"Sorry." Homelander poured a bucket of cold water on Thor. "I will only grant competition rights to registered heroes of Vought. This is a commercial event."
"I am! I am a Vought employee!" Thor quickly slapped his chest, making a loud thumping sound. "I'll go back to Earth with you right now to complete the official hiring process!"
Star-Lord, standing nearby, saw this and hurriedly stepped forward, raising his hand.
"I want to be hired too! Boss Homelander, please, you must make me your employee!"
Rocket Raccoon also waddled over on his short legs to join the fun: "Our ship crashed while passing through the Sakaar wormhole. If we could get that engineer called Stank to build us a new ship, we'd join too!"
"I am Groot!"
Homelander looked at the eager Star-Lord without nodding immediately, carefully weighing the pros and cons in his mind.
Star-Lord was indeed an unstable factor.
But from a business perspective, the Guardians of the Galaxy had quite a bit of fame across the major civilizations of the Universe.
Bringing them under the Vought banner would definitely bring him a nice share of extraterrestrial popularity value.
"Very well, you're hired." Homelander made the final decision.
Having dealt with these new recruits, Homelander turned to look at Grandmaster.
"What are the specific rules for this gladiatorial match?"
Grandmaster explained:
"Both sides can send a team of up to seven to compete in one-on-one arena battles."
"A best-of-seven format; this is the basic contractual rule of the Gladiator Coin."
"However, as the temporary holder of the coin and the event organizer, I can add some additional auxiliary rules that are fair to both sides."
Hearing this, Homelander had an idea.
"Since we can add some rules, we shouldn't just let the audience sit and watch."
Homelander stated his suggestion with burning eyes.
"First, the Duel Blind Box mechanism." Homelander held up one finger.
"Before each one-on-one match begins, the terrain of the arena will not be decided by either party's contestants. Instead, it will be chosen by the audience through a vote. Each type of terrain must contain unique environmental traps, which will greatly increase the uncertainty and watchability of the gladiatorial match."
"Second, the Emotional Balance mechanism." Homelander held up two fingers.
"Bind the arena's energy system directly to the audience's emotional value."
"If both sides fight conservatively on the arena, only knowing how to defend and stall for time, once the audience boos en masse, the arena's gravity will start to increase exponentially, or the field will constantly drain both sides' stamina."
"Conversely, if the duelists choose to engage head-on and pull off satisfying combos, the audience's cheers will turn into tangible energy, accelerating the contestant's stamina recovery or boosting their attack power."
Homelander became more excited as he spoke.
"By handing the judging power to the audience, we can not only increase the audience's sense of participation but also force all the warriors on the field to abandon boring wars of attrition and display the ultimate aesthetic of violence! This will put an end to all time-wasting attrition battles."
"Brilliant!" Grandmaster clapped his hands repeatedly in excitement.
"Third, the Mid-Match Intervention mechanism." Homelander held up three fingers.
"When the battle reaches a fever pitch, if one side is at a disadvantage but their tenacious fighting spirit wins the audience's approval."
"We can initiate a vote for a halftime break among the audience."
"As long as the votes in favor of a halftime break exceed fifty-one percent, the match will be forcibly paused."
"Both contestants can leave the arena to rest for a moment, review their strategies, and make adjustments. Furthermore, when they return to the arena, they are allowed to bring one specific item with them. This will increase the uncertainty of the battle and give the audience the thrill of anticipating a comeback."
After finishing, Homelander looked at Grandmaster, waiting for his response.
Grandmaster was stunned, as if Homelander had opened a door to a new World for him.
This kind of competition format, which perfectly combined audience emotion, entertainment, violence, and drama, was simply the peerless idea he had been dreaming of!
"These, these mechanisms, the Gladiator Coin's mechanisms can perfectly implement them all!"
"You are too amazing, Homelander! You are the soulmate I have been searching for in the Universe for years!"
Grandmaster put his hands together and praised Homelander loudly.
"I assure you, my friend! This will absolutely be the most sensational and greatest event in the history of the entire Universe!"
Notification! Gained special popularity value +20,000! (From Grandmaster)
Homelander accepted this popularity value with satisfaction, then raised his hand and drew a circle in front of him.
Amidst the sparks, a portal opened.
On the other side of the door was the V.G.D. Headquarters in New York, Earth.
"Let's go, rookies. Come back to Earth with me to handle the paperwork."
At this moment, Valkyrie Brunnhilde walked over quickly.
"Um..." She looked at the scene on the other side of the portal and said, "I've heard from my sisters before that there is a place on Earth called Norway. The scenery is very beautiful."
"I want to go along and see it, is that okay?"
Homelander stopped in his tracks, turned his head, and sized her up.
Brunnhilde's gaze flickered, carrying a hint of nervousness and anticipation.
Homelander suddenly had a strange feeling in his heart, and he silently called out to the system in his consciousness.
"System, I am not wearing the 'Arsonist of Hearts' skin, what is going on with her?"
[Answering the host, although the 'Arsonist of Hearts' skin has been unequipped, every time the skin is worn, residual abilities permeate into the host's main body, causing some abilities to continue to take effect on the main body.]
[The residual abilities will slowly fade over time, please rest assured, host.]
Homelander suddenly realized.
So it was a skin side effect; it seems he needs to control the frequency of its use in the future.
Although making these heroines fall in love can quickly harvest special popularity value, leaving affection everywhere is also a troublesome matter.
If the emotional situation goes wrong and creates some kind of messy romantic disaster, it will definitely affect the foundation of his persona.
Seeing that Homelander hadn't responded for a long time, the light in Brunnhilde's eyes dimmed.
"If it's not convenient, never mind."
Homelander, coming back to his senses, immediately put on his signature smile.
"Of course, you are very welcome. Norway is indeed a nice place. The air there is full of tranquility, and the lake surfaces are always clear."
Hearing this, Brunnhilde's eyes lit up again.
But Homelander immediately changed the subject.
"However, on Earth, you must abide by the laws of the Federation."
Homelander's tone carried a warning: "Your business of trafficking alien slaves on Sakaar will not work on Earth."
"If you want to make money, Vought can provide you with a decent job."
Brunnhilde looked at Homelander's charming smile and listened to his words, which seemed to have planned out her future, and an unusual emotion could not help but rise in her heart.
She thought Homelander was caring about her, or even that he had extended the special invitation because he had a favorable impression of her.
"Okay... I will consider it carefully." Brunnhilde smiled, her smile carrying the unique dash of a Valkyrie.
Homelander returned the smile, turned around, and stepped into the portal.
In his heart, he was silently calculating.
Brunnhilde's image was tough, and her fighting style was wild.
As long as she was slightly packaged and given a tragic backstory, he could definitely build her into a superstar who would harvest popularity from the black community.
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