Chapter 41: Bronze Must Have Slept With That Principal
At the ticket gate of MetLife Stadium.
Arthur had assumed Luke and the others would have already gone inside, considering how much time he and Cate had spent in the air.
As it turned out, the group was still crowded at the entrance, stuck in a standoff with the staff.
Arthur asked, "What's wrong?"
Jordan turned back and sighed with relief, saying, "They won't let Sloan in. To be precise, they won't let the donkey in."
Arthur didn't need to say anything.
By then, Cate had already stepped forward, gently placing her right hand on the staff member's hand, a smirk playing on her lips as she said, "You love donkeys the most; you'll definitely let the donkey enter."
As soon as she finished speaking, the staff member's gaze toward Sloan became exceptionally fervent, and he waved them through impatiently, exclaiming, "Screw the venue rules, I love donkeys so much! They must be allowed in to enjoy the same... no! Even better treatment than people!"
The group passed through successfully.
Arthur glanced left and right. "Where is Maverick?"
"Right here."
The red hat that had been resting on Sloan's donkey head flew up in response, landing steadily in mid-air at a higher point nearby.
Arthur looked at the hat. "What are you doing?"
"Sneaking in," Maverick said matter-of-factly.
Just as horses need to eat grass and people need to take a dump.
As Translucent, expecting Maverick to obediently buy a ticket to enter was as difficult as demanding that he wear clothes.
"Fine."
Arthur was just satisfying his curiosity; he had no interest in managing anything else.
Besides, Dean wasn't here either.
Having arrived early, he and shock wave were acquaintances, so he had run off to the backstage to cheer him on.
After entering the venue.
Cate held up two VIP tickets with a smile, waving them at the others who had only bought general admission tickets, and said, "I think it's time for us to part ways."
The group split into two.
The VIP stands.
When Arthur and Cate took their seats, they realized they were very close to the stands for The Seven.
While Sloan was being blocked at the ticket gate, Queen Maeve, Black Noir, Starlight, and Homelander, who made a grand finale entrance, had all arrived at the venue via the VIP red carpet on the other side to cheer for A-Train.
However, none of them were here at the moment.
Homelander and Queen Maeve were in the interview area talking to the host, discussing the topic that had been heating up recently: the Metahuman military contract proposal.
Starlight and Black Noir were in the fan zone, signing autographs and taking photos for the long lines of fans.
Except for The Deep, all the living members of The Sevenwere here.
"Oh my god! Did Starlight receive a 'group baptism' from a bunch of men last night? She finally decided to take off her purity ring today and change into her favorite club girl costume?"
Suddenly, Cate, with her tongue as sharp as a knife, looked at the big screen and began to mock and jeer mercilessly.
As for Starlight, who had snatched the spot in The Sevenfrom her boyfriend, Cate was undoubtedly an absolute hater, extending her bias against her.
Even though Arthur had explained that it wasn't necessary, Cate persisted.
Arthur followed Cate's gaze.
On the big screen, live footage of Starlight posing for photos with fans was playing.
He finally understood what Cate meant by the club girl costume.
And to be fair, it was quite fitting.
Arthur was a bit surprised.
Before, he had even mentioned that Starlight's costume didn't even show cleavage, which was rare and conservative.
Looking at it now, it didn't just show cleavage; it was almost showing her entire butt, completely heading to the other extreme.
Arthur recalled Starlight from that Vought interview video back then and looked at her now.
Does joining The Seven have such a huge impact on a person?
"That big wavy blonde hair of hers is definitely extensions; she never had that much volume before. And that eyeshadow, it's a total disaster..."
Cate, from a woman's professional perspective, kept listing all of Starlight's faults on the screen.
Arthur didn't stop her.
Starlight wasn't his woman, so if Cate wanted to insult her, let her.
There was also no need to worry about Starlight's fanatical fans rushing over to cause trouble.
At this moment, the venue with nearly 100,000 people was far too chaotic.
Looking out, the crowd had turned into dense little black dots, and the whole world was filled with hot and noisy sound waves.
In comparison, the Campus Showdown stage was far too small.
"I'm going to buy two cold drinks."
Cate had spent quite a lot of energy talking while in the air earlier, and now she had spent so much time complaining for him, so Arthur naturally had to take good care of her.
During this time, while passing by the area where Starlight was signing autographs, a "good show" happened to unfold.
"Hey, Starlight! Show us your tits!"
"Baby, you look so hot! Pull it down a bit more!"
"Come on and hit me, Starlight!"
A skinny white guy and a fat white guy chimed in, "bravely" shouting out their inner thoughts.
Of course, their last bit of clamoring was truly punchable.
Starlight was very angry and really wanted to hit them, but Ashley, who was by her side, held her back.
With so many people at the scene, as a Superhero and superstar, she absolutely could not resort to violence, or everything would be ruined.
Afterwards, Starlight left the scene indignantly, and the two troublemakers also swaggered away.
Arthur had assumed this matter was over, but he didn't expect to be involved.
"Hey, you're Bronze, right?"
Up to this point, it was still normal; Arthur thought it was just some fan.
Given his current fame, he had been recognized a few times along the way.
Then, he saw those two faces that had been causing trouble earlier.
As expected, the two were fearless, pulling their outer eye corners up with their fingers while taking turns mocking and cursing him:
"Hey! Bronze squinty-eyes! Chink! This is our territory, go back to your country!"
"Don't eat my dog~~ Don't eat my cat~~"
"Despicable Bronze, you must have poisoned Steel Soldierto achieve your despicable victory! White people are invincible!"
"That mixed-race principal must be an accomplice! Bronzeslept with her, and they teamed up to frame the great Steel Soldier!"
Arthur... smiled.
He deeply etched their faces into his memory, glanced at the many people who had been attracted by the commotion, turned, and took another path.
Seeing this, the two became even more smug.
"See that? This is a Superhero. We can insult him whenever we want, and he doesn't even dare to fart!"
"Exactly, we're so awesome! Who should we insult next?"
"How about Black Noir? He's Black, right?"
The two chimed in, walking along, and before they knew it, the surrounding crowd had become sparse.
Then—Bang! Bang!
Before the two could react, they felt their necks being tightly gripped by an irresistible, massive force.
A side door pushed open.
After a whirlwind of dizziness, when they were thrown heavily to the ground and finally regained their senses, they realized they were lying in a heap inside a storage room.
Clang!
The door was slammed shut.
Both of their hearts skipped a beat with that loud noise, and they were filled with unease.
When the person who closed the door slowly turned around, revealing that face.
The color drained from their faces instantly, and their bodies began to tremble uncontrollably.
Because the person who had come was none other than the Superhero they had just been mocking to their hearts' content: Bronze.
Chapter 42: We Were Really Wrong
"You... you... what are you doing?"
"You... you're a Superhero!"
The skinny white man and the fat man watched the scene before them, shivering, and spoke instinctively.
Arthur ignored them, simply ripping off the door handle behind him, crushing it into a ball, and tossing it aside.
Clang!
The sound of the metal hitting the floor made both of them tremble.
Then, seeing Arthur look over, they were struck with sudden terror, fully realizing their situation, and immediately began to cry and beg for mercy:
"I'm sorry! I'm really, really sorry! I shouldn't have said those things! I swear to God, we will never do that again!"
"I've committed a terrible mistake! I really know I was wrong! I sincerely repent to God! Please, for God's sake, forgive us this one time!"
The skinny white man was named Richard, and the fat man was Henry.
Both of them knew exactly what they had done and what was coming next.
They were bad, but they weren't stupid.
Or rather, they were stupid with prejudice.
Arthur still said nothing, instead calmly taking out his phone to send a message to Kate.
Yet, his silent, indifferent demeanor only made the two of them more terrified, to the point where their teeth began to chatter uncontrollably.
