Chapter 71 Scandal
Joanna immediately turned around, but the person had already disappeared around the corner of the stairs.
She frowned, clearly somewhat displeased, but since Lin Mo didn't say much, it wasn't easy for her to pursue the matter further.
This was just like what she saw online: if she acted too petty and nitpicky in front of her boyfriend, it would lower his favorable impression of her, so naturally, she wouldn't do that.
Besides, here at the Vought school, it was completely normal for someone to take sneaky photos.
Less than ten minutes after that person left, another pair of eyes had already locked onto the target.
At the other end of the campus, Maeve looked at the photos just sent over by the staff.
In the photos was precisely the student who had just secretly photographed Lin Mo.
Below was only a single sentence.
[Confirmed, one of the main account holders.]
Maeve glanced at it, then closed the computer with an expressionless face.
"You really flushed yourself out."
She stood up and casually picked up her jacket.
Vought didn't like trouble, and neither did she, yet right now, there were still people who seemed not to realize...
That what they were provoking were not just two ordinary freshmen.
However, was Lin Mo really not paying much attention?
Of course not; he just hadn't taken action on the spot. As he walked forward all the way, his expression remained unchanged.
Yet in his mind, he had already memorized that person from just now. Just because he didn't keep Super Hearing turned on all day didn't mean he truly knew nothing.
However, during recent times, there had been too much discussion about him and Joanna around the school.
Normal discussions, envy, admiration, jealousy—Lin Mocouldn't be bothered to care about any of those.
The problem was that occasionally, something a bit different would be mixed in.
"How did those few posts from yesterday suddenly disappear?"
"I heard someone said their rankings were manipulated by Vought, and it seems someone even dug up Lin Mo's past background, claiming that Lin Mo is a racial extremist."
"Stop talking about it, the posts were deleted pretty quickly."
Such voices were heard a few times by Lin Mo when he occasionally walked past, and he didn't even need to deliberately activate Super Hearing; his ordinary hearing was enough.
Originally, he hadn't taken these things to heart since being talked about was completely normal, but seeing that sneaky photographer again today...
Many things suddenly connected together.
The corners of Lin Mo's mouth twitched slightly; this was getting interesting.
Haters were bouncing around everywhere he went.
Whether the smear posts and those inexplicable recent discussions were done by the same person, he would know once he went to check.
"What are you thinking about?"
Joanna suddenly asked, snapping Lin Mo back to reality.
"Nothing."
Joanna looked at him for a few seconds, clearly not believing him, and Lin Mo didn't continue keeping it from Joanna.
"Going out tonight."
"Where to?"
"That person's dorm room from earlier."
Joanna raised an eyebrow, her expression shifting as she suddenly said with a hint of excitement,
"Could it be that we're going to be underground heroes?"
"?... I suppose so?"
Lin Mo was stunned for a moment, then added another sentence,
"You'll know tonight."
Sneaky photography made it easy to tell that they had a guilty conscience.
After hearing this, Joanna didn't continue asking and simply nodded.
At a little past eleven at night, the student dormitory had quieted down quite a bit.
Godolkin University certainly didn't have a curfew in the strict sense; many students here were still training even in the middle of the night.
Bars, parties, and gatherings were even more common occurrences.
Moreover, the things inside were very vulgar and violent. Lin Mo never intended to go there; he himself wouldn't mind, but what if it corrupted Joanna?
Some things felt nothing during the day, but doing them at night could arouse even more interest.
Standing at the entrance of the student dormitory, Lin Moreleased his Super Hearing and Super Brain.
In an instant, a massive wave of chaotic information surged into his mind like a tide. In just a moment, Lin Mo locked onto the person he was looking for today—for no other reason than that photos were posted on the doors of the dorm rooms.
Finally, the two stopped in front of a student dormitory door.
Lin Mo looked up, and Joanna looked over as well.
"Go in?"
"Mm."
Things like door locks didn't hold much meaning for the two of them.
What's more, that person wasn't even there at all.
The dorm door was opened. It was very messy inside; clothes were tossed casually on chairs, there were a few empty energy drink cans on the table, and a few superhero posters were pasted on the wall.
However, many of the faces on those posters had been crossed out with a black marker.
Joanna walked in, frowned, and looked somewhat displeased.
An unpleasant smell permeated the place; no wonder the reaction was so strong.
"Such poor taste."
Lin Mo didn't speak; his gaze had already fallen onto the computer on the desk.
The screen wasn't turned off, it had only entered sleep mode, and beside it was a portable hard drive.
Several memory cards, as well as a small device specially used for filming.
Lin Mo picked it up and took a look; it wasn't the same one used for sneaky photography during the day.
In other words, this wasn't the first time he had done this sort of thing.
"Looks like we found the right place."
Lin Mo sat down.
The computer quickly lit up. There was a password, but in front of the Super Brain, it only wasted a dozen more seconds.
Soon, the desktop opened. Joanna stood behind, still feeling a bit bored. She had originally thought that sneaking in tonight was to fight some crime and be an unsung hero or something, not expecting that it was merely to look for some evidence.
Initially, she didn't have much expression, but when Lin Moclicked open one of the folders, the look in her eyes noticeably changed.
There were many folders, each containing students' names and photos, along with some sneak-shot videos and chat record screenshots.
For the more severe ones, there were even chat logs used to threaten students.
Some edited videos, as well as so-called expose materials specially compiled.
Lin Mo continued scrolling down and quickly saw himself.
[Lin Mo]
Beside it was another one.
[Joanna]
Clicking it open, it was already packed with quite a few things.
Yesterday's training video, today's sneak-shot photos, and campus ranking screenshots.
Photos of the villa area, and even a few photos of Lin Mointeracting with Vought staff, followed by an unsent post draft below.
The title was extremely direct.
[So-called geniuses are merely commodities newly packaged by Vought]
Lin Mo glanced over it; the content was written very skillfully.
Mixing truth and falsehoods, using real photos to attract people first.
