Chapter 26: Passionate Commentary, Skyrocketing Popularity Points
The screams at the scene almost blew the roof off.
Reporters scrambled backward, leaving discarded cameras and microphones scattered all over the floor.
What kind of fucking press conference is this?! This is straight-up murder!
Yet, there were still plenty of death-defying reporters chasing the trending topic, filming from the corners with excited faces.
Lin An stood on the podium, completely motionless.
Far from being nervous, he was so excited his blood was boiling.
Here it comes, here it comes! The climax is here!
Now this is the kind of stage effect he wanted!
To hell with press conferences, how could that ever compare to the thrill of a real, live-action mech brawl?
With these ratings, wouldn't they burn down Earth's internet cables today?
[Ding!]
[Plot climax detected: iron monger debuts! The global live stream signal is stable, and the viewer count has surpassed 100 million!]
[Capitalist's Gift triggered: Successfully orchestrated the duel of the century, causing global panic and anticipation. Gained 100,000 Popularity Points!]
Just an entrance alone gave 100,000!
Lin An was so thrilled he almost started doing a traditional Yangko dance right then and there.
Obadiah is practically a walking traffic cheat code. He really knows how to put on a show!
"Tony, do you see this?" Obadiah, piloting the iron monger, pointed his thick mechanical arm at Tony. The rapid-fire machine gun on his arm began to spin, emitting a grating hum.
"This is power! This is what Stark Industries should be! Not that playhouse toy of yours!"
"Hey, old man, don't speak too soon." Under his metal faceplate, Tony's voice sounded exceptionally calm, but his electronic eyes were locked onto the energy core in the iron monger's chest.
"Your pile of scrap metal looks like a failed Lego creation by my son—ugly and bloated."
Though he was joking, his heart sank.
Jarvis's analytical data flashed frantically across his retina.
The iron monger's armor thickness was three times his, and its weapon systems were utterly overwhelming.
His hastily developed and unpainted Mark 2 looked like an underdeveloped premature baby in front of his opponent.
"Hahaha... Die!"
Obadiah was completely infuriated and roared as he pressed the fire button!
Da-da-da-da-da—!
Tongues of fire erupted from the iron monger's arm, and a dense storm of bullets instantly shredded the podium where Tony had been standing!
At this critical moment, a voice pumped full of adrenaline echoed across the World through all the loudspeakers on-site and the live stream signal!
"OH BABY! The match has begun! The challenger in the blue corner—Iron Man, with a beautiful barrel roll dodge! He evaded it! Like a nimble butterfly, he dodged the tempestuous attacks of the 'Iron Lump' contestant in the red corner!"
Instead of stepping up to help, Lin An grabbed the nearest microphone and screamed frantically into the camera like a hyperactive sports commentator.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the inaugural exhibition match of the 'Extraordinary Security Initiative,' exclusively sponsored by Vought International!"
"Reporting live, your correspondent Homelander risking his life to bring you this commentary!"
"Let's take a look at the field! Our new hero, Iron Man, is facing an unprecedented crisis! Can he successfully strike back?"
While shouting, he ordered Natasha in the team channel, "Natalie! Drones! Get right in their faces! I want to see every handsome dodge from Iron Man and the ugly mug of that iron lump! Close-ups! I want 360-degree close-ups with zero blind spots!"
Natasha, far away in the command vehicle: "..."
Who am I? Where am I? Wasn't I supposed to be a spy?
She now seriously suspected that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s threat assessment level for Homelander was set far too low.
He wasn't just a dangerous element; he was a fucking ultimate lunatic who wanted to see the World burn and treated war like a reality TV show!
Tony made a clumsy roll amidst the hail of bullets. The thrusters on his back instantly ignited, spewing blue tail flames and sending him soaring into the sky!
"Trying to run?" Obadiah sneered. Even thicker flames erupted from the back of the iron monger, and its massive body gave chase at a speed that defied its size!
Boom! Boom!
One after the other, the two armored suits crashed straight through the glass curtain wall on the other side of the headquarters, bursting into the New York night sky!
This scene, with its explosive special effects, instantly sent the global live stream viewership skyrocketing to one billion! The bullet comments flooded the screen like an avalanche.
London Netizen: "WTF?! What is this? A live-action Transformers movie?!"
New York Netizen: "Homelander isn't helping, he's just commentating? I'm fucking dying of laughter, what kind of dark humor is this!"
Japan Netizen: "Gundam battle! What a time to be alive!"
Chinese Netizen: "Homelander's move is way too cheeky. His teammate is fighting for his life out front while he's in the back shouting '666'. What a top-tier troll!"
Lin An's super-vision swept across the global network, highly satisfied with the soaring numbers.
Watching Tony get battered in the air, he continued his passionate commentary into the microphone.
"Oh! Things aren't looking good! Iron Man's firepower is clearly lacking! His repulsor blasts hitting that iron lump is like giving him a tickle! Tony, my friend, your attacks are as weak and limp as your little Tony!"
"Shut up! If you're so good, you do it!" Tony roared in exasperation. "This guy's shell is too hard! And my power is about to run dry!"
The energy bar on his retina had already turned from green to yellow.
"Who told you to go head-to-head with him?" Lin An's commentary clearly transmitted into Tony's armor through the public channel.
