Chapter 16: Heavens Judgment Lightning Domain, Hunter and Prey
Level 3 underground, safe house.
The iron door was tightly shut.
Lu Jie took off his shirt and sat cross-legged on the cold floor.
Annie huddled in the corner of the bed, watching him nervously.
"Are you going to drink that blood again?" Annie's voice trembled.
She had seen the miserable state Lu Jie was in when he fused with the genes.
That hellish torture made one's scalp tingle just by looking at it.
"Becoming stronger always comes with a price." Lu Jie took out the test tube containing blood with sparks of electricity.
He pulled out the stopper, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.
The blood entered his throat, feeling like swallowing a red-hot branding iron.
Mind Furnace, activate.
The violent lightning genes instantly exploded within his body.
Lu Jie fell to the ground, his body twitching violently.
Blue electric currents ran wildly over the surface of his skin, emitting a harsh crackling sound.
His bones emitted an unbearable wail.
Muscle tissue was repeatedly scorched under the high heat of the lightning and then rapidly reconstructed under super-metabolism.
The air was filled with a thick, charred smell.
Annie covered her mouth, tears falling down.
She wanted to go over and help, but was repelled by the static electricity radiating from Lu Jie.
"Don't come over!" Lu Jie gritted his teeth, a beast-like low growl emitting from his throat.
Pain.
Extreme pain.
It felt as if his nervous system was being pierced back and forth by countless live steel needles.
This torture lasted for two whole hours.
Sweat and blood pooled together on the floor.
Finally, the electric current gradually subsided.
The pain receded like the tide.
[Fusion successful.]
["Electricity Control Ability" has mutated into "Heavens Judgment Lightning Domain".]
Not only can it release millions of volts of dark lightning, but it can also form an absolute electromagnetic shielding zone around him.
Any modern technological detection methods will completely fail within the lightning domain.
Lu Jie slowly opened his eyes.
A ghostly blue electric light flashed in his pupils.
He stood up and clenched his right fist.
Crackle!
The few old light bulbs in the safe house instantly burst.
The entire basement fell into darkness.
Only the faint electric light on Lu Jie flickered.
"Is it over?" Annie asked cautiously in the darkness.
"It's over." Lu Jie snapped his fingers.
A wisp of electric current lit the candle on the table.
Under the dim candlelight, Lu Jie's toned upper body was covered in sweat.
Annie walked over and took a towel to wipe him down.
"Just how strong are you now?" Annie looked at him.
"Strong enough to tear this building down." Lu Jie put his arm around her waist.
He didn't need to tear the building down right now.
What he wanted was to strip everything from those false gods bit by bit.
Letting Homelander watch his own empire collapse in despair.
The next day.
Vought Tower, top-floor CEO office.
Homelander kicked open the solid wood door.
Edgar sat behind the desk, adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses.
"John, you need to knock before entering." Edgar's tone was calm.
"What do you mean?" Homelander walked to the desk, hands pressing on the surface.
"I don't understand your question."
"Stormfront! Why did you recruit her into The Seven?" Homelander's eyes turned red.
"The company needs fresh blood. Her polling data is very good." Edgar looked down at the documents.
"I am the leader of The Seven! I am the one with the best data!" Homelander raised his voice.
Edgar put down his pen and looked up.
"You are just a product of Vought." Edgar looked at him unyieldingly, "Products cannot determine the company's strategy."
Homelander was stunned.
He thought that after Madelyn died, he would be able to control Vought.
He didn't expect this old black man to be even harder to deal with than Madelyn.
"I will make you regret this." Homelander gritted his teeth.
He turned around, smashed through the floor-to-ceiling window, and flew out of the building.
Glass shards scattered all over the floor.
Edgar pressed the intercom on his desk: "Have someone fix the glass."
A few minutes later.
A dead-end alley in New York, Queens.
A homeless man was rummaging through a trash can.
Homelander descended from the sky.
His face was gloomy, and his mood was at its worst.
The homeless man was startled: "My god, Homelander?"
Homelander didn't waste any words.
Two thick red lasers shot out.
The homeless man was cut in half on the spot, his internal organs spilling all over the ground.
Homelander looked at the corpse on the ground and took a deep breath.
His emotions finally stabilized a bit.
"I am a god." He muttered to himself.
He shot up into the sky and disappeared into the clouds.
On the other side.
An underground air-raid shelter in New Jersey.
The temporary safe house of The Boys.
Butcher sat on a broken sofa, smoking a cheap cigarette.
Hughie was fiddling with an old computer.
Frenchie was oiling his weapons.
Kimiko was squatting in the corner, tearing at a piece of raw meat.
"Vought has us on the wanted list; we can't even step outside." Hughie scratched his hair.
"Shut up, Hughie. I'm thinking of a way." Butcher exhaled a smoke ring.
Just then, the computer made a "ding" sound.
Hughie leaned in to look.
"Butcher, there's an anonymous email." Hughie shouted.
"Open it and see."
Hughie clicked on the email attachment.
Several black and white photos appeared on the screen.
Butcher walked over and narrowed his eyes.
The photos were of Stormfront and the founder of Vought together.
The text documents below recorded her Nazi background and history of human experimentation in detail.
"Good god." Hughie widened his eyes, "This new superhero is a hundred-year-old Nazi?"
Butcher grinned and laughed.
His smile revealed bloodthirsty madness.
"This is getting interesting." Butcher patted the monitor, "Vought's stock is going to plummet."
"Who sent it?" Frenchie walked over and asked.
"Who cares who it is." Butcher stubbed out his cigarette, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Hughie, send these photos to all the mainstream media outlets."
"Understood." Hughie's hands flew across the keyboard.
The end of Stormfront was about to begin.
Vought Tower, PR Department.
Lu Jie sat at his workstation, watching the news push on his computer screen.
"Shocking Scandal! New superhero Stormfront is actually a remnant of the Nazis!"
The headline had ignited the entire internet.
The photos and files were being spread wildly.
The phones in Vought's PR Department were being blown up.
The supervisor was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
"Quick! Contact the media to take down the trending topic! Issue a statement saying this is a forgery!" The supervisor roared.
Lu Jie held his coffee and took a slow sip.
It couldn't be taken down.
This fire would burn away all of Stormfront's disguises.
After work.
Lu Jie returned to the safe house.
Annie had already prepared a simple dinner.
"The TV is all about Stormfront." Annie brought the plates to the table.
"I saw it." Lu Jie sat down.