Then deliberately blurring the timeline, subsequently stuffing in some guesswork without evidence, and finally using a few seemingly reasonable questions to guide emotions—not directly saying Lin Mo cheated.
They only asked: Why could he live in a special villa right after entering school? Why did his ranking rush into the top 30 within a day? Why were negative posts immediately deleted? Why would Vought invest so many resources into two transfer students?
A series of questions that all looked like mere questioning, but pieced together, the meaning was already very obvious.
Joanna stared at the screen with an ugly expression.
"He's smearing us?"
"Looks like it."
Lin Mo scrolled down further and subsequently discovered a few more chat groups.
The number of members wasn't large, just a dozen or so. There were students and also a few graduated people, but the chat content was very active.
[These two newcomers have very high traffic.]
[Just right to make an episode out of them.]
[That guy has the highest discussion volume recently.]
[Guide it towards special treatment first.]
[What about the female?]
[Together, preferably package them bundled together inside Vought.]
[Can we find any dirt on them from before?]
[If we can't find any, manufacture it. Controversy doesn't need evidence.]
Seeing this, Lin Mo finally understood. This group of people specifically targeted students in the school who were relatively famous or had relatively strong abilities.
Collecting privacy, editing videos, creating controversy, and then throwing the stuff onto the forum. If the other party had poor psychological endurance...
They would even further incite things, until that person completely disappeared from the public view.
Chapter 72: It's Best to Make a Bigger Fuss
Lin Mo continued scrolling forward, and there were already several successful cases inside.
There was a student who was originally ranked in the forties, but because of a deliberately edited video, was accused of bullying ordinary superpower users.
Even after it was clarified later, the person never showed up again, and their ranking continued to plummet to rock bottom as their fame declined. There was also a girl whom they constantly made a fuss about regarding her personal relationships, and in the end, she dropped out directly.
In the chat logs below, someone was even showing off.
"People like this wouldn't even glance at us normally."
"And now?"
"Aren't they too scared to even leave their rooms because of a few words from us?"
Seeing this, Joanna's expression turned completely cold.
Lin Mo, however, became increasingly calm.
"No wonder."
He said suddenly.
"What?" Joanna could barely suppress the anger in her heart; she really wanted to find that guy right now and chop him into pieces.
"No wonder he set his sights on us."
Lin Mo closed one of the windows.
"It's not because of anything we did."
"It's simply because we're prominent enough now and have enough traffic."
Meanwhile, the owner of this room was named DerekMole, a junior ranked outside the top two hundred on campus.
His ability was also very ordinary—a short-range oscillation ability that could release small-scale shocks through physical contact.
Of course it was very strong among ordinary people, but at Godolkin University, it could only be considered lower-middle tier. The degree of development of his power wasn't high either, and usually he at most took advantage during training classes, making it difficult for him to truly enter the core circle of the school.
And what Derek hated the most just happened to be those who were born with powerful abilities.
He was both envious and disgusted, because in Vought's system, ability was the most direct ticket. Some people were born with powerful superpowers and caught the company's attention in their teens.
After entering school, rankings, resources, commercials, and agents were all lined up and delivered to their doorstep, making them spoiled for choice.
But someone like Derek could only stand below and watch, and of course he didn't dare to do anything to their faces.
Nor could he do anything, until one day by accident, he came into contact with this small clique that specialized in creating campus dirt.
The first few times, he only helped provide a photo and participated in writing a piece of expository gossip.
Until later, he saw with his own eyes a high-ranking student who once wouldn't even deign to look at him straight, forced by forum public opinion not to step out for a whole week.
At that moment, Derek felt for the first time that he could actually control these people.
What if your ability is strong? What if your ranking is high? As long as everyone starts cursing you, you will still break down.
From then on, he fell into it completely, and this time, what he set his sights on were Lin Mo and Joanna, two newcomers who had just arrived at the school.
Rookies who had charged into the top 10 in a single day and instantly become everyone's focus—they couldn't be more suitable.
Lin Mo was just about to continue scrolling down when suddenly, footsteps came from outside the door, along with the sound of clinking keys.
Joanna turned her head, and Lin Mo also stopped his movements.
Click.
The door opened, and a reek of alcohol drifted in first.
Derek held his jacket in one hand, and still carried half a bottle of unfinished liquor in the other, his face flushed red.
He had just returned from a nearby bar tonight, and his mood was quite good, because a few hours ago, he had just bragged to that group of people about his recent achievements.
Although the post was deleted very quickly, he didn't care at all.
Instead, he felt that the faster Vought deleted it, the more it proved they had a guilty conscience; he had even figured out how to write the next wave.
As a result, the moment he pushed open the door, his entire body froze.
Lin Mo was sitting right in front of his computer, with Joanna standing beside him.
The two of them looked at him together.
The drunkenness on Derek's face instantly sobered up by more than half, and the air suddenly became very quiet.
Fear and terror enveloped him in an instant, especially after seeing the open chat logs on the computer screen; his heart almost jumped straight out.
But in the next second, Derek forcibly suppressed the panic inside him.
Can't panic, absolutely can't panic, this was the school, his dorm, and the one who broke in first was Lin Mo.
As soon as this thought came out, he immediately grabbed onto something, and the expression on his face changed rapidly.
"What are you doing?"
His voice suddenly raised.
"Who allowed you in?!"
Lin Mo couldn't be bothered to move, just looking at him coldly; seeing Lin Mo make no particular move, Joanna also obediently stayed by his side.
Seeing this, Derek felt even more confident.
"This is my dorm! You are trespassing!"
"And messing with my computer?"
As he spoke, he immediately took out his phone, as if preparing to record a video; that action was so practiced.
"Very well."
"Now, a top 10 ranked super genius breaks into an ordinary student's dorm in the middle of the night and rifles through a private computer."
"This piece of news should be quite interesting, right?"
These words made Joanna's gaze turn cold, just as she was about to step forward.
