Chapter 78: Having Connections is Such a Big Deal!
That person they met just yesterday—strictly speaking, they weren't very close.
But...
Maeve always felt that he was different from other superheroes.
Yesterday, when facing that public opinion, he didn't get angry, didn't choose to use his power to threaten everyone, and didn't even ask Vought to directly deal with those students; he simply found the source himself and then ended the problem.
This was strange, because at Vought, people with power usually didn't do that.
Moreover, Lin Mo's status was too special; she could tell that Vought's upper management had a completely different attitude towards him.
If anyone could contend with Godolkin's management, Lin Mo might be one of them.
At least... he should be on her side, right? After all, she was helping him investigate the public opinion, and they were essentially grasshoppers on the same rope.
Thinking of this, Maeve stopped in her tracks.
Subconsciously, she took out her phone, her fingers already tapping open the contacts list, ready to call Lin Mo.
But the next second, she froze.
She flipped through the contacts on her phone, and the expression on her face gradually turned a bit awkward.
She seemed...
to not have Lin Mo's contact information at all.
Although the two had met yesterday, it was just a nodding acquaintance, and at best, the whole process was a mission arranged by Vought.
She had just happened to run into Lin Mo, and with that Joanna right next to them, the two sides hadn't even exchanged private contact information.
Maeve stared at the contacts for a while, and finally rubbed her hair helplessly.
"I give up."
"Investigating to a critical point, only to find out I can't contact the only person who might be able to help."
This even sounded a bit ironic.
She thought about it and opened the Vought school's internal system again. As a star seed of the school, her access clearance wasn't low, but as a special training subject, Lin Mo's contact information naturally wasn't something ordinary students could view.
After browsing and searching, she could only see some public information.
There was no private number, but there was a social media account. However, her getting a social media account was useless anyway; who looked at information on that thing?
Lin Mo's information... was hidden even deeper than she imagined.
"Having connections makes you amazing! You won't even let people look."
Maeve lowered her head and made a somewhat aimless complaint, then stared at the file, realizing that his background might be even bigger than she imagined.
The next day, at Godolkin University, the Crime Fighting Training Hall was surrounded by a crowd of people.
Today was the actual combat performance course for freshmen, which was also the biggest difference between Godolkin and ordinary universities.
There was no such thing as purely theoretical study here. For future superheroes, how to control their abilities, how to face enemies, and how to display their value in front of the cameras were courses that must be mastered.
Therefore, actual combat training was arranged every week.
Simply put, it was one-on-one sparring between students.
Of course, it wasn't a life-or-death battle; the school had complete restrictive measures, and both sides would stop before going too far.
The main purpose was to let students familiarize themselves with their abilities, while learning how to maximize their effectiveness in combat and thus achieve a higher ranking.
Not far away, a group of freshmen stood on the sidelines, looking at the big screen in the center, which displayed today's training roster.
"First group..."
"Second group..."
As names appeared one by one, the students began to look for their opponents, but when the list turned to the end, everyone's movements paused for a moment, and their expressions became a bit unnatural.
They saw two names.
Lin Mo and Joanna.
After yesterday's ability test, these two names had become the most discussed people among the entire freshman class.
One was ranked ninth, and the other was ranked tenth.
But in the eyes of many people, this ranking was even somewhat conservative, because during the test, it seemed they hadn't shown their true strength at all.
So...
When the system randomly matched Lin Mo, the entire training hall suddenly fell silent, as unexpected events could happen at any time.
Lin Mo's opponent was also freshly chosen: a superpower user of the laser-eye energy type. At that moment, he stared blankly at the big screen, feeling like crying without tears.
"Why did such bad luck fall on me! Match me with a good opponent!"
Then, he raised his hand very decisively.
"Teacher."
"I request to change my training partner." A wise man does not fight when the odds are against him, and he certainly didn't want to get beaten up.
The professor in charge of the course glanced at him.
"Reason?"
The boy's face turned red, and he was very honest.
"I feel that my abilities are not yet sufficient to let me experience a complete medical procedure."
The surrounding students couldn't help laughing out loud. Hearing the laughter around him, the young man instead breathed a sigh of relief; this way, everyone could understand him.
The professor also shook his head helplessly.
"This is not a life-and-death battle."
"I know."
The boy nodded.
"But if I surrender and lie down immediately, then you can't blame me, right?"
Professor: "..."
Alright, alright.
Soon, Lin Mo's opponent was re-selected, but what was the result?
Without exception, as soon as the students saw it was him, they directly chose to forfeit.
It wasn't that they lacked courage, but no one felt it necessary to challenge an enemy they simply couldn't defeat.
Superhero training was normal, but they could still tell the difference between getting beaten up and actual training. They wouldn't dare guarantee—considering the power they saw Lin Mo display—what would happen if they really fought him and he failed to hold back his strength, resulting in a direct GG for them?
In the end, neither Lin Mo nor Joanna could find an opponent.
At this time, no blind student would ask: "Can't Lin Mo and Joanna fight each other? Isn't that just right?"
Probably the next second after he said it, Joanna would want to blast his mouth through with her laser eyes.
