Seeing Arnold, Ashley immediately lost her nerve.
Her friend grabbed her, "Honey, do me a favor."
"Let's at least hear what Mr. Arnold has to say first, okay?"
Ashley looked helpless, but in truth, she hadn't planned to leave right away.
As one of the most competitive weapons R&D groups against Vought, Olga Corporation carried almost as much weight as Vought itself.
If she could get to know Arnold, it would be like securing herself a fallback. In the workplace, who would want to miss an opportunity like that?
Her reaction just now was only to send a signal.
To show where she stood.
Now that her friend had given her a way out, Ashley naturally wouldn't insist.
So she sat down across from Arnold.
Her friend smiled, "Then I won't disturb you two."
Ashley made a half-hearted attempt to keep her, which of course failed.
After her friend left, Arnold, pale-faced with a small tied braid, snapped his fingers.
Immediately, waiters began bringing out appetizers.
Arnold smiled, "Miss Ashley, I've long heard of you."
"If you ask me, you're the best assistant in this country, no question."
"It's a pity I haven't been able to recruit someone like you. Otherwise, I'd have far fewer worries."
"Look at me, I can't sleep well every night, always feel groggy during the day."
"If I had an assistant like you, I'd definitely sleep well every day."
"Sleep in till the sun's already high in the sky."
Ashley smiled politely, "Mr. Arnold, you're very humorous."
Arnold shrugged, "I think so too."
"So, Miss Ashley, have you considered developing your career with our Olga Corporation?"
Ashley responded sharply, "Mr. Arnold, I'll just take that as a joke."
Arnold burst out laughing, "Just a joke. Just a joke."
Ashley immediately understood that Arnold wasn't here to poach her, but had something he wanted her help with.
She smiled reservedly and took a small bite of the appetizer.
Arnold said with a smile, "Miss Ashley, in fact, tonight, I'd like to ask you for a favor."
Ashley laughed, "You must be joking, Mr. Arnold."
"I'm just a small assistant, a nobody."
"You're the president of Olga Corporation. If even you find something troublesome, how could I possibly help?"
"You're overestimating me."
Arnold shook his head, "No, no, no, Miss Ashley."
"You absolutely have the ability."
"Look, could you recommend a friend of mine into the 'Seven'?"
Ashley raised her brows, "Oh? Mr. Arnold has a superhero friend?"
Arnold pursed his lips, then smiled, "In this country, superheroes are everywhere."
"So yes, I happen to know one or two."
"And the one I want to recommend, if you ask me, is definitely a rare talent."
"I think his abilities shouldn't just be buried like this. Only by joining the Seven can he fully unleash his potential."
Ashley tried a bit of ice cream, "Oh, now I'm curious."
"Who's the lucky one getting such strong recommendation from Mr. Arnold?"
Arnold smiled and made a gesture.
Ashley suddenly felt her vision blur.
Behind Arnold, a man had already appeared.
Young, handsome, and full of sunshine.
Dressed in a racing suit, giving off a sense of boundless energy.
Ashley looked surprised, "Supersonic?"
Arnold laughed, "As expected of the Seven's top assistant. Miss Ashley really knows her superheroes inside out."
"That's right, Supersonic."
"The fastest man on Earth."
"Of course, except for Homelander."
"If you've watched the show 'Superhero,' you'd know Supersonic has wanted to join the Seven for a long time."
"But he's never had the chance. I think his abilities are outstanding, fully capable of replacing A-Train."
"Perhaps the Seven could use a speed-type hero. What do you think, Miss Ashley?"
Ashley smiled, "I'm the producer of 'Superhero,' so yes, I know his wish."
"But…"
Ashley shook her head, about to say something.
Arnold had already gestured again. A waiter brought over a dish. When the lid was lifted, there was no food on the plate, only a card.
A black card.
Ashley glanced at Arnold.
Arnold smiled, "Don't misunderstand. It's just a small gift between friends."
Ashley wiped her mouth with a napkin and firmly shook her head, "No, Mr. Arnold."
"This gift is too valuable. I can't accept it."
"I'm sorry."
"Also, I should say—"
"Members of the Seven need to be personally approved by Homelander. It's not up to me."
"So unfortunately, I can't help you with this."
She stood up, put on her coat.
"I just remembered."
"I still have work to finish. Excuse me."
Supersonic leaned forward slightly.
But when he saw Arnold raise a hand, he stopped.
At that moment, Ashley smiled, "However, are you aware…"
"Of the 'Seven Reserve Team' led by Starlight?"
Arnold nodded.
Ashley glanced at Supersonic, "Recently, we're planning to refine that team. We need several young, energetic superheroes."
"I think Supersonic fits very well. Maybe I could recommend him."
"This 'reserve team' is managed by Vought. Homelander doesn't have the time, nor will he manage it."
