Two days later, afternoon, Kate's dorm.
The cold air from the air conditioner blew directly. Wade was napping at the desk; Kate was curled up on the bed, sleeping soundly.
Ring, ring, ring—
The piercing alarm clock broke the silence.
Wade reached out to turn off the alarm and woke up the hibernating computer in front of him: "It's starting, Kate, come over and recognize them."
Kate rubbed her sleepy eyes as she got out of bed, muttering, "So mysterious… I have no idea what they're choosing, it's so boring."
Wade stood up and, without explanation, pressed her into the gaming chair: "It's already the final interview stage, only three people, it'll be quick."
The two each put on one earphone, their heads close together, staring intently at the screen.
On the screen, in front of a simple stage, stood three tall young men of different complexions. They were bent over a desk, signing various documents.
At the judges' table, Ashley, dressed in a sharp black suit, was seated, holding three resumes, and conversing in a low voice with the other judges beside her.
A few minutes later, Ashley sat up straight and adjusted the microphone: "Today's final round of testing is an impromptu scene performance. There's no script, no use of abilities, only keyword prompts."
"You need to immediately get into character and react… Now, please go backstage to prepare. Come on stage when your name is called."
The three candidates left as instructed, and the two watching the monitor took the opportunity to chat.
Kate yawned, propping her chin with her hand: "'Sleepyhead' Nathan Mitchell, 'Steel Man' Musk Bailey, 'Bobcat' Sean Donovan… just these three? Their combined fans aren't even a fraction of yours, what's there to see?"
Wade pointed at Ashley on the screen: "See that woman? She's the one who took us to meet the Vought CEO at the banquet."
Kate casually ran her fingers through her hair: "So what? Just a normal business trip."
On the screen, on the dimly lit stage, Musk Bailey was the first to be called and stepped onto the stage under the spotlight.
The female judge's voice sounded through the speaker: "Highly effective and decisive, mysterious and unpredictable, a warrior."
Musk processed the words, then slightly bowed, his gaze sweeping around. He quickly moved towards a distant dummy and cleanly slit its throat.
The second to take the stage was Sean Donovan. Ashley's voice came through the speaker: "Loyal and reliable, diligent and uncomplaining, a mercenary."
Sean Donovan thought for a moment, then made a slight nod as if receiving an order, and then simulated a vigilant stance with a gun, patrolling the stage.
Nathan Mitchell was the last to appear, standing in the center of the stage.
The male judge's voice sounded: "Taciturn, ruthless, an assassin."
Nathan Mitchell reacted the fastest, stepping silently behind the mannequin.
He reached out, mimed covering and twisting, then silently walked off the stage, showing no expression throughout the entire process.
A few seconds later, the stage lights came on one after another, and the performance ended.
At the judges' table below, Ashley said to the three people in front of her: "You can go now. Go back and wait for the notice."
Kate pressed her face against the screen, looking surprised: "Strange, the judges didn't score today? Who knows who passed the interview?"
Wade stared intently at the screen, his brows slightly furrowed: 'All three of them portrayed Black Noir's image well, just from different angles. Does Vought want to keep a few backup options?'
On the screen, Ashley put the three resumes on the table into her briefcase, then stood up and left.
Wade took off his headphones and instructed, "Find out everything about these three. It might come in handy."
Kate tied up her hair and raised an eyebrow: "You want me to go?"
Wade pressed her shoulder and shook his head: "No, it's too obvious, they'll find us eventually. You and the others just go around collecting dirt on these three."
"Alright." Kate tugged at his sleeve, looking up and asking, "Then for tomorrow's weekend community practice… are you really not going?"
Wade held her hand: "Yeah, Jill joined our Paradox Group, right? Help me take good care of her."
"Then, then can you…" Kate said, biting her lip with wide, watery eyes, "Hug me? Just… for a moment."
Wade hesitated for a moment, then opened his arms and embraced Kate, constantly smoothing out the turbulent mental energy in her mind.
He sensed that a small part of the fragmented, unbearable memories in Kate's mind had been organized, knowing that she was trying to face her past.
Where there is struggle, there will be damage. All he could do was continuously help Kate heal and provide mental support.
After an unknown amount of time, Kate took two deep breaths and then let go: "I feel… much better."
Wade gave her a thumbs up: "Keep it up, you're already very strong!"
Kate smiled and wiped away her tears: "Thank you."
...Above the suburbs of New York City, a biting wind howled.
Wade hovered high in the sky, below him an endless network of highways and city clusters scaled down to models.
He took out his phone and looked up the location of this year's Believe Expo – Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Wade looked at the winding route on the screen, complaining to himself as he flew: "Homelander never seems to use a phone. He probably can genuinely pinpoint locations accurately with just his eyes and memory. I still need to learn."
As for using empirical methods like magnetic fields, terrain, or celestial bodies for navigation, he, having only learned to fly two months ago, was completely unaccustomed to them. Being able to use phone navigation was already good enough.
The clouds were scattered by the air current, and Wade began to fly at full speed, recalling the itinerary message Hughie had left that morning: [6:30 AM, Unknown: We're being watched by Vought, can't take a plane, can only drive to Iowa. See you then.]
Butcher and the others had set off this morning. From New York to Iowa was a good 2000 kilometers, and it would take at least twenty to thirty hours to drive, so they probably wouldn't arrive until tomorrow morning.
Ever since the 'Dock Massacre Incident' where he narrowly escaped death, Hughie had frequently reported his whereabouts and progress through an anonymous email.
He speculated that Hughie must have developed severe psychological trauma, becoming extremely insecure and fearing a repeat of the incident with no one to rescue him.
"Just as I wished. Having someone in the team constantly relaying information to me is much better than just installing trackers."
Just then, a special ringtone sounded, and Wade immediately stopped in mid-air and answered the call.
A clear and pleasant female voice came through: "Vivian, where are you? I've been in the hotel for half a day, it's so boring."
Wade's throat moved, and his Adam's apple receded: "Annie, I'm still on my way. It'll probably be another hour."
Annie continued, "You have to hurry. Tonight I'm treating you to a show at the Paramount Theatre, and then we'll go shopping at the New Bo Market, and then we'll… Hello, are you listening?"
"Yes, Your Excellency, Shining Star, I await your command."
"Hehe… Only you say such nice things. When you arrive, come straight to the Hilton DoubleTree Convention Hotel to find me! I'll send you the room number later."
"Okay, Annie, see you later."
Wade ended the call, increased his speed again, his figure leaving a blurry white streak in the air.
Speeding all the way from New York, only half an hour passed.
Wade flew over Iowa's vast farmlands and saw the architectural outline of Cedar Rapids on the horizon.
He hovered high above the city, quickly plunged into a thick cloud layer, and activated his shapeshifting ability.
His bones crunched, his height shrunk, his body became slender, his facial features softened, and in a blink of an eye, he transformed into an Asian short-haired girl.
The compressed travel bag he carried automatically unzipped, and loose short-sleeved shirts and cargo pants flew out.
Wade changed his clothes and headed towards the Hilton Hotel indicated by his phone navigation: "I hope everything goes smoothly tonight."
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