Chapter 135: On the Verge of Breaking Out
In the gym of the Long Island Villa, the barbell plates hit the rubber floor with a dull thud.
Cate Dunlap wore a sports tank top, a thin layer of sweat glistening on her fair skin.
Under Lu Chen's sparring, she was becoming familiar with her surging strength; she was now not only mentally stable, but her physical body had also completely moved beyond the category of a "squishy mage."
Lu Chen handed her a towel.
The phone on the bench next to them began to vibrate.
The screen displayed a number with no contact name, but Lu Chen knew who it was.
"Speak." He pressed the answer button.
"The location is set." Butcher's raspy voice came through. "An old weapons warehouse south of the abandoned Rochester power plant. It's big enough and remote enough. When will you arrive?"
"Half an hour." Lu Chen hung up immediately.
He took a deep breath, picked up the jacket draped over the back of the chair, and prepared himself to face the potential arrival of Homelander.
It was finally here.
In the past, when facing Homelander, he could at best rely on his endless stream of superpowers to maneuver and save his own life.
But things were different now.
The Heat Vision that kid Ryan was born with, added to the power after fusion.
He also wanted to test what he could achieve when firing on all cylinders.
"Are you leaving?" Cate Dunlap dropped the towel and blocked the doorway.
"Going to take care of some business." Lu Chen picked up the jacket from the chair back. "Butcher's side is getting ready to close the net, I'm going to go keep an eye on things."
"I want to go help you too." Cate Dunlap stopped what she was doing and stared straight at him.
"Not this time." Lu Chen looked into her eyes. "There's a high probability we'll face Homelander today, and the situation might spiral completely out of control. Even I can't predict what will happen; once I start fighting, I might not be able to look after you."
"I don't need you to look after me." Cate Dunlap took a step forward. "And as long as I can make physical contact with someone, I can use Mind Control on them. I won't be a burden."
She bit her lower lip, a trace of obsession flashing in her eyes. "I've said it before, I don't want to be a canary who can only wait for you in the Villa. I want to help you."
Lu Chen stared at her for a few seconds.
Actually, bringing her along was a safeguard.
When it came to a chaotic battle, if he couldn't free up his hands, Cate Dunlap's Mind Control might just prove to be a miracle worker.
"Fine." Lu Chen grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms. "But you have to promise me one thing."
Cate Dunlap immediately smiled, her eyes curving into crescents: "What is it?"
Lu Chen scratched his eyebrow, feeling that what he was about to say was a bit tricky. "Well... Annie January might go too. This mission is very dangerous; if you two meet, you absolutely cannot fight. Can you manage that?"
The air went quiet.
The smile on Cate Dunlap's face didn't disappear; instead, it became even brighter.
She reached out and straightened Lu Chen's collar. "Of course. Why would I cause trouble for you at a time like this?"
This smile was faker than crying.
Lu Chen looked at her virtuous appearance and sighed inwardly, "I'd rather you just yelled at me."
"If we're going to fight, we'll fight at home." Lu Chen pinched her cheek, his tone becoming more stern. "When we're out there, follow orders."
"Okay." Cate Dunlap nodded obediently.
Lu Chen didn't waste any more words, wrapped his arm around Cate Dunlap's waist, notified Starlight along the way, and the two activated their powers, flying toward Rochester.
The perimeter of the abandoned Rochester power plant.
In a wasteland overgrown with weeds, Starlight was anxiously kicking the pebbles under her feet.
A sound of breaking through the air came from above.
Starlight looked up, a happy expression just appearing on her face, but it froze the next second.
Lu Chen landed.
He was still holding a woman in his arms.
A beautiful woman wearing a form-fitting leather jacket with long, light-blonde hair.
Starlight's fingers clenched instantly, and a faint electric light flashed across her palms.
Cate Dunlap pulled back from Lu Chen's embrace and smoothed out her hair, which had been messed up by the wind.
She sized up Starlight, the corners of her mouth curling into an arc.
She had been carried here by Lu Chen; Round One, win!
"Hello there, American Sweetheart." Cate Dunlap extended her right hand without any intention of avoiding conflict. "I am Lu Chen's lover, Cate Dunlap."
Starlight stared at that hand but didn't take it.
She had secretly investigated Cate Dunlap and knew at least something about this stinking woman's abilities.
If she were to shake her hand, she would definitely make a fool of herself in front of Lu Chen.
She turned to look at Lu Chen, her eyes full of questioning.
What was this? Bringing a little mistress along while going to war, right?!
"That's enough." Lu Chen directly swatted away Cate Dunlap's hand, which was hanging in mid-air, forcibly interrupting the spell.
He stood between the two women, feeling that this was more exhausting than fighting Homelander.
"Time is tight, I'll only say this once." Lu Chen looked at both of them, his tone turning cold and hard. "People might die today. So put away all those messy emotions of yours; at the critical moment, you must cooperate with each other."
Both women turned their faces to the side at the same time, neither looking at the other.
They looked at each other with disdain.
"Cate Dunlap." Lu Chen called her name. "After Butcher and the others inject the temp v later, you are responsible for watching Hughie closely. Once he injects the serum, use your ability to control him directly. Don't let him ruin things."
"No problem." Cate Dunlap glanced provocatively at Starlight. "I'm best at disciplining disobedient boys."
"Annie January." Lu Chen ignored Cate Dunlap's provocation and turned to look at Starlight. "Your mission is to keep an eye on Stormfront. When she is worn down to her weakest point by Butcher and the others, you are responsible for attacking and holding her down. If she tries to discharge electricity, you suck it all up. Drain her dry."
Starlight took a deep breath, suppressing the sourness in her heart.
She could distinguish priority; dealing with Stormfront was the real business.
"Understood." Starlight replied stiffly.
"You don't need to worry about anything else; act according to the situation."
Lu Chen pulled two miniature communication headsets from his pocket and threw them to each of them. "Just stay here and listen for my commands. If I don't speak, no one is allowed to act rashly."
Under Lu Chen's urging, the two reluctantly caught the headsets and stuffed them into their ears.
The two looked at each other again, their gazes colliding fiercely in mid-air, almost sparking fire.
"Hmph."
Both of them snorted coldly at the same time and turned their heads away.
Lu Chen stopped paying attention to this Shura field.
He bent his knees slightly, launched himself into the air, and turned into a blur, rushing toward the old weapons warehouse to the south.
The old weapons warehouse was built during the Cold War in the last century.
Hughie was hiding behind a huge shipping container, looking around.
A loud noise suddenly came from the tin roof overhead.
Lu Chen descended from the sky and landed lightly on the ground.
He was wearing a simple jacket, covering the black combat suit underneath.
Seeing that figure, Hughie's tense nerves suddenly relaxed.
He hurriedly pressed the communicator on his collar.
"Butcher, he's here." Hughie lowered his voice.
"Excellent." Butcher's voice was filled with excitement.
Butcher called Frenchie and Mothers Milk, who had already finished the preparatory work.
"Tianshu is in position; the show is about to begin. Move out."
Chapter 136: Luring the Tiger Away from the Mountain
Hughie's voice came through the earpiece, "Butcher, he has arrived."
These six words were like a wrench, tightening the spring in Butcher's brain.
"Frenchie." Butcher spat out the tasteless grass root in his mouth, "Time to work."
Homelander stood on the wooden steps of the porch, hands on his hips, staring fixedly at a plastic slide in the center of the yard.
He had a headache. A severe one.
This was a sense of powerlessness he had never experienced before. Dealing with those dissenters, dealing with Terrorists, he could easily resolve them with Heat Vision or power. But now, facing that brat who carried his own blood, he found that those usual methods were completely useless.
When he first brought Ryan over, everything had clearly been moving in the best direction. The look in the kid's eyes held longing and a faint glimmer of expectation. At that moment, Homelander even had an illusion that he was finally going to have a family like a normal person.
But this illusion didn't even last a day.
Ryan seemed to have confirmed some kind of truth.
He no longer stared at Homelander's cape, and no longer asked about going out to play.
For the past few days, Ryan had locked himself in his room all day, not coming out except to eat. Even when Homelander took the initiative to talk to him, all he got in return was silence or a perfunctory nod.
Even when Stormfront tried to teach him how to use his powers, the kid seemed extremely resistant and completely ignored her.
What was this?