"Listen, Tony! You're a genius, not a brute! Use your brain, not that sheet metal that isn't even as hard as my biceps!"
"Take a good look! Does that piece of junk he cobbled together look like it has a perfect anti-icing system?!"
Lin An's voice rang out like a morning bell and evening drum, echoing through the skies.
"Take him up! Fly into the upper atmosphere! Give him an unforgettable high-altitude cryotherapy session! Let the whole World see that brains beat brawn!"
The communication channel fell silent for three seconds.
The next moment, Tony's Mark 2 suddenly pulled up, abandoning all evasive maneuvers and soaring straight toward an altitude of ten thousand meters at maximum power!
The global audience was dumbfounded.
Japan Netizen: "Oh my god! Is this really not movie CGI? It's more realistic than our AVs!"
Korean Netizen: "Our country already patented this armor long ago. They are infringing on our copyright!"
New York Netizen: "It's true, I'm at the scene!!"
London Netizen: "Homelander's combat intelligence is way too high, isn't it?"
Chinese Netizen: "Pay attention to this test point, classmates! Knowledge changes destiny!"
"Want to go down together?!" Obadiah grinned savagely and followed without hesitation.
He was full of confidence in his masterpiece, refusing to believe Tony's thin tin can could pull off any tricks.
The numbers on the altimeter climbed rapidly.
Five thousand meters... eight thousand meters... ten thousand meters...
"Warning: Exterior temperature is too low. Icing detected," Jarvis's calm prompt sounded in Tony's ear.
"I know, Jarvis. Keep climbing!" Tony gritted his teeth.
However, the iron monger behind him was in a much worse state.
Its massive body was already covered in a visible layer of frost. The joints emitted an overburdened creaking sound, and the thrusters on its back began to flicker.
"What's happening... my systems..." Obadiah discovered to his horror that a massive wave of red malfunction alerts had popped up on the screen in front of him.
"Game over, old man."
Tony's voice sounded like a judgment from hell.
He spun around abruptly, braking hard in mid-air, and let himself free-fall like a stone.
Meanwhile, the powerless iron monger, like a clumsy crow with broken wings, spun a few times in the air and also fell helplessly toward the ground!
"No!!!"
Obadiah let out a desperate roar.
"Goodnight, Obadiah."
Adjusting his posture mid-descent, Tony extended his palm toward the iron monger. The repulsor in his palm glowed with unprecedented brilliance.
Boom—!!!
A thick beam of energy accurately struck the already out-of-control iron monger!
The fire from the explosion erupted at ten thousand meters, instantly illuminating the entire New York night sky. The light even made the neon signs of Times Squarepale in comparison!
[Ding!]
[The global live stream witnesses the birth of Iron Man! Defeating a stronger foe and counter-killing at high altitude, Popularity Points reward +300,000!]
[Stark Industries' stock price hit the circuit breaker right at the opening bell due to the dual benefits of the "Iron Man" concept and the spin-off of the weapons division. As a shareholder, your Popularity Points +200,000!]
["Iron Man" has officially become a core member of The Seven. Vought International's influence now spans the globe, Popularity Points reward +200,000!]
[Congratulations to the host! This live stream has harvested a total of 1.1 million Popularity Points! Current total Popularity Points: 1.98 million.]
Standing upon the ruins of Stark Industries' headquarters, Lin An spread his arms wide against the falling firelight, a look of pure intoxication on his face.
Looking at the sequence of numbers ticking frantically on his panel, he felt so comfortable that every pore of his body relaxed.
Now this is a fucking Superhero!
Now this is fucking top-tier traffic!
He raised his head and watched the silver figure reboot his flight system at the very last second, landing steadily in front of him.
Lin An stepped forward and slapped Tony's cold metal shoulder hard.
"Yo, nice job, Iron Man."
Tony pried open his faceplate with great effort, his legs giving out as he collapsed to the ground.
"Fuck you, what happened to being brothers?! It's one thing that you didn't help, but you had to stand in the back making sarcastic remarks!"
Lin An shrugged. "Bro, you were the one who told me not to steal your spotlight."
He pointed to the avalanche of bullet comments in the live stream channel. "Look, now the whole World knows you."
Tony rolled his eyes and flipped him off in response.
Lin An laughed. "Alright, I'll leave you to clean up this messy scene. I've got things to do. Bye-bye~"
With that, he leaped into the air, taking off into the sky. The dust kicked up by the shockwave got all over Tony's mouth.
"Pah, pah, pah! Shit, bastard! Piece of crap!"
Chapter 27: Beating Butcher
Leaving the Stark Industries press conference, Lin Anascended directly into the sky, taking a glance at the red positioning dot provided by the system on his retina.
Having dealt with Iron Man, that huge traffic generator, it was time to clean up the rats in the backyard.
That leader of the black-robed group, who had been sneaking around at home, was probably dreaming of killing his enemy right now.
An abandoned auto repair shop on the edge of Brooklyn.
Welding sparks sizzled in the dark corner.
Billy Butcher bit on an unlit cigar, his hands covered in grease, as he welded a piece of iron monger armor, bought at a high price from the black market, onto a crude exoskeleton.
"Faster, faster." He gritted his teeth, his bloodshot eyes filled with a Beast-like madness.
