That evening, Alex and Caitlin were eating dinner.
He got a call from Starlight.
She was willing to take the risk.
'What a good girl.'
After hanging up, Alex picked up a piece of greens and put it in Caitlin's bowl and she thanked him.
Alex looked toward Kimiko, the wolf girl sitting not far away.
She kept her head down while eating, as if she didn't know Alex at all.
At that moment, Caitlin asked, "Mr. John, did you go out of town?"
"I haven't seen you for more than a month."
Alex nodded, "Our company took on a big project in another state. They sent me there to fix pipes."
"I only got back these past two days."
Caitlin said, "Then you must've had a hard time. Drink more soup. Aunt Mei's soup is really nutritious."
They were in a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. Right then, it suddenly became noisy outside.
Then a car slammed into the lamp post outside the restaurant like it had gone out of control.
The doors opened, and three or four black men climbed out. They looked panicked and glanced toward the end of the street.
Several police cars came speeding over from there.
The men rushed into the Chinese restaurant. One of them fired a shot into the ceiling, "Everybody get down! Don't move!"
By then, the police cars had already surrounded the restaurant.
A police officer shouted through a loudspeaker, "Everyone inside, listen up. You're surrounded."
"There's nowhere to run. Come out and surrender now!"
Looking at the police cars outside and the black men inside the restaurant,
Alex sighed, "This is everyday life in the Federation."
At that moment, one of the men walked over and pressed an automatic pistol against Alex's temple.
"Hey, man."
"Are you deaf?"
"Didn't you hear me tell you to get down?"
Alex smiled and calmly glanced at the man.
The man's expression suddenly changed. Then he walked toward his companions.
"Damn it! What do we do now? The cops have us surrounded."
"Relax, we've got hostages, right, Abel?"
They looked at the armed man.
The armed man suddenly raised his gun and fired several shots in a row, killing his companions.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
While the gunshots echoed through the room, Alex had an arm around Caitlin.
Caitlin nervously asked, "What happened?"
Alex smiled, "They suddenly started fighting among themselves."
"Fighting among themselves?"
At that moment, the armed man walked out of the restaurant and opened fire on the police.
The result was obvious.
Just like that, the whole incident ended.
After Alex and Caitlin gave their statements, they returned to the apartment building.
After taking Caitlin home, Alex went downstairs and was stopped on the second floor by Kimiko.
Kimiko anxiously gestured, 'Do you have any news about Mouse yet?'
Alex didn't hide it, "Not yet."
"But it should be soon."
Kimiko looked at him suspiciously and gestured with her hands, 'You're not lying to me, are you?'
Alex laughed and lifted her chin, "What do you even have that's worth me lying to you for?"
Kimiko unhappily brushed his hand away.
Alex narrowed his eyes slightly, pulled her into the room, then grabbed her by the throat and said, "You'd better lose that attitude. You're not the only one who can do bodyguard work."
"If I say the word, plenty of superheroes would fight over the chance to protect Caitlin for me."
"Killing you would be effortless for me."
"So if you still want to see Mouse again, you'd better be more polite to me. Got it?"
Kimiko stubbornly looked away.
Alex smiled and slowly pulled her face back toward him, "Look into my eyes."
"Tell me if you understand."
Kimiko gave a hard nod, still upset.
"Not enough. Come on, smile for me."
Alex made another demand.
Kimiko hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she forced out a smile.
It looked terrible.
Only then did Alex let go, "That's better."
"To me, you're just a stray cat I picked up off the street."
"I took you in and gave you a place to stay, so you don't have to worry about being hunted or wanted."
"So you should be grateful to me."
"At the very least, don't give me attitude."
"That's basic manners."
Alex lightly patted her cheek before leaving.
After the door closed, Kimiko finally exploded. She shoved over the furniture to vent her anger.
———
[Inside the Home of Arnold, president of Olga Weapons Company]
Number Zero, possessing Supersonic's body, said, "You did well. I've successfully entered the Seven Tower."
"Today I even met Homelander. Looks like he didn't suspect anything."
"That means I now have a chance to parasitize him."
Arnold's face looked even paler than before, "In that case, can you give me a little reward?"
Number Zero knew what he wanted, so one of the buttons on Supersonic's clothes suddenly changed shape.
It stretched into a thin fiber and stabbed into Arnold's chest.
Arnold immediately closed his eyes, and color slowly returned to his face.
A moment later, the fiber pulled back and turned into a button again.
Still unsatisfied, Arnold said, "This feeling is incredible. It's like I've gone back to being young again."
Number Zero said, "This superhuman is still too weak. It's only been a little over a month, and he's already close to dying."
"Looks like before I parasitize Homelander, I'll need to switch hosts at least one more time."
Arnold looked at him, "Do you have someone in mind?"
"Not yet," Number Zero said, "But if I'm choosing, it'll be from the Seven's reserve team."
"First, it'll be easier. Second, I can still stay in the Seven Tower."
"Hm! That woman called Starlight seems pretty good."
"She and Supersonic have known each other for a long time. She's the least guarded around him."
"Maybe tomorrow night, I can invite her to dinner at Supersonic's house."
———
[The Next Day]
[Night]
After changing into casual clothes, Starlight stepped out of the car and smiled at Supersonic beside her, "I almost forgot how long it's been since I last came to your place."
Supersonic closed the car door and said, "Then tonight, we should really relive the old days."
"I already prepared the ingredients."
Starlight smiled, "You're really thoughtful."
They walked into the house.
Above the house, behind a layer of clouds, Alex let out a soft scoff.
"Looks like there's no need for Starlight to lure out the alien anymore."
"This guy actually invited Starlight over himself. Looks like he plans to parasitize her tonight."
As he spoke, Alex's figure blurred slightly and split into a duplicate.
Alex then took out "Odin's Eyepatch" from his inventory. Using "Mind Invasion" to control the duplicate, he had it take the eyepatch and put it over its right eye.
The duplicate's body turned transparent and drifted away like a ghost.
Under Alex's control, the duplicate switched into its "Information Lifeform" state, then entered Supersonic's house through the network cables and hid inside the computer in his home.