The scorching sun hung high, turning the land of Texas into a fiery oven.
"Hoo, hoo..."
Matthew Culbert's fair skin was sunburned red, and standing in the vast farmland, he was drenched in sweat and panting heavily.
Whenever he looked up at the god-like figure in the sky, he couldn't help but fall into a daze; the sense of unreality was simply too strong.
He hadn't forgotten that when they first met, Mr. Kent said he was bringing him back to the countryside to help with farming.
Matthew had long planned to leave the orphanage. If he had followed his own plan, after leaving, he would have first gone to a big city to try his luck. He would have used his abilities to make a living for a few years, and then gradually built a better life.
But then Dr. Wendy found him and said that Mr. Kent was willing to sponsor his schooling, and he could get familiar with the farm work while studying.
What a good person he was!
Shawn Kent had kept his promise, and even introduced him to a better job to facilitate his work-study program.
It was just that now, looking at the towering figure with a gentle smile above his head, Matthew couldn't believe it no matter what.
"So Mr. Kent... is Superman?!"
Heaven help him, the naive Matthew never knew that the only difference between Shawn Kent and Superman was a pair of glasses.
"Still have energy?"
Shawn looked at Gecko, who was still panting, and slowly descended from the sky.
He smiled and said: "With your current skills, never mind those D-list superheroes, you couldn't even beat the eighty-year-old neighbor in town."
"I've already tried my best..."
Matthew was drenched in sweat, his breathing gradually calming down. He felt a bit frustrated: "Perhaps God doesn't like me that much. He chose me, but didn't give me abilities like Mr. Kent's. I really have no talent."
In fact, in the process of constantly getting beaten up, he had learned something. For example, his regeneration ability, which used to be triggered almost exclusively passively, could now be controlled to some extent.
Any superhuman in this world who compared themselves to Superman would inevitably suffer a blow to their confidence.
This simply wasn't fair.
The boy didn't realize where the problem lay; he had fallen into self-doubt.
"There is no God."
Shawn shook his finger and reined in his smile: "The world you are exposed to is far more corrupt and dark than the orphanage you were born in. You can only rely on yourself. If you want to become a powerhouse in the true sense of the word, I can satisfy you, but the process won't be easy."
Gecko hadn't forgotten that this was what he had asked for himself.
"I just didn't expect it to be this hard..."
He muttered to himself, wiped the sweat off his face, and looked slightly lost: "What should I do, sir?"
"Patience and persistence."
Shawn patted him on the shoulder and affirmed: "The first thing you must do is strengthen your heart. I can tell you, you have this talent!"
If courage is the anthem of humanity, then faith is the key with which they create miracles.
This was an affirmation from Superman!
"Can I do it?"
"You can!"
"Can I really do it?"
"You really can!"
"Yeah!!"
A light gradually rose in Matthew's eyes. He took a deep breath, slapped his face a few times, and nodded heavily: "Yes, I definitely can!"
"Come on, Mr. Kent, let's continue training!"
Seeing Matthew regain his drive after hours of brutal beatings, Shawn truly smiled.
Originally, his intention was just to cultivate a decent test subject, but now it seemed that Matthew did indeed have the potential to be reshaped.
However, if he wanted a complete transformation, the current child's play wouldn't cut it.
The intensity had to be'slightly' increased.
"Ahhh~!!"
Shawn flicked his finger, sending Matthew flying directly. A huge wound opened on his chest, and blood sprayed out.
Not far away, Mira, who was playing with the three children, had her eyes light up.
Amidst the screams, Shawn suddenly had an idea...
...
...
The name of 'The Seven' resonated throughout the world.
If one were to ask who was the strongest besides Homelander, many would say Queen Maeve.
Indeed, Queen Maeve was beautiful, had a great voice, and a sharp temperament. She was immensely strong and invulnerable, as perfect as a demigod warrior who had walked out of the Amazon jungle.
But if you asked the internal staff of Vought International, they might give a different answer.
Vought International had been established and developed for decades. In this process, there was a silent hero who worked silently and uncomplainingly, even when doing dirty work.
He was Vought International's cleaner, who had made countless contributions to Vought International. He never dragged his feet in his work, and every mission completion satisfied the top brass.
He was the silent warrior 'Black Noir'.
At this moment, he was on a mission, no different from the past.
The only difference was that the target of the mission was a bit hard to find.
He had been wandering around the burgeoning town for several days. Even with double swords on his back and wearing a full set of heavy black armor and a helmet, no one could spot him.
'That inferior imitator, he made his statue even more majestic than Homelander's. Doesn't he feel ashamed?'
Black Noir was hiding in the green shade outside the parking lot, seeing the golden statue of Superman in the square from afar, and whispered in his heart.
Due to the perception of Superman set by Vought International, internal staff didn't have a very good opinion of Superman.
He was just too flashy; even Black Noir didn't have a statue that big at Vought International.
"Yeah~"
Before his eyes, an imaginary 2D cartoon rabbit wearing a hat hopped out.
The rabbit spoke in human language: "Irving wants to drag this shameless guy out right now, then take off his mask and let his true face be exposed to everyone, yo-ho~! Let's start, let's go now!!"
'Wait a minute.'
Black Noir responded in his heart, 'I've investigated; this place has a deep connection with Superman. As long as I am patient enough, Superman will definitely appear.'
He knew he was sick.
But it didn't matter; everyone in this world was sick to some extent.
That's what the psychiatrist said.
As long as it didn't affect the mission, it was fine.
The hallucinations in his mind, in a sense, soothed the trauma in his heart and accompanied him through the most difficult times in his life.
