Chapter 7: Homelander's Scrutiny, Taking Heat Vision Head-On
Ashley's fingers were trembling as if they were set to vibrate mode.
"Beep—beep—"
She was slamming the intercom phone on her desk so hard it made a slapping sound.
She stared fixedly at the dial tone of the phone that had just been hung up, her forehead covered in fine beads of sweat.
John was furious.
Whenever this guy threw a tantrum, the entire Vought Tower would shake.
That waste The Deep had to go missing at a time like this; it was absolutely maddening.
She tugged forcefully at her dry hair, pulling out a small clump.
"Pick up! You idiot, The Deep!"
On the leather sofa in the locker room, Lin Yuan was lounging comfortably in a slouch.
His eyes were closed tight, listening to the chaotic commotion in the hallway outside.
The intercom phone on the table beside him lit up red, buzzing incessantly.
He opened his eyes slowly.
A cold sneer tugged at the corner of his mouth as he reached out and pressed the answer button.
"Hello."
His voice was languid, still carrying the rasp of someone who had just woken up.
Ashley was on the verge of tears on the other end of the line.
"Where the hell have you been! John is looking for you! Immediately! Right now! Get to his office!"
Her voice was so shrill it cracked.
"Ten minutes! If you're one second late, expect to be sliced into pieces by him!"
Lin Yuan held the phone away from his ear and rubbed it.
"Alright, I'm going."
He hung up the phone and stood up from the sofa.
He straightened out the garish green scale-patterned bodysuit he was wearing.
The fish scales on the suit reflected an oily sheen under the lights; it was damn ugly.
He opened the door and strode towards the top floor.
The high-level office on the top floor was as spacious as a football field.
Outside the panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows, the neon lights of New York flickered.
John had his back to the door, his hands clasped behind him.
That Stars and Stripes cape hung down to his heels, completely still.
The air was so oppressive it made it hard to breathe.
Even the cold air blowing from the central air conditioning carried a hint of ice.
Lin Yuan pushed open the solid wood doors.
The thick carpet swallowed the sound of his footsteps.
But he knew that with John's perverted hearing, he could even hear the sound of blood flowing through his veins.
"I'm here, John."
Lin Yuan stood before the desk with his hands in his pockets, not bowing or scraping like in the original story.
John didn't turn around.
His gaze was fixed intently on a billboard outside the window.
"What did you call me?"
John's voice was very soft, yet it carried a chill that made one's spine crawl.
He turned around slowly.
In his azure blue eyes, bloodshot veins had already covered the whites.
Like a beast whose feeding had been interrupted.
In this damned building, besides that old woman Madelyn, who dared to call him by his name?
"The Deep, you've grown quite bold lately."
John walked forward slowly.
With every step, the floor emitted a teeth-grinding creak.
He stared at Lin Yuan, his eyes filled with scrutiny and undisguised killing intent.
"The surveillance in the locker room, you smashed it?"
Lin Yuan met his gaze without flinching.
"Yeah, I smashed it. That piece of junk was flashing a red light; it was blinding and ruined my mood."
He even reached up to pick his ear.
John's brow twitched violently.
Had this clown taken the wrong medicine today?
Usually, when he saw him, he would practically bury his head in his crotch.
Today, he actually dared to look him in the eye.
Even, there was a hint of... mockery in that gaze?
John was annoyed.
Extremely annoyed.
His patience was exhausted; he didn't want to waste another word.
"Ruined your mood?"
John curled his lips into a cruel sneer.
"Then I'll let you know what it means to be truly out of sorts."
As soon as he finished speaking.
A blinding crimson light erupted from his eye sockets.
No buildup, no warning.
Two beams of high-temperature heat vision, as thick as a baby's arm, carried the violent energy of total destruction.
"Sizzle—!"
The air was instantly heated to the point of distortion, emitting a piercing screech.
The two red beams slammed straight into Lin Yuan's chest.
The distance was too close.
So close that Lin Yuan could even see the electric arcs dancing at the edge of the red light.
But he didn't dodge.
He didn't move even half a step.
His Primary Viltrumite Combat Body activated completely in that instant.
Under his skin, the dense muscle fibers tightened like steel cables.
His bone density soared crazily.
"Boom!"
The heat vision slammed solidly into Lin Yuan's chest.
The high temperature instantly ignited the inferior green bodysuit.
The green plastic scales sizzled as they burned, turning into a mass of charred, black sludge.
A foul smell of burning plastic permeated the office.
A cruel satisfaction flashed in John's eyes.
He could already imagine the gruesome sight of The Deep's chest being burned through and his organs spilling all over the floor.
This was the fate a waste deserved.
But the next second.
The smile on his face froze.
In the firelight.
Not only did Lin Yuan not collapse in a scream, but he also stepped forward slowly against the heat vision.
"Plop."
The sound of his leather boots stepping on the carpet was exceptionally clear amidst the harsh burning sound.
John's pupils constricted violently.
He increased the output power of his heat vision.
The red light became even more blinding, even taking on a bluish-white tint.
The high temperature baked the air around Lin Yuan until it distorted like water waves.
The clothing on Lin Yuan's upper body had been completely burned away.
Revealing a solid chest.
The two beams of heat vision pressed tightly against his chest, sparks flying everywhere, as if a welding torch were cutting into a solid piece of titanium alloy armor.
"Is that all you've got?"
Lin Yuan's voice pierced through the roar of the high heat, steady and without a ripple.
He even lifted his hand to brush off the charred fabric debris from his chest.
"John, didn't you eat?"
He continued to walk forward.
One step.
Two steps.
Bearing the heat vision capable of slicing through aircraft carrier armor, he walked right up to the desk.
The heat vision didn't even raise a blister on his fair skin.
It only left two faint red marks, as if he had been sunbathing.
John was completely dumbfounded.
He had lived for so many years and had never seen anything so bizarre.
This was his trump card, his greatest asset that made him high and mighty, known as a god.
Now, it couldn't even burn through the skin of a waste?
This is impossible!
The red light in his eye sockets flickered a few times, and finally, it slowly extinguished.
It wasn't that he didn't want to keep burning; it was that he felt a bit uneasy inside.
What if this monster actually pushed his heat vision back?
There was dead silence in the office.
Only thin wisps of black smoke were still rising from Lin Yuan's body, emitting a pungent, burnt smell.
John took half a step back, his lower back hitting the edge of the desk.
He stared fixedly at Lin Yuan, as if looking at a completely alien life form.
"What... what exactly are you?"
John's voice was a bit dry, losing its earlier arrogance.