"Did you do it?" Annie sat opposite him.
"That's not important." Lu Jie cut a piece of steak, "What's important is that Vought is in chaos."
Annie looked at him, her eyes complex.
This man had been manipulating everything from behind the scenes.
Even those arrogant superheroes were being played in the palm of his hand.
"What exactly do you want?" Annie asked softly.
"I said it before, to take you to the top of the food chain." Lu Jie put down his knife and fork.
He walked over and pulled Annie up.
"Now, don't think about those useless things." Lu Jiepressed her onto the dining table.
The tableware fell to the ground, making a crisp sound.
In this oppressive world.
Only pure possession could make one feel real.
Annie closed her eyes and responded to his actions.
Late at night.
Stormfront's luxury apartment.
The door was kicked open.
Homelander walked in.
He looked at Stormfront, who was sitting on the sofa drinking red wine.
"You're in big trouble." Homelander sneered, "You old Nazi hag."
Stormfront was not angry.
She stood up and walked in front of Homelander.
"Do the opinions of those mortals matter?" Stormfrontreached out and stroked Homelander's chest.
Homelander frowned.
"We are gods." Stormfront's eyes were fanatical, "We don't need them to like us; we only need them to fear us."
Homelander looked at her.
This sentence struck a chord with his hidden desires.
All this time, he had been trying hard to play the part of a good guy.
It was too tiring.
"Together, we can build a world that truly belongs to superhumans." Stormfront stood on tiptoe and leaned into his ear.
Homelander did not push her away.
He grabbed Stormfront by the waist.
The two began a wild, destructive interaction in the apartment.
Walls collapsed, and furniture shattered.
And a few streets away.
Lu Jie stood on the roof, listening to the commotion in the apartment through micro-surveillance.
"The fascist alliance has been formed." Lu Jie sneered.
He turned around and melted into the night.
The crazier they are, the more spectacular it will be when they are destroyed.
Chapter 17: The Death of Popclaw, A-Train's Breakdown
New York, Brooklyn.
Inside a high-end, secluded apartment, the curtains were drawn tight.
On the television, Vought International's latest PR statement was being broadcast. On the screen, Stormfrontspoke eloquently into the camera, enjoying the fanatical adoration of countless fans.
"Bang!"
An empty wine bottle smashed against the TV, the screen shattered, and the image disappeared.
A-Train sat in his wheelchair, his chest heaving violently. His legs, once his pride and joy, were now encased in heavy plaster casts.
"Why!" A-Train grabbed his hair, his voice hoarse. "I am the most popular member of The Seven! What is that hundred-year-old hag supposed to be?!"
Popclaw carried a glass of warm water, walking out of the kitchen cautiously.
"It's time for your medicine." She placed the glass on the coffee table, not daring to look A-Train in the eye.
Ever since Lu Jie crippled his legs that night, A-Train's temper had become extremely volatile. Vought International's top brass had already started looking for a new speedster to replace him, which sent him into a state of extreme panic.
"What's the point of medicine!" A-Train swept the glass off the coffee table.
Glass shards splattered everywhere.
He stared at Popclaw, his eyes filled with neurotic suspicion.
"Where did you go this afternoon?" A-Train asked.
"I went to the supermarket to buy some things." Popclawtook a step back.
"Does it take three hours to go shopping?" A-Train turned his wheelchair, forcing his way closer to her. "I checked your phone. You've been using encrypted channels to send and receive messages lately. Who are you contacting?"
Popclaw's face turned pale.
Of course, she couldn't say it was Lu Jie. That devil who could walk through walls and control blood—he could make her heart explode with just a flick of his finger.
"No one... just a few old agents." Popclaw feigned calmness.
"You're lying!"
A-Train suddenly lunged from his wheelchair, grabbing Popclaw by the throat and pressing her down into the broken glass.
"Tell me! Did you sell my whereabouts to someone else! Do you want to see me dead!"
"I didn't..." Popclaw struggled desperately, tears streaming down her face.
A-Train let go and pulled a small blue glass vial from his pocket.
It was high-concentration compound v.
Seeing the vial, Popclaw trembled all over.
"You've already taken two shots today! If you take another, you'll die!" Popclaw screamed.
"I haven't recovered yet! I need speed!" A-Train drew a full syringe of the blue liquid.
He held the syringe, looking down at the trembling woman on the floor.
"You won't tell the truth, right?" A-Train grinned, his smile twisted. "Since you like keeping secrets so much, then take them with you to hell."
"No! Please!" Popclaw scrambled toward the door.
A-Train grabbed her ankle and dragged her back.
He flipped Popclaw over and pinned her chest with his knee.
The thick needle was aimed at Popclaw's carotid artery.
"Enjoy this power."
A-Train didn't hesitate to plunge it in, injecting the entire tube of high-purity compound v.
Third level underground, safe house.
The air was somewhat stifling.
Lu Jie sat in front of the computer screen, holding a glass of red wine.
On the screen was the real-time surveillance feed of Popclaw's apartment.
Annie, wearing an oversized men's shirt, stood behind Lu Jie. She watched the screen, her hands unconsciously gripping the hem of her shirt.
In the video, Popclaw was rolling frantically on the floor.
The high-purity compound v was destroying her nervous system. An eerie blue light shone beneath her skin, her veins bulged, and her bones made sickening cracking sounds as they dislocated.
She opened her mouth wide, but couldn't make a sound, only white foam pouring continuously from the corners of her mouth.
A-Train sat back in his wheelchair, watching it all with indifference, even lighting a cigarette for himself.
In less than two minutes, Popclaw stopped convulsing.
She was dead. Her eyes wide open, her death was gruesome.
"Click."
Lu Jie tapped the keyboard, cutting off the surveillance feed.
Annie covered her mouth, tears falling uncontrollably.
"You could have saved her." Annie's voice trembled with a sob. "You just watched her be tortured to death on the monitor!"
Lu Jie turned his chair and put down his wine glass.
He looked at Annie, his eyes devoid of any warmth.
"Why should I save her?" Lu Jie asked.
"She was a human life, too! Didn't you make her your mole?" Annie questioned loudly.
Lu Jie stood up and walked over to Annie.
He was a head taller than Annie, and the oppressive feeling of him looming over her made her step back involuntarily.
Until her back hit the cold wall.
Lu Jie raised his hand, gripping Annie's chin, forcing her to look up.
