As soon as the meeting began, Hank Christ looked toward his chief economist.
"Vincent, tell us what you think."
The economist named Vincent was past forty. His hair was combed back, he wore plain glasses, and his beard was neatly trimmed.
Hearing that, he nodded.
Then he looked at Angelina.
Speaking slowly, he said, "The commercial value of Site N174 is around 800 million. Taking future appreciation and surrounding benefits into consideration..."
"I think 1 billion would be a suitable purchase price."
At once, the team Angelina brought with her burst into an uproar, "1 billion? Are you robbing us?"
"We spent 2.5 billion to get that land."
"Fine if there's no premium, but wanting to buy that site for just 1 billion is too ridiculous."
Facing the other side's objections, economist Vincent remained calm. Even his eyelids did not move.
After all, offering 1 billion tonight to acquire their site had been ordered by Hank Christ himself.
He had backing.
Naturally, he would not waver.
At this time, Hank Christ deliberately said, "That's true, Vincent."
"Miss Angelina spent 2.5 billion on Site N174, and we're only offering 1 billion. Isn't that too low?"
Whether it was Vincent throwing out the low price of 1 billion, or Hank Christ's fake politeness now, Angelina showed no reaction.
She knew very well that since her master had come tonight, there was no way he would let her suffer a loss.
So she was not anxious at all.
Instead, she wanted to see what tricks Hank Christ could pull.
Economist Vincent lightly nodded to his boss, then said, "Mr. Hank, you may not know this."
"Site N174 was never worth that much to begin with."
"If Miss Angelina hadn't deliberately raised the bids that night..."
"There's no way the price would have reached 2.5 billion."
"My evaluation is correct."
"That land is worth at most 1 billion."
"Miss Angelina clearly still has room to improve in terms of judgment."
After speaking, Vincent looked toward Angelina.
Angelina neither got angry nor rushed to argue back. She remained calm, or rather, somewhat distracted.
It was as if she did not care about the result of the negotiation.
She turned the ring on her finger and looked toward Alex with a smile.
Hank Christ snorted beneath, but on the surface he pretended to be generous, "So that's how it is. Still, since Miss Angelina specially came here tonight, how can I let her suffer a loss?"
Vincent thought for a moment, then said, "In that case, let's purchase it for 1.2 billion."
"That's already the highest price possible. It can't be more."
"However, our company does not currently have that much liquid cash."
"My suggestion is..."
"Pay Miss Angelina 500 million first, and pay off the remaining 700 million over five years."
"Is that so?", Hank Christ smiled at Angelina, "Miss Angelina, what do you think of this arrangement?"
Only then did Angelina look at Hank Christ, "You plan to purchase Site N174 for 1.2 billion, and only pay 500 million upfront, and the remaining amount will be paid over seven years, correct?"
Hank Christ nodded, "That's right."
"Miss Angelina, I hope you don't think you're being treated unfairly."
"This is already a very fair price."
"And you'll also gain the friendship of the Christ family."
"You should know that in Italy, companies wanting to build ties with us could line up endlessly."
"But this is the Federation, not Italy," At this moment, Alex's voice sounded in Angelina's mind, and she received his instructions.
Angelina calmly said, "So, I reject your rude request."
"However, if the Christ family wants to cooperate with us, I still welcome it."
"How about this? I'll set aside part of Site N174 and lease it to the Christ family."
"As for the rent, let's say 200 million per year for ten years."
"2 billion in rent is not much. I assume Mr. Hank would be happy to pay?"
The meeting room instantly fell silent.
Nobody expected Angelina not only to reject the Christ family's acquisition offer, but instead offer to lease part of the site to them.
And at a rent of 200 million per year.
Not to mention just part of the site, even leasing out the entire N174 area for 200 million a year would still be too expensive.
And this was only a section of it.
It was absurd.
Hank Christ wanted to refuse, but when the words reached his mouth, they became, "No problem."
At once, Vincent and the others from the Christ Group all looked toward Hank Christ.
They could not believe their ears.
This proposal was clearly taking advantage of the Christ family, yet Hank Christ actually agreed?
Angelina made a gesture, "Then let's draft the contract now and settle this tonight."
Hank Christ heard himself say again, "Alright, let's do that."
Immediately, one of the lawyers on Angelina's team began drafting the contract.
'No!'
'No!'
'What's happening to me?'
'Am I possessed by a demon?'
'How could I agree to something this ridiculous? No, I refuse!'
Hank Christ's eyes darted around, but he could not say a word. It was as if this body was no longer under his control.
'What happened the night of the auction is happening again!'
Vincent quickly stood up to stop them.
"Please wait."
"This is an important matter. We need to hold a meeting."
"Mr. Hank, may I speak with you privately?"
But he saw Hank Christ shake his head, "No need, Vincent."
"I completely agree with Miss Angelina's proposal."
"There's no need for another meeting. We'll do it this way."
"But...", Vincent frowned.
