Homelander's powerful voice reached the ears of viewers all over the World.
"In this Universe, humanity has always been viewed as a fragile race. We have no hard scales, no sharp fangs. We fear disease, we fear the bitter cold, as if any unknown creature from the depths of the starry sky could harm us."
"But today, all of this will become history!"
Homelander raised his hand and pointed toward the sky.
"From today on, we are no longer lambs to the slaughter! Because today, I will bestow upon you power that rivals the gods!"
"But let me remind you of one thing... once you put on Vought's uniform, you are no longer mortals."
"You will become the sharp sword of human civilization, the extension of Vought's will!"
Homelander spread his arms wide, took a deep breath, and roared.
"Are you ready to meet your destiny?!"
"We are ready!!!"
Thousands of new students below the stage roared in unison, their voices soaring into the clouds, deafeningly loud.
The students waved their arms frantically, their burning breath igniting the entire venue.
Standing in the crowd, Peter Parker was so excited that tears filled his eyes, raising his fists to scream wildly along with the crowd.
He swore in his heart that he would do everything in his power to become someone like Homelander; he would definitely join The Seven!
And the people outside the screens were equally too excited to contain themselves.
[Vought is my lifelong goal!]
[Homelander! I will follow you to the death!]
[This is our god! This is the future of humanity!]
[May human civilization live forever! May Vought's glory last eternally!]
[No regrets entering the Federation in this life, in the Afterlife I'll still be a Vought citizen!]
...
Homelander stood on the stage, looking at the students below who worshipped him frantically.
Hearing the constant prompts of "popularity value +++" in his mind, the corners of his mouth curled up to the extreme.
He couldn't help but roar with delight in his heart:
Fuck yeah! Fuck yeah! That's it!
Go wild! Worship! Hand over your souls, your faith, completely and without reservation to me!
I am the King of the World! I am your only god!
Hahaha! Hahahaha!
Meanwhile, in the Villa of the V.G.D. Headquarters, several members of the Eternals were also sitting around the television, watching the entire live broadcast.
Even though they had lived for thousands of years and witnessed the rise and fall of countless civilizations, they were deeply shocked at this moment.
Makkari quickly signed: [In thousands of years, I have never seen such a figure. Maybe this time... Arishem the Judge is really in big trouble.]
The others nodded in deep agreement.
Sersi could finally contain herself no longer.
She came to Makkari's side and asked tentatively.
"Makkari... you and that... that Pietro from Vought?"
"What exactly happened between you two? The atmosphere between you is very off. Are you... dating?"
The eyes of the others instantly locked onto Makkari, and even the usually silent Tina turned her head in curiosity.
Makkari rolled her eyes and calmly signed: [No, we're not, don't overthink it.]
Seeing this answer, Sersi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Since they weren't dating, maybe there was still a chance to save Ikaris through Makkari.
Unexpectedly, Makkari suddenly smiled slyly and added another set of signs.
[Unless he can get me that Vought collector's edition commemorative card album personally signed by Homelander with a lipstick print!]
Sersi was instantly petrified, covering her forehead in pain.
"I... I didn't know you were so interested in Homelander..."
Makkari proudly signed: [Actually, I've been a die-hard fan of his since a few years ago. I've collected his entire set of holographic cards, limited edition mugs...]
It was over.
Sersi closed her eyes in despair.
Ikaris, you don't stand a chance.
...
After the opening ceremony ended,
the teachers and teaching assistants of each academy began leading their respective classes of students in batches to the V.G.D. Headquarters Testing Center.
Based on the students' previous genetic test reports, they would be injected with Compound V or exposed to purified Terrigen Mist.
The Testing Center was very spacious, and fully armed staff members were prepared to handle any unexpected incidents.
Most of the students who came for awakening were entering V.G.D., this sacred land of Superheroes, for the first time.
Every one of them looked around in excitement, imagining coming here after graduation to realize their hero dreams.
The V.D.G. broadcast continuously played the procedural guidelines:
"Students who have completed their awakening, please first undergo a one-week testing and evaluation at the V.G.D. Isolation Center."
"Only after your abilities are confirmed to be stable and safe may you leave. Vought will conduct a secondary house sorting based on your ability attributes."
"Support-type and logistics-type abilities will enter the Osiris Division."
"Combat-type abilities, based on personality test results, will be sorted into either the Helios or Obelisk House."
"And students with top-tier abilities and immense potential... will be eligible to enter the fourth major house, the Viltrum House!"
The students stood in long queues in excitement, listening carefully to the broadcast.
Out of absolute trust and worship for Homelander, no one raised any questions, and the queue remained in perfect order.
The queue moved forward at a steady pace.
Soon, it was Peter Parker's turn.
Peter also lay down on the injection chair with an excited heart.
A Vought researcher slowly pushed a vial of deep blue Compound V into his vein.
At first, Peter only felt a slight chill in his arm.
But after just two and a half seconds, a strange heat burst from his heart, instantly sweeping through his entire body.
Peter felt as though his blood was burning, and his energy was more abundant than ever before.
He looked down and found that his muscles had become tighter and more swollen.
"How do you feel, kid?" the researcher asked, holding a clipboard.
"Incredible. I feel like I could pull a train to a stop." Peter clenched his fist.
Just then, a numb, itchy sensation suddenly came from the inside of his wrist.
Frowning slightly, he took off the web-shooter on his wrist.
Right after taking it off, Peter froze.
Without him realizing, a bottle-cap-sized white, web-like pattern had appeared on his skin.
This was definitely not there before.
Peter touched the white spot with some curiosity.
Driven by some instinct, he subconsciously made the hand gesture to shoot a web.
"Thwip!"
A strand of tough white spider web shot directly out from the white spot on his wrist!
Peter was startled, his face filled with disbelief.
Before he could recover from the shock of the organic webbing,
an even more astonishing reaction followed.
His "Spider-Sense" suddenly went off!
But this alarm was not because danger was approaching him.
Rather, it was receiving a distress signal!
"Help! Robbery! Give me back my bag!"
In his perception, that voice was incredibly clear; he could even hear the robber's hurried footsteps and heartbeat.
But after only a few seconds,
"Bang!" a muffled thud.
Followed by the robber's wail: "Ah! My hand! I'm sorry, Iron Wall! I surrender!"
Obviously, this robbery had been quickly resolved by Vought's patrolling city heroes.
Although the cries for help had died down,
Peter's heart could not calm down.
His brain rapidly calculated the direction and distance from which the voice had just come.
"Lower Manhattan... the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 14th Street..."
And he was currently located at the V.G.D. Headquarters Base in the suburbs of New York.
The distance to Lower Manhattan... was a whopping forty-eight kilometers!
"This is just... too crazy..."
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