Chapter 31.
No matter what happened tonight, the night still passed as usual. The sun rose again in the east, shining down on the earth and marking the beginning of a new day.
Madeleine's Office
"Vice President, Translucent has been missing for more than ten hours. We don't know where he is, and the tracking chip hasn't returned any location data!"
A female assistant walked into Madeleine's office, reporting the disappearance of the translucent hero.
"Don't worry about him. He's a superhuman with skin as hard as diamond—no one can hurt him. He's probably just off drinking somewhere."
Madeleine didn't take the matter seriously, as Translucent had a history of disappearing due to his drinking habits. So, this incident didn't concern her much.
"But Vice President, how should we handle his schedule for today? He was supposed to visit a cancer patient, but now he's gone, and the promotional motorcycle is already set up. He also has a group appearance with The Deep tonight. What should we do?"
The assistant stopped focusing on his disappearance and instead asked how to handle his planned public engagements.
"For the evening event, let Queen Maeve attend with Starlight. Once the video is shot, promote it with a theme of female empowerment."
Madeleine thought for a moment and gave her decision.
"Understood, Vice President. If there's nothing else, I'll go make the arrangements."
The assistant turned to leave.
"Wait—once you're out, tell Homelander to come to my office. After ten minutes, call Thunder and have him come too."
Madeleine added another instruction before the assistant left.
"Alright, Vice President. I'll take care of it."
The assistant nodded and walked out.
Less than a minute later, the door to Madeleine's office opened. Homelander entered.
Madeleine was holding a bottle of liquid—something she had prepared for her baby not long after giving birth.
"Sorry, I didn't know you were busy."
Homelander playfully covered his eyes, pretending to apologize.
"It's fine, I just had a baby, you know how it is…"
Madeleine didn't mind and even casually adjusted her clothes in front of him.
"I heard that the mayor who made a deal with us last night had a tragic accident on his private jet while returning. The plane crashed into the sea, and there were no survivors."
Madeleine finished adjusting her clothes and casually shared the news.
"Really? How unlucky… may God bless them—though I don't really believe in God."
Homelander feigned surprise, as if he was hearing it for the first time.
"After searching the wreckage, The Deep found something interesting. The plane debris showed signs of burning—burns made by two high-temperature beams. The spacing between the burns matched the distance between human eyes."
"Of course, only The Deep told me this. No one else knows."
Madeleine smiled mysteriously, as if it were a trivial matter.
"Fine, I admit I did it! But only because I heard him threaten you! Also how did he find out about Compound V?"
Homelander now looked like a child caught doing something wrong.
"Alright, let's leave it at that. Our top priority now is to get the government to approve superheroes being stationed in the Department of Defense. At this crucial time, no unnecessary trouble."
Madeleine spoke gently, but with intention.
She had cleverly manipulated the situation. She knew Homelander had been eavesdropping, so she had deliberately mentioned the mayor's journey during a conversation with the politician, knowing it would provoke Homelander to act. Now, she was the first to speak up about what happened, making it seem like he had acted without orders. This way, she could silence someone who knew about Compound V—without directly blaming the superhero.
"Don't worry. I have my own way of getting into the Department of Defense."
Homelander responded confidently.
"Alright, enough about that. There's something else. You know Thunder just joined us—I've decided you'll mentor him to boost his popularity quickly."
Madeleine changed the subject to Li Yue.
"Can I refuse?"
Knock knock knock!
A few minutes later, there was a knock on Madeleine's office door.
"Come in!"
"You called for me, Vice President?"
Li Yue entered and saw Homelander there. He immediately understood—his goal had been achieved.
"This is Homelander. I'm sure you're already familiar. I've called you here to let you know you'll be working together from now on. You'll follow his lead. Understood, Thunder?"
Madeleine looked at Li Yue as she spoke.
"Yes, Vice President. Understood."
Li Yue replied calmly, though excitement surged within him.
