"Of course we have to continue."
The one who spoke was Mallory, a former senior CIA agent and the superior of Frenchie and the others.
Mother's Milk said hesitantly, "But is this really okay, ma'am? After all, he just saved us and saved this planet."
"We're still going to look for a weapon to deal with him, even kill him. This…"
Mallory put down the glass of wine in her hand, "Mother's Milk, you're right."
"He did save us and save this planet."
"But did you notice that he only stepped forward at the last moment?"
"And a friend of mine in the CIA mentioned to me that even before that giant monster appeared from the super-meteorite, the President had gone to see Homelander twice."
"The President wanted him to step in."
"During the first negotiation, the President was driven away because he objected to the conditions Homelander proposed."
"During the second negotiation, he was not even willing to meet with the President."
"Besides, the CIA also discovered that after 'Destroyer' appeared and after the first negotiation broke down, Pratt kept sending supplies and personnel into the Eden base belonging to the Cayden Group."
"Do you know what this information means?"
Frenchie put down his ice cream and opened his mouth wide, "No way."
"You mean Homelander had already planned to stand by and do nothing during the second negotiation."
"He wanted to let 'Destroyer' crash into Earth and destroy this world?"
Mother's Milk frowned, "Why would he do that?"
Mallory picked up her glass and took a small sip, "I don't know."
"But my thinking is the same as Frenchie's."
"After the first negotiation broke down, Homelander planned to stand aside and do nothing. That's the only way to explain why he refused the second negotiation."
"He should have known that during the second negotiation, no matter what demands he made, the President would agree to them."
"But he refused. The only explanation is that he planned to use 'Destroyer' to break the existing world order and reshuffle the various countries and powers."
"As for the supplies and personnel, he probably believed he had the ability to protect the base."
"So after the meteorite destroyed the world, he would be able to become the king of the new world with the supplies and personnel he had prepared in advance."
Mother's Milk was dumbfounded, "That's insane."
The Black man spread his hands again, "If that's the case, then why did he step in later?"
Mallory put down her glass and smiled, "Because he's an arrogant bastard. 'Hero Hunt' angered him. Think about it. Could someone like him stand being hunted as prey?"
"The answer is obviously no."
"So he stepped in, not to benefit all of humanity, not to save this planet."
"Just to teach those alien creatures a lesson."
"So you see, he isn't as great as you imagine."
"Only people who can't see the whole picture would regard him as a savior. That bastard acted purely for himself."
"Saving the world and all of humanity was just something he happened to do along the way."
Frenchie put down his now-empty ice cream cup, "I agree with Madam's assessment."
Mother's Milk shrugged, "All right, then let's continue the work we started."
Mallory nodded, "This must be done."
"Because Homelander is too powerful."
"He killed even an alien lifeform like that. On this planet, he is basically invincible."
"Think carefully about how terrifying that is."
"We will all be living under his shadow. Whether this planet can continue to exist and whether humanity can survive will all depend on his mood."
"Today he's in a good mood and allows us to keep living."
"If he's in a bad mood tomorrow, he might wipe out all of humanity."
Frenchie wiped his face, "That's true."
"It's like if the Federation were the only country in the world with nuclear weapons, the Federation would definitely become the enemy of the entire world."
"Although it's more or less like that already."
"But overall, because other countries also have nuclear weapons, they can restrain each other. As long as no one goes completely insane, there won't be a nuclear war."
Mallory drained the wine in her glass, "Exactly."
"Among the superhuman population, Homelander is too powerful. His strength is on an entirely different level."
"The gap between him and the second strongest is like a galaxy."
"He lacks a powerful enough restraint. Without any restraints, he can do whatever he wants."
"There is nothing more insane or dangerous than placing the safety of all humanity on his self-restraint."
She stood up, "So, gentlemen, you're now fighting for all of humanity."
"Come on. We have to take action."
"We must find a weapon capable of restraining Homelander as soon as possible."