But Lin Mo raised his hand to block her, signaling with his eyes that it wasn't time yet, and Joanna immediately stopped moving. Seeing this, Derek mistakenly thought Lin Mo was wary.
His heart instantly relaxed.
Sure enough, these so-called strong people feared public opinion the most.
He continued.
"Get out."
"Right now."
"Otherwise I'll call school security right away, and as for what you saw just now, those are my private materials."
"You don't have any right..."
"Derek."
Lin Mo suddenly called out his name.
Derek's voice paused for a moment.
Lin Mo leaned against the back of the chair, looking at him.
"Do you think—"
"That as long as you blow things up now and send out the fact that we appeared here in the middle of the night—"
"You'll win again?"
Holding his phone, Derek was still putting up a strong front, feigning calmness as he said:
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"It's a fact that you broke into the dorm."
"Very well."
Lin Mo nodded.
Afterwards, he turned the computer screen around.
On it, it happened to stay on the draft of the unpublished post.
"The so-called geniuses are just commodities newly packaged by Vought."
Lin Mo looked at him.
"Then what about this?"
Derek's pupils shrank slightly, but he quickly forced himself to calm down again.
"Is writing things illegal?"
"I'm just expressing my own views. Does the campus forum not allow questioning?"
"You guys have special treatment, and your rankings rose abnormally."
"Vought is still helping you delete posts, aren't these facts?"
He spoke faster and faster, actually looking quite righteous.
"What?"
"Only allowing others to praise you?"
"Not allowing others to doubt?"
After listening, Lin Mo wasn't angry; instead, he was amused to the point of laughing.
No wonder, this guy looks like he was born to join Vought's PR department.
Thinking of this, Lin Mo suddenly realized something: Vought was obviously aware of what Derek and his team were doing, but had never made a move, most likely valuing his ability to distort facts and manufacture public opinion.
Someone in Vought's PR department likely had their eyes on such a person, hence turning a blind eye and tacitly allowing his behavior. But today, he had finally messed with the wrong person; in fact, if he didn't mind, he sort of wanted to shake things up in Vought's PR department.
What to do when he suddenly kind of missed Ashley from the original work?
"Of course it's allowed."
"Then you can leave now."
Derek froze, somewhat not understanding.
Lin Mo pointed outside the door.
"Go find school security, or Vought, or keep posting us online."
"You'd better make a bigger fuss out of this, and hand in your hard drive, these secret recording videos, these chat logs, and everything you've done before all at once."
Chapter 73: Is this fair?
After the words clearly fell, the expression on Derek's face finally froze.
Lin Mo looked at him, his tone still very calm.
"Aren't you the one who loves public opinion the most?"
"Then this time."
"Let everyone see together, which side public opinion is actually on."
Holding his phone, Derek's face turned alternating shades of green and white.
The bit of courage he had mustered up with the help of alcohol finally began to dissipate little by little.
Because he knew very well that if things really blew up, he wouldn't necessarily come out ahead.
No, to be precise, as long as the things in the hard drive were exposed.
He would definitely be done for: candid videos, malicious editing, organizing narrative-pushing campaigns, and the chat logs left behind after they targeted several students before.
Taken out individually, he might be able to find excuses for these things, but put all together, anyone could see what they were doing.
Especially since this was Godolkin University; Vought could tolerate competition between students.
It even loved this kind of competition, because competition meant topics and heat.
But this didn't mean Vought would like someone getting out of control and manufacturing public opinion privately.
What's more, this time the ones they targeted were Lin Moand Joanna, two people Vought was clearly preparing to push forward.
One could easily imagine his subsequent fate.
Lin Mo continued to look at him, suddenly feeling a bit curious.
"However, there is one thing I can't figure out."
Hearing this, Derek raised his head, a trace of bewilderment appearing on his face.
Lin Mo pointed at the computer.
"Why do you like doing this kind of thing so much?"
"For money?"
"Or did someone make you do it?"
Seeing that Derek didn't answer.
Lin Mo continued to look at him.
"Most of the stuff you have here doesn't look like you're getting paid to do a job."
"In fact, a lot of the time, you guys seem to just purely want to ruin people's reputations."
"So."
Lin Mo narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Why?"
Beside them, Joanna was already getting a bit impatient.
She had been staring at Derek since just now, especially after seeing those candid photos of Lin Mo, the aura around her clearly grew colder and colder.
Derek naturally sensed it as well and instinctively took a step back, but Joanna took a step forward.
"Joanna."
Lin Mo suddenly spoke, and Joanna stopped and glanced at him.
He shook his head; there was plenty of time.
"Wait a moment."
Joanna frowned, but in the end she still stopped.
Seeing this scene, Derek didn't feel the slightest bit of relief in his heart.
Because for some reason, compared to Joanna's hostility clearly written on her face.
Lin Mo's calmness instead made him even more uncomfortable.
"Tell me about it."
Lin Mo leaned back in his chair.
"I'm quite curious to know."
Derek was silent for a long time, and finally laughed helplessly, with that smile carrying an indescribable sense of self-mockery.
"Why?"
"A person like you naturally wouldn't understand."
Lin Mo raised an eyebrow.
Derek stared at him, perhaps knowing that the matter could no longer be kept under wraps, or perhaps because the alcohol had not completely worn off, the things suppressed in his heart finally began to bubble up bit by bit.
"You've only been in school for a day."
"Top 10."
"Vought gives you a villa, gives you resources."
"Everyone is talking about you, the way those girls look at you, those students who want to get to know you."
"Even the teachers remember your name."
As he spoke, his voice grew louder and louder.
"On what grounds?"
Joanna's gaze instantly turned cold.
Lin Mo didn't move, just watched him, while Derek, as if completely breaking free from some shackles, continued his accusation.
"I've entered Godolkin for two years, do you know what my ranking is? Two hundred and thirty-seven."
"My ability is shockwaves, sounds pretty good right?"
"But what about here? No one remembers. Vought's people won't even spare me a second glance."