Richard scrambled to speak loudly: "I'm willing to accept punishment! I'm willing to issue a formal written apology! Television, internet, radio, newspapers... I will fully cooperate with all of your demands, Bronze. And money! I'm willing to compensate you, Bronze! A lot of money!"
Henry wasn't as rich, so he could only say: "Please! I can do anything for you! Anything! If you tell me to eat shit, I'll eat shit! I can also make you feel good, I'm really good at it! As long as you can forgive me..."
Arthur raised his head and finally spoke.
"Eat yourself," he said to the fat white man.
"Huh?" Henry was stunned, completely confused.
Arthur said indifferently: "I said, eat your own flesh. Don't you enjoy eating human flesh? Try your own taste."
Only then did Henry understand. He instinctively looked down at his own thick, fat palms, his lips quivering, desperately wanting to explain that he really didn't have such a hobby.
Besides, with all that blubber, no one would want to take a bite even if he were put on a shelf.
However, looking at Arthur's irrefutable expression, he opened his mouth but couldn't bring himself to say a single word of explanation.
Henry's face turned all sorts of colors, and he tremblingly brought his hand to his mouth.
To the side, Richard curled his body up tightly, wishing he didn't exist at all.
He was very glad he hadn't been singled out by Arthur, and now he looked at his good brother beside him with encouraging eyes, hoping he would honestly do as Bronzesaid.
As long as he did it, maybe Bronze's anger would dissipate.
However, his good brother was truly pathetic.
Henry opened his mouth and shoved a few chubby fingers inside, but his teeth chattered like he had malaria, clicking together, unable to bite down.
"Bite!" Richard watched, anxious and burning with impatience, gritting his teeth and whispering.
Henry still didn't bite.
He was good at bullying the weak, but he really didn't have that kind of ruthlessness.
Finally, Henry couldn't take it anymore. His body went limp, and he collapsed to his knees, snot and tears streaming down his face as he cried out:
"I really can't do this! Pick something else! I really can eat shit! I can shit for you to see right now!"
Arthur shook his head, said nothing more, and started walking towards the two of them.
"No, no, no, no, no..."
Seeing this, Richard shuddered in a panic, scrambling to crawl backward in a flurry, wanting only to get as far away from Arthur as possible.
Henry, who had been about to take off his pants, was also so scared that he scrambled backward on all fours.
But the room was only so big; where could they run?
The two finally had nowhere left to retreat, their backs pressed hard against the cold wall.
Watching Arthur get closer and closer, Richard could only steel himself and rack his brains to squeeze out words:
"Bronze, you're a Superhero! A real Superhero! Many people I know admire and like you very much! Because of your integrity, kindness, courage, and... and so much more. I only slandered you because I was too jealous! I'm a bastard! I'm scum! But you're not! Bronze, you're a super, super great hero! You can't do this to us!!!"
As soon as his voice fell, Henry hurriedly followed up, as if grabbing at the last straw:
"With great power comes great responsibility! That's what you said yourself, Bronze, I even watched your movie. It was so, so, so... amazing! You're definitely not that kind of cold-blooded murderer, at most you're just teaching us a lesson, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! That must be it!"
Richard nodded frantically.
When Arthur first walked up to him, in his panic, he suddenly had an idea. He hurriedly pulled a family photo out of his wallet, trembling as he held it up in front of Arthur, his voice full of pleading:
"I beg you, Arthur, let me go! I have a four-year-old son, he's very obedient and very cute, and I promised to buy him toys! My wife, she loves me very much too, she donates money and goods to the church every week, and I promised her I'd celebrate her birthday properly next month. And my parents, they're both sick, they can't be without me!"
After Richard finished speaking with great emotion, he handed the photo to Arthur with an expectant look.
Arthur took a look.
In the photo, the family was smiling so brightly at the camera.
He said: "A very happy family."
"Yes, yes!" Richard nodded vigorously.
"So—"
Arthur looked at Richard and said unexpectedly,
"Are you asking me to send your whole family on their way together, so thoughtfully?"
"Huh?"
Richard didn't understand at first; after being stunned for several seconds, he finally realized what that sentence meant.
In a flash, the paleness on his face reached its extreme, and at this moment, he shook his head frantically:
"No, no, no, no! That's not it! It's really not..."
Arthur understood: "Then it means the love in your heart for your family isn't actually that deep."
Richard was already incoherent: "No! It is! No, no! My heart belongs to my family! I..."
Arthur said indifferently: "Forget it, let's see for ourselves."
He flipped his fingers and pointed the family photo Richardhad handed him toward the person's chest.
Then, the photo sliced through the skin, slowly piercing inside bit by bit.
Richard was like a stunned fool, his eyes wide, initially forgetting even to move.
Until the intense pain finally struck.
Only then did he snap out of it, struggling desperately while screaming at the top of his lungs:
"No! No! No! God! Save me! Save me!"
His strength was naturally no match for Arthur's.
In the time that followed, he could only watch helplessly as his own family photo, pushed gently by Arthur's hand, sliced through his skin, then tore through his muscle, then ground over his ribs, and finally, just before reaching his heart, suddenly cut up and down.
Splat!
Blood sprayed, and flesh rolled open.
An opening appeared on Richard's left chest.
The living heart was thus exposed.
Arthur wiped a drop of blood that had splattered on his face, took a look, and commented:
"So dirty."
Chapter 43: Don't Worry, It Will Be Very Painful
Richard wouldn't die for a while yet.
But no one could possibly bear to watch themselves in such a state while being critiqued by the other party.
In sheer terror, he scrambled to reach out with his left hand, clutching Arthur's arm, his voice intermittent as he pleaded desperately:
"Save me... call an ambulance... I was really wrong..."
Arthur glanced at the hand on his arm.
He chuckled lightly, raised his right hand, patted Richard's trembling shoulder, and replied:
"It's not that you know you were wrong; it's that you know you're going to die."
"Don't worry, it will be over soon."
The words fell.
Pfft—
Arthur's fist pressed against the center of the person's chest in front of him, pushing in bit by bit.
"Ugh—"
Richard's pupils contracted sharply, and blood foam bubbled from his mouth.
To the side, Henry watched this scene, the rolls of fat on his face trembling uncontrollably.
Despite his weak legs, he ignored everything, let out a scream, and scrambled desperately toward the door.
Arthur paid no mind, simply pulling his arm out.
By this time, Henry had already reached the door.
A look of wild joy appeared on his face, and he hurriedly pushed the door with all his might, but the door didn't budge.
Henry froze instantly.
It was as if he could feel the bone-chilling aura constantly emanating from behind him.
He was shaking like a leaf, using all his strength to slam his shoulder against the door while screaming at the top of his lungs:
"Murder! Someone come save me! Help!"
Outside.
Kate was leaning her back against the door.
In front of her, several passersby she had controlled with her superpower were standing around, chatting loudly and excitedly.
Coupled with the deafening roar of the entire football stadium itself.
No matter how much commotion was made inside, no one would notice.
Listening to Henry's cries for help and Richard's screams from inside the room, Kate crossed her arms in front of her chest, glanced briefly, then ignored it, continuing to watch both sides of the corridor to prevent anyone from noticing.
She didn't know why Arthur was doing this; she only knew what she was supposed to do.
Inside the room.
Unable to open the door and with no one coming to save him, Henry was filled with despair.
Soon, as the heavy footsteps behind him approached at a measured pace, his despair undoubtedly reached its peak, and he was frozen in place by a bone-chilling cold.
Henry turned his head slowly and extremely stiffly.
Just one glance at the scene inside was enough to make him dare not look again.
As for Richard, he had already collapsed limply to the ground, no longer moving.
And the perpetrator of all this had already come before him, gently asking:
"You said just now that you've seen my movie. So let me ask you, what is the name of the villain in the movie?"
