Chapter 11: The Next Step
He had tasted success at the last party, and for the past month, he had spent every day, outside of class hours, drifting between various parties and clubs.
Thanks to his generosity and good looks, he had managed to trigger Copy quite a few times.
The result was the LV3 Super Physique he now possessed. This was the fusion of dozens of LV1s and several LV2s.
Lu Chen bent down and picked something up from the floor. It was a Glock 19 he had bought on the black market; since he hadn't reached the legal age to own a gun in New York City, he had to pay a several-hundred-dollar premium to acquire one, and there was still one round left in the chamber.
He stared at the brass-colored bullet for two seconds, then pressed the muzzle against his left thigh.
He pulled the trigger.
Bang.
The gunshot exploded in the empty private shooting range. The bullet embedded itself one centimeter into his thigh muscle and got stuck. Blood gushed out, running down his leg and pooling in a small puddle on the floor.
Lu Chen gritted his teeth. It felt like someone had stabbed him with a red-hot awl. He bent over, pinched the tail of the bullet with two fingers, and pulled it out. Although it was painful, this was a necessary test.
He grabbed a towel, pressed it against the wound, and leaned against the wall to catch his breath.
It seemed his LV3 Super Physique could withstand small-caliber handgun bullets. Perhaps after fusing a few more LV2 physiques, he could barely be bulletproof, roughly on par with The Deep. However, the higher the level of these superpowers, the greater the span. He judged that Starlight and Neuman, who should be at LV4 Super Physique, could ignore handgun bullets at that level, and even anti-materiel sniper rifles would only slow them down.
Lu Chen threw the bloodied towel into the trash can and pulled on a T-shirt. He still needed to climb higher.
Friday night, the lawn was on fire again.
This time it wasn't a grill; someone had set fire to a junked Beetle. Hundreds of people danced around it, like some kind of primitive tribal ritual. Drake's new song was playing over the speakers.
Lu Chen leaned against a makeshift bar, holding a can of Budweiser without opening it. He just held it, letting the coldness of the can seep through his palm, reminding himself to stay sober.
"You look bored to death."
A voice came from his right. Blonde hair, wheat-colored skin, and a skirt so short it was almost against the rules. Her name was Megan; Lu Chen had seen her at a party last week. Megan's hand rested on his shoulder, her fingertips sliding down his collarbone and stopping on his chest. She leaned in close, her lips almost brushing his earlobe.
"My roommate isn't here tonight." Her breath smelled of a mix of tequila and mint gum. "Building C, 202. If you want to come over, no need to knock."
Lu Chen brushed her off casually.
He had copied his LV1 Super Senses from a freshman. Now, this layer of senses acted like an invisible net, stripping away all the information on Megan.
On the skin of her neck, there were three different lingering scents. One was a woody sandalwood, one was a cheap sea salt and citrus, and another was a cloying sweetness with the smell of marijuana. At the roots of her hair, there was someone else's tobacco scent hiding. Her pulse was racing at 110 beats per minute, likely because she had just finished some strenuous exercise and her metabolism hadn't slowed down yet.
Lu Chen turned his head slightly, his gaze passing over Megan's shoulder to look at the other end of the lawn. Three boys were standing together drinking beer, and one of them, wearing sea salt and citrus cologne, was glancing over.
"Forget it for tonight." Lu Chen said.
Megan's fingers stiffened. "What?"
"I said, forget it for tonight." Lu Chen took her hand off his chest, held it in his palm, gave it a gentle squeeze, then let go. "You have three different stories on you, and I don't want to be a fellow traveler with the people in those stories."
Megan's face changed, and she stepped back, her high heels sinking into the turf.
"Fuck! Who do you think you are?"
"Someone who has an early class tomorrow." Lu Chenplaced the unopened beer on the bar and turned to leave.
He pushed through the crowd and heard Megan curse "Asian bastard" behind him.
Over the past month, this scene had repeated six or seven times. Godolkin's parties were hunting grounds and also trap zones. Some girls were genuinely interested in him, while others just wanted a hookup. Lu Chen's Super Senses became a filter, helping him screen out most of the trouble.
Monday morning, Lu Chen and Jordan went to eat breakfast.
A matte black Lamborghini was parked at the entrance of the cafeteria, its engine still running, the exhaust pipe puffing out hot air. Two people stood by the car.
One was Golden Boy. Luke Riordan. The school was grooming him to be the next Homelander. Lu Chen judged his body to be at least LV4, plus flight and fire brought by some kind of thermonuclear ability. It was said that when he was angry, the temperature of the flames on his body could melt steel.
Another slightly shorter black man stood next to him, spinning a coin on his finger.
Andre. Magnetic Field Manipulation. The ability was rare, but it was a bit weak in actual combat—small range, poor accuracy. It was more than enough to deal with ordinary people, but against anyone with a slightly stronger physique, he would basically be crushed. Overusing it would also cause backlash. However, his father was the old-generation superhero Polarity, so he went straight into the Crime Fighting Class upon enrollment and was inseparable from Golden Boy every day. Judging from the plot, it was reasonable to suspect this guy swung both ways.
Jordan nudged Lu Chen with his elbow. "Look, Godolkin's top 1."
Golden Boy looked up, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. He assumed everyone else was just background noise. He said something to Andre, they laughed, and then they got into the Lamborghini, the engine roaring as it drove toward the exclusive teaching building for the Crime Fighting Class.
He watched the direction in which the Lamborghini disappeared. Golden Boy's flames and flight, Andre's magnetic field manipulation—they were all good things. But for now, he didn't have much of a chance to get close to Golden Boy. He wasn't just a key focus of the school; his own abilities were incredibly powerful, and force would likely not work.
Back at the dorm, Lu Chen locked the door.
He stood in front of the bathroom mirror, carefully examining the gunshot wound on his thigh. It had already scabbed over, the new skin shimmering with a pink hue, and it gave a slight dull pain when pressed.
He opened the system panel and scanned through the items: [Impact LV2] [Mind Control LV3] [Super Physique LV3 (Fusion Enhanced)] [Super Senses LV1]
It was enough for now. It was enough for him to intervene in the Translucent incident.
Translucent's ability. Carbon Skin. Invisibility.