"Still worrying about the little guy?"
Stormfront walked up to his side, reached out to wrap her arms around his waist with extreme naturalness, and rested her chin on his shoulder.
Homelander tilted his head. "He won't talk to me. He won't even look at me. I gave him everything, what on earth is he still dissatisfied with?"
He even sounded a bit aggrieved.
"Don't be so hard on yourself." Stormfront chuckled, "He is a child, and a child raised in a human environment. Human cowardice and hypocrisy have polluted his mind. But he is, after all, a child of God, and that will never change."
Stormfront truly thought so.
She was an old monster who had lived for a century. She had seen the rise and fall of several regimes and had witnessed countless types of human stupidity. For someone with her long lifespan, time was the cheapest bargaining chip.
A few years, a dozen years, or even decades. As long as she could cultivate Ryan into the second-generation Superhumans leader, inheriting the pure racial will, the time spent in between was not worth mentioning at all. She was willing to put all her patience into the perfect specimen before her whom she deeply loved.
"Relax." Stormfront turned to face him, cupping his face, "We will give him plenty of patience. We will wash away the dross belonging to ordinary people in his brain bit by bit. Believe me, he will eventually understand that only we are his kind."
Homelander looked into her eyes full of love, and the anxiety in his heart calmed down a little.
"Let's go." Stormfront took his hand, "Let's go in and try communicating with him again. Just think of it as giving him some homework."
The two had just turned around.
"Buzz—Buzz—"
Stormfront's phone vibrated abruptly.
She stopped, frowned, and took out her phone.
"Thanks to you, because of your messy history, Vought has now become a piece of meat that everyone wants to take a bite of. If you don't want to be locked onto by government satellites twenty-four hours a day, and if you don't want to have your roof smashed through by a Tomahawk cruise missile in the middle of the night, roll back to the company immediately and deal with this matter."
Stormfront stared at the screen. Her eyes instantly turned from gentle to icy.
Crack!
The phone was crushed into a lump of scrap metal directly in her palm.
"What's wrong?" Homelander looked down at the debris on the ground.
"That old geezer Edgar who only knows how to count money." Stormfront looked up, the smile on her lips somewhat twisted,
"Do you need me to go with you?" Homelander asked.
"No need." Stormfront reached out and patted Homelander's chest, "You can stay here and keep Ryan company. This is also a good opportunity for him to accept you again. As for the company matter, I can handle it myself."
She didn't take the threats in Edgar's text message seriously at all. Missiles? Satellites? They were all tricks to scare children.
At worst, they would just burn bridges.
How bad could the worst outcome be? It would be nothing more than her rushing into the meeting room and burning all the nagging politicians and Vought executives at the negotiating table into charcoal with lightning.
As long as she killed all those troublemakers and then stayed by Homelander's side wholeheartedly, even if you gave those government bureaucrats ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare to actually throw missiles over. After all, no one dared to bear the consequences of provoking Homelander.
"I'll be back soon."
A few kilometers away.
On the edge of a dense red pine forest, a green camouflage net was propped up by a few branches, perfectly blending into the surrounding terrain.
Butcher was lying on the muddy ground covered with fallen leaves, holding a military-grade high-magnification telescope in his hands.
In the lens, that purple lightning trail was rapidly disappearing into the skyline.
"The bitch flew away."
Butcher put down the telescope and turned to look to his side.
Becca was lying on the ground, pressing tightly against him.
Butcher looked at her trembling shoulders and couldn't help but curse inwardly.
He originally had a hundred reasons to leave her in that safe Underground Room.
Facing a monster like Homelander, bringing a woman with no ability to resist was simply courting death.
But when he announced the plan in the Underground Room, Becca grabbed his collar tightly just like that.
She didn't cry or make a fuss, she just looked at him with that heartbreaking, desperate gaze. "Even if you storm in, Ryan might not necessarily leave with you. He's scared out of his wits, he needs to see me. Only I can make him calm down."
Butcher surrendered in less than ten seconds under that gaze.
"Listen." Butcher moved his body, leaning close to Becca's ear, "No matter what happens later, you must walk behind me to my side. As soon as Ryan is in hand, we retreat immediately. Do you understand?"
Becca nodded vigorously. "I swear, I will absolutely not hold you back."
"I swear too." Butcher stared into her eyes, "Even if I get cut into pieces today, I will bring you and your son out of this hellhole."
He turned his head and pressed the button on the walkie-talkie with his thumb.
"Frenchie, the obstacle has been cleared." Butcher gritted his teeth, "Serve some heavy dishes to that flag-wearing bastard."
"Received." Frenchie's reply came through the earpiece, "The appetizer will be served immediately."
After Stormfront left.
Homelander pushed open the wooden door and walked into the spacious living room.
Ryan was sitting cross-legged on the carpet, holding a blue crayon in his hand, staring blankly at a white sheet of paper in front of him.
Hearing footsteps, Ryan's shoulders shrank visibly, but he didn't turn around.
Homelander walked to the sofa and sat down, trying hard to make the expression on his face look softer.
"Ryan." He softened his voice, as if treating a fragile piece of porcelain, "Can we talk?"
Ryan didn't answer, just gripped the crayon in his hand tighter.
"I know you have some doubts in your heart." Homelander tried to move closer, "But I am your father. Between us, we shouldn't..."
Buzz—!!!
A burst of ultrasonic waves with a frequency so high it almost exceeded the limits of human hearing penetrated the walls of the house and flooded the entire room.
This was not the portable little gadget that Mallory used to disgust Lu Chen last time.
This was the result of Frenchie risking the possibility of being discovered by Homelander at any time, deploying eight military-grade sonic emitter arrays within a few kilometers around this safe house.
"Ah—!!!"
The crayon in Ryan's hand snapped instantly, he screamed and covered his ears, losing his balance completely, falling heavily onto the carpet, his body curling up in pain like a shrimp.
The expression on Homelander's face twisted.
This ultra-high-frequency sound wave was like electrified steel needles, directly drilling brutally into the brain's central nervous system along the keen hearing that far exceeded that of ordinary people.
"Fuck!"
He turned his head to look at Ryan, who was rolling on the ground in pain, his crying suppressed by the sound waves. These rats hiding in the dark, they wouldn't even spare his son!
Pain instantly turned into rage.
"You're courting death."
Homelander gritted his teeth and rushed out of the door. Locking onto the direction where the sound waves were strongest, he flew toward the sound array disguised as a water tower in the southeast. He was going to tear that thing and the person who set it up into pieces.
In the distant mountains and forests.
"The fish has taken the bait."
Frenchie had set over eighty percent of the sonic generators in the opposite direction of their rescue route. A perfect luring of the tiger away from the mountain.
"Go!"
Butcher grabbed Becca, ripped off the camouflage net above his head, and rushed toward the black SUV parked deep in The Woods at the fastest speed.
Chapter 137: Scheming and Being Schemed Against
The door hinges let out a mournful groan as Becca slammed the wooden door open, scrambling and crawling toward the small figure curled up on the carpet.
"Ryan! Mom is here, it's okay!" She grabbed Ryan, who was rolling around covering his ears, and pulled him tightly into her arms.
Butcher didn't care about the touching mother-son reunion; he grabbed both of them by their collars and shoved them into the backseat of the SUV.
"No time for crying!" Butcher slammed the car door shut, dashed back to the driver's seat, and floored the gas pedal.
The black SUV smashed through the wooden fence around the yard and sped onto the dirt country road.
In the rearview mirror, an explosion erupted from the first sonic array. Homelander hadn't found the source yet, but he wouldn't be fooled for long.
Butcher gripped the steering wheel tightly. His mind was racing, calculating the route and the plan.
Once they reached the abandoned warehouse, as long as Lu Chen clashed with Stormfront or Homelander, he would signal A-Train to take them all away as soon as they were clear of the battlefield.
Whether Tianshu lived or died was none of his business. That Asian kid didn't look like a good guy, so using Homelander to kill him would be killing two birds with one stone.
Having moved out of the ultrasonic coverage area, the shrill buzzing in the car finally ceased.
Ryan let go of his ears, his little face pale. He buried his head into Becca's chest, clutching her clothes tightly.
"It's okay, baby, Mom is here, it's okay."
Becca kissed Ryan's forehead, tears welling up in her eyes. She had so much to tell her son—to ask him if he had been scared all these days, and to tell him how much she had missed him.
