Derrick took a half-eaten box of ice cream from the fridge, sprinkled some candy beans and some wafer crumbs on top, then stirred it with a tablespoon before returning to the TV and sitting comfortably on the sofa.
He put a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth, then took out his phone and opened a livestream.
The livestream was also broadcasting the White House report on Homelander's medal ceremony, and on the screen, the comments were flying past like rockets.
If you didn't turn them off, you couldn't see the livestream at all.
But Derrick hadn't come for the livestream itself. What he cared about was the comments, the messages.
He quickly logged into his account.
No matter which social platform it was, he always used the account 'Dark Lemon.'
While eating his ice cream, Derrick quickly left a comment in the livestream.
[Dark Lemon: He's here, he's descended from the sky again, does he think this pose of his is really cool? In my opinion, it's childish and shameful, like a little kid trying to attract everyone's attention. Of course, I say Homelander is an overgrown man-baby, and I don't think anyone would disagree, right?]
After his comment appeared, the likes behind it immediately shot up like a rocket.
Recently, the name 'Dark Lemon' had been very popular. Almost as soon as it appeared, it would draw attention.
Derrick greatly enjoyed this sense of accomplishment of being the center of attention. It made him forget that he was just a worker on an assembly line, forget that he was a coward, forget everything unpleasant in real life.
After posting this comment, Derrick put down his phone and looked up at the TV.
On the TV screen, Homelander had already walked toward the tiered medal platform.
There, President Rick Archibald had already stepped onto the medal platform, and amid the flashes of cameras, he smiled and said.
["Today, I am very happy to stand before everyone and announce a joyous matter."]
["I believe many of the people who have come here have already guessed what I am about to say."]
["That's right. Starting today, our Federation will have the strongest and wisest general in all of history."]
["And that is, Homelander!"]
As soon as the president finished speaking, military music sounded all around, and doves symbolizing peace flew into the sky.
On the TV, Homelander walked toward the medal platform with a smile on his lips, waving at the cameras from time to time.
Derrick bit down on his spoon and said in a voice only he could hear, "What's so great about that? As long as you have superpowers like his, even an idiot could be a general."
"If it were me, I would definitely make the Federation a better place."
"What does Homelander know!"
On the TV screen, Homelander had already reached the medal platform. At this moment, the reporters asked him to take a photo together with the president.
Homelander laughed heartily, satisfied the reporters' request, walked onto the medal platform, stood together with Mr. President, intimately wrapped an arm around the president's shoulder, and gave a thumbs-up to the camera.
Immediately, the flashes on the TV flickered nonstop, flashing so much that Derrick's eyes even began to hurt.
After quite a while, Mr. President finally held the microphone and laughed, ["Ladies and gentlemen, let's not waste any more time."]
["The medal ceremony begins now, shall we?"]
["What do you all say?"]
The area below the medal platform cheered, but at this moment, Homelander raised his hand, indicating that he had something to say.
Mr. President laughed, ["It seems that becoming a Federation general, even for Homelander, is extremely exciting."]
["Very well then, let us first hear Homelander's speech."]
["Everyone, applause."]
Led by the president, thunderous applause sounded from the TV.
Derrick watched Homelander walk with a smile to the podium covered in microphones, then pat the microphone.
"Putting on an act, disgusting," Derrick snorted with contempt.
On the TV screen, Homelander cleared his throat twice and said with a smile.
["Before I speak, I want everyone to see something first."]
He made a gesture.
Staff members pushed two large screens over and placed them beside the medal platform, then busily plugged in cables. A moment later, both large screens entered a computer interface.
The president and the officials beside him exchanged looks, as if they also did not know what Homelander wanted to do.
Derrick continued eating his ice cream. A moment later, some images appeared on the large screens behind the medal platform.
In the images, there were all sorts of online comments.
Suddenly, Derrick saw one of them.
[Dark Lemon: If I say Homelander is trash, can he follow the internet cable over to hit me or something?]
He couldn't help but cough, almost choking to death on his ice cream.
Derrick panickedly went to the TV and confirmed he had not misread. That was indeed his comment.
What was going on?
The livestream also exploded.
[What are these, online comments? Why is Homelander showing these?]
[Wow, I see Dark Lemon's comment. Worthy of my idol. His comment is being broadcast live globally, so cool!]