Lin Yuan casually tore off the remaining charred strips of cloth from his body.
Revealing a well-defined upper body without an ounce of excess fat.
He pressed his hands on the large solid wood desk, leaning his body slightly forward.
A pair of dark, heavy eyes fixed on John, full of oppression.
"What I am doesn't matter."
Lin Yuan curled his lips into a wild smile.
"What's important is, John..."
He extended a finger and tapped the Stars and Stripes emblem on John's chest.
"Next time you want to make a move, you'd better weigh how much you're worth."
"Don't go showing off that piece of junk that looks like a laser pointer in front of me."
Chapter 8: Unscathed, Making Homelander Feel Chills
Lin Yuan tapped his finger on the star-spangled banner badge on John's chest, applying a slight amount of force.
"Click."
A small dent appeared in the pure gold base of the badge.
John looked down at the dent, his pupils constricting sharply.
This badge was custom-made, with a hardness comparable to armor plating.
Lin Yuan had pressed it into a dent just like that, with complete nonchalance.
"You..." John opened his mouth, his throat feeling as if he had a wad of phlegm stuck in it, bone-dry and parched.
His face, which usually wore a hypocritical smirk, was now stiff as a stone.
Lin Yuan withdrew his hand and brushed off the gold dust stuck to his palm.
"What about me?"
He stood up straight, towering half a head taller than John.
The sense of oppression emanating from his very bones bore down on John like an invisible mountain.
"I'm just a poor wretch whose belt you burned off."
Lin Yuan looked down; the metal buckle on his belt had been melted into a lump of iron by the high heat.
He gave it a casual tug, and with a "rip" sound, threw the remnants of his belt onto the floor.
John stared at the lump of iron on the floor, then looked at the two faint red marks on Lin Yuan's chest.
The red marks were already starting to fade; not even the skin was broken.
What the hell kind of monster is this?
He had grown up in a laboratory, told that he was the most perfect creation.
The true god of this world.
His heat vision could slice through anything known in the world.
Even Translucent, with his steel-like skin, was just a broken brick that could be sliced open at any time in his eyes.
But now.
A piece of trash who ranked at the bottom of The Seven, someone he treated as a joke every day.
Had actually withstood his full-strength strike head-on, without even a single hair being harmed?
John's brain was buzzing, feeling as if his worldview had been kicked hard.
He involuntarily took half a step back, his lower back pressing firmly against the desk.
"The Deep, what new drug did you inject? Or is Vought pulling some kind of shady trick behind my back?"
John lowered his voice, sounding as if he were growling.
He didn't believe this was The Deep's own power.
Absolutely impossible.
It must be that bitch Madelyn, doing something behind his back with the second generation compound v.
Lin Yuan sneered.
He rubbed the rough stubble on his chin.
"New drug? Vought?"
Lin Yuan shook his head, looking at John as if he were looking at a giant baby rolling in a mud pit.
"John, oh John."
"Do you really think this world is only that small?"
He walked around the desk to the panoramic floor-to-ceiling window.
Looking down, the lights of New York looked like a giant spider web.
"Couldn't I have just had an epiphany and decided I don't want to be a clown for you guys anymore?"
Lin Yuan turned around, leaning his back against the glass.
The neon lights from outside shone on his back, shrouding him in shadow.
Only those pitch-black eyes were bright enough to make one's hair stand on end.
"I'm sick of cleaning up your messes."
"And I'm sick of being treated like a joke who can only talk to fish every single day."
He held up two fingers and rubbed them together.
"I came here today just to give you a heads-up."
"From now on, stay out of my business."
The muscles on John's face twitched a few times.
He was used to controlling everything, used to everyone fawning over him.
Now, a prey had suddenly bared its fangs, and they were sharper than his own, dammit.
This made him feel a deep sense of panic.
But he was Homelander.
A god.
How could he back down in front of a piece of trash?
He forcibly suppressed the panic in his heart and squeezed out that signature fake smile.
But this smile looked even worse than crying.
"The Deep, we're brothers, right?"
John took a step forward and reached out, wanting to pat Lin Yuan on the shoulder.
"We're family, no need to talk like strangers. If you're unhappy, you can just tell me. There's no need to..."
"Don't touch me."
Lin Yuan spat out the three words coldly.
The voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable murderous aura.
John's hand froze in mid-air.
Neither advancing nor retreating.
So awkward he could dig out a three-bedroom apartment.
Lin Yuan didn't give him any way out at all.
He brushed past John directly, kicking up a gust of scorched wind.
Walking to the door, Lin Yuan placed his hand on the metal doorknob.
He stopped and didn't look back.
"Oh, right, John."
"You should make sure A-Train takes good care of that broken leg."
"After all, running fast is a technical skill. If he happens to run into something tough one day..."
Lin Yuan squeezed the doorknob.
"Crackle."
The solid copper doorknob was like plasticine in his hand, squeezed into a lump of scrap metal.
He gave it a casual pull, and the heavy solid wood door was forcibly torn open.
Wood shavings flew everywhere.
"Then it won't just be as simple as a broken leg."
Having said that, Lin Yuan strode out of the office without even sparing him another glance.
In the office.
Only John was left.
And the lingering smell of scorched air.
He stared fixedly at the torn-up door, his fake smile completely collapsing.
Turning into a twisted, ferocious expression.
He spun around suddenly and slammed his fist onto the solid wood desk.
"Boom!"
A large dent was smashed into the solid desk, and wood splinters pierced his red gloves.
But he couldn't feel the pain.
He only felt cold.
A chill seeping out from his bone marrow.
He raised his hand and touched his forehead.
It felt ice-cold to the touch.
Cold sweat.
He had actually broken out in a cold sweat.
He, the Homelander who claimed to be a god among men.
Had actually been scared into a cold sweat by a piece of trash who spent his days hanging around a seafood market?
John's breathing became rapid.
He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the cars and pedestrians below that looked like ants.
Usually, when he stood here, he felt like a god who ruled over everything.
Now.
He felt that invisible net closing in on him.
The Deep.
The name swirled frantically in his mind.
That skin of his that couldn't be pierced by blades or bullets.
That monstrous strength that could crush a pure copper handle.
And the way he looked at him, like he was looking at trash.
Everything about this reeked of something evil.
This absolutely could not end like this.
John gritted his teeth, the muscles on his cheeks bulging high.
"The Deep, you just wait..."
Outside the hallway.
Lin Yuan walked back slowly, shirtless.
Occasionally, a few female employees working overtime passed by.