"It's... it's... it's..."
Henry's lips were trembling violently.
Of course, he couldn't answer.
He only knew the phrase "With great power comes great responsibility" because it circulated widely online, and he had stumbled upon it by chance.
As for the movie by Bronze, he had never watched it at all.
If he were to actually watch a movie starring an Easterner, he would definitely be mocked and judged by his friends and family.
Only those perverts obsessed with transitioning children would watch non-white movies.
Henry remembered that these were Richard's words.
The other party had already gone to meet God.
So what about him?
Henry saw the gentleness on Arthur's face gradually fade.
He couldn't hold it together anymore, and trembling, he changed his tune, blurting out his final thought:
"You... you... you are definitely not... a Superhero."
Upon hearing this, Arthur smiled.
"I have never considered myself one."
With that, he grabbed Henry's right hand and lifted it up...
One minute later.
The tightly closed door was gently pulled open from the inside.
Kate heard the movement and turned around immediately.
The door opened.
Arthur appeared before her.
Chapter 44 Frenchie: Don't kill me!
The first thing Cate saw when she looked at Arthur was naturally the shocking scene inside the room.
But she merely glanced at it, then immediately locked her gaze firmly onto Arthur.
"Darling, are you okay?"
Cate walked quickly to his side, completely ignoring the splatters of blood on Arthur's face, and cupped his cheeks with both hands, asking with deep concern.
Arthur had intended to take Cate's hands in his, but after looking down at his own blood-drenched palms, he decided against it.
He nodded and said, "I've vented my anger, so naturally, I'm fine."
Cate glanced at the two corpses on the floor; although she didn't know the reason, she still nodded obediently.
She knew Arthur was not a serial killer.
On the contrary, compared to all the various types of Metahumans at school, her boyfriend was unbelievably normal.
He didn't smoke, didn't drink, didn't use drugs, didn't gamble, didn't show off his wealth, didn't bully others, wasn't chauvinistic, didn't attend lewd parties, and certainly didn't have any bizarre, hair-raising "hobbies"...
When she first got to know Arthur, she had prepared herself for the possibility that the real him would be very different from the Bronze she knew on screen.
It turned out there was a difference, but it was the other way around.
The real-life Arthur was even better than the Bronze in the movies.
Cate felt so lucky to have dug up such a treasure of a boyfriend.
Perhaps Arthur's arrival was compensation for the many years she had spent imprisoned in the past.
Of course, if she had to name the only trouble with her boyfriend, it was that he was too popular with women.
For example, some senior at school, and that Ellie Hanfrom yesterday.
Since it wasn't Arthur's fault, then naturally, it was the fault of the two dead people on the floor.
Cate pulled out the tissues she carried with her, intending to wipe Arthur clean, but realized a few tissues simply weren't enough.
She simply had the people she was controlling outside the door take off their clothes to give Arthur a clean outfit, and then carefully wiped the blood off his hands and face until he was back to normal.
"How should we handle this place?" Cate looked around the messy room and proactively suggested, "I can control a few staff members, have them seal off this area first, and then clean it up. If that's not enough, we can even find a few people to take the blame."
Before Arthur could say anything, Cate shook her head again and said, "That doesn't feel very safe."
"Right!" Her eyes suddenly lit up as she looked at Arthur. "We can have Luke come over and use his fire superpowerto create an indoor fire here, burning away all traces. We can even burn those two corpses to ashes in the process."
It had to be said, this was indeed a good plan.
The incident happened suddenly, and the only thing Arthurcould do was find an empty corner near the scene and cleanly dispose of the two people.
As for holding them hostage and taking them out of the football stadium...
Not to mention that the path was crowded with eyes, and even if he found a window to fly out of, Homelander was right here.
He would definitely be able to spot him.
Who knew if this guy would suddenly get a burst of sanctimony and make a heroic entrance?
In fact, as long as Arthur wasn't caught on the spot, even if he was suspected afterward, with the protection of Vought—that massive behemoth—and the numerous investors whose interests were tied to him, nothing would happen to him.
This was the experience he had gained from the Metahumans he had killed with his own hands who had done nothing but bad deeds.
However, since Cate had proposed a solution, Arthur replied, "That's a decent plan. But there's one problem: will Lukeagree?"
Cate was very decisive: "Let's just get him here first. If he doesn't agree, I'll mind-control him, and after it's done, I'll delete that memory."
As long as it was for Arthur, she didn't mind doing some dirty work.
Since Cate had said as much, Arthur naturally had no objections.
"Then let's do as you say. But before that..."
Arthur's gaze suddenly shifted, glancing at the ventilation duct on the ceiling, and his lips suddenly curled into a smile as he said,
"Let's deal with this little mouse eavesdropping overhead first."
As his voice fell.
Bang!!!
...
Let's rewind time a little bit.
Just as A-Train was preparing to leave the lounge and was about to make his official entrance, the Black Robe team, who planned to steal the Compound V, were all in position.
Frenchie had crawled into the ventilation duct and was preparing to sneak toward A-Train's lounge to find that key Compound V sample from his messenger bag.
But halfway there, a small accident occurred.
From the moment Frenchie crawled into the ventilation duct to the moment he reached A-Train's lounge, he had to crawl across a long distance that spanned above the building.
And the utility room where Arthur was located happened to be right below this route.
Then, Frenchie inadvertently saw that scene below.
He hadn't seen the process of Arthur killing the people.
But when he saw the figure standing on the blood-soaked floor, chatting softly and nonchalantly with the pretty blonde girl beside him, how could he not understand what had happened?
'Fuck! It's Bronze!'
Frenchie's body tensed up, and he cursed fiercely in his heart.
Having watched the Campus Showdown just the night before, he was too familiar with Arthur's face.
Of course, what he was even more familiar with was Arthur's terrifying strength.
As an experienced front-line operator, Frenchieimmediately retracted his gaze, laid flat where he was, and even deliberately kept his breathing extremely light and slow, not daring to move a muscle.
Logically speaking, he shouldn't have been discovered.
However, Frenchie himself didn't know that because he often did drugs, he had a faint, lingering scent on him.
Ordinary people might find it hard to smell.
But Arthur was standing right below the ventilation duct.
As a Metahuman, although he didn't have super smell, his nose was much more sensitive than an ordinary person's.
Plus, after a long time, and because he was very sensitive to this smell of drugs.
At one moment, he raised his head, and after finishing those words to Cate, he immediately shot up from the ground.
Rip!
In Frenchie's suddenly constricted pupils, a slender, powerful palm pierced through the thick metal partition as if cutting into tofu, without any resistance, appearing instantly before his eyes.
Then, five fingers grabbed his collar, giving him no chance to resist, and he was dragged down forcefully, along with the ceiling.
Boom!
The room's ceiling collapsed by more than half, unable to bear the weight.
Along with it, Frenchie fell heavily onto the room's floor, rolling around a few times in pain.
Even so, he still drew a handgun with the fastest speed, about to aim it over.
Arthur appeared in front of him like a ghost, reaching his right hand forward.
Frenchie only felt a blur before his eyes, and when he looked again, the gun in his hand had already fallen into Bronze's hand.
Arthur looked down at the Glock 17 in his hand, squeezed his fingers casually, and crushed it directly into a lump of iron slag.
Then, he looked at Frenchie, and without another word, was about to twist his neck.
At this instant, Frenchie reacted with lightning speed, shouting with almost all the strength in his body:
"I have other partners!!"
Arthur's palm paused, his gaze shifted slightly, and he caught sight of the earpiece stuffed in Frenchie's ear.
Chapter 45: Bad Company
Arthur noticed the headset Frenchie was wearing.
He immediately snatched the headset and found a smashed communicator on Frenchie.
Even though it was already unusable.
But this undoubtedly meant one thing.