That layer of skin was one of the most practical defenses in the The Boys World. If he could Copy it, he would almost have no need to worry about his external defense in this World. He was wondering whether to wait until Butcher kidnapped Translucent and was at his wit's end before intervening to handle it, or to passively let Butcher come to him. Butcher was always looking for people who had been harmed by Superhumans and could be utilized by him; the Shockwave incident counted as an entry point.
However, considering Butcher's hostility toward Superhumans, it was better to intervene directly. Using the memory erasure ability should work. However, after copying the ability, Translucent still had to be left to them. These guys had too much ability to cause trouble; they had to be let go, and then harvested batch by batch.
Chapter 12: Implantation and Debut
The shelves of the electronics store where Hughie worked were piled with outdated routers, tangled HDMI cables, and dust-covered Bluetooth speakers.
Hughie Campbell stood behind the counter, clutching a coil of coaxial cable, his gaze passing through the shelves and landing on the air three feet away.
His hair was as messy as a bird's nest, and dark, bluish-black shadows hung beneath his eye sockets.
His lips were chapped. He picked up the coil of cable, looked at the label, and put it back, his movements as mechanical as a programmed robot.
Three seconds later, he picked up the same coil and repeated the same action.
The doorbell rang. Ding-ling.
Hughie didn't react. After a full five seconds, he slowly turned his head.
"Welcome," his voice was dull. "What would you like to buy?"
Lu Chen stood in front of the counter. He was wearing a plain gray hoodie, the hood pulled low, obscuring half of his face.
His gaze lingered on Hughie's face for two seconds, taking in the bloodshot eyes, the stiff corners of his mouth, and that sense of an empty shell left behind after the soul had been drained away.
Lu Chen stepped forward and rested his hands on the counter. His body leaned forward slightly, like an ordinary customer browsing.
"Do you have…" Lu Chen began, his voice very soft.
Hughie subconsciously leaned in a little, wanting to hear clearly what this Asian kid was saying.
Lu Chen's right hand suddenly lifted from the counter and cupped Hughie's right cheek directly. His fingertips touched the skin of Hughie's temple, carrying the clamminess of sleep deprivation.
LV3 Mind Control, activated.
Lu Chen's consciousness was like a needle, piercing Hughie's cerebral cortex, precisely stabbing into the surface layer and sliding into the folds of his memory.
He "saw" Hughie's memories.
Digging deeper. Hughie sat in front of the computer, fingers hovering over the keyboard, the screen light casting a blue pallor on his face. He was posting on an anonymous forum with the title: "My girlfriend was killed by A-Train. Vought says it was an accident." Beneath the post were thousands of replies, mostly abuse and disbelief, with a few expressing sympathy.
This was it.
Lu Chen began to weave. His consciousness was like a pair of invisible hands, inserting new threads into the network of Hughie's memories. He imagined a post with the ID "QueensGhost." The content: "My sister was accidentally killed by Vought's second-tier hero 'Iron Fist' in Queens. Vought gave me thirty thousand in hush money. The legal department threatened to sue me for defamation. I won't accept it. I want them to pay with their lives."
Hughie's memory was instinctively drawn to this post. He replied below: "Me too. A-Train killed my girlfriend. They said it was an accident. They said it was my girlfriend's fault." A private message window popped up. QueensGhost sent a string of numbers: 646-555-0199. "If you plan on doing something, call me." Hughie wrote down the number, saved it in his phone contacts, and added the note: "Ally — Queens."
Then, Lu Chen moved the pointer of memory to the future. Three days later, or perhaps a week later. A man with a British accent wearing sunglasses would walk into the store and say: "Hughie, I need you to help me install something in Vought Tower." Hughie's first reaction would no longer be fear or submission, but the number flashing in his mind. He would think to himself: "I can ask my ally for his opinion; he also has a score to settle with Vought."
Weaving complete.
Hughie jolted violently, his forehead hitting the cash register with a heavy thud. He groaned, fingers pressing hard against his temples, his eyes unfocused, pupils switching back and forth between focus and blur, like an overloaded hard drive organizing fragments.
"Fuck…" Hughie muttered, "Just now… what…"
He lifted his head and looked at Lu Chen. His eyes were blank, hollow, as if looking at a stranger he had never met. The thirty seconds of contact just now, the mass of forcibly implanted memories, had seamlessly embedded into his cognition. But Lu Chen's face, Lu Chen's voice, Lu Chen's existence, had been erased.
"You…" Hughie blinked, his throat bobbing, "Hello, what would you like to buy?"
Lu Chen picked up the cheapest pair of in-ear headphones from the shelf and placed them on the counter.
"This one. Nineteen ninety-nine."
Hughie scanned the item mechanically, his movements even slower than before. His brain was still processing those newly implanted memory fragments in the background, like a computer slowing down while downloading updates. The cash register spat out a receipt; he didn't even look at it, just shoved it into the bag.
Lu Chen took the bag, the headphones making a slight plastic rustling sound in his palm. He pushed the door open and stepped out; the doorbell chimed.
Hughie stood behind the counter, rubbing his temples. He kept feeling like something important had just happened, but his mind was a blank slate. He looked down at the cash register, which displayed nineteen ninety-nine. He had no memory of that customer's face, but he remembered the number. 646-555-0199. Ally — Queens.
That number was like a thorn, stuck in a corner of his consciousness, waiting to be awakened by a certain man.
Lu Chen walked on the streets of Queens, the headphone cord wrapped around his index finger. He glanced at his phone: 2:17 PM.
A Vought news notification popped up, the headline in bold: "Today, Vought International officially welcomes new member'Starlight' to The Seven. A media debut ceremony will be held outside Vought Tower."
In the accompanying photo, Starlight was wearing that white-and-gold-trimmed suit, with three silver stars on her chest.
Lu Chen hailed a taxi.
"Vought Tower. Hurry."
The driver was an old Latino man who glanced at him in the rearview mirror: "What are you going there for? Another new hero?"
"Picking up a friend," Lu Chen said. The plaza in front of Vought Tower was submerged by the crowd.
At least three hundred people were crowded behind the barricades, reporters carrying cameras, fans holding homemade signs, and security guards wearing Vought's uniform forming a human wall.
Lu Chen didn't squeeze to the front. He went around to the side exit, where there were fewer people but it was closer to the parking area. He stood in the shadow of a landscape tree, his gaze passing through the gaps in the crowd toward the glass door.
Starlight walked out. Her blonde hair was tied in a ponytail, and her face was made up, but the foundation couldn't hide the nervousness in her eyes. Reporters swarmed forward, microphones pointed at her face like gun barrels.