Seeing him like this, they all blushed, covering their mouths and secretly checking out his solid muscles.
Lin Yuan acted as if he didn't see them.
He was in a good mood right now.
This act of showing off today was a perfect score.
Not only had he tested the limits of his primary Viltrumite combat body, but he had also conveniently planted a bomb in John's heart.
That giant baby was probably curled up in his office questioning life right now.
Lin Yuan rubbed his stomach.
A bit hungry.
This new body was good, but it consumed too much energy.
He needed to find something to eat, and while he was at it, find some decent clothes to wear.
He couldn't just wander around the company shirtless.
He turned a corner, preparing to go to the employee cafeteria to see if there were any leftovers.
Just as he reached the corner.
He bumped head-on into a soft body.
"Ouch!"
A cry of surprise.
A stack of documents scattered all over the floor, the white sheets drifting down like snowflakes.
Lin Yuan looked down.
Starlight Annie was sitting on the floor, rubbing her shoulder that had been bumped and hurt.
She had changed into slightly more conservative casual clothes today, which looked much more pleasing to the eye.
Annie looked up, meeting Lin Yuan's pitch-black eyes.
And his bare chest, which even had a few faint red marks on it.
She froze.
The fear from earlier in the locker room welled up again.
She subconsciously shrank back.
"The... The Deep, senior..."
Annie stammered, her eyes darting around; she didn't dare look at his abs at all.
Lin Yuan sighed.
He crouched down and began to help her pick up the documents on the floor.
"Why are you running around in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"
He tapped the documents he had picked up on the floor to straighten them, then handed them to Annie.
Annie took the documents, her fingers accidentally touching the back of his hand.
Very hot.
Like a furnace.
She quickly pulled her hand back, her face blushing like a ripe tomato.
"I... I just went to the Public Relations Department to sign a document."
She kept her head down, her voice buzzing like a mosquito.
"Senior, where... where are your clothes?"
Lin Yuan stood up and shrugged indifferently.
"Burned."
"Burned?!"
Annie snapped her head up, looking shocked.
In this building, who would dare burn the clothes of The Seven?
Unless...
A terrifying thought flashed through her mind.
"Is... is it John?"
Lin Yuan didn't admit it, nor did he deny it.
He just looked down at this naive, innocent girl.
"In this dump, having too much curiosity isn't a good thing."
Lin Yuan turned around, ready to leave.
After a moment's thought, he stopped.
He looked back at Annie, who was still dazed on the floor.
"Oh, right."
"Didn't you want to be a superhero who saves the world?"
Lin Yuan grinned, the light from the streetlamp shining on his face, flickering on and off.
"Come with me to a place tomorrow."
Chapter 9: Starlight's Gratitude, The Deep Is the Only Conscience
The motion-sensor lights in the hallway were finicky.
Flickering on and off, the dim yellow light cast across Lin Yuan's chiseled face, making him look somewhat gloomy.
Annie sat on the cold tile floor, the files in her arms scattered everywhere.
Her head was still buzzing.
Lin Yuan's words from just a moment ago, "Come with me to a place tomorrow," exploded in her ears like a thunderclap.
Where to? To do what?
She wanted to ask, but looking at the terrifying sight of Lin Yuan shirtless with two red marks still lingering on his chest, she swallowed the words back.
Lin Yuan didn't care what she was thinking and turned to walk toward the end of the hallway.
Annie scrambled to gather the scattered files.
Without bothering to brush the dust off her body, she jogged to catch up.
"The Deep, wait!"
Lin Yuan stopped and looked back at her.
He frowned slightly, seemingly annoyed by her.
"What is it now?"
Annie caught her breath, her chest heaving slightly.
She looked at the two distinct red burn marks on Lin Yuan's chest, and her eyes instantly turned red.
"You... you were given a hard time by John, weren't you?"
Her voice carried uncontrollable panic.
"Is it because... because you saved me in the changing room and smashed the surveillance camera, that he burned you with his heat vision?"
The more Annie thought about it, the more she felt this was the case.
Besides Homelander's heat vision, what else could burn a bulletproof-grade suit to ashes?
Furthermore, The Deep was the nice guy of The Seven, who usually didn't offend anyone.
If it weren't for protecting her, a newcomer, why would he provoke that tyrant?
Annie's tears fell drop by drop, hitting the files in her hands and smudging the ink.
Lin Yuan watched this girl concoct an entire drama in her own head and chuckled inwardly.
She was so damn easy to fool.
However, this was the effect he wanted.
"You're overthinking it."
Lin Yuan casually tore off the last piece of charred cloth from his body and threw it into the trash can nearby, revealing his broad, solid shoulders.
"It was just a professional exchange. You've known Johnhas a bad temper since day one."
His tone was flat, even carrying a hint of nonchalance.
The more he acted like this, the more guilty Annie felt.
She felt that The Deep was pretending to be calm so she wouldn't have any psychological burden.
In this dirty, hypocritical Vought Tower, where surveillance cameras were even installed in the women's changing room, only the man in front of her was truly protecting her.
He had even risked confronting Homelander for her sake.
Annie took a deep breath and wiped her tears.
Her eyes became firmer than ever.
"Senior, thank you. Today in the changing room... if it weren't for you, I..."
She didn't continue, but the meaning was clear.
Lin Yuan looked at her, knowing exactly what was going on.
In the original story, Starlight was a naive, sweet girl full of justice but a bit stubborn.
As long as you stroked her fur the right way and made her feel like you were on her side, she would willingly work herself to the bone for you.
"What are you thanking me for?"
Lin Yuan reached out and tapped the wall next to him with his knuckles.
"This place isn't as clean as you think. Be more careful in the future."
Annie nodded vigorously.
"I know. I will be careful."
Lin Yuan looked at her earnest expression, a faint, imperceptible cold smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
"Being careful isn't enough."
He leaned in a little closer and lowered his voice.
A faint smell of burnt fabric mixed with the scent of man's sweat drifted into Annie's nose.
She subconsciously took half a step back, but didn't dodge.
"In this tower, don't trust anyone."
Lin Yuan's voice was deep, as if he were telling a terrifying secret.
"Especially that pervert who looks invulnerable and likes to run around naked all day."
Annie was stunned for a moment.
"You mean... Translucent?"
Lin Yuan didn't speak, just curled his lips coldly.
"His skin is tough, but his heart is pitch black."
"In the future, when you go to the restroom or changing room, keep your guard up."
"That bastard loves doing this kind of sneaky, rotten business."
Annie got goosebumps all over.
Recalling the sticky, lecherous looks Translucent usually gave female employees, she felt a wave of nausea in her stomach.
