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Homelander had personally come to his door, right before his eyes.
Although Kevin didn't know Homelander's intentions, a sense of vigilance arose in his heart, though his expression remained unchanged.
He stepped slightly forward, about to say something to Homelander, when Starlight Annie instinctively grabbed his hand, looking at him with worry.
"Wow, I didn't expect you two to already be in this kind of relationship."
Homelander seemed to be joking, but it was clear from his emotionless gaze that he wasn't genuinely trying to be funny.
He wasn't here specifically to mock Kevin and Annie's on-screen relationship.
He's here with ill intent...
Kevin murmured to himself, gently squeezing Annie's hand.
Annie's hand was soft and smooth, but her palm was covered in beads of sweat.
She probably also understood that Homelander wasn't coming with good intentions this time, and her heart was filled with worry and panic.
Kevin gently squeezed her hand and shook his head slightly at her, signaling her not to be nervous, then his gaze fell on the pocket at Annie's side.
Noticing Kevin's gaze, Annie paused slightly and looked down at her pocket.
The pocket of her jeans was bulging with a rectangular shape from the object inside; that was where her phone was.
At this moment, Annie instantly understood what he meant.
She took a deep breath, let go of Kevin's hand, and, following Kevin's instructions, stepped back two paces, yielding the space to Kevin and Homelander.
"It's just an on-screen relationship."
After reassuring Annie, Kevin stepped forward and smiled at Homelander:
"Captain, you shouldn't take this relationship seriously, should you?"
Although Kevin and Starlight's 'CP' (couple pairing) hype had only just begun, under Vought's public relations, people were already starting to promote this pair.
There were also trending topics about the two on Twitter, though the popularity wasn't very high.
That's why Homelander said what he did at this moment.
But in reality, within Vought, no one actually regarded them as a couple; everyone knew it was just an act.
Homelander was also well aware of this, even more so than others; given The Deep's previous 'fetishes,' he naturally wouldn't believe Kevin liked Starlight.
His words now were more mocking than teasing.
Homelander's facial muscles twitched, as if he wanted to say something, but Kevin spoke before he could:
"Captain, are you here to see me late at night for something? If it's about the interview just now, I want to say that I wasn't aware of that matter either."
"Heh, unaware."
Homelander scoffed, but he didn't actually dwell on the matter.
This was a minor issue, and even Kevin saving Kimiko wasn't something he particularly cared about.
Homelander only cared about one thing: The Deep was now threatening his position.
A clownfish he had never taken seriously now had the capital to compete with him; that was what angered Homelander, and why he was here.
He just wanted an excuse to teach The Deep a lesson, to make him understand who was truly in charge of The Seven.
Homelander walked towards Kevin, and when he was closer, he said casually:
"Then you beating A-Train and taking a criminal from him—you weren't aware of that either?"
Kevin's brow furrowed at the words.
The moment Homelander asked that question, Kevin instinctively turned his head to look at Annie, who was hiding in the distance.
Annie's expression was startled, her phone in hand, unsure whether to continue recording or pause and put it away.
That's right, Annie, hiding in the distance, was currently filming them.
Kevin's hint was clear to Annie: he wanted to use the recording to make Homelander wary of acting rashly.
Because both of them understood how much Homelander cared about his public image.
In front of the public, no matter who offended him, even if it angered him to the extreme, he would suppress that anger deep down and do nothing to damage his image.
So, when Annie received Kevin's hint, she immediately hid in the distance, placing Kevin and Homelander in front of the camera.
But Homelander was clearly not a fool either.
He noticed Annie's actions but didn't intervene.
Instead, he turned the tables in front of the camera, claiming that Kevin had beaten A-Train and rescued a criminal from him.
It was fortunate this wasn't a live broadcast, only a recording, otherwise Homelander's single sentence would have caused who-knows-how much uproar online.
Homelander's reaction indeed surprised Kevin.
But fortunately, Kevin wasn't without a countermeasure.
After a moment's thought, Kevin chuckled and retorted:
"Captain, are you sure you want to talk to me about this?"
"What? Is there something that can't be said?"
"Alright, if Captain you really want to discuss this matter, then I would like to ask you."
Kevin lowered his voice, speaking in a tone only Homelander could hear:
"What exactly are you trying to do, taking Compound V without Mr. Edgar's knowledge?"
In that instant, Homelander's expression froze.
..."What?"
"Did Captain not hear clearly? Should I repeat it again?"
Kevin took a step forward, face to face with Homelander.
Their current distance was very close; if a fight broke out at this range, it would probably be over in an instant.