Make her fight her beloved Lin Mo? What a joke! She cherished him to no end, and even when interacting with Lin Mo normally, she wouldn't dare use even a tiny bit of extra strength.
She had always remembered when she hurt Lin Mo back when they were kids.
The instructor knew about this kind of situation, but he had no way around it either. It was impossible for him to go up and trade a few blows with Lin Mo or Joanna himself; he hadn't lived enough yet.
Just like that, the two stood on the sidelines, staring at each other with wide eyes.
Lin Mo looked at this scene with some helplessness.
"It feels like we ruined the classroom atmosphere."
Joanna, on the other hand, didn't feel that way at all.
"It's nothing more than them being too weak."
Lin Mo glanced at her.
"If they hear what you just said, you'll probably end up on the forum again, and by then it'll likely attract a bunch of little fan girls and whatnot."
Joanna thought about it, felt that what he said made sense, and resolutely shut her mouth.
Just at this moment, a voice suddenly came from the side.
"Then I'll do it."
Everyone instantly turned their heads in shock. What kind of person was this, so audacious? Did he really want to fight him?
A figure walked into the training ground, moving so fast that even they, as superpowered individuals, could only see afterimages.
The next second, a young Black man stood in the center, a confident smile on his face, revealing a mouthful of fine teeth.
"Turns out it's Reggie."
Someone whispered his name, and after everyone's gazes gathered, they didn't find it strange anymore.
He was one of the popular figures among the freshman students.
Chapter 79: You're Overthinking It.
Although his ranking was not as high as Lin Mo's and Joanna's, in terms of speed, he definitely belonged to the top tier.
"Someone is finally willing to challenge."
Someone nearby said, clearly very expectant of this battle, and some people who were originally sparring also stopped what they were doing and looked over towards Lin Mo and A-Train.
A-Train looked at Lin Mo and grinned.
"Bro, I've always wanted to see just how strong you really are."
But then, A-Train walked to his side and whispered into Lin Mo's ear, "I'm just putting on a show, buddy. You won't go too hard on me, right?"
Hearing this, Lin Mo smiled. This A-Train was quite brave; part of it was probably wanting to help him, but another part was likely wanting to show his face in front of his classmates.
However, the starting point was good—he didn't want to see him embarrassed here, so he didn't refuse.
But before he could speak, another voice came from the side.
"Wait."
A boy walked out from the crowd with hesitation on his face, along with a trace of panic.
He glanced at the crowd and Lin Mo, and said vaguely,
"If... he goes up, then I'll go up too."
The crowd looked over, and then someone laughed.
"Kevin?"
He was also one of the future members of The Seven, and right now he was just a freshman at Godolkin University.
However, nowadays everyone preferred to call him The Deep, and his fame was not the least bit inferior to A-TrainReggie.
His ability was very special; he could control marine life and even communicate with underwater life, so he already had his own title now, although he had given it to himself. In fact, more people liked to call him Fishman.
But obviously, this ability in land combat...
was a bit awkward, which The Deep knew himself. Therefore, when he stood out, he clearly lacked confidence, but no matter what, he was considered A-Train's brother. How could he not step up to share the burden for his good brother?
Thus, driven by his wounded pride, he still stepped forward.
"I'm not saying I can definitely win."
"But..."
He glanced at Lin Mo, saw that everyone present was looking at him, swallowed hard, and forced himself to remain calm.
"We can't always let speed-type heroes steal the spotlight."
A-Train looked at Kevin in surprise. Is this kid really this brave?
"Are you sure?"
The Deep took a deep breath and then nodded.
"Sure."
He paused for a moment.
"Although I feel like I might lose."
Hearing these somewhat spineless words, the people at the scene burst into laughter again.
Lin Mo couldn't help but smile too. The Deep at this period was a bit different from the narcissistic and disgusting superhero image of the future, although he was still just as annoying.
Right now, he was just a student wanting to prove himself, but he had looked in the wrong place.
What was it called when A-Train stood out first? He was taking the lead to help him out of a tight spot, and at least he was a superpower user with top-tier speed. Sparring with him looked reasonable at the very least. What on earth were you, The Deep? Did you think you could get a share of the meat just by following someone else's ass?
You're overthinking it. Lin Mo couldn't even be bothered to spar with him. His eyes rolled, and he happened to see Joanna staring eagerly at him from the side.
Got it. Lin Mo hatched a plan: Since you want a sparring partner so much, I'll give you a chance.
"Kevin, since A-Train and I are practicing, you can just practice with Joanna."
What? The Deep was shocked! He looked at Lin Mo, then turned his head to see Joanna, whose expression had been rather unpleasant all along.
At this moment, Joanna was in a fit of anger because Lin Mo was going to spar and couldn't play with her.
With this setup, Joanna heard the subtext in Lin Mo's words, and immediately flashed a smile that didn't reach her eyes at The Deep, who was looking at her.
Seeing this expression, an even more ominous premonition rose in The Deep's heart. What should he do now that he regretted it even more?
Is there any saving him? Can he just surrender directly!
At Joanna's strong request, Lin Mo and A-Train would fight first, and she had to watch from the sidelines.
Real combat began.
A-Train stood on the other side of the field, loosened his wrists, and his expression had long since turned serious.