Just then, Mothers Milk's anxious voice suddenly came through the earpiece.
"Butcher! The bitch is back! Hurry up!"
Butcher's heart skipped a beat.
"Buckle your fucking seatbelts!" He roared, flooring the gas pedal until it hit the floorboard.
The warehouse was already right in front of them.
Through the windshield, Butcher saw the few people waiting at the warehouse entrance: Mothers Milk, Kimiko, Hughie, and Lu Chen standing at the very front.
Hughie was clutching a few vials of fluorescent green liquid.
The atmosphere was a bit subtle, but Butcher was in no mood to care about that.
Just as the SUV was less than thirty meters from the warehouse gate, a rumble of thunder suddenly exploded in the clouds overhead. "BOOM!"
The sky suddenly turned blindingly bright. A bolt of purple lightning descended from the heavens, striking directly at the roof of the speeding SUV.
Butcher only had time to let out a curse before his vision was filled with white light.
At the critical moment, Lu Chen, standing at the warehouse entrance, raised his hand.
The two-ton SUV instantly defied the laws of physics. Before the attack could land, the entire vehicle was lifted into the air by an irresistible force, forcefully shifted over a dozen meters, and slammed directly into the concrete floor inside the warehouse.
"BANG!" The tires screeched against the ground as the SUV skidded seven or eight meters before coming to a stop. Outside, the lightning bolt struck the original dirt road, blasting out a scorched crater.
Butcher was battered and disoriented inside the cabin. He scrambled, kicked open the car door, and rushed to the backseat immediately.
"Becca!" Seeing that the mother and son were only a bit dizzy from the inertia and had no burn marks on them, the heart that had been in Butcher's throat finally settled back down. They had survived.
"BOOM!" A loud noise came from outside the warehouse, sending dust flying. Stormfront had landed.
She stood on the edge of the scorched crater, slightly lifting her chin, her gaze sweeping over everyone in the warehouse before finally settling on Lu Chen.
"I wondered who it was." Stormfront curled her lips into a contemptuous smile, her voice filled with undisguised disgust. "I didn't expect you to debase yourself by hanging out with this trash and playing such petty tricks to lure the tiger away from the mountain? And here I thought you actually had some talent."
In her mind, powerful Superhumans like Lu Chen who were not White were considered second-class citizens, while ordinary people without superpowers were at best fourth-class. As for Black people, they were merely farm tools.
Lu Chen kept his hands in his pockets, completely unaffected by her trash talk.
"What a coincidence," Lu Chen replied. "I didn't expect to run into you out here in the middle of nowhere."
Inside the warehouse, Butcher hid behind the car door, gripping his assault rifle tightly. He watched the two of them confronting each other, feeling a surge of secret joy.
In the backseat of the SUV, Ryan, who had been huddled in Becca's arms, stiffened the moment he heard Lu Chen's voice.
Ryan quietly raised his head, looking through the car window at that back. This voice... is it him? How could he be here?
Stormfront didn't waste any more words. Of everyone present, Lu Chen was the only one who made her feel threatened. As long as she took care of this kid, she could not only take back Ryan but also conveniently clean up all this annoying trash.
"You're courting death."
Stormfront's feet left the ground, and she soared into the air. Purple electricity surged wildly in her palms as two thick chains of lightning shot straight toward Lu Chen's face.
The ground beneath Lu Chen's feet shattered instantly. He soared into the sky, meeting the lightning head-on and dodging the first wave of attacks.
While in mid-air, Lu Chen's gaze swept over the area below. The abandoned steel bars, iron plates, and scrap machinery around the warehouse were put to use under his Magnetic Manipulation.
"Come."
Dozens to hundreds of tons of metal transformed into a torrent of steel. As Lu Chen flicked his wrist, the metal spikes that had formed swirled up like a rainstorm, launching a frenzied assault around Stormfront.
Outside the warehouse, the deafening sound of metal clashing and thunder roared together.
Butcher watched the apocalyptic scene outside and knew his chance had come.
"Prepare the weapons!" Butcher stood up abruptly and roared at the top of his lungs, "Give this bitch something fierce!"
But this was by no means a signal to attack. It was the code they had agreed upon beforehand. "Prepare the weapons" meant—forget about whether Lu Chen lived or died, just run. As long as they escaped through this back door and got away from the main battlefield, A-Train could take them to the safe zone.
"Forget him! Go!" Butcher grabbed the back of Hughie's collar, who still seemed hesitant, and ran desperately toward the warehouse's back door.
Who cares if he can win? It's best if he dies here, and everyone can just go their separate ways.
Mothers Milk and Kimiko reacted immediately, protecting the group as they retreated quickly.
Just as they rushed out of the warehouse's back door and onto a hidden path on the mountain behind, the situation in the sky suddenly changed.
"Bang, bang, bang!" High in the air, the metal spikes that had been tightly surrounding Stormfront suddenly seemed to lose control after being swept by a violent wave of purple electric nets.
The metal defensive ring around Lu Chen was rapidly collapsing, with dozens of spikes falling one after another, crashing into the ground with a massive roar.
Butcher glanced back while running. Was Lu Chen being suppressed?
He saw Lu Chen in mid-air take a lightning bolt head-on, and his whole body plummeted straight down from dozens of meters high like a kite with a broken string.
"Run!" Butcher cursed internally. This Tianshu guy was too weak. He signaled the team to speed up; they had to escape the mountain area before Stormfront freed herself.
In mid-air, Lu Chen let his body fall, but the corners of his mouth curled into a smile.
Want to run? If you run, how am I supposed to force you to take the drug? I went through so much trouble to set up this stage, you protagonists can't bow out early.
He knew exactly what kind of person Butcher was. Selling out teammates was something this bastard did better than anyone. If he didn't corner them, how would they obediently use those vials of temp v?
As he fell, Lu Chen stealthily waved one hand toward the direction where Butcher was fleeing. Telekinesis, activated.
A fingernail-sized pebble on the ground suddenly levitated, then shot out at a speed surpassing a bullet.
"Pfft!" On the mountain path, Butcher, who was sprinting, suddenly felt a chill in his right leg. Immediately after, a piercing, excruciating pain exploded.
"Ah!" Butcher let out a scream, lost his balance, and fell heavily onto the gravel road, rolling three or four times before coming to a stop.
"Butcher!" Hughie and Mothers Milk quickly stopped and ran over to try and pull him up.
Butcher covered his lower leg as blood gushed wildly from a through-and-through wound. His bone was broken. He couldn't use his right leg at all.
The fleeing team came to an instant halt.
Butcher was covered in cold sweat from the pain. He gritted his teeth, raised his head, and looked into the sky. Lu Chen had fallen behind the ruins, his fate unknown. And that crazy woman, wrapped in purple lightning, was hovering in mid-air, slowly turning her head to stare in the direction they were fleeing.
They couldn't escape. At their current speed, with a man with a broken leg, a woman, and a child, they would be roasted by lightning before they even made it out of these mountains.
"Take them away! Now!" Butcher screamed at the top of his lungs into the headset channel. This was his last trump card.
In an abandoned tunnel one kilometer away, A-Train put down his binoculars. Thankfully, he didn't see Homelander. He had to get these bastards out of here to secure his future.
And two other forces nearby also began to slowly approach the battlefield.
Chapter 138: Dead End
At the entrance of the abandoned tunnel, A-Train stretched his body, the gravel beneath his feet ground into powder by his soles.
He didn't want to get involved.
But the things in Butcher's hands were even more lethal.
Match-fixing.
Popclaw.
Robin.
And the records of him continuing to secretly use Compound V.
If this information were all exposed, he wouldn't even have the qualification to be a dog for Vought anymore.
"Damn it."
A-Train cursed.
The next second, only a long, trailing afterimage remained in the tunnel.
On the mountain trail behind the hill.
Mothers Milk was supporting Butcher, his forehead covered in sweat.
Butcher's right leg dragged on the ground, blood soaking through his pant leg; with every step, the broken bone ground against his flesh.
Hughie supported him from the other side, but his hand stayed tucked in his pocket.
Those few vials of fluorescent green serum pressed against his palm.
When Lu Chen handed the medicine to him, he spoke very bluntly.
"This stuff will give you power and help you awaken superpowers."
"The price is that you will die after twenty-four hours."
