Chapter 232 Soldier Boy
Manhattan Downtown, Vought International temporary command center.
Starlight sat in the empty conference room with three screens in front of her.
She stared at the blurry figure in the middle, her fingers tapping on the keyboard.
The surveillance footage began to rewind, from the ruins to the alley, then to an earlier point in time. Every frame was checked carefully.
Nothing.
The person appeared out of thin air and vanished just as abruptly. The only thing left behind was that sentence — "Only a living hero can change something."
Starlight rubbed her eyes and switched to the energy monitoring system. A string of data popped up on the screen. Seventeen abnormal energy fluctuations had been detected in downtown Manhattan over the past six hours, sixteen of which were confirmed to have been caused by Homelander.
There was one more.
The coordinates were in the East District of Brooklyn, an abandoned industrial street. The time was 3:27 AM, just half an hour after she had been rescued.
The energy type was unknown, and the intensity far exceeded the standard value of compound v.
She stood up and grabbed her jacket.
"Where are you going?"
Maeve pushed the door open and entered.
"Chasing a lead."
"What lead?"
"The person who saved me."
Maeve frowned.
"That person's background is unknown, and their strength is unclear. Homelander is still out there causing destruction; you should stay here."
"Wait for what? For the Military to send more fighter jets to their deaths?"
Starlight turned around.
"That person subdued Homelander in three seconds. Three seconds. If he is willing to help, we have a chance to stop this disaster."
"What if he isn't willing?"
Starlight was silent.
Maeve walked over, her voice dropping.
"I understand you want to do something. But you cannot pin your hopes on a stranger. We don't know what he wants, nor do we know if he will be more dangerous than Homelander."
"I know he won't kill me," Starlight said.
"Otherwise, he would have done it just now."
"That only means he doesn't want to kill you right now."
Starlight looked at her and suddenly smiled.
"Are you worried about me, or are you worried that he will become a new threat?"
Maeve didn't answer.
"Take the communicator," she said.
"If there's an anomaly, contact me immediately."
"Okay."
Brooklyn East District, abandoned industrial street.
Starlight stood outside the factory, holding a detector. The values on the screen kept jumping, pointing to the rusty iron door ahead.
She pushed the door open; it was pitch black inside. Her palm lit up with golden light, barely illuminating the few meters in front of her. The concrete floor was covered with broken glass and discarded parts.
The beeping of the detector became increasingly urgent.
Starlight walked to the end and found a brick wall in front of her. But the detector showed the energy source was right behind the wall.
She reached out and pressed against the wall, feeling a warm sensation at her fingertips. That wasn't right; the brick wall should have been cold.
Starlight took a step back, her hands gathering light energy. A white beam of light slammed into the wall, the bricks exploded, revealing a metal door.
There was no handle on the door, only a fingerprint scanner. The screen displayed red: Insufficient Authorization.
Starlight gritted her teeth and gathered light energy again. The beam struck the scanner, and the entire door exploded, leaving a hole the size of a fist.
The alarm went off.
Starlight pushed open the deformed metal door and followed the stairs down.
The third basement level.
The air was filled with the smell of disinfectant and machine oil. On both sides of the corridor were sealed cabin doors, each with a number and warning label.
Starlight walked to the deepest part and saw a cabin door twice as large as the others.
The warning label on the door was red: High-Risk Subject, Do Not Approach.
The alarm sound was coming from here.
As she was about to approach, a voice came from behind her.
"I advise you not to touch that door."
Starlight turned around abruptly, light energy gathering in her palm.
Chu Hangs Clone stood at the other end of the corridor, his hands in his trench coat pockets.
"It's you."
Starlight didn't lower her guard.
"Why are you here?"
"Waiting for you, little beauty."
Chu Hangs Clone walked over, his gaze falling on the cabin door.
Starlight blushed at these words, then asked, "Then why didn't you go in and wait?"
"Because there is something inside that is even more troublesome than Homelander."
Chu Hangs Clone walked to the cabin door and pressed his hand against it. Alchemy Law unfolded in his palm, golden runes spreading along the door gap and penetrating into the internal machinery.
A few seconds later, he opened his eyes.
"The refrigeration system has been stopped for twenty-three minutes, and the internal temperature has risen to minus fifteen degrees. At this rate, in another seven minutes, the thing inside will wake up."
"What thing?"
"One of the sources of compound v."
Chu Hangs Clone turned to look at her.
"Codename Soldier Boy, the first batch of super Soldiers manufactured by Vought International seventy years ago."
Starlight was stunned.
"The first batch? I thought Homelander was the first."
"Homelander was just the first one successfully controlled. Before him, Vought conducted countless experiments. Most of the subjects died, and only three survived. Two of them were dismantled and studied to extract the core components of compound v."
"What about the third one?"
Chu Hangs Clone pointed at the cabin door.
"He's inside. His power was too strong to control, so Vought froze him, intending to thaw him out once the technology matured. But later, Homelander was born, and this subject was forgotten."
Starlight looked at the door, her palms sweating.
"How strong is he?"
"Three times stronger than Homelander," Chu Hangs Clone said.
"And he has absolutely no sanity, only instinct and rage. Once he wakes up, he will kill every living creature in his sight."
A thumping sound came from inside the cabin door.
The entire corridor was shaking.
"We have to stop him from coming out."
Starlight gathered light energy in her hands.
"Stopping him is no longer possible."
Chu Hangs Clone looked at the temperature display on the door.
"The backup power supply for the refrigeration system was affected by the chain reaction when Homelander destroyed the London power grid, and now the entire system has crashed. Unless you can fix it within six minutes."
"Then teleport him away, like you did to me before."
"Can't. Space Law requires precise positioning of Lifesignals, but he is still in a semi-frozen state, and his Lifesignal is unstable. Forcing a teleportation might cut him in half, and then the energy inside him would explode, tsk tsk tsk."
"Then what do we do?"
Chu Hangs Clone didn't speak, just stared at the cabin door. Alchemy Law circulated within his body, analyzing the energy structure of the Life form behind the door.
compound v had existed in Soldier Boy for seventy years, far more primitive and unstable than the version in Homelander. Those purple veins were not branded on the surface of his skin but were deep in his marrow, completely fused with his gene chain.
This was the result of Vought International's earliest Alchemy. Crude, violent, and completely uncontrolled, but the power was terrifyingly pure.
Chu Hangs Clone reached out and pressed his hand on the cabin door, the runes of Alchemy Law unfolding again. This time, it wasn't analysis, but intervention.
The runes seeped into the door gap, spreading along the pipes of the freezing chamber, eventually touching SoldierBoy's body. He sensed that violent energy awakening, like a Beast imprisoned for seventy years, full of longing for freedom and hatred for everything.
"What are you doing?"
Starlight asked.
"Adding an insurance policy for him. Even if he wakes up, he won't go on a rampage immediately."
The thumping inside the cabin door became increasingly intense, and the metal began to deform. The temperature display jumped to minus five degrees, and the red alarm light flashed continuously.
Chu Hangs Clone closed his eyes, and Alchemy Law built an energy anchor point inside Soldier Boy. Not suppression, but guidance. He wanted to let that rampaging power find an outlet.
Three minutes later, he opened his eyes and withdrew his hand.
"Done?"
Starlight asked.
"Temporarily. It can only last for ten minutes. Ten minutes later, if he is still rampaging, the anchor point will fail."
"What can we do in ten minutes?"
"Forgot to tell you, although I can't stop him from waking up, I never said I couldn't beat him. Ten minutes is enough for me to rub him into the ground dozens of times."
The cabin door exploded.
Not from the outside, but from the inside. A huge force lifted the three-ton metal door entirely and smashed it into the opposite wall.
A person walked out of the freezing chamber.
To be precise, a monster.
Over two meters tall, his muscles were twisted and swollen, and the purple veins under his skin were wriggling like living things. They were not the evenly distributed fine lines like Homelander's, but thick, blood-vessel-like protrusions extending from his neck to his arms, chest, and thighs.
Soldier Boy opened his eyes; his pupils were cloudy gray-white, without focus. He opened his mouth and let out a Beast-like low roar, the gas he exhaled condensing into white mist in the air.
