"Brother, something's off with Stan!"
A few days later, Homelander suddenly pulled Fang Yuan aside for a whispered chat.
"Stan's way more hands-off than before—hardly like him at all."
"You don't think he's hatching some scheme behind our backs, do you?"
Seeing the jittery Homelander, Fang Yuan just smiled; Stan was now on their side, so of course he wouldn't care what Homelander did. Even if Homelander spent every day on the Seven Tower roof live-streaming himself jerking off, Stan would still buy extra bandwidth so the guy could enjoy himself.
"No worries. Word is he's tied up at the Pharma Plant—he won't have time to bother us," Fang Yuan said casually.
"Makes sense," Homelander nodded.
Whatever big brother said, he believed.
But mention Vought Pharma and Homelander's face soured: "That old geezer Stan actually wants to pivot the company—shut down the Superhero division in a few years and focus on selling drugs. Is he senile?"
"Without Superhero celebs, would Vought still be Vought?" Homelander grumbled.
He'd been a Superhero star his whole life; if Vought pivoted, he had no clue what he'd do.
Fang Yuan understood: compared with showbiz, pharma profits were sky-high and you didn't have to clean up after Vought Entertainment's parade of misfit stars—much less hassle.
Besides, Stan had said shutter Vought Entertainment, not abandon Homelander.
As long as the strongest Superhuman, Homelander, stayed in Vought's hands, they wouldn't lose their media stronghold completely.
"Relax, leave it to me—I'll stop Stan from carrying out that plan," Fang Yuan assured him.
Homelander relaxed at once; with just that sentence from Fang Yuan, he stopped worrying.
Big brother had it handled—he could rest easy.
Just then Starlight walked past in civvies. Curious, Fang Yuan asked, "Annie, where are you off to?"
"Church event," Starlight answered.
She knew Fang Yuan had zero interest in church, so she didn't invite him.
But Fang Yuan's eyes flicked: "Saint Patrick's Cathedral?"
"Yeah." Starlight beamed. "You've heard of Morningstar too?"
"That newly-arrived bald, flashy guy?"
"Fang, that's a bit rude."
The mention of him flipped her switch.
"Father Morningstar is already the shared leader of New York's faithful. His take on doctrine is unconventional—sounds heretical yet makes perfect sense. Everyone who hears him is hooked!"
Starlight's eyes sparkled; raised in the church, she'd never met a priest this impressive.
Sure enough, it's that guy Lucifer, Fang Yuan mused.
He chuckled inwardly.
If the devout Starlight ever learned the priest she worshipped was actually Satan, the fireworks would be glorious.
Still, it showed Lucifer's talent: with mere words he'd spun God's chosen into a dizzy daze—truly the devil who specialized in seducing hearts.
"I'll come with you," Fang Yuan said.
Though Athena had also pledged support, setting up a Superpower Serum plant and drafting sales plans would take time; he might as well see how Lucifer's show was going.
By the time they reached Saint Patrick's Cathedral, the place was packed wall-to-wall.
"Insane. Even when Ezekiel and I showed up for church events, I never saw crowds like this," Starlight said.
The cathedral sits on famous Fifth Avenue; usually bustling, but never with everyone clogging the streets like today.
The doors had started access control—only invitees or VIPs got in—but huge screens hung outside, ready to live-stream.
"You're not going inside?" Fang Yuan asked, noticing she wasn't heading in.
Starlight was one of The Seven and a Superhero believer; the church probably sent her an invite without asking.
She shook her head.
"Right now I'm just Annie, an ordinary believer," she answered.
After learning what Vought heroes were really like, Starlight kept her Superhero persona and private life strictly apart.
Fang Yuan nodded; he was here for the spectacle, anywhere was fine.
Soon the outdoor screens lit up, and Lucifer appeared in a white suit.
"Whoa!"
"Morningstar!"
"Morningstar!"
Though Lucifer had only been in this World a dozen days, thanks to The Boys World's fast networks and Ezekiel's fame-boost, he'd rocketed to global celebrity.
After listening a while, Fang Yuan felt the guy deserved every scrap of that fame.
Because Lucifer went full hardcore—dissecting the Bible word by word. Using scripture for reading comprehension wasn't new, but turning it into eight-part essays? Only him.
Anyone else, even with cheat codes, couldn't pull that off.
Near the sermon's end, Fang Yuan noticed the crowd suddenly buzzing.
"What's up?" he asked Starlight.
"It's coming!" she exclaimed, just as excited.
"Next up…" the host announced as Lucifer wrapped, "open Q&A!"
"Whoa!"
Believers inside and outside the cathedral cheered, Starlight included.
"After every Morningstar sermon he answers questions. Folks who think he's too radical stand up to challenge him—and he argues them into silence, flipping their views on the spot," she explained.
"That's my favorite part!" she bubbled.
Sure enough, right after the host spoke, a white-haired old man inside rose.
"It's Mr. Hilbert!" Starlight gasped; the geezer clearly carried weight among believers.
The old man shouted, "I study the Gospel of Matthew, and I disagree—"
Much like the Red Chamber scholars in Fang Yuan's past life, the Bible had hordes of academics; they might fool regular folk, but Satan himself?
"Tsk—" Fang Yuan winced; the old man's crushed expression said it all.
When the debate ended, the once-indignant elder had become Lucifer's devotee, gazing at Satan with fiery eyes.
Hope this World has no God—otherwise He'd be mortified, Fang Yuan thought.
After the sermon, the crowd outside lingered, Starlight among them.
"Let's go," Fang Yuan said.
He took her small hand.
"I'll get you his autograph."
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