Hughie stared at those vials at the time, with only one thought in his mind.
This thing shouldn't exist at all.
It forces people to become gamblers.
Trading their lives for a chance.
He loathed this kind of thing.
But at this moment, purple lightning was pressing down from the sky, Butcher's leg was ruined, and A-Train might not even be reliable.
The syringe in his pocket seemed to have become the only way out.
"Hurry up!"
Butcher pushed him.
"Are you taking a stroll while supporting a cripple, damn it?"
"Shut up."
Mothers Milk's expression was terrible.
"Your leg is broken, stop moving, damn it."
Butcher grinned.
"My leg is broken, not my mouth."
"Your mouth should have been broken a long time ago."
Hughie couldn't help but retort.
Butcher didn't curse back; he just whispered.
"Sorry, brothers."
A rumbling sound came from above.
A purple arc of electricity streaked across the hillside in the distance, blowing apart half a dead tree.
Wood chips and scorched earth rained down.
Kimiko looked up at the sky.
Stormfront had already broken free from the metal storm.
She hovered above the warehouse, torn pieces of metal hanging from the edges of her suit, the purple lightning rolling in her palms growing brighter.
Lu Chen, below, had smashed into the ruins and hadn't moved for a long time.
Stormfront wasn't in a hurry to deliver the finishing blow.
She scanned the mountain trail.
"Run."
She raised her hand, sparks of electricity dancing in her palm.
"Aren't you cockroaches good at running?"
"Don't rush, wait until I roast you all, then I'll go back and see if that kid still has any breath left."
She turned back, looking down from above at the direction where Lu Chen had fallen.
A yellow-skinned Superhuman with some skill.
Decent strength.
But his brain was broken.
He didn't rely on Vought and Homelander, but insisted on hanging out with these ordinary people.
This kind of trash won't live long.
Taking advantage of Stormfront's attention shifting to Lu Chen, a large amount of fallen leaves swirled in the mountain forest.
A-Train rushed out, landing beside Becca and Ryan.
"A-Train!"
Butcher leaned against Mothers Milk's shoulder and yelled at him.
A-Train turned back.
Butcher stared at Becca and Ryan, the ferocity in his eyes finally softening by half.
"Take them far away."
"Stop ordering me around, damn it."
After cursing, A-Train looked down at Becca.
"Close your eyes."
Bang!
The ground exploded.
A-Train carried the mother and son and disappeared at the end of the mountain trail.
Watching the mother and son disappear, Butcher smiled; he had finally accomplished one thing.
Meanwhile.
In that ruin scorched by lightning, beneath a huge steel plate.
Lu Chen was lying comfortably in a space supported by telekinesis.
Through the gap in the steel plate, Lu Chen saw the commotion in the distance clearly.
So this was your trump card?
Lu Chen watched the disappearing blue afterimage, lost in thought.
No wonder Butcher dared to come here and fight head-on at this time; it turned out he had found A-Train as a retreat plug-in.
Lu Chen raised his hand and pressed the miniature communicator on his ear.
"Annie, Cate."
Lu Chen's voice sounded in the channel.
"Received."
"Where are you? Are you okay?!"
"I'm perfectly fine." Lu Chen interrupted the pleasantries, "Pay attention, the plan has changed. Annie, you will cooperate with Cate later and go control Mothers Milk for me first. Hold him down tightly."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the earpiece.
"Capture Mothers Milk? Why?" Annie clearly hadn't caught up with Lu Chen's train of thought, "He's just an ordinary person, isn't our target Stormfront?"
Lu Chen narrowed his eyes in the darkness.
The core function of the few vials of temp v he gave was to catalyze superpowers based on the user's subconscious and obsession.
To achieve better results, he even lied to Hughie, saying that this stuff would kill him 24 hours after injection, and what was Mothers Milk's deepest obsession in this life?
It was the hatred for Soldier Boy's crimes, and even more, the paranoia of protecting his current family.
If Mothers Milk took the drug, he would most likely awaken a physical enhancement superpower similar to Soldier Boy.
"If he injects some kind of green serum later, no matter what happens, Cate, use your ability to control him directly. Do you understand?"
On a hilltop a few kilometers away.
"Understood."
Cate stood on a rock, her fingers twirling her light blonde hair.
She turned her head and looked at Annie, who was standing beside her looking unhappy.
"Alright, American Sweetheart."
Cate opened her arms.
"I'll reluctantly let you hug me. This is my first mission with him, and I don't want to mess it up. If we arrive late and he gets angry, I'll put it all on you."
Annie looked at Cate's matter-of-fact attitude, her back teeth nearly grinding to pieces.
But she knew now was not the time to be jealous. People were risking their lives over there.
"Hmph."
Annie snorted coldly and strode forward.
She wrapped her arms around Cate's slender waist. Cate let out a cry of surprise, but Annie didn't give her a chance to protest, her legs exerting force as she dashed straight toward the abandoned warehouse.
On the gravel road behind the warehouse mountain.
"Alright."
Butcher watched Stormfront getting closer and turned to yell at Mothers Milk and Hughie.
"You guys, while that bitch hasn't come down yet, get out of here!"
Mothers Milk held his gun, not moving. Kimiko also stood where she was, adopting a defensive stance.
"Get out!" Butcher was anxious, slamming the ground, "Are you staying here to die? I'll help you stall for time!"
"What are you going to use to stall?"
Hughie suddenly spoke.
His voice was trembling, but his hands didn't stop. Hughie ripped open his suit pocket and pulled out the vials emitting a green fluorescent glow.
"Lu Chen gave them to me."
Hughie stared at those vials and swallowed.
"He said, if I take this, I can gain superpowers. But... after twenty-four hours, my internal organs will dissolve, and I'll definitely die."
Mothers Milk's expression changed. Kimiko also frowned.
Only Butcher.
He stared at the green serum on the ground, stunned for a second, and then suddenly burst into an extremely rough, wild laughter.
"Hahahaha!"
He grabbed one of the vials.
"Fuck! With such good stuff, why didn't you take it out earlier, damn it!"
Without a shred of hesitation.
Without thinking about whether it was real or fake, and without caring about the fatal side effects.
Butcher pulled off the plastic protective cap from the syringe, aimed it at the vein in his neck, and stabbed it in hard.
"Wait!" Hughie was startled and reached out to stop him, "What if he's lying to us? What if this is just a vial of poison..."
Sss—
Butcher pushed hard with his thumb, and the entire vial of green liquid was instantly pressed into his veins.
He pulled out the empty syringe, threw it on the ground casually, turned his head to look at Hughie, and revealed a ferocious smile.
"Who knows." Butcher's voice was filled with madness, "Might as well treat a dead horse as if it were alive."
As soon as he finished speaking.
Butcher's body suddenly stiffened.
He widened his eyes, the veins on his neck bulging like thick earthworms, rapidly spreading to his entire face.
A scorching heat that felt like it was tearing his internal organs apart exploded from his heart, crazily scouring his limbs and bones along his blood vessels.
"Ughhh—!!!"
"Butcher!" Mothers Milk hurried forward, wanting to hold him down.
But just as Mothers Milk's hand touched Butcher's shoulder.
Butcher stopped writhing.
He propped his hands on the ground and slowly raised his head.
In his eyes, which had originally been clearly black and white, golden light was now surging madly. His broken right leg was left with only a slight stinging pain.
Butcher struggled to stand up.
He felt like he could punch through a tank right now. This power, this feeling of controlling everything. Is this the World Homelander experiences every day?
It feels so fucking good.
In the air, Stormfront also noticed the anomaly on the ground. She looked at Butcher, whose eyes were glowing, her brows slightly furrowed, and the lightning in her palms began to gather.
Butcher raised his head, meeting Stormfront's gaze.
"Let's have some real fun."
Chapter 139: Third-Party Intervention
"Come on, you Nazi bitch!"
Butcher roared, his head tilted back, as golden light erupted from his eyes.
Two thick beams of Heat Vision collided head-on with the purple lightning that Stormfront had unleashed as a probe.
Boom!
The lightning was forcibly shattered.
The golden beams dimmed only slightly, continuing to blast into the air with undiminished force. Stormfront's eyelids twitched, and she hurriedly crossed her palms, weaving a barrier of purple lightning before her.
The next second, the barrier shattered.