———
[Eden Base]
[Helicopter Landing Pad]
Angelina, dressed simply, was accompanied by several assistants and a security team.
She watched as several helicopters landed on the pad.
People gradually stepped out of the helicopters.
A moment later, Angelina saw the President of the Federation, Rick Archibald.
"Welcome, Mr. President."
Angelina smiled warmly and extended her hand, taking the initiative to show her goodwill.
Archibald smiled and shook Angelina's hand. Because of Homelander, Angelina and her group were now highly sought after.
Whether within the Federation or among major financial groups in other countries, everyone was scrambling to meet Angelina and establish ties with the Cayden Group.
When Angelina had declared in front of the eyes of the entire world that Homelander was her master, those with foresight knew that this woman would become the focus of the world in the future.
If they could gain her goodwill, they would indirectly be drawing closer to Homelander.
For a superhero who had saved the entire world, who wouldn't want to get closer to him and establish a connection?
And today, Archibald had come personally as President, further confirming this.
Angelina and Archibald rode in the same car into the base.
Although he had been here once before.
This time, however, Archibald was able to see the base in its entirety.
Angelina also went out of her way to be a good host, smiling as she introduced the President to the various facilities in the base and the roles they would play in the future.
Of course, Angelina also held some things back. She did not reveal a single word about anything involving classified information.
When the car stopped.
They had arrived at the main building of the base, the heart of the entire base and the most important place in Eden.
Receiving Archibald here also indirectly demonstrated Angelina's sincerity.
But what Archibald wanted was not Angelina's sincerity. He wanted Homelander. So although he received the highest level of welcome after entering the hall, the President still showed a trace of displeasure in his eyes when he did not see Alex.
He did not show it on his face, however, and said seemingly casually, "Looks like I came at the wrong time today. Homelander isn't at the base?"
"Master is here. It's just that he's in a bad mood and doesn't want to see guests. Please forgive him."
Angelina smiled as she spoke. Even when facing the most powerful person in the world, she remained completely at ease.
Because standing behind her was the man at the top of this world.
Archibald's expression immediately became rather ugly.
Not only was Homelander in the base, Angelina was not even planning to hide it.
'What contempt and arrogance!'
Only now did he understand that Homelander was not the only arrogant one. The woman standing before him was the same.
Even though her attitude was sincere and her smile friendly, from that sentence alone, Archibald knew that Angelina did not take him, the President of the Federation, very seriously.
Otherwise, she should at least have tried to conceal Homelander's whereabouts.
Archibald chuckled twice and waved his hand. Someone immediately brought over a briefcase.
The President said, "This contains Homelander's general's uniform and the relevant documents. Since he's in a bad mood and doesn't want to see guests…"
"Then I won't disturb him. Please give these things to him on my behalf, Miss Angelina, and pass along my regards."
An assistant beside Angelina took the briefcase, "I will. Please rest assured, Mr. President."
Since he could not see Homelander, Archibald did not intend to stay long. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Angelina, he made an excuse and left.
Only after getting into the helicopter did Archibald's expression became dark.
Beside him, General Mack said through his headset, "Mr. President, Homelander is simply too arrogant."
"You personally delivered his general's uniform and identification documents, yet he didn't even bother to show himself and only sent his maid out."
Archibald snorted, "Hasn't he always been like this?"
"Forget about him."
"How is the recovery of the alien corpses going?"
General Mack nodded, "Very smoothly. Especially that creature known as the 'Hive.' Although Homelander cut it in half, we have recovered its remains."
"Next, Dr. Vogelbaum will oversee the study of the alien lifeforms."
Archibald said, "Those things can turn ordinary people into beings comparable to superhumans. There may be a more stable evolutionary substance in their bodies than Compound V."
"I hope Dr. Vogelbaum can find a way to deal with Homelander through them."
General Mack coughed, "Speaking of finding a countermeasure…"
"Mr. President, the CIA revealed that one of their former agents is also working on this."
