Morning, Godolkin University.
Inside the athletic training ground, various Supe students were exercising in different sections.
Besides the daily class schedule, training Supe abilities counted towards practical credits and had mandatory check-in requirements.
Wade, who had picked up Shetty from the mountain camp early this morning, was no exception; he came here after returning to school.
Standing by the track, donning his weighted steel plate armor, he looked at The Seven's massive and conspicuous signboard in the distance, frowning slightly. "The task is heavy and the road is long."
Translucent, A-Train, and Black Noir had been dealt with by him. The plan to turn Starlight was proceeding systematically, and Maeve needed to act opportunistically.
The Deep and A-Train were irrelevant; Homelander posed the greatest threat.
The Seven only had five members left, and Vought would certainly bring in other Supes to fill the vacancies.
He speculated that Vought would choose two more people to join The Seven, but he didn't know if they would parachute in members, promote senior graduates, or hold open auditions.
His phone floated in front of Wade, the screen automatically scrolling, displaying news and information about Vought.
He browsed for a moment and found that Vought had completely denied the videos proving Translucent and Homelander's crimes this morning, and all related videos and information had been uniformly removed from domestic channels.
The many witnesses at Translucent's memorial were naturally used by Vought, who spun the narrative to present themselves as the victim; the attack on Speaker Simon was classified by the FBI as a homicide cold case motivated by revenge, not a terrorist attack.
More than half of the internet and public opinion supported Vought, with many questioning the authenticity of Translucent's confession and Homelander's massacre in the name of procedural justice.
Naturally, there were also conspiracy theorists expressing doubts, mostly victims' families from Ocean Flight 37 and left-leaning individuals, causing a stir internationally.
'They truly have connections everywhere, turning black into white. They must have pulled a lot of strings and spent a fortune, right?'
Wade had expected this, so he put his phone back into his duffel bag and started training.
He fastened the 1-ton weighted armor, and after applying 3x gravity and circulating wind resistance, he flew slowly around the perimeter of the track as usual, feeling that it seemed much easier.
He looked at the field; everyone training had unique abilities, and all were researching and developing them alone. "If only I had a famous master for one-on-one tutoring."
A gust of wind and an afterimage ran past, and Jade slowly jogged over from the inner lane. "Where were you yesterday? Did things work out with Gill?"
"I don't like being a kept man." Wade smiled at him, flying faster and faster.
"Good things come in pairs. If it worked out, we'd be close brothers." Jade immediately caught up, lamenting, "I wanted to call you brother-in-law!"
"You weren't forced by Klara to come badger me, were you?" Wade gave him the middle finger and accelerated his flight.
Jade ran through the wind pressure, grinning, and said, "I'm rooting for you! You definitely have a place in The Seven in the future. Give your brother a hand when that happens."
Wade was about to tease him, but he saw Jade turn his head and run away in horror, leaving behind the words: "Talk to you next time!"
Cate ran over, panting, "Hi... morning."
Wade withdrew the wind pressure, increased the gravity augmentation on himself to 4x, and casually asked, "How was yesterday?"
Cate's brows relaxed, and she said with a smile, "Good, it was great! The feeling of helping others resolve their emotional knots is very fulfilling. I even applied for a part-time assistant position at the Psychological Counseling Center."
"That's good." Wade slowed down, flying with his feet skimming the ground. "Let's go to Jordan's dorm during lunch break. It's time to rip off their sacred veil."
Cate's eyes curved into crescents, and she covered her mouth, laughing. "Ooh haha... I can't wait"
Wade raised a finger and turned to look at her. "When the time comes, let's find the recording of that night's show and publicly execute them. Their expressions will definitely be priceless."
The two weren't moving fast, chatting casually on the track... Vought Tower, 82nd floor, CEO's office.
Madelyn sat squarely behind the large office desk, her fingertips frequently clicking the mouse, processing the pending approval items flooding in from various departments on the screen.
The company had recently encountered a series of crises, and she had to think carefully before making every decision.
A knock sounded, and Ashley hurried in, holding a tablet.
"Ma'am," Ashley said, sporting dark circles and looking exhausted, "The follow-up handling and analysis report regarding Black Noir... is out."
Madelyn looked up, gesturing with her eyes for her to continue.
"The remains have been secretly interred according to the highest security protocols. The autopsy confirmed the cause of death was devastating cardiac penetration... confirmed to be the work of a Supe."
Ashley stood to the side, displaying the summary of the report on the tablet to Madelyn.
"The Criminal Analysis Department has locked onto the identities of three suspects through facial recognition and database cross-referencing."
"Billy Butcher, former CIA agent, highly unstable emotionally, with severe violent tendencies. His wife, BeccaButcher, was an employee in our Marketing Department eight years ago and mysteriously disappeared."