The slick-looking guy in front of him hadn't been lying; he had stayed in touch with his companions right up until he was dragged down.
So...
"Hey, I was just passing by upstairs, planning to steal some valuable stuff, like A-Train's running shoes, Queen Maeve's underwear, or something. I really didn't see anything just now. Besides, I'm a habitual offender with over ten years of total jail time under my belt. Even if I did go out and say something, don't worry, nobody would believe it."
Seeing that Arthur didn't kill him immediately, Frenchiehurriedly let out a sigh of relief and explained at a rapid-fire pace,
"Let's just pretend this never happened. I don't know you guys, and you don't know me. We go our separate ways, how about that?"
"I also need to contact my companions quickly. If too much time passes, I'm worried they'll do something unfriendly to both of us."
"Okay?"
Frenchie grinned, making a sincere and ingratiating suggestion to Arthur and Cate.
Especially to Arthur, knowing that he was the one calling the shots.
In response, Arthur threw the headset and walkie-talkie onto the ground and replied without looking back,
"Cate."
Cate understood.
Before Frenchie could react, she placed a hand on his neck and commanded in a flat tone,
"Quiet."
Frenchie's gaze instantly glazed over, and his entire body stiffened in place, unmoving.
Cate looked at Arthur.
Arthur wiped away a bit of unnoticed blood between his fingers and raised his head to say,
"Have him take me to see his bad companions."
Since this fellow was anxious to see his companions, he would be a good guy to the end and give him a ride personally.
After all, wasn't the cleanest way to deal with a problem to root it out completely?
As for Frenchie's suggestion of going separate ways and pretending nothing happened?
Sorry, he wasn't qualified to negotiate terms.
Hearing this, Cate nodded and said softly beside Frenchie.
Frenchie's eyes immediately flickered, and as he began to walk, he enthusiastically waved at Arthur, saying,
"Let's go, I'll take you to see my associates right now."
Yet Arthur looked at Cate.
He noticed that there were quite a few bloodshot veins in her eyes.
Cate noticed it too at that moment.
To avoid worrying Arthur, she quickly gave him a bright smile and explained,
"It's fine, I just used my superpower a bit too frequently. It'll be better in a moment."
Previously, she had used her superpower consecutively to control the people outside the door, and now adding Frenchie, it already exceeded the total frequency of her short-term use in the past, which was why she showed this condition.
Arthur looked at Cate, who was smiling charmingly, and after confirming she wasn't just putting up a front, he slowly nodded:
"Don't push yourself."
"Of course."
Cate raised her hand in promise, then waved and said in a brisk tone,
"Arthur, you go ahead. Don't worry, leave things here to me, Luke is already on his way."
Arthur took it all in.
In the past, he only noticed Cate's feminine side, but now he got to see her capable side in action.
To say nothing else, just her current calm demeanor was already much stronger than many Metahumans who panicked and lost their way when facing trouble.
Seeing this, Arthur didn't drag his feet anymore, keeping up with Frenchie, whose expression was already impatient, and followed him to see his companions.
At the MetLife Stadium, the stands were packed with a sea of heads, with not a single empty seat.
Butcher held a cold drink and mingled in the crowd, looking no different from the surrounding fanatical spectators.
However, before long,
he reached out to press his headset, and his expression sank.
He suddenly lost contact with Frenchie.
It couldn't be an accident.
People in their line of work never believed in accidents.
There was only one possibility: Frenchie had been exposed!
Butcher didn't have time to think about the consequences of the plan failing; he immediately activated the fallback evacuation plan and lowered his voice to notify Marvin and Hughie to evacuate quickly.
Marvin responded smoothly over there, but Hughie's side remained completely silent.
That idiot had turned off his communicator and couldn't be reached for the moment.
"Fuck!!"
Butcher cursed under his breath, his eyes flashing repeatedly before he abruptly slammed his cold drink to the side and turned to squeeze into the passageway.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please turn your attention back to the track..."
When Arthur returned to the viewing area, the stadium broadcast announced that the race between A-Train and shock wave was about to begin.
The scene instantly erupted into a frenzy.
Frenchie squeezed into the crowd, walking single-mindedly toward Butcher's seat.
Arthur followed behind.
He looked up and noticed that not far above, Homelanderand Queen Maeve were standing side by side, wearing impeccable standard smiles and waving in response to the warm cheers of the surrounding crowd.
When Homelander's gaze shifted in this direction, Arthurinvoluntarily looked away.
Why did it feel like he was the big villain?
Oh right, what he was doing right now was villain work.
And The Seven were undoubtedly the representatives of righteousness and greatness.
Then there was no problem.
"Racers, take your positions!"
The broadcast announcement sounded again, and many people in the stands held their breath.
Arthur took a moment to glance at the field.
A-Train and shock wave, having finished their warm-ups, were ready in their respective positions on the track.
Right at this moment, Frenchie, who was still trying hard to find someone, suddenly started shaking all over, rolling his eyes back a few times as if he were suffering from drug withdrawal, his whole body beginning to wobble.
"Ready... Bang!"
On the field, the gunshot rang out.
Hum——
Hum——
Two violent gusts of wind instantly whipped up from the track.
In just the blink of an eye, before the audience on site even reacted, the race was already over.
Much to the expectation of the vast majority of people, the winner was still A-Train.
Arthur withdrew his gaze from the post-race real-time data panel showing A-Train at 371 meters per second and shock wave at 342 meters per second.
Unlike everyone else, Frenchie, who had recovered in a flash, continued single-mindedly toward his companions' seats.
Only this time, because of A-Train's victory, the entire venue was completely boiling over, countless people excitedly standing up, cheering and hugging, clogging the aisles completely.
And it wouldn't do for Arthur to throw them out one by one like pulling up seedlings.
Inadvertently, Frenchie suddenly vanished from his field of vision, completely out of sight.
"Hmm?"
Arthur looked surprised.
Cate's mind control had failed?
And on an ordinary person, at that?
What the hell?
Arthur frowned and searched around the vicinity again.
As a result, Frenchie wasn't found.
Instead, he saw Starlight.
And opposite Starlight, a tall, thin man who at first glance strongly gave off the vibe of a kept man.
Even across a distance, he could smell the children's shampoo on him, and it was strawberry-scented.
Arthur's gaze flickered, and he immediately walked toward those two.
Chapter 46 Butcher: Bronze, I'm Your Fan
"Hey, Starlight."
"Sorry, I'm currently with..."
Starlight had assumed it was some fanatical fan coming over, looking to get her autograph, a photo, or just chat.
Halfway through her sentence, she saw the person's face, and her voice suddenly trailed off.
"You—you're Bronze? Wow!" Starlight said, looking surprised.
Arthur walked up to Starlight—or more accurately, stopped beside Hughie—and greeted them:
"I thought you would've recognized me at first glance. After all, to some extent, we're old rivals, even if we've never met."
Not only that, but he had also just avenged the humiliation Starlight suffered.
Although there was an accident at the end that let that deranged guy escape, preventing him from capturing everyone.
But honestly, it didn't really affect him.
The other party had no evidence on hand and couldn't shake him.
He just habitually wanted to achieve perfection.
At this moment, hearing Arthur say this, Starlight quickly explained:
"Sorry, you aren't wearing that Bronze-gold battle suit today, so I didn't recognize you right away. After all, you know..."
As she spoke, Starlight looked down at her own battle suit and gave Arthur a "you know" look.
When Superheroes take off their battle suits and walk on the street, most of the time, no one recognizes them.
The guy next door, Superman, would have a lot to say about that.
Starlight suddenly realized she was still sitting, so she quickly stood up and reached out to Arthur, saying:
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Bronze. Also, I saw your movie a while ago, and it was truly, truly amazing!"
When mentioning the movie, Starlight's eyes were filled with genuine sincerity.
