Alex didn't have to wait long. A moment later, the sound of a bell came from deep inside the hall.
At this time, Patrick, who was sitting beside Alex, said quietly, "Mr. Reed is here."
Alex narrowed his eyes and saw a small door open deep inside the hall, with figures moving behind it.
Soon, a group of women dressed in black robes came out.
These women were all very young and almost exactly the same height. Their faces were covered with veils, they carried lanterns in their hands, and they walked barefoot across the floor, giving them a strange kind of beauty.
'They have quite a few tricks.'
'And this setup is even more elaborate than mine.'
'Well, I don't think I've ever had any kind of setup.'
Thoughts bubbled up one after another in Alex's mind.
Beside him, Patrick dutifully introduced them, "They are the 'Light Embracers.' Every 'Light Embracer' has received Mr. Reed the 'Light Praiser's' approval."
"And Mr. Reed personally presides over their purification ceremonies."
"Their bodies and minds have become pure and spotless, and they belong to Homelander forever."
'Wait, why does this sound more and more like one of those shady cults?'
The corner of Alex's mouth twitched slightly.
After the eight so-called "Light Embracers" came out and stood in two rows, a handsome man in his early thirties, dressed in a black robe, finally walked out with a smile.
Patrick immediately tugged at Alex, "Mr. Reed is here. Stand up, quick. Don't daydream."
Alex stood up with him. Everyone else did the same, all bowing slightly toward the man.
"Welcome, my dear brothers and sisters."
Reed looked at everyone and said, "In the name of Homelander, I give you my blessing. You will surely receive his protection."
"Under his glory, you will enjoy peace and health forever, free from the troubles of illness and poverty."
"And all you need to do is sincerely and wholeheartedly believe in him, and believe in me."
Alex's expression immediately became dark.
This guy was openly using his name to swindle people.
And he was using the exact same routine as that man on the cross.
Thinking about the membership requirements Patrick had mentioned before, donations, contributing to the organization, and women allowing the "Lords of Praise" to purify them, and so on, it was obvious that this was about collecting money, getting free labor, and deceiving women physically and emotionally.
If they weren't doing this under Homelander's name, Alex wouldn't have bothered getting involved.
But this guy Reed was profiting by using his name.
Alex had already sentenced him to death.
"All right. I have other things to do tonight."
"Let's save some time."
"So, who wants to join our 'Homeland Association' tonight?"
Reed smiled and looked around.
"I want to join, sir."
"Me too. I've already lost my home. I hope the Homeland Association can help me."
"I haven't had anything to eat for three days."
One hand after another went up.
Including Alex, four people wanted to join the Homeland Association tonight.
Besides Alex, there was a young girl, a Black man and an elderly woman with white hair.
Reed watched Alex and the young girl the longest, followed by the Black man. He barely glanced at the old woman.
"All right. Next, I need to ask you some questions."
Reed first looked at the old woman, "Ma'am, what should I call you?"
"June. You can call me June."
"All right, Mrs. June."
"I'd like to know, what can you do for the Homeland Association?", Reed asked with a smile.
Mrs. June thought for a moment and said, "I can make some good food for everyone. I'm very good at making apple pie. Everyone in my family loved it, but unfortunately, they're all gone now."
"There's only me left."
Reed chuckled, "I don't think we have much need for cooking."
"Anything else?"
Mrs. June said in a trembling voice, "I heard that any woman can become a member of the Homeland Association through the purification ceremony?"
Reed burst out laughing, "That's true, but ma'am, you may not have gotten the full story."
"Light Embracers can only be women under twenty-five. Their bodies and minds haven't been contaminated too much yet, so they still have a chance to be purified."
"As for you?"
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you don't qualify."
Mrs. June looked disappointed, "Then what do I have to do to join the Homeland Association?"
"Donate."
Reed gave a charming smile, "Donate your property and let me see your sincerity and determination."
Mrs. June said awkwardly, "My home is gone. The only property I have left is less than a hundred dollars."
Reed shook his head, "That's a real shame. The minimum donation required to join the Homeland Association is one thousand dollars."