"Because my ability isn't strong enough, my commercial value isn't high enough, and I don't look enough like the superheroes they want."
"So no matter how I train, I'm just an ordinary student."
"Yet what about some other people?"
Derek pointed at Lin Mo.
"They don't have to do anything at all. As long as their ability is strong enough, the moment they walk in they stand right above everyone else's heads."
"Is this fair?"
Seeing that Lin Mo hadn't spoken the entire time, Derekinstead seemed to feel that he had finally found his justification.
"This school is like this, and this world is like this. Vought says with its mouth that everyone has a chance."
"But when has opportunity ever been equal? The strong get stronger, and all resources are piled onto them."
"What about the weak? They can only watch from the bottom forever."
He gritted his teeth.
"Then why can't I let them taste the feeling of falling down too?"
"There was someone before, ranked in the sixties."
"Usually too lazy to even look at me, and later we just posted a few threads about him. From then on he hid in his dorm every day, and later on he didn't even dare to go to training classes."
Speaking up to here, a flash of abnormal exhilaration even crossed Derek's face.
"It was then that I realized that so-called strong people aren't all that great after all."
"They will also be afraid, also collapse, and also be cursed by everyone to the point they don't dare step outside."
In the room, an invisible silence lasted for a few seconds.
Lin Mo looked at him, and whatever little curiosity he originally had was completely gone.
He roughly understood.
Unfair?
Of course there is. This world has never been fair, especially in a world where superpowers decide so many things.
Some people are born with Flight and super strength.
Some people are ordinary folks, living in constant fear day in and day out in this chaotic and disordered world, who might get caught up in a superhero's battle any day now and die an inexplicable death.
Vought's system only amplifies this gap further, so it's not surprising that Derek turned down a crooked path driven by dissatisfaction and even anger-induced jealousy.
But this and hiding behind the internet to vent his unwillingness onto other people were completely two different things.
What Lin Mo hated the most was precisely this kind of person.
Not daring to do anything in reality, hiding behind a screen, and feeling like he possessed the power to judge others.
Having no grudge against others, and even treating other people's pain as his own achievement.
"So."
Because of this, Lin Mo suddenly spoke.
"Because you think the world is unfair, you specifically target people you don't like."
"Secretly filming, spreading rumors, editing videos."
"And then watching them get crushed by public opinion?"
Derek's expression changed slightly.
"I didn't spread rumors, I just..."
"That's enough."
Lin Mo directly interrupted, his tone still without much fluctuation.
"Don't make excuses for yourself."
"You aren't rebelling against unfairness."
"You just found a method to bully people stronger than you without having to bear any risks."
Derek's expression instantly turned ugly.
"What do you know!"
"At least I..."
"Joanna."
Lin Mo suddenly shouted, and Derek's voice abruptly cut off.
Joanna raised her head. Too lazy to keep looking at this guy, Lin Mo calmly said a sentence.
"Didn't you want to make a move just now?"
Joanna's eyes lit up slightly; she instantly understood Lin Mo's thought. Why didn't he just say so earlier instead of listening to this guy chatter on and on? Joanna felt that her Lin Mo was still too kind.
Chapter 74: Officially Meet
The moment her voice fell, she walked forward.
Derek's expression abruptly changed.
"Wait!"
"You dare—"
Before he could finish speaking, Joanna had already grabbed him by the collar and choked his neck.
Bang!
His back slammed hard against the wall, causing the entire wall to vibrate slightly, and the drunkenness on Derek's face completely vanished.
"Are you insane?!"
"This is a school!"
"Lin Mo!"
"Make her stop!"
Joanna, however, didn't let go at all. She stared at Derek, her gaze terrifyingly cold.
"Is secret photography that fun?"
Derek gritted his teeth as vibrations began to gather in his hand, but before he could truly release them, Joanna's other hand pressed down on him.
The next second, Derek's body suddenly tensed up.
"Crack—"
A crisp sound of bone fracturing rang out.
Immediately following that, a piercing scream erupted from his mouth.
His wrist was forcibly snapped by Joanna. The intense pain instantly overwhelmed his will, and the power he had originally gathered scattered along with it.
"You—"
Derek's face was pale, and cold sweat constantly broke out on his forehead. He truly didn't expect that Joanna would actually attack him.
Joanna ignored his gaze, nor did she fully withdraw the force in her hand.
And right at this moment, a woman's voice finally came from outside the room.
"That's enough."
Joanna's movements paused, and she looked toward the doorway without any surprise. She also had X-ray vision, so naturally, she knew someone was hiding in the dark.
Lin Mo also slowly turned his head to look in the direction of the door.
The next moment, the door was pushed open, and a woman walked in.
She was tall, with light red long hair falling over her shoulders, wearing a simple school uniform jacket, and her face radiated a touch of youthful innocence.
If one hadn't seen her walk in with their own eyes, it would be hard for anyone to connect this girl who looked like an ordinary college student with the superhero who would stand at the pinnacle of Vought International in the future.
Margaret Shaw, or rather, Queen Maeve at present, was still just an ordinary young girl studying in school.
Of course, that was only on the surface. In reality, she was already a super-human whom Vought International paid close attention to.
Joanna, however, directly turned her head and didn't listen to her words. She didn't care about this or that; she wasn't Lin Mo, so who the hell did she think she was to order her around?
Derek, however, recognized her. The moment he saw the newcomer, his expression changed directly.
"...Margaret?" This was one of the top-ranked existences among the sophomores at Godolkin University, vastly superior to him by who knows how many tiers.
But Maeve didn't even look at him, instead looking at Joanna first.
"I know you really want to beat him up right now."
"To be honest."
"I don't like this kind of person either, but don't beat him into any trouble here; we still need to use him to find others later."
Joanna frowned, but didn't let go.
Maeve could only look at Lin Mo again. Making Joanna stop now still depended on Lin Mo's attitude.
"You should understand what I mean."
Lin Mo leaned against the edge of the table, his own guesses forming in his heart.
"Vought International sent you?"
"Sort of."