Unlike Henry, who was full of lies just a moment ago.
Clearly, she had actually gone to watch Arthur's movie.
"I'm quite happy to receive such praise from you."
Arthur smiled and shook her hand. After letting go, he friendly rested his hand on the shoulder of Hughie, who was standing to the side with a stiff smile, listening to the two Superheroes exchange pleasantries, and gave it a couple of pats.
Hughie shuddered.
Especially after recognizing Arthur's identity, his heart began to pound wildly.
Having witnessed the entire process of Bronze beating up the Steel Soldier, and even cheering and applauding for him, he never expected that the person on the stage that night would be right beside him, patting him on the shoulder.
Not once, but twice!
Although he had subconsciously defended Bronze when Butcher said that Bronze was also a jerk.
But!
Having seen the ugly truth of his once-favorite Superhero, A-Train, and having gone through the Translucent incident, he was no longer that naive.
Unlike Annie, or rather, Starlight.
Meeting Bronze up close for the first time, Hughie didn't feel much excitement; instead, he felt nervous and uneasy, even though the other man's focus was solely on Annie.
However, at this moment, Arthur turned his gaze to Hughieand asked casually:
"Is this... Starlight, your boyfriend? He seems a bit nervous."
Arthur didn't have X-ray vision and couldn't see that Hughie's heart was racing, but seeing the other man's tense expression, he could tell a thing or two.
Based on his first impression, he didn't think this wimpy-looking guy was capable of doing anything major.
The normal explanation was simply that he admired Starlight, and seeing him, a "competitor" who had suddenly appeared, approach, he felt unwilling but helpless.
Upon hearing this, before Starlight could speak, Hughiequickly shook his head and clarified: "No, no! Annie and I are just good friends."
"Annie?" Arthur looked at Starlight in surprise.
Starlight glanced at Hughie, then smiled and nodded: "Yes, Hughie and I are friends. When we met, he didn't know I was Starlight."
"That's a nice start."
Arthur had a sudden inspiration, thinking he could put the beginning of how these two met into his next movie.
For example, he could hide his heroic aura and be deeply loved by the heroine as an ordinary person.
But if that happens, what about Anya?
Should he do the same as in Transformers 3 and just have a line explaining they already broke up?
No.
Anya had put in the effort, both physically and literally, to get this female lead role.
Arthur couldn't go back on his word.
How about... changing the approach and introducing a parallel world setting?
In the main world, he lives a glamorous life as a Superheroand superstar, and his girlfriend is Anya.
In the parallel world, he acts like Spider-Man, becoming a masked Superhero, constantly fighting crime, with his girlfriend TBD.
Until one day, a special event causes the two worlds to collide, the two completely different versions of himself meet face-to-face, and for the sake of their respective worlds, they are forced to fight with all their might...
For a moment, inspiration surged in Arthur's mind.
He had a strong premonition that if nothing went wrong, this sequel would definitely be a huge hit.
Although reboots of the Superhero movie universe did happen in this world, that was mainly because there were too many bad Superhero movies, the competition among Superhero team members was fierce, and the turnover was fast, forcing reboots.
But introducing a parallel world and having two versions of himself face off with real weapons and tactics on the silver screen—no one had ever done that before.
As the first person to try it, Arthur saw the signs of a massive success.
On the other side, Hughie was like sitting on pins and needles.
Seeing that Starlight and Bronze were both standing, and Bronze was still right beside him, he really couldn't sit anymore.
"Um... Annie, it was great talking to you for so long... You guys keep talking; I have things to do, so I have to go."
As he spoke, Hughie stood up, giving up his seat to Arthur.
"Thanks."
Arthur wasn't surprised; he noted down the concept in his mind and politely thanked him.
Seeing this, Starlight and Hughie said a brief goodbye, and she didn't try to make him stay.
Just as Hughie was about to turn around and expose his back to Arthur.
A sturdy arm suddenly reached out from the side, grabbing Hughie's shoulder and preventing him from turning around.
Immediately after, a voice that Hughie was all too familiar with rang in his ear:
"Yo, Hughie! I really didn't expect to run into you here, long time no see!"
Butcher suddenly appeared, tightly gripping Hughie's shoulder, giving it a hard pat, and then his hand dropped.
He quickly took the communicator that Hughie had in his back pocket—which could be seen when turning around—and tucked it into his own large pocket.
Along the way, he gave Hughie a meaningful look.
Hughie was stunned at first, then reacted as if he had just realized, looking at Butcher, forcing an "it's actually you" expression on his face, eyes wide, and said repeatedly:
"Wow! Wow! I didn't expect to see you here either."
Butcher forced a grin: "I'm even more surprised that you know the famous Starlight! Oh, and this guy!"
Butcher turned to look at Arthur, his tone "excited":
"Bronze, I'm a fan of yours. That fight the other night was fucking amazing! You really had to beat the shit out of that bastard Steel Soldier."
"So, can I get an autograph?"
Chapter 47: Starlight's Confession
Butcher left with Arthur's autograph.
Arthur watched his back as he walked away with his arm around Hughie, lost in thought.
Before, he had only thought that Hughie's submissive appearance made him look like someone who would be pinned down by some man to swallow cream puffs.
Now, looking at Butcher, it fit his—and indeed most people's—stereotypes perfectly.
No wonder Hughie had looked so uncomfortable just now.
Arthur turned his head and cast a pitying glance at Starlight.
Before Starlight could show any confusion, he spoke first: "Don't you think that guy's accent is really weird?"
Starlight knew that "that guy" in Arthur's words referred to Butcher.
Seeing that Butcher had already walked away, she wore an expression that said, "So you think so too," and nodded repeatedly: "His accent is quite inauthentic; he doesn't sound like an American."
Arthur and Starlight, two genuine "native Americans," criticized Butcher's inauthentic English quite a bit, which served as a way to break the ice through him.
"I haven't congratulated you yet on joining The Seven as you wished. I heard Vought has already started planning your solo movie. I wish you great box office success in advance."
Arthur sat opposite Starlight and steered the conversation toward The Seven.
"Thank you..."
Starlight offered a forced smile. After a pause, she looked at Arthur and suddenly said from the heart: "Actually... if I could go back to before, I would be very happy for you to take the seat in The Seven, really!"
"Oh?"
Arthur looked surprised, but a glint of light flashed in his eyes.
It sounded like Starlight had encountered some unpleasant things after joining The Seven, enough to make her say such things in front of him.
This was exactly what he hoped to hear.
For this reason, after seeing Starlight, he decisively stopped wasting time on Frenchie and switched to having this conversation instead.
Compared to the insignificant hidden dangers on Frenchie's side, the more he understood about The Seven where Starlight was, the more important it was for his future.
Arthur asked with a moderate amount of concern in his tone: "Why would you suddenly say that? Could it be that you've faced injustice in The Seven, Starlight?"
A certain father once said that there are only two reasons why employees quit: the pay wasn't enough, or they felt wronged.
Looking at how popular Starlight was, it was clearly the latter.
Unlike the conversation with Hughie earlier, which had been brief, Starlight only hesitated slightly before continuing.
It wasn't because she had a better relationship with Arthur. The main reason was that Hughie was just an ordinary person, an outsider.
But Arthur, like her, was a Metahuman, and a quite powerful one at that.
As peers who had been repeatedly compared by the media as rivals over the past period, this special connection instead created a strange sense of familiarity between her and Arthur that had nothing to do with romance.
So much so that when they met offline for the first time, they didn't feel like strangers and didn't lack things to talk about.
Of course, just as Arthur's agent and those around him always called Starlight a "bitch" when mentioning her, people around Starlight didn't hold back from cursing Arthureither.
As for exactly what they called him, Starlight glanced at Arthur and felt those words were too far from the truth.