"Starlight! How does it feel to join The Seven?"
"What do you have to say about becoming a superhero role model for young women?"
"I am honored to join The Seven," her voice came through the microphone, carrying an Iowa accent, "I will work hard… to become the hero everyone expects…"
The appearance lasted twenty-two minutes. Starlight was signing autographs, smiling, and shaking hands with fans. Vought's PR team began to guide her offstage, moving toward the black SUV at the side door.
But the crowd hadn't dispersed. Several paparazzi broke through the security's loose defensive line and blocked the side door, their lenses almost poking into Starlight's face.
"Starlight! Insiders say Lamplighter's retirement was highly unusual, and Vought's legal department covered up at least three complaints. As the member of The Sevenreplacing him, what do you have to say?"
Starlight's footsteps froze. She was not yet prepared to face such bizarre and difficult questions.
Now.
Lu Chen walked out from the tree's shadow. He shoved the questioning paparazzo with his shoulder, holding a Starlight poster distributed by Vought, "Hello Starlight, I've been following you since you debuted in the talent show. Seeing your dreams come true, I'm genuinely happy for you. Can you sign this for me?"
The paparazzo stumbled from the shove and cursed: "Fuck, who are you?"
Starlight turned to look at Lu Chen. The panic in her eyes hadn't faded yet, but there was a hint of gratitude when she looked at Lu Chen.
"Thank you for your support. I couldn't have succeeded in the talent show without the support of old fans like you. So, would you like to take a picture together?"
Lu Chen extended his hand naturally, "Wow, that would be my honor. Can we shake hands, just like those VIP meetings, you know."
"You're quite interesting, come on." Starlight smiled and extended her right hand to hold Lu Chen's. The two stood side-to-side, and the camera flashes from the paparazzi at this moment were like those of professional reporters from the New York Daily News.
[Target available for Copy detected: Starlight (Annie January)]
[Optional Abilities:]
[1. Super Physique LV4]
[2. Light Manipulation LV4 (Flight, Energy Projection, Light Absorption, can be developed)]
"Not choosing for now."
The handshake lasted only four seconds. Security rushed up and pushed the paparazzi away. Lu Chen took the opportunity to release her hand, stepped back half a step, and hid back into the edge of the crowd.
Starlight had already walked to the car door. She opened the door, then suddenly turned back to look at Lu Chen. There was gratitude, confusion, and a certain fleeting sense of security from being protected.
Suddenly, an image appeared in her mind: The Deep being scolded by Homelander and mocked by the rest of The Seven.
"The Deep has a very low status; don't trust his words. If you don't understand something, you can ask Maeve."
Starlight's pupils constricted. She wanted to turn back to ask something, wanted to press for the meaning of this sentence and image, but the PR staff had already pushed her into the car. The car door slammed shut, cutting off the outside World. The black SUV slid into the city's traffic.
Lu Chen stood there, watching the direction the car disappeared in.
He turned and walked into the crowd, like a drop of water merging into the ocean. No one noticed him leaving, just as no one had noticed he had ever appeared.
Chapter 13: Allies and Translucent
The taxi was stuck in traffic for forty minutes on the way back to Queens.
Lu Chen leaned back against the rear seat, watching the neon lights flowing outside the window. His phone vibrated. It wasn't Hughie, but a message from Jordan: "Party at Building D tonight, word is some upperclassmen are coming, you in?"
Lu Chen didn't reply.
He looked at the spire of Vought Tower in the distance, which looked like a knife plunged into the heart of the city under the setting Sun.
Hughie would contact him soon. That implanted false memory was like a ticking time bomb, waiting for Butcher's British accent to detonate it. And Starlight, that girl from Iowa who still believed in justice, would face The Deep's "welcome ceremony" in The Seven's conference room tonight or tomorrow night.
He had given her an image and a warning. A warning from a stranger, without head or tail. Would she listen? Could she understand?
Lu Chen didn't know. But he knew he still needed to enter Vought Tower, preferably The Seven, and then intervene with The Boys, working both ends.
He remembered the day of his eighteenth birthday, waking up in this neighborhood, and the system plunging into his brain like a knife.
Now, that knife had already begun to cut into larger prey.
Lu Chen lay on the hotel bed, staring at the ceiling. At the edge of his vision, the system panel floated quietly, displaying his current status:
[ Super Physique LV3 ]
[ Mind Control LV3 ]
[ Impact LV2 ]
[ Super Senses LV1 ]
Hughie sat on the apartment floor, his back against the sofa leg. A photo of Robin was on the coffee table; the girl in the photo was smiling. His phone screen lit up, and in his contacts list was a number with the note "Ally — Queens". He remembered this person also held hatred for Vought and for the superheroes. This person should be reliable.
He pressed the voice button: "I know you're also dealing with Vought. A British guy found me today, saying he's FBI. He showed me a video. A-Train. That bastard was in a bar, holding a drink, laughing and saying Robin died like a smashed watermelon. He actually had the nerve to say Robin's blood and flesh splattered all over him, dirtying his clothes. I've decided, I'm going to Vought Tower tomorrow to sign a settlement agreement with them and take the opportunity to plant a bug."
He released his finger, and the voice message was sent. Then he stared at the screen, waiting. The room was very quiet, with only the refrigerator compressor humming in the distance.
Two minutes later, his phone vibrated.
Lu Chen replied with text: "I admire your courage, bro. I will watch from the shadows and appear to help you at the right time. Good luck."
Hughie took a deep breath and replied: "Okay."
He shoved his phone into his pocket and looked up at Robin's photo. "I will make them pay, my dear."
The next afternoon, Lu Chen rented a beat-up Honda and parked it diagonally across from the electronics store where Hughie worked. He didn't go into the store but sat in the driver's seat with the window rolled down a hand's width, his arm resting on the frame. He watched Hughiewandering behind the counter, looking up at the door from time to time. Lu Chen knew he was waiting for Butcher to show up and pick him up to head to Vought Tower. To begin his revenge.
At three in the afternoon, Hughie closed the store. He walked out, locked the door, looked left and right, and then walked quickly toward Butcher's car not far away.
Lu Chen got out of the car, went to the street corner to buy a hot dog with pickles and onions, and finished it while sitting in the car. Then he lowered the seat, half-reclined, and looked at his phone.