"Perhaps you can seek help from someone else. Come back to me once you've saved enough to meet the minimum donation."
"Donny, please take this lady out."
The burly man with his beard tied into a small braid earlier walked in and led the old woman away.
Reed asked the girl and the homeless man similar questions.
The girl volunteered to become a "Light Embracer" and was willing to undergo Reed's "purification."
The homeless man was willing to work for the Homeland Association and complete whatever tasks Reed assigned him.
Reed was very satisfied with their answers.
Finally, he looked at Alex.
"Sir, what is your name?"
Before Alex could answer, Patrick jumped in, "John."
"Mr. Reed, his name is John."
Reed nodded, "Then, Mr. John, what can you bring to the Homeland Association?"
Patrick spoke again, "He'll make a donation, Mr. Reed."
As he spoke, Patrick desperately gave Alex meaningful looks.
Alex took a stack of dollars out of his pocket, making Reed's eyes light up.
Immediately, he gestured.
A black-robed girl walked over and said with a smile, "Thank you for your generosity."
She then reached out to take the money.
But the stack of dollars remained completely still in Alex's hand.
Patrick couldn't help saying anxiously, "Do you still want to join or not? If you want to join, hurry up and hand over the money."
Alex smiled at him, "No wonder you asked me earlier whether I had money on me, and whether I had a thousand dollars."
"No wonder you said you'd answer the questions for me."
"I guess after the Homeland Association collects the thousand-dollar donation, you'll get a cut."
"How much? A hundred dollars?"
Patrick's expression changed, "What are you talking about? I'm helping you."
Alex chuckled, put the dollars back into his pocket, and smiled at Reed, "I have a question. I want to join the Homeland Association because I want to get help."
"After all, you said you could help members with their financial difficulties."
"But joining the Homeland Association requires a donation of at least a thousand dollars."
"If I have a thousand dollars, why would I need to ask the Homeland Association for help?"
Whether it was because he had his eyes on Alex's money or for some other reason, Reed patiently explained, "All the Homeland Association's income is used for its members, for our brothers and sisters."
"But keeping an organization running requires money, which is why we need donations."
"Besides, if you don't want to donate, you can choose to work for the Homeland Association like him."
He pointed at the homeless man.
The man nodded repeatedly.
Alex shook his head, "That sounds really nice."
"But I heard that applying for financial assistance requires your approval."
"What if you don't approve it? Or what if you reduce the amount of aid you give out?"
"As for the work assessment, I guess after you've gotten everything you can out of this gentleman, you'll tell him, 'I'm sorry, you didn't pass the assessment.'"
"Right?"
He then looked around, "I'd like to know, is there anyone here who joined by working for the Homeland Association?"
After Alex asked this, a middle-aged man said, "I donated a thousand dollars to join the Homeland Association."
"I donated fifteen hundred."
"I'm twelve hundred."
At once, the people attending the gathering, except for Patrick, all began speaking up.
They were surprised to discover that Alex had actually guessed correctly.
Every single one of them had joined the Homeland Association through donations.
The homeless man immediately pointed at Reed, "You're a con artist!"
Reed's expression changed, and he shouted, "I'm Homelander's appointed representative!"
"Homelander saved this world. He saved all of you."
"Now he's only asking you to donate a little money. Is that really too much?"
"Ask your own consciences."
"Without Homelander, how many of you would be able to sit here right now?"
His words frightened the people into silence again.
Reed suddenly looked at Alex and said coldly, "You didn't come here to join the Homeland Association at all. You came here to cause trouble."
"Now I demand that you donate all the money you have on you to the Homeland Association, to Homelander."
"If you do that, I can still plead with him on your behalf."
"Otherwise..."
Alex laughed, "Otherwise what? Homelander will kill me?"
"Leaving aside whether Homelander will kill me, you say you're Homelander's representative. Can you bring him here?"
Reed's expression changed again. He said in a deep voice, "What do you think Homelander is? Someone who comes whenever he's called?"
"If you want to see Homelander, I'll arrange it, but not now!"