The small Frenchie beside him swallowed hard. "Can this pile of junk really kill that caped bastard?"
"With high-concentration C4 and depleted uranium armor-piercing rounds, it will at least make him bleed."
Butcher spat out the cigar and patted the ugly but heavily armed mech in front of him. "As long as he can bleed, he can be killed."
Bang!
The rusty rolling door of the repair shop, along with half of the brick wall, exploded inward without warning.
Dust and debris swept through the entire workshop like shotgun pellets.
Frenchie was blown away by the shockwave, hitting an abandoned Ford car and passing out.
Butcher turned around abruptly, his hand already reaching for the shotgun at his waist.
The dust settled. Lin An was hovering half a meter above the ground, his red and blue suit spotless.
He was holding a cup of iced milk he had just bought from a roadside convenience store, taking a big gulp through the straw.
"The taste is not bad, just not pure enough." Lin Ansmacked his lips, his gaze passing over Butcher to land on the assembled mech. "Seriously, Butcher. I just watched a top-tier mech blockbuster in the sky, and you're showing me this country heavy-metal style junk?"
He was overjoyed in his heart. This old guy really treated the trash Obadiah dropped as a treasure.
Butcher's pupils contracted instantly.
He stared fixedly at the man who had ruined his life, a low growl escaping his throat like a Beast cornered: "Fuck you, Homelander."
"Rude." Lin An shook his head, landing on his feet, his boots making a crisp sound as he stepped on the broken glass covering the floor.
"But I'm in a good mood today. I just harvested over a million in popularity, and everything looks pleasing. How about this, I'll give you a chance."
He pointed at the ugly, assembled mech.
"Put it on." The smile on Lin An's face carried extreme arrogance and mockery. "I'll give you three minutes. Let me see if the toy you bankrupted yourself to make can make me break a sweat."
Butcher didn't waste any words.
He lunged at the mech like a mad dog, roughly stuffing himself into the cockpit and pulling down the safety latch. Several thick cables connected to his exoskeleton, and the low-quality reactor behind the mech emitted a harsh roar.
"Go to hell! You son of a bitch freak!"
Butcher roared as he pressed all the weapon launch buttons.
Two modified Gatling guns spat out half-meter-long tongues of fire, and depleted uranium armor-piercing rounds poured onto Lin An like a rainstorm.
Following that, six micro anti-tank missiles, trailing white smoke, slammed fiercely into Lin An's chest.
Boom, boom, boom!
Continuous explosions completely engulfed the position where Lin An stood, the blinding firelight illuminating the entire Brooklyn night sky.
Butcher kept his finger on the trigger until the barrels turned red-hot and jammed, only then did he stop, panting. He stared fixedly at the thick smoke, his nerves stretched to the limit.
Is he dead?
From the smoke, a fair, slender hand reached out and waved gently.
"Is that it?"
Lin An stood in place, completely unharmed, not even a single strand of hair out of place.
He even patted a bit of black ash off his chest with some disappointment.
That's barely a scratch.
This firepower isn't even enough to give me a shoulder massage.
And you want to kill a Superman with this? The perception of power these mortals have is ridiculously shallow.
"You disappoint me, William." Lin An sighed, and a scarlet light instantly lit up in his eyes.
Sizzle!
Two scorching high-temperature rays shot out from his eyes, precisely severing the mech's right arm. Molten steel dripped onto the ground, emitting a pungent, burnt smell.
"Argh!!" Butcher let out a scream, the high temperature inside the mech scalding his shoulder.
Lin An didn't use Heat Vision to cut him in half directly; that would be too easy for him.
He kicked off the ground, his entire body turning into an afterimage, instantly appearing in front of the mech.
Bang!
A simple and brutal straight punch.
The heavy mech, which had cost Butcher all his effort, had its chest armor plate cave in like paper. The massive kinetic energy sent Butcher flying backward over a dozen meters, smashing through the load-bearing wall of the repair shop and landing in a pile of muddy scrap metal outside.
Lin An walked out unhurriedly.
Butcher lay in the pile of scrap metal, his face covered in blood. The mech was completely totaled, and several broken steel bars had pierced his thigh and abdomen, with blood gushing out. He gasped for air, and every breath brought out blood foam.
Lin An walked up to him, looking down at him from above, and stepped on Butcher's blood-soaked chest.
Crack. The sound of several ribs breaking was clearly audible.
"Tell me, Butcher." Lin An leaned down slightly, his eyes cold. "You went through so much trouble, hiding like a rat, making this pile of junk, just to perform a demonstration of how to get beaten up in front of me?"
Butcher stared fixedly at him, the hatred in those eyes so intense it almost overflowed.
"Pah!" Butcher spat a mouthful of blood-mixed saliva onto Lin An's boots.
"You bastard raised in a cage by capitalists..." Butcherlaughed miserably while coughing up blood.
"You use your privileges, your hypocritical hero status... You raped my wife! You ruined Becca! Do you think you can fool the whole World forever?"
Here it comes!
Lin An felt a jolt in his heart, barely holding back a laugh.
This was the line he had been waiting for! His Oscar-level acting skills had room to shine again.
The arrogance and cruelty on his face vanished without a trace in an instant.
Replaced by extreme shock, pain, and deep exhaustion.
Lin An slowly withdrew his foot and took two steps back, as if stung by those words.