"Remember, Annie. In this world, weakness is the original sin." Lu Jie's tone was light, yet carried a bone-chilling coldness. "Popclaw chose to rely on the strong, so she must bear the price of being bitten back."
"But you're also strong, does that mean you can just decide other people's life and death?" Annie gritted her teeth.
"Yes, I can."
Lu Jie's finger slid across Annie's fair neck, stopping at her collarbone.
"Put away your ridiculous sympathy. If you still cling to those fantasies of saving the world, the next one lying on the floor will be you."
Annie didn't dare look him in the eye. She knew Lu Jie was speaking the truth.
In this cesspool ruled by Vought International, justice was just a joke.
Lu Jie leaned down, breathing hot air into Annie's ear.
"Go take a shower. When I'm done with what I'm doing, I want to see you lying obediently in bed."
Annie bit her lower lip, nodded submissively, and walked toward the small bathroom.
Lu Jie returned to the computer.
He edited the video he had just recorded, removing traces of the surveillance camera.
Then, he opened an encrypted email account and sent the video package out.
Recipient: Billy Butcher.
"It's time to unleash the hound." Lu Jie leaned back in his chair, pulling off a cold smile.
New Jersey, an abandoned underground air-raid shelter.
This was the latest hideout for The Boys.
Hughie sat on a worn-out sofa, gnawing on a cold burger.
Frenchie was cleaning firearms in the corner, with Kimikocrouching nearby, tearing at a piece of raw meat.
The computer made a "ding" notification sound.
"Hughie, see what that is." Butcher exhaled a ring of smoke.
Hughie put down his burger and walked over to the computer to open the email.
The video began to play.
When he saw A-Train plunge the entire tube of compound v into Popclaw's neck, Hughie's stomach churned, and he turned away to dry heave.
Butcher walked over and stared at the screen.
After watching the whole video, Butcher smiled.
It was the smile of a beast seeing its prey reveal a weakness.
"Vought is too busy dealing with Stormfront's Nazi scandal right now to care about this cripple." Butcher picked up the shotgun from the table. "This is a perfect opportunity."
"Are we going to call the police?" Hughie wiped his mouth.
"Call the police?" Butcher looked at Hughie as if he were an idiot. "Do you think the police would dare arrest a member of The Seven?"
"Then what do we do?"
Butcher patted Hughie on the shoulder, quite hard.
"Hughie, send A-Train a message. Tell him you know who's selling his intel. Arrange to meet him at the abandoned Brooklyn subway station."
Hughie's eyes widened, and he stepped back repeatedly.
"No! I'm not going! He'll kill me!"
"He's just a cripple and a junkie now, his brain isn't working right." Butcher pressed on, step by step. "This is the best chance we have to take out a member of The Seven. Do you want to hide in this hole for the rest of your life?"
Hughie looked into Butcher's crazed eyes and knew he had no room to refuse.
He was just bait.
Every time.
Hughie's hands trembled as he took out his phone and began to edit the text message.
The rain was falling even harder.
Chapter 18: Rainy Night Hunt, The Speedster's End
New York, abandoned Brooklyn subway station.
Torrential rain. Rainwater poured into the underground station through broken ventilation ducts, forming muddy puddles on the ground.
Hughie stood by the tracks, soaked to the bone, shivering with cold.
He gripped his phone tightly, staring into the depths of the dark tunnel.
Butcher and Frenchie were lying in ambush at the ventilation duct above, wielding weapons loaded with high-explosive rounds.
"Will he come?" Hughie whispered into the microphone in his collar.
"Shut up, stop moving around." Butcher's rough voice came through the earpiece.
A gust of wind swept from the depths of the tunnel.
Accompanied by a piercing sonic boom, a blue afterimage darted back and forth across the platform, kicking up a sky full of spray.
Hughie fell to the ground in fright.
The afterimage stopped.
A-Train stood less than five meters in front of Hughie.
He wasn't in a wheelchair. Overdosing on compound v had forcibly repaired his necrotic muscles, but he looked extremely eerie.
His eyes were bloodshot, the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably, and his suit was covered in mud and water.
"Is it you?" A-Train tilted his head, his voice as hoarse as if sanded down, "You're the one who sold out Popclaw's intelligence?"
"I... I'm just a middleman." Hughie crawled back two steps.
"Middlemen die too!"
A-Train didn't want to hear explanations. He only had one thought in his mind now: slaughter.
He pushed off with his feet, turning into a blue lightning bolt as he rushed toward Hughie.
"Fire!" Butcher roared over the communication channel.
The ventilation duct spat fire. High-explosive rounds rained down on the platform.
But in front of a speedster, bullets were too slow.
A-Train easily dodged all the trajectories, his fist aimed straight at Hughie's head.
Hughie closed his eyes in despair.
A breeze brushed past.
The expected impact did not arrive.
Hughie opened his eyes and found he was still alive.
A man in a black trench coat stood with his back to him, blocking the way.
A-Train missed his target and stopped more than ten meters away.
He shook the rainwater off his hands, staring at this suddenly appeared masked man.
"Who the hell are you?" A-Train roared.
"The person here to take your life." Lu Jie said indifferently, not even turning his head.
"You're courting death!"
A-Train sprinted again. His speed broke the sound barrier, the air was torn apart, emitting a deafening roar.
He wanted to smash this guy playing god into meat paste.
Lu Jie stood where he was, without even the intention to dodge.
Void Boundary, activate.
A-Train's body passed directly through Lu Jie's trench coat, slamming hard into the concrete load-bearing pillar behind him.
"Boom!"
A large crater was smashed into the half-meter-thick concrete pillar, with steel bars exposed.
A-Train shook his dizzy head and climbed out of the rubble.
"That's impossible!" He roared, setting up his sprinting posture again.
Lu Jie didn't use Void Boundary again.
He moved his feet.
Void Flash Step.
In Hughie's line of sight, Lu Jie simply vanished.
The next instant, Lu Jie appeared at A-Train's side.
His speed was a notch faster than A-Train's.
The two crossed back and forth on the narrow platform, the wind they kicked up sending discarded newspapers flying everywhere.
A-Train's prideful speed was completely suppressed in front of Lu Jie.
Every clash, A-Train took a heavy blow.
The sound of bones breaking was exceptionally clear in the rainy night.
"What kind of monster are you!" A-Train collapsed.
He stopped in a puddle, vomiting large mouthfuls of blood.
"It's over."
Lu Jie appeared in front of him, raising his right hand.