Stormfront was pushed back by the Heat Vision and slammed into the hillside, her back snapping several trees before she finally plowed a scorched trench over ten meters long into the ground.
Hughie stared blankly at the scene.
"My god…"
This was the monster that had just blasted Lu Chen out of the sky.
Butcher had only taken one shot, and he'd blasted her down?
"Don't you fucking stare!"
Butcher turned his head, his eyes still shimmering with scorching golden light.
"Run!"
Mothers Milk stared at him, his grip on the gun tightening.
"What about you?"
"I'm in charge of killing her," Butcher grinned, "or getting killed by her. Either way, I've only got twenty-four hours left, so what's the difference?"
Hughie opened his mouth.
That sounded just like Butcher.
Knowing he was about to die, a normal person would think about how to survive, but this madman was thinking about how to drag someone down with him before he kicked the bucket.
Kimiko reached out and grabbed Hughie's arm, shaking her head at him.
"Let's go," Mothers Milk said in a low voice.
He didn't like leaving his companions behind, but staying here would only distract Butcher. Becca and Ryan had already been sent away, and the only thing they could do now was ensure Butcher's life wasn't thrown away for nothing.
The moment the three turned around, a burst of purple light exploded at the bottom of the hillside.
"You lowly bastard!"
Stormfront crawled up from the scorched earth.
Half of her face was scorched black, and there was a gaping hole in the chest of her uniform. Her injuries weren't serious; what she truly couldn't accept was that she had actually been knocked down by someone who, until recently, could only flee in a panic at the sight of her.
"Just because you stole a little power, you really think you're a god?"
She slowly spread her palms apart.
Purple current spread from her arms across her entire body, and nearby rubble was lifted off the ground by the chaotic electromagnetic field. The lightning grew brighter and brighter, blinding to the eye.
Butcher stood his ground and did not retreat.
He wasn't skilled with this power yet.
He didn't know if he could withstand this blow.
But so what?
Becca and Ryan were already gone.
He had nothing to fear now.
"Old bitch," Butcher raised his head, golden light re-gathering in his eyes, "you talk way too fucking much."
Boom—!
The fully charged lightning crashed down.
The golden Heat Vision collided with it head-on.
The two energies stalemated about a dozen meters above the ground, purple electricity exploding outward along the beams. Rocks shattered one after another, large swaths of vegetation were ignited, and the three, who hadn't run very far, were knocked over by the shockwave.
"Go!"
Veins bulged on Butcher's neck, and the ground beneath his feet cracked inch by inch.
"Don't worry about me! Get out of here!"
Hughie scrambled up from the ground and took one last look back at him.
"You'd better not die!"
Butcher gritted his teeth and squeezed out a response.
"Stop fucking cursing me!"
Kimiko dragged Hughie into the mountain forest, with Mothers Milk following closely behind. The sound of footsteps quickly faded away, and the smile on Butcher's face vanished completely.
Good.
The dead weight is gone.
Now I can finally let loose.
The energy collision in mid-air exploded simultaneously, knocking both Butcher and Stormfront back. Stormfront flipped twice in the air, and just as she stabilized, Butcher charged up, pushing through the residual lightning, dragging his not-yet-fully-recovered broken leg.
A punch!
Bang!
Stormfront raised her arms to block, but her arms were slammed back against her chest, and she went flying backward.
No!
Why is this guy's body so tough too?
She had originally thought that the power Butcher suddenly obtained was just those eyes. After all, how could abilities temporarily catalyzed be fully comparable to Homelander?
Butcher didn't give her time to figure it out.
He chased after her, grabbed her ankle, and swung her down into the ground.
Boom!
A shallow crater was smashed into the hillside.
Stormfront flipped and leapt up, lightning erupting against Butcher's chest. Butcher was blasted back a few steps; his floral shirt was charred, but only a few red marks remained on the skin of his chest.
"Is that it?"
Butcher looked down and grinned, his expression becoming increasingly punchable.
This feeling was truly exhilarating.
Bullets, explosions, lightning—any one of these would have been enough to kill him in the past. Now, taking a hit felt like nothing more than being kicked.
No wonder Homelander thought ordinary people were all just insects.
When you can easily decide the life and death of others, laws, morals, and rules truly do become a joke.
It was a pity he only had one day left; he didn't know if he would have the chance to kill Homelander.
"Done laughing?"
Stormfront rushed out of the crater, her knee slamming heavily into Butcher's abdomen.
Butcher doubled over, backhanding her across the face.
Both of them stumbled back.
Stormfront spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, the rage on her face almost overpowering the lightning surrounding her.
His physical durability was real too.
Maybe even a little stronger than hers.
She couldn't let this mad dog tangle her up any longer. Ryan had already been taken away; as long as she caught those people who were fleeing, she could force them to reveal the child's location.
Stormfront lifted her feet off the ground and shot into the sky toward the direction of Hughie and the others.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Golden light lit up behind her.
Stormfront spun around sharply, holding her palms in front of her chest. The lightning she had hurriedly gathered lasted only half a second before being completely pierced by the Heat Vision.
Bang!
She fell from mid-air once again.
Butcher walked toward where she landed, his eyes locked onto her.
So what if your flight speed is fast?
As long as she didn't make it impossible for him to see, he could aim; after all, he just needed to turn his head.
"You're not going anywhere today."
Below the ruins.
Lu Chen reached up, pushed aside the steel plate pinning him down, and slowly stood up.
That's enough.
Butcher's trump card had been forced out, and the temp v had successfully completed its awakening. The effect was even better than Lu Chen had expected; aside from flight, his strength, defense, and Heat Vision were almost all generated based on a "weaker Homelander" template.
Intense, extreme hatred was indeed more useful than laboratory parameters.
Looking at the intense battlefield, as long as the slightly weaker Stormfront wasn't completely stupid, she wouldn't be in trouble for a short while.
The real surprise was A-Train.
That guy could send Becca and Ryan away, and he could come back to take the others away too. With a retreat method that could flip the table at any moment, how could Lu Chen's subsequent plans continue?
He had to be taken out first.
Lu Chen looked up in the direction A-Train had vanished.
Super Speed, activated.
Boom!
The ground beneath his feet suddenly exploded, and Lu Chen's figure vanished instantly. The airflow was forcibly pushed aside by his body, leaving a straight trail of dust above the mountain forest.
That's perfect.
Above the clouds a few kilometers away.
Starlight was hovering in the air, holding Cate, her face having been dark for a long while.
"Can you not hold on so tight?"
Cate wrapped her arms around her neck and pressed even closer.
"No. What if I fall?"
"You know full well I wouldn't let go!"
"Who knows?" Cate looked at the three people fleeing below. "You hate me so much; what if you want to take the chance to drop me to my death and then go back and tell Lu Chen it was an accident?"
Starlight's temple throbbed.
"I'm not as crazy as you."
"That's not for sure."
Cate provoked her with her words, but her gaze never left Mothers Milk. They hadn't injected the serum yet, so they couldn't act ahead of the task Lu Chen had assigned.
This was her first time officially coming out to handle business with Lu Chen.
She absolutely could not mess it up.
"What if they split up?" Starlight asked.
"Grab the black guy first. This is what he said himself."
In the mountain forest below, Mothers Milk suddenly stopped.
"Wait."
Hughie looked back.
"What is it?"
Mothers Milk raised his gun and stared at the shadows between a few trees to his side.
Kimiko lowered her body, a warning growl squeezing out from her throat.
No footsteps.
No voices either.
A tall figure wearing black combat armor slowly walked out.
Black Noir looked at them and tilted his head.
Chapter 140: At My Disposal
A-Train dropped Becca and Ryan off at a safe house dozens of kilometers away before coming to an abrupt halt.
He braced his hands on his knees, struggling slightly.
"Damn it..." A-Train cursed under his breath.
A distance of a few dozen kilometers wouldn't have even counted as a warm-up for him in the past.
But ever since Kimiko broke his legs and he recovered, even though all the hospital tests showed his body was back to normal, every time he truly accelerated, he would still recall the sensation of his bones snapping.
He was afraid, and every time, he would deliberately distract himself by paying attention to it.
Becca, holding Ryan, confirmed the surroundings were safe and immediately turned to grab A-Train's arm.
"Please go back."
A-Train looked up, as if he hadn't heard clearly.
"What?"