Starlight subconsciously stepped back.
Soldier Boy turned his head to look at her, red light flashing in his gray-white pupils. He raised his right hand, and dark red energy fluctuations surged from his palm. It wasn't the precise Heat Vision of Homelander, but indiscriminate energy radiation.
The metal doors on both sides of the corridor began to melt, and scorched black cracks appeared on the concrete walls.
Starlight gathered all her light energy and pushed out a beam with both hands, trying to counteract the radiation.
It was useless.
The two energies collided in mid-air, and her beam was directly deflected. The counter-shock force made her stagger back, her back hitting the wall.
Soldier Boy walked over, each step making the ground shake. The energy fluctuations radiating from his body became stronger and stronger, the purple veins began to glow, and the temperature in the entire corridor rose to over forty degrees.
Chu Hangs Clone stood still.
He stared at the energy structure inside Soldier Boy, Alchemy Law running rapidly in his mind, analyzing the arrangement of those veins, the flow of energy, and the way it fused with the gene chain.
This was the essence of compound v.
Not the version optimized by Vought later, not the carefully prepared stable medicine, but the most primitive, most pure product of Alchemy — trading Life for power, trading sanity for destruction.
Soldier Boy's body was a living Alchemy matrix. Every vein was an energy path, and every breath was converting Lifeenergy. He was no longer a human, but a biological weapon modified only for combat.
Chu Hangs Clone saw the root of this Universe's power system, and he also saw its flaws.
While compound v granted power, it also devoured the user's humanity.
Homelander could still barely maintain superficial sanity because of Vought's later technological improvements.
But Soldier Boy was the first generation, without any protective measures, and seventy years of freezing had not been able to wear down the violent energy within him.
Now that he was awake, he was a bomb about to detonate.
Soldier Boy walked up to Chu Hangs Clone and stopped. Gray-white pupils stared at him, and a low growl came from his throat.
Chu Hangs Clone raised his hand, and golden runes lit up in his palm.
Alchemy Law followed the energy anchor point he had left earlier, seeping into Soldier Boy's body and establishing a resonance with those purple veins. He wanted to parse the Alchemy of this Universe from the inside, find the core principles, and thoroughly master the secret of compound v.
Soldier Boy's body froze. The light of the purple veins began to flicker, and the energy fluctuations became chaotic.
He let out a painful roar, clutched his head with both hands, and his whole body began to tremble.
Starlight saw the opportunity, gathered the strongest beam of light in her hands, and prepared to attack.
Chapter 233: Subjugation
The roar of Soldier Boy echoed through the corridor.
Chu Hangs Clone stood motionless, staring at the chaotic purple veins running through his body.
The energy anchor point left by the Alchemy Law was recording data—every fluctuation, every tremor in the genetic chain, every flow of compound v.
This was the source of power for the superpowers on this Earth.
Soldier Boy looked up, a tyrannical red light flashing in his grayish-white pupils.
He opened his mouth, and dark red energy surged from the depths of his throat.
The temperature in the corridor skyrocketed, and the air began to distort.
Starlight turned pale.
She could feel her skin burning and had difficulty breathing. The light energy barrier she had conjured with her hands disintegrated under the high heat; she couldn't hold it any longer.
A transparent barrier appeared, blocking in front of her.
Soldier Boy's energy slammed into it, exploding in a blinding white light, but the barrier didn't budge.
Starlight was stunned and turned to look at Chu Hangs Clone. The other party hadn't even raised a hand; he was just standing there watching, as calm as if he were observing a specimen.
Soldier Boy roared and charged over. His two-meter-plus tall frame caused the ground to crack with every step.
He raised his right fist, the purple veins glowing wildly, and his entire arm swelled like a tree trunk.
The fist smashed down.
Chu Hangs Clone raised his left hand, fingers spread open.
Golden runes spread out in his palm, constructing a miniature matrix. Soldier Boy's fist smashed into it; the impact was absorbed, converted into another form of energy, and back-flowed into his body along the purple veins.
Soldier Boy's body jolted, and he stopped.
He looked down at his arm. The light of the purple veins began to disorder, and the energy no longer flowed along its original path.
Chu Hangs Clone stepped forward, pressing his right hand against his chest.
Alchemy Law fully activated.
Golden runes spread from his palm, crawling along his body, seeping into every purple vein and every energy node.
Chu Hang wanted to see clearly how compound vtransformed people into biological weapons.
Soldier Boy struggled to retreat, but his body wouldn't obey. The golden runes were like chains, pinning him in place.
Starlight watched this scene, her palms sweating. She wanted to help but didn't know what to do; this was no longer a clash of power.
The consciousness of Chu Hangs Clone sank into the other's body.
It was chaos; the purple energy was like a flood, rampaging through the broken genetic chains.
Every impact tore at the cells, and every repair made the energy even more violent; it was an endless cycle of self-destruction that hadn't stopped for seventy years.
Soldier Boy's consciousness had long been shattered. The residual memories floating in the torrent of energy were all pain and anger.
The incandescent lights of the laboratory, the cold operating table, the syringes piercing into his veins, and the indifferent eyes of those wearing white coats.
Chu Hangs Clone saw the most primitive form of compound v.
It wasn't the stable serum formulated later, but a product forcibly mixed from three primitive enzyme liquids extracted from super-powered individuals. No buffer, no inhibitor, no protection at all.
Vought had used this brutal method back then to pour power into human bodies and see who could survive.
Soldier Boy had survived, but he had lost everything.
Alchemy Law began to operate. Chu Hang wasn't trying to suppress this power, but to redefine how it existed.
The golden runes wove new paths within the torrent of energy, guiding the out-of-control purple energy into rational channels. It wasn't blocking; it was dredging.
Soldier Boy's body trembled violently. The purple veins flickered, and the energy fluctuations became even more chaotic.
He opened his mouth to roar, but only broken groans came from his throat.
Starlight couldn't bear it anymore. She rushed forward, condensing light energy in her hands.
Chu Hangs Clone didn't turn back, instead raising his right hand and pressing it into the void.
An invisible force pushed Starlight back to her original spot.
Starlight gritted her teeth, the light energy gathering brighter in her palms. She wasn't willing to just watch.
But she knew she couldn't win.
"What are you trying to do?"
The voice of Chu Hangs Clone rang out.
"Use that little bit of light energy to attack me? Or attack him?"
Starlight was stunned.
"You can't beat me, and you can't save him."
"The only thing you can do now is stand there and watch."
"But he will die."
"He won't."
The palm of Chu Hangs Clone pressed against SoldierBoy's chest applied slight pressure, and more golden runes surged in.
"I am not killing him."
"I am saving him."
The torrent of energy inside Soldier Boy began to change. The chaotic purple energy was gradually guided into the new paths. The golden runes were like river channels, diverting the flood.
But it wasn't enough.
Chu Hangs Clone mobilized the Law of Life. Pale green light seeped from his palm, merging into the other's body.
This could repair the broken genetic chains, soothe cellular trauma, and restabilize the Life that was on the verge of collapse.
Soldier Boy's breathing smoothed out. The purple veins stopped flickering, stabilizing at a single frequency. The swollen muscles began to shrink, and the vein-like protrusions under his skin slowly subsided.
The most critical part was his eyes.
The red light in his grayish-white pupils faded, and a glimmer of clarity appeared.
Starlight was too shocked to speak. She had seen too many cases of compound v going out of control; those people either died on the experimental table or were secretly executed by Vought.
No one had ever been able to recover from that state.
But the person before her had done it.
Chu Hangs Clone withdrew his hand, and the golden runes faded away.
Soldier Boy stood there, his chest heaving violently.
He looked down at his hands; the thick purple veins had become thinner, no longer glowing, and were quietly attached beneath his skin.
He clenched his fist; the power was still there, but it was no longer out of control, no longer wanting to tear everything apart like a Beast.
He looked up, his pupils having returned to brown. His gaze landed on the face of Chu Hangs Clone and stopped.
That face was unfamiliar, but the eyes filled him with fear. It wasn't the fear of facing an enemy, but something deeper, as if a brand had been carved into the depths of his Soul.
Soldier Boy opened his mouth to speak, but only hoarse, breathy sounds came from his throat.