But Homelander didn't seem to have any intention of fighting Kevin.
His anger and the idea of causing trouble for Kevin seemed to vanish without a trace in that instant.
His eyes flickered incessantly, staring at Kevin for a long, long time before he asked in a low voice:
"You... know?"
"I didn't know before, but coincidentally, Mr. Edgar personally chatted with me for a while these past two days, so I learned what the serum that gives people superpowers is, and... the matter of Captain taking Compound V without authorization."
Kevin was still smiling, but in Homelander's eyes, that smile was so utterly loathsome.
The skin on Homelander's face was trembling, and even if he were to unleash his heat vision on Kevin the next second, Kevin wouldn't be surprised at all.
But Kevin firmly believed Homelander wouldn't do that.
Because the current Homelander still feared Edgar, at least for now.
Homelander was indeed holding back; he knew what Kevin said was true.
Taking Compound V, injecting it into adults, and attempting to cultivate supervillains—these things were not Vought's intentions.
They were his personal ideas.
This matter couldn't be brought into the open, so Homelander couldn't truly force Kevin to do anything.
The moment Kevin mentioned Compound V and Edgar, Homelander was put at a disadvantage.
He couldn't attack Kevin because he couldn't gauge the relationship between Kevin and Edgar, nor did he know how much Kevin truly knew.
In fact, because Kevin mentioned Edgar, Homelander even started to believe that what the host said during the interview today was a signal from Edgar.
'Don't go too far, I know what you're doing.'
Edgar must have wanted to tell him that.
"See, Captain, I know a lot, a lot, much more than you imagine, but have I ever spoken about these things all this time?"
Seeing Homelander speechless, Kevin's tone softened instead.
Like a despicable adult coaxing a child, he gently said to Homelander:
"We've never been enemies, Captain. I've never considered you an enemy, Captain. You should be able to see that, whether it was the plane incident or the interview just now, I was speaking up for you, wasn't I?"
Homelander was thinking, his expression completely unchanged.
His emotionless pupils reflected Kevin's image; this guy he had never taken seriously before now filled his vision.
Kevin was also looking at him, smiling, his expression unchanged, his appearance, meticulously groomed for the interview, exceptionally striking at this moment.
The two stared at each other, time seemingly frozen.
Annie nervously swallowed beside them, as she couldn't hear anything of their subsequent hushed conversation.
But she could tell from the atmosphere that this was a crucial stage.
Whether it would escalate into a fight or calm down depended entirely on their next actions.
One second, ten seconds... thirty seconds.
A full minute passed before Homelander suddenly laughed.
"Ha, haha, Deep, you're really interesting. I was just joking just now.
"Actually, that thing between you and A-Train was a misunderstanding, right? I know, it's that criminal..."
Homelander gave a fake laugh, and Kevin accompanied him with a fake smile:
"Don't worry, Captain, she was just a misunderstanding too, just an innocent person who accidentally got caught in the fight. Captain, you can find her identity at Vought."
"Yes, just an innocent person."
Homelander said, taking the hint, then stared at Kevin for a moment before suddenly extending his hands in an embrace:
"Anyway, congratulations on your increased fame, brother."
There wasn't really anything to congratulate him on, but it didn't matter. Homelander just wanted an excuse to end this unpleasant conversation.
Looking at Homelander's outstretched hands, Kevin didn't hesitate, extending his own hands to embrace Homelander, saying:
"Thank you, Captain."
"You're welcome, but Deep, your heart is beating very fast. Next time, remember not to be so nervous during interviews."
"Heh heh, same to you, Captain. Did you rush over too quickly and overexert yourself? Your blood is flowing very fast. Don't be so hasty next time, it was just a normal interview."
The two spoke in their usual voices; this time, Annie could hear them clearly.
At the same time, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed everything was fine this time.
Like good brothers, the two patted each other's backs, then released each other.
Homelander placed his right hand on Kevin's shoulder, squeezing it hard.
He gazed at Kevin one last time, patting Kevin's shoulder, and smiled:
"Then I look forward to your future performance, brother."
With that, Homelander left without even a goodbye, turning and flying away directly.
A sonic boom echoed in the air, and Homelander had vanished into the vast night.
A short while later.
Once she was sure Homelander had left and wouldn't return, Annie, who had been hiding in the distance, put away her phone and jogged over to Kevin:
"Kevin, are you okay?"
"...I'm fine."
Kevin said this to Starlight, then turned to look at his shoulder, the spot Homelander had just squeezed, and repeated:
"I'm fine."
Except for his shoulder almost being crushed by Homelander.
He was truly fine.
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