Time passed quickly. The Sun moved west, casting a yellowish light on the buildings across the street. He went over the plan in his mind. Translucent was no fool, but he was arrogant. The fact that he didn't tell anyone after discovering Hughie had planted the bug, and dared to follow him alone, was the best proof of that; this gave Lu Chen time.
At eight in the evening, Hughie returned. He walked quickly back to the store, opened the door, went in, calming himself from the thrill of storming Vought Tower and Butcher's betrayal.
Just as he had bet his life, thinking he could start his adventure like in the movies, fighting Vought from the shadows and taking down A-Train, Butcher had abandoned him after using him, telling him to go to work, return to his own life, and to stop getting involved.
Lu Chen sat up straight, staring at the store door, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel twice, ready.
A sound suddenly came from inside the store. It was the sound of some heavy object hitting flesh, followed by the crash of a cabinet being knocked over, and then Hughie's scream.
Lu Chen quickly crossed the street and walked to the store entrance.
"I'll ask one more time." Translucent's voice came from the air. "Who gave you the guts? Who told you to bring that thing into Vought Tower? Did you think I wouldn't be able to catch a little mouse like you?"
Hughie's mouth was pressed against the floor, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. He said vaguely: "I don't know... what you're talking about..."
"You don't know?" Translucent laughed.
"I'll give you a chance. How could a sissy like you have the guts to do something like this? Tell me who sent you. I'll make your death quick. Otherwise, I'll tear you apart piece by piece, and you'll watch your own parts scatter on the floor like Lego bricks."
Just then, the store door was pushed open.
Translucent jerked his head up. Hughie also struggled to turn his face to look at the door.
Lu Chen stood there, holding a metal pipe in his hand.
Translucent released Hughie's hair and stood up. "Who are you?" Translucent asked. "His boyfriend? Or another small fry looking to die?"
Lu Chen walked into the store, and the door closed behind him. He stepped over the overturned shelves on the floor, crushing a piece of glass and making a crisp sound. He stopped three meters away from Translucent, turning the metal pipe in his palm and gripping it tightly.
"I'll give you a chance too."
Translucent paused for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"A chance? What are you trying to do? Use that mop handle to scratch my itch?"
Lu Chen didn't laugh. He looked at Translucent, at those arrogant eyes hidden behind the Carbon Skin.
"Something like that," he said. "I want to see how much that skin of yours is actually worth."
Translucent tilted his head, looking at Lu Chen as if looking at a mouse trying to challenge a lion.
"You're actually quite interesting. The last one who talked back to me like that was a robber holding up a bank. I threw him off the twentieth floor, and he was still screaming when he hit the ground. You want to try that?"
Lu Chen didn't answer. He knew Translucent's weakness. The Carbon Skin was impenetrable, but beneath that shell, the muscles, bones, and organs were only at the level of an ordinary person.
Translucent moved. His form became completely invisible, and the store went quiet, with only Hughie's heavy panting.
Lu Chen's eyes scanned rapidly. The shelf to the front left, the counter to the back right, overhead—
Bang.
A fist smashed into his temple from the side. The Impactsent him stumbling two steps to the right, his shoulder hitting a shelf, and several boxes of routers fell and smashed onto the floor. Lu Chen shook his head.
"Yo, pretty tough." Translucent's voice came from the left, with a hint of surprise, but more amusement. "Let me see how many hits you can take."
Chapter 14: Oi-man
As Translucent's fist struck him, Copy began to activate.
Target for Copy detected: Translucent.
Available abilities: [1. Super Physique LV2] [2. Invisibility LV3] [3. Carbon Skin LV5].
"Select Carbon Skin," Lu Chen muttered to himself in his heart.
[Copy initiated: 1%, estimated time 24 hours].
As Lu Chen began copying, Translucent's fists arrived too. Bang. Bang. Bang.
Three consecutive punches. One struck Lu Chen's ribs, one slammed into his lower back, and the final uppercut swung into his chin.
Lu Chen was knocked back several steps, the steel pipe in his hand dropped, and his back hit the wall, shaking dust off the shelves.
"Is that all the strength you've got?"
A sneer came from the air from Translucent. "Hard-mouthed."
The next punch came even faster, aimed straight at his face.
It brought a gust of wind. Lu Chen's LV1 Super Sensestook effect. Although he still couldn't see anyone, he heard the direction of the incoming fist. He tilted his head to dodge, took advantage of the momentum to lunge forward, and smashed his right fist toward the source of the sound.
The fist hit a hard, smooth surface, like striking bulletproof glass.
The impact force traveled back along his finger bones, and Lu Chen's knuckles went numb.
Translucent was knocked back half a step, but his Carbon Skin didn't even show a mark.
"You can't hurt me, kid." Translucent's voice drifted through the store, flickering left and right. "I am The Seven. And you are just trash."
Lu Chen shook his hand. He looked around, his gaze sweeping over the counter, the shelves, and the broken glass on the floor.
Then it stopped on something in the corner of the counter.
A bottle of water. A 500ml plastic bottle of water, unopened, probably left there by Hughie for himself.
Lu Chen turned and lunged toward the counter, grabbed the water bottle, unscrewed the cap, and splashed it wildly all around.
Translucent was standing two meters in front of the counter and was hit squarely.
Water droplets hung on his Carbon Skin, forming a blurry human outline.
Head, shoulders, chest, arms—it was like a human sketch drawn with invisible ink, outlined by the water.
"Fuck!" Translucent looked down at the water droplets on his body and cursed.
Lu Chen threw the empty bottle aside, and it rolled twice on the ground.
He looked at the blurry human shape and loosened his shoulders.
"Now I can see you."
He rushed forward.
The first punch smashed into the abdominal outline traced by the water droplets.
Translucent wanted to dodge, but the speed and strength brought by Lu Chen's LV3 Super Physique far exceeded that of a normal person, and even far exceeded Translucent, a Superhuman whose only enhancement was his skin surface. The fist landed solidly. Translucent was knocked into a hunched position, water droplets splattering from the impact. He crashed into the shelf behind him, the shelf deformed, and several monitors fell to the floor, their screens shattering.
"You motherf—" Translucent had just straightened up when Lu Chen's second punch arrived.
This time it was a hook, swinging toward the position of the water-traced head.
Translucent raised his hands to block; the water droplets on his arms were scattered, but the outline remained.