Stepping forward voluntarily just now was one thing, but actually fighting Lin Mo was another matter entirely.
After all, during yesterday's ability test, he could already tell that this guy's physical strength was definitely abnormal.
But he still had speed; as long as he didn't clash head-on with Lin Mo, he might not necessarily have no chance.
"Ready?"
Lin Mo stood in place, looking at A-Train who was still thinking, too lazy to even take a stance.
A-Train looked at him.
"Aren't you going to prepare?"
"Prepare what?"
"..."
A-Train's mouth twitched.
Fine, arrogant enough.
The next second, he exerted sudden force under his feet.
Bang!
A muffled sound rang out from the ground, and A-Train's entire figure instantly vanished from the spot, a blurred afterimage quickly bypassing Lin Mo's side.
The speed was extremely fast, drawing gasps of exclamation from those present. He truly lived up to being an excellent speed-type superpower user in the school.
Lin Mo's eyes rolled slightly, his gaze already firmly locked onto A-Train. In his eyes, A-Train's speed was still not worth mentioning.
A-Train circled behind him and threw a punch straight toward the back of his head.
Then—
Smack.
His punch stopped. Lin Mo had turned around at some unknown moment and grabbed his wrist with one hand directly.
A-Train's pupils shrank.
So fast?
He hadn't even seen Lin Mo turn around!
Before he could react, Lin Mo flicked his wrist, and A-Trainlost his balance entirely, getting flung out directly.
However, Lin Mo had clearly held back his strength. A-Train did a flip in the air, and the moment his feet touched the ground, he immediately accelerated again.
This time he smartened up—instead of getting close, he moved at high speed around Lin Mo, looking for an opportunity.
This time, A-Train clearly smartened up.
He no longer chose to approach Lin Mo directly, but instead moved around him at high speed, constantly changing his position in an attempt to find a flaw in Lin Mo's defense.
Streak after streak of afterimages began to appear in the arena.
However, in Lin Mo's view, this style of fighting put the cart before the horse somewhat.
A-Train's true advantage was never the confusion brought by high-speed circling, but rather the terrifying impact force after his linear acceleration.
With A-Train's speed, if he smashed straight over after gathering strength, that kind of power would be far beyond what ordinary fists and kicks could compare to.
Yet now, he had abandoned his strongest attack method and attempted to rely on high-speed movement to look for an opportunity.
In Lin Mo's eyes, this was almost impossible to succeed, because being fast did not mean the attack trajectory could not be captured.
Especially when facing him, this level of movement was still far from reaching a degree where it could pose a threat.
Lin Mo even felt that if A-Train really wanted to win, he might as well just accelerate directly and crash into him like a high-speed artillery shell—at least that way, the threat would be a bit greater.
Joanna sat to the side, supporting her chin with both hands, and her eyes followed A-Train for a few turns.
Then she lost interest. The speed was passable, but watching it was so boring to her.
The Deep stood to the side, watching with his eyelids twitching nonstop.
Is this called sparring? He could barely even see where A-Train was, yet Lin Mo stood there from beginning to end, and even had time to glance over this side and flash a wicked smile at him.
The Deep: "..."
For some reason, that ominous premonition in his heart grew heavier.
On the training ground, A-Train probed a few times in succession.
Chapter 80: Coaxed to Sleep
But whether it was from the left, right, behind, or even a sudden change of direction, every time he was just about to attack, Lin Mo's gaze had already landed ahead of time, and the result was completely no different.
That feeling weighed heavily on A-Train's heart, making him feel particularly terrible—it was as if you thought you were running absurdly fast, yet in someone else's eyes, you were no different from walking normally.
Finally, A-Train grew a bit impatient; he abruptly accelerated and charged directly at Lin Mo.
This time, he prepared to try a frontal approach, while Lin Mo looked at A-Train getting closer and closer, casually reaching out a hand.
A blur flashed before A-Train's eyes.
The next second, a palm had already pressed against his face.
"Wait..."
Bang!
Lin Mo took advantage of the momentum and pressed downward. Of course, he still held back his strength, but A-Train's head and the ground had a very intimate contact.
The entire training ground instantly quieted down.
Immediately following that, A-Train's body twitched once, and then he stopped moving.
Lin Mo lowered his head and glanced at him; he was still breathing.
Very good, he just fell asleep.
"..."
The surrounding students who originally wanted to watch the show instantly quieted down, looking at each other in dismay, glad that they hadn't stuck their necks out first.
Lin Mo let go of his hand, stood up, and motioned to the teacher standing foolishly to the side.
"It's over."
The teacher in charge of recording nearby opened his mouth.
"This..."
He glanced at A-Train on the ground and asked tentatively,
"Should we call medical personnel?"
"Just let him sleep for a while."
Lin Mo was very calm. Anyway, he had controlled his force very lightly just now and didn't hurt him; at most, he would just have a mild concussion.
Joanna's eyes lit up on the side. Earlier, she thought A-Train running around was quite boring, but now she suddenly felt that Lin Mo's final move wasn't bad.
Then, she slowly turned her head and looked at the Deep beside her. Wasn't it time for their match now?
The Deep glanced at Joanna out of the corner of his eye and found that the other party was looking at him, instantly scaring him into a start.