Blood Control, full power.
A-Train's heart was already loaded to the limit due to excessive drug use; at this moment, under the interference of Blood Control, his blood instantly flowed backward.
"Ah!"
A-Train screamed, falling to his knees. Blood vessels burst under his skin, and black blood flowed from his seven orifices.
He scratched at his throat in pain, but it was useless.
Lu Jie walked over and stepped on A-Train's neck.
"Let... let me go..." The light in A-Train's eyes was fading.
"Go to hell and repent."
Lu Jie pressed down with his foot.
Crack.
The cervical spine snapped. A-Train's head tilted to one side at an eerie angle, and he stopped breathing completely.
Hughie sat in the puddle, not daring to even breathe hard.
He looked at this masked man, the fear in his heart deeper than when facing A-Train.
Lu Jie squatted down and took a thick blood-drawing needle from his pocket.
He stuck the needle into A-Train's carotid artery, which hadn't completely stiffened yet.
A full tube of light blue active blood was drawn out. This was the mutated speedster gene; it was exactly what he needed.
Lu Jie pulled out the needle and put away the glass vial.
He stood up and glanced at Hughie, who was huddled in the corner.
"Go back and tell Butcher to act as bait properly. Don't disappoint me."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Jie activated Void Flash Step and disappeared into the rain.
Leaving behind only a gradually cooling corpse and a completely terrified Hughie.
Late night. Third underground level, safe house.
Lu Jie pushed open the heavy iron door.
Water was still dripping from his black trench coat.
Annie was wearing a thin silk camisole nightgown and hurried over to help him take off his coat.
"It's raining hard outside." Annie took a towel and gently helped him wipe his hair.
Lu Jie didn't speak, just grabbed her chin and kissed her.
The chill of the rain and the warmth of the room intertwined.
Annie was left breathless by this sudden roughness.
"Go to the bed." Lu Jie picked her up.
Annie didn't resist. She wrapped her arms around Lu Jie's neck and buried her face in his chest.
In this enclosed space, she had completely become accustomed to being dominated. Only by clinging to this man could she survive in this crazy world.
Lu Jie put Annie on the bed.
He took that tube of light blue blood from his pocket, pulled out the stopper, and drank it in one gulp.
Annie knew he was going to fuse with that terrible power again. She shrank back a little, her eyes filled with worry.
Mind Furnace, activate.
The speedster gene tore frantically inside his body.
Lu Jie's breathing became extremely heavy, his muscles tensed to the limit. His bones emitted dull friction sounds.
The pain surged like a tide.
Lu Jie gritted his teeth and pulled Annie into his arms.
He needed to vent. He needed to use the most primitive way to alleviate the mania brought about by genetic recombination.
Annie bit her lower lip, bearing his strength.
She actively complied, using her own body temperature to warm his cold skin.
Pain and pleasure intertwined on the narrow single bed.
Lu Jie's movements had no tenderness, only pure possession and vent.
Annie let out intermittent murmurs in extreme exhaustion and stimulation.
Two hours later.
The storm subsided.
Lu Jie leaned against the headboard, letting out a long breath.
The fusion was complete.
He raised his hand and looked at his palm.
Void Flash Step. Not only possessing movement speed exceeding the speed of sound, but also being able to briefly enter a void state during high-speed movement, ignoring physical collisions.
He was now faster than anyone.
Annie lay on his chest, fast asleep. There were still tear stains at the corners of her eyes.
Lu Jie stroked her hair, his gaze turning toward the dark corner.
A-Train was dead.
A spot had opened up in The Seven again.
Vought's top brass would definitely go completely insane.
"Next, it depends on how much of a stir Stormfront can cause." Lu Jie sneered in his heart.
The hunting net was tightening. The end of the false gods was not far away.
Chapter 19: The Seven's Vacancy, Hounds Unleashed
In the top-floor conference room of Vought Tower, the temperature dropped to freezing.
The big screen was looping the gruesome scene of A-Trainat the Brooklyn subway station.
Cervical spine snapped.
Bleeding from The Seven orifices.
Dead as a doornail.
"Who did this?" Homelander braced his hands on the tabletop.
His eyes lit up with a dangerous red glow as his gaze swept over everyone present.
Edgar sat at the end of the long table, fingers interlaced on the surface, not even lifting his eyelids.
"The police have classified it as a gang vendetta."
"High-explosive shell casings were found at the scene, along with traces of The Boys' activity," Edgar said in a flat tone.
"A gang?" Homelander raised his voice.
"Do you think a bunch of thugs with guns could snap the neck of a speedster?"
"He was an overdose addict; he hadn't been a speedster for a long time," Edgar did not back down.
"What the company needs to consider now is how to handle the drop in stock price."
"The Seven only has five members left now," Edgaradjusted his gold-rimmed glasses.
"Six."
Stormfront pushed the door open, walked in, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
"I count as the combat power of two people, Mr. Edgar."
"That pile of Nazi dirt on you hasn't been cleaned up yet!" Homelander turned and roared.
"Clean what? Those idiots out there love this about me," Stormfront laughed.
"They need a hero who dares to speak the truth, not a mascot who only knows how to fake a smile."
The corner of Homelander's eye twitched, his fists clenching with a cracking sound.
Lu Jie stood in the corner, holding a meeting logbook in his hand.
He was calculating the time in his mind.
Butcher and his crew should have already obtained the new intelligence by now.
"Lu Jie," Edgar spoke up.
"Yes, sir," Lu Jie stepped forward.
"Prepare a press release."
"State that A-Train sacrificed himself while pursuing terrorists," Edgar assigned the task.
"Hype up Stormfront's popularity to cover this up."
"Understood," Lu Jie nodded.
"I don't need him to teach me how to deal with the media," Stormfront pointed at Lu Jie.
"I have my own team."
"This is the company's decision," Edgar stood up, brooking no discussion.
The meeting ended on a sour note.
New Jersey, underground air-raid shelter.
Hughie was wrapped in a blanket, holding a cup of hot coffee.
His hands were still shaking.
Coffee spilled onto his trouser legs, but he didn't notice at all.
"He... he snapped A-Train's neck in one go," Hughie said, stuttering.
"His speed was even faster than A-Train's; I couldn't even see his shadow."
Butcher was wiping the shotgun in his hands, his movements unceasing.
"What did he look like?" Butcher asked.
"Wearing a mask, dressed in a black trench coat."
Hughie swallowed hard.
"He told me to play the bait well."