He looked down at his blood-stained hands, his voice becoming hoarse and trembling.
"Using privileges? Raped my wife?"
Lin An suddenly gave a bitter laugh, the laughter filled with self-mockery and sorrow.
"Who do you think I am, Butcher? Do you think I'm really that high and mighty, omnipotent God?"
Chapter 28: Killing the Heart! The Collapsed Butcher and the Living Becca
Butcher froze.
He looked at Homelander, whose face had suddenly changed, and for a moment, his brain could not process it. What kind of madness was this guy spouting?
Lin An raised his head abruptly, and bloodshot veins actually appeared in those azure eyes.
He pointed at his own chest, his tone so agitated it was nearly out of control: "I am a product! A monster locked in a laboratory since childhood, injected with all sorts of serums like a lab rat! They put this goddamn suit on me, made me smile for the cameras, made me save people I didn't even know!"
"I had no childhood, no parents, no friends. I don't even know who I am!"
The more Lin An spoke, the more he got into character, even forcing a crystalline tear from the corner of his eye.
The grievances of a wage slave exploited by his boss in his past life merged perfectly with the original owner's tragic childhood at this moment, the emotions so full that even he almost believed it himself.
"You hate me for ruining your life?" Lin An walked up to Butcher, crouched down, and looked him straight in the eyes.
"Then do you know how, that night, I was forced by Vought International executives to take that goddamn mind-control drug like a dog?! I couldn't control myself at all! I didn't even know what I had done!"
"We are both victims, William." Lin An's voice dropped, carrying a sickly sincerity.
"We are both poor wretches crushed by the massive capitalist machine of this World. You lost your wife, and I—I have never owned my own life."
There was a deathly silence in the scrapyard.
Butcher stared blankly at Lin An.
His brain, soaked in hatred for eight years, was overloading madly at this moment.
Victims? Mind control?
One of the top superhumans in this World was actually crying to a mere mortal, claiming to be a controlled wretch too?
"Fuck! That's a load of bullshit!" Butcher suddenly roared, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Gritting his teeth, he stared dead at Lin An, his eyes full of mockery and disdain.
"You think making up a shitty story like some pulp novel can wash the filth off you? You hypocritical bastard! Just kill me! Do it!"
Butcher struggled wildly, his wounds tearing open, blood staining the soil beneath him red.
"Even if I die today, I'll crawl out of hell as a ghost to tear your throat out! Becca is watching me from heaven! She's watching how you animal go to hell!"
He was determined to die.
The plan had failed, the mech was destroyed, and he had no hope of turning things around.
Seeing Becca was his only release now.
Watching his hysterical state, Lin An was not only not angry, but the corner of his mouth curled into an eerie arc.
Doesn't believe it?
It's good that he doesn't believe it.
If you believed it so easily, how would the rest of the play go on?
Lin An stood up, leisurely took out a pristine white handkerchief from a hidden compartment in his suit, and wiped the blood off his boots.
"Death?" Lin An looked down at him from above, his tone returning to that aloof indifference. "Are you sure you want to die, William?"
"Cut the fucking crap! Do it!"
"But if you die…" Lin An threw the handkerchief onto Butcher's face, "what about Becca? She's all alone; can you bear to let her continue being a widow?"
This sentence was like a thunderbolt from the heavens, striking Butcher straight on the crown of his head.
He widened his eyes abruptly, his breathing even stalling.
On that blood-stained face, the expression shifted instantly from anger to extreme shock and bewilderment.
"You... what did you say?" Butcher's voice was trembling. "Becca... wasn't she killed by you animals long ago?"
It had been eight years.
He had been searching for eight years, investigating for eight years.
All clues pointed to Becca having died in a secret Vought International disposal facility.
Now this murderer was telling him that Becca was still alive?
"Kill her? Why would I kill her?" Lin An looked at him as if he were an idiot.
"I already said, the old Vought International has been purged by me. Not only did I not kill her, but I also brought her out of that secret community where she was imprisoned for eight years and gave her freedom."
Watching Butcher's worldview completely collapse and his brain crash, Lin An felt so exhilarated he could almost fly.
Nothing was more physically and mentally gratifying than destroying a tough guy's perception.
He took out his phone and skillfully dialed a number.
"Hello? Madelyn. It's me." Lin An deliberately turned on speakerphone, letting his voice echo through the empty scrapyard. "Bring that woman here. Yes, Becca. Right here at the scrapyard in East Brooklyn. I'll give you twenty minutes."
He hung up the phone.
Lin An pulled over a discarded oil drum and sat down with a commanding air.
He even pulled an unfinished can of iced milk from his pocket and continued to sip it through the straw.
"Be patient, old buddy." Lin An looked at the trembling Butcher on the ground. "Twenty minutes will pass quickly."
Butcher stared fixedly at the phone in Lin An's hand, his eyes nearly popping out.
He wanted to crawl up, but his broken bones and blood loss left him completely unable to move. It felt like ten thousand wasps were flying inside his brain.
Becca was still alive?
This was impossible! This was definitely this freak's psychological warfare! He wanted to torture him!
But... what if?
Time ticked by, second by second.
Eighteen minutes and fifty seconds.
A black bulletproof Vought International SUV drove silently into the scrapyard and stopped next to a pile of scrap metal.