"Oh? Who?", Archibald looked at him in surprise.
"Mallory."
"According to the CIA's report, this agent once organized a team to oppose the Seven, especially Homelander."
General Mack said, "Perhaps they really can find a way to deal with Homelander."
Archibald nodded, "Let's hope so."
———
[New York, Chinatown]
Inside Caitlin's apartment, the television was playing a promotional video.
["Homelander, we can't do this anymore. We're about to lose."]
["That's right, Homelander. These alien creatures are too powerful. We're no match for them."]
On the screen, Ice Princess and Starlight were covered in injuries.
They were in the middle of some ruins. In the distance, New York's landmark, the Statue of Liberty, was tilting, while countless spaceships filled the sky.
Those spaceships were constantly firing laser cannons at the ground, causing explosion after explosion.
Right in front of Starlight and Ice Princess, a star-spangled cape was fluttering. The figure facing the fierce bombardment had dazzling blond hair, while the blue suit he wore represented hope.
["Don't give up, my friends."]
"Homelander" said without turning his head, ["We are Earth's, humanity's final line of defense."]
["If even we fall, then who will protect our home?"]
["Don't forget, we are the Seven, the strongest superheroes in the world."]
["Come with me, Starlight, Ice Princess."]
["I will lead you to victory!"]
With that, "Homelander" shot into the sky and flew toward the spaceships, crashing into them one after another.
Those spaceships soon exploded, and the entire sky was quickly engulfed in flames. Then the image became blurred, and a line of text appeared from the flames, growing larger until it occupied the entire screen.
["Do you also want to join the Seven? Do you dream of saving the world? If you have such a dream, then join us."]
["Recruitment for members of the Seven is now underway. Perhaps you will be the next Homelander!"]
Caitlin placed a bowl filled with white rice on the table and smiled, "Stop watching TV, Mr. John. Dinner's ready."
Alex put down the remote and walked over. Looking at the Chinese dishes on the table, he took a deep breath and said, "Smells great. Your cooking has improved, Caitlin."
Then he pulled out a chair for Caitlin and helped her sit down, "Thank you."
After sitting down, Caitlin said, "Try the soup I made."
"Okay."
"What are these black things?", Alex asked knowingly.
"They're seaweed. It's a kind of algae. Where I'm from, people use it to make soup. It tastes really good. Try it."
Alex served a bowl of soup for himself and Caitlin before taking a sip. He nodded, "Not bad. It's delicious."
"Right?"
Caitlin drank her soup as she said, "Eat quickly. The food won't taste good once it gets cold."
She sighed, "We really have the manager to thank this time. If he hadn't taken us outside New York City to take shelter, I might have died in the first wave of meteorites."
Of course, it was not the manager of the music store who had taken Caitlin away. It was Angelina's people, who had simply used the manager's name so that Caitlin would not become suspicious.
A week had passed since "Destroyer" descended.
During this period, Alex had been staying at Eden Base.
Angelina had not lied to Archibald at the time. Alex really had been in a bad mood.
"Destroyer" had not followed the script he had expected, leaving Alex with the feeling that he had been made a fool of. But that was not the only reason he was in a bad mood.
Afterward, he reviewed the entire incident and combined it with the previous "Midnight Boiling" incident. Alex believed that the Black Robe Universe he was in probably also had "administrators."
During the "Midnight Boiling" incident, he had refused to handle the disaster, resulting in the disaster of a hundred thousand Chimeras. Yet the disaster had not even lasted one night. The residents who had turned into Chimeras soon returned to normal.
And in the recent "Destroyer" incident, the super-meteorite had ultimately not crashed into Earth and brought about the apocalypse as Alex had hoped.
Unseen, there seemed to be a force controlling this world.
Or perhaps protecting this world, preventing it from quickly heading toward destruction.
These changes that happened afterward.
The Chimera residents returning to normal, and a giant jellyfish emerging from "Destroyer."
Alex believed that these might have been the result of the "administrator" correcting the plot.