"Bait?" Frenchie looked up from the computer.
"This guy is using us to cause trouble for Vought?"
"He has the capital for it," Butcher slammed the gun on the table.
"He can kill Translucent, he can take out A-Train."
"It means he understands The Seven better than The Seven do, and his abilities completely counter them," Butcher grinned.
"We are playing with fire!" Hughie shouted.
"He's even scarier than Homelander! He doesn't even blink when he kills!"
"As long as he kills Vought people, he is our ally," Butcherstood up.
"Frenchie, how is the investigation into Sage Grove Centergoing?"
"The address is in Pennsylvania. Security level is extremely high," Frenchie typed on the keyboard.
"Prepare the gear," Butcher picked up the car keys.
"We're going to raid Vought's nest."
Vought Tower, underground parking garage.
Maeve leaned against a load-bearing pillar, smoking a cigarette.
Footsteps echoed in the empty parking garage.
Lu Jie walked out from the shadows.
"You're three minutes late," Maeve stubbed out her cigarette.
"Dealt with some trash press releases," Lu Jie walked over.
His hand rested naturally on Maeve's waist, feeling the firmness through the fabric.
Maeve didn't pull away.
"Did you kill A-Train?" Maeve asked in a low voice.
"He ran too slowly," Lu Jie said casually.
Maeve let out a long breath.
How many more trump cards does this man have that he hasn't revealed?
"Homelander has gone crazy," Maeve said.
"He thinks there's a mole in the company."
"He's having Black Noir check everyone's communication records."
"Let him check," Lu Jie's fingers moved downward, tracing Maeve's abdominal muscles.
"Black Noir is a mute; he won't find anything useful."
"You underestimate him," Maeve grabbed Lu Jie's hand.
"Black Noir is Homelander's most loyal dog. He doesn't need a reason to kill."
"If a dog bites the wrong person, it will be beaten to death by its master," Lu Jie leaned into her ear.
"Tonight, send me Homelander's patrol route."
"What are you trying to do?" Maeve's heart rate accelerated.
"Go see that precious son he's hiding," Lu Jie chuckled.
Maeve's eyes widened.
"Are you crazy? That's his bottom line! If you touch that child, he'll burn all of New York to ashes!"
"Bottom lines are meant to be stepped on," Lu Jie stepped back half a pace.
"Do as I say. Otherwise, that recording will be on the news headlines tomorrow."
Maeve bit her lower lip.
She knew she had boarded a pirate ship and couldn't get off.
"I'll send it to your encrypted email," Maeve turned and walked toward the elevator.
Lu Jie watched her back, a cold arc pulling at the corners of his mouth.
The Seven's defenses were already riddled with holes.
8:00 PM, PR Department office.
Lu Jie sat in the leather swivel chair, looking at the encrypted email on the computer.
Homelander was going to patrol over New York for three hours tonight.
That's enough time.
The door was pushed open.
No knocking.
Stormfront walked in and locked the door behind her.
She was wearing a low-cut red bodysuit today.
There was a faint static electricity on her body.
"Your press release was written terribly," Stormfrontwalked to the desk.
She braced her hands on the tabletop.
Her neckline was wide open, the view completely exposed.
"The data says it all," Lu Jie didn't look up at her.
"Your approval rating went up by three points."
"That's because I cursed out those idiot politicians," Stormfront walked around the desk.
She walked to Lu Jie's side.
She sat directly on the edge of the desk.
One leg rested on the armrest of Lu Jie's chair.
"Who exactly are you?" Stormfront leaned down, looking into Lu Jie's eyes.
"Head of Vought's PR Department," Lu Jie said in a flat tone.
"Stop pretending," Stormfront's fingertips grazed Lu Jie's cheek.
It sparked a string of blue electric sparks.
Lu Jie didn't dodge.
"Aren't you afraid of me?" Stormfront asked.
"Will being afraid get me a raise?" Lu Jie retorted.
Stormfront laughed out loud.
"I like your nerve," she leaned in closer.
Her breath hit Lu Jie's face.
"Homelander is a giant baby who hasn't grown up. We need a real leader."
"Like you?" Lu Jie raised an eyebrow.
"Like us," Stormfront's fingers moved downward.
"You're a smart man."
"Help me take care of Edgar, and I will let you have everything you want."
"The things I want, you cannot give," Lu Jie grabbed her wrist.
Gravity Control flowed from his fingertips.
Stormfront felt her wrist clamped by iron pliers, unable to move a single inch.
Surprise flashed in her eyes.
"You're also..."
"Watch your mouth," Lu Jie let go.
"Go check out the Sage Grove Center in Pennsylvania."
"There are secrets there that you want to know."
Stormfront rubbed her wrist, her eyes changing.
"Sage Grove Center?"
"If you go late, the show will be over," Lu Jie turned his chair, facing away from her.
Stormfront stood up and adjusted her clothes.
"You're making me more and more interested," she walked to the door.
The door closed.
Lu Jie sneered.
The trap of using someone else's knife to kill has already been set.
Chapter 20: Sage Grove Center, Nighttime Layout
Third underground level, safe house.
The iron door was tightly shut.
Annie was sitting on the edge of the bed, wearing an oversized white shirt.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, she stood up immediately.
"You're back." Annie walked over.
She helped Lu Jie take off his suit jacket.
"You didn't wander off today, did you?" Lu Jie loosened his tie.
"No. I've been staying here the whole time." Annie lowered her head.
Lu Jie looked at her.
Starlight, once full of radiance, had now become a canary in a gilded cage.
"A-Train is dead." Lu Jie said.
Annie didn't speak.
"It was you." She used a declarative tone.
"He was in my way." Lu Jie walked to the sink to wash his hands.
Annie walked over and hugged him from behind.
Her face pressed against his back.
"Will you kill them all?" Annie asked softly.
"That depends on how stupid they are." Lu Jie wiped his hands dry.
He turned around and pinched Annie's chin.
"Are you scared?"
"I'm only afraid that you won't want me." Annie's eyes turned red.
Lu Jie lowered his head and kissed her.
Annie closed her eyes, clutching his shirt tightly with both hands.
In the oppressive basement.
Only this kind of extreme possession could make her feel that she was still alive.
Lu Jie's fingers undid the buttons of her shirt.
The clothes slid off.
"Go wait for me on the bed." Lu Jie commanded.
Annie nodded obediently.
On the narrow single bed, the temperature gradually rose.