The car door opened.
A woman wearing a trench coat, looking a bit haggard but still beautiful, stepped out under the escort of two security guards.
Seeing the mess everywhere and the red-and-blue figure sitting on the oil drum, her eyes were first filled with fear, then landed on the man lying in a pool of blood.
"Billy?" The woman's voice trembled with unbelievable shock.
Butcher, on the ground, stiffened all over.
He turned his head with difficulty.
His vision was blurry from excessive blood loss, but he could never mistake that figure etched into his bone marrow, that voice he had dreamed of and suffered for for eight years.
"Becca..."
Butcher's tears instantly welled up and spilled over, mixing with the blood on his face as they hit the soil.
Like a dying dog, he desperately reached out a bloody hand toward the woman.
"It really is you... Becca..."
[Ding!]
[Detected that 'Billy Butcher', a key plot character in The Boys Universe, has suffered a nuclear-level psychological shock! Worldview completely shattered!]
[Congratulations, host! Obtained critical hit popularity reward: +50,000!]
Sitting on the oil drum, Lin An listened to the crisp system notification in his mind and let out a comfortable sigh.
He crushed the empty milk can in his hand and tossed it aside.
That's more like it.
A family, the most important thing is for them to be all together.
Chapter 29: Recruiting Butcher, the Leash to Keep Superheroes in Check
In the muddy ground of the scrapyard, Butcher held Beccatightly, crying like a two-hundred-pound British bulldog.
He buried his head in the woman's trench coat, his broad shoulders shaking violently, while a whimper like that of a dying Beast escaped his throat.
Lin An sat on a discarded oil drum in the distance, legs crossed, watching this melodrama without feeling the slightest ripple in his heart.
The original owner, a love-starved pervert, had only taken Becca by force to disgust Butcher, but he, Lin An, was a normal modern employee.
He had a top S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent with a hot body waiting for him to tease at home, along with countless young and beautiful foreign women waiting for him to conquer.
Who had the time to fight a grown man over a woman nearing forty?
Besides, when you get down to it, he was the one who had played the role of the third wheel.
What do you call this move? This is called having class, called helping others achieve their happiness.
Lin An looked at Butcher's face, smeared with blood and tears, and couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth curl upward.
Using a woman who felt nothing for him to trade for a core character of the Marvel and The Boys Universe to work for free and farm traffic for him? This deal was an absolute steal.
Actually, Lin An quite liked the character of Butcher, but it was a pity that in the original work, this old guy Butcherhad such a miserable ending. His wife died, his brother died, his son wouldn't follow him, even his pet dog died, and in the end, he died miserably with nothing.
When he watched the finale back then, Lin An had felt terrible for quite a while.
Now it's all good. I'm giving you back your wife, so shouldn't you sell your life to me?
"Alright, William. Dry your tears, that's enough."
Lin An cleared his throat.
Butcher's whole body stiffened suddenly.
He quickly pulled Becca behind him, shielding her with his own scarred body, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Lin An like a starving wolf guarding its food.
"Now, can we talk properly?" Lin An jumped down from the oil drum, his red and blue boots stepping into the muddy water, and walked over step by step. "You haven't answered my question from earlier. Do you still want to die?"
Butcher gritted his teeth and didn't speak.
But his hand, clutching Becca tightly, had already betrayed him.
With something to hold onto, who would still want to die?
He turned his head to look at his wife behind him, his voice as hoarse as if it had been rubbed against sandpaper. "Becca... what is going on here? That nonsense he was spouting earlier... something about drug control, something about being forced..."
Butcher swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty. "Could it... could it be true?"
Becca looked at her husband's blood-covered body and wounds, took a deep breath, and nodded.
"It's true, Billy." Becca's voice was trembling, but her words were exceptionally clear.
"That night... he had no idea what he was doing. It was the high-level executives at Vought International who forced him. He was a victim too, driven insane by the torture of the drugs, which is why he did the wrong thing."
Becca reached out and stroked Butcher's stubble-covered cheek. "Now he is sober, and he has regained control of the company. So... he let me come back."
Butcher was completely stunned.
He stood there like a post, his mind buzzing.
His wife's words were like a heavy hammer, shattering the worldview he had held onto for eight years.
The enemy he had hated for eight years, the monster he had bankrupted himself and risked his life to deal with, was actually just a poor wretch controlled by capitalists?
What did those eight years count for? A Don Quixote charging at windmills? A total joke?
"That's impossible..." Butcher muttered to himself, stepping back unsteadily. "How is this possible..."
Lin An fought hard not to laugh out loud.
Such acting, such cooperation—if The Oscars didn't give Becca an award for Best Supporting Actress, it would be unjustifiable.
"What's impossible about it?" Lin An put away his smile, put on an expression of compassion, and spread his hands.
"William, do you think you're the only one struggling in hell? For these eight years, I've been living a life worse than death under the control of drugs. Now, I have finally broken free from the chains. I am returning Becca to you only to make amends for the wrong I committed."
Butcher suddenly raised his head, his Beast-like eyes fixed firmly on Lin An's face.
"I don't believe you."
Butcher spat out these three words through gritted teeth, the muscles in his face twitching slightly from extreme vigilance.
"A freak like you, standing at the pinnacle of power, would be this kind-hearted?"