"I... I'll remember that, Senior."
She nodded solemnly, carving Lin Yuan's words into her mind.
In this man-eating company, The Deep was her only conscience and her only guiding light.
"Alright, hurry back and get some sleep. See you in the underground garage at eight tomorrow morning."
Lin Yuan waved his hand as if shooing away a fly, then turned and strode toward his luxury suite.
Annie stood there, holding the files, watching Lin Yuan's tall, broad back disappear at the end of the hallway.
Although that back was bare, in her eyes, it was taller than any superhero wearing a fancy suit.
She clutched the files tightly to her chest, as if holding onto some kind of conviction.
Taking a deep breath, she turned and walked toward the elevator.
Just as she turned around, the air at the corner of the hallway ceiling's ventilation duct twisted slightly.
An invisible silhouette was clinging there like a gecko.
The invisible Translucent.
He was completely naked, his skin made of carbon metamaterial capable of refracting light, allowing him to blend perfectly into the background.
He had been right here just now, hearing the conversation between Lin Yuan and Annie clearly.
"Damn it, is this piece of trash The Deep on the wrong medication?" Translucent cursed inwardly.
He loved hiding in the shadows to peek, so what secret in Vought Tower did he not know?
The Deep was usually just a coward who only knew how to play with dolphins, so how could he be so arrogant today?
Not only did he dare to smash the surveillance camera, but he also dared to badmouth him behind his back?
What annoyed him the most was that this bastard had actually ruined his fun!
He had been drooling over Starlight, this piece of fresh meat, for a long time.
He had originally counted on waiting for The Deep to finish his "casting couch" routine so he could use the secretly filmed footage to get a share of the action.
Now, it was all ruined.
Translucent lay on the vent, watching Annie walk into the elevator, her graceful figure making him almost drool.
"You don't want me to look, huh? I'm going to look anyway."
He sneered in his heart.
"The Deep, you just wait. Tomorrow, I'm going to investigate what the hell you're up to."
"Daring to ruin my fun, I'll make sure you can't survive in this tower."
Like a ghost, Translucent crawled away silently along the ventilation duct.
He planned to go to Starlight's apartment first to try his luck.
After all, with this invisibility skin, no one could discover him.
At this moment, Lin Yuan had returned to his suite.
He had just taken a hot shower, washing away the dust and the burnt smell.
He changed into a loose gray tracksuit.
He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the bustling night view outside.
The neon lights of New York were still flickering, like a massive city that never sleeps.
But he knew how much filth and sin were hidden beneath this calm surface.
He walked to the bar, poured himself a glass of whiskey.
The ice cubes clinked against the glass, making a crisp sound.
He raised his glass and toasted toward the window.
"The show is just beginning."
Lin Yuan downed the drink in one gulp, the spicy liquid flowing down his throat, leaving his stomach feeling warm.
He closed his eyes, and his super hearing instantly spread out.
The movements of the entire Vought Tower flooded into his ears like a tide.
He heard Homelander's fury as he smashed things in his office.
He heard Ashley reporting work tremblingly on the phone.
He heard Queen Maeve sighing while drinking alone in her room.
He also heard it. The faint sound of some object rubbing against the metal wall of the ventilation duct.
The sound was very light, like a snake crawling. It was heading toward the floor where Starlight was.
Lin Yuan opened his eyes, a cruel smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
"Translucent, there is a path to heaven, but you don't take it; there is no door to hell, yet you choose to knock."
"Since you like peeking so much."
"Then I'll let you see exactly what hell looks like."
He put down the glass and turned toward the door.
From a hidden compartment behind the door, he pulled out an object.
A tungsten alloy rod about thirty centimeters long, emitting a cold, chilling light.
This was something he had exchanged using system points, with a hardness more than ten times that of ordinary steel.
It was specifically used to deal with certain thick-skinned guys.
Lin Yuan hid the tungsten alloy rod in his sleeve, opened the door, and walked out.
The hallway was still dim.
Lin Yuan's footsteps were as light as a cat's, making not a single sound.
Following his hearing, he walked unhurriedly toward Translucent's direction.
Like a patient hunter, he was slowly approaching his prey.
Tomorrow's matters can wait until tomorrow.
Tonight, he had to first clean up this disgusting peeping tom.
Chapter 10: Translucent's Peeping, Murder in the Restroom
The exhaust fan on the corridor ceiling emitted a dull "humming" sound.
The tungsten alloy rod slid out from Lin Yuan's sleeve, its icy touch pressing against his wrist.
He didn't stop walking, his shoe soles making not even a muffled sound as they trod upon the thick carpet.
Ahead was a corner.
Translucent was currently butt-naked, crouching at the base of the wall like a perverted peeping tom.
He had originally been staring intently at Annie's slender back, his drool nearly dripping onto the carpet.
But once Annie entered the elevator and the metal doors closed, he couldn't see anything anymore.
Translucent clicked his tongue in annoyance and turned his head.
His invisible eyes stared resentfully toward the other end of the corridor.
He had seen every bit of that arrogant behavior of The Deep just now.
"Damn it, a piece of trash who plays with fish dares to ruin my fun."
Translucent cursed inwardly.
His carbon-metamaterial skin was so hard that even anti-materiel sniper rifles couldn't penetrate it, and he was used to walking wherever he pleased in this building.
The Deep's strange temper today made him feel very displeased.
He decided not to go to Starlight Apartments for now; he needed to probe The Deep's bottom line.
Let's see what kind of shady business this punk is pulling behind Vought's back.
Lin Yuan was currently walking forward at a leisurely pace.
He deliberately made his footsteps heavier, "clomp, clomp."
It sounded just like a drunkard who had had too much to drink.
Watching Lin Yuan's back, Translucent's mouth curled into a silent, cold sneer.
He followed silently.
Bare feet stepping on the carpet, there wasn't even the slightest sound.
Lin Yuan was walking ahead, his ears already filled with those faint, subtle sounds from behind.
The faint friction of bare feet pressing into the carpet fibers.
The breathing that had coarsened slightly due to excitement.
And that heart beating like a toad.
"Thump-thump, thump-thump."
He could hear it clearly.
Lin Yuan sneered inwardly; this idiot really did follow him.
He pretended not to notice anything and walked to the men's restroom at the end of the corridor.
He pushed open the heavy frosted glass door.
The pungent smell of lemon-scented toilet cleaner rushed into his nasal cavity.
Lin Yuan walked in, and the door slowly closed behind him.
Just at the moment the door was about to close completely.