It's over; what was bound to come has finally come.
He had been praying the whole time just now, hoping that Lin Mo and A-Train would fight for a bit longer.
Even worse, if A-Train could just run around for half an hour, that would be fine too!
But what was the result? Was there even a single minute?
The Deep looked at A-Train, who was sleeping exceptionally peacefully on the ground, and for the first time deeply hated why speed-type ability users were so fast.
Couldn't you have lasted just a little longer?
"Kevin."
Lin Mo beckoned to him.
Hearing that he was being called, the smile on the Deep's face became somewhat stiff.
"Actually, I think..."
"Joanna."
Lin Mo didn't listen to what he was saying at all, turning his head to look beside him.
"It's your turn."
Joanna had already stood up.
"Mm."
Her mood was obviously much better. At least when Lin Mo was fighting just now, she had watched the whole process from the side.
And now there was someone else to play with her, which was great. So she looked at the Deep and revealed a smile.
The Deep looked at this smile, and his back instantly grew cold; even his tone of speech stuttered a bit.
"Th... that..."
"I think... actual combat doesn't necessarily have to be today, right?"
But no one present paid attention to him; all gazes were fixed on the Deep, and quite a few people had already taken out their cameras. Now it was over. Seeing his classmates around him starting to film, he was like an arrow on the bowstring and had to be fired.
Meanwhile, Joanna had already walked into the arena, waiting for the Deep.
The Deep stood in place, hesitating for a few seconds, and finally had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow her in.
After all, he was the one who had stepped forward himself just now. If he directly said he wouldn't fight now, his scandals would probably fill the forum by the afternoon, which would be too embarrassing.
Moreover...
The Deep secretly glanced at Joanna. Although this woman possessed immense strength, no matter what, he was still a superpower user.
Should...
Not be too miserable, right?
"Are you ready?"
Joanna asked.
The Deep swallowed a mouthful of saliva, still wanting to stall for time.
"Wa..."
Boom!
Before he finished speaking,
A figure directly appeared in front of him. The Deep's pupils dilated abruptly, and his vision was filled only with Joanna's fist getting closer and closer.
The next second, the fist stopped dead right in front of his face.
The Deep could even feel the wind of the fist; his entire body froze right there, not daring to move an inch.
Joanna blinked her eyes and tilted her head in inquiry.
"Why aren't you dodging?"
The Deep fell into a silent deadlock. He was scared out of his wits—how could he dodge? He wasn't A-Train.
Before he could speak, Joanna pulled back her fist.
"Then let's start over."
The Deep just let out a sigh of relief.
Bang!
His entire body instantly flew backward.
"Ah!"
The Deep let out a miserable scream, heavily slamming into the other side of the training ground. Before he could even crawl up, Joanna had arrived again.
"No! Wait!"
Bang!
He flew back again.
Lin Mo stood outside the arena, watching the Deep flying back and forth across the field, and fell into silence.
Well... how should I put it, Joanna probably carried a bit of personal emotion.
However, she clearly didn't land a real heavy blow. After all, if she really punched him seriously, whether the Deep could still stand up wouldn't even be a question anymore.
The current situation was that every blow she dealt to the Deep was controlled to a very subtle degree, making the Deep feel extremely painful, but without knocking him out directly.
Just as the Deep recovered slightly, the next punch came.
"I admit defeat!"
Bang!
"I ad..."
Boom!
"Please... don't hit the face..."
Bang!
Finally, the Deep sprawled on the ground, lifting one hand up tremblingly.
"I... surrender..."
Joanna stood beside him, looking down at him curiously. He was so fragile.
"Didn't you want to practice with Lin Mo earlier?"
The Deep almost cried.
"I don't want to anymore."
"I really don't want to anymore."
Joanna thought about it.
"Oh."
Then she kicked him over with one foot.
The Deep: "???"
No way, I already surrendered!
Joanna looked at his shocked expression and said matter-of-factly, "This kick is for the way you kept staring at Lin Moearlier."
The Deep lay on the ground, completely motionless.
Forget it, just destroy me.
Lin Mo stood nearby, almost failing to hold back his laughter. He walked over and glanced at the Deep, whose outlook on life had been thoroughly shattered by the beating.
"Are you still alive?"
The Deep's gaze was dull and he didn't speak. Lin Monodded; not speaking meant default.
"Looks like you're doing fine."
The Deep was in pain all over and could barely stand up. From where on earth did you see that he was doing fine?
Lin Mo looked at Joanna again and walked to her side.
"How does it feel?"
Joanna thought about it, raised her little fist, and then nodded very honestly.
"Mm, it feels pretty good."
Hearing this, the Deep closed his eyes. So that was how it was.
It turned out he was just a punching bag today. If he had known this earlier, he should have kept his mouth shut when A-Train stepped forward.
No, he shouldn't have come today at all.
Until some students nearby pulled him up, he was still doubting his life.
"Why..."
"Why is my ability in the ocean?"
Someone nearby couldn't help laughing out loud.
Lin Mo looked at the despairing Deep and found it quite amusing, so an idea to tease him popped into his mind.
"Actually, your ability has a lot of potential."