He hadn't spoken in seventy years, and his vocal cords had degenerated.
Chu Hangs Clone didn't wait for him to speak, directly using the Law of Spirit to transmit information into his mind.
"What is your name?"
Soldier Boy was stunned for a few seconds as vague memories surfaced in his mind. In the laboratory, someone had called out his codename.
"B-07."
"Not your codename, your name."
Soldier Boy was silent. He couldn't remember. In his memories, there were only the incandescent lights and the operating table of the laboratory; anything before that was blank.
"It's better if you forget," Chu Hangs Clone said.
"From now on, you are called Benjamin."
Soldier Boy—Benjamin—didn't object. He just stood there, waiting for the next order.
Chu Hangs Clone looked at him. The reshaping just now wasn't just about repairing the genetic chains; he had also implanted an anchor point in the depths of Benjamin's consciousness.
It wasn't control; it was guidance. That anchor point would make Benjamin instinctively obey his will, but still retain enough autonomy so that he wouldn't become a puppet.
This was the essence of Alchemy. It wasn't destruction; it was reshaping.
Starlight walked forward, carefully observing Benjamin. The monster that only knew how to destroy was gone; although the person before her was tall, his eyes were clear, even carrying a hint of bewilderment.
"Is he really okay now?"
"He's fine," Chu Hangs Clone said.
"The side effects of compound v have been suppressed, and the genetic chains have been repaired. He is more stable than Homelander now, and his power is stronger."
"Will he listen?"
Chu Hangs Clone glanced at her but didn't answer. He turned to Benjamin and pointed toward the end of the corridor.
"Go over there and smash through the wall."
Benjamin didn't hesitate. He walked to the end of the corridor and smashed his right fist into the concrete wall. The entire wall exploded, creating a two-meter-wide hole, with rubble flying everywhere.
Then he stopped, turned to look at Chu Hangs Clone, and waited for the next order.
Starlight gasped. It wasn't because of the power, but because of that obedience.
That punch just now had no hesitation, no unnecessary movements; it was as precise as a machine executing a program.
But he wasn't a machine; he was a living person.
"What did you do to him?"
"I gave him a reason to live," Chu Hangs Clone said.
"His memories were shattered, his personality had collapsed; if left alone, he would have completely lost control within three days and then self-destructed. So I built a support point in the depths of his consciousness so he would know what he was living for."
"What is he living for?"
"For me."
The voice of Chu Hangs Clone was calm, but Starlight felt a chill run through her body.
She stared at Benjamin, seeing that absolute obedience in his eyes. It wasn't fear, it wasn't coercion, but an identification from the heart. Like a Soldier obeying an Officer, or a believer obeying a god.
Starlight bit her lip, wanting to say something, but ultimately remained silent.
She realized she wasn't facing an ordinary super-powered individual, nor one of Vought's hypocritical heroes.
The power grasped by the person before her far exceeded her understanding; he could transform an out-of-control monster into a loyal warrior within minutes, could easily see through the essence of compound v, and could achieve what Vought had failed to do in seventy years of research.
What did such a person want to do?
Chu Hangs Clone turned and walked out along the corridor. Benjamin followed behind, his footsteps steady, no longer possessing a violent aura.
Starlight stood there, hesitating for a few seconds, before finally chasing after them.
The three passed through the abandoned factory and walked out onto the street. It was dawn, and the sound of sirens came from afar; someone must have heard the underground explosion and called the police.
Chu Hangs Clone stopped and looked at the sky. Super Hearing activated; he could hear the chaos all over the World.
Homelander had destroyed six Vought facilities, the Military had lost nineteen fighter jets, and governments around the World were holding emergency meetings to discuss how to respond.
Humanity had no other way to deal with out-of-control super-powered individuals other than nuclear bombs.
But nuclear bombs would bring greater disaster.
So they were gambling. Gambling that Homelander would stop on his own, gambling that someone could stop him.
Chu Hangs Clone withdrew his hearing and looked at Benjamin.
"Homelander is over the Atlantic Ocean, flying toward the U.S. East Coast."
"He wants to return," Chu Hangs Clone said.
"He's finished venting and wants to find a place to hide. But he doesn't know that this World will no longer accept him."
Starlight looked up: "Are you going to kill him?"
"No," Chu Hangs Clone shook his head.
"Killing him is simple, but it's meaningless. This Worldneeds to see a failed god, needs to see the so-called strongest hero defeated. Only in this way will people understand that super-powered individuals are not invincible."
He turned to Starlight.
"If you want to become a true hero, follow me."
"I will let you see what true power is, and what true order is."
Starlight was stunned; she looked into the eyes of Chu Hangs Clone. There was no madness of Homelander in those eyes, no Greed of the Vought executives, only something indescribable.
She wanted to refuse, wanted to turn and leave, but her feet were nailed to the spot.
Because she knew that if she left now, she would never know what this person wanted to do.
More importantly, she would miss the only chance to stop Homelander.
Starlight took a deep breath.
"I'll go with you. But I have one condition."
"Speak."
"No matter what you want to do, you cannot harm innocent people."
Chu Hangs Clone looked at her for a few seconds and smiled.
"Do you really think you can restrict me?"
Starlight didn't back down.
"I know I can't beat you. But I can choose not to help you."
"Since you want me to follow, it means you need me to do something."
Chu Hangs Clone didn't speak again, turning and tearing open a Spatial Rift.
The edges of the rift flashed with golden light, and inside was a twisted void.
Chapter 234 The Deep
The Spatial Rift closed inside an abandoned warehouse.
Starlight stood firm, light glowing in her palms.
All around were reinforced concrete walls, the corners piled high with debris, and the hanging lamp swayed with a buzzing sound.
Something was wrong.
Chu Hangs Clone stood in the center of the warehouse, hands in his trench coat pockets.
Benjamin followed behind, his two-meter-plus shadow pressing against the ground.
"Did you not say you were going to intercept Homelander?"
Starlight turned her head.
"Why did you bring us here?"
Footsteps came from the depths.
Seven or eight people walked out from the shadows.
The leader was a man with short stubble, wearing a black trench coat, his eyes like knives.
He held a shotgun in his right hand, the muzzle aimed at Chu Hang.
"Don't move."
The people behind him also raised their weapons.
Assault rifles, crossbows, and a young man wearing glasses clutching a remote control, his finger pressed on the red button.
Starlight backed away, light energy condensing in her palms.
"Who are you?"
"The Deep," the stubbled man said, "we specialize in killing people like you who wear spandex."
He stared at Starlight, his eyes full of hatred.
It was not hatred directed at any one person, but hatred for all super-powered individuals.
Starlight had seen people who disliked super-powered individuals, but never any so pure in their hatred.
Chu Hangs Clone ignored the muzzle and looked at the man.
"Billy Butcher."
Butcher squinted: "You know me?"
"Of course. A man seeking revenge for his wife."
Butcher's face darkened, and he pulled the trigger.
The shotgun pellets stopped in mid-air.
All the pellets hung thirty centimeters in front of Chu Hang, motionless.
Butcher froze for a second, then pulled the trigger twice more; the second and third rounds of shotgun pellets were also frozen in the air.
The others opened fire as well.
Bullets, crossbow bolts, and explosives all flew toward Chu Hang and Benjamin.
They all stopped.
Dozens of warheads floated in the air.
Chu Hangs Clone raised his hand and squeezed gently.
All the attacks turned to powder and scattered on the ground.
Butcher's face turned pale.
Chu Hangs Clone took a step forward.
Butcher wanted to move, but his body wouldn't obey.
An invisible force pressed down on everyone, making it impossible for them to even lift a finger.
"You hate super-powered individuals," Chu Hangs Clonesaid.
"Because super-powered individuals ruined your lives."
"Butcher, your wife was violated by Homelander, carried his child, and died on the delivery table."
"Shui, your girlfriend was killed by A-Train, and Vought International gave you fifty thousand in hush money."
He turned to the others.
The young man with glasses shook, and the remote control fell to the ground.
"Frenchie, your parents died in an explosion at a Vought International pharmaceutical plant; the company said it was an accident, but you found the truth. It was caused by the illegal dumping of compound v waste."
