Chapter 193: Vought Will Be Yours Sooner or Later
"Y-yes, Homelander."
The netizen Belmont was so scared he broke out in a cold sweat and couldn't even speak properly.
"Don't be so nervous. I admire your courage. How about I say hello to the audience in your livestream room?"
To Belmont's surprise, Homelander's attitude towards him was incredibly friendly. Soon, his stiff limbs gradually loosened up. "Okay, Homelander. To be honest, I'm a loyal fan of yours. To be able to meet you up close like this, I'm truly... I'm sorry, I really don't know how to express the excitement in my heart."
"I'm happy to meet you too. Do you have a pen?"
"Y-yes, I do." Belmont excitedly pulled a ballpoint pen from his pocket and tremblingly handed it to Homelander.
"Relax." Hearing that the other person was his fan, Homelander's mood instantly became pleasant. He smiled as he took the ballpoint pen, then, in front of the livestream room audience, wrote his signature on the collar of Belmont's clothes.
Belmont's face flushed red with excitement.
"Homelander, to be your fan, I... I'm too honored. I've decided to pass this shirt down to my son, and then have my son pass it to my grandson. Please rest assured, I will preserve it carefully. I swear to God!"
"No need to swear to God. If you want an autograph in the future, come find me at Vought."
Homelander's approachable demeanor was genuinely reflected in the eyes of every viewer watching the livestream. They frantically sent gifts and greeted Homelander.
"I love you, Homelander!"
"The scene of you killing that Super Terrorist just now was awesome!"
"So cool! I have to say hello to you."
"Homelander, leave Vought International quickly! You deserve to be somewhere better!"
"Hey guys, it's great to see you." Seeing the bullet comments in the livestream room, Homelander felt as if he had found the feeling of being admired by countless people back in the day. This feeling was no less intense than when Stormfront helped him SC, and his smile was exceptionally bright.
On the other side.
Stan Edgar sat in Homelander's seat and warned in an unfriendly tone, "Your work attitude has seriously declined recently. You're only just starting to handle the mission I gave you before. You should be focusing on how to manage the company, not forming cliques for personal gain.
Vought will be yours sooner or later. I plan to announce my retirement at next year's Shareholder Meeting. But right now, how can I feel confident handing the company over to you? Don't forget, a product is always a product. Since I can create one Homelander, I can naturally create a second, a third, and even more."
Facing Stan Edgar's warning.
Xia Shang didn't say a word.
Killing Stan Edgar now would bring him no benefit. Furthermore, his blood could only control a person's body, not their thoughts, and he couldn't read Stan Edgar's memory. Moreover, taking over Vought International now was clearly not a good time; with a pile of messes, it would only waste his time and energy.
Therefore, it was better to let Stan Edgar continue to bear the pain.
Seeing that Xia Shang remained silent, Stan Edgar wondered if he had hit too hard.
To be honest.
If Xia Shang could change in a short time and clearly express his attitude, he truly didn't want to lose this capable subordinate of his.
The retirement he spoke of wasn't an empty promise; if Madelyn Stillwell hadn't died, he would have already retreated behind the scenes by now.
As time passed, Stan Edgar's tolerance for the messes caused by the Superheroes had reached its limit. He urgently needed someone to take over the CEO position. However, currently, Ashley Barrett had a weak personality. Although she could manage most people in the company, she absolutely couldn't suppress The Seven, especially Homelander. Once she took office, she would be 100% sidelined by Homelander, becoming a puppet in his hands.
But there were very few suitable candidates within the company to be promoted to President. Even if there were a few, most were also not suitable.
The only person he appreciated more was Xia Shang.
"Young man, I think highly of you. Don't disappoint me." As Stan Edgar spoke, he received a phone call from Stormfront. After pressing the call button, he stood up and walked towards the floor-to-ceiling window.
Although the sound of his conversation with Stormfront was very low, it was exceptionally clear to Xia Shang, who possessed super perception.
"Stan Edgar, something happened at Sage Grove. Someone broke into the Facility late last night. A total of twelve nurses and nine guards were killed, and three patient corpses were found at the scene. The remaining patients escaped from the Facility. Trackers were implanted inside their bodies, and according to the trackers' addresses,
some of them returned home, while others were preparing to flee Overseas."
"How is your injury?" Stan Edgar asked indifferently.
"Mostly recovered. Only the lost arm cannot regenerate. It seems I'll have to get a prosthetic limb."
"Don't worry about that. I will arrange for people to make the best prosthetic limb. At the same time, I'll adjust your suit so others can't tell the situation with your left arm."
Stormfront's recovery speed was a bit slower than Xia Shang had expected.
This was possibly because her injury was quite severe. After all, she was enveloped within Blazing Wings at the time. If Homelander hadn't rescued her in time, she should have turned into a pile of charcoal or ash by now.
"That's just temporary. I hope you can develop Compound V related to that. I want my hand, not a damned machine!" On the other end of the phone, Stormfront's tone gradually became agitated, as if her lost left arm had become a sore spot for her.
"I'll have the laboratory side consider your needs, but I need you to kill those who got away now. It's best to complete these things within three days. I don't want any one of them appearing at next Monday's Hearing."
Just as Stan Edgar was about to hang up the phone.
Stormfront continued speaking from her end, "Guess what I found in the surveillance footage? A dazzling white light."
"You mean... Starlight was present at the time?"
"I didn't say that. After all, I didn't see her face clearly. Maybe someone has the same superpower as her; this kind of thing is not uncommon. I suggest you investigate Starlight's movements that night and see where she actually went."
"Anything else?"
Afterwards, Stan Edgar hung up the phone.
He returned to Homelander's seat and said to Xia Shang, "Go to the Crime Analysis Department, retrieve Starlight's movements from last night, and give them to me."
"Okay, Stan Edgar."
Five minutes later, Xia Shang walked into the Crime Analysis Department.
"Good morning, Mr. Jervis. Welcome to the Crime Analysis Department. Would you like a cup of coffee?" Annika said with a smile.
"Thank you. Please add some milk for me."
(End of this chapter)