Maeve walked into the room, her gaze sweeping over the computer and hard drive on the table, and then explained.
"Vought International has already noticed those things on the forum recently, and they sent me to catch some petty actions."
"This guy is just one of them, and there are several others behind him. Originally, I was prepared to wait until he fell asleep before coming to find some evidence."
She glanced at Lin Mo again.
"However, it seems."
"The main character of this incident doesn't seem to need my help very much anymore."
Maeve was naturally surprised at how Lin Mo had found Derek, and Lin Mo naturally knew she had come. Even before Derek came back, he had already sensed someone outside. Exposing it proactively would have been boring; naturally, he waited for her to jump out on her own.
Moreover, he could probably guess that the other party wasn't here to help Derek, but rather to help him, so he had just been pretending not to know all along.
"Stop, Joanna," Lin Mo finally said.
Hearing the command, Joanna finally released her hand. Derek dropped straight to the ground and began coughing violently.
Maeve glanced at him.
"You should be glad."
"She wasn't even serious just now."
Derek's expression was ugly, but he didn't dare say a word. This was indeed a fact; earlier, facing Lin Mo and Joanna, he could still put up a strong front using school rules, public opinion, and trespassing in the dorm.
But facing Maeve, he truly didn't dare, because Maeve's appearance now represented not the students, but Vought International's intent.
"These things."
Maeve pointed at the computer.
"Vought International will take over."
"Including him. As for whether he will be handed over to the school or the police."
"Someone will handle it later."
Hearing this, Lin Mo fundamentally understood Vought International's final disposition. This Derek would probably never appear in front of him again. Whether he lived or died, in Vought International's eyes, was hard to say.
Joanna snorted coldly and said indifferently.
"He got off too easy."
Maeve glanced at her and suddenly smiled.
"Your name is Joanna, right?"
"I've seen your test."
"Pretty impressive."
Hearing the praise, Joanna didn't react much, simply stepping back to Lin Mo's side.
Maeve didn't mind either. Afterward, she finally cast her gaze truly onto Lin Mo.
Seeing him up close, the real person gave her an even stranger feeling.
Too calm. Especially ever since she entered the door, there wasn't a shred of surprise on Lin Mo's face, as if he had known long ago that she would appear.
"Lin Mo."
Maeve spoke first.
"First time meeting."
Lin Mo looked at her, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly.
"My name is Margaret Shaw."
"I've heard so much about you."
Maeve raised her eyebrow slightly, somewhat puzzled.
"You know me?"
Lin Mo paused slightly and casually dropped a line.
"Given your high ranking in the school, it's pretty hard not to know you."
After hearing this, Maeve also felt it was quite reasonable, and merely extended her hand.
"Then let's officially get acquainted, you shouldn't mind, right?"
Lin Mo also extended his hand.
"Lin Mo."
The two hands shook gently and quickly separated.
Maeve looked at him, suddenly finding it somewhat interesting, because the mission she had originally received...
...was merely to help Vought International handle the campus public opinion regarding Lin Mo and Joanna, but looking at it now, things seemed much more interesting than she had imagined.
Especially regarding Lin Mo, she always felt...
Ever since she entered the door, this guy's gaze toward her didn't look like he was discovering her for the first time.
However, Maeve didn't ask, and Lin Mo naturally wouldn't proactively bring it up. As for Derek on the ground...
At this time, no one cared too much about him anymore.
The one still causing trouble was never him alone, but rather the small clique behind him that had existed for a long time, specializing in hiding in the shadows to manipulate campus public opinion.
And now, Vought International had set its sights on them, and Maeve had also tracked down the clues. Most importantly, this time, they had actively provoked Lin Moand Joanna.
Lin Mo glanced at the chat group on the computer that hadn't been closed yet, his eyes narrowing slightly. Since one had already been found...
Then the rest of those people naturally wouldn't be able to run either.
Chapter 75 Adults Are All Adults
Joanna obviously didn't like Maeve.
Lin Mo noticed this almost immediately. From the moment Maeve walked into the room, Joanna's gaze towards her hadn't been very friendly.
Especially just now, when he shook hands with Maeve.
Although Joanna didn't speak, her standing position quietly moved a little closer to Lin Mo's side.
Maeve naturally noticed it too. She glanced at Joanna, then looked at Lin Mo, seeming to understand something.
However, she wasn't interested in gossiping about such matters.
"I'll be leaving first."
Maeve reached out and picked up the external hard drive on the table.
"The people inside will also continue to be investigated."
"We'll catch as many as can be dug out."
Speaking of which, she paused for a moment.
"At least we won't let them keep messing around with these things at school."
Joanna looked at her calmly, her tone rather unkind.
"Since when did Vought have such a strong sense of justice?"
Maeve raised her eyebrows slightly, not understanding what Joanna meant. She still didn't know Vought's true face and was still diligently working for Vought.
Noticing this, Lin Mo couldn't help but glance at Joanna.
Could she still be in puberty, or are girls in a relationship just prone to being sensitive?
But Maeve wasn't angry; instead, her smile remained unchanged. She probably thought Joanna was implying that Vought's efficiency was poor, considering Derek and his team had been pulling those stunts for days.
"Whether Vought has a sense of justice or not, I don't know."
"Isn't Vought doing something about it? A result will be given to you soon."
Lin Mo wasn't surprised, but Joanna clearly disliked her even more.
Because in her view, ever since this woman walked in, the number of times her gaze fell on Lin Mo was obviously a bit too much.
Although Joanna knew full well that Maeve was most likely just there because of Vought, she just didn't like her.
There was no particular reason, and Maeve couldn't be bothered to argue with her. She walked over to Derek, her smile vanishing instantly, and looked down at him.
"Get up."
Derek continued to play dead and didn't move.
Maeve frowned, "Do you need me to help you?"
Derek stood up immediately.
Joanna's move just now had completely sobered him up, and now running into Maeve, how could he dare to keep being stubborn?
"My computer..."