"They are still there." Becca hugged Ryan tighter. "Butcher, Hughie, Mothers Milk, and Kimiko. They will die."
"What does that have to do with me?"
The exhaustion from just catching his breath was instantly washed away by this statement.
"You want me to go back and save them? Do you have any idea how much risk I took to get you out?"
Becca opened her mouth.
"Do you know what conditions your husband used to get me to save you? He used threats! He forced me with those things!"
Ryan was frightened by his roar and shrank into Becca's arms.
Becca raised her hand to cover the child's ears, her brows tightly knitted.
Seeing this, A-Train felt the anger stuck in his throat.
But he didn't stop.
"They killed my girlfriend!" he said through gritted teeth.
"They even broke my legs! I just lost control and hit someone, and you want me to pay with my whole life!"
"I've already gotten you out." He turned his head away. "That's enough."
Becca didn't say anything more.
She didn't know if what A-Train said was true or false, nor did she know what Butcher had used to threaten him.
But she knew that man would do anything to save her and Ryan.
A-Train waited for a long time, but hearing no rebuttal, the fire in his chest finally subsided a little.
He turned and walked outside, wanting to calm himself down.
Just then, a rose-red beam shot down from the sky.
A-Train's body reacted faster than his consciousness.
Homelander was here?!
He didn't have time to think; his legs exerted force instantly, and he turned into a blur and dashed out.
The beam grazed the spot where he had just been standing, and with a boom, it blasted a deep pit into the ground.
In mid-air, Lu Chen looked at the blue figure that had already run hundreds of meters away and shook his head gently.
"Speedsters are always troublesome."
He retracted his Heat Vision and swooped down to the ground.
"Fortunately, I am one too."
With the Super Speed copied and fused from A-Train and the Super Baby, combined with a body stronger and healthier than A-Train's, Lu Chen didn't need to worry about his heart, nor did he need to worry about losing control.
Even though A-Train had taken off first, a moment later, Lu Chen caught up to that blue blur.
He stared at the constantly changing trajectory of A-Train's running.
This guy was fast, but his turning wasn't stable enough.
The corners of Lu Chen's mouth twitched.
"Got you."
He made a grasping motion in the air.
The air in front of A-Train suddenly became heavy.
A-Train, who was sprinting, had his feet suddenly sink into the ground, and his whole body was pinned down by a force he couldn't break free from.
Gravel was sent flying into the air.
He struggled desperately, his muscles tensing up, his speed exploding crazily, but that force continued to press down on him, not even allowing him to lift a finger.
How is this possible?
To save his life, he had used all his strength, even feeling that he had faintly exceeded his limits; his speed had already surpassed Mach 3.
Even Homelander couldn't catch him this easily!
A-Train turned his head with difficulty.
He had thought about this face many times.
In the rehabilitation room, on the training field, every time he saw news about him, he had thought about finding an opportunity to outdo him.
But now, even with a head start, he had actually still been caught.
Lu Chen walked up to him step by step.
"Tian Shu..."
A-Train gritted his teeth.
Lu Chen didn't answer.
With a contraction of his telekinesis, A-Train's body was dragged in front of him.
"What do you want to do?"
Lu Chen's palm pressed against his skin.
"Be at my disposal."
Mind Control was activated.
The ability flowed through the contact, directly invading A-Train's consciousness, forcibly suppressing his fear, anger, and resistance.
A-Train's eyes struggled violently for a moment before finally losing focus.
Lu Chen stared at him and gave the first command.
"Return to the battlefield and observe in secret. Wait for my orders."
"Understood."
Lu Chen released his hand.
"Go."
Two figures disappeared at the end of the road simultaneously.
On the other side, on a trail behind the mountain.
Black Noir stood in front of Hughie and the others, the throwing knife in his hand still stuck by Hughie's feet.
Hughie looked down at the knife tip, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.
Butcher had said that Edgar was working with them.
So when he saw Black Noir just now, a glimmer of hope had risen in his heart.
Perhaps it was a team sent by Edgar to meet them.
Now it seemed he was wrong—very, very wrong.
Black Noir raised his hand; he was executing Edgar's orders.
After retrieving Ryan, eliminate The Boys.
But the child had already been taken away, and the remaining three people had no reason to continue existing.
Black Noir flipped his wrist, and a second throwing knife shot toward Hughie.
Kimiko knocked Hughie aside.
Pfft!
The blade pierced her shoulder.
She didn't even pause, pulling out the throwing knife and lunging at Black Noir with a low growl.
Mothers Milk raised his gun and fired simultaneously.
Bang, bang, bang!
The bullets hit Black Noir, but the warheads deformed and ricocheted off, leaving only a few pale white marks.
Black Noir sidestepped Kimiko's attack and backhanded her wrist.
Kimiko threw a punch at his head with her other hand.
Black Noir dodged by tilting his head, grabbed her arm with both hands, and yanked it violently to the sides.
Snap!
Kimiko's entire arm was ripped off.
She fell to the ground, blood gushing from her shoulder, and used her other hand to support herself on the ground, still wanting to climb back up.
Hughie's lips moved, but he couldn't speak.
He watched Kimiko struggle, watched Mothers Milk empty his magazine, and watched Black Noir walk toward them step by step.
The temp v in his pocket pressed against his thigh.
Was it his turn now?
Robin's smiling face flashed through his mind.
When they had their first date, she said she was late but blamed it on the subway.
When he first entered Vought Tower to install a bug, he had been nervous to Death.
After his identity was exposed, they had been on the run, and Death was only separated by a door.
He had always been afraid.
Afraid of pain, afraid of dying, afraid of becoming someone like Butcher.
But if he didn't take it, Kimiko would die, and Mothers Milk would die too.
Enough.
Hughie pulled out the syringe.
But a thick hand suddenly grabbed his wrist.
Mothers Milk pulled him behind his back and snatched the green vial.
"Marvin!"
Hughie's eyes widened.
Mothers Milk pulled off the protective cap and stuck the needle into his own vein.
"Leave it to me."
He pressed the syringe, pushing all the green liquid into his veins.
Hughie's hand froze in mid-air.
"Take Kimiko and go, meet up with Frenchie." Mothers Milk looked at him.
"Then leave the United States forever."
"What are you saying?"
"My family, I'm counting on you."
Hughie's eyes instantly turned red.
"Why not let me do it?!"
Mothers Milk pulled out the needle and casually threw it away.
"Because you are too kind, Hughie."
His body began to convulse, and the veins on his neck bulged.
"The first time I saw you, I knew you weren't cut out for this."
Intense pain spread from his heart to his limbs; Mothers Milk bent over, bracing his hands on his knees.
Hughie tried to help him, but was pushed away.
"But only with you here can Butcher, and the rest of us, keep that last bit of humanity."
Black Noir was closing in.
Mothers Milk raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, facing that black figure.
Black Noir raised his fist and smashed down.
Mothers Milk raised his hand and caught the punch.
Boom!
The gravel under their feet exploded.
"Take her and go."
Chapter 141: Just Today
Mothers Milk tightened his fingers, and Black Noir's fist came to a halt in his palm.
Black Noir tilted his head.
This ordinary person, who just moments ago could only tickle him with a rifle, had actually caught his punch head-on.
Mothers Milk was also taken aback for a moment.
No Heat Vision.
His eyes weren't burning, and his body wasn't floating. That vial of green serum had granted him only an incredibly powerful body and strength so pure it was almost barbaric.
His worn-out joints felt nimble again, and even his vision was several times clearer than before.
Pure physical enhancement.
That was enough.
At least he was now qualified to stand here and let Hughie and Kimiko leave alive.
"Hughie!"
Mothers Milk twisted Black Noir's wrist and slammed his shoulder forward.
"Take her and go!"
Bang!
Black Noir was knocked back two steps.
Hughie finally snapped out of it and stumbled toward Kimiko. He knelt beside her, and as soon as his hands touched the severed arm, his stomach churned.
It was severed completely below the shoulder.
But the gushing blood was stopping; the flesh at the stump was writhing, and a small, pale arm was already growing out. The fingers hadn't formed yet, only a few vague buds were visible.
"Kimiko, get up."
Hughie reached out to help her.
"We have to go, Frenchie is still waiting for us."
Kimiko gritted her teeth and stood up, but she didn't follow him.
She raised her intact hand, pointed at Mothers Milk, and waved at Hughie.