Annie's submission was the most thorough compromise to this cruel world.
Lu Jie enjoyed this feeling of controlling everything.
Half an hour later.
Lu Jie put on his black trench coat and donned his mask.
Annie, wrapped in the blanket, watched him.
"Going out again?"
"To close the net." Lu Jie pushed open the iron door.
Late at night, Pennsylvania, Sage Grove Center.
This was Vought International's psychiatric facility for supes.
It was also a secret base for conducting illegal experiments.
Butcher, bringing Hughie and Frenchie, cut through the outer perimeter fence.
"The surveillance has been jammed." Frenchie looked at the tablet in his hand.
"Go in and find the data." Butcher raised his gun.
The three of them snuck into the building.
The corridor was terrifyingly quiet.
The alarm suddenly blared.
Red lights flashed wildly.
"Frenchie! Didn't you say you jammed it!" Butcher roared.
"It wasn't me! Someone triggered the alarm from the inside!" Frenchie was covered in sweat.
At the end of the corridor, a heavy iron door was forcibly ripped open.
A monster wrapped in bandages rushed out.
"Open fire!" Butcher pulled the trigger.
The shotgun shells hit the monster, but didn't even scratch its skin.
The monster slapped Frenchie away.
Hughie was so scared he fell to the ground.
Just as the monster was about to tear Hughie apart.
A flash of blue electricity streaked through the air.
Stormfront descended from the sky.
She raised her hand.
Millions of volts of lightning struck directly onto the monster's head.
The monster let out a scream and collapsed to the ground, convulsing.
"The Boys?" Stormfront looked at Butcher.
She smiled cruelly.
"What an unexpected harvest."
Butcher gritted his teeth and raised his gun.
"You Nazi hag, you've come at just the right time."
In the ventilation shaft in the shadows.
Lu Jie, in a Void state, watched everything below quietly.
The bait is in place.
The hound has also taken the hook.
Now, just waiting for the biggest fish to swim into the net.
Lu Jie took out his phone and pressed the send button.
An anonymous email containing the coordinates of Sage Grove Center.
Was sent to Homelander's private inbox.
After finishing all this, Lu Jie activated Void Flash Step and left.
He had another place to go.
The secret base where Homelander hid Becca and his son.
A gated community on the outskirts of New York.
Surrounded by electric fences and surveillance.
Lu Jie used Void Boundary to easily pass through all the defenses.
The light was on in the second-floor bedroom.
Becca was telling a story to her son, Ryan.
Ryan was a boy who looked very ordinary.
But he had Homelander's blood flowing in his veins.
Lu Jie stood outside the window, in an invisible state.
He was evaluating the value of this boy.
If he could get Ryan's blood.
Perhaps he could decipher the flaws in Homelander's genes.
Lu Jie passed through the wall and walked into the bedroom.
Becca didn't notice at all that there was an extra person in the room.
But Ryan looked up, towards the direction of Lu Jie.
"Mom, there's someone there." Ryan pointed at the empty corner.
Becca was startled and shielded Ryan behind her.
"Ryan, don't scare Mom."
Lu Jie dispelled his invisibility.
The black trench coat looked particularly oppressive under the light.
"You're a smart kid." Lu Jie spoke.
Seeing the stranger, Becca immediately went to press the alarm by the bed.
Lu Jie raised his hand.
Gravity Control.
Becca's body was fixed in place by an invisible force.
She couldn't even move her finger an inch.
"Don't be nervous, I'm not with Vought." Lu Jie walked over.
Ryan stood in front of Becca.
His eyes began to glow with red light.
"Let go of my mom!" Ryan shouted.
Two faint red lasers shot out from his eyes.
Hitting Lu Jie in the chest.
Lu Jie didn't even dodge.
The lasers only left a charred mark on the trench coat.
"The power is too weak." Lu Jie commented.
He reached out and grabbed the back of Ryan's neck.
Ryan's red light instantly extinguished.
"What exactly do you want!" Becca struggled desperately.
"Borrowing a drop of your son's blood." Lu Jie took out a nano-blood collection needle.
The needle pierced into Ryan's arm.
He drew a small vial of blood.
Ryan cried out in pain.
Lu Jie pulled out the needle and put the blood away.
He released the gravity restraint on Becca.
Becca hurried to hold Ryan.
"Homelander will discover this place immediately!" Beccashouted.
"He's very busy right now." Lu Jie walked to the window.
"Take your son and leave here. This is your last chance."
After finishing, Lu Jie activated Void Boundary and disappeared into the night.
Meanwhile.
Sage Grove Center.
Stormfront was torturing Butcher with lightning.
Butcher was charred all over, lying on the ground.
"Mortals are just so fragile." Stormfront stepped on Butcher's chest.
The ceiling was suddenly smashed open.
Homelander landed with a violent gust of air.
He saw The Boys on the ground.
And then saw Stormfront stepping on Butcher.
"What are you doing on my turf?" Homelander's voice was ice-cold.
Stormfront looked up.
"I'm helping you clean up the trash."
Homelander's eyes glowed with red light.
"Get lost. He is my prey."
The two monsters stood in this underground facility, confronting each other.
Lu Jie stood on a distant hillside.
Watching the firelight flare up at Sage Grove Center.
Tossing the vial containing Ryan's blood in his hand.
The final puzzle piece to deciphering the genes of gods.
Obtained.
Chapter 21: Sage Grove Center, Flesh Furnace
The top floor of Vought Tower, the CEO's office.
The air was extremely oppressive.
Homelander's eyes glowed with blinding red light as he closed in step by step on Edgar behind the desk.
The high temperature caused the surrounding air to distort.
"Do you really think I wouldn't dare to kill you?" Homelander gritted his teeth, his voice filled with mania.
Edgar pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, not even changing his posture.
"You can try, John." Edgar looked at him, "But if you kill me, Vought will be forcibly taken over by the military tomorrow. Those carefully packaged polling numbers of yours, and your privileges, will all become worthless paper."
The muscles on Homelander's face twitched violently.
He craved adoration too much; without Vought's PR packaging, he was nothing.
Two scarlet lasers shot from his eyes.
The lasers grazed Edgar's ear, slicing a massive crack through the bulletproof glass behind him and the wall as well.
"One day, I'll rip your head off." Homelander turned and surged into the night sky through the shattered window.
Edgar brushed the dust off his suit and pressed the communicator.
"Call maintenance to replace the glass."
On the other side, in the underground garage.