"Vought will keep it safe."
"But that's my personal..."
Maeve turned her head with a somewhat angry expression, and Derek tactfully shut up instantly.
"Rest assured."
"Things that belong to you will naturally be returned to you in the end."
"On the premise that."
Maeve reached out and grabbed his shoulder, sneering.
"You still have the chance to come back and get it."
Derek's face turned pale.
"Wait."
"What do you plan to do with me?"
"I didn't—"
"How would I know?"
Maeve didn't give him any chance to continue talking nonsense, grabbing him with one hand as if picking up a little chick.
When she reached the door, she stopped again and looked back at Lin Mo.
"I'll explain tonight's matter to the school, and you guys don't need to worry about what follows for now."
It seemed she was just letting Lin Mo and the others rest assured that she would handle this matter well.
Lin Mo nodded.
"Fine."
"Also."
Maeve thought for a moment and added.
"This group of people shouldn't just be limited to those in school; there are a few off-campus accounts in the chat history."
"If you guys notice anything unusual recently, you can contact me directly."
Joanna's brows knitted together again.
Direct contact?
Lin Mo didn't think that much of it.
"Alright."
Since she came to help him, he wouldn't hit a smiling person.
Maeve nodded, and only then carried Derek away.
The door closed again, and the entire space grew quiet.
Lin Mo suddenly felt a gaze beside him. Turning his head, he saw Joanna looking at him.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Joanna turned around and walked away.
Lin Mo: "..."
Here she goes again.
He had no choice but to follow her out.
"You don't like Maeve?"
"No."
"Then why were you glaring at her just now?"
"I wasn't glaring."
"..."
Lin Mo no longer knew how many times Joanna had said this sentence in the past two days.
Forget it. With creatures like women, sometimes it's better not to keep questioning them; maybe she'll figure it out herself.
When the two returned to the villa, it was already close to midnight.
Lin Mo was just about to take a bath when his phone suddenly rang.
He picked it up and took a look. The number had no remarks, but this number was very familiar.
Edgar.
Lin Mo narrowed his eyes slightly.
Uncle Chicken calling him so late? It seemed Vought knew about tonight's matter even faster than he had imagined.
He answered the phone.
"Old man, what do you want with me?"
On the other end of the line, Edgar's old face twitched. He felt that he was only in his thirties; was he really that old?
"Looks like you're still awake."
"Just got back."
"I know."
Lin Mo wasn't surprised. It would be strange if Vought didn't even know when Maeve took Derek away.
"It seems Maeve has already found you."
"No, no, no, to be exact."
Lin Mo leaned back on the sofa.
"It was us who found the person she was looking for first."
The phone fell silent for a moment.
"I've heard about that too."
"Your operational capability is higher than the school's assessment."
Lin Mo smiled.
"Does this count as part of the assessment?"
"Of course."
Edgar's tone didn't change at all.
"You know, when Vought looks at people, if we only looked at strength—"
"—we wouldn't need so many people."
That was indeed true, and Lin Mo didn't refute it.
Edgar continued.
"You should already know about the things on the forum."
"Mhm."
"Any thoughts?"
"Just a few people hiding behind the internet to vent their emotions."
Lin Mo's tone was very casual. Or rather, with his mindset, he wouldn't be misled by the outside world at all.
"Can't really call them thoughts."
"They can't affect me. I'm not a giant baby who needs to be adored by people on the internet."
"Neither is Joanna."
Edgar had no doubts. Given Lin Mo and Joanna's personalities, this level of public opinion attack would indeed find it hard to produce much effect.
But Vought couldn't just ignore it. The reason was very simple.
Even if Lin Mo didn't care, it didn't mean Vought didn't care. This was someone the company was preparing to invest resources into building up; naturally, they couldn't let others randomly ruin his image.
"Those people will be dealt with."
Edgar said.
"Margaret Shaw will continue to investigate."
"The school will also cooperate, and similar things won't easily appear on the forum's homepage in the future."
Lin Mo raised his brows slightly.
"It seems the treatment I enjoy is indeed quite good."
"Value determines treatment."
Edgar was very frank.
"You should already understand this point."
"Indeed."
Lin Mo smiled. This was why he liked talking to Edgar; this guy rarely babbled to him about dreams, responsibility, or heroism.
Everyone's an adult; interests are interests, and value is value. At least it sounded comfortable.
"Right."
Edgar suddenly changed the subject.
"The school is preparing to rearrange your actual combat training."
Lin Mo's expression moved slightly. As expected, the call wasn't just about the malicious posts.
"Your previous performance has made quite a few people think that the existing tests can no longer accurately judge your level."
"So next, on a case-by-case basis, the school may raise the standards for your actual combat opponents."
"Including multi-person battles."
"As well as higher-ranked students."
"Do you have any objections?"
"None."
Lin Mo felt like he hadn't heard wrong, right? Fighting him, are they sure?
Chapter 76: A Replacement?
"As long as it's not too boring."
Edgar fell silent on the other end for half a second.
"I will pass your exact words along to them."
Lin Mo's lips twitched slightly. That really wasn't necessary.
However, Edgar's next words made Lin Mo realize that none of the previous topics were the real point.
"There is one more thing."
"You met Margaret Shaw tonight, didn't you?"
"I did."
Didn't you send her to handle this yourself? Asking him now, there was definitely something fishy going on.
"What did you think of her?" Edgar asked suddenly.
Lin Mo was taken aback for a moment.
What did he think?
He instinctively glanced to his side. Joanna had been browsing the school forum, checking what people were saying about her and Lin Mo.
But her Super Hearing was constantly focused on Lin Mo's end. Upon hearing this question, Joanna's movements visibly paused.
Lin Mo suddenly had a bad feeling.
"In what sense?"
Edgar's voice remained calm.
"Her character."
"Her ability."
"And whether you'd be willing to work with her in the future."
As expected, Lin Mo understood immediately.
The Seven. Edgar was asking for his opinion in advance.