You go.
Hughie understood.
"Don't do this."
His voice trembled.
"Marvin told me to take you away. You can't help by staying here. Your arm hasn't grown back yet. Let's leave first, and then we'll figure something out..."
Kimiko shook her head.
When she was first rescued, Mothers Milk was the first person to suggest abandoning her.
The risk was too high, the information too scarce, and there was no need for the team to risk their lives for an unidentified Superhuman. That was the most level-headed and correct judgment.
Yet in the end, it was this man who convinced Butcher, helped clean up the mess when Frenchie acted foolishly, and stood in front of Butcher's gun when she lost control.
He was always calculating pros and cons, saying this wouldn't work or that was stupid.
But every time, when it truly came down to making a decision, he would soften.
Kimiko turned and lunged at Black Noir.
"Wait!"
Hughie reached out and grabbed nothing but air.
Mothers Milk threw a hook at Black Noir's temple.
Years of military combat training meant he didn't need to adjust to how to throw a punch. His strength had changed, but his technique hadn't. Shoulders, waist, and hips rotated in unison; every punch aimed for the most vulnerable spots.
Black Noir blocked three consecutive punches, his arms vibrating as he kept retreating, feeling somewhat surprised.
But he never relied solely on brute force to kill.
A black dagger popped out from his waist.
The blade slashed across Mothers Milk's abdomen, tearing his clothes and leaving a bloody mark on his enhanced skin.
Mothers Milk looked down.
It could penetrate his defense.
That made it even more critical not to let this guy touch them.
Black Noir reversed his grip on the dagger and thrust it toward his throat. Mothers Milk dodged by tilting his head, locked onto Black Noir's elbow with his left hand, and slammed his knee into Black Noir's abdomen.
Bang!
The hilt of the knife slammed against the side of Mothers Milk's head simultaneously.
Both retreated a step, then lunged at each other again.
The blade flashed past his neck, and fists pounded repeatedly against the armor. Mothers Milk's attacks were wide and powerful, but Black Noir was as slippery as an ungraspable shadow; after every dodge, the dagger would strike from a tricky angle.
Pfft!
The tip of the blade pierced into Mothers Milk's shoulder.
Just as Black Noir was about to pull the knife sideways, a hand suddenly grabbed his right leg from behind.
Kimiko opened her mouth and bit into a gap in the armor, pulling back with all her might.
Black Noir looked down, raising his foot to crush her head.
Mothers Milk seized the opportunity and slammed a heavy punch into his mask.
Crack!
The visor shattered.
Black Noir was sent rolling away, and the dagger fell from his hand.
Hughie stood there, watching Kimiko stand in front of Mothers Milk again, unable to take a step.
Leave?
Just him alone?
How could he face Frenchie after going back?
Tell him that Mothers Milk injected a lethal serum to save him, Kimiko rushed back to help Mothers Milk, and he, the waste protected by everyone, escaped alive?
He couldn't do it.
But what could he do by staying?
Staying here, he probably wouldn't even count as a burden; he would just be one more corpse.
Reason told him to leave.
But after Robin died, he had already done too many irrational things.
"Fuck!"
Hughie picked up the rifle from the ground and scrambled to change the magazine.
He knew bullets were useless against Black Noir. But—
"Damn it."
Hughie raised the gun and aimed at Black Noir.
"At least let me do something."
"Hughie!" Mothers Milk saw his action and cursed angrily, "Why the fuck haven't you left yet?"
"I'm trying!"
Hughie pulled the bolt, aiming the muzzle at Black Noir, who was just getting up.
"Trying what?"
"Trying not to be a coward who only knows how to run away!"
Gunshots rang out suddenly.
Bullets swept toward Black Noir's cracked visor. Black Noir raised his arm to protect his eyes, forcing his newly taken step to pause for a moment.
Mothers Milk wanted to curse.
But seeing Hughie's red eyes, he swallowed the words back.
This kid had finally learned to stand his ground.
It's just a fucking terrible time to do it.
Above the forest.
Cate Dunlap looked down, her lips curling up slowly.
"He took the serum."
Annie January held her, hovering at the edge of the clouds, her expression not looking good.
"I can see that."
"So what now?" Cate Dunlap swung her dangling legs, "I'll go down and control that big black guy, and you go stop Black Noir?"
Annie January turned to stare at her.
"Me fight Black Noir? Seriously?"
"Yeah."
Cate Dunlap smiled sweetly.
"Aren't you a superhero of The Seven? Black Noir is also in The Seven; you should be quite familiar with each other."
Annie January really wanted to just let go.
Lu Chen told them to control Mothers Milk, but she wanted her to risk her life against Black Noir, so she could then easily touch Mothers Milk.
Annie January looked down.
Mothers Milk and Kimiko could still suppress Black Noir, and Hughie hadn't been killed immediately. Rushing down now might instead let Black Noir discover Cate Dunlap's ability.
"Forget it."
She rose higher again.
"Let's see how things develop."
The mischievous smile on Cate Dunlap's face faded a bit.
She didn't care whether Hughie or Kimiko lived or died, nor did she care how long that black man could hold out. Lu Chen's order was to control Mothers Milk, so she had to wait for the most appropriate moment.
On the other side.
Stormfront ascended again, purple lightning blasting Butcher from the side.
Butcher raised his arms to take the hit head-on.
The lightning exploded on him, pushing him sliding backward over ten meters by the impact, and the excruciating pain of bones rubbing together flared up again in his right leg, which had just set.
"Fuck!"
He grimaced in pain, but the golden light in his eyes didn't weaken in the slightest.
This Nazi bitch had learned to be smart.
She no longer clashed with him head-on, but relied on her ability to fly, constantly circling him to attack that unrecovered broken leg.
Stormfront dove down and kicked his knee.
Crack!
The freshly healed bone was dislocated again.
Butcher half-knelt on the ground and fired Heat Vision backhanded.
Stormfront immediately gained altitude; the golden beam grazed her body, burning away a large piece of her suit.
"Get up!"
She sneered in mid-air.
"Don't you enjoy this power so much?"
Butcher stood up, holding his knee; his right leg had little sensation left.
If he kept fighting like this, he would be worn down to death sooner or later.
Then he would make her think this leg really was his weak point.
"Old bitch!"
Butcher stumbled intentionally.
Stormfront indeed dove down, all the lightning in her palms blasting toward his right leg.
Just at the moment the lightning descended, Butcher turned abruptly.
He didn't dodge at all.
His right leg was blown into a bloody mess by the lightning, but his body used the momentum of the turn to channel all his strength into his fist.
Bang!
His fist struck Stormfront square in the face.
Her nasal bone shattered.
Teeth flew out mixed with blood.
Stormfront crashed sideways through two trees, rolled across the ground for dozens of meters, and finally fell flat on her back in the scorched earth.
She struggled to prop up her upper body.
Once.
Twice.
Her arms finally lost their strength, and she collapsed back down.
Butcher stood where he was and laughed loudly.
"Hahahaha!"
Worth it.
Even if his internal organs dissolved in twenty-four hours, being able to personally beat this Nazi bitch into pulp was fucking worth it!
He dragged his right leg, which had completely lost the ability to bear weight, and limped toward Stormfront.
The golden light in his eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"Die, Nazi bitch."
Boom!
A beam of crimson Heat Vision descended from the sky, striking Butcher directly in the chest.
Butcher was sent flying, crashing into the mountain wall.
Homelander landed slowly in front of Stormfront with his hands behind his back.
After confirming she was just exhausted and not in life-threatening danger, he turned his head to look at Butcher, who was propping himself up from the rubble.
"William Butcher."
Red light flared in Homelander's eyes.
"It's you again."
"Do you want to die that much?"
"I once considered you my only destined rival. I let you go time and time again because I knew of your hatred for me."
He took a step forward, the smile on his face gradually disappearing.
"I even looked forward to a duel between us that would leave the earth scorched, shake all things, and be a clash of blood and bone."
"In the end, only one person could remain standing."
"But you challenge my bottom line again and again."
Butcher spat out a mouthful of blood and stood up unsteadily.
He looked at Homelander, grinning with his blood-stained teeth.
"You're fucking right."
"This is the thing I've wanted most in my life."
The golden light flared in Butcher's eyes again.
"How about we do it today?"