An invisible hand caught the door gap.
The gap was forced open a bit, and Translucent slipped in like a loach.
The restroom was lit by cold white voice-activated lights.
Lin Yuan walked to the marble sink and turned on the faucet.
"Splash—"
The icy water rinsed his broad palms.
He looked at himself in the mirror.
Grey sportswear, stubble, his eyes as calm as a stagnant pool of water.
Translucent was currently standing two meters behind him.
He was naked, arms crossed, with an expression of watching a good show.
Although no one could see his face, his expression must be very lecherous right now.
"What is this piece of trash running to the bathroom for in the middle of the night? Hiding here to cry?"
Translucent was muttering to himself.
Lin Yuan washed his hands unhurriedly and pulled out a paper towel.
While drying his hands, he turned around.
He did not look at where Translucent was standing, but instead looked toward the restroom door.
"Snap."
He casually threw the paper towel into the trash can beside him.
Then, he strode to the door.
"Click."
He backhanded the heavy door and locked it tight.
The sound of the metal latch popping out was exceptionally loud in the empty restroom.
Translucent was stunned for a moment.
Why lock the door?
A bad feeling suddenly rose in his heart.
But then he thought, his skin was invulnerable, so what was there to be afraid of?
Lin Yuan turned around, his back against the door.
He lowered his head slightly, the light casting deep shadows on his face.
"Alright, stop hiding."
Lin Yuan's voice was very faint, echoing slightly in the restroom.
"Running around naked, aren't you ashamed?"
Translucent froze.
He subconsciously looked down at himself.
There was nothing, perfectly invisible.
"Is this piece of trash trying to bluff me?"
Translucent gritted his teeth, stood still, and even held his breath.
Lin Yuan sneered.
He raised his head, his dark eyes locking onto exactly where Translucent was standing.
Without the slightest deviation.
He stared straight at that void which appeared empty.
"Heart rate 120 beats per minute, breathing as heavy as an ox."
Lin Yuan took a step forward, his leather shoes making a "clack" sound on the tiles.
"That carbon-metamaterial skin of yours can refract light."
"But it can't refract that sickening body odor of yours."
Translucent panicked completely.
The Deep could see him?
No, impossible!
This is absolutely impossible!
He subconsciously took a step back, his back hitting the marble sink.
A dull "thud."
"You... how did you know..."
Translucent finally couldn't help but speak, his voice trembling with panic.
In this enclosed space, his invisibility advantage was gone.
Lin Yuan sneered.
His right sleeve sank slightly as the tungsten alloy rod fell into his palm.
"How did I know?"
Lin Yuan pressed forward another step.
The distance between them was less than a meter.
"I also know that you're currently planning in your head how to run out and report to John."
Translucent's scalp tingled as his thoughts were read.
He clenched his fists tightly, preparing to strike first.
Relying on his tough skin, he would directly knock The Deep over.
"Go to hell, you piece of trash!"
Translucent roared and swung his invisible fist toward Lin Yuan's face.
Lin Yuan didn't even blink.
The neural reaction speed brought by his Primary Viltrumite Combat Body made Translucent's movements look like slow-motion playback to him.
Too slow.
Full of openings.
Just at the moment when that invisible fist was about to smash into the tip of his nose.
Lin Yuan moved.
He thrust his left hand out, fast as lightning.
"Snap!"
A crisp sound.
Lin Yuan grabbed Translucent's wrist with extreme precision.
Translucent only felt as if his wrist was being clamped tightly by hydraulic pliers.
His bones emitted an unbearable "creaking" sound.
"Ah—!"
He screamed in pain, his invisibility flickering, causing ripples to appear in the air.
"Your skin is indeed quite hard."
Lin Yuan exerted a slight force with his hand, his eyes cold.
"But your joints are no different from an ordinary person's."
Translucent was sweating profusely from the pain, struggling desperately.
"Let go! You f*cking lunatic! I'm from The Seven!"
"If you dare to touch me, Vought won't let you off!"
Lin Yuan looked like he had heard a joke.
"Vought?"
He spun the tungsten alloy rod in his right hand in the air.
"They won't even know where you died."
After saying this, Lin Yuan pulled hard with his left hand.
The immense force directly caused Translucent to lose his balance and fall forward.
Lin Yuan dodged to the side.
He spread the fingers of his right hand, like an eagle's claw.
"Bang!"
He grabbed Translucent's invisible neck tightly.
The huge impact force carried Translucent, slamming him hard against the marble sink.
"Crack!"
The hard marble countertop was smashed, creating a deep crack.
Stone fragments flew everywhere.
Translucent was pressed firmly onto the sink, half of his body suspended in mid-air.
Lin Yuan's hand was like an iron hoop, choking him so he couldn't breathe at all.
"Gg... gg..."
Translucent's throat made a sound like a broken bellows.
His hands clawed futilely at Lin Yuan's arm, but couldn't shake it in the slightest.
That hard skin he was so proud of actually began to emit faint cracking sounds under Lin Yuan's terrifying grip.
"Do you think your neck is harder, or my hand?"
Lin Yuan looked down at him from a height.
There was not a trace of pity in his eyes, only the coldness of looking at a dead thing.
In Translucent's pupils, which were gradually dilating due to oxygen deprivation and extreme fear.
Lin Yuan slowly raised his right hand.
That thirty-centimeter-long tungsten alloy rod, emitting a chilling light.
Was pointed right at his invisible eyes.
Chapter 11: The Power of the Tungsten Alloy Rod, Physically Sending Translucent to the Afterlife
The moment Lin Yuan gripped his neck, the air rippled like water.
The dirty water on the floor splashed with a slapping sound, and Translucent's fat face, covered in bloodshot veins, was revealed in such a pathetic state.
His hands clawed desperately at Lin Yuan's bronze-colored right hand.
His fingernails scraped hard against the back of Lin Yuan's hand, making a harsh, grating noise like sandpaper on sheet metal.
"Let... let go... you lunatic..."
Translucent's face flushed red, and the veins on his neck bulged out like earthworms.
He gasped for air, and a stench of overnight chive dumplings mixed with rotten tooth roots blasted straight into Lin Yuan's face.
Lin Yuan turned his head away in disgust.
"You're yelling quite happily, and you've got plenty of breath left."
Lin Yuan's fingers, like an iron hoop, tightened slowly and deliberately.
Translucent felt as if his windpipe was about to be crushed, and his tongue stuck out involuntarily.
"You... you dare to kill me?"
Translucent's eyes were full of disbelief as he stubbornly howled.