"And you, Mrs. M, after your daughter was injected with compound v, her genes collapsed, and Vought International sent her to a secret laboratory; her fate remains unknown to this day."
As he said each name, the corresponding person's face turned paler.
Butcher gritted his teeth, veins bulging.
He wanted to speak, but his throat felt as if it were being strangled, and he could not make a sound.
"I know everything about you," Chu Hangs Clone stopped in front of Butcher.
"Because I hacked into Vought International's servers and obtained all the files, including the truth you want to know."
He raised his right hand, a golden shimmer lighting up his fingertips.
[Ability: Psychic Projection]
A scene flooded into Butcher's mind.
A night eight years ago.
His wife Becca was at home when Homelander broke through the window.
There was no hero saving the beauty, only violence and violation.
Becca struggled, cried, and begged for mercy, but it was all useless.
Homelander smiled afterward and said:
"Don't tell anyone, or both you and your husband will die."
Then he flew away, leaving Becca slumped on the floor.
The scene continued.
Becca discovered she was pregnant, went to the hospital for a check-up, and the Doctor's expression was strange.
Half an hour later, three men in black suits appeared and took her to a secret medical center of Vought International.
The Doctor told her that the fetus carried super-powered genes and must be kept; it was the property of Vought International.
Becca tried to escape but was locked up.
Ten months later, she gave birth to a baby boy.
The baby's cry shattered all the glass in the delivery room, and the Nurse's eardrums ruptured on the spot.
Becca died from blood loss and organ failure, and the baby was numbered and sent to a culture tank.
The scene ended.
Butcher knelt on the ground, tears mixed with saliva dripping down.
He opened his mouth to roar, but only broken sobs came from his throat.
The other members of The Deep also saw their own truths.
Shui saw A-Train look back after killing his girlfriend, then run away with a smile.
Frenchie saw Vought International executives deciding in a meeting to destroy evidence and push the blame onto the deceased workers.
Mrs. M saw her daughter tied to an experimental table, body convulsing, her eyes full of despair.
The warehouse fell into a deathly silence.
Starlight stood to the side, her face pale.
Although she hadn't seen the scenes, she could guess the content from the reactions of the members of The Deep.
Chu Hangs Clone released the mental suppression.
Butcher and the others slumped on the ground; some were shaking, some were crying, and others were staring blankly at the floor.
Butcher looked up, his eyes bloodshot.
"What the hell do you want?"
His voice was so hoarse it didn't sound human.
Chu Hangs Clone looked down at him.
"To give you a choice."
Butcher climbed up from the ground, his legs still shaking, but he forced himself to stand steady.
The shotgun was three meters away; he didn't go to pick it up, just stared fixedly at Chu Hangs Clone.
"What choice?"
"I will give you the chance to kill Homelander," Chu Hangs Clone said.
"Not a sneak attack, not poisoning, but defeating him head-on, letting the whole World see the so-called strongest hero being taken down."
Butcher sneered.
"You think I'll believe that? You are also a super-powered individual, why would you help us?"
"Because I want to rebuild order."
That bluntness stunned everyone.
"The order of this World is rotten to the core."
"Vought International packages super-powered individuals as heroes, but in reality, they are commodities. The government acquiesces because they also want super Soldiers."
"Ordinary people are kept in the dark, worshipping a bunch of monsters."
"This kind of order must be broken and then rebuilt."
"But I will not do it myself. I need a scalpel to precisely excise the rotten parts, rather than blowing the whole body into pieces."
He looked at Butcher and the others.
"You are that knife."
"You have the motive, the ability, and the channels. Most importantly, you are ordinary people."
"When the image of ordinary people defeating a super-powered individual spreads, people will understand that those so-called gods are nothing special."
Shui climbed up from the ground and pushed up his glasses. The lens was half-shattered, but he still wore them.
"You want us to be your hired thugs?"
"Heh," Chu Hang sighed, rubbing his forehead, "do you think I need that?"
"Besides, you don't have much combat power," Chu Hangs Clone corrected.
"I provide intelligence, weapons, and technical support. You are responsible for execution, cleaning up those out-of-control super-powered individuals, and exposing Vought International's crimes."
"What are the conditions?" Butcher asked, "What do you want?"
"Obedience."
The temperature in the entire warehouse dropped by several degrees.
"From today on, The Deep will take my orders."
"Whoever I tell you to move against, you move against. Whoever I tell you to stop, you stop."
"No bargaining, no personal opinions."
Butcher's face was livid.
"You want us to be dogs?"
"If you want to think that, I can't help it," Chu Hangs Clonedid not deny it.
"But this dog has a Master backing it, has resources, and has a future."
"Unlike now, hiding in the sewers, pointing broken guns at tanks."
"What if I refuse?"
"Then I will leave now," Chu Hangs Clone turned around.
"Homelander will continue to run free, Vought International will continue to create gods, and you will continue to hide."
"Maybe one day, if you're lucky, you can blow up a few third-rate super-powered individuals."
"Maybe if you're unlucky, you'll be taken out by Vought International's cleanup team tomorrow."
He walked toward the location where the Spatial Rift was condensing, and Benjamin followed.
Butcher stood still.
His fists were clenched tight, his nails digging into his palms, and blood dripped onto the floor.
The other members of The Deep looked at him, waiting for him to make a decision.
Shui wanted to speak, but was held back by Frenchie. Mrs. M lowered her head, her shoulders trembling.
Starlight watched this scene, her heart aching.
She wanted to persuade Butcher to refuse, wanted to say don't trust this person. But the words stopped at her lips and she swallowed them back.
Because she knew, Butcher had no choice.
Butcher closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Wait."
Chu Hangs Clone stopped, without looking back.
Butcher looked up, the bloodshot veins in his eyes even heavier.
"I agree. But I have one condition."
"Speak."
"Homelander must die."
"Not locked up, not exiled, but dead."
"I want to watch that scum stop breathing with my own hands."
Chu Hangs Clone turned around, the corners of his mouth curling up.
"Deal."
He raised his right hand, golden runes unfolding in his palm. A fist-sized ball of light condensed and formed, with complex patterns flowing inside.
[Ability: Knowledge Infusion]
The ball of light flew toward Butcher and sank into his brow.
Butcher's body shook, and a massive amount of information flooded into his mind. Data on compound v, files on the weaknesses of super-powered individuals, and a map of Homelander's movement trajectory.
Not just the past seven days, but all records from the past ten years.
Butcher opened his eyes, a golden shimmer flashing in his pupils.
"This is the deposit," Chu Hangs Clone said.
"Three days later, Homelander will return to New York. He will hide in the shelter level of the Vought Internationalbuilding, where there are special alloy walls that can withstand nuclear bombs."
"But I will give you the key to open the door."
"At that time, you can finish him with your own hands."
Butcher looked at his own palms. He could feel something extra in his brain, like a database had been installed, and he could retrieve information at any time.
"What about the others?" Shui asked, "Will you also give us power?"
"Yes. But not now," Chu Hangs Clone looked at the other members of The Deep.
"Each of you will receive the means to counter super-powered individuals. Not the garbage that is compound v, but technology that can truly allow ordinary people to defeat monsters."
"But the premise is, prove that you are worthy."
He waved his hand, and the Spatial Rift opened again. Golden light illuminated the warehouse, and the edges of the rift distorted the void.
"Three days later, I will contact you. Be prepared; this is your only chance."
Chu Hangs Clone took Benjamin and walked into the rift.
Starlight stood where she was, hesitated for a few seconds, and then followed them in.
The rift closed, and the warehouse returned to silence.
Butcher stared at the spot where the rift disappeared, his fists clenched even tighter. The information in his mind churned, each piece deepening his hatred.
"Boss," Shui walked over, "do we really have to listen to him?"
Butcher didn't answer immediately. He turned around and looked at the other members.
Mrs. M looked up, the tears gone from her eyes, leaving only coldness. Frenchie picked up the remote control from the ground and checked the equipment. There were a few others tidying up their weapons.
No one questioned, no one backed down.
Because they had all seen the truth and knew they couldn't fight Vought International on their own. And now, someone who could provide power had appeared.
Regardless of what his purpose was, regardless of what the price was, this was the closest they had ever been to revenge.