Lu Jie looked at the garbled text message on his phone screen.
The sender was an informant from the black market intelligence network that Popclaw had left behind before she died.
Sage Grove Center was in riot.
That was the living hell where Vought secretly conducted adult compound v experiments.
Lu Jie put away his phone and moved his feet.
Void Flash Step activated.
In the blink of an eye, he returned to the safe house on the third underground level.
Annie was lying on the bed in a light sleep; hearing the movement, she sat up.
She was wearing an oversized white shirt, the collar slipping down to reveal a large expanse of fair skin.
"Did something happen outside?" Annie rubbed her eyes.
"Vought's backyard is on fire." Lu Jie walked to the bedside, opened the weapon case in the corner, and took out a few specialized nano blood-collection needles, putting them into his pocket.
Annie got off the bed and hugged his waist from behind.
"Take me with you." Annie pressed her face against his back, "I don't want to stay here alone."
Lu Jie turned around and pinched her chin.
"That place is no place for a good girl like you." Lu Jie's fingers slid down her neck into the collar of her shirt, his fingertips gently stroking her collarbone.
Annie's breathing immediately became rapid, and her legs went a little weak.
"Stay home and be good." Lu Jie lowered his head and bit her lip, his tone carrying an irresistible sense of oppression, "When I get back, you'll have it coming."
Annie nodded, blushing, and retreated to the bedside.
Lu Jie turned, his body turning into a void state, and he passed directly through the ceiling to leave.
The real hell wasn't underground, but in the laboratories of capital.
Ohio, Sage Grove Center.
Piercing alarms rang through the night sky.
The heavy isolation doors had been violently smashed open, and there were severed limbs and a pungent smell of blood everywhere.
Those adults who had been forcibly injected with compound v had mostly turned into mindless aberrations.
At the end of the corridor, Butcher was holding an automatic rifle, leaning against the corner and panting heavily.
Hughie was hiding behind him, his face deathly pale with fear.
"What the hell kind of place is this!" Hughie looked at the shredded corpse of the security guard on the ground, his stomach churning.
"Vought's slaughterhouse." Butcher loaded a new magazine, "Don't fall behind, we're going to find the data room."
The two of them were just about to peek out.
A huge ball of flesh suddenly fell from the ceiling.
It was an aberration covered in pustules, its limbs atrophied, spewing green strong acid from its mouth.
The strong acid landed on the floor, burning straight through the steel plate.
The aberration turned its head, locked onto Butcher and the other, and lunged forward with its bloody maw wide open.
"Open fire!" Butcher pulled the trigger.
The bullets hit the aberration's thick layer of fat and were deflected.
Hughie closed his eyes in despair.
The expected strong acid did not fall.
In mid-air, Lu Jie exited the void state.
He was wearing a black trench coat, one hand in his pocket, standing to the side of the aberration.
The aberration turned its head and spewed a mouthful of strong acid.
Lu Jie didn't even dodge.
Heavens Judgment Lightning Domain formed a layer of absolute shielding on his body surface, and the strong acid was evaporated into white smoke by the electrostatic field.
"Too ugly." Lu Jie's eyes were cold as he raised his right hand.
Micro-Annihilation, activate.
His gaze locked onto the aberration's torso.
"Bang!"
The aberration's massive body exploded on the spot.
A rain of blood mixed with minced meat scattered all over the ground, not even leaving a single intact bone behind.
Butcher and Hughie watched this scene in shock.
Lu Jie ignored them.
He walked to the pile of minced meat, used a nano blood-collection needle to pick up a piece of spinal tissue that was still active, and put it into a glass tube.
"Who the hell are you?" Butcher held his gun, aiming at Lu Jie.
"Someone here to restock." Lu Jie didn't even look at him.
He sent the collected active tissue into his internal Mind Furnace.
Although the genes of this low-level aberration were messy, they could serve as fuel for the furnace, strengthening his basic physical intensity.
Pain spread through his body, Lu Jie frowned slightly, and his bones made a dull sound.
In just a few seconds, his muscle density increased again.
"I've already cut off the surveillance here." Lu Jie turned his head and looked at Butcher, "Lamplighter is in the B-Zone control room. If you're late, he'll run."
When Butcher heard the words "Lamplighter," his eyes immediately turned red.
That was the murderer who had burned his comrade Mother's Milk's family to death back then.
"Let's go!" Butcher kicked the minced meat on the ground and ran toward B-Zone with Hughie.
Lu Jie watched their backs, a cold sneer tugging at the corner of his mouth.
He moved his feet, activating Void Flash Step.
His body turned into an afterimage, launching a one-sided slaughter in the chaotic base.
He didn't need survivors.
He only needed the residual compound v genes inside these aberrations.
Gravity Control pressed all the aberrations along the way to the ground, and then Blood Control drained their active blood directly.
Lu Jie was like a tyrant walking in the darkness, frantically plundering all valuable energy.
Ten minutes later.
Lu Jie arrived outside the B-Zone control room.
He activated Void Boundary, his body passing through the wall, and stood in the corner.
Inside the control room, Butcher's gun barrel was pressed against the head of a man wearing a tattered uniform.
Former member of The Seven, Lamplighter.
"Don't shoot! I was forced to do it too!" Lamplighter knelt on the ground, holding his head with both hands, weeping in terror.
"Forced to? Were you forced when you burned those children to death?" Butcher smashed his gun stock hard into his face.
Lamplighter was covered in blood, falling to the ground.
"Take us to the data room." Butcher stepped on his chest, "Copy all of Vought's human experimentation records. If you try anything funny, I'll blow your head off."
Lamplighter nodded repeatedly, struggling to get up.
Lu Jie watched from the shadows as this once high-and-mighty superhero now looked like a stray dog.
Gods are just well-packaged commodities; tear open the packaging, and it's all rotten meat inside.
Chapter 22: The Death of Lamplighter, The Tyrant's Chess Game
The third basement level of Sage Grove Center.
A heavy blast door blocked the way.
This was the core data room; the door was built from military-grade titanium alloy, and even the keypad lock had been destroyed during the riot.
"Open it." Butcher pressed his gun against Lamplighter's back.
Lamplighter looked at the door, a flash of despair suddenly crossing his eyes.
He had had enough.
Being treated as a cleaner for Vought's trash, watching innocent people turn into freaks every day, his spirit had long since collapsed.
"Butcher, do you know?" Lamplighter turned around, looking at the dark muzzle of the gun, "Every night when I close my eyes, I can hear the people I burned to death screaming."