Now, Black Noir was focused only on the mission.
According to Homelander, this Superman was very jumpy and cunning. He had been to Texas several times and hadn't discovered his whereabouts.
To find Superman's hiding place, it obviously required time.
This kind of tiring work was just right for Black Noir, so he came.
The Vought International top brass and Homelander didn't say what to do with Superman, but Black Noir knew that if they could, they would definitely want to capture Superman alive.
Otherwise, they would just need to send a team of ordinary second-tier heroes to visit. Why would they need him, Black Noir, to come?
The long wait was indeed worth it.
Just a moment ago, he actually saw a kid who was unknown but somewhat familiar to him, sneaking into the 'House of Superman'.
'Heh~'
Black Noir's memory was average because he had lost the ability to speak due to a head injury, but he could fluently recite all the codes of conduct of Vought International and had also read the profiles of all the superheroes under Vought International.
So he quickly remembered that although this kid wasn't very famous, he had indeed been signed by Vought International before. He had released pop albums at Vought Music, and his youthful singles had once been bestsellers.
Black Noir clenched his fists, but there were no ripples in his heart: 'Drummer Boy, is this the reason you refused to renew your contract with Vought International?'
How stupid.
He had accidentally heard Translucent mention before that the director of Vought Music had talked with Drummer Boy in a secret room for more than two hours, and the two suddenly started arguing, eventually breaking up on bad terms.
The signing matter just fizzled out.
He had thought it was just the boy hitting puberty and rebelling, but now it seemed...
'Boy, I've caught your little pigtail. You brought this on yourself.'
Coldness flashed in the eyes hidden under Black Noir's mask.
He had already regarded Drummer Boy's behavior as a betrayal of Vought International and believed that his entry into the 'House of Superman' definitely wasn't simple; it was very likely related to Superman.
Otherwise, why would he look so guilty?!
Thinking this, Black Noir took out his equipment and sent brief intelligence to the operations department. He didn't act rashly next, continuing to hide in the shadows, quietly lurking.
Unknowingly, the sun gradually tilted west, and it was already dusk.
Drummer Boy came out from the back door in a low-key manner, seen off by the two bosses, Dalton and Brad. Both sides had smiles on their faces, and they seemed to be talking happily.
'Heh, it's best if he can't keep his mouth shut. It'll be easier to pry information out later...' Black Noir was very experienced.
Seeing Drummer Boy leave.
Black Noir believed it was time to act.
His footsteps wandered on the edge of the green, like a silent ghost, following quietly behind the boy.
One was a powerful, veteran superhero who dominated the world, and the other was a minor boy who relied on passionate fantasies to protect the world.
The gap in their levels was too great; poor Drummer Boy seemed doomed.
It was just that there were always exceptions to the situation.
'Tick-tock, tick-tock—'
Just then, Drummer Boy's phone rang. He took it out casually, and I don't know what he saw, but his brows furrowed, and he raised his head to look around.
Black Noir reacted quickly; his figure flickered, and he pressed against the back of a large tree.
A few seconds later.
When he poked his head out to check again, he found that the Drummer Boy in front had actually disappeared!
'Damn it!' Black Noir's heart skipped a beat, and a bad premonition arose.
He drew the weapon on his back, just preparing to chase out quickly, when a burst of undisguised footsteps came from behind.
'Tap-tap tap tap-tap-tap~~!!'
The footsteps were coming toward the direction where Black Noir was hiding, so accurately and unscrupulously.
Without thinking, Black Noir knew he had been exposed. He turned slowly and assumed a standard defensive combat posture.
The footsteps got closer and closer, and a thin, strange figure appeared in the shade.
A look of suspicion appeared on the face under Black Noir's mask, "Drummer Boy?!"
[Name]: Irving (Black Noir)
[Gender]: Male
[Age]: 47
[Bloodline]: compound v superhuman
[Abilities]: Martial Arts Master · LV4, Physical Enhancement · LV3, Audio-Visual Enhancement · LV3, Vigorous Factor · LV2
[Evaluation]: National-level, balanced ability, battle-hardened middle-aged superhuman, allergic to nuts.
Drummer Boy couldn't have disappeared.
Black Noir thought this was a little trick the other party was playing.
At this moment, this strange person, who was about the same height and build as Drummer Boy, although his temperament had changed greatly, was most likely the real person.
He was wearing a tight-fitting red and green uniform, with a round, half-face mask resembling a lizard on his face, revealing a pointed chin. On his left chest was a golden'S'-shaped ring icon, and he wore a large black scaled cloak on his back, looking weird.
This was a superhuman look that had never appeared before.
But that was the problem.
In a countryside place where there weren't many people, where did all these superhumans come from?
'Boring trick.'
Black Noir thought that since Drummer Boy had left Vought International, his taste had also become much worse; this operation was simply eye-stinging.
In his imagination, many cartoon animals jumped out in his head's little theater. They gathered together, looking around, ready to watch a good show.
"Too bad~"
"He's too bad!"
A blue-clothed squirrel stretched its fluffy head, holding its stomach and laughing, evaluating in Black Noir's heart: "Haha~! It's really unwatchable; his outfit violates at least eighteen Vought International employee codes!"
"Agreed."
'Whoosh—'
Black Noir looked at the motionless Drummer Boy opposite, stretched his arm forward, and aimed his weapon at him.
This veteran of 'The Seven' felt cold in his heart: 'Not choosing to run away just now is the biggest mistake of your life.'
The battle was on the verge of breaking out.
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