Every Superhero registered with Vought International can participate in the candidate voting.
Aside from Homelander, who has locked in a spot as the absolute Captain, the remaining list of participants will be preliminarily screened based on the voting results from the global public.
The heroes with the highest number of votes will enter the final selection pool, to be finalized personally by Homelander.
Once this decision was announced, global netizens fell into a frenzy.
"We are deciding the list of those who will save the World! We are also a part of saving the World!"
Countless netizens pulled out all the stops.
All kinds of mashup videos, campaign posters, and comic-style skits of heroes flooded the internet.
A group of fitness enthusiasts held up models of Captain America's shield and handed out flyers to passing pedestrians: "Willpower! Indomitable willpower! Captain Rogers is the symbol of the human spirit! We need him to lift the shield at the front!"
Some elite hackers hacked directly into the homepages of several websites, replacing the pages with campaign posters for Quicksilver Pietro: "Speed is power! Pietro can slap Thanos one hundred times in one second! Click here to vote!"
Flash mob events in the streets were endless, and the streets were full of fanatical fans wearing their idols' uniforms.
Inside Vought Tower, in the office of Homelander.
Ashley stood before Homelander's desk, trembling and exceptionally excited.
"Boss, the data has exploded! Sales of our heroes' merchandise have increased eightfold in four hours! The number of concurrent users on the Vought official website has exceeded 1 billion! The whole World is going crazy for this gladiatorial match!"
Homelander listened to all of this with a smile; this was exactly the effect he wanted.
By giving the public a sense of participation, they would willingly contribute all their enthusiasm and popularity.
"Keep pushing the heat up," Homelander commanded. "Tell the major media outlets to produce battle analysis programs for every candidate hero; let the debate get even more intense!"
The heat continued to ferment.
This fanatical competitive atmosphere naturally affected the heroes within Vought International as well.
On the surface, everyone appeared calm and indifferent, but behind the scenes, they were all secretly competing.
Inside the Stark laboratory.
"Jarvis, refresh it again." Tony Stark stared at the real-time network data, his brows furrowed.
"Very well, displaying. Your approval rating is currently ranked fourth. You are behind Captain America, Jessica, and Spider-Man."
"This is absolute nonsense." Tony angrily stuffed a handful of snacks into his mouth. "Steve is just a hundred-year-old antique; does he know what 'cool' is? And that pajama baby, does he know what a war in the Universe is?"
"Perhaps people clearly prefer Peter's youthful and energetic image," Jarvis analyzed calmly.
"Prepare the Mark M2 armor for me," Tony said, holding his breath. "I'm going to host a live stream and show them who the coolest genius on Earth really is."
On the other side, in the gravity training room at Vought Headquarters.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Steve Rogers was shirtless, punching a specially made sandbag, one punch at a time.
Sweat slid down his solid muscle lines.
At this moment, Bucky pushed the door open and walked in, holding a tablet computer in his hand.
"Steve, you need to stop for a second. Your vote count is about to be caught up by that spider kid."
Steve stopped his movements, picked up a towel to wipe the sweat off his face, his expression showing no ripples.
"I don't care about this popularity game, Bucky. As long as Homelander needs me, I will do everything I can!"
"Give me a break, pal." Bucky walked up and shoved the tablet into Steve's hand. "This is a war of Universe-level proportions. Do you really want to stay on Earth and watch the TV broadcast? Don't forget, you are the first generation of Superhero on Earth!"
"Hurry up and shoot a video to campaign for votes from your fans. While you're at it, show off your pectoral muscles."
Steve sighed helplessly and shook his head, but he still took the tablet.
Meanwhile, the biggest dark horse on the ranking list, Spider-Man Peter Parker, was currently busy beyond measure.
Peter was now skipping classes almost every day, working full-time as his "New York's good neighbor."
In an alley in Manhattan.
Peter had just used spider silk to hang three car thieves upside down on a street lamp.
He landed lightly on the ground and struck his signature spider-crawling pose.
"Well done, Spider-Man!" A few fashionable young ladies on the roadside screamed excitedly and raised their phones one after another.
Hearing the sound, Peter did not hesitate to reach up and take off his mask.
He scratched his hair, which was slightly messy from being pressed by the mask, and revealed a sunny, brilliant smile.
"Hey, ladies. Good afternoon."
He walked over generously, made a peace sign, and cooperated with the fans' selfies.
The current Peter had completely abandoned the traditional Superhero routine of "hiding his identity."
This was also Aunt May's intention.
May Parker believed that nowadays, thanks to Homelander's efforts, being a Superhero was a legitimate and glorious profession; there was absolutely no need to hide and cover up like a wanted criminal.
Furthermore, Peter was now attending Vought Vanguard Hero Academy, hanging out with a group of superpowered individuals every day; even if he wanted to hide it, he couldn't.
As for retaliation from those villains?
She didn't care about it at all now.
Relying on her outstanding work ability, May was now a mid-level manager at Vought International.
Who would dare to be blind enough to go to Vought Tower and cause trouble?
Precisely because of this open and honest style, coupled with Peter's youthful and vibrant "fresh meat" image, he had madly harvested a large number of "older sister fans" and "mom fans."
In Vought's voting channel, his ranking soared all the way, overtaking various veteran heroes along the way.
But this dazzling achievement had now become Peter's biggest trouble.
...
On the weekend evening, having finished his daily good deeds, Peter returned to Aunt May's apartment.
Inside the kitchen, May Parker was preparing dinner.
As a member of Vought's management, Aunt May enjoyed Vought's most cutting-edge medical beauty benefits.
Her skin was now firm and smooth, without a single wrinkle at the corners of her eyes.
The whole person looked no older than thirty, exuding a mature, capable, and charming aura.
"You're back, Peter." Aunt May took off her apron and sat down opposite him. "Are you adapting to life at school?"
"Mmm... Yes, May. I'm doing great." Peter, having exhausted his energy for the day, was wolfing down food.
"I saw the rankings on the Vought official website; you are currently ranked fourth. It seems everyone likes you."
May turned on the tablet and pushed it in front of Peter.
Peter's eyes lit up, and he propped himself up with some excitement: "Yes! Everyone likes me, Aunt May. Homelander even called my name in person when school started. If I can go to that Universe arena, I can be of great help!"
"Oh right, and Mr. Stark, although he is a bit jealous of me, he prepared for me..."
"You won't go, Peter." May interrupted him.
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