In short, as fellow Metahumans, the sudden appearance of Arthur—who possessed enough power to protect himself and had taken the initiative to ask—made Starlight, who had been repressed for so long, feel relieved. With no more reservations, she poured it all out.
"I thought that after joining The Seven, I could do more good deeds. For example, fighting criminals with greater power, greater harm, and so on. But in the end, after finally joining a crime-fighting operation, the whole process... was completely different from what I expected."
"Hey, Starlight, at this moment you should say this line: 'Hey, Starlight, don't just use your fists, use your legs to kick more; the audience prefers watching you use those long legs to kill criminals; hey, Starlight, grab that bad guy by the neck, lift him up, and align yourself with the camera from the side.'"
"Damn those 'hey-hey-heys,' I feel like I'm participating in a reality show. I even suspect those criminals are all played by actors."
For a moment, Starlight seemed to have opened the floodgates, venting crazily: "And that night, I clearly did a real good deed, saving a girl from two bastards. But Madelyn didn't care about the truth at all; she only saw that I was beating those two bastards in the video and prepared to fire me. Later, when the situation reversed and public opinion turned around, she made me wear this... shameful new costume, saying it represents boldness, courage, and feminism."
Speaking of which, Starlight looked down at her revealing costume and couldn't help asking Arthur: "Do you think this new costume can reflect feminism, female power, or anything like that?"
Arthur said honestly: "It looks more like slutty club girl-ism, pandering to male power."
"Wow—" Starlight was genuinely stunned for a moment, not expecting Arthur to be so blunt, but she still thanked him: "Thank you for your honesty."
"It's what I should do." Arthur accepted the thanks calmly.
Starlight wasn't affected by this interlude. Upon learning that Arthur had the same thoughts as her at the time, she was even more motivated to vent about everything in The Seven.
Arthur listened quietly, but gradually formed a judgment in his heart.
A large part of Starlight's lack of adaptation was that she had never attended Godolkin University.
From the moment they enrolled as freshmen, Godolkin University began systematically instilling in all students the importance of media, the various operating modes of the Superhero business, and that whole set of professional acting techniques, and so on.
Among them, the most critical one was the real-time scrolling student leaderboard.
It was like an invisible whip, driving all students to actively and rack their brains to increase their fame, and also allowing them to grow rapidly within this set of rules.
In contrast, as a devout Christian, Starlight spent most of her past time either participating in various church activities or honestly fighting crime in her hometown.
She hadn't been polished by this system; in other words, was she still too naive?
Of course, Arthur was also quite surprised by some of the activities of The Seven that Starlight mentioned.
It sounded like most of the crime-fighting operations of The Seven were just scripts.
Their main job seemed to have completely turned into being superstars, with over 90% of their time spent on various commercial activities, endorsements, filming, and parties.
Unlike the Superheroes below, who still genuinely fought crime from time to time. Although many times it was crime as they subjectively perceived it.
"Also..." Starlight hesitated for a moment, but gritted her teeth and said a few words: "Originally, I always admired some members of The Seven. But... there are real bastards in there! Anyway, for some people... I guess it's just that distance creates beauty, and it's very different from what I originally imagined."
Arthur's eyes suddenly lit up; they had finally reached the point.
He immediately lowered his voice and said: "Homelander?"
Among all Superheroes, the one Arthur cared about and feared most was undoubtedly Homelander.
No matter who he asked, everyone said Homelander was a saint.
Even regarding women, Homelander had only ever had Queen Maeve as a girlfriend so far.
This was too un-Western!
If it weren't for the fact that there was no news of Homelander having close relationships with men, he would have suspected the guy was gay.
Such a person, if not a true saint, must be an existence far more terrifying than a saint.
Arthur had to find out clearly. That way he could be prepared.
Chapter 48 What's One More Girlfriend
"Homelander?"
Starlight was visibly stunned when she heard Arthurmention this name, and then shook her head, saying,
"No, no! He... although he's not what I imagined. I mean, he's not as approachable and amiable as he seems on screen, but he's... pretty good. Every time there's a meeting and other members are discussing their movie offers, merchandise income, and profit splits, he always reminds everyone to focus more on saving people..."
In Starlight's description, Homelander was more like a strict patriarch, and to some extent, could even be considered a competent leader.
Arthur got a more apt description from this actual member of The Seven.
He somewhat suspected whether he was overthinking things.
Perhaps in this local superhero world filled with prodigies, there really was a superhero as normal-looking in other American comics as Homelander.
After all, Starlight had truly interacted with Homelander, and was even his teammate.
Or perhaps she arrived too early and hadn't fully understood yet?
The two of them originally wanted to continue talking.
At this moment, a panting female voice suddenly interrupted: "Fack! Starlight, I finally found you! A-Train's race is already over, why are you still hiding here? Hurry up, your interview is starting soon!"
Ashley Barrett ran up to Starlight with her hands on her hips, panting heavily.
Starlight said in surprise: "It's already over? Sorry! I lost track of time talking."
She quickly stood up, not forgetting to introduce Ashley to Arthur: "This is..."
Ashley looked at Bronze, recognized him at a glance, and quickly reached out her hand: "Vought's Director of Talent Relations, Ashley Barrett. Nice to meet you, Bronze."
As she spoke, her gaze swept back and forth between Starlight and Arthur a few times, and her eyes suddenly lit up: "So Starlight, you've been with Bronze all this time, this is an incredible hype topic! In the eyes of outsiders, former fierce and irreconcilable rivals are actually the closest of lovers. This contrast... What the fack! It can definitely blow up the traffic!"
Hearing this, Starlight's eyes widened instantly, and she refused without even thinking: "NO!!!"
Arthur was shaking hands with Ashley, and hearing this, he also shook his head, saying in a flat tone: "Sorry, I have a girlfriend."
Ashley shrugged indifferently: "Mind adding one more?"
On the other side.
Butcher took Hughie and rushed quickly outside the venue, rendezvousing with Marvin.
He was surprised to find that Frenchie was actually there too.
"What happened?" Butcher walked straight up to Frenchieand asked expressionlessly.
Frenchie rubbed his nose vigorously and quickly explained: "I saw..."
A moment later, Butcher summarized the whole thing in an extremely terrible mood:
"So, you saw that bastard Bronze playing a murder game, you were discovered, and there was a damn psychic superpowered person by his side who controlled you and wanted to kill all of us. Fortunately, your drug addiction acted up, and you broke free from the mental control. The result is that we neither got Compound V nor any evidence of him committing murder, while also being targeted by Bronze."
"Whoa—" Hughie was very shocked on the side.
He didn't expect Bronze to actually be that kind of person, and what Butcher said before turned out to be right.
Besides...
Hughie thought of all the recent events and completely understood.
"Butcher, you saved my life!" He looked at Butcher, his tone full of surprise and immense gratitude.
Butcher glanced at him and said casually: "You're very lucky, I just happened to pass by."
Is that so?
Hughie was stunned.
"Hey! Everyone!"
At this moment, Marvin, who had been silently flipping through his phone on the side, suddenly raised his head and said,
"I think we have a new direction."
He flipped the phone screen around and handed it in front of everyone.
On the surveillance screen, Popclaw was taking out a bottle of Compound V that they were all too familiar with, and stabbed it into her arm.
Butcher stared fixedly at the screen, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards fiercely: "Go to that bitch's house immediately!"
Boom—
Raging fires rose in the utility room, and the scorching flames quickly devoured everything inside.
Corpses, blood stains, internal organs, all unsightly traces were completely destroyed by the high temperature.
Luke didn't expect that he would be called over to do this.
He ultimately agreed.
Not only because Kate directly stated that if he didn't agree, then she would use her superpower to forcibly control him.
Also because of Kate's words "We are Metahumans, and classmates. If we don't help our own, are we supposed to help outsiders?"