Alex nodded, "That's true. After all, you need time to prepare."
"Which actor are you going to use? Don't tell me it'll be Homelander's stand-in."
"Nonsense!"
"Donny, search him for all the money he's carrying, then throw him out onto the street!", Reed shouted furiously, glaring fiercely at Patrick at the same time.
Patrick looked somewhat guilty and couldn't help shrinking his head.
The burly man, Donny, walked over at this point, pulled a military knife from behind his waist, and held it against Alex's neck. He then reached for Alex's pocket.
Alex's smile didn't change, "I'd advise you not to do that."
"Then what am I supposed to do? Cut your throat first, then take the money off your corpse?", The burly man sneered.
Just then, there was a loud boom at the entrance to the hall, making everyone turn around.
They then saw a monster enter the hall.
It was a werewolf.
Gray-white fur, sharp claws, and two golden eyes.
Screams immediately broke out throughout the hall.
"Druid" Levin walked over to Donny's side, stared at the military knife held against Alex's neck, and suddenly swung his claw.
Donny's head instantly burst apart.
The black-robed girls who had just been creating a holy and mysterious atmosphere were so frightened that they dropped their lanterns and screamed as they scattered.
Reed fell onto the floor, every muscle in his body trembling.
Alex calmly found a sofa and sat down. Levin gently lifted Reed's chin with one claw.
"Answer my question."
"Who told you to do this?"
"If you dare hide anything or lie, this will be your example."
Levin pointed at Donny's corpse.
Reed immediately shouted, "Don't kill me! I'll talk. I'll tell you everything."
"I created the Homeland Association myself. It has nothing to do with Homelander. I just saw him save the world, so I thought I'd use his name to make some money."
"I'm sorry."
The members and girls who had been frightened earlier all stared at Reed with their eyes wide open.
"What did you say?"
"You deceived us?"
"Creating the Homeland Association wasn't Homelander's idea at all?"
The girls rushed over and grabbed Reed.
"Then the purification ceremony was a lie too?"
"You said that only by being with you could we get close to Homelander and share in Homelander's glory. Was that a lie too?"
Reed glanced at the werewolf and gritted his teeth before nodding.
"Bastard!"
"Con artist!"
The black-robed girls immediately began punching and kicking Reed.
Alex smiled, stood up, and looked at the members, "What are you waiting for? Call the police."
Several members finally came to their senses.
Alex gave Levin a look, and the two of them left.
Not long after, the police arrived.
Reed, who had been beaten black and blue, was eventually taken away by the police.
Even his accomplice Patrick was no exception.
———
[Several Days Later]
In Caitlin's home, a news report was playing on the elevator screen.
["Just three days ago, the police uncovered an illegal organization called the 'Homeland Association.'"]
["The organization's leader, Reed Anderson, used Homelander's name to defraud people. He is suspected of illegal fundraising, physically harming others, illegally engaging in sexual relations with members of the opposite sex, and other crimes..."]
Listening to the news, Caitlin held her cup and exclaimed, "The Homeland Association was actually a scam."
"Oh my God, I almost believed it."
"Luckily, I didn't join."
Alex glanced at her and smiled, "Actually, this con artist was pretty capable. He took advantage of people's anxiety and suffering after the disaster and successfully developed an illegal organization to a certain size in a short period of time."
"Unfortunately..."
'Unfortunately, he shouldn't have used my name.'
Alex closed his eyes and took a small sip of coffee.
Caitlin said indignantly, "No matter what, he went too far."
"He actually used Homelander's name to swindle people. He deserved to get caught."
Alex smiled and was just about to tease her when words suddenly appeared before his retina.
[Ultimate Mission Issued.]
Alex's whole body shuddered.
He almost spilled the coffee in his cup.
Without the slightest warning, the [Ultimate Mission] had actually been issued.
That meant the "Administrator" of the Marvel Universe really had reported his "wish" and gotten it approved.
[🎉 Shoutout to Pablo and Ferocious_Beast for joining p@treon. Consider joining to keep the stories going. Thank you very much.🤗]