Chapter 142: Blood and Fury
Homelander stared at Butcher's glowing eyes and slowly rose into mid-air.
"Is this what gives you confidence?"
He looked down at Butcher from above, the rage on his face turning back into mockery.
"Don't you hate Superhumans the most? Now, you've become the very thing you hate the most."
Homelander spread his arms.
"Tell me, William, how does it feel?"
Butcher moved his mangled right leg; the broken bone was slowly knitting back together under the self-healing process.
It hurt.
But the more it hurt, the clearer his mind became.
Butcher stared at Homelander, his grin widening.
He did indeed hate Superhumans.
But what was wrong with power itself?
As long as he could use it to smash that arrogant face of Homelander's, never mind the superpowers he had now—even if it turned him into something even more disgusting, he would still fight.
"How does it feel?"
"It feels fucking amazing."
His laughter grew louder.
"I've dreamed of slaughtering you for ages. Using guns, bombs, uranium rods—shoving them up your ass and pulling them out through your mouth."
"But now, it's different."
Butcher clenched his fists.
"Thinking about smashing your arrogant bitch face in, one punch at a time, thinking about your teeth flying out of your mouth one by one, thinking about you kneeling on the ground, crying and calling for your mommy..."
Golden light swelled in his eyes.
"I just can't fucking help but laugh!"
Boom!
The golden Heat Vision at maximum power erupted.
The scarlet in Homelander's eyes exploded simultaneously.
The two beams collided head-on in mid-air, the forest instantly illuminated by gold and red. The point of energy intersection twisted constantly, a scorching shockwave sweeping outwards, instantly igniting the dead leaves on the ground.
Neither retreated.
Butcher's feet sank into the soil, but the smile on his face never vanished.
He could feel his eyeballs swelling, heat surging crazily through his veins. Homelander's power was still pressing down on him, but not by much.
It was enough.
This bastard wasn't as invincible as he had imagined.
Homelander's smile was gone. His forehead tightened, his teeth clenched, and the scarlet beam thickened.
But the ball of light at the contact point only shifted less than half a meter toward Butcher.
"Haha..."
Butcher saw the strain on his face.
"Hahahaha!"
Butcher laughed even louder.
That laughter was more grating than any insult.
Homelander heard the laughter, his cheek twitching violently.
He instantly understood what he meant—you're nothing special.
"Shut up!"
He suddenly shifted his body, actively cutting off his Heat Vision.
The unobstructed golden Heat Vision grazed past him, shooting diagonally into the sky.
Before Butcher could adjust his aim, Homelander had already twisted his body in mid-air.
Boom!
A sonic boom erupted.
Butcher only saw an afterimage flash, and then two fists slammed heavily into his chest.
Bang!
His ribs let out a sound of unbearable compression.
Butcher's feet left the ground, and Homelander, maintaining the posture of pushing his fists forward, slammed him all the way into the distance.
Trees snapped in swathes, the earth was plowed open by their bodies, leaving a gully several kilometers long.
"Fuck!"
Butcher swung his fist, smashing it hard against the side of Homelander's head.
Bang!
Homelander's head tilted, but his momentum didn't slow down.
The second punch landed on his nose bridge.
The third punch hit his temple.
Every punch was enough to shatter the head of a normal Superhuman, but landing on Homelander only made his expression twist further.
Not enough.
Butcher knew very well that his body was weaker than this guy's.
His power was also a notch lower.
If they kept going toe-to-toe, he would definitely be the one to collapse first.
But Homelander wasn't completely unfazed either.
As long as it hurts, it can be killed.
"Is that all the strength you've got?" Butcher spat a mouthful of blood onto his hair. "Did you not have your milk?"
A low growl squeezed from Homelander's throat, and he put more force into his fists.
The next second, the two of them slammed into the cliff face.
Rumble!
Large swathes of rock collapsed.
Butcher's body was embedded several meters in, dense cracks spreading around his back. Gravel kept falling from above, and pain radiated throughout his entire body.
Homelander finally stopped, touching his own face.
Those punches Butcher had thrown earlier looked scary, but the actual damage caused was very limited.
Nothing to be afraid of.
"I thought you might give me a surprise."
"Although I don't know where you stole that power from," Homelander regained his composure, "in the end, you're just a low-quality knockoff."
"Your power is weaker than mine, and your body is more fragile than mine."
He spread his hands.
"You can't even fly."
Gravel rolled down.
Butcher pushed away the rocks pressing on him, braced himself against the rock wall, and squeezed his way out, step by step.
He twisted his neck; his ribs were already broken, and every movement was agonizing.
But a smile remained on his face.
"Is that so?"
The golden light lit up again.
"Then let's put that to the test."
The Heat Vision shot out abruptly.
Red light had already emerged in Homelander's eyes.
Trying this again?
But just as the two beams were about to collide, Butcher suddenly cut off the Heat Vision. His still-intact left leg pushed off the ground with all his might, the mountain rock shattering beneath his feet.
Butcher used that force to charge forward at high speed.
Just as Homelander was about to lower his head to aim, Butcher had already slammed into his chest.
"Gotcha, you asshole."
He lowered his body, putting all the strength of his waist, abdomen, and shoulders into his right fist.
An uppercut smashed into Homelander's chin with full force!
Bang!
Homelander was knocked flying upward, his scarlet Heat Vision sweeping past the top of Butcher's head, slicing open the cliff wall behind him.
Butcher looked up.
The golden light exploded again!
The Heat Vision hit Homelander squarely in the back.
The scorching beam pushed him down onto the distant ground, then pressed him hard into the mountainside. Homelander's suit rapidly charred black, and his Stars and Stripes cape tore down the middle.
"William!"
Homelander twisted his neck on the ground, his Heat Vision sweeping wildly.
But Butcher remained stuck to his back, the impact from the Heat Vision suppressing him without a moment's pause.
The scarlet beam cut through the surroundings, burning one crimson crack after another. Molten lava flowed down along the cuts, and the entire mountain was carved with crisscrossing "lava paths."
Butcher walked forward, bearing the golden Heat Vision.
With every step closer, the burning pain in his eyeballs intensified. His vision was starting to turn red, and blood was flowing from his nasal cavity.
Hold on.
This might be the only chance.
He walked behind Homelander, raised his foot to step on the torn half of his cape, and slammed a fist into the back of his head.
The killing techniques trained over many years were all utilized at this moment. He knew better than anyone where the weak points were, where it could be fatal.
But this still wasn't enough.
Becca's face flashed through his mind, the image of Ryan hiding in his mother's arms, and then Homelander's every high-and-mighty smile.
His fists fell faster.
"This punch is for Becca!"
Bang!
"This punch is for everyone!"
Bang!
"And this one—"
Butcher grabbed Homelander's hair, his knee slamming heavily into the back of his head.
"Is just because I want to beat you!"
Homelander was pressed into the rock wall by the unceasing Heat Vision.
The suit on his back was completely burned through; his skin turned red first, then split open, and fresh blood finally seeped out from the charred wound.
The golden light in Butcher's eyes flickered twice. He finally couldn't hold on, and it faded out completely.
Homelander seized this split second, pressing his palms into the molten rock and flipping over violently.
Butcher's fist landed, grazing the side of his face.
Boom!
Homelander pushed off the ground and rose into the air, putting over a hundred meters of distance between them in one breath.
He hovered in mid-air.
It hurt.
His back burned like it was on fire.
Homelander reached out to touch the damaged area of his suit.
When he pulled his palm back, there was a patch of bright red.
Blood?
He stared at his palm, his brain failing to process it for a few seconds.
This was his blood.
He was actually injured?
Should he run?
As long as he flew away, no one could catch him.
But the moment this thought emerged, it was torn apart by an even more violent rage.
He could be injured by anyone else.
But absolutely not by Butcher.
This human he acknowledged as his nemesis, who had always been forced to stand on the ground and look up at him!
Homelander stared fixedly below, his face completely twisted.
"Wil...liam!"
Butcher looked up at that out-of-control face and laughed from the bottom of his heart.
"What's wrong?"
Butcher wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth; the pain throughout his body made him increasingly powerless, but he still raised his middle finger to the sky.
"You walk around all day wearing that sweaty spandex, with your crotch squeezed like a pancake—don't you find it disgusting?"
Butcher bared his teeth.
"Now it's perfect, let it air out."