When everything was over.
Luke reined in the flames, looked at the blackened room, and let out a long breath.
He said to Kate on the side: "The two people who died were scum, right?"
Kate nodded, her tone firm: "Of course."
...
Everyone at MetLife Stadium today undoubtedly had their eyes opened.
This naturally included the group from Godolkin University.
"One day, I will also stand on that track and become the fastest man in the world!"
Dean's eyes were full of fighting spirit after rejoining the group.
He couldn't wait to go back and start training, hurriedly said goodbye to everyone, pulled down his visor, and with a "buzz", ran off without a trace.
As per usual, Arthur put his arm around Kate and flew back directly.
Luke silently watched the two leave.
Beside him, Andre asked: "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Luke shook his head.
He just understood Arthur and Kate a little better.
I have to say, the two of them really match well.
Godolkin University campus.
"Arthur!!"
Kate was called by Shetty to have afternoon tea, and after parting ways with her, Arthur was walking back.
Ellie Han, who had been waiting for a long time, suddenly flashed out, looking at him eagerly.
"Ellie, something the matter?" Arthur didn't stop his pace, asking as he walked.
Ellie Han nodded vigorously, snitching indignantly: "I was originally prepared to go with you guys to watch the century race, but Kate ambushed me! She did it on purpose, just so she wouldn't let me follow!"
"Oh." Arthur responded with a flat expression.
Ellie Han was very surprised by Arthur's reaction.
She thought she hadn't explained it thoroughly, so she took a deep breath, her cheeks flushed slightly, hardened her heart, and spoke bluntly:
"Actually, I just want to stay by your side. Just like yesterday, you beat me hard and scold me, I can accept all of it. But Kate... Hmph! She's too selfish!"
Arthur finally stopped.
He turned his head to look at Ellie Han.
Among the various bizarre hobbies and fetishes of the student body at Godolkin University that surpassed imagination, this person's hobby was quite common and met public expectations—she was just a masochist.
Yesterday, Arthur undoubtedly beat her to satisfaction.
That was why she couldn't wait to cling on.
At this moment, facing Arthur's gaze, Ellie Han didn't flinch at all, puffing out her chest and pulling in her stomach.
She was quite confident in her figure, and her body index requirements were even stricter than those girl group members back home.
However, Arthur didn't pay much attention.
He merely glanced at Ellie Han's overtly ABC-styled face, left a faint sentence saying "Come talk to me again when your aesthetic sense returns to normal", and left directly.
Leaving Ellie Han disheveled in the wind.
Chapter 49: Hit-Girl and Hermione
"Huff! Huff! Huff!"
In the dark, cramped space, Arthur panted.
He braced his right hand against the concrete blocks that were constantly collapsing above him, while his left hand gripped the hand of the blonde girl beneath him tightly.
The girl looked up, her golden hair scattered, her gaze locked with his.
Eye to eye, her look was filled with deep, inseparable affection.
"Cut!"
A sudden sound tore through the darkness.
Instantly, the area around Arthur was illuminated by bright light.
Staff members rushed in—some touching up his makeup, others fixing the girl's scattered hair, and others hurrying to reset the "rubble."
As for the collapsed concrete blocks,
Arthur casually tossed aside the foam block, and the towering ceiling of the large studio and the layers of green screens came into view.
"Great job, Bronze! That look just now, wow—it was absolutely perfect!"
The director of this commercial, Adam Burke, walked over gesticulating, praising Arthur profusely, then added,
"Of course, if you could drag out the sound of your breathing a bit longer, it would be even more perfect."
Arthur let the makeup artist work on his face, shrugged, and said helplessly,
"I haven't known what it feels like to pant for a long time."
"A bed-based perpetual motion machine, huh." Adam Burke said with envy.
The female makeup artist heard this, clamped her legs together, and couldn't help but shoot Arthur a seductive glance.
Arthur was indifferent to those of average appearance.
The blonde girl beside him, however...
Adam Burke came to her side and carefully directed the scene: "Hey, Chloë, your look just now was too intense. This isn't the third act; you and Bronze have only just met. Be more subtle. I want to see that emotional progression from stranger to infatuation, layer by layer, okay?"
"No problem." The commercial's female lead, Chloë Grace Moretz, nodded, though her gaze drifted to Arthur from time to time.
"OK! Everyone ready, let's go again!"
Adam Burke clapped his hands loudly, turned back to the monitor, and slapped a female assistant on the butt on his way.
Arthur and Chloë Grace Moretz got back into position.
"Sorry, your eyes are too charming."
Chloë Grace Moretz held Arthur's long, strong hand again, looked up, her eyes shimmering.
Arthur smiled lightly: "Then should I hold back a bit?"
"No need." Chloë Grace Moretz pouted at Arthur, "You have to trust my professional ability."
"Action!"
Adam Burke gave the order, and filming resumed.
Chloë Grace Moretz hadn't lied.
As a professional actor, she proved that her acting skills were more than enough for commercial filming.
Afterward, the second act where they strolled hand-in-hand on the endless lawn, and the third act where they met again on the red carpet were also quickly filmed.
The end of the commercial focused on a shot under a flurry of flashbulbs, where Chloë Grace Moretz, in a bright red evening gown, took out a pair of sunglasses and put them on Arthur intimately.
That's right, what Arthur was filming this time was a sunglasses commercial.
After the Campus Showdown ended, his popularity skyrocketed again, and many brands that were previously in the observation period stopped hesitating, allowing him to land several commercial endorsements at once.
For instance, this time, as a Louis Vuitton brand ambassador, he was filming a commercial blockbuster for their new sunglasses series.
As for why not the clothing line,
It's really because the image of a Superhero wearing a suit is too deeply ingrained in people's minds. In the past, luxury brands had hired top-tier Superheroes to endorse clothing, but the results were ridiculously poor, and they eventually had to give up the idea.
Conversely, accessories like sunglasses, leather goods, perfumes, and watches worked quite well.
Filming ended.
Without taking off her evening gown, and still wearing exquisite makeup, Chloë Grace Moretz took the initiative to come to Arthur's side, inviting him with bright eyes:
"I have a house twenty miles away, Bronze. Can you give me a ride? I really want to experience what it feels like to fly."
It was still early, and Arthur had always been a helpful and competent Superhero.
So, under Chloë Grace Moretz's expectant gaze, he nodded readily and swept the dressed-up female star into his arms.
Amidst her short, excited exclamation, the two soared into the sky and disappeared into the horizon in the blink of an eye.
However, the time they finally arrived at the destination was quite a bit later than a normal flight.
Not only that, Chloë Grace Moretz's red evening gown was all crumpled.
She didn't care at all. After landing again, she stood on tiptoe, biting lightly on Arthur's ear:
"Actually... I also have a Superhero suit."
Arthur was deeply skeptical and felt it necessary to verify the truth with his own eyes.
Soon, Chloë Grace Moretz changed into an adult version of the Hit-Girl uniform and walked out gracefully.
Arthur understood instantly.
The girl hadn't lied; this was truly a classic Superhero look.
Plus, Chloë Grace Moretz hadn't "grown ugly" like other Hollywood child stars; she had basically grown up following her childhood features.
Looking at her now, it was full of childhood memories.
Of course, when it came to childhood memories, no one could compare to our famous witch, Hermione Granger.
After watching the Century Race, Arthur had spent most of his time these past few days dedicated to several commercial shoots and business events.
While counting money, he revisited Hit-Girl's melee combat level and helped Emma Watson, who had heard the news and come to visit the set, fulfill a dream she had been talking about for a long time.
"Harry, we can't do this."
"Don't worry, Ron won't know."
"Then..."
"Haha! Didn't expect it, did you? I am Voldemort!"
"Voldemort!! How could it be you? No... if you have the ability, let's decide the winner in the sky!"