Lu Chen's fist slammed into his forearm, shaking Translucent's entire arm numb.
Like a pile driver that had just started, Lu Chen threw punch after punch, slamming into the torso and head of the water-outlined figure.
Translucent was beaten back step by step, retreating from the counter to the shelves, and from the shelves to the wall.
He tried to counterattack, but his invisibility advantage was gone, and Lu Chen could clearly see his movements.
Translucent's fist swung over, Lu Chen tilted his head to dodge, and followed up with a knee strike to his stomach.
Translucent groaned, his back hitting the wall, causing the poster on it to fall.
"You can't hurt me!" Translucent roared, panic appearing in his voice for the first time.
"I am Carbon Skin! I am invulnerable! A piece of trash like you—"
"I know," Lu Chen said.
He grabbed Translucent's wrist; the sensation was like holding a smooth, hard stone.
He twisted hard, forcing Translucent's entire arm behind his back, drove his knee into his lower back, and pinned him against the wall.
"So I didn't plan to beat you to death with my fists."
He freed his other hand, wrapped it around Translucent's neck, and prepared to apply a rear-naked choke.
His arm constricted the windpipe. No matter how hard the Carbon Skin was, suffocation didn't require breaking through defenses; it only required time and pressure. Butcher and Frenchie couldn't do it because they lacked the strength and didn't dare to get close to Translucent. Now, with him—someone stronger than Translucent—it could be done.
Translucent began to struggle.
His strength wasn't as great as Lu Chen's, but his Carbon Skin was too slippery, like a greased fish.
He twisted desperately, slamming his head backward, hitting Lu Chen's nose.
Lu Chen's nose stung, and tears welled up, but he didn't let go, his arm tightening further.
Translucent's struggle began to weaken, and water droplets gathered on his neck like a transparent collar.
Just then, the roar of an engine came from outside.
It was the roar of a diesel engine.
The screech of tires against the ground approached from afar, like an out-of-control Beast running wild on the street.
Lu Chen's ears caught the source of the sound.
Directly ahead, the roller shutter door.
He released Translucent and took a few quick steps back.
Boom!!!
A black sedan crashed through the roller shutter door, the metal door panel torn open like tin foil, debris flying everywhere.
Translucent had just stood up and hadn't even seen what happened before he was hit head-on by the front of the car.
Bang.
Translucent's body, like a baseball hit by a bat, flew several meters away, his back slamming heavily against the load-bearing wall at the very back of the store.
Several rows of shelves were knocked over by Translucent, and the water droplets on his body spilled all over the floor from the impact, making the human outline incomplete.
The engine cut out.
The smell of diesel and burnt rubber filled the store.
The car door opened, and a man walked out. He was burly, built like a bulldog on a chain.
Wearing a black trench coat that went past his knees, Butcher stood in the beam of the headlights, squinting as he scanned the store.
His gaze landed on Hughie on the ground, then on Lu Chenstanding by the wall, and finally looked toward the corner at the still-dripping, semi-visible, transparent outline.
A faint, enigmatic smile hung on the corner of Butcher's mouth,
"Oi," he said, "sorry for messing up the shop, but it looks like I arrived just in time."
"You arrived just in time," Lu Chen said.
"Two minutes later, and that transparent guy would already be lying on the floor."
Butcher turned his head and looked directly at Lu Chen.
He raised an eyebrow, his scrutinizing gaze like two hooks, wanting to peel Lu Chen open from the inside out.
He pulled out a bland smile: "Sorry. So tell me, who are you?"
"Let's deal with Translucent first."
Lu Chen didn't wait for his reply and turned to rush toward Translucent.
Translucent was still stuck to the wall; the water droplets on his Carbon Skin had been mostly scattered by Butcher's crash, with only a few drops left hanging on his shoulders and waist.
Butcher chuckled. He looked at Hughie, who was still lying on the ground, took a crowbar out of the car, and pointed at Lu Chen's back: "Quite an impatient one. But I like it."
Chapter 15: Pack Up and Go
As Lu Chen and Butcher approached, Translucent moved.
He struggled violently, scrambled up from the ground, and then shook his body frantically, slapping his skin rapidly to shake off all the remaining Water droplets. His Carbon Skin became invisible in the air once more.
Lu Chen stopped. He stood two meters away from where Translucent had just been, scanning rapidly. His LV1 Super Senses spread out like a net, capturing vibrations, temperature, and scents in the air. But he only caught a faint rustling sound of Translucent displacing the air as he moved, completely unable to determine his specific location.
"Fuck! Looks like he's gotten smarter; as long as he doesn't make any big movements, I can't detect him." Lu Chencursed under his breath.
He turned his head, ears facing left. The sound came from the left, but the next second it appeared on the right. Translucent was moving, and irregularly at that. Without Water droplets to mark him, his LV1 Super Senses couldn't lock onto his position at all.
Butcher gripped his crowbar and strode toward where Lu Chen was, his steps as confident as if he were strolling through a Walmart.
"Move aside, kid," Butcher said. "Let me smash this glass man."
Lu Chen stepped back half a pace. Butcher raised his crowbar and swung it hard at the air Lu Chen had just been facing.
The crowbar cut through the air with a whistle.
It missed.
Butcher paused for a moment. He pulled back the crowbar and swung it horizontally to the left. The rod passed through the air, hitting nothing. Translucent was no longer there.
"Damn it," Butcher muttered.
Thud.
A fist slammed into Butcher's cheekbone from the right. Butcher was knocked staggering two steps to the left, almost dropping the crowbar. He steadied himself, raised a hand to touch his face, and saw blood on his fingertips.
"You're hitting air, you idiot." After confirming that the two couldn't see his position, Translucent's voice regained its Superhumans arrogance. "I am invincible. You two losers combined can't even touch a hair on me."
Butcher spat out a mouthful of saliva, streaked with blood. He gripped the crowbar tight, eyes scanning the store rapidly, but it was empty everywhere.
Lu Chen stood where he was and took a deep breath. He looked at Butcher, then at Hughie, who was still lying on the ground.
"We have to initiate Plan B," he said.
Then he pulled Hughie up, his voice very low: "Translucentis afraid of electricity. Go to the electrical box and pull out a piece of wire!"
Hughie was struggling to climb up from the ground. When he heard Lu Chen's words, he froze for half a second, then nodded, as if remembering something: "Okay! Okay!"
On the other side, Translucent knew he couldn't get a result fighting that Superhumans who was as sturdy as an ox. He wanted to deal with this person who looked like a helper first to vent his frustration, then slip away and report to his boss.
Butcher was punched by Translucent again. The punch landed on his stomach, and Butcher let out a muffled grunt. He tried to block with the crowbar, but the swing only hit air. Translucent's laughter echoed in the store, drifting from left to right.
"That bump you gave me earlier was pretty lively," Translucent said. "But what about now? You don't even know where I am."
Butcher straightened up, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. He didn't wipe it away; instead, he grinned. The smile carried a ferocity, like an old bulldog that had been provoked.
"Yeah, I don't know where you are," Butcher said. He suddenly opened his mouth and spat a mouthful of blood at the air in front of him.
The blood dispersed like mist, spraying onto Translucent's chest and face. Droplets of blood clung to his Carbon Skin, forming a bright red humanoid outline.
"But I do now," Butcher said.
Translucent looked down at the blood outline on his body and cursed: "Fuck! Trying that on me again!"
Without his invisibility ability, Translucent's hand-to-hand combat skills could only be described as on par with Butcher's.
Butcher rushed up in three strides. He punched toward the abdomen of the blood outline, knocking Translucent back, and the blood outline swayed.
Just as Translucent was about to retaliate, Lu Chen arrived and swung an uppercut at the chin of the blood outline. Translucent's head snapped back, slamming into the shelf behind him.
Lu Chen didn't stop. He pressed in, grabbed Translucent's shoulder with his left hand, and hammered two consecutive short punches into his ribs with his right. Translucent tried to struggle, but Lu Chen was stronger. Lu Chen followed through with a sweep, hooking Translucent's ankle and flipping him to the ground.
"Whoa." Butcher watched Hughie, who had retrieved a piece of wire from the electrical box, and pointed his crowbar at Lu Chen. "Hughie, where did you find such a Superhumans bodyguard? The Walmart clearance aisle?"
Lu Chen ignored him. He looked down at Translucentbeneath him. The blood outline had already started to fade, and the blood droplets were slowly sliding down the Carbon Skin.
Lu Chen grabbed Translucent by the shoulders with both hands and lifted him off the ground. With a swing of his arms, he threw Translucent toward Hughie.
Translucent stumbled toward Hughie. Hughie backed away in fear, but Lu Chen followed closely, flying into a kick that slammed into Translucent's lower back.
Like a soccer ball kicked into the air, Translucent lunged toward the wire in Hughie's hands.
The moment the exposed copper wire touched the Carbon Skin—Zzzzt!!!
Sparks exploded from the point of contact, and the current surged wildly along Translucent's skin. The high conductivity of the Carbon Skin turned him into a human light tube.
His transparent body convulsed violently, limbs tensing and relaxing at unnatural angles. The sparks lasted for three seconds, and then, with a dull thud, Translucent fell straight to the ground.
The store went quiet.
Only the residual buzzing of the current remained, along with the occasional spark jumping from the wire on the ground.
Lu Chen stood where he was, catching his breath. He looked down at the motionless Translucent on the ground. Butcher straightened up from the hood of the car, walked over, and poked Translucent's leg with the crowbar. There was no reaction.
"Dead?" Butcher asked.
"No," Lu Chen said. "The Carbon Skin is too conductive; the current was dispersed, but he'll be unconscious for at least an hour."
Hughie slumped on the ground, still clutching the piece of wire. He looked at the Translucent on the ground, then at Lu Chen, then at Butcher, his lips trembling, but he couldn't speak.
Butcher hoisted the crowbar back onto his shoulder, looked down at Translucent, and then up at Lu Chen. Blood still hung from the corner of his mouth.
"So," Butcher said, "you still haven't told me who you are."
Lu Chen walked over, took the wire from Hughie's hand, and rubbed the exposed copper end against the wall to extinguish the remaining sparks. Then he turned and looked at Butcher.
"Lu Chen. Seems like I'm the same as you, wanting to kill Vought."
Butcher stared at him for five seconds. Then he smiled—a smile that carried the flavor of a reluctant approval after evaluating merchandise.
Butcher nodded and pointed the crowbar at Translucent on the ground: "Then what about this thing? Carry it with us?"
Lu Chen looked down at Translucent. His Carbon Skinremained impenetrable even while unconscious. He bent down, grabbed Translucent's ankle, and dragged him toward the car.
Butcher's eyebrows arched again. He looked at Hughie, who was still sitting on the ground with a terrified expression.
"Hughie," Butcher said, "can you still move?"
Hughie raised his head and nodded blankly.
"Then go open the shutter door so we can load this glass man into the car." Butcher walked toward the car. "As for you, Lu Chen, it looks like we're in the same boat now. Come with me for now."
The three stood in the store, watching the transparent outline on the ground that was no longer moving. Outside, the night in Queens was thick; police sirens wailed in the distance, but they were still several streets away.
Lu Chen sat in the back seat. With his hand pressing down on Translucent's shoulder, he looked at this once-arrogant member of The Seven, now lying at his feet like a dead fish.
[Copy Progress 2%]
Butcher started the engine, and it let out a heavy roar. Hughie pulled open the passenger door and stumbled inside. Blood was still flowing from his forehead, but he couldn't be bothered to wipe it.
The car rolled over broken glass and the deformed shutter door, drove out of the store, and disappeared into the night in Queens.
Chapter 16: The Tinfoil Room and the Progress Bar
The car drove to the edge of Brooklyn, stopping behind an abandoned packaging plant.
The wall plaster had mostly peeled away, revealing the red bricks underneath. The windows were boarded up, and the lock on the door had been added by Frenchie.
Butcher killed the engine and glanced at the backseat through the rearview mirror.
"Get out. Move the cargo."
Hughie climbed out of the passenger seat, his legs still shaking.
Lu Chen sat in the backseat, his knee pressing against Translucent's ribs, one hand pressed against his neck.
Translucent was still unconscious. The car's backseat was cramped; Translucent's long legs were curled up, his head tilted against the car window, bumping gently against the glass as the car swayed.
Upon hearing the commotion, Frenchie rushed out of the plant, holding a welding torch.
He watched Butcher drag the semi-visible figure out from the backseat, and the welding torch almost dropped from his hand.
"Are you guys fucking crazy?"
The French-accented English came out like a machine gun.
"That's Translucent! The Seven! Vought's watchdog! You kidnapped him?"