Queen Maeve had not yet officially joined the superhero group that Vought would elevate to the highest pedestal in the future.
But clearly, the company had already put her on the shortlist, and very high up at that.
Normally, there would be no need to consult Lin Mo on this.
But things were different now. Edgar had clearly come to view Lin Mo as one of the future core members of The Seven.
Therefore, when it came to team composition, they couldn't completely ignore Lin Mo's attitude. Otherwise, if he became dissatisfied with a member and just killed them, how would Vought explain it to the public?
Especially since Lin Mo and Maeve had already met tonight. It was the perfect opportunity for Edgar to test the waters.
"If you have any obvious objections to her,"
"you can tell me directly,"
Edgar said.
"She is not the only candidate."
"Vought still has time to make adjustments."
Beside him, Joanna slowly turned her head.
Lin Mo: "..."
Good grief, you really know how to pick a time.
Of course, Lin Mo couldn't let Vought replace Maeve. If nothing else, Maeve was powerful enough, and most importantly, her character was at least far more normal than those weirdos in the future Seven.
Besides, in the original timeline, Homelander and Maeve had worked together for a long time.
Although their relationship eventually became a complete mess, that was the original Homelander's own fault.
Now that it was him, and Joanna had also changed, there was no reason they had to end up as enemies with Maeve, right?
Lin Mo thought about it and cast a subtle glance at Joanna. Seeing her staring at him, he felt a slight chill in his heart and decided not to beat around the bush.
"There's no need to replace her."
Joanna frowned, but she didn't voice any protest.
On the other end, Edgar asked,
"Your reason?"
"She's strong enough, and she's sane."
"At least she handled things well today."
"She's a good fit for The Seven."
"I have no objections to her."
Edgar clearly took note of this.
"In other words,"
"you are willing to accept her as a future teammate."
"You could say that."
As soon as Lin Mo finished speaking,
he felt the temperature in the living room inexplicably drop a few degrees.
Of course, it was just an illusion, but Joanna's gaze was clearly off. Yet Edgar was preparing to continue.
Lin Mo decisively cut him off.
"We'll talk about other things tomorrow."
The other end went quiet for a moment. With Edgar's sharp mind, he naturally picked up on the subtle shift, but he didn't point it out.
"Alright."
"Get some rest."
The call disconnected, and Lin Mo put down his phone.
The living room instantly fell silent. Joanna sat on the other side of the sofa, turning her head away and refusing to look at him in a huff.
Lin Mo remained silent for a moment before testing the waters carefully.
"Are you angry?"
"No."
The familiar reply made Lin Mo chuckle despite himself.
"How many times have you said 'no' today?"
Joanna finally turned her head, her face full of stubbornness.
"Why would I be angry?"
"That's good, then."
Lin Mo nodded, pretending to accept her answer, and stood up.
"I'm going to take a shower."
But after just two steps, Joanna's voice came from behind him, sounding slightly aggrieved.
"Do you think she's very good?"
Lin Mo stopped in his tracks.
Here it comes, as expected.
He turned around. Joanna was looking at him, her expression actually quite calm.
But Lin Mo knew her too well. The calmer she seemed, the more it indicated something was wrong.
"As a future teammate,"
Lin Mo sat back down.
"she is indeed quite good."
"Oh."
"Just that?"
"Yes."
"You two just met,"
Joanna said flatly,
"and you already think she's quite good."
Lin Mo finally understood completely.
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Joanna."
"Hmm?"
"Edgar was asking about candidates for The Seven."
"I can't just have Vought replace her just because you don't like her, can I?"
Joanna remained silent, so Lin Mo continued.
"Besides, if we really join The Seven in the future,"
"we'll be seeing each other all the time."
"Having a normal teammate is better than having another psychopath."
Although Joanna didn't fully understand the context of his words, she could grasp that the proportion of normal people among Vought's superheroes was indeed not high, which was evident from the behavior of the students at school.
"Besides,"
Lin Mo looked at her, his tone full of helplessness.
"Today was the first time she and I ever spoke, and it was for less than ten minutes in total. What exactly are you angry about?"
Joanna fell silent for a few seconds, then looked up, staring at him with a serious expression.
"She looked at you many times."
Lin Mo: "..."
He was speechless. So that was the issue. Maybe he should just ask the Chicken Man to replace Maeve with a guy.
"She was just curious. After all, Vought sent her to clean up our mess, so it's normal for her to pay some attention to me."
"And she looked at you too."
"But... not as much as she looked at you."
Unable to find a proper rebuttal for a moment, Joannapaused briefly and came up with a random excuse.
Lin Mo almost burst out laughing.
But after catching her gaze, he forced himself to hold it in.
Laughing now would definitely lead to trouble.
"Alright, alright, alright."
"Then should I keep my distance from her in the future?"
Only then did Joanna's brow relax slightly, though she still stubbornly replied,
"I didn't tell you to keep your distance."
"Then just interact normally?"
"Up to you."
Lin Mo nodded, acting as if whatever she said was law.
"Then we'll just interact normally."
After that simple sentence, Joanna suddenly fell quiet.
She originally wanted to say something more, but her lips parted, and in the end, nothing came out.
A brief silence enveloped the room.
After a moment, seeing her head bowed, Lin Mo slowly walked over.
He reached out and gently ruffled her hair.
"What's on your mind?"
Joanna's body stiffened slightly.
She was all too familiar with this gesture.
Ever since they were children, whenever she threw a tantrum due to experiments, training, or some unhappy event, Lin Mo would always comfort her like this.
Even though both of them possessed power far exceeding that of ordinary people,
in front of Lin Mo, she would always instinctively revert to the girl who followed behind him.
In the next second, without even thinking, Joanna threw herself directly into his arms.
Chapter 77: Mastermind
Lin Mo was stunned for a moment, then smiled helplessly, reaching out to hug her.
"Still the same as when we were kids."
Joanna didn't speak, just quietly leaning against his chest.
"Don't think too much about it."
"Just a future teammate."
