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Kevin stared at Ms. Stormfront with slightly cold eyes, ignoring her question.
He turned to Kimiko and instructed, "Kimiko, go back to the car first. I'll be there in a moment."
'Are you okay?'
Kimiko asked worriedly using sign language.
She didn't know who Ms. Stormfront was, nor whether there was any grudge between Ms. Stormfront and Kevin, but Kimiko's wild intuition told her that Ms. Stormfront was not a good person.
Turning his back to the camera, completely shielding Kimiko, Kevin raised his hand and ruffled Kimiko's hair, saying softly, "It's nothing. She's a colleague of mine from work. We're just discussing some work-related issues. Don't worry about me, go back first."
Perhaps Kevin's gentle words reassured Kimiko; she stopped asking questions and, under Kevin's gaze, walked to the nearby parking lot and returned to Kevin's car.
Only after confirming that Kimiko hadn't wandered off and had obediently returned to the car did Kevin refocus his attention on Ms. Stormfront:
"Turn off the live stream."
"Oh? Are you sure? If you tell me to turn it off now, the audience might think I've discovered some important secret, and that you're trying to bribe me into silence with your dirty methods..."
Ms. Stormfront spoke a lot of words quickly.
Kevin slowly approached, a benevolent smile on his face as he faced Ms. Stormfront and the camera:
"Firstly, what you discovered is no secret at all. The person just now is my sister. Vought executives know this, and Annie knows it too."
"Secondly, you're mistaken, Ms. Stormfront. This isn't a bribe; it's me beginning to doubt your qualifications as a member of The Seven."
"Ms. Stormfront, because you exposed your existence before the official announcement and even conducted a high-profile live patrol, I regret to inform you that we need to seriously reconsider your status as a member of The Seven. Now, please turn off your personal live stream."
As soon as Kevin finished speaking, the smile on Ms. Stormfront's face slowly disappeared.
"Are you serious?"
"Violating agreements, lacking contractual spirit, and disrespecting others' privacy... In my opinion, these are all confirmed facts. Do you think I would joke with someone like that?"
"Wow... your accusations are really... serious."
"I believe anyone with some education can understand that what I'm saying are undeniable facts, Ms. Stormfront. Do you want me to say more? In front of the live stream?"
Kevin walked in front of Ms. Stormfront.
During this time, he did not use his power, nor did he say any aggressive words to Ms. Stormfront.
But it was precisely this that forced Ms. Stormfront to put down her phone and turn off the live stream.
Because she had indeed violated Vought's agreement.
"My apologies, everyone. It seems my current Boss is angry, so today's live stream ends here. We'll see you next time."
Ms. Stormfront said, completely shutting down the live stream, and looked up at Kevin:
"See, I turned it off."
Bang.
As soon as Ms. Stormfront finished speaking, Kevin's hand rested on her shoulder.
After that, in less than a second, and without Kevin making any extra movements, Ms. Stormfront's face suddenly turned pale as if she had experienced some invisible attack.
Her expression changed drastically, and purple lightning flashed around her, instantly putting distance between herself and Kevin.
"Are you okay, Ms. Stormfront?"
Kevin's hand, which had been on Ms. Stormfront's shoulder, remained suspended in mid-air due to her departure.
While smiling and speaking words of concern to Ms. Stormfront, he slowly retracted his suspended hand, took out a tissue, and wiped his palm as if cleaning something dirty.
Ms. Stormfront's breathing was rapid, and her expression was no longer as relaxed as it had been initially.
She clutched her heart with one hand, her expression grave as she looked at Kevin:
"What did you do?"
"Just patted your shoulder, that's all. Why are you so nervous?"
Kevin wiped his hands with the tissue, his eyes slightly narrowed as he scrutinized Ms. Stormfront.
The moment he touched Ms. Stormfront, Kevin almost used all of his water manipulation ability to forcibly stop the blood flow within her body.
The effect was minimal, but not nonexistent.
This indicated that Ms. Stormfront's physique was weaker than Homelander's and also weaker than Kevin's current state.
At least neither Homelander nor Kevin could prevent the effects that Kevin's blood manipulation ability, extended from his water manipulation, would have on their bodies.
Simply pausing the opponent's blood flow for a single breath was not enough to defeat Ms. Stormfront, but it could make her wary.
Currently, Ms. Stormfront couldn't figure out what Kevin had just done. She had heard that Kevin possessed the ability to control water, but she had never heard that he could also control blood.
But Kevin wouldn't say anything about it.
Who knew if someone was secretly recording nearby, or if Ms. Stormfront had only pretended to turn off the live stream but was still secretly broadcasting?
Kevin wouldn't give Ms. Stormfront any opportunity to accuse him.
"You..."
Ms. Stormfront wanted to say something.
But Kevin had already thrown away the tissue he used to wipe his hands, adjusted the glasses he wore to disguise his identity, and warned Ms. Stormfront:
"Out of respect for your position and for elders, I won't say much more. You can also remain in The Seven, but I hope similar incidents won't happen again in the future, otherwise..."
Kevin raised his hand and gently pointed at Ms. Stormfront's heart. Ms. Stormfront subconsciously clutched her chest.
"..."
"You can go. I still have things to deal with. Finally... please abide by the rules, at least in front of me. Otherwise, I won't abide by the rules either. Trust me, you don't want to see me when I break the rules, really."
Kevin gave Ms. Stormfront one last warning before turning and walking towards his car.
In the The Boys world, because this world still adheres to its own unique set of rules, violating them would make the world more chaotic, perhaps even causing it to lose order, and would also make things more troublesome.
