The exact split second his words fell, the entire country erupted.
From New York to Los Angeles, from Chicago to Houston, from Seattle to Miami. Patrons in bars slammed their beer mugs hard against the counters, tearing at their throats to cheer at the top of their lungs.
Students in college dorms clapped frantically at their phone screens. Even drivers cruising down highways while listening to the radio couldn't resist blaring their horns in celebration.
The entirety of America plunged into a carnival-like frenzy that bordered on madness.
But the atmosphere inside the White House was completely the opposite of the outside world.
The Oval Office.
On that massive television screen, the Adjudicator's face occupied the entire frame. Mr. President's face was deathly pale. General Mac's fingers, which were gripping the armrests of his chair, trembled uncontrollably.
The Attorney General, who always prided himself on being deeply scheming and astute, didn't even reach out a hand to adjust his glasses as they slid down to the very tip of his nose.
They heard the cheers from outside. Even separated by the thick walls and soundproof glass of the White House, that wave of sound remained clearly audible.
"It's over..." Mac's lips buzzed twice, squeezing out these two words.
He wasn't a fool. The Adjudicator had just won a multiversal war broadcast globally, single-handedly eliminating an enemy capable of destroying the Earth.
At a time like this, the Adjudicator's status in the hearts of the public was no longer something that could be summarized by the words "superhero." He was the savior. He was a god.
And the things they had previously conspired to do—smearing the Adjudicator, the Superhero Registration Act, inciting the public over taxes—before a prestige like this was no different from throwing eggs against a boulder.
"How... how could he win?! How is he allowed to win?!" General Mac let out a roar that didn't sound human. His eyes were crimson, resembling a crazed tiger as he violently flipped the office desk before him onto the floor.
At this moment, he finally knew the answer to his previous dilemma. He would rather those damn aliens invading Earth had emerged victorious, destroying the entire universe, than welcome the current ending.
After all, if the universe was destroyed, countless people would serve as his cushions, and he would remain that high-and-mighty four-star general until the very last second before his death.
But now, he and everyone else inside this office were destined to become notorious, foul names in history books. Spurned by the public for generations to come.
Everyone inside the office, down to the last man, slumped limply in their seats, their countenances as pale as paper, their foreheads covered in bean-sized cold sweat. It was over. This thought, like a maggot in their marrow, spawned frantically in each of their minds.
The traps they had meticulously laid, the plans they thought were flawless, appeared so laughable and fragile before absolute power and a deeper calculation.
"PR! Quick! Contact the media! Conduct crisis management!" Mr. President finally recovered a fraction of his voice.
He pointed at his press secretary, roaring hoarsely, "Say... say that all of this was our plan! We only did this as a ruse to unite these superheroes! Yes! That's it!"
Even he didn't believe these words. But this was the only life-saving straw they could grasp at right now.
However, before that press secretary—who was already scared out of her wits—could make a move, the phones of everyone inside the office emitted a succession of rapid chiming alerts simultaneously.
It was the notification sound for news push notifications.
With a trembling hand, General Mac picked up his phone from the floor, its screen already cracked. A headline news piece originating from The Daily Bugle boldly leaped into his eyes:
[SHOCKING SCANDAL! WHITE HOUSE TOP SECRET MEETING AUDIO EXPOSED: A MALICIOUS CONSPIRACY TARGETING SUPERHEROES!]
Clicking open the news, an incomparably clear audio recording, accompanied by a detailed text transcript, was laid bare before the public.
"...This is our grand opportunity to weaken that damn Adjudicator's prestige!"
"...Make him actively take the initiative to get on a show and appeal to the masses to pay taxes!"
"...While his reputation plummets to the absolute bottom, I prepare to seize the chance to introduce... the Superhero Registration Act!"
In the audio, the voice of every single one of them was clearly identifiable. Those despicable, malicious, and calculation-filled words, when heard at this moment, felt like crisp slaps violently striking their own faces.
"No... no..." The Attorney General collapsed flat on the floor, a large patch of his crotch soaking wet, emitting a foul, pungent odor. Terror had completely destroyed his sanity.
And this was merely the beginning.
Just a brief few dozen seconds after the first news push came out, a second and third push arrived in close succession:
[EXCLUSIVE VIDEO! NATIONAL CRISIS AT HAND, YET WHITE HOUSE TOP BRASS THROW DEBAUCHED ORGY IN OFFICE!]
If the previous recording merely caused them to lose their reputations, then this video was the final nail that thoroughly pinned them to the historical pillar of shame.
The footage of the video was utterly unbearable to look at. Right when Peter was appealing to the entire populace to unite and resist external enemies, yet was suffering vilification! Right when the superheroes were completely polarized due to the Registration Act!
This group of the nation's supreme rulers was actually inside a White House office, engaging in a "celebration party" with a crowd of hot young men and women that required a thick layer of mosaics just to be broadcasted.
Dissolute, depraved, and shameless.
The public was utterly, furiously enraged. While heroes were shedding blood and making sacrifices at the front lines, these politicians—who spoke of making the country great again during their campaigns—were drinking, making merry, and engaging in all sorts of sordid affairs in the rear! This was no longer malpractice.
This was the most naked, direct betrayal of the entire country and all its citizens!
Inside the office, there was a dead silence.
"Who leaked it? Dammit, how did they dare to let these things circulate out?!" The President's eyes were completely bloodshot!
He knew that this time, everyone present on the scene would be thoroughly pinned down, with absolutely zero possibility of ever turning things around!
Meanwhile, General Mac stared blankly at the video. Suddenly, his pupils snapped and contracted. He noticed the camera angle of the video. That angle... was distinctly filmed from the position where his most trusted personal secretary of over a decade usually stood!
He turned his head abruptly, only to discover that the female secretary had long since departed from the office.
He wasn't the only one to discover this issue. Gradually, more and more politicians discerned the anomaly through the camera angles of the photographs. These photographs could only have been taken by the most trusted people around them who had the opportunity and angle to do so!
The politicians' hands and feet went ice-cold due to this discovery. One by one, they hurriedly fumbled out their phones to dial these associates to demand an explanation.
But when the calls connected, what echoed from the other end of the line were female voices they had never heard before.
Simultaneously, outside the White House building, a group of men and women of different identities and appearances neatly ripped off their human-skin masks in a synchronized motion, exposing exquisite, glamorous, and beautiful countenances.
It was precisely the former Red Room Black Widow operatives led by Antonia!
Now, they possessed a more elegant new code name—The Black Rose!
The group exchanged glances, subsequently bringing their phones to their ears in a neat, synchronized motion. Using voices laced with a trace of amusement, they opened their mouths to speak:
"Black Rose, please go to your deaths, gentlemen~"
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