"Cut the crap! Open the door!" Butcher urged impatiently.
"Fine, I'll open it."
Lamplighter raised his hands.
But he didn't aim at the door; instead, he aimed his hands at himself.
Blazing flames spewed from his palms, instantly engulfing his entire body.
"You're crazy!" Hughie shouted as he backed away.
The high temperature made the air in the corridor extremely scorching.
Lamplighter did not scream in the raging fire; instead, he revealed a smile of relief.
He intended to use his own life to burn this blast door and himself to ashes.
The fire burned wildly, and the titanium alloy door began to glow red and melt.
Just a second before Lamplighter's body was about to carbonize.
Lu Jie, who was hiding in the corner, made his move.
Void Flash Step.
He charged into the sea of fire, enduring the thousands of degrees of heat, as the Heavens Judgment Lightning Domain forcibly pushed the flames aside to create a gap.
The nano-steel needle in Lu Jie's hand precisely pierced into Lamplighter's spine, which had not yet been completely incinerated.
A tube of scalding active bone marrow was extracted.
After doing all this, Lu Jie retreated back into his void state.
The entire process took less than 0.5 seconds; Butcher and Hughie hadn't seen what happened in the fire at all.
"Boom!"
The blast door completely melted and collapsed.
Lamplighter had also turned into a pile of charred remains.
"What an idiot." Butcher cursed, leading the charge into the data room.
Lu Jie did not follow them in.
He had obtained what he wanted; there was no need to waste time here.
He turned and phased through the wall, leaving the ruins.
Late at night.
New York, third basement level safe house.
Lu Jie sat cross-legged on a stone bed, holding the tube of scalding bone marrow in his hand.
He tilted his head back and poured the bone marrow directly into his mouth.
Mind Furnace, operating at full power.
An extreme burning sensation exploded directly from his stomach, spreading throughout his body along his veins.
Large patches of red spots appeared on the surface of Lu Jie's skin, and even the air he exhaled carried sparks.
This pain of genetic tearing was more intense than any time before.
He gritted his teeth, his hands gripping the edge of the bed tightly, leaving deep finger indentations in the hard stone.
The fire gene was continuously purified and compressed within the furnace.
Half an hour later.
The high temperature receded.
Lu Jie opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of murky air.
[Fusion successful.]
["Pyrokinesis" has mutated into "Hellfire Black Flame".]
Not only is the temperature extremely high, but it also carries a genetic burning effect; once contaminated, it cannot be extinguished with water until the target's superpower gene is completely burned away.
Lu Jie raised his right hand.
A ball of pitch-black flame danced in his palm, with not a trace of temperature leaking out, yet it exuded an aura of absolute destruction.
"Click."
The iron door of the safe house was pushed open.
Queen Maeve walked in wearing a black trench coat.
She saw the Hellfire Black Flame in Lu Jie's palm, her footsteps paused, and a hint of fear flashed in her eyes.
Lu Jie flipped his wrist, and the black flame disappeared.
"Running over in the middle of the night, do you have new intelligence?" Lu Jie walked to the table and poured two glasses of red wine.
Maeve took the wine glass and downed it in one gulp.
"Vought is crazy." Maeve slammed the glass onto the table, "Stormfront has convinced Homelander. Tomorrow, they are holding a superhero rally for hundreds of thousands of people at Times Square."
"What's the goal?"
"To forcibly push through the legislation for superheroes to take full control of the national security department." Maeve's expression was grim, "They want to use the riot at Sage Grove Center to create panic, making the public believe that only superheroes can protect them."
Lu Jie leaned against the table, gently swirling his wine glass.
A typical fascist tactic.
Create chaos, then descend in the posture of a savior to seize absolute power.
"Did Edgar agree?" Lu Jie asked.
"Edgar has been sidelined now." Maeve sighed, "Homelander cut the wall of the CEO's office with his laser eyes today. Those old guys on the board of directors were scared out of their wits."
"Interesting." Lu Jie took a sip of red wine.
Maeve looked at Lu Jie's calm face, and the anxiety in her heart eased slightly.
She walked up to Lu Jie and took off her trench coat, underneath she was only wearing a tight leather combat suit.
"What are you planning to do?" Maeve pressed close to him, "If the bill passes, Homelander will be completely out of control."
"Let him fly even higher." Lu Jie reached out and wrapped his arm around Maeve's waist, pulling her into his embrace, "The higher he flies, the worse he will fall when he comes crashing down."
Maeve looked up, watching this man with an extremely strong desire for control.
In this crazy world, only by staying by Lu Jie's side could she feel that she was still alive.
She took the initiative to hook her arms around Lu Jie's neck and kissed him.
Lu Jie did not refuse.
He scooped Maeve up and threw her directly onto the worn-out sofa.
Maeve did not resist; instead, she let out a provocative chuckle.
In this basement, the queen laid down all her pride.
Lu Jie pressed down, his movements rough and direct, carrying absolute dominance.
The sound of leather rubbing was exceptionally clear in the quiet room.
The power struggle transformed into the most primal physical collision at this moment.
An hour later.
Maeve tidied up her disheveled combat suit and put on her trench coat.
"Will you be going to the rally tomorrow?" Maeve walked to the door.
"Of course." Lu Jie sat on the sofa and lit a cigarette, "I will prepare a big gift for them."
Maeve nodded and opened the door to leave.
Lu Jie exhaled a ring of smoke, his gaze turning toward the dark corner.
Tomorrow, Stormfront and Homelander will welcome their most glorious moment.
And also the beginning of their path to destruction.
The next day, Times Square.
The crowd was surging; countless fans held up signs, frantically shouting the names of Homelander and Stormfront.
A giant holographic screen was playing Vought's promotional video.
Homelander stood in the shadows behind the main stage, listening to the deafening cheers outside.
He closed his eyes, a look of intoxication appearing on his face.
This was what he wanted.
Absolute worship, absolute power.
Stormfront walked to his side and reached out to adjust his cape.
"Are you ready to welcome our new world?" Stormfront's eyes were fanatical.
Homelander opened his eyes, red light flickering in his pupils.
"I am a god." Homelander stepped out toward the stage in the sunlight.
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of a high-rise building at the edge of the square.
Lu Jie was wearing a black suit, looking down at the dense crowd below.
He held a micro-detonator in his hand, a cold arc pulling at the corner of his mouth.
The show is about to begin.
L