That's why Kevin was willing to play the game with them within the universally recognized rules.
At least by doing so, Kevin would have a legitimate reason when he takes over Vought in the future.
But if someone violates the rules, like Ms. Stormfront or Homelander, and they want to use powers beyond ordinary humans and Supes to achieve their own goals, then Kevin won't rigidly stick to the rules either.
If they want to play within the rules, Kevin will accompany them.
If they want to break the norm and flip the table, then Kevin will join them in flipping the table.
Let's see whose flipped table flies higher.
Anyway, without bragging, Kevin felt that after his job change, he was basically invincible in the The Boys world.
I am invincible, do as you please.jpg
However, thinking that way felt a bit arrogant, so to be safe, Kevin silently lowered his power level by one notch in his mind, making it equivalent to Homelander's.
But even so, he could still handle Supes like Ms. Stormfront.
"Hey!"
Just as Kevin was about to get back into the car, Ms. Stormfront suddenly called out to him.
Kevin, who had just opened the car door halfway, stopped and looked up at Ms. Stormfront in the distance.
Ms. Stormfront shouted:
"Are you really content to be Edgar's dog?"
"Watch your language, Ms. Stormfront," Kevin said expressionlessly. "My relationship with Edgar and Vought is purely an employment relationship, nothing more."
Bang.
After speaking, Kevin closed the car door and drove away, no longer paying attention to Ms. Stormfront standing there.
Through today's meeting with Ms. Stormfront, and her final words, Kevin deduced that there was indeed a disagreement between Ms. Stormfront and Vought.
Or rather, Ms. Stormfront had disagreements with certain members within Vought.
This was likely due to Ms. Stormfront's identity as a Supe.
Ms. Stormfront didn't like Edgar, and Edgar also didn't like Ms. Stormfront.
But Ms. Stormfront's seniority, her status that had accompanied Vought for almost a century, forced Edgar to show her some respect.
The same was true for Ms. Stormfront.
As the wife of Vought's founder, her status was undeniably noble, yet over decades, she had gradually been excluded from Vought's center of power.
Perhaps it was due to her extremist ideology, or perhaps because she was a Supe who looked down on all ordinary humans, causing a rift between her and Vought's high-ranking officials.
So, taking advantage of The Seven being short on members this time, Ms. Stormfront stepped out from behind the scenes.
She approached Kevin, and in the future, she would also approach Homelander, to test them, to win them over, and to instill in them the idea of Supe supremacy, to build an empire belonging to Supes.
Edgar would certainly not allow such an idea, and she would definitely not tell Edgar about it.
And this was precisely why Ms. Stormfront asked that question at the end.
Ms. Stormfront wanted to confirm which side Kevin truly belonged to, whether he stood with Edgar or with the Supes.
But the result was probably not what she wanted to hear.
Kevin stood with no one; he was loyal only to himself.
'Is everything okay now?'
As soon as he returned to the car, Kimiko in the passenger seat immediately asked.
Kevin smiled at her:
"It's fine now. I'm sorry, that person was very annoying, wasn't she? Did she scare you?"
Kimiko shook her head.
"So, where should we go next? Straight home or... Hmm, how about an amusement park?"
Kevin had originally planned to go home, but as he drove past an overpass, he saw an advertisement for an amusement park and suddenly remembered that the Psychiatrist said to take Kimiko to see more people, so he decided to check out the amusement park.
Going from being a homebody to directly heading to an amusement park was quite a big step, and Kevin was prepared for Kimiko to refuse.
But surprisingly, upon hearing the word 'amusement park,' Kimiko's eyes instantly lit up, and she nodded repeatedly.
"You want to go to the amusement park that much?"
'I've always wanted to, but you guys were too busy, so there was no opportunity.'
Kimiko's words made Kevin feel a little guilty.
It was as if parents were only busy with work and ended up neglecting their child's daily life, leaving the child alone at home.
Kevin and Annie were those irresponsible parents, and Kimiko was the poor child left at home.
This analogy... seemed a bit inappropriate in terms of age, but Kevin felt it perfectly matched his and Annie's, as well as Kimiko's current relationship.
"Is that so... Well, I have time today, so I'll take you around."
Most of his work was already done, and Kevin was currently in a relatively free state.
Originally, Kevin had planned to take Kimiko home after returning from the Psychiatrist and continue studying the magic books he brought from the Marvel World.
But since Kimiko wanted to go to the amusement park, it wouldn't hurt for Kevin to accompany her.
Just as he was thinking this, not long after, Kevin's phone suddenly rang. Annie called him:
"Hello? Kevin? Are you and Kimiko okay?"
"Of course we're fine. What's wrong? Why so flustered?"
"Haven't you seen the news yet?"
"..."
Kevin was about to ask why Annie would call him, but hearing her say that, he immediately understood what was going on and quickly opened the car's computer, pulling up the entertainment news channel.
Sure enough, as soon as he opened the news channel, a large headline bolded in black text popped up.
"The Seven's Deep Suspected of Having an Affair? Newcomer Ms. Stormfront Threatened to Cut Off Live Stream!"
"Tsk, these unscrupulous reporters, do they just publish news without investigating?"
Seeing this headline, Kevin's blood pressure instantly rose.
From the time he and Ms. Stormfront left until now, it was probably only twenty minutes, or even less than twenty minutes, and those unscrupulous news outlets had already jumped to conclusions, editing Ms. Stormfront's live stream footage and posting it online.
And they even came up with such an eye-catching headline.
An affair, threatening a newcomer—they really went for whatever would be most shocking.
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