"Hughie Campbell, former stereo store salesman. His girlfriend, Robin, died in A-Train's accident last month."
"Marvin Walls, retired military man, previously worked as a prison guard in a Juvenile Detention Center."
"And an Asian girl," Ashley pulled up a blurry side profile image, "She is untraceable, with no legal identity records. We suspect she is an illegal immigrant."
"Furthermore, the man with the small mustache used forged identities from over twenty countries. We are temporarily unable to lock down his identity."
Ashley spoke rapidly, continuing, "Our retrospective investigation found that Butcher, Marvin, and the man with the mustache privately handled multiple cases involving Supes several years ago."
Madelyn lightly tapped the desk with her fingertips. "Oh, their motives seem quite sufficient! So, the previous sneak photos at the dock and this hacking incident were all done by them?"
"It's possible." Ashley touched the screen, showing an image of a three-colored vial. "This is the Temporary Supe Serum found on them. They are all targeted ability types... They were just ordinary people before, and now they possess powers because of this."
Madelyn immediately started typing on the keyboard, searching. "Targeted serum? No pharmaceutical companies specializing in the Supe field have been established recently."
"Is it a small domestic workshop, or foreign counterfeit goods? What are the lab analysis results?"
Ashley bowed and replied, "Ma'am. The lab is working hard to analyze and decipher the specific composition of the serum A-Train brought back, but progress is slow. Its molecular structure is very... unique."
Madelyn leaned back in her chair. "Having a Supe serum from an unknown source, and being able to organize opponents who hold grudges against us and disrupt our business... this is clearly a targeted operation by a competitor. These people are merely pawns pushed to the forefront."
She rubbed her forehead, closed her eyes, and gave instructions: "Find me biomedical companies established domestically and internationally in the last ten years, focusing on the military and Supe fields."
"Notify Security, immediately arrange personnel to keep a 24-hour watch on the relatives of these identified individuals... use them as a breakthrough. As long as we catch these small pawns, we can follow the vine to find the melon—the people and organization behind the scenes."
"Understood." Ashley was about to turn and leave.
Bang!
The wooden office door was violently shoved open.
Homelander, holding a piece of paper, slammed it onto the desk. "It was him! This disgusting freak killed Black Noir!"
The paper showed a sketch of an extremely ugly man with distorted and twisted features.
Homelander angrily clenched his fists and punched the air a few times. "I chased him into the sea and fought him, but unfortunately, this eel escaped."
He put both hands on the desk, staring intensely at Madelyn. "Stop all of The Deep's recent activities. I want him to lead a team to search for clues."
"These scum must be the terrorists who killed Translucent! They are working together! Use all resources... at all costs, I want you to find them all. I want to tear them to shreds!!"
Madelyn was not intimidated by his imposing manner. She picked up the nauseating sketch and glanced at it.
"I understand how you feel, but we cannot make a big fuss right now, nor can we let the police issue a nationwide wanted bulletin."
Homelander questioned in a deep voice, "Why?"
"Because we currently have no substantial evidence," Madelyn stood up and analyzed clearly. "Once this is public, those covetous politicians and media outlets will swarm us like sharks smelling blood."
"They will use the opportunity to demand intervention in company oversight and transparency, and we will become very passive."
She walked around the desk to Homelander, softening her tone. "Trust me, we have already locked onto their accomplices. Security will dispatch the most elite armed squad for the arrest. Once we find concrete evidence or catch someone alive, we can seize the initiative. But for now, patience is required."
She placed her hand on Homelander's chest and said with genuine sincerity, "You have a more important task: prepare to attend this week's 'Believe Expo'."
"You need to appear in front of the public, showcase your glorious image and convictions, and reverse the company's recent decline."
"This is the best consolation for Black Noir, and the most powerful counterattack against those behind the scenes. I promise you, I will inform you immediately once there is any information."
Homelander forcibly suppressed the unvented rage in his heart, snorted coldly, and strode out of the office.
After the door closed, the trace of concern on Madelyn's face instantly vanished, and she regained her composure.
She looked at Ashley, who was still standing there, and instructed:
"Black Noir is a veteran hero, a crucial asset with a massive fanbase. He cannot simply fade away like this."
"Go to Godolkin and find Principal Shetty. Find someone to replace Black Noir as soon as possible. Find a compliant senior student from the Drama Department who has a similar build, and put him in the suit."
"Understood, Ma'am." Ashley immediately made a note and turned to leave the office.
Everyone in the company knew that the symbol of the hero was far more important than the hero himself; nobody cared if the person under the costume was the original.
Inside the office, Madelyn, looking pleased, held a wine glass and walked to the window.
She took two sips of wine, her gaze sinister. "Hmph, since you've shown your hand, I'll drag you out!"
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