Arnold's lips curled up slightly. Then he said, "Miss Ashley, I have a seaside villa in Hawaii, and a yacht."
"They've been sitting idle. If you ever plan to vacation in Hawaii, be sure to let me know. I think you might enjoy staying by the sea and going out for a sail."
This time, Ashley answered decisively, "No problem."
Then she left.
After she was gone, Supersonic pulled over a chair and sat down, glancing at the black card on the plate, "She didn't accept your goodwill."
Arnold laughed softly and said in a low voice, "If you ask me, Mr. Zero..."
"You don't understand humans."
"She already accepted my favor, just in a more subtle way."
"She's a smart woman. She knows how to gain the most benefit for herself within the rules."
Supersonic showed a thoughtful expression, then said, "Human behavior is really complicated. It was before, and it still is."
"You like making rules, then breaking them yourselves. What's the point of that?"
Arnold smiled, "Of course there's a point."
"Rules are made for the weak. They protect the rights of the strong. They exist to distinguish between the two."
"The weak follow the rules obediently because they don't have the strength to break them, nor the ability to pay the price for doing so."
"As for the strong, rules are meant to be broken. They're used to demonstrate privilege."
"The weak are like sheep. Rules are the pen, and we are the wolves inside it."
"We freely feast on these foolish sheep. When discovered, we can jump out of the pen at any time."
"And the poor sheep can only bleat inside the pen as their form of protest."
"Sometimes, listening to their futile protests from outside the pen is a kind of entertainment."
Supersonic glanced at him, "Maybe Homelander sees you the same way."
Arnold's face turned a little paler.
Then he said, "No matter what."
"Now I have a way to get you into Seven Tower."
"Even if you can't get close to Homelander right away, being in the same building as him is enough for you, right?"
Supersonic nodded slightly, "It's enough."
At that moment, the clothes on his body wriggled slightly, but no one noticed.
———
That same night...
[Department of Defense Building]
Secretary of Defense Wilson dragged his tired steps and sat into his car.
"Good evening, Mr. Wilson."
A voice suddenly sounded from beside him.
Wilson's driver and bodyguard was about to draw his gun.
But after the Secretary of Defense saw who it was, he quickly said, "It's fine."
He waved his hand, telling the driver to step out.
After the car door closed, Wilson shook his head, "Grace, you can't scare me like that. I have heart disease, you know?"
Sitting beside the Secretary of Defense was none other than former CIA operative Grace Mallory.
This woman, no longer young, smiled, "But you have a strong 'heart.' I know that kind of scare won't get to you."
Wilson smiled and spread his hands, "So, instead of enjoying a leisurely retirement, what are you doing here?"
Mallory took out a lady's cigarette, "Mind if I smoke in the car?"
Without waiting for a reply, she lit it and blew a stream of smoke out the window.
"I'm not enjoying a leisurely retirement. Probably because I was scared by that bastard in the red cape."
"Yes, Mr. Wilson, I was scared."
"He just dropped right near my villa. If I hadn't left in time, I guess you'd be seeing me in the morgue."
Wilson frowned, "I don't understand, Grace. What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything."
Mallory exhaled smoke rings, "I was enjoying a peaceful retirement, really, I was."
"I almost forgot all those unpleasant memories from before, until that bastard former subordinate of mine showed up in front of me wearing a ridiculous food cart waiter uniform."
"Then that caped bastard followed right after, and just like that, my retirement was over."
"Also, I know Butcher's body has already been recovered by you people, so don't give me that 'Oh, Grace, what happened to you' nonsense."
Wilson gave an awkward smile, "You know, the caped bastard you're talking about is also working in this building now. He doesn't show up every day like I do, but he's at least considered an 'employee' here. So I think some things don't need to be said too clearly."
"I told you long ago not to get involved with that former subordinate of yours. He's a jinx."
"Don't worry. I can arrange for you to leave the country."
"You'll be fine."
Mallory smiled, "Maybe you don't realize it, but that 'employee' in your building is someone who can fly all over the sky. And if he wants to go abroad, I don't think he'd need something like a passport."
"So tell me, where in the world is actually safe?"
"Nowhere, Mr. Wilson."
"I really can't understand why you people would summon a tyrannosaurus to your side."
"Do you think a group of sheep like you can point fingers at a tyrannosaurus?"
"Do you think putting a chicken leg in front of it will make it listen to you sheep?"
"Wherever you tell it to go, it'll go?"
Wilson said awkwardly again, "Grace, we're not as helpless as you make us sound."
"At least, we're working on some countermeasures."
"Countermeasures?"
Mallory smiled, "You mean giving sheep sharp teeth, or putting claws on your hooves, then trying to scrape a bit of skin off a tyrannosaurus?"
"Oh, you probably can't even scrape off a single flake."
Wilson shook his head, "Alright, we're working on the 'Super Soldier' program."