Hearing this, the Deep's eyes lit up. He raised his head, enduring the pain as he looked at Lin Mo with a face full of anticipation.
"Really?"
"Guaranteed true."
Chapter 81: Feeling Powerless
Lin Mo held back his smile and said with a serious expression, "If the environment is right in the future, you will be very strong."
The Deep instantly felt recognized, and since this was spoken personally by Lin Mo, he felt he could do it again, and even the pain on his body didn't hurt as much.
"I knew it!"
The student supporting him nearby also quietly added,
"He meant in the future."
The Deep: "..."
Don't give him a sliver of hope just to plunge him into despair!
After the class ended, outside the training hall, many students were still discussing the battle just now.
Lin Mo and Joanna just walked out. They didn't have much to do, and with no classes in the afternoon, he could go back to sunbathe and sleep again.
At this moment, the surroundings suddenly grew a bit quieter.
Because a figure appeared before them whose temperament was distinctly different from the first-year students, and upon seeing her, the surrounding students all wore expressions of surprise.
"Margaret Shaw?"
"Why is she here?"
A sophomore, one of the most famous people at Godolkin University, and also a key superhero candidate cultivated by Vought International.
Maeve.
Her appearance instantly attracted everyone's attention.
Maeve ignored the surrounding gazes and walked straight toward the direction of Lin Mo and Joanna.
"Lin Mo."
Lin Mo stopped in his tracks.
"Something the matter?"
Maeve glanced at Joanna beside him, and then said,
"Regarding the matter on the internet."
"I want to talk with you two."
Hearing these words,
the surrounding students instantly became even more curious. After all, yesterday's ranking incident involving Lin Mo and Joanna had already become a campus hot topic.
And now, why did Maeve personally come to find Lin Mo? Could there be something wrong with the rankings?
The surrounding classmates all felt as though they had stumbled upon some major juicy gossip, and successively took out their cameras to prepare for filming.
Looking at Maeve's sudden arrival, Lin Mo was also somewhat puzzled—what was the meaning of this?
Could it be that you still can't handle a few online haters? Is Vought International's efficiency really that poor?
"Find a quiet place,"
he said. Joanna, on the other hand, stared at Maeve closely with great hostility; she knew this person was here to snatch her man.
After meeting yesterday, she had now come right to their doorstep.
She tightly hugged Lin Mo's arm to assert her sovereignty, hoping that Maeve would retreat in the face of difficulties.
But upon hearing Lin Mo's words, Maeve nodded in agreement.
The three of them left the training hall and came to a lounge next to it.
This place was usually used by students for discussing tactics and reviewing training, and the soundproofing was quite good.
After the three of them entered, the discussions outside were finally cut off. However, the moment the door closed, Joanna directly sat down next to Lin Mo and very naturally linked her arm through his.
"Spit it out. You looking for me probably isn't because you want to chat, right?"
Looking at Maeve before him, Lin Mo knew that if she didn't give an explanation, Joanna might start questioning him in a moment, and he wouldn't be able to clean up the mess then.
Maeve smiled habitually. Having witnessed the relationship between the two yesterday, she hadn't come purely for Lin Mo; right now, she cared more about another matter.
"Last night, I investigated those online rumors."
Maeve spoke directly, revealing her findings.
"At first, I also thought it was just ordinary campus competition."
"After all, this is Godolkin. It's not strange for students to pull some stunts for rankings, resources, or exposure."
Lin Mo nodded in agreement; he understood this. Godolkin University, when all was said and done, was simply a superhero manufacturing factory.
The students here had been instilled with the concept of competition from the moment they entered school. Therefore, in his view, it wasn't strange for someone to be jealous of him and Joanna and guide certain public opinions.
"However, later on, I discovered some problems."
"Several of the people involved in spreading the news suddenly disappeared."
Lin Mo's brows twitched slightly with some surprise.
"Disappeared? They wouldn't have fled in fear of crime, would they?"
Maeve shook her head repeatedly and said, "Their school records have all been modified."
"Their contact numbers are invalid, and even some people who knew them seem as though they had coordinated their stories in advance."
"Basically everyone claims they don't know anything."
The room fell into an eerie silence.
Joanna's originally somewhat hostile expression slowly converged. Although she didn't like Maeve, it didn't mean she couldn't tell right from wrong.
After all, the other party genuinely had business to attend to and, in a sense, was helping them. Treating her like that anymore would instead make herself look a bit unreasonable.
"And then?"
Lin Mo pressed on.
Maeve laid out all the information she had obtained: "After I continued my investigation, I pried some things out of the mouths of those students who smeared you earlier."
"They said..."
She paused for a moment and glanced at Lin Mo.
"This matter was arranged by Dean Cipher."
Hearing this familiar yet unfamiliar name, he rubbed his chin, which stirred up memories from many years ago for Lin Mo.
Doug Brightbill was considered the current dean of Godolkin University. During this period, he not only served as the dean of the Crimefighting College, but also served as the president of Godolkin, being an important figure within the Vought International system.
Lin Mo leaned back in his chair, his thoughts drifting away.
He almost forgot, this was Godolkin University. In the original plot, this place was by no means a simple school for cultivating superheroes.
Rather, it was the deepest hidden experimental ground within the Vought International system.
However...
According to the timeline in his memory, it should not yet be time for that fellow to truly be exposed.
But after all, the plot had already been changed by himself; Joanna hadn't become that Homelander controlled by Vought, so many things must have already shifted.
Therefore, was Thomas Godolkin really the one pulling the strings right now?
He still couldn't be sure.
But, if it really was that fellow...
Lin Mo's eyes narrowed slightly. Then things would get interesting, because he remembered very clearly that that fellow's later goal was by no means just Godolkin University.
His ambition was Vought International, and even included controlling Homelander.
Thinking of this, Lin Mo glanced at Joanna beside him.
The current Homelander was right beside him, so no matter what, Lin Mo could never let that fellow succeed.
Looking at Lin Mo's constantly changing expression, Maeve felt a bit nervous: With that look of yours, you shouldn't be in cahoots with that old man, right?
She had summoned her courage just to come find Lin Mo; she wouldn't have just escaped the wolf's den only to enter the tiger's lair, right?
"Why are you telling me?"
Thinking about this, Lin Mo looked at Maeve. Maeve fell silent for a moment and straightforwardly told him the thoughts in her heart.
"Because I don't know who else to tell."
"If this matter was just an issue with ordinary students, I could handle it."
"But right now..."
She gave a bitter smile.
"It involves the school management."
"It might even involve the internal affairs of Vought International. I don't know how many people inside the company still know, nor do I know if I continue my investigation whether it will eventually turn out that I am the one with a problem."
The expression on Maeve's face was somewhat complex. Regarding the changes occurring within Vought International, she really didn't want to get mixed up in it. When all was said and done, she was merely a slightly stronger superpower user with no financial backing behind her.
Although she really wanted to resolve these issues, her heart desired it while her strength fell short. These things were still too difficult for her; if she didn't handle them well, even her superhero dream would be gone.
Listening to her grievances, Lin Mo wasn't surprised either. Maeve in the original plot was also like this; she was good at her core, and it wasn't that she didn't want to resist Vought International, but rather that she simply didn't have the ability to resist.
Chapter 82: That ruthless?
In the end, reconciling with herself, she chose to stand up.
And now, because of his appearance, this process seemed to have advanced a bit.
"So you think I can help you?" Lin Mo asked.
Maeve nodded: "Yeah, I think..."
"You're not like them."
Lin Mo smiled slightly.
"Are you praising me, or are you talking about me?"
Maeve also smiled along.
"At Vought, that already counts as a compliment."
At this time, the atmosphere in the room eased up a little bit.
Joanna on the side watched Lin Mo and Maeve's interaction eagerly. She couldn't get a word in either; although she felt a bit uncomfortable inside, she still endured it—she had endured it for so many years, so she didn't care about this little bit of time anymore.
She only hoped that this Maeve wouldn't develop any extra thoughts by then, otherwise by then...
But now she could sense that Lin Mo had taken an interest in this matter, hoping it was because this was dealing with matters between them, rather than because of this woman.
"Then what are you planning to do?" Lin Mo asked.
Maeve shook her head. "I don't know."
She casually found a stool and sat down. Only now did she let out a sigh of relief. "That's why I came to find you."
Lin Mo nodded.
Indeed, if Maeve handed the matter directly over to Vought now, what she likely would get in the end wasn't an investigation result, but a reorganized report on Maeve.
After all, Doug Brightbill was Vought's person to begin with.
"Alright."
Lin Mo stood up, and Joanna stood up along with him.
"I'll help you take a look."
Maeve visibly heaved a sigh of relief.
"Thank you."
"No problem, and since you're already helping us, it's only right."
Now the objective was clear as well—just find that Doug, and as for the rest, he had plenty of methods.
"However."
Lin Mo's body immediately paused, and he looked at Maeve again.
"Don't tell anyone else first."
Maeve was stunned for a moment.
"Why?"
She actually still planned to use online methods to expose this matter when she went back, which should at least have some effect.
Lin Mo saw through her thoughts at a glance. She still didn't understand Vought's habits.
"If someone is really doing this kind of thing inside the school, letting more people know is not a good idea. For the school, suppressing public opinion is very easy."
"The less you know right now, the safer you'll be instead."
Maeve fell silent, then nodded. She immediately understood this logic.
"Then call me along when the time comes. I... am actually not weak either!"
However, she was still somewhat unreconciled. Perhaps it was a sense of responsibility acting up, as she didn't finish her mission well. She plucked up her courage and once again proposed to Lin Mo to take action together.
Although using this to speak seemed to be of no use, since Lin Mo and Joanna could both easily defeat her, she couldn't seem to find any better reason for the moment.
"Alright."
Under Joanna's murderous gaze, Lin Mo agreed.
Having an extra witness wouldn't be bad either; maybe it could change Maeve's values a bit, and wouldn't energy points come pouring in by the gush then?
Hearing Lin Mo agree, Maeve breathed a sigh of relief inside, but upon seeing Joanna's unkind expression, her face was once again filled with embarrassment.
"Is this considered cuckolding someone right to their face?"
This thought suddenly surged in her heart. After realizing it, a few more blushes appeared on Maeve's face, but she quickly reined them in.
However, she still quietly sized up Lin Mo. This could be considered her first close-range observation; last time she left in a hurry and didn't look closely, only to discover that this man seemed even more complex than she had imagined.
Whether it was appearance or temperament, this Asian man appeared somewhat extraordinary. Beneath his handsome features, there was none of the sharp, blazing oppression typical of ordinary powerhouses; instead, it carried an unspeakable composure and calmness that unconsciously made people want to get close while being unable to resist wanting to explore further.
Maeve had seen quite a few powerhouses before. Those people might be strong in power, but most of them carried the arrogance belonging to the strong, as if standing high above and looking down on everyone.
But Lin Mo was completely different. He didn't seem to care at all how others viewed him, nor did he care about so-called status and position; he just did things according to his own thoughts.
Thinking of this, Maeve couldn't help taking a few more glances.
"Have you seen enough?"
A cold voice suddenly rang out, and Joanna was staring at her expressionlessly.
"Ah?"
Maeve was stunned for a moment, then realizing something, she quickly averted her gaze.
"I... I just think Lin Mo is amazing."
She subconsciously offered an explanation, but after finishing it, even she herself felt that sentence was a bit strange, feeling that the more she talked, the messier it got.
Especially under Joanna's increasingly dangerous gaze.
"I know."
Joanna said indifferently.
"So you'd better just think he's amazing, otherwise I'll gouge your eyeballs out."
Maeve: "..."
"That ruthless? Isn't it just looking at your Lin Mo a few more times? When the time comes and I snatch him away, let's see what you do!"
She could only fiercely curse in her heart. However, for some reason, looking at Joanna's obviously protective look over her food, Maeve didn't feel as scared in her heart as before.
Even faintly feeling it was somewhat amusing.
Did this mean that Lin Mo was really important to her?
Thinking of this, Maeve suddenly felt somewhat envious of them.
It wasn't envying that Lin Mo and Joanna both possessed such strength, but envying the unreserved trust between the two of them.
"Alright."
Lin Mo's voice interrupted everyone's thoughts.
"Since we've decided to act together, then don't waste time."
Hearing these words, Maeve also put away her previous distracting thoughts. She took a deep breath and regained her seriousness.
"Doug Cipher's office is in the school's administration building."
"I can take you there."
Lin Mo nodded, and the three of them quickly left the training gym. Along the way, Maeve kept thinking about what they should do next.
She originally thought that Lin Mo would first formulate a plan.
For example: investigating school surveillance, looking for evidence and so on.
Confirming whether Doug really participated in it, or even contacting reliable people inside Vought.
But... ten minutes later.
The three of them arrived at the administration building in front of them. Seeing Lin Mo and Joanna looking ready to walk right in directly, Maeve finally couldn't help it.
"Wait."
She stopped in her tracks.
Lin Mo curiously turned his head back. Was there still something else?
"What's wrong?"
Maeve glanced at the building in front of her, and then glanced at Lin Mo.
"We're just going over like this?"
"Mhm."
"No plan?"
"None."
Maeve suddenly felt that her brain couldn't quite keep up. Was this reasonable?
"Do you know who we're investigating right now?"
"The dean of Godolkin University, an important figure within Vought's system, and it might even involve the company's upper management."
"And we're just going straight in like this?"
Lin Mo looked at her, his expression somewhat puzzled.
"Otherwise?"
Maeve opened her mouth, not knowing how to reply for a moment.
Normally shouldn't they investigate secretly? Shouldn't they first confirm if there's surveillance? Shouldn't they avoid alerting the enemy?
Chapter 83: A Few More Charges Don't Matter
But judging by Lin Mo's appearance, he didn't seem to have considered any of this at all.
Joanna, standing beside them, was extremely calm and even failed to understand why Maeve was so nervous.
"Is there a problem?"
Maeve turned to look at her, feeling like her head was about to burst.
"Don't you think this is too risky?"
Joanna blinked and asked curiously.
"Risky?"
"Could the target be that powerful?"
"This... shouldn't be very strong." Maeve recalled Doug's profile and replied.
"Then that settles it. Besides, no matter how strong he is, can he be stronger than Lin Mo and me?"
Hearing Joanna's matter-of-fact tone, Maeve fell silent.
Why did she feel like it made some sense, yet something felt wrong?
Joanna continued, "Did you forget?"
"We aren't ordinary students right now."
The two of them in school definitely couldn't be described as ordinary people. Maeve still hadn't fully wrapped her head around it, though eventually, she would realize that her actual abilities were far stronger than she imagined. In the eyes of most powerful superpowered individuals, strength always speaks loudest.
Fine, Maeve felt she didn't know what to say.
Because she realized that she had just been thinking entirely from the mindset of an ordinary superhero.
What Joanna said was also true; she and Lin Mo simply didn't fall into that category. His strength had already surpassed the vast majority of rules, so many problems that looked complex in the eyes of others...
...might actually be very simple to him.
Thinking of this, a wave of bitterness couldn't help welling up in Maeve's heart. How many times had she been struck down today?
The three of them came to the administration building, and along the way, there was no obstruction whatsoever.