"My skin is synthesized from carbon-super material! It's harder than diamond!"
While struggling, he lifted his heavy right leg, attempting to kick Lin Yuan's knee.
Lin Yuan couldn't even be bothered to dodge, letting that rock-hard knee slam into his own thigh bone.
"Clang—" A dull thud echoed, sounding like two pieces of raw iron colliding with great force.
Lin Yuan stood in place, not even a single hair on his leg moving.
On the contrary, Translucent's kneecap was struck with such a backlash of pain that tears streamed down his face instantly.
"Not bad, you've got some strength."
Lin Yuan grinned, revealing a row of stark white teeth.
"What did you say just now? Even large-caliber rifles can't penetrate you?"
Enduring the pain, Translucent glared at him viciously, snot and tears hanging on his face.
"That's right! Even aerial bombs can only leave a white mark on me!"
"The Deep, I advise you to be sensible and let go!"
"If the company finds out you're infighting, John will pull out your large intestine to use as a jump rope!"
He roared, spraying spittle onto the marble mirror in front of him, leaving a dense patch of sticky saliva.
Lin Yuan touched his chin with his left hand, feeling the rough stubble.
"John?"
"That giant baby is currently hiding in his office crying his eyes out; he can't be bothered with a naked pervert like you."
Lin Yuan flipped his wrist, a thought stirring in his mind.
"Hum—" That thirty-centimeter-long tungsten alloy rod, emitting a cold, faint light, appeared out of thin air in his left hand.
The rod was heavy, and under the cold white lights of the restroom, it reflected a chilling, dark light.
Seeing this black rod that was neither metal nor ordinary steel, Translucent's eyelids twitched violently.
"What... what kind of piece of junk is this? You expect to beat me to death with this short stick?"
Although he was sneering and mocking, his eyeballs, buried in fat, were darting around frantically.
Lin Yuan used the tip of the alloy rod to gently tap Translucent's thick eyelid.
"You said earlier that your skin is very hard."
"What about your eye sockets?"
"Is that glistening eyeball under your eyelid also made of carbon-super material?"
Lin Yuan's voice was as low as if he were telling a bedtime story, but his hand pushed the tip of the rod forward by half a millimeter.
With the cold metallic sensation pressing against his eyelid, Translucent's entire body shuddered violently.
His invincible defense was completely useless against such a fragile area as an eyeball.
"Wait! Wait! The Deep! Let's talk this over!"
His voice finally changed pitch; he no longer had that arrogant look, but instead carried a weeping tone.
"What do you want? Money? Company shares? Or women?"
"Starlight! Yes, Annie! I don't want that girl anymore! I'll help you get her into bed, how about that?"
Translucent pushed desperately against the black rod with both hands, his fingernails digging in until they bled, but he couldn't push it back at all.
Lin Yuan licked his back teeth, sensing the lingering spicy taste of mustard from the hot dog he'd had today stuck between his teeth.
"I didn't expect a pervert like you to be so generous."
"But I'm not interested in damaged goods, and I'm even less interested in a dead man with a belly full of swill like you."
Lin Yuan's left arm muscles bulged in an instant, and the veins under his skin stood out like green snakes.
"Don't... please... I'm still useful! I know the secrets of Vought's top brass!"
"Madelyn is secretly in contact with the Department of Defense! She's embezzling company funds to buy land!"
In order to save his life, Translucent spilled every dirty secret he knew like beans pouring from a bag.
"And A-Train! That kid's compound v was bought secretly on the black market!"
"I can give you all these secrets! As long as you let me go!"
Lin Yuan watched his terrified appearance, unmoved.
"I know more about these rotten things than you do."
Lin Yuan had already pressed his right hand firmly against the back of his head, rendering him completely unable to move.
"Ssh."
It was the soft, dull sound of sharp metal piercing into warm, gelatinous matter.
The rounded yet hard tip of the tungsten alloy rod accurately pried open the eyelid and forced its way into Translucent's left eye socket.
"Ah—! My eye! Ah—!"
Translucent let out the most agonizing scream of his life.
The sound made the plastic shelf on the wall, covered in yellow urine stains, vibrate and hum.
Fresh blood.
Mixed with milky white vitreous humor.
Streamed down the marble countertop, dripping onto the blackened carpet on the floor.
"Scream louder; this restroom is quite soundproof."
The force in Lin Yuan's hand did not pause for a second.
He was as steady as a surgeon performing delicate surgery.
The tungsten alloy rod followed the gap behind the eyeball, pushing bit by bit into the depths of the cranial cavity.
"Click."
That was the faint sound of bone cracking as the tip of the rod shattered the fragile ethmoid bone at the back of the eye socket.
Translucent convulsed wildly in pain.
His legs kicked frantically against the smooth tiled floor, leaving large black shoe scuff marks.
His hands clawed aimlessly in the air.
Tearing several holes in Lin Yuan's gray tracksuit.
Lin Yuan was expressionless.
His right hand, like an iron clamp, pinned Translucent's head firmly against the marble.
"In your next life, remember to cover your ass properly."
Lin Yuan's voice was low, as if reciting a eulogy.
The tungsten alloy rod pushed another five centimeters into Translucent's eye socket.
"Gurgle, gurgle."
Large mouthfuls of bloody foam and yellowish-white gelatinous liquid gushed from his mouth.
Translucent's originally robust body went completely limp in Lin Yuan's hand.
His hands hung limply over the edge of the vanity.
His head lolled to one side.
Only his right eye remained, staring fixedly at the yellowing exhaust fan on the ceiling, unable to close even in death.
His tough outer layer of carbon-super material remained intact even in death.
But the inside had been thoroughly churned into a bowl of mush by that tungsten alloy rod.
"Plop."
Lin Yuan carelessly tossed Translucent's body onto the cold floor tiles like trash.
The body hit the floor with a dull thud, knocking over the wastebasket full of scrap paper in the corner.
Lin Yuan looked down at his hand.
His right hand was covered in blood, bright and crimson.
There was also some yellowish-white gelatinous matter smeared between his fingernails.
"Great, made such a mess."
He spat in disgust and walked to the faucet.
He turned the handle.
"Whoosh—"
The cold water rushed down, washing away the blood from his palms.
Turning into streams of pale red, swirling silently down the drain.
A crisp notification sound from the panel rang in his mind at the right moment.
"Ding."
[Successfully eliminated The Seven's fallen hero: Translucent.]
[Fate deviation increased; the main plot has shifted.]
[Obtained massive evolution points: 10,000 points.]
Hearing this, the sense of disgust in Lin Yuan's heart instantly vanished into thin air.