Butcher sneered, which aggravated the wound in his ribs, causing him to gasp in pain.
"Reuniting us unconditionally? Speak up, what do you really want? Do you want me to be your dog? Or do you want to use us for new experiments?"
He wasn't stupid.
Pies don't fall from the sky; only the wreckage of an iron monger does.
How could a tyrant who could treat a military-industrial giant like Obadiah as a toy to be taken apart possibly let him go just because of some cheap sense of guilt?
Lin An looked at his stubborn, impenetrable demeanor and nodded with satisfaction.
This was the right vibe.
This was the paranoid, crazy, and extremely suspicious Captain of The Boys.
If Butcher had just knelt down and called him daddy right then and there, Lin An would have found it boring instead.
"You don't believe me? That's normal."
Lin An walked up to Butcher and looked down at him. "Since you don't believe me, then come and see for yourself."
"See what?" Butcher asked vigilantly.
"Come to Vought International." Lin An's tone suddenly became highly inflammatory.
"I am going to form a brand new, truly powerful organization of justice heroes. Not the trash that was just for show before, but an army that truly exists to maintain World peace."
Lin An leaned in close to Butcher, lowering his voice, each word striking precisely at the other's weak point.
"But you also know what kind of people those guys with superpowers are at their core. They are arrogant, conceited, and treat human life like grass. I need a leash, a leash that can keep them in check."
Lin An extended a finger and poked Butcher's chest.
"I want you to come to Vought International and be this inspector. You can see for yourself how the new Vought International is changing. I am giving you power, absolute power."
Butcher was stunned.
"As long as someone violates company regulations, as long as a Superhero dares to act recklessly outside," Lin An's mouth curled into a cruel arc, "you have the right to dispose of them. In the way you like, legally stomp their high-and-mighty faces into the mud."
There was dead silence in the scrapyard.
No one spoke; only the faint sound of car horns from the highway in the distance could be heard.
Butcher's eyes widened, and even his breathing stopped.
Let him manage the Superheroes? Let him, a mortal who wanted nothing more than to kill all superhumans, serve as the disciplinary secretary for Vought International?
What on earth is this madman thinking?!
Lin An watched Butcher's expression, his worldview being ground into the dirt once again, and felt so satisfied he could fly.
Having the leader of The Boys work for him—the scene alone was exciting to think about.
"Don't you like tinkering with that scrap metal?" Lin Anpointed to the pile of smoking mechanical wreckage nearby, his tone full of mockery.
"Do you think you could kill anyone with the trash you were wearing today? Come to Vought International. The armory of Stark Industries is open to you. Tony Stark will personally design anti-superhuman armor for you. I want you to have not only the power, but also the force to twist the heads off those freaks."
"Are... are you serious?" Butcher's voice was as dry as if he had been thirsty for three days in the desert.
"I never joke." Lin An pulled a black, top-level access card from his pocket, held it between two fingers, and gently tucked it into Butcher's blood-stained shirt pocket.
Chapter 30: An Irresistible Offer and Immortality
Lin An jumped down from the discarded oil drum, his red and blue boots splashing into the muddy water with a squelching sound.
He ignored the Butcher couple, who were sobbing in each other's arms, and instead turned around slowly, casting his gaze toward the abandoned Ford car not far away.
Beside the car door, a small, thin figure was pressed against the rusty bodywork, shivering.
Frenchie.
This little Frenchman had been awake for a while, his face covered in soot and grease. His eyes were wide as saucers, staring fixedly at Lin An, his expression shifting from initial terror to a state of utter, brain-dead confusion.
He had watched with his own eyes as Butcher donned that ragged mech suit to fight for his life, watched as Homelander pinned Butcher to the ground and thrashed him without a scratch, and then... Homelander had actually brought back Butcher's dead wife?
What the hell was going on here?
Even a crappy Hollywood movie wouldn't dare film it like this!
Seeing Frenchie on the verge of wetting his pants, Lin Ancouldn't help but chuckle.
This guy was a treasure.
In the original plot, this Frenchman was basically a walking chemical cheat code.
All sorts of chaotic concoctions, bombs, and even neurotoxins specifically targeting certain Superheroes—he could whip them up by hand with just a broken pot and a few chemical reagents. A top-tier R&D talent like this, left to be a street thug?
It was practically an insult to the very word "capitalist."
"Hey, Frenchman." Lin An walked up to him, looking down at him from above, a kind smile playing on his lips.
Frenchie shrank back in terror, the back of his head hitting the car door with a dull thud.
He swallowed hard, raised his hands to his chest, and stammered incoherently.
"Listen... I'm just a mechanic... I don't know anything... Don't kill me..."
"Relax, buddy. I'm not some murderous maniac."
Lin An reached out and patted Frenchie's grease-stained jacket, brushing off some dust as he did so. "I just made an offer to Butcher, and it looks like your good brother is interested. What about you?"
Frenchie was stunned.
"Me?" He pointed at his own nose, his voice cracking.
"That's right, you." Lin An put his hands on his hips, striking an imposing pose.
"I need a knowledgeable technical director. The idiots in white coats at the Vought International labs only know how to follow the book. I need a genius like you, someone whose brain isn't cluttered with all that bullshit red tape."
Lin An bent down, looking Frenchie straight in the eyes, and served up the classic, practiced promise of a capitalist.