In fact, quite a few staff members took the initiative to greet Maeve upon seeing her.
Sophomore Margaret Shaw, future candidate for The Seven, this identity indeed carried a lot of weight at Godolkin University.
However, Maeve didn't respond much; she was in no mood to enjoy this attention right now.
Soon, the three of them arrived at the door of the dean's office.
Maeve stepped forward and knocked on the door first.
"Thump."
"Thump."
There was no response.
She frowned and knocked again.
Still no sound. Maeve looked at the nearby staff member.
"Where is Dean Cipher?"
The staff member was momentarily stunned.
"The dean?"
"He left the school this morning."
"It seems he went to attend a meeting."
Maeve's expression changed slightly.
Left? What a coincidence?
She instinctively looked at Lin Mo, but Lin Mo just looked calmly at the office. Through X-ray vision, he could also tell that the old guy truly wasn't here.
"Since we're here, let's take a look around."
Maeve was taken aback.
"Look around?"
"His office?" Lin Mo nodded.
"What else?" His time was precious; returning empty-handed was not his style.
Maeve felt once again that her train of thought didn't seem to be on the same channel as these two people.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
Lin Mo's tone was calm.
"Since he's not here anyway, we can't just make a wasted trip."
Maeve took a deep breath and finally nodded. She took out her access card and opened the office.
Upon entering the office, Maeve immediately began observing her surroundings.
It was very ordinary here; the desk, bookshelves, and files appeared neat and tidy.
There didn't appear to be any obvious abnormalities. If she hadn't known certain things beforehand, no one would have thought there was any problem here.
Maeve slowly walked over and began rummaging through some documents.
Meanwhile, Lin Mo stood to the side, quietly watching Maeve struggle to find information. This wasn't his job anymore, after all.
In fact, he could have completely used Super Brain to instantly search the entire office, but there was no need. Since Maeve had already gotten involved...
...then they would do it her way. After all, sometimes the process itself was quite interesting, and since she was working so hard, he might as well give her a sense of participation.
Joanna stood next to Lin Mo, looking around the dean's office with eyes full of curiosity.
"Do you think this person is the killer?"
Lin Mo glanced at her.
"It can't be confirmed yet, but the probability is indeed quite high."
After all, even if this Doug was Godolkin himself, and he had a criminal record—even though it hadn't happened yet—that didn't stop Lin Mo from pinning labels on him.
Anyway, you're already a villain; a few more charges don't matter.
Joanna frowned and asked for Lin Mo's opinion.
"Then is he dangerous?"
Lin Mo was silent for a moment, then said, "Sort of."
"At least, his ideas are very dangerous."
In the original story, he cured his own body by scheming against Marie, controlled many people at Godolkin University to train his superpowers, and successfully boosted his superpowers by a large margin.
Even the female protagonist Marie was controlled by him later on. As one of the only two products in the Odessa Project besides Homelander, Marie was on the same level as Homelander. If he could control Marie, he might also be able to control Homelander.
Therefore, this hidden danger had to be eliminated. Although he didn't quite believe that this Godolkin could control Homelander, it was best to prevent trouble before it happened.
Joanna didn't continue asking. She had always been too lazy to delve deeply into things involving these kinds of abstract thoughts. Since Lin Mo said this Doug wasn't a good person, she would just kill him directly.
On the other side, Maeve suddenly stopped her movements.
"Wait."
Lin Mo looked over at the sound.
"Did you find something?"
Maeve pointed at a document on the corner of the desk.
"This."
She picked it up directly.
At first glance, there was nothing special about it; it seemed to be just some student profiles recording some experimental data.
However, there were other things inside, such as people's ages, physical indicators, ability performances, and some very professional medical terminology.
Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that basically every name was marked with a death tag.
Maeve frowned. Although she was a superhero, she wasn't familiar with these research materials.
After looking at it for a few seconds, she shook her head.
"This probably isn't it, at least I can't tell what it has to do with those students."
She flipped through a few pages of the document; they were all numbers with no clear experimental purpose, looking more like internal materials of some medical project.
Maeve was about to put it back, but Lin Mo reached out and took it.
"Let me see."
Maeve was somewhat puzzled.
"Can you understand it?"
Lin Mo didn't answer and lowered his head to read through it on his own.
A few seconds later, his expression slowly changed. His originally casual expression vanished, replaced by a hint of surprise.
"What's wrong?"
Joanna noticed his change. Lin Mo continued looking at the document in his hand until he confirmed he hadn't misread it.
Only then did he slowly speak.
"This isn't student profile data; these are research reports on multiple children."
Maeve was stunned.
"Children?"
"What do you mean?"
Almost forgetting, Maeve at this time didn't yet know that her abilities came from being injected with Compound Vwhen she was a child, and naturally didn't know that these children were actually experimental subjects for Compound V.
This was very similar to the files inside the Vought research bunker where he and Joanna had stayed before. Lin Mohad seen this more than once.
Lin Mo handed the document back to her and pointed at one of the lines.
"Look here."
Maeve lowered her head. Although she couldn't understand all the contents, she could still grasp a few key words among them.
"Experiment Subject Number."
"Ability Awakening."
"Superhuman Blood Test..."