"And besides."
Lin Mo paused slightly.
"Don't you know who I'm closest to?"
Joanna looked up at him for a moment, her originally tight face slowly relaxing, and the dissatisfaction in her eyes gradually disappeared.
"I know."
"Then why are you still mad?"
"I'm not."
Lin Mo: "..."
Fine, in the end she wasn't mad after all, but it looked like at least this time, she really didn't have much temper left.
When Joanna left his embrace and leaned back against the sofa, Lin Mo also breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, if Maeve really became a member of The Seven in the future, he wasn't planning to change anything; the original Homelander indeed had a complicated relationship with Maeve.
But that was the original version; now he was Lin Mo, and he would interact normally with normal teammates.
It was impossible for him to kill one of the few people in this world who could truly be called a superhero just for that tiny bit of energy points.
As for why Edgar inquired about his attitude so early tonight.
Lin Mo actually already had an idea in his mind; a single sentence spoken by him was likely enough to affect the future roster of The Seven.
He leaned back against the sofa, his eyes narrowing slightly—this feeling was actually quite interesting.
The next day, Godolkin University remained the same as usual.
Sunlight poured over the campus lawn, and students walked past in twos and threes, discussing the results of yesterday's ability test.
For the vast majority of people, this was just an ordinary campus disturbance.
Two newly emerged top super-powered individuals entered the school, and then demonstrated strength far surpassing their peers in the ability test, triggering some jealousy and discussion.
At least on the surface, it was like that.
But Maeve was clearly not so relaxed. At this moment, she was sitting in an empty lounge, looking at the documents on the table with a deeply furrowed brow.
Since last night, she had barely had any real rest.
Originally, she thought this matter was very simple, just dealing with some campus public opinion.
Someone was spreading negative news about Lin Mo and Joanna behind the scenes, and even attempting to guide students to attack them.
Such things were not uncommon at Godolkin; what was cultivated here were future superheroes, and competition existed among superheroes just the same.
For resources, rankings, and exposure, some manufactured conflicts, some hyped up topics, and some even deliberately fabricated dirt.
Vought was long used to handling these things, but the more Maeve investigated, the more she felt something was wrong.
At the very beginning, she only found a few students who posted the news earliest.
Those people were nothing special, with ordinary abilities and ordinary families. Placed in Godolkin University, they even belonged to the batch of people who would most likely only become ordinary commercial heroes after graduation.
That was precisely the problem.
Why would they dare? Why would they dare to provoke Lin Mo and Joanna on their own initiative?
Jealousy?
Possibly.
But Maeve had seen too many superheroes; no matter how stupid these people were, they should know what the consequences would be of provoking two people whom even Vought paid special attention to. They didn't seem like the type to do such a thing.
Unless... someone gave them a push.
Maeve continued digging deeper, and soon, she discovered some anomalies.
Several students involved in spreading the news suddenly became unusually quiet after the matter ended, and even disappeared.
One of the students she had still seen in the school system yesterday had her profile modified when checked again today; there were no withdrawal records or transfer records, as if this person had never existed.
Maeve stared at the computer screen and fell silent for a long time.
If it were just an ordinary campus incident, no one would use such authority, let alone have the qualification to modify these records. This was no longer just petty bickering between students.
Someone was hiding something.
Thinking of this, Maeve took out her phone and contacted a few people she used to know, but the answers she got were surprisingly consistent.
"I don't know."
"Maybe they transferred."
"Godolkin has students dropping out every year, it's completely normal."
Every sentence sounded reasonable.
But precisely because it was too reasonable, it instead seemed suspicious. Maeve leaned back in her chair, her expression growing increasingly gloomy.
Clearly, they didn't not know; they just didn't want to tell her.
...
In the afternoon, Maeve went straight to the school archives room.
Since others were unwilling to speak, she would investigate it herself. As one of the candidates for The Seven, she possessed a certain level of authority. She pulled up the student profiles from recent years and checked them one by one.
Maeve didn't have Lin Mo's terrifying computing power and could only rely on her own judgment.
Soon, she discovered some patterns: over the past few years, quite a few students had indeed suddenly left Godolkin.
The reasons varied—physical causes, psychological problems, loss of control over abilities—every single one had a reasonable explanation.
But the number was too large, so large that it didn't look like a coincidence. Looking at the list on the screen, Maeve felt a chill for the first time.
This was screening students, not cultivating heroes, but eliminating those who didn't meet the requirements.
Afterwards, she found a few related students once again.
This time, she wasn't as gentle as yesterday. With the status of a candidate for The Seven laid out there, Vought's pressure was far more effective than any threat.
Finally, an hour later, she obtained a key clue.
"I don't know who it is."
The student said with his head lowered.
"We were just following orders."
Maeve stared at him.
"Who asked you to do this?"
The student fell silent, the air quiet for a long time. In the end, he still couldn't withstand the pressure.
"It's..."
"The Dean."
Maeve frowned and hurriedly pressed on.
"Which Dean?"
The student swallowed hard.
"Dean Cipher."
As the words fell, at this moment, Maeve's expression changed.
Doug Cipher.
The head of Godolkin University, and at the same time, the dean of the College of Crime Fighting, considered an important figure within Vought's system.
She never expected that the final clue would point here.
She had originally guessed many possibilities: student organizations, experimental departments, or even some crazy professor.
But she never thought... it would be the highest level of the school.
When night came, Maeve walked alone on the campus of Godolkin University, the streetlights stretching her shadow long.
For the first time, she didn't know what to do. If it were just ordinary crime, she could handle it; if it were just student riots, she could also resolve it.
But now it was different; it involved Vought's internal affairs, and furthermore, the management of Godolkin University. In reality, she was just a small student of the school.
Tell Vought?
Tell whom?
She had no idea how many people inside the company knew about this matter, nor did she know whether, after exposing the matter, she would instead become the next person to be dealt with.
Maeve stopped in her tracks, Lin Mo's figure suddenly appearing in her mind.