He grabbed the soap from the side.
Rubbing it vigorously in his hands to create a large amount of white lather, completely covering up that sticky smell of blood.
10,000 points.
This deal was an absolute steal.
If he physically sent all these rotten people in The Seven to the afterlife, to what extent could he evolve?
He might be able to bathe in the sun with his bare body.
He pulled out a few tissues and carefully dried his hands.
Then, he looked down at the naked corpse on the floor that was beginning to cool.
"Alright then, buddy."
Lin Yuan crumpled the used tissues into a ball and tossed them onto Translucent's lifeless face.
"Since you like being naked so much, just lie there like that."
Just as he turned to grab the door handle, the old phone in his pocket suddenly buzzed.
It was an encrypted anonymous message.
The light from the screen reflected on his cold, stern face, flickering on and off.
"Mr. Lin Yuan, A-Train has been discharged; he is sitting in a wheelchair, crying and asking for Madelyn."
It was Hughie.
This kid in the plaid shirt is quite fast.
Lin Yuan closed his phone and tucked it back into his pocket.
He looked down and wiped the tungsten alloy rod against Translucent's thigh, cleaning off the brains.
Then he stored it back into his system space.
He walked to the door and gripped the metal handle.
It still had the two handprints he had made earlier.
"Click."
The latch clicked open, and Lin Yuan pushed open the restroom door.
The hallway was quiet, and the dim sensor light overhead flickered twice before turning on.
Lin Yuan took a deep breath of the dry, cold air in the hallway and grinned.
He stared at the empty hallway and muttered in a low voice.
"Alright, who should be next?"
Chapter 12: Perfect Frame-up, The Boys Take the Blame
The last drop of cold water from the faucet fell with a "plop," shattering against the metal sink.
Lin Yuan shook the cold water off his hands, pulled out a piece of yellowed tissue, and meticulously wiped between his fingers.
He looked down at the naked Translucent at his feet; the floor was covered in bright red, warm blood.
"Timothy, is the loop for the surveillance footage on the west side of the building ready?"
He pressed the waterproof micro-earpiece in his ear and asked in a low voice.
A faint sound wave came through the earpiece, accompanied by the distinct, viscous, squelching sound of an octopus.
"Boss, it's done. I've looped ten minutes of the empty corridor footage; you can't see a single hair."
"Alright, then I'd better hurry and deal with this stiff."
Lin Yuan spat on the ground and crumpled the hand towel into a ball, tossing it onto Translucent's lifeless face.
He crouched down and patted the metal water pipe under the sink.
The rusty iron pipe emitted a musty, sour odor.
He twisted it hard with one hand.
"Creak—"
A heavy section of the cast-iron pipe was snapped off by his bare hands.
The edges of the pipe were sharp and jagged.
Lin Yuan hefted the thick iron pipe; it had a decent weight to it.
He gripped the iron pipe and aimed at the left eye socket of Translucent that had been pierced by the copper rod.
"Bang!"
He smashed it down hard.
The marble floor shook, emitting a dull, heavy thud.
Translucent's face instantly caved in on one side, the sound of shattering bone like chewing crunchy noodles.
Blood mixed with yellowish-white brain matter hissed as it splattered onto Lin Yuan's pant leg.
"Perfect, smashed enough. Now not even a god could tell it was pierced by a tungsten rod."
Lin Yuan muttered to himself and delivered three or four more strikes.
Until Translucent's entire upper face was smashed to a pulp, looking like a stepped-on tomato.
This kind of brutal, bloody, physical destruction, devoid of any superpower aesthetics, looked exactly like the effect of those powerless mortals smashing away with hammers or crowbars.
"Boss, the cleaning crew is heading to the underground parking lot; you need to hurry, you have five minutes left."
Timothy's viscous voice urged him through the earpiece.
"Quit rushing me, I'm almost done."
Lin Yuan pulled a specialized black leak-proof bag from behind his waist.
The bag was made of high-strength military nylon—thick, waterproof, and reeking of plastic.
He stuffed Translucent's heavy corpse inside, just like bagging a dead pig.
The corpse rubbed against the bag, making a harsh "rustling" sound.
Lin Yuan zipped it up, but the zipper got caught in the gaps between Translucent's toes, squeezing out a large amount of blood.
He spat, couldn't be bothered to deal with it, and tied the bag shut.
Then, he haphazardly wiped the blood off the bathroom floor tiles with a mop.
He didn't clean it thoroughly, intentionally leaving a few faint red streaks.
He even left half of a rough, bloody fingerprint on the edge of the marble sink.
"Alright, this crime scene looks rough enough, just like something a mortal would do in a hurry."
Lin Yuan picked up the hundred-pound black nylon bag, feeling no difference than carrying a plastic shopping bag.
He pushed open the side window of the bathroom.
The cold wind howled in, blowing away the burnt smell in the room.
Outside was the pitch-black New York night sky, with neon lights resembling a glowing net.
Lin Yuan took a deep breath, and his feet slowly left the ground.
The Gravity Field silently expanded around him, enveloping him and the large bag.
"Whoosh—"
Like a silent ghost, he plunged straight into the shadows of the night.
The wind bit at his cheeks, and the air was filled with the chill of high altitude and the smell of exhaust.
He carried the bag, weaving through the gaps between New York's towering skyscrapers, avoiding all civilian radar and Vought's patrol scouts.
Ten minutes later, he landed near an abandoned shipyard in the East District of New York.
The air here was filled with the stench of dead fish and rotting wood.
The ground was littered with rusty nails and shards of broken glass.
Butcher and his The Boys were hiding in an abandoned warehouse deep inside.
Lin Yuan stepped onto a patch of mud; his leather boots sank in half an inch, making a dull "squelch."
He carried the body bag to the rusty iron door of the warehouse.
"Timothy, are there many stray dogs around here?"
"Boss, plenty. The docks are never short of wild dogs fighting for scraps."
"Perfect, that'll liven things up. Let's add some seasoning for them."
Lin Yuan sneered.
He unzipped the black leak-proof bag halfway, revealing Translucent's smashed face.
The smell of blood mixed with the sour stench instantly spread through the damp air.
Then, he intentionally tossed Translucent's Vought gold card and his specialized waterproof watch into the mud three meters from the door.
Lin Yuan raised his foot and stomped hard into the mud a dozen times with his sole, creating a large patch of chaotic, heavy footprints.
Next, he raked his fingers hard against the nearby rusty iron door.
The sound of nails scraping against the metal was so jarring it made one's teeth ache.