"Broomless Flight!"
"..."
Arthur realized, why did one or two girls always like to fly into the sky?
Could it be that they were more uninhibited up there?
In any case, he gave Ms. Watson a proper lesson in air combat.
The only regret was that Saoirse Ronan wasn't there.
Just like that, Arthur thought his days would continue to pass by uneventfully like this.
Until in two or three years, he would naturally become a member of The Seven.
During this time, if he could raise his strength to the point where no one could kill him, that would be even better.
But reality was often more intense and faster than he imagined.
"Let's go eat Chinese food."
Kate felt that as Arthur's girlfriend, not having even eaten Chinese food was truly incompetent.
As it happened, Arthur had been busy without a break for a whole week and wanted to relax properly, so he waved his hand and readily agreed:
"Then let's go to Chinatown."
Chapter 50: South Korean? Japanese?
"I miscalculated."
"What's wrong?"
"I thought this Chinese restaurant would be quite authentic."
"Isn't it? I feel like it's quite delicious."
"No, it feels more like a Chinese restaurant run by Southeast Asians."
Chasing Taiwanese novels artifact is super reliable.
On the street, Arthur complained to Kate.
Not only that, but along the way, he found that New York's Chinatown was much weirder than the one in Los Angeles.
Not only were there many Asians on the street who obviously didn't look Chinese, but there were also those who were indeed of Chinese descent, yet looked like living oddities that had stepped right out of some absurd specimen.
For example, the person ahead had a bizarre half-shaved head, dragging a long queue behind.
Looking at that face again, it was a kind of extremely awkward ugliness.
As if all the unsightly genes of his ancestors had crossed eras to gather on his face alone.
Yet this person was completely oblivious, instead putting on extremely noble airs, deliberately frowning on his forehead, and strolling leisurely down the street carrying a birdcage.
Until he noticed Arthur and Kate.
To be precise, he kept looking at Kate, the authentic blonde white person who was affectionately snuggling up next to Arthur.
He was stunned at first, as if suspecting something was wrong with his eyes, followed by a face full of disbelief, and then turned into impotent anger, muttering endlessly to himself things like "How is this possible" and "On what grounds".
Arthur only found it amusing.
He simply turned his head, doing it on purpose, and kissed Kate.
Kate was even more enthusiastic than him, immediately standing on tiptoe, her sexy red lips actively meeting him.
The man with the queue was instantly dumbfounded, feeling that his long-closed worldview had suffered a severe impact.
To kill someone, one must strike at the heart.
Arthur was just thinking of properly torturing this fellow who boasted of being the orthodox of China, yet thoroughly disgraced Chinese people in terms of appearance, temperament, height, and inner self.
Suddenly!
Terrified screams rang out on the street.
"Murder—"
"The boss is dead!"
"So much blood! Help!!"
Arthur released Kate's lips and immediately turned his gaze to the direction the sound came from.
Almost at the exact same moment he turned his head, a barefoot, disheveled Asian woman with fresh blood splattered all over her clothes and pants burst into his field of vision.
She ran wildly like a madwoman, brushing right past the dazed man with the queue.
The man with the queue let out an "ah" and fell backward.
And his meticulously maintained long queue happened to wrap around the woman's ankle.
The woman gave a fierce tug, abruptly tearing the queue apart.
The man with the queue immediately let out an even more miserable scream.
The woman paid no attention, only casting an anxious glance at the surrounding crowd, and then continued to flee wildly at a speed far exceeding ordinary people.
"A Metahuman?"
Arthur's gaze locked firmly onto the back of that Asian woman.
He gave Kate a look, his figure flickered, and he chased after her at high speed like a speeding car.
"It's Bronze!!"
"The Superhero is here!"
"Great! He's here, we're safe!"
Once Arthur moved like this, he naturally caught the attention of the surrounding people, who immediately recognized him and exclaimed in pleasant surprise.
Just like a few rat droppings ruin a pot of porridge, even smaller rat droppings are even more glaring.
Although there were quite a few brain-dead fellows among the Chinese-American community, after all, there were still many normal people.
As for Bronze, they still adored him.
Swoosh—
Strong winds howled.
Kimiko ran wildly in the alley using both hands and feet, constantly looking back over her shoulder.
She saw Arthur catching up at an extremely fast speed.
The distance between the two of them was getting closer and closer.
Kimiko quickly glanced left and right, gritted her teeth fiercely, and after a sharp turn, flashed and hid herself.
After a few breaths, Arthur arrived at this corner.
Looking at the empty space ahead, with no traces left behind from high-speed running, he stopped immediately and was about to carefully inspect the surroundings.
Bang!!
Suddenly, the pile of discarded cardboard boxes to Arthur's left burst open, and Kimiko lunged out with murderous intent in her eyes.
Right before reaching Arthur, she pushed off with her legs, her entire body leaping into the air, and ten sharp claws fiercely grabbed toward Arthur's forehead.
But Arthur didn't even lift an eyelid, directly extending his left hand.
The strong wind stopped abruptly.
Just a blink.
Arthur's palm grasped Kimiko's neck.
It was as if she had delivered herself right to his doorstep.
Before Kimiko even had time to react, she felt her throat tighten abruptly, and her whole body was suspended alive in mid-air.
She struggled desperately, her ten claws, which were sharp enough to pierce a person's skull, frantically scratching at Arthur's arm, yet they couldn't even break a shred of skin.
No matter how crazy she tried, that hand was like welded iron pliers, remaining completely motionless.
Soon, Kimiko's eyes were already rolling back.
At this moment, Arthur relaxed his grip a fraction, giving her a moment to breathe.
His gaze shifted, sizing up Kimiko's face for a few moments, and he asked flatly:
"South Korean? Japanese?"
Anyway, it was a high probability they weren't Chinese; the temperament didn't match.
Kimiko didn't answer, or rather, couldn't answer.
But her eyes and expression were enough to give the answer.
"Oh, Japanese then." Arthur said indifferently.
Kimiko's face showed a glimmer of hope, wishing that Arthurcould spare her.
Then,
Snap.
Arthur snapped Kimiko's neck.
Afterwards.
Arthur casually threw Kimiko onto the ground like tossing away trash.
He turned around to look at Kate, who had already arrived and was filming with her phone, and reminded her:
"Remember to censor my last sentence."
Kate steadily aimed the camera at him with one hand, and made an "OK" gesture toward him with the other.
However, in an instant.
Arthur suddenly realized something was wrong.
The power feedback after killing a Metahuman didn't appear.
He abruptly spun back around.
Kate also let out a gasp of surprise at this moment.
Seeing that Kimiko, who should have been dead as a doornail, had actually straightened up completely unharmed.
Standing right in front of Arthur with a look of intense indignation, she thrust her hands straight toward Arthur's chest.
Arthur didn't want the top he had just bought and worn for a few days to be ruined, so he withdrew his right foot backward, increased the distance, and dodged this strike.
Before Kimiko could retract her palms, his hands flashed like lightning, swiftly reaching forward and locking onto the opponent's wrists with a tight grip.
Arthur tightened his arms and exerted force abruptly.
Rip!
Kimiko's two forearms below the elbows, skin, flesh, and bone included, were forcefully ripped off.
In an instant, two fountain-like streams of fresh blood gushed out at high speed from the severed stumps.
Arthur stepped back, and the scalding plasma splashed all over the ground.
"Holy shit!"
Kate hurriedly paused the filming, feeling that if such overly stimulating imagery in front of her was released, it wouldn't be good for Arthur's image.
Though she didn't want to accept it, Arthur had the highest approval rating among women aged 16-35 across the United States.
If you let them watch the head-on scenes of Arthur beating up Derek, they could watch it with boiling blood and endless wetness,
but with this bloody scene right now, I'm afraid few could manage to watch it to the end.
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