"I'll give you a top-tier salary, the most advanced laboratory, and whatever equipment you need, I'll buy it for you. You have only one task—to research Compound V."
Hearing the words "Compound V," Frenchie's expression changed instantly.
He knew all too well what that stuff was; it was what had created the monster before him, and the culprit that had ruined countless lives.
"You... you want me to create more monsters?" Frenchiegritted his teeth, his innate stubbornness flaring up.
"Don't look at me with that look you'd reserve for a Nazi." Lin An scoffed and straightened up.
"The drug itself isn't wrong; what's wrong are those black-hearted capitalists at the top of Vought International. They only care about mass-producing Superheroes for profit; they don't give a damn about the stability of the serum."
Lin An began his brainwashing speech, his voice filled with a sense of righteous indignation.
"The current Compound V has severe side effects. It doesn't just amplify genetic defects; it also severely affects the user's mental state. Arrogance, irritability, bloodlust, even schizophrenia. That's why there are so many superpowered scum out there who have gone down the wrong path."
Lin An pointed to himself.
"Even I am a victim of it."
Frenchie listened, dumbfounded, and instinctively looked toward Butcher and Becca not far away.
Could what this caped bastard said be true? Was he really like this because of the side effects of the drug...
"If you can improve it." Lin An's voice became incredibly seductive, like a preacher spreading the gospel.
"Eliminate those damn side effects and turn it into a truly safe and stable genetic serum. You wouldn't be creating monsters; you'd be benefiting all of humanity. You might even cure terminal illnesses and help the disabled walk again."
"Think about it, Frenchie. You will become the greatest scientist of this century."
Frenchie's breathing quickened.
He was a pharmaceutical genius; no one was more eager than him to crack such a god-tier formula.
But he still hesitated. He turned his head to look at Butcher, who was still sitting in the mud.
He was a loyal man; if Butcher didn't nod, he would absolutely never agree to defect.
Lin An watched Frenchie's reaction and sneered inwardly.
Need to turn up the heat.
Just as he was preparing to continue the persuasion, it felt as if a lightning bolt struck his brain.
Wait.
Compound V... improvement... side effects...
The expression on Lin An's face froze abruptly.
Holy shit!
How the fuck did I forget such an important thing!
Lin An's breathing stopped for a second, and then his heart began to pound in his chest, blood rushing to his head.
First-generation Compound V!
That original, purest miracle drug personally concocted by the Nazi scientist Fred during World War II!
In the original show, that Nazi crone Storm, who had lived for nearly a hundred years, and the popsicle boy who had been frozen n times and was still full of life, had injected this first-generation serum.
That stuff not only granted Storm incredibly powerful lightning abilities, but even more terrifyingly, it stopped their cellular aging!
That was true immortality!
A Storm raged in Lin An's mind.
Although he now possessed Homelander's body, this body of his would still age over time.
In this Marvel Universe filled with perverted gods and finger-snapping maniacs, not being able to live forever meant that one day he would eventually be worn down to death.
But if he could get his hands on the first-generation Compound V...
Lin An's fingers trembled uncontrollably.
Where? Where was that batch of original serum stored?
Memories tumbled crazily through his mind.
Sage Grove!
Right! It was that mental hospital specifically used to house retired Superheroes and defective mutants, which was actually a secret human experimentation lab for Vought International in disguise!
Lin An's eyes lit up instantly, looking terrifying.
Not only was the first-generation Compound V hidden in there, but there might even be some rare formulas remaining.
Must get it immediately!
Lin An forcibly suppressed the fervor in his heart that made him want to fly over there immediately.
He took a deep breath and pulled his attention back to the two employees before him who were still hesitating.
Lin An turned his head to look at Frenchie, then glanced at Butcher, who had already been helped up by Becca on the ground.
"Looks like you're still waiting for your Captain to make a decision." A malicious smile curled the corners of Lin An's mouth; he decided to cast the final, absolutely irresistible bait.
"Listen, Frenchie. If you can create an improved version of Compound V, I guarantee you, I will absolutely not take it to the market to sell to those ordinary people."
Lin An paused deliberately, his gaze piercing directly into Butcher's bloodshot eyes.
"You, and Butcher. You two will receive the privilege of free access to the new serum developed with hundreds of millions of dollars."
Once these words were out, no one spoke; even the sound of the wind in the distance seemed to stop.
Frenchie gasped sharply.
And Butcher, his back, which had been somewhat hunched from excessive blood loss, instantly straightened. He stared fixedly at Lin An, the emotions in his eyes extremely complex. There was shock, there was suspicion, but more than anything, there was an undisguisable, extreme desire.
Lin An knew Butcher too well.
This man hated Superheroes to his core. He felt that all superpowered individuals were arrogant freaks, animals who treated human life like dirt.
He dreamed of ripping these freaks open one by one.
However, he was just a mortal.
He had exhausted all his means, and the iron mongerarmor he had spent all his savings to buy hadn't lasted even a minute in the face of true power.
This deep sense of powerlessness was the poison that tormented him the most.
But what if... what if he himself could possess superpowers?
If there were no side effects that drove people crazy, if he could keep a clear head while possessing the power to tear through steel...
Butcher's Adam's apple bobbed violently.