It left several deep claw marks, with fibers from Translucent's suit still stuck to them.
"These clues are crude enough; if Butcher can't figure it out, he'd really be an idiot."
Lin Yuan pulled a pre-written warning note from his pocket.
The words were written in dead chicken blood, sticky and viscous.
"The next ones are you hunters."
Lin Yuan used a rusty iron nail to pin the note firmly onto the black nylon bag.
After finishing all this, he disdainfully wiped the mud off his boots on a piece of rotting wood.
"Let's go, Timothy. Time to head back and get some sleep; gotta watch the show tomorrow."
"Received, Boss. The surveillance at the building has been switched back to normal."
The Gravity Field expanded again, and Lin Yuan's figure rose silently into the darkness.
Like a deep-sea behemoth cruising through the ocean, he vanished into the night in an instant.
The next morning.
At the crack of dawn, a thick layer of white fog drifted over the sea surface.
Butcher held a white ceramic mug stained with coffee grime and kicked open the side door of the abandoned warehouse.
His face was covered in dark stubble, his hair was a mess like a bird's nest, and he reeked of hangover sweat.
"Pah."
He spat a glob of thick phlegm with yellow blood streaks onto the ground.
He looked up and saw the giant black bag lying in the mud in front of the door.
The sea breeze blew, and the bag was open, revealing a large stretch of pale white thigh.
And that pungent, bloody stench.
The coffee mug in Butcher's hand jerked violently, and half a cup of cold coffee splashed onto the back of his hand.
"Fuck!"
He cursed loudly, clumsily throwing the cup on the ground and letting the shards scatter everywhere.
"Frenchie! Mothers Milk! Get your asses out here!"
The warehouse door was kicked open with a "bang."
Frenchie scrambled out, still holding a rusty screwdriver.
"What happened, Butcher? Did Vought's SWAT team attack?"
Mothers Milk was shirtless, carrying a shotgun, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
"Where are they? I'll fight them to the death!"
Butcher pointed at the bag on the ground, his hands shaking.
"Forget fighting, look there. Someone left a gift."
Frenchie and Mothers Milk looked where he was pointing.
When they saw what was in the bag, both of them froze in place.
Frenchie walked over and kicked the thick nylon bag with his toe.
"What the... is this a naked man?"
"And no underwear, completely bare."
Frenchie bent down to touch the corpse's hand.
"Pah, what the fuck, you have this fetish?"
Mothers Milk spat to the side.
"I'm checking his skin!"
Frenchie yelled in frustration.
"Mothers Milk, come over and feel this. The texture is as hard as bulletproof steel plate."
Mothers Milk walked over, half-skeptical, and used his gun barrel to pry open the bag, revealing the horrific, smashed face inside.
"Fuck... this face is smashed into pulp. But look at this skin..."
He reached out and pinched the corpse's thigh; the skin was as hard as marble.
"This is Translucent!"
Frenchie was so scared his screwdriver dropped to the ground, hitting the stone with a crisp sound.
"Translucent? How did he die here? Who threw him here?"
"You ask me, who do I ask?"
Mothers Milk roared, veins throbbing on his forehead.
"Butcher, this is definitely a trap! Someone is setting us up!"
Butcher crouched down.
Muddy water soaked his jeans, but he didn't care.
He noticed the piece of paper pinned to the bag.
He reached out and tore off the shriveled paper stained with chicken blood.
"The next ones are you hunters."
Butcher read it softly.
"What does this mean? Is this a provocation?"
Mothers Milk nervously pulled the bolt of his gun.
"Or a warning?"
Butcher's face was so grim water could be wrung from it.
He chewed on a blade of grass, feeling the salty taste of seawater stuck between his teeth.
"It's not a provocation, and it's not a warning."
Butcher stared at the messy footprints in the mud.
"It's a frame-up."
Frenchie scratched his messy bird's nest of hair, looking confused.
"Frame-up? Frame-up for who? We're already hunting them anyway."
"No, it's not the same."
Butcher pointed to the gold card and watch on the ground.
"If Vought finds these things, they will insist that we are the ones who killed him."
"But the problem is, we didn't even touch a hair on Translucent!"
Mothers Milk stomped his feet in anxiety, splattering mud everywhere.
"We're taking the fall for this!"
Butcher stood up.
He grabbed a handful of his dirty hair, dandruff falling through his fingers.
"This guy died too conveniently."
"Skull smashed by a heavy iron pipe, brutal method of death, perfectly fitting the style of us mortals."
Butcher circled the corpse, his face turning paler and paler.
"Someone is plotting against us from behind."
"He knows what we're doing, and he knows we're hiding here."
Frenchie felt a chill down his spine and looked at the dark containers around him.
"You mean, there's a mole among us?"
"Not a mole."
Butcher gritted his teeth, crumpling the bloody note in his hand.
"It's a mastermind even more terrifying than John."
"He killed Translucent and then delivered the corpse right to our doorstep. Just to make Vought and us lock horns completely."
Mothers Milk's hands gripping the gun were sweaty and slippery.
"So what do we do now? Throw this corpse into the sea to feed the fish?"
"It's too late."
Butcher pointed into the distance.
"Vought's police helicopter is already flying this way; I can hear the sound."
Frenchie yelled in panic.
"Fuck! Then we've become the scapegoats!"
Butcher stared intently at Translucent on the ground.
"Pack up, go! Forget about the corpse; if we don't leave now, we're all going to die here!"
He kicked the big iron door, making a loud, hollow sound.
Mothers Milk and Frenchie didn't dare to delay, scrambling into the warehouse.
Butcher paused at the door.
He looked back at the bloody note in the mud.
A tall, green silhouette flashed through his mind.
"Could it be him?"
Butcher asked himself.
"No, The Deep doesn't have the brains for this; he's just a clown who only knows how to play with fish."
But the muscles on his face kept twitching.
"Damn it, what kind of monster is hiding in this New YorkCity..."
He spat, turned, and rushed into the depths of the foggy pier.
Meanwhile, on top of an abandoned crane not far away, Lin Yuan was sitting on an iron beam, holding a half-eaten box of yogurt.
The plastic spoon scraped against the side of the container, making a jarring sound.
He looked down from above at Butcher and the others fleeing like frightened birds, a playful smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
"Alright, you guys can just carry this blame nice and steady."
He casually tossed the yogurt container down.
It drifted in the wind, landing with a "plop" in the mud, splattering white spots everywhere.
Lin Yuan flickered and disappeared into the sea fog again.
Now, it was time for those idiots at Vought to go and have some fun with these mortals.