Butcher turned back and stared at the photo pasted on the wall. Becca's portrait, her smile gentle, her eyes bright.
"Listen," he said, "as long as I can kill Homelander, I'll be a dog if I have to."
Shui was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.
The others didn't speak either.
They had all made their decisions.
Butcher walked to the wall and took a bottle of whiskey from the drawer.
He unscrewed the cap and took a large gulp from the bottle.
He handed the bottle to Shui, who took it and also took a drink.
The whiskey was passed among the members of The Deep, each person taking a drink, no one speaking.
Butcher looked at the night sky outside the window and clenched his fists.
"Three days."
"Three days later, we go and slaughter that scum."
Chapter 235: The Prototype of a New Order
The Spatial Rift closed.
Starlight stood in the underground Base, surrounded by concrete walls and metal pipes.
More than twenty screens on the walls were playing surveillance footage: Vought Tower, the White House, and some places she didn't recognize.
Chu Hangs Clone was operating a holographic projection at the console. Benjamin stood three steps behind him, motionless.
"Where is this?"
"A stronghold with a shielding system installed." Chu Hangs Clone didn't even look up. "Satellites can't detect it."
Starlight walked over to the screens. One of them was playing footage of The Deep. Butcher was cleaning his gun, Shui was typing on a keyboard, and the others were organizing gear.
"You're spying on them?"
"Just protecting them. After all, I can't sense their movements at all times. Sometimes technology is quite useful."
Starlight stared at the screen, swallowing the words that came to her lips. She knew that if it weren't for this person, Butcher and the others might have died long ago.
Chu Hangs Clone turned off the projection and turned around.
"Sit. We need to talk about what to do next."
Starlight didn't move.
"You want to establish a new order, making all super-powered individuals listen to your commands and obey just like Benjamin."
"Not entirely." Chu Hangs Clone pulled up a file. "I want to build a system. Register all super-powered individuals, assess their danger levels, and assign their purposes. The strong protect the weak, and the weak perform their duties. Those who violate the rules will be eliminated."
Starlight took a step back.
"How is this any different from Vought?"
"Vought treats super-powered individuals as commodities; I treat them as tools." Chu Hangs Clone looked at her. "Tools should be kept where they belong, not running around the World."
"You're talking about people!" Starlight's voice rose. "What gives you the right to decide others' fates?"
"Because I have the power." Chu Hangs Clone was calm. "And I will use it to do the right thing."
Starlight clenched her fists, light energy pulsing in her palms. She wanted to retort but couldn't find the words.
Every word this person said was sincere. It wasn't hypocrisy; he simply believed he was right.
This was even scarier than Vought.
Vought's top brass knew they were doing evil, so they had to cover it up.
But this person didn't think he was doing evil; there was no need to cover anything up at all.
Chu Hangs Clone waved his hand to bring up another screen. In an abandoned warehouse, Butcher and Shuiwere checking their gear.
A dozen cylindrical devices were neatly arranged in a black case, their surfaces glowing with blue light.
"Watch closely."
He pressed the communication key.
"Target: A-Train, currently on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, just came out of a nightclub. Ten minutes to prepare."
Butcher nodded. He grabbed two devices and stuffed them into his trench coat, Shui shouldered his laptop bag, and Frenchie picked up his crossbow. The three of them got into a modified van.
Starlight's heart rate accelerated.
"You want them to take on A-Train? Now?"
"The timing is perfect." Chu Hangs Clone switched the screen. A-Train was wearing casual clothes and sunglasses, laughing and talking with two women. "He just took a dose of compound v booster, and the drug's effect will peak in thirty minutes. But for the first ten minutes, his neural reflexes will be dulled."
The van stopped at the street corner. Butcher and the others got out and moved separately. Shui set up equipment on the opposite rooftop, Frenchie blended into the crowd, and Butcher walked straight toward A-Train.
A-Train sensed something wrong and turned around. Butcher was already in front of him, raising his right hand.
Blue light flickered.
The cylindrical device activated, releasing an electromagnetic pulse. A-Train's body stiffened, and his knees went weak. The compound v in his system was suppressed; his speed vanished, and his strength weakened.
Butcher slammed his left fist into his face. A-Train fell, blood spraying from his nose. The onlookers screamed and backed away.
A-Train tried to get up, but Frenchie's crossbow bolt struck his lower leg. The arrowhead burst, injecting a sedative. A-Train's movements looked like they were on slow-motion.
Butcher mounted him and rained down punch after punch.
"Do you still remember Robin?"
"You laughed when you killed her."
"Can you still laugh now?"
Each sentence was accompanied by a punch. A-Train's face was swollen like a pig's head, three teeth were knocked out, his eye socket was split open, and his face was covered in blood.
Starlight turned her head away.
"Don't look away." Chu Hangs Clone's voice sounded in her ear.
Starlight gritted her teeth, forcing herself to stare at the screen.
Butcher finished. He stood up, pulled a USB drive from his pocket, and held it high above his head.
"This contains A-Train's criminal record from the past five years! He didn't just kill Robin; he killed thirteen others! Vought used money to smooth it over every time, letting him continue to be a hero!"
Shui operated his computer on the opposite rooftop, projecting the data onto the screens of nearby buildings.
Footage of A-Train looking back after killing people, recordings of Vought's top brass discussing hush money, and thirteen autopsy reports.
The onlookers were in an uproar; some held up phones to record, some called the police, and others rushed forward to kick A-Train.
Butcher turned and left. Shui and Frenchie also retreated, and the van vanished around the street corner.
The whole process took less than five minutes.
Starlight slumped into her chair, her hands trembling. She had seen battles between super-powered individuals and Vought's conspiracies, but she had never seen such a precise operation.
"This is what I want." Chu Hangs Clone turned off the screen. "Not destruction, but cleaning. Cutting away the rotten parts."
"But..." Starlight looked up. "You turned Butcher and the others into killers."
"They already were. I just provided the tools and the targets."
Starlight wanted to retort, but the words were stuck in her throat. Butcher's hatred was real, and A-Train's crimes were also real.
If Chu Hang hadn't provided the intelligence and equipment, Butcher might never have been able to take his revenge.
But is this right?
The communicator rang.
Chu Hangs Clone answered, and Benjamin's voice came through.
"Found Queen Maeve."
"Bring her back."
The communication cut off. Chu Hangs Clone looked at Starlight.
"Queen Maeve is the only person in The Seven who still has a conscience. She knows Vought's darkness and Homelander's madness, but she chose silence. Now she has two choices: either join me and use her power to do the right thing, or continue hiding and wait to be cleaned up by Homelander or Vought."
Starlight stood up.
"You can't force her."
"I could, but I won't." Chu Hangs Clone said. "I'm just giving her a choice."
Twenty minutes later, a Spatial Rift opened. Benjaminwalked in, carrying Queen Maeve.
Queen Maeve's armor had a few tears, and there were bruises on her face. She struggled to resist, but Benjamin's hand was like an iron clamp.
Benjamin threw her to the ground. Queen Maeve propped herself up and crawled to the wall. She saw Chu Hangs Clone, and fear flashed in her eyes.
"Who are you?"
"Never mind who I am. I'm giving you a chance now."
Queen Maeve sneered.
"What chance? To be your dog?"
"Something like that. But this dog will be able to survive and do something meaningful."
He waved his hand, and the screen lit up. Homelander was standing above the White House, arms crossed, looking down at the army and reporters below.
"The World needs a real leader, not weak politicians. I'll give you seventy-two hours to hand over power and accept the new order. Otherwise, I will come and take it myself."
Homelander's voice reached every corner of the globe through the microphone.
Queen Maeve's face turned pale.
"He's crazy."
"He's been crazy for a long time. Vought used to keep him in check, but now that Vought has fallen, he's completely lost control."
Queen Maeve looked up, staring at Chu Hangs Clone.
"You want me to deal with him?"
"No." Chu Hangs Clone shook his head. "I want you to stand on the right side. When Homelander falls, you need to be there. You need to let the whole World see that super-powered individuals are not invincible, nor are they all standing on the opposite side of humanity."