"Alright then. You're both dismissed."
Li Yue had finally achieved his goal–—being close to Homelander without raising suspicion. As he stayed near him, his mental energy extended outward, focusing entirely on Homelander. His body began to evolve, and the pleasant sensation at the cellular level made Li Yue even more excited.
He noticed that Homelander was usually busy, but often wandered around the company when idle.
A few hours later, a call came in from the police—they needed Homelander's help.
Without hesitation, Homelander grabbed Li Yue and flew out of the company building at nearly ten times the speed of sound, heading to the scene.
Li Yue didn't realize that normally, the Homelander didn't fly that fast. Today, he had deliberately increased his speed because Li Yue was with him!
Being carried like a chicken by the Homelander, Li Yue couldn't help but think that this was probably a tactic to humble him—to make sure he didn't get too cocky later on.
In just a few dozen seconds, they arrived at the scene. The sound of gunfire echoed like firecrackers.
"Look! It's the Homelander! So cool!"
"Thanks for all your hard work, everyone. Leave the rest to us—you're the real heroes!"
The Homelander finally slowed down and landed gracefully, flashing a bright smile at the police officers on the scene. His arrival immediately sparked cheers from the surrounding crowd.
Meanwhile, Li Yue—now released from Homelander's grip—felt nauseous and a bit dizzy. It was his first time flying, and experiencing a speed nearly ten times the speed of sound, while being carried no less, wasn't exactly pleasant. Of course, this discomfort was intentional on Homelander's part.
"Hey? Who's that guy with the Homelander? Didn't he usually show up with Queen Maeve?"
"That guy looks like the new recruit—Thunder—who just joined The Seven!"
Two curious bystanders focused their attention on Li Yue as they whispered among themselves.
"You mean that Thunder who got scolded at the shareholders' meeting the day he debuted? Man, he looks weak. Can't even handle being flown around. If it were me, I'd be thrilled just to be carried by the Homelander!"
"You? Please! You'd probably faint on the spot. Thunder's got more backbone than you."
"Oh, shut up! You'd wet yourself from fear!"
"No, you'd wet yourself!"
The two young men started bickering, and if it weren't for the crowd and the police keeping order, they might've started a full-on scuffle.
"Stand up straight and smile at the crowd. Don't embarrass The Seven," Homelander whispered to Li Yue, completely forgetting it was his idea to make Li Yue look so pathetic.
"I know," Li Yue replied, struggling to stand up straight. He forced a smile and waved at the crowd.
In truth, Li Yue had already recovered from the nausea almost instantly after landing. It wasn't a big deal—just the usual symptoms from a first-time high-speed flight. But he couldn't let Homelander know that he was unaffected. That would raise suspicion.
So, he continued the act—pretending to be in pain and plastering on a smile that looked more painful than cheerful.
Homelander didn't notice any of this. He kept waving to the crowd as he walked toward the center of the police-gangster standoff, with Li Yue following closely behind.
Amidst the rain of gunfire, the two of them strolled calmly forward like they were window shopping. –Bullets bounced harmlessly off them with a "ding" sound, unable to even scratch them.
Homelander's bulletproof nature needed no explanation. Li Yue, too, had long since become immune to standard bullets. And now, with one-tenth of Homelander's power, even a missile wouldn't leave a scratch on him.
He estimated that only a direct hit from a nuclear bomb could pose a fatal threat. Of course, if Homelander ever turned on him, he'd need to run as fast as possible.
"Homelander! You're finally here! This is great! Thank you so much—you truly are the heroes who protect our city!"
A police commander—clearly the one in charge—rushed forward to greet them, visibly relieved.
"You're too kind. You've all been bravely holding the line. I think you are the real heroes," Homelander replied, not even blinking as he said something completely opposite to what he really believed.
Li Yue had to admit, Homelander was a master at saying one thing while thinking another.