"Enough talk."
Butcher hoisted Translucent onto his shoulder like a sack of cement.
"Find a place to lock him up. It needs to block signals, have electricity, and keep him from escaping."
Frenchie threw the welding torch on the ground, grabbed his hair with both hands, and spun around in place.
"Block signals? Electricity? Do you think this is a movie? This place isn't a fucking prison!"
"Then turn it into a prison."
Butcher slammed Translucent onto a workbench. The workbench jolted, and the tools clattered.
"Hurry up. Vought's people could find this place at any moment."
Frenchie cursed a string of French, then turned and ran into the depths of the plant.
Butcher followed, and Hughie trailed behind, holding onto the wall.
Lu Chen walked in the back and shut the plant's main door behind him.
Frenchie pushed open the door to the back room.
The four walls were covered in silver tinfoil, the seams sealed with copper tape. The ceiling vent was also blocked with tinfoil, making it look like a large microwave.
"This room can block most signals."
Frenchie pointed at the walls.
"But it will only hold for a while. Translucent has a tracking chip implanted by Vought. Although the tinfoil can block the signal transmission, if he doesn't report in for two or three days, Vought will definitely send people to search the place where the signal disappeared."
"Then we'll finish him within two or three days."
Butcher said.
Frenchie cursed again. He dragged an iron cage from the corner, about the height of a person, and began wrapping bare copper wire around it, one end connected to a car battery.
"No need for a cage."
Lu Chen interrupted him. He walked to the workbench and looked down at Translucent.
"Let me stay here with him. If he wakes up, I'll knock him out again."
Frenchie froze. He turned to look at Butcher, then at Hughie, and finally his gaze fell on Lu Chen's face.
"Who is this guy?"
Frenchie asked Butcher.
"Did you find him? What's his deal?"
Butcher leaned against the doorframe, fished a cigarette out of his pocket, and clamped it in his mouth.
"I don't know where Hughie found such a Superhumansbodyguard either. But it doesn't matter; now we're in the same boat. He can pin Translucent to the ground and beat him up, and that's enough."
Frenchie looked Lu Chen up and down.
Lu Chen didn't look at him; he was pressing his thumb against Translucent's carotid artery, checking his pulse.
"What makes you think you can keep an eye on him?"
Frenchie asked.
"He's invisible. If he wakes up, he can run to the door in three seconds, and you won't even be able to catch his shadow."
"I can catch him."
Lu Chen said. His hand slid from Translucent's neck to his chest, his palm pressed against the Carbon Skin.
"Give me a wire and a chair. You guys go get busy with other things."
Frenchie wanted to say something else, but Butcher waved his hand.
"Let him try."
Butcher said, "We don't have much time."
Frenchie sighed, dragged a folding chair from the corner, and tossed a piece of wire with a plug to Lu Chen.
Lu Chen sat down, the chair creaking. He placed the wire on his knees, his right hand remaining pressed against Translucent's chest, fingers slightly spread, like a spider crawling on its prey.
Butcher turned and walked out, stopping at the door to look back at Lu Chen's back.
"Letting him go is impossible."
Butcher said, his voice echoing in the tinfoil room.
"He's seen our faces. For pieces of Superhumans shit like this, I kill one every time I see one."
He paused and added a sentence to Lu Chen's back:
"Sorry, I didn't mean you for now."
Lu Chen didn't turn around. His right thumb rubbed against Translucent's chest, feeling the texture of the Carbon Skin.
At the edge of his vision, scarlet numbers were jumping.
Copy progress: 12%.
"You guys go prepare the weapons."
Lu Chen said, "I'll watch him."
Frenchie was rummaging through boxes and cabinets outside. Lu Chen could hear him cursing, then the sound of metal colliding, the hum of a drill, and occasionally the crisp sound of glass breaking.
Translucent lay on the workbench, motionless. Lu Chen sat in the chair, his right hand pressing on his chest, his left hand holding the piece of wire.
The wire plug was inserted into the socket on the nearby wall, the bare copper wire wrapped around his fingers, ready to be jabbed out at any moment.
Time passed very slowly. There were no windows in the tinfoil room, and the light came from a dim yellow bulb overhead, casting everything in a warm yellow glow.
Copy progress: 23%.
Butcher's shout came from outside:
"Frenchie, where's that flamethrower of yours?"
"It's been broken! I'm looking for acid!"
"Acid is useless! His skin is a carbon structure; strong acid will only polish him!"
"What about the chainsaw? I have an industrial-grade one."
"Tried it! The blade dulled!"
Lu Chen ignored the noise outside. His fingers applied slight pressure to Translucent's chest, feeling the heartbeat beneath the skin.
The Copy progress was slowly climbing, silent and soundless.
Translucent's fingers suddenly twitched.
Lu Chen's left hand moved immediately. The wire jabbed out, the copper wire touching Translucent's neck.
Zzzzt.
Sparks exploded on the Carbon Skin, Translucent's body arched violently, emitting a muffled groan, then went limp again.
A burnt smell permeated the tinfoil room.
Copy progress: 31%.
Lu Chen retracted the wire and shook his wrist. This was how he spent the next day.
Frenchie would rush in every few hours to take a look, carrying different weapons in his hands.
The first time was a high-voltage electric drill; the drill bit was pressed against Translucent's arm, the speed turned to maximum, sparks flying everywhere, the tip of the drill was ground flat, and only a scratch was left on the Carbon Skin.
"Fuck."
Frenchie threw the electric drill on the ground.
"What the fuck is this material?"
The second time was a bucket of industrial strong acid. Frenchie used a brush to apply the acid to Translucent's chest; the acid was emitting white smoke and making a hissing sound, but the Carbon Skin slid the acid off like a lotus leaf, dripping onto the floor and corroding the cement.
The third time was a Barrett. Frenchie loaded his homemade large-caliber bullets, but the bullets hit Translucent and ricocheted wildly.
Butcher leaned against the doorframe, watching all of this, his face becoming increasingly gloomy.
Lu Chen watched them busy themselves, just like watching the TV series all over again.
"We can't kill him."
Frenchie finally gave up. He threw the tools on the ground, his hands covered in grease and acid stains.
"Not from the outside. His skin is a perfect shell."
Chapter 17 LV5 Carbon Skin
Lu Chen looked down at Translucent.
Copy progress: 89%.
Almost there.