"But what!", Hank Christ shouted angrily, "Am I the boss, or are you the boss?"
Vincent could only nod and sit back down.
Very soon, the document was drafted and printed out. Hank Christ signed the agreement without hesitation and instructed the finance department to pay Angelina the first three years of rent in one payment.
After receiving the money, Angelina nodded and stood up.
"Then we'll be leaving."
She walked to Alex's side and smiled, "Mr. John, let's go."
"Alright," Alex smiled and stood up, letting Angelina hold his arm.
But just as they were about to leave, Hank Christ regained control of his body.
He suddenly shouted, "Wait!"
"You witch!"
"You demon!"
"What did you do to me!"
"That agreement doesn't count! I refuse to acknowledge it!"
"You must have used some kind of magic to control me, otherwise how could I agree to such ridiculous terms!"
Vincent and the others froze again and looked toward Hank Christ, beginning to worry about the condition of their young boss.
Angelina turned around and said calmly, "Mr. Vincent, once a contract is signed, it has legal effect."
"Let me remind you that there's a breach clause inside."
"If you break the agreement, you'll need to pay double the penalty fee. That would be 4 billion."
"You!"
Hank Christ suddenly pulled a small handgun from his clothes.
A pistol that could fire only one bullet.
He pointed it at Angelina.
At that moment, Alex looked at him.
Hank Christ's body instantly stiffened.
Vincent hurriedly stood up and said, "Mr. Hank, calm down and put the gun down first."
But then he heard Hank Christ burst into laughter.
"No need to worry, Vincent."
"I was just joking with Miss Angelina."
"See them out for me."
Faced with Hank Christ's sudden shift in attitude, Vincent looked lost, but he still followed the order and escorted Angelina and Alex out.
But just as Alex and the others entered the elevator, a gunshot suddenly rang out from the hall, followed by screams and shouts.
———
[The Next Day]
Inside the command hall of the Seven Tower, Maeve was reading today's newspaper.
At that moment, the automatic doors opened, and Ashley walked in.
"Hey, everyone."
"Did you see today's paper?"
"Hank Christ committed suicide last night."
"My god, this is insane."
"That's the Christ family we're talking about."
"Last year our company even recommended a superhero to work for them."
"I never expected Mr. Hank to kill himself last night."
Maeve closed the newspaper and said, "Maybe the pressure was too much."
"I heard that during the auction not long ago, Mr. Hank lost control because he failed to get what he wanted."
Snow Princess said, "I heard about that too."
"And—"
She lowered her voice.
"Do you know who stole Hank Christ's target that night?"
Everyone looked at her.
Snow Princess glanced at the doors.
"It was Miss Angelina."
"That's right, our vice president."
"But she has another identity as well."
At that moment, the doors opened. Starlight walked in, her wavy hair loose and her combat suit revealing.
"Good morning, everyone."
"What are you talking about?"
Ashley quickly changed the topic.
"We were just discussing the 'Seven Team Reserve Squad.'"
"Starlight, the reserve squad has already recruited all its members."
"And you're the captain. How does it feel? Excited?"
Starlight said somewhat shyly, "I'm not ready to lead a team yet. I think it would be better if Homelander led us."
As soon as she finished speaking, a voice sounded behind her.
"I believe you can do the job well."
Starlight turned around.
Then she saw Homelander walk in wearing a black combat suit and a red cape.
Alex smiled and pressed a hand on Starlight's shoulder.
"Congratulations, Captain Starlight."
"Starting today, you have your own team too."
Starlight said modestly, "There are still many things I need to learn from you."
Alex replied openly, "No problem. If there's anything you don't understand, you can come to me anytime, as long as I'm free."
Ashley took the chance to say, "Sir, the reserve squad members have all arrived."
"They all admire you very much."
"I was wondering if you have time to meet them?"
Alex nodded, "Of course."
"Have them gather in the training hall. I want to see which lucky kids managed to join Starlight's team."
Starlight smiled brightly.
Ashley went to make the arrangements.
Alex looked around the hall and casually asked, "Where's Stormfront?"
Snow Princess said, "Stormfront hasn't shown up for almost a month."
"Oh."
Alex lifted the corner of his mouth slightly. Later, he planned to visit the crime analysis department and have Annika check Stormfront's chip location to see what the former "Liberty" was up to.
———
After that, he arrived at the training hall.
Six superheroes had already gathered there.
Four men and two women.
When they saw Alex arrive, they all applauded and shouted "Homelander."
Alex smiled and nodded to them.
Then Ashley introduced them.
"This is 'Redemption Girl' Sophia. Her idol is Joan of Arc. She has a spirit of sacrifice and is also a devoted believer."
"Redemption Girl" Sophia was a girl in her early twenties wearing a combat suit with strong religious elements.
Alex looked at her and smiled.
"Joan of Arc didn't end very well. Trust me, you don't want to be tied to a stake and burned."
Sophia's expression immediately changed, but she still forced out a smile.
Ashley awkwardly introduced another superhero.
"This is 'Blind Hero' Tony. He's from Indonesia."
"His hearing is extremely sharp. He can use his ears to capture sounds and can even detect bats flying at high speed."
Alex let out a laugh, "Then why doesn't he call himself Batman? That would definitely be interesting."
Ashley coughed repeatedly as if choking, then introduced the third hero.
"This is 'Supersonic.' Besides being a superhero, he's also a singer."
"I really like his albums. Oh, and he's also Starlight's friend."
Alex nodded. He had watched the series, so he naturally knew Supersonic was Starlight's friend.
And her ex-boyfriend.
As for whether they had gone beyond friendship, that was hard to say.
For some reason, when looking at Supersonic, Alex felt something was off.
Without hesitation, he threw an "Eye of True Sight" at Supersonic.
People should trust their instincts.
If there's a problem, dig to the bottom of it.
As a result, after using "Eye of True Sight," Alex really did spot something wrong.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[Name: Supersonic]
[Life Level: Level 4 (Superhuman)]
[Status: Parasitized]
[Talent: Super Speed.]
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
'Parasitized?'
'Now this is interesting.'
Alex immediately read Supersonic's thoughts and surface memories.
Right away, he heard Supersonic's inner voice.
["Save me!"]
["Please save me, Homelander!"]
["Get the monster off me!"]
["I'm begging you!"]
'Monster on him?'
Alex quietly scanned Supersonic and immediately discovered that the superhero's clothes were actually alive.
He saw blood vessels, nerves, and organs inside that "outfit".
And that "outfit" had already split off many thread-like structures similar to nerves that extended into Supersonic's body. Those threads had entered Supersonic's organs and blood vessels.
This allowed the two to form a symbiotic relationship.
If the "clothes" were removed from Supersonic, it would definitely cause damage to him.
Of course, Alex did not care whether Supersonic lived or died.
However, the "clothes" on Supersonic reminded Alex of something.
'Xenomorphs!'
That's right, the mortal enemies of the "Undying Empire," the "Xenomorphs" that descended from the sky.
The "Xenomorphs" that could parasitize humans and even "Undying Ones," and kill the "Undying Ones".
'This thing actually appeared. And it came directly to me?'
Alex narrowed his eyes slightly. Without showing anything on his face, he encouraged Supersonic a little.
After greeting the remaining superheroes, Alex found an excuse to leave first, but he sent a message to Starlight asking her to see him later.
———
At lunchtime, Alex met with Starlight.
"Homelander, you wanted to see me?"
Starlight sat across from him.
Alex nodded and said softly, "Your friend, Supersonic, has a problem."
"Oh right, he's your ex-boyfriend, isn't he?"
Starlight froze for a moment. Thinking Alex disliked Supersonic, she quickly said, "Homelander, Supersonic is a good person."
"Even though we dated before, there's nothing between us anymore."
"Don't worry. I won't treat him differently because of our past."
"So—"
"No, no, no," Alex waved a hand and shook his head.
"The problem I'm talking about has nothing to do with your personal relationship."
"His condition is very abnormal."
"He's being controlled."
Starlight paused.
After a while, she cautiously asked, "You think someone is controlling him?"
"I don't think that thing is human."
Alex did not beat around the bush.
"I scanned him earlier. Guess what? The clothes on his body are a living organism."
"Yes, a living creature."
"That thing is parasitizing your ex-boyfriend."
Starlight immediately stood up.
At that moment, Supersonic walked into the cafeteria area.
He even waved at Starlight.
Starlight forced a smile, nodded at him, then sat back down.
"Homelander, are you sure?"
"Of course."
"And that thing is currently in a symbiotic relationship with Supersonic. In other words, if we attack that thing directly, your ex-boyfriend could die."
Alex took a sip of orange juice.
Starlight let out a soft breath.
"Then what do we do?"
Alex shrugged and gave no opinion.
He did not care about Supersonic. What interested him was the "Xenomorph."
After all, the "Undying Ones" had already appeared, and now the "Xenomorphs" had shown up too. Would the war between them start again?
Besides, he also wanted to know whether the "Xenomorphs" were extraterrestrial lifeforms.
If the answer was yes, then through the "Xenomorphs," Alex might be able to further understand the setting of this universe.
Because of the "invasion" incident, he could now confirm something.
The Boys universe he was in was only a universe similar to the TV series.
And there were probably many other Boys universes like this.
That was why there were "Homelanders" from different universes.
Based on these considerations, Alex planned to capture the "Xenomorph" alive.
Starlight looked at Alex with pleading eyes.
"Homelander, can you help Supersonic?"
"He's a very kind person. I don't want anything to happen to him."
Alex smiled, "I can think of a way, but I'm not obligated to help him, am I?"
Starlight said, "Supersonic would be very grateful to you."
Alex laughed, stood up, and said, "But I don't need his gratitude."
After speaking, he turned and left, leaving behind Starlight, whose emotions were mixed.