Queen Maeve was silent for a few seconds, then nodded. She knew she had no choice, just like Starlight, having been swept into an unavoidable transformation.
Chu Hangs Clone looked at Starlight.
"Do you understand now? The super-powered system in this World is rotten to the core. Vought packages it with lies, and Homelander rules with violence. The result is the same: ordinary people are always the victims."
Starlight bit her lip. She looked at Homelander's arrogant posture on the screen, then at the subdued Queen Maeve, and at Butcher's action earlier. Her values were clashing violently.
If not this way, is there a better way?
All the screens flickered simultaneously. An emergency news bulletin covered the footage.
The anchor's voice trembled: "Breaking news: Homelanderhas just descended above the White House, demanding to speak with the President. He claims to be the savior of the World and the only order. If they do not obey, he will treat the entire country as an enemy."
The footage switched to the White House. Homelanderwas hovering in mid-air, his eyes glowing red, and his Heat Vision burned two scorched marks on the lawn. Secret Service agents on the ground were holding their guns, but no one dared to fire. The President stood behind bulletproof glass, his face ashen.
"I gave you a chance, I saved you, and I protected you. But you betrayed me, exposed my secrets, and destroyed my reputation. Now, it's your turn to pay the price."
He raised his right hand, and his Heat Vision swept toward the White House roof. A corner of the building collapsed with a roar, and smoke and dust filled the air. The crowd screamed and fled in all directions.
Starlight covered her mouth.
Chu Hangs Clone watched the screen, his expression emotionless. He turned to Starlight.
"You see, a crazy Beast needs a stronger cage. And I am here to build that cage."
Starlight's hands were trembling. She wanted to retort, but the words were stuck in her throat. Because she knew that if it weren't for Chu Hang, no one could stop Homelander. The army couldn't, Vought couldn't, and other super-powered individuals certainly couldn't.
Queen Maeve leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. She had seen Homelander lose control too many times, but she had never seen him rip off his mask so completely.
Chu Hangs Clone walked to the console, his fingers moving quickly over the holographic projection, and he pulled up Butcher's communication channel.
"The plan is advanced. Seventy-two hours from now, when Homelander returns to New York, I hope you are ready."
Chapter 236: Alchemical Armament
Once Homelander's seventy-two-hour ultimatum was issued, the whole world exploded into chaos.
On the CNN live broadcast, the charred mark on the White House lawn was still smoking.
The anchor's voice trembled as the footage of Homelanderhovering in mid-air played on a loop.
Wall Street stocks plummeted by forty percent, major European exchanges shut down directly, and Tokyo was under martial law.
Outside the New York headquarters of Vought International, thousands of people blocked all the exits.
The placards read "Give us back our children" and "Vought executives go to hell."
Several black sedans rushed out of the underground garage, and the crowd swarmed them, smashing the windows and dragging out the executives in suits to beat them up.
The Police put up caution tape, but no one cared.
The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting.
The representatives of the P5 sat at the round table, their faces ashen.
The Russia representative proposed using nuclear bombs, which the United States representative rejected on the spot.
The Dragon Country demanded the disclosure of compound v research data, while Britain advocated for negotiations first.
After arguing for four hours, it was useless.
Everyone knew that conventional weapons could not kill Homelander, and a nuclear bomb would level New Yorkalong with him.
In the underground Base, Butcher stared at Homelander's face on the display screen, his hands in his trench coat pockets.
Shui typed at the keyboard monitoring public opinion, Frenchie wiped his crossbow bolts, and Mrs. M leaned against the wall, closing her eyes to rest.
Chu Hangs Clone came out of the laboratory holding a silver metal case.
The surface of the case was engraved with runes, glowing with a pale golden light.
Benjamin followed behind.
Butcher turned his head to look.
"Is this it?"
"Yes."
Chu Hangs Clone placed the case on the table and pressed the switch.
The lid popped open, revealing eight injections lined up neatly inside, filled with pale golden liquid that glowed as it flowed through the transparent tubes.
Shui stopped typing, pushed up his glasses, and leaned in.
Frenchie and Mrs. M also gathered around.
"This isn't compound v."
Chu Hangs Clone picked up an injection.
"compound v uses external energy to forcibly activate genes; the success rate is low, the side effects are significant, and it's addictive."
"I used Alchemy Law to reconstruct it, removing the unstable factors while retaining the core energy conversion mechanism."
He held the injection up to his eyes.
"This is called Alchemical Serum."
"After injection, it will generate the ability best suited to you based on your physical and mental state."
"There is no risk of losing control, no genetic collapse, and it won't turn you into monsters."
Butcher reached for it, but Chu Hangs Clone pressed down on his wrist.
"But there is one point—after the injection, your Lifeessence will change."
"You will no longer be purely human, but something between a human and a super-powered being."
"This change is irreversible."
Butcher shook off his hand and grabbed an injection.
"I haven't wanted to be human for a long time."
He twisted off the cap, aimed it at the side of his neck, and pressed down.
The golden liquid was injected into his veins, and Butcherfroze.
His pupils dilated, and his veins bulged under his skin, showing dark golden patterns.
The patterns spread from the injection site, climbing up his cheeks and spreading to his fingertips.
His body began to tremble, his muscles bulging and receding, and his bones made cracking sounds.
Shui tried to support him but was stopped by Chu Hangs Clone.
"Don't touch him."
"The Alchemical Serum is reconstructing his body; interrupting it now will cause energy instability."
Butcher knelt on the ground, supporting himself with both hands.
Sweat rolled down, hitting the floor with a ticking sound.
He gritted his teeth, a low growl emitting from his throat.
The dark golden patterns grew brighter and brighter, finally converging into a rune on his chest.
Thirty seconds later, the light faded.
Butcher gasped for breath and looked up, his eyes changing from brown to pale gold.
He stood up, flexed his fingers, and could feel a force flowing within him.
It wasn't the violent energy of compound v; it was more stable, like a part of his body.
He clenched his fist and punched toward the nearby steel pillar.
The fist hit the pillar, and golden energy erupted.
The middle section of the pillar caved in directly, the metal twisted and deformed, making a harsh creaking sound.
The entire Base shook.
Butcher withdrew his fist and looked at his palm.
His skin was intact, but the power of that punch far exceeded that of an ordinary person.
"Not bad."
He rolled his shoulders and turned to Chu Hangs Clone.
"Can this thing let me beat that bastard?"
"No."
Chu Hangs Clone was very direct.
"Homelander was raised with a ten-fold dose of pure compound v; his physical strength and energy output far exceed yours."
"The Alchemical Serum only gives you the qualification to fight him head-on, not a guarantee of victory."
Butcher's expression darkened.
"Then what's the point."
"That's why you need coordination."
Chu Hangs Clone looked at Benjamin.
"Go."
Benjamin walked in front of Butcher and assumed a fighting stance.
Butcher froze for a second, took two steps back, and clenched his fists.
"Come on, big guy."
Benjamin didn't waste words, punching straight at Butcher's face.
The fist wind tore through the air with extreme speed.
Butcher dodged to the side and raised his leg to sweep at his lower body.
Benjamin stepped back half a step, grabbed Butcher's ankle, and slammed him onto the ground.
Butcher twisted his body in mid-air, used his left hand to support himself on the ground, and rolled to break free from the control.
After landing, he immediately sprinted, his fist aimed at Benjamin's chest.
Benjamin raised his arm to block, and the two collided, erupting with a dull impact sound.
Butcher was pushed back three steps, while Benjamindidn't move an inch.
"The strength gap is still too big."
Chu Hangs Clone commented from the side.
"But your reaction speed and combat instincts are good."
"The Alchemical Serum has enhanced your neural reflexes, allowing you to track the attack trajectories of super-powered beings."
"Continue."
Butcher took a deep breath and charged at Benjaminagain.
This time he didn't attack directly, moving quickly around Benjamin to look for openings.
Benjamin turned to track him, but Butcher's speed was more than twice as fast.
He suddenly exerted force in the blind spot of his vision, punching at his lower back.
It was too late for Benjamin to react, and the fist landed solidly on his side.
Golden energy erupted, and Benjamin stumbled forward two steps.
Butcher's eyes lit up, and he pursued.
