upside down at eye level with them.
"This is my ability." Peter grinned, hanging upside down.