He adjusted his sitting position, and the chair creaked again. His right palm was pressed against Translucent's chest, feeling the heart beating beneath the skin. The texture of the Carbon Skin felt like countless fine scales, presenting a regular tactile sensation under his fingertips.
The progress bar crawled slowly at the edge of his vision. 90%. 91%.
Lu Chen's left hand gripped the wire. Translucent's eyelids were trembling, as if he were dreaming, or trying to wake up. Lu Chen brought the wire close to Translucent's neck, like a gun with the trigger not yet pulled.
93%. 95%. 97%.
The voices of Frenchie and Hughie came from outside, along with the noise of metal colliding. But in Lu Chen's World, only that number remained.
99%.
100%.
LV5 Carbon Skin Copy complete, a cold sensation emerged from the surface of his skin, like liquid nitrogen injected into his blood vessels. Lu Chen closed his eyes, feeling the new ability solidify within his body. The structure of the Carbon Skin, the way to switch it on and off freely, was like an instruction manual forcibly stuffed into his brain.
He opened his eyes and looked down at his hands. The skin was still its normal color, but he knew that if he wanted to, he could immediately change the molecular structure of this layer of skin, making it hard and impenetrable.
Lu Chen stood up, and the chair fell to the ground. He stretched his shoulders, and his joints clicked. Having not moved for a day and a night, his muscles were a bit stiff. He pushed the door open and walked out.
Frenchie was squatting on the ground with a pile of parts spread out in front of him. He looked up when he saw Lu Chen come out.
"Is he awake?"
"No," Lu Chen said, "I knocked him out again. Have you guys thought of a way?"
No one spoke. Butcher was leaning against the doorframe, his face as gloomy as the bottom of a pot. Hughie was sitting in the corner, hugging his knees; the wound on his forehead had scabbed over, but his face was still White.
The only sounds in the room were the humming of the lightbulb's current and the audio from a nature documentary on the TV.
An old-fashioned 14-inch television with a crack on the screen sat in the corner. It was background noise for when Frenchie worked, constantly playing a nature documentary. On the screen, a green sea turtle was laying eggs on the beach. The eggshells slid out from the cloaca and fell into the sand pit. The narrator explained in that steady broadcast tone: "Although the sea turtle's shell is incredibly hard and can resist the attacks of most predators, their cloaca is still a soft entrance, and certain parasites enter the body through this route..."
Frenchie suddenly sat up straight.
He stared at the TV screen, his eyes wide, as if someone had hit him on the back of the head.
"Holy shit!" He cursed, stood up abruptly, and pointed at the sea turtle, "From the outside doesn't work... then from the inside."
Butcher walked over and looked at the TV, following his finger. The sea turtle was still slowly burying its eggs.
"What do you mean?" Butcher asked.
"The shell!" Frenchie turned around, "Don't you think he's a lot like a turtle? Carbon Skin is his shell! We can't punch through from the outside, but what about the inside? There's no Carbon Skin on the inside! His internal organs are soft! As long as we can bypass that shell—"
"Bypass?" Hughie raised his head from the corner, "How do we bypass it?"
Frenchie rummaged through the bottom of his toolbox and pulled out an iron box. He opened it to reveal a black object the size of a thumb. C4, directional blasting, the detonator was already connected.
"The human body has holes," Frenchie said bluntly, tossing the bomb in his palm, "There is no Carbon Skin inside the holes. We just need to stuff this thing in and detonate it from the inside. The Impact will explode inside his abdominal cavity, and his internal organs will turn to mush. No matter how hard the Carbon Skin is, it won't be able to save him."
Hughie's face turned even whiter. "Stuff... stuff it where?"
"The anus." Frenchie grinned, his smile a bit twisted, "The inner wall of the rectum is soft tissue. Stick the bomb inside, detonate it, done."
Hughie dry-heaved, covering his mouth, his eyes wide.
Butcher took the bomb from Frenchie, weighed it, and threw it back to him. "You go stuff it. I'll press the remote."
Frenchie took the bomb, stood up, and walked toward the tinfoil room. He walked to the door and glanced at Lu Chen.
"Are you sure he's unconscious?"
"Positive," Lu Chen said. Frenchie pushed the door open and went in. Lu Chen stood at the doorway, watching Frenchie's back disappear behind the door. Some kind of wet, uncomfortable sound came from inside.
Lu Chen didn't go in. He leaned against the doorframe, looking down at his right hand. He tried to focus, feeling the molecular structure of the Carbon Skin. A cold sensation condensed beneath his skin, like an invisible suit of armor being woven under the dermis.
He could feel his epidermal cells changing their arrangement, becoming denser and harder, but the color didn't change, nor did it become transparent. Carbon Skinwas purely defensive.
He let go of the thought, and his skin returned to normal. He didn't want people to know yet.
Frenchie walked out of the back room, his hands stained with lubricant, his expression strange. "It's in. It's deep enough, stuck to the inner wall."
Butcher raised the remote control; it was a simple push-button detonator. "Now?"
"Wait," Frenchie said, "Let's evacuate first. Although this house is sturdy, the sound of the C4 directional blast will still be heard. We'll leave him here, go outside to detonate it, check the situation, and then come back to collect the corpse."
Butcher nodded and stuffed the remote into his pocket. He looked at Hughie and Lu Chen.
"Pack up. Let's go."
The four of them walked outside. Lu Chen walked at the very back and closed the door to the tinfoil room on his way out. Through the crack in the door, he took one last look at Translucent on the workbench. That former member of The Seven, once arrogant, was now like a fish waiting to be slaughtered, with a bomb stuffed in his belly.
Lu Chen stood at the door, looking up at the sky. The night sky was gray. In the distance, below the clouds, an extremely fast, almost invisible shadow was moving. There was no sound, but that sense of oppression surged from the horizon like a tide.
Homelander.
Butcher pulled the remote out of his pocket, his thumb hovering over the button.
He pressed his thumb down.
A muffled sound came from the tinfoil room, like someone had let out a muffled fart inside. Then came the sound of liquid splashing, and something viscous splattered against the tinfoil walls with a rustling sound.
Butcher turned around and strode toward the car.
"Go!"
Lu Chen took one last look at the sky. That shadow seemed closer, he could almost make out the outline of the red cape.
He opened the back car door and got in. Butcher started the engine, and the car's tires crushed over the gravel road, rushing into the night.