He threw three consecutive punches at the same spot, each punch carrying an energy impact.
Benjamin was forced to retreat, and the last punch blasted him away, slamming him into the wall.
The concrete wall cracked.
Benjamin climbed up from the ground, brushed the dust off his body, and had no expression on his face.
He flexed the hit area, and bruises appeared under his skin.
Butcher gasped for breath, his fist still in an attacking pose.
He looked down at his hand; the golden patterns flickered under his skin and then slowly dimmed.
Most of the energy in his body was consumed, but the sense of power remained.
Shui watched, dumbfounded.
Butcher had just pushed Benjamin back.
That super Soldier who could easily tear through steel plates had been injured by an ordinary person.
"Enough."
Chu Hangs Clone spoke, and Benjamin immediately stopped and retreated behind him.
Butcher stood straight, his chest heaving violently.
He could feel his body adapting to the new power; his muscles were sore, but not like an injury—more like the fatigue after intense exercise.
"Your ability is energy enhancement."
Chu Hangs Clone said.
"It converts internal Life energy into attack power in a short time, enhancing the destructive power of your fists and kicks."
"The downside is that the duration is short; at full output, it can only last for five minutes."
"But for dealing with Homelander, five minutes is enough."
Butcher clenched his fist, feeling the remaining energy in his body.
Enough.
Five minutes, enough for him to smash thirty years of hatred into that bastard's face.
Shui swallowed hard and reached for the second injection.
Looking at the golden liquid, he then looked at Butcher.
"Will it hurt a lot?"
"Painful enough to make you want to die."
Butcher wiped the sweat from his forehead and grinned.
"But it's worth it."
Shui took a deep breath, twisted open the injection, and injected it into the side of his neck.
The golden liquid entered his veins, and he curled up like a shrimp.
His reaction was more violent than Butcher's; he fell directly to the ground, clutching his head with both hands, his fingernails digging into his scalp.
The veins in his temples throbbed wildly, and his complexion changed from pale to flushed, then to purple.
Frenchie wanted to step forward but was held back by Mrs. M.
She shook her head, and the two could only stand by and watch.
Shui's body began to convulse.
Every few seconds, his whole body jolted as if an electric current was passing through it.
The dark golden patterns spread over his body; they were slower than Butcher's but denser.
The patterns crawled over his neck, arms, and back, finally converging into glowing nodes on his spine.
One minute later, Shui lay on the ground, gasping for air.
He pushed off the ground to stand up, but his arms went limp—
He disappeared.
Not really disappeared, but appeared by the wall three meters away.
Shui leaned against the wall, looking down at his hands.
He had just wanted to stand up, and his body automatically moved to another position.
Not running there, but appearing there directly.
"Spatial Jump."
Chu Hangs Clone walked over.
"Your ability is short-range teleportation, with a range of fifty meters."
"The cooldown is three seconds, and it consumes Spirit, not physical strength."
Shui tried to concentrate, imagining himself appearing beside Butcher.
His vision blurred, and he was already standing in front of Butcher.
Butcher was startled and took half a step back.
"Damn, give me a heads-up next time."
Shui laughed excitedly.
He tried it a few more times, jumping from one end of the Base to the other, from the ground to the scaffolding.
Each interval was three seconds, and the positioning was precise.
Frenchie and Mrs. M looked at each other and reached for the injections at the same time.
After the injection, Frenchie gained matter manipulation abilities, changing the form of metal in a small area.
He twisted a steel pipe into a twist and re-fused the shattered crossbow bolts.
Mrs. M's ability was perception enhancement, capable of capturing the location and status of all Life forms within a one-kilometer radius, equivalent to a living radar.
By the time the last member of the team finished the injection, there were four ordinary people in the Base with super abilities.
Chu Hangs Clone looked at them and nodded with satisfaction.
"Now you have the means to confront the monster, but it doesn't mean you can win."
He pulled up a holographic projection, and a 3D map of New York City appeared.
"Homelander has more combat experience than you, and his physical strength far exceeds yours."
"In a head-on fight, you won't last thirty seconds. So you need tactics."
The projection zoomed in, focusing on an abandoned building in Lower Manhattan.
"This is the core location of the trap. I will set up an Alchemical Force Field here to weaken Homelander's energy output."
"Starlight and Queen Maeve will be responsible for luring him in, Benjamin will restrain him head-on, and you four will be responsible for guerrilla tactics on the periphery."
Butcher stared at the retreat routes and ambush points marked in the projection.
"Sounds like a suicide mission."
"It is a suicide mission."
Chu Hangs Clone didn't deny it.
"But this is the only chance. Homelander is currently on the verge of a mental breakdown, and his judgment and alertness are declining."
"If you wait any longer, he will either go completely insane and level New York to the ground, or calm down and hide. It will be even harder to kill him then."
Mrs. M spoke up.
"What if he just uses Heat Vision to blow up the building?"
"He won't."
Chu Hangs Clone switched the screen to show all of Homelander's past combat records.
"His combat pattern is to first display strength and then crush his opponent. This is a behavioral pattern implanted deep in his consciousness by Vought to create a visual impact."
"He will come in, and he will fight you, because he needs to prove he is the strongest."
Shui pushed up his glasses.
"And what about you? Where will you be?"
"I will not intervene; if I do, Homelander won't last 3 seconds."
Chu Hangs Clone turned around.
"This is your fight, not mine. I am only responsible for setting the stage; you are the ones acting."
Chapter 237: Ganging Up on Homelander
The 72-hour countdown had three minutes remaining.
Lower Manhattan was empty.
There was no one on the streets, shops were closed, and cars were parked haphazardly. Traffic lights were still flashing, but they were useless.
In the distance, sirens wailed as the National Guard blocked off the roads.
In the sky, helicopters circled, cameras aimed at the WayneEnterprises building.
The top floor of the building.
Starlight stood at the edge of the roof, wind blowing through her hair, her armor reflecting in the sunlight.
She held a megaphone in her hand, while three drones with flashing red lights in front of her were broadcasting to the World.
Maeve stood two meters behind her, arms crossed. Her armor was covered in scratches and had not been repaired.
She didn't hide the bruises on her face, letting them show openly.
Starlight took a breath and raised the megaphone.
"Homelander, I know you're watching."
At this moment, at least two billion people were watching in front of their screens.
Starlight stared intently at the camera.
"You say you are a god, say you are a savior, and say that humanity needs you to rule."
"But you are just a product of Vought International, a monster raised by syringes in a lab. You have never seen the real World, and you don't know what love or sacrifice means. You only know how to use violence to prove yourself, because other than strength, you have nothing."
Maeve stepped forward.
"I've worked with you for twelve years and watched you put on an act," Maeve said. "But you were never a hero; you are a tyrant. You enjoy fear, and you enjoy others kneeling before you."
She paused.
"Now the whole World knows what you are. A megalomaniac, a spoiled child, a pathetic wretch who has never even seen his own mother."
Starlight continued:
"You want to prove you're a god? Then come, defeat us in front of the whole World."
"Or admit that you don't dare to come, and admit that you only know how to bully defenseless civilians."
As soon as she finished speaking, a sonic boom came from the sky.
A red and blue figure dove down from the clouds, moving so fast that it left a white trail.
Homelander landed.
The concrete ground shattered, and spiderweb cracks spread rapidly. Dust flew, and gravel scattered everywhere.
He stood up straight, his eyes glowing red. His armor was spotless, and the golden eagle emblem on his chest shone brightly.
A smile hung on his face, but it looked twisted and ferocious.
"Traitors?"
He tilted his head, his voice calm.
"You two ants, you dare to provoke me with a live broadcast? Do you really think I wouldn't dare to kill you in front of the whole World?"
Starlight took half a step back and clenched her fists. Light energy began to gather in her palms, but her hands were trembling slightly.
Maeve didn't move, staring at him coldly.
"Come on."
Homelander laughed and spread his arms.
But he didn't attack.
He looked up at the roof, his gaze sweeping over the drones and then over the helicopters circling in the distance.
Finally, his gaze fell back onto Starlight and Maeve.
Homelander walked over slowly.
"You think I'll rush over and then be taken down by you two?" He sneered. "Too naive. I've been at Vought International for thirty years; what kind of conspiracy haven't I seen?"