He looked at his own blood-stained hands, then at his frail wife beside him.
If he had power, he could truly protect Becca, he could personally carry out the justice in his heart, and punish those arrogant bastards.
The only way to defeat magic is with magic.
Lin An watched the look in Butcher's eyes gradually turn ruthless and fanatical, knowing that this old guy had completely taken the bait.
The capitalist tactic of painting a big picture is always so simple, unadorned, and boring.
"Alright." Lin An couldn't be bothered to watch them struggle with their internal conflict anymore.
His mind was now filled with the immortality miracle drug in Sage Grove; he didn't want to stay in this shitty place for another second.
He turned around, his red and blue cape fluttering in the night wind.
"Time is precious. If you've made up your mind, come to the top floor of Vought Tower at eight o'clock tomorrow morning to find me."
Lin An bent his knees slightly.
Boom!
The muddy ground beneath his feet instantly collapsed into a huge crater. Accompanied by a deafening sonic boom, Lin An turned into a red and blue afterimage, instantly breaking through the clouds over Brooklyn and disappearing without a trace.
The wild wind whipped up waste paper and rust all over the ground.
In the scrapyard, Butcher, Becca, and Frenchie stood in the mud, looking at each other.
Butcher looked down at the black, top-level access card for Vought International in his pocket and clenched his fist tightly.
Chapter 31: The Immortality Serum is Mine!
A sonic boom tore through the thick clouds over Brooklyn.
Lin An was flying at full speed at an altitude of 30,000 feet.
His red and blue suit was slightly heated from the high-speed friction, and his cape was almost torn to shreds.
He was in an extremely good mood right now.
Thinking back to the scene in the scrapyard just now—Butcher's miserable expression as his worldview shattered and his faith collapsed—Lin An couldn't help but want to laugh.
Turning the leader of The Boys into a disciplinary committee secretary for Vought International—this move was simply a stroke of genius.
Homelander stole his wife, yet he still has to thank us!
What kind of employees do capitalists like the most?
The kind that bring their own food, are filled with hatred, and are mad dogs who don't fear death.
Now, the leash for this mad dog was firmly in his hands.
But these things were secondary.
Lin An suddenly lowered his flight altitude, his gaze piercing through the clouds below, locking onto a dense forest in Pennsylvania.
That was where the true target of his trip was hidden.
Sage Grove.
A psychiatric rehabilitation center nominally affiliated with Vought International.
The outside world thought it was a sanatorium for housing mentally unstable Superheroes, but Lin An had seen the script; he knew the true nature of this place all too well.
It was, in reality, an inhumane human experimentation lab, specifically used to dispose of the defective products from failed experiments.
Of course, this was also the most core secret vault of Vought International.
Lin An's breathing became somewhat heavy.
first generation compound v.
That miraculous drug personally concocted by Nazi scientists during World War II.
In this Marvel Universe where gods and monsters were everywhere, the strength of one's power was only temporary; living long was the real hard truth.
Although he, Lin An, was currently wearing the Homelander panel, in essence, he was still a human who would age, fall ill, and die.
He had to get a ticket to the longevity club.
Boom!
Lin An did not slow down. Like a meteorite falling from the sky, he smashed straight into the lawn in front of the main building of Sage Grove.
Soil and turf were blasted a dozen meters into the air by the immense kinetic energy, and the ground instantly collapsed into a crater seven or eight meters in diameter.
The alarm sounded shrilly.
Two teams of heavily armed security personnel rushed out from both sides of the gate, their automatic rifles aimed in unison at the dust at the bottom of the crater.
"Don't move! Get on the ground! Put your hands on your head!" the security Captain roared at the top of his lungs, his finger tightly locked on the trigger.
The dust settled.
Lin An stood with his hands on his hips, slowly floating out of the crater, hovering half a meter off the ground.
He tilted his head, looking at the group of security guards who were acting as if they were facing a great enemy, with that signature, bone-chilling smile on his face.
"Why so much anger in the middle of the night?"
The moment the security Captain saw that face clearly, the gun in his hand dropped straight to the ground.
"Ho... Homelander?" he stuttered, calling out the name, his legs beginning to shake uncontrollably.
Who didn't know that this guy had just gone on a killing spree at the group headquarters a while ago?
Even those big shots on the board of directors had been cut into mincemeat; what were they, a bunch of guard dogs, compared to that?
"At least your eyes aren't blind yet."
Lin An landed on the ground, his combat boots crunching on the gravel as he walked toward the gate.
"Open the door to the third basement level for me. Get that... what's his name... right, get that bald supervisor out here to see me."
The security guards scattered to both sides with a clatter, clearing a wide path, not even daring to breathe.
Five minutes later, the third basement level.
In front of the door to the top-secret cold storage, a middle-aged man in a white lab coat with a receding hairline was shaking like a sieve.
He was holding a top-level access card, swiping it on the keypad three times without getting it right.
"You have one last chance."
Lin An leaned against the wall, watching him with cold eyes.
"If this door doesn't open, I'll use your head to smash it open."
"It's open! It's open!" the supervisor screamed in terror, trembling as he entered the last digit of the password.
The airlock emitted a dull exhaust sound, and the heavy alloy door slowly slid open to both sides.
A biting chill rushed toward them.
Lin An shoved the blocking supervisor aