"Superheroes must be independent of the military command system and can only accept my direct orders." Stan Edgar was coordinating the details with the Minister of Defense.
"Also, the collateral casualty rate, although it's 0% in the agreement, don't forget our private agreement is 34%."
The Minister of Defense's expression was serious. He knew that if they dared to agree to a 34% collateral casualty rate today, Vought would dare to manipulate data tomorrow, and the actual casualty rate could reach 50% or even more.
"Good!" He nodded in agreement.
It wasn't his people who were dying, so he had no psychological burden.
But before Stan could smile, Robert Singer brought up his conditions.
"I can agree to all of this, but it's not the right time."
"Current public opinion does not support the Department of Defense signing such an agreement with Vought, unless you solve the trouble you have at hand first."
"Black King…" Stan's face darkened. Of course, he knew what Robert meant by "trouble."
With Black King constantly stirring up trouble and exposing Vought's dirty laundry, it was difficult for Vought to advance further. Although Vought could always deny it, its external reputation was declining.
As for the official side, whether Vought had problems was not even worth discussing.
Of course there were problems, and big ones.
But Vought could still make them a lot of money… so it wasn't a problem.
Stan met with Robert today, on one hand to discuss the Military-Industrial Complex, and on the other hand to ask the Department of Defense to step in and rein in Black King.
He didn't expect Robert to speak first.
Stan probed, "We all know that MIB is a subordinate agency of the Department of Defense…"
But Robert directly interrupted, "I told you from the beginning, MIB is indeed affiliated with the Department of Defense, but it's not under my control."
Stan Edgar felt a bit aggrieved. He had controlled Vought for so long, and this was the first time he had been cornered by a Superhuman.
"The deal is as it stands." Robert Singer reiterated, "You deal with Black King, and we agree to the protocol."
"Alright!"
Stan Edgar could only nod, then began to think about how to complete this deal.
He had seen the video of Black King attacking the Sage Grove Center, and the raging winds had left a deep impression on him.
At least among his hidden means, he had no cards to deal with Black King, so the hope of defeating Black King still had to fall on Vought's ace — Homelander.
Stan had enough intelligence to know that Homelander alone couldn't defeat Black King, but Homelander plus Fang Yuan could repel Black King.
So, all of this still required the efforts of Brother Fang Yuan.
The most direct feedback from Stan's predicament was that Homelander and Fang Yuan's say in Vought Corporation significantly increased.
It must be said that Stan Edgar, being able to control Vought for so many years, possessed great courage. He thoroughly empowered Ashley; now Ashley's power was even greater than Madelyn's back then!
And Ashley was very obedient to Fang Yuan and Homelander, so these powers were indirectly handed over to Fang Yuan and his group.
Regarding this, if Stan claimed ignorance, Homelander and Fang Yuan wouldn't believe it even if you beat them to death.
So now, besides company contracts and compound v, which Stan was responsible for, all other Vought personnel, publicity strategies, Superhero planning, and even some secret laboratories were decided by these two brothers.
"Indeed, raising bandits to enhance one's own importance has always been a good way to increase power," Fang Yuan thought to himself.
At this moment, he was listening to Lamplighter relaying Black King's words to him and Homelander.
Hearing Black King say that if he dared to block his path again, Vought would be buried with him, Homelander's face instantly turned crimson with anger.
This fellow, he's going too far!
"Who does he think he is? With big brother here, he can't beat me anyway!" Homelander said this without much confidence himself.
Because previous experiences showed that even if Fang Yuan was present and weakened Black King's strength, Black King could still thoroughly beat him.
At most, before he could kill him, now he couldn't kill him.
"Don't worry, I'm here!"
Fang Yuan smiled encouragingly at Homelander.
Homelander felt a warmth in his heart: "Big brother is still the best."
After relaying the message, Lamplighter hesitated for a moment, then wanted to leave.
He was no longer a member of The Seven, and his new workplace had been shut down, so he planned to go home and lie low.
Of course, Fang Yuan wouldn't let him leave just like that. He called out to Lamplighter.
"John and I are now in charge of Vought Corporation," he said without reservation. "You used to be John's teammate, come and help us. Even if you operate as a retired celebrity, it's better than doing dirty work in a laboratory, right?"
With that, Fang Yuan handed him an invitation letter.
"Vought Corporation cordially invites you to join."
"Inviter: Fang Yuan"
"Signatory: Blank"
Actually, doing dirty work in the lab wasn't Lamplighter's own wish. Like Maeve, he was actually one of The Seven with a relatively good conscience.
However, after being kicked out of The Seven, Vought was unwilling to invest resources in him anymore, so he was directly assigned to the laboratory.
Lamplighter understood Vought's terror and could only grit his teeth and agree.
Now that Fang Yuan was willing to let him be a celebrity again, Lamplighter naturally couldn't ask for anything more.
"Once you sign, you're my big brother's man!" Homelander immediately reminded him, "If you dare to betray big brother in the future, no matter where you are, I will find you and kill you!"
His tone was full of menace, while Fang Yuan quickly smiled kindly: "Don't be scared, John is just scaring you."
"It feels great to have one play the bad cop and the other play the good cop," Fang Yuan thought.
With Homelander helping him say the unpleasant things, Fang Yuan felt he saved a lot of trouble.
Lamplighter took Fang Yuan's words as truth. Anyway, he just wanted to live a good life and didn't want to get involved in any conspiracies.
He quickly signed the document, and Fang Yuan immediately unlocked his reward.
"Congratulations on signing a B-rank employee, Lamplighter."
"Lamplighter: Reputation 100, Character Template B-rank, Development 100%."
Lamplighter's reputation barely reached 100. It was clear that it had been falling ever since he left The Seven. If Fang Yuan had signed him a little later, he would have had to do some promotion to unlock the third-tier reward.
Moreover, what surprised Fang Yuan was that Lamplighter's ability was actually rated B-rank, even higher than A-Train!
In Fang Yuan's understanding, Lamplighter's ability was similar to Pyro's in the X-Men World, but when he possessed all of Lamplighter's abilities, he discovered that he could also significantly enhance the power of flames.
He thought about it carefully, and indeed it was like this in the original plot. With just a small flame from a lighter, he could burn through specially made thick alloy doors, and the power was indeed enhanced many times over.
It was just that Lamplighter's own physical fitness was limited; otherwise, his rating would definitely be even stronger.
And now that Fang Yuan had obtained this ability, the role he could play was much greater than Lamplighter or Pyro.
After all, Fang Yuan himself knew magic, so starting a fire was simple; he didn't need to carry a lighter with him. If he later got the ability of Human Torch, Fang Yuan would dare to call himself Hephaestus.
After Lamplighter left, Homelander also had to rush to his next engagement. He was going to a meet-and-greet in Brooklyn, New York, starting in five minutes, which was enough time given his speed.
Starlight and Kimiko were also out; Starlight for her career, and Kimiko for finding her brother, both had been very active during this time.
However, Kimiko wouldn't find her brother anytime soon. Don't ask Fang Yuan where the information came from; he just knew.
Currently, in the Seven Tower, only A-Train was idle.
A-Train's heart condition was getting worse, so he usually took on engagements that didn't require too much strenuous running, otherwise, he would be overdrawing his life.
If Vought were still in charge of Superhero affairs, with A-Train in this condition, Vought would have already started looking for a replacement.
Just like in the plot.
But he was luckier this time, meeting Fang Yuan.
Before, he needed A-Train to help him with his plans, but now he no longer did. A-Train had been a fairly competent turncoat, and it was time to help him resolve his hidden troubles.
"Let's go to Cleveland."
Fang Yuan found A-Train and said.
"Cleveland? That place… Wait, are you going to find The Deep?" A-Train reacted after a moment of confusion.
The Deep had been banished by Vought to a remote town in Cleveland.
Fang Yuan nodded: "That's right. After all, he was once a member of The Seven, and his fame and abilities are still somewhat useful."
The Deep's abilities mainly consisted of underwater breathing and communicating with marine life. Compared to DC's Aquaman, The Deep was a completely castrated version.
He couldn't gain strength buffs in water, couldn't move quickly, and was a carp.
But Fang Yuan only valued his ability to communicate with marine life. Even Professor X could only Telepathy with humans at present.
When A-Train and Fang Yuan arrived, The Deep was in his small apartment, happily cuddling an octopus.
Seeing the two suddenly appear, The Deep panicked and quickly tried to tidy up the
But the octopus clearly didn't want it to end so soon, so The Deep could only pull at its tentacles one by one, saying, "Nancy, stop sucking, I'll play with you later."
Fang Yuan and A-Train turned around and only turned back after The Deep had tidied up.
"You two are here because… Vought wants to call me back?" The Deep asked hopefully.
He couldn't stand this wretched place for another day. The sudden drop from boundless glory to dust was unbearable for The Deep. If Vought didn't come for him soon, he was even planning to get married here.
Fang Yuan shook his head: "Vought hasn't thought of you at all."
Nor did they have time to think; Vought itself had a lot of trouble right now.
The Deep was instantly extremely disappointed, but Fang Yuan continued: "However, I can take you out of here."
He handed over the invitation letter.
"John and I are now in charge of Vought's Superhero affairs. If you promise to listen to me from now on, you can return to the Seven Tower."
"Returning to The Seven is not possible for now, but at least it's much better than your current situation."
The Deep quickly looked at A-Train. He had been away from the mainstream World for too long and couldn't quite grasp the situation.
A-Train nodded, confirming everything was true.
The Deep immediately no longer hesitated. He had been trapped here for too long, and now that someone had finally come to pull him out, he naturally had no reason to refuse.
"Congratulations on signing a B-rank Superhuman: The Deep."
"Ding, congratulations to the host for achieving the hidden achievement - Vought's Orthodoxy is Mine: Sign all members of The Seven!"
"Reward: Company panel upgrade!"
You will get 90 chapter ahead for this fanfiction.
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