"Sir, can you give us a briefing on the situation?"
"There are five armed criminals. Their firepower is too strong—we can't break through!"
"Alright, leave it to us. Can you tell us exactly where they are?"
Homelander wasn't interested in the details—he just wanted to get this over with quickly and return to spying on Madeleine.
"They're on the 31st floor…"
Before the officer could finish his sentence, the Homelander grabbed Li Yue and shot into the sky, soaring to 100 meters in an instant, before crashing straight through a window–.
"These guys are all yours. Handle it."
With that, Homelander dropped Li Yue off and left the job to him.
"No problem. Leave it to me!" Li Yue replied confidently.
He didn't understand why Homelander was handing off something he could've easily handled himself, but of course, he wasn't about to refuse.
Li Yue immediately activated his "Thunder" state, and a silver-white arc of electricity began dancing across his body. Without attempting to conceal himself, he burst straight into the room where the criminals were hiding.
There were exactly five gangsters inside, all armed and pointing their guns at Li Yue the moment he appeared.
"I suggest you put down those little toys in your hands. Otherwise, you might not live to see the sunrise tomorrow," Li Yue said, electricity crackling around him as he walked forward with calm, threatening confidence.
"We surrender! Please don't kill us!"
The gangsters didn't even hesitate. As soon as they realized superheroes had arrived, they dropped their weapons and raised their hands in surrender. They knew their cheap guns were useless against superpowered beings—it was smarter to give up.
Li Yue was surprised. He hadn't even fought, and the criminals had already surrendered without a drop of blood spilled. It was a victory, and for a moment, he felt proud—until everything changed in an instant.
Just as Li Yue was about to relax his guard and suppress his superpowers, he suddenly sensed something from behind—an attack—but it wasn't aimed at him!
Two crimson beams of energy blasted past his ear, close enough for him to feel the terrifying heat. He could even smell his hair slightly singed by the heat. It wasn't just in his head.
The beams swept across the room, and in an instant, all five criminals were annihilated—no one was spared. Blood sprayed through the air, and the bodies were reduced to unrecognizable remains. It was the first time Li Yue had witnessed such brutal slaughter up close—and it left him stunned.
"They were just a waste of space. Killing them solves everything."
The cold voice of the Homelander came from behind him.
Li Yue turned around to see Homelander's glowing red eyes slowly fading back to normal.
"But… but they had already surrendered…" Li Yue tried to object.
"No. They ignored our warnings and fired at us first. In the chaos, we had no choice but to fight back. It was an accident—the retaliation just went a bit too far."
Homelander didn't wait for a reply–. He casually stepped past Li Yue, walked up to the mangled bodies, picked up a fallen gun, and pointed it at Li Yue.
Da-da-da-da!!!
A burst of bullets hit Li Yue head-on. He didn't feel a thing—his body was unharmed. But emotionally, a cold chill crept through him. Watching this kind of thing in a movie or on the news was one thing—but being there in person was another. For the first time, Li Yue truly realized just how terrifying the Homelander really was.
"Did I… make the right choice siding with him?"
That laser attack from earlier had clearly been intentional—it had nearly grazed him. It was a warning, a silent message: "I can kill you anytime I want."
Li Yue felt uneasy. Doubt began to grow in his heart.
Meanwhile…
On the other side of town, Billy and Hughie were driving with Translucent in the back. The surprising news had just come in—Translucent wasn't dead after all.
"Let me out—I want to go home!"
Hughie pleaded, his voice tense. He wanted to go back to his peaceful, ordinary life.
"You sure about that?" Billy asked. "Translucent is still alive. He's seen all of our faces. If he escapes and makes it back to headquarters, you know what'll happen—not just to us, but maybe even your family…"
Hughie's face went pale.
"Stop. Just… tell me what we do next."
He gave up the idea of running. With no other choice, Hughie resolved to follow Billy's plan and continue their desperate mission.
...…..
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