[I have a bad feeling. What Homelander is displaying are all comments mocking and insulting him. I don't think he'd still be smiling if he'd been slapped in the face.]
[Brothers who got on TV, I can only say, you'd better pray for yourselves.]
Comments flew past like rockets.
There were so many that people couldn't see them clearly at all.
Derrick's heart pounded. He retreated little by little and said, "What is he going to do? He won't have the police come arrest me, will he?"
"No, impossible."
"I was just complaining online. This isn't illegal."
At this moment, on the TV, a reporter asked, ["Homelander, these comments are?"]
On the TV, Homelander still smiled and said, ["These were sent to me recently by my assistant. Some people on the internet seem to hate me very much. I don't even know what I did to them to make them insult me."]
["Everyone can look at this one."]
On the TV, a comment was enlarged onto the screen.
[As a result I'm first: Homelander is just a brain-dead piece of shit. It's quite possible that the Guardians of the Homeland were really founded on his orders, otherwise why didn't he stop it immediately. Now I seriously suspect that his fight with that giant jellyfish before was a movie special effect, and that he threatened the Federation government into putting on a show with him, with the goal of building his own savior image!]
After being displayed for several seconds, the camera returned to Homelander.
Homelander had by now looked toward the president.
["Mr. President, look, did I threaten the Federation government into putting on a show?"]
The president looked serious, ["Absolutely no such thing."]
Then he said, ["Homelander, the matter of cleaning up online order can be discussed later. Let us first carry out the medal ceremony."]
Homelander shook his head, ["No no no, this is very important."]
Facing the camera, he took out a document and showed it to the camera, ["For a long time, we have not taken online order seriously, resulting in there being no order at all online."]
["This has made many people speak completely irresponsibly, and even incite the public to launch personal attacks on others."]
["Perhaps some people will say."]
["Homelander, everyone's just talking. Talking won't kill anyone. Is it really necessary for you to fuss over it?"]
["Here I want to say to these people, you are wrong. Words can kill people too."]
["Look at this statistical document in my hand."]
["Just in the past year alone, within our Federation borders, the number of people who chose to end their lives because of cyberbullying reached 2,871."]
["The number of people who became depressed because of cyberbullying, or developed schizophrenia or other mental illnesses, was 15,423."]
["And this is only what can be counted. Who knows how many more there are that cannot be counted."]
Homelander waved the document in his hand and said, ["These people could originally have enjoyed their lives happily and safely."]
["But because they were ostracized by some people online and attacked by people with ulterior motives, they ended their lives or developed mental illness."]
["And no one stood up to take responsibility for them."]
["No one!"]
Homelander smiled again and pointed at the large screens behind him, ["Then, why do these so-called internet celebrities dare to be so unbridled?"]
["Ultimately, the root of the problem is that they think they are very safe."]
["They hide behind the internet. The public doesn't know who they are, so they do whatever they want."]
["Here, I want to say to them."]
["No!"]
["Days like this will never return."]
["Every person in here who attacked me."]
["I will find you, and then I will judge you."]
["Yes."]
["I will not gently persuade you to apologize, make you repent and turn over a new leaf, or send you to prison for ten days or half a month and then let you come out and relapse again."]
["No. With me, you have no chance anymore."]
The TV immediately erupted into an uproar.
A reporter asked, ["Homelander, have you not considered what kind of impact this will have on you?"]
Homelander laughed and pointed at that reporter, ["Good question."]
["Look at these people up here."]
["Why do they dare to attack others like this, and even attack me?"]
["Besides thinking they are safe hiding behind the internet, they also think that I will, out of concern for my image, ultimately choose to swallow my anger and act as if nothing happened."]
["Wrong."]
["Completely wrong."]
Homelander pointed at the camera, ["I don't care, you know?"]
["What approval rating, what influence."]
["Whether you love me, support me."]
["These things, I don't care about any of them."]
["Even whether I can become a Federation general today."]
Homelander shrugged, ["These have no impact on me."]
["In the past I thought, you cannot raze the whole house to the ground just because the house is too messy and things are not sorted and placed properly."]
["Now I realize I was wrong. My magnanimity did not earn gratitude. Instead, it let some rats jump onto my head and run wild."]
["So I have decided to correct this mistake."]
["From now on, I will adopt a zero-tolerance attitude."]
["I will counterattack, and with the most extreme means, make my position clear."]