The ball of light in Starlight's palms pulsed. But she didn't fire, because Homelander was right.
Maeve clenched her fists, her muscles tense. She knew they couldn't win in a direct confrontation; their only chance was to lure him into the building, into that alchemy force field.
"Scared?" Maeve sneered. "The great Homelander, afraid to lay a hand on two women?"
Homelander stopped, twenty meters away.
"Reverse psychology?" He tilted his head. "Do you think I'll fall for it?"
Maeve took two steps forward.
"No, I think you don't dare."
"Because you know that once you make a move, the whole World will see your weakness. You were very impressive showing off your power at the White House, but that was against defenseless politicians. Now, facing opponents who will actually fight back, you're hesitating."
Red light flickered in Homelander's eyes.
"You're courting death."
"Then come and kill me." Maeve opened her arms. "Come on, in front of two billion people, use your Heat Vision to burn me to ash. Let everyone see how a god slaughters his former teammates."
Homelander leaned forward—then suddenly stopped.
Something was wrong. Starlight's position was too deliberate; she was standing by the roof door, and as soon as he rushed over, she could retreat into the building immediately.
Maeve's position was also perfectly between the door and the center of the roof.
Homelander straightened up.
"You want to lure me into the building."
"There's a trap inside."
Starlight's heart rate accelerated. They had been seen through.
Maeve's expression didn't change, but her palms began to sweat.
Homelander threw his head back and laughed.
"Do you really think I'll fall for that?"
"I'll just blow this building up and see where you run!"
He raised his hand, and thermal energy began to gather in his palm. The red light grew brighter, and the temperature became so high that the air began to distort.
Starlight's face turned pale. If he used his Heat Vision to blast the support structure, the entire building would collapse within thirty seconds.
She and Maeve might survive, but The Deep lying in ambush inside the building would be buried alive.
Just then, a figure rushed out from the roof door.
Benjamin.
He didn't waste any words and rushed straight at Homelander. He threw a right hook, the force of the punch breaking the air.
Homelander turned and raised his arm to block. Fist met palm, creating a deafening Impact sound.
A Shockwave spread out, and the rooftop railing twisted and deformed.
Homelander was knocked back two steps and looked down at his arm. A faint red mark was left on his skin.
He looked up, staring at Benjamin.
"Soldier Boy?" Homelander narrowed his eyes.
"Vought International put you on ice for seventy years, who let you out?"
Benjamin didn't answer and charged again.
Benjamin's fighting style was simple and brutal. Straight punches, uppercuts, hooks; every punch was full-force, aiming for vital points.
Homelander blocked, dodged, and countered, the two engaging in hand-to-hand combat on the roof.
The sound of their fists clashing was like thunder, and every collision caused the concrete ground to crack.
Benjamin landed an uppercut on Homelander's chin; Homelander's head snapped back, his lip split, and blood seeped out.
Homelander was stunned.
He touched the corner of his mouth and looked at the blood on his fingertips. For the first time in thirty years, someone had drawn his blood.
"You motherf—"
Homelander was enraged. His eyes erupted with red light, and his Heat Vision blasted toward Benjamin's chest.
Benjamin rolled to the side; the Heat Vision grazed his shoulder, instantly melting his armor and scorching his skin.
But Benjamin gritted his teeth against the excruciating pain, grabbed Homelander's calf, and pulled hard.
Homelander lost his balance and fell forward. Benjaminseized the opportunity to mount his back, his hands locking tightly around his neck.
Homelander struggled desperately, slamming backward with all his might, the back of his head smashing hard into Benjamin's face.
Benjamin's nose bridge broke, and blood gushed out, but his hands still didn't loosen.
Homelander stood up abruptly, sprinting backward with Benjamin on his back, slamming into the water tank at the edge of the roof.
The metal water tank was dented and deformed, pipes burst, and water sprayed everywhere.
Benjamin was caught in the middle, three of his ribs broken, but he still kept his death grip on Homelander's neck.
"You lunatic!" Homelander roared. "Get off me!"
He grabbed Benjamin's arm and pulled with force. Benjamin was thrown away, smashing through the roof door and falling heavily into the stairwell.
Homelander panted, touching his neck. A deep welt was left on his skin, red and swollen.
He stared at the stairwell, killing intent boiling in his eyes.
"Fine, you want to play, right? I'll play with you!"
He stepped into the building.
As soon as his foot touched the ground, golden runes lit up on the floor, walls, and ceiling.
The entire floor instantly became a huge magic circle, densely packed with runes. The golden light wove into a web, forming a spherical force field that completely enveloped Homelander.
Homelander's body sank.
The compound v energy in his body seemed to be suppressed by something, its circulation becoming sluggish. His strength was draining, his speed was dropping, and even his Heat Vision began to become unstable.
He tried to fly, but only managed to get thirty centimeters off the ground before falling back down helplessly.
"What the hell is this?"
He looked down at the runes on the ground, lifting his leg to stomp them out. But the runes were not engraved on the surface; they were deeply embedded into the building's structure.
Stomping on them was useless; the golden light instead became even brighter.
Inside the stairwell, Benjamin stood up, leaning against the wall. His broken ribs were healing rapidly, the blood on his face not yet dry, but his eyes were exceptionally determined.
He moved his shoulder and charged at Homelander again.
Homelander turned to meet him, throwing a punch. Benjamin didn't dodge, taking the punch squarely on his chest.
At the same time, he wrapped his arms around Homelander's waist and slammed him onto the ground.
The two slammed heavily onto the ground, the concrete floor instantly shattering. Homelander rolled over, trying to break free, but Benjamin kept him pinned down, punching his face again and again.
Homelander raised his hands to block, while simultaneously driving his knee hard into Benjamin's abdomen, sending him flying.
Homelander struggled to get up, blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, his armor broken in several places. He could feel his power continuing to drain; this damn force field was constantly weakening him.
In the shadows, footsteps sounded.
Butcher walked out from the stairwell corner, the hem of his trench coat fluttering.
His eyes glowed with a pale golden light; the alchemy serum in his body had been activated.
Homelander saw him, paused for a second, and then laughed out loud.
"Billy Butcher?" Homelander grinned.
"The loser whose wife I slept with? You still dare to appear in front of me?"
Butcher didn't answer, only clenching his fists. Golden veins appeared beneath his skin, crawling from his arms up to his neck, and finally converging on his chest.
The Life energy in his body began to transform, and a powerful force surged within him.
Butcher spoke, his voice calm.
"You know? When Becca died, I swore I would kill you."
"But back then I was just an ordinary person, I couldn't even touch a hair on your head."
He took a step forward.
"Now it's different."
Homelander sneered.
"You think that just because you took some shot you can fight me? You're still just a—"
Before he could finish, Butcher vanished.
His sprinting speed was so fast it was almost invisible to the naked eye. Golden energy enveloped his entire body, leaving afterimages in the air.
By the time Homelander reacted, it was too late; Butcherslammed a punch hard into his face.
The fist connected solidly, and Homelander flew sideways. He smashed through the corridor wall and crashed heavily into the next room.
Butcher stood where he was, looking at his fist. The skin on the back of his hand had split, and blood was seeping out, but he didn't feel a shred of pain.
Homelander crawled out of the ruins, his nose crooked, blood streaming down his cheek.
He reached out to touch his face, looking at the blood on his hand with a dazed expression.
An ordinary person had drawn his blood.
No, it wasn't just bleeding; his cheekbone was fractured, and nerves sent intense pain signals.
This was a feeling he had never experienced in thirty years.
"Impossible..." Homelander muttered, "You are just bugs, just ants..."
The air suddenly distorted, and Shui appeared out of thin air behind him.
He held a special crossbow bolt in his hand and fired it sharply at the back of Homelander's neck.
The tip pierced the skin, instantly injecting an anesthetic. Homelander roared and turned, his Heat Vision sweeping toward Shui.
Shui teleported away, appearing five meters away.
"Frenchie, now!"
Frenchie rushed out from the other side, pressing his hands to the ground.
[Material Manipulation] activated.
The metal rebar in the corridor floor began to twist and deform, wrapping around Homelander's legs like vines.