"Do you know Dr. Vogelbaum?"
"Of course."
Mallory flicked some ash, "Isn't he Homelander's 'father'?"
Minister Wilson nodded, "That's right."
"He's working for us now."
"Soon, we—"
Mallory shook her head, "Mr. Wilson, how long are you going to keep lying to yourselves?"
"You don't actually think a bunch of so-called 'super soldiers' can guarantee your power, do you?"
"You don't really believe a group of slightly stronger sheep can defeat a tyrannosaurus?"
"No. You're playing with fire."
"You'll burn yourselves to death."
Wilson began to lose patience and spread his hands, "Then what do you suggest?"
Mallory looked at him, "Tell me, how do you defeat a tyrannosaurus?"
Wilson fell silent for a moment.
Then said, "With another tyrannosaurus?"
Mallory looked into his eyes and nodded lightly.
Wilson frowned, "But where are we supposed to find another tyrannosaurus?"
"Even Dr. Vogelbaum said Homelander was an accident, something that can't be replicated."
"If it could be replicated, this would be simple."
Mallory finished her cigarette, tossed the butt out of the car, and said in a low voice,
"That troublesome, unlucky subordinate of mine had something unfortunate happen eight years ago."
"His wife had an affair with Homelander."
"And from my sources, I heard something."
"That woman named Becca got pregnant."
"Then she disappeared."
"Why do you think she had to disappear?"
"And where did she go?"
Wilson froze, then said, "Because she was carrying Homelander's child?"
"My God."
"Another tyrannosaurus."
"A baby tyrannosaurus?"
"So she had to disappear. Damn it, Edgar hid her."
Wilson shook his head again, "But Edgar is already dead."
"Even if there's another tyrannosaurus in this world, no one knows where it would be."
Mallory smiled, "Not necessarily."
"Maybe you should ask Dr. Vogelbaum."
"After all, he's Homelander's 'father.'"
"So I think, when that little tyrannosaurus was still in its mother's womb, Dr. Vogelbaum would have been responsible for checkups, to ensure it was born safely."
Wilson's face darkened immediately, "Dr. Vogelbaum never mentioned this at all."
"He's still holding back from us."
Mallory wasn't surprised, "If it were me, I'd do the same."
"No one ever complains about having more trump cards."
She put on a baseball cap, sunglasses, and a mask, "Find that little tyrannosaurus as soon as possible."
"Even if you don't use it to fight the big one, you can use it as a bargaining chip."
"If he wants his child back."
Then Mallory pushed the car door open, lowered her head, and quickly left.
Wilson closed his eyes, then stepped out of the car.
He said, "Have Dr. Vogelbaum wait for me in the lab. I have something to discuss with him."
———
[Seven Tower]
In the command hall...
Alex looked at the information sent by the CIA about several leaders of the organization 'Starfire.'
This superpowered extremist group had three superhuman leaders.
Now, the first one appeared on the screen.
Scissorhands.
'Scissorhands' was a burly man with a black eyepatch over his right eye.
This guy was heavily muscled, with bulging muscles across his face and neck.
His body was covered in scars, making him look like a veteran of countless battles.
Scissorhands wore a ferocious expression, a cruel smile on his face in the photo.
There was a huge wound on his left arm, stretching from his shoulder all the way to his palm.
The file showed, this man could make each of his fingers as sharp as blades.
He could also extend and lengthen those blade-like fingers, making him resemble the 'Scissorhands' from the movie, hence the name.
Scissorhands was extremely cruel and enjoyed torturing and killing his opponents.
Aside from sharpening his fingers, he could also shoot them out like throwing knives, and they would regenerate quickly afterward.
He possessed superhuman endurance and strength, making him a close-combat type superhuman.
More than a hundred people had already died at his hands.
Alex swiped the screen.
What appeared next in his view was another leader.
'Bloody Mary.'
This woman had a shaved head, with decent features, beautiful in a way that bordered on demonic.
There was a skull tattoo on the back of her head, giving her an eerie aura.
'Bloody Mary's' ability was blood manipulation. She could freely control her own blood or that of her opponents.
However, to control an opponent's blood, she needed physical contact; otherwise, it couldn't be activated.
And once touched by her, blood would often go berserk, bursting out of the body and causing death.
'Bloody Mary' could manipulate this blood into weapons.
She had many attack methods. Turning blood into blades or spears was the most common.
The last leader was called 'Giant.'
He was a black man.
Square jaw, wide eyes, thick lips, and grayish-white pupils.
He could freely manipulate his muscles, transforming into a three-meter-tall giant.
In that form, he possessed terrifying strength, capable of crushing armored vehicles.
His physical defense was also astonishing, able to withstand artillery shells, and he had some resistance to both fire and frost.
Overall, the three leaders of 'Starfire' were considered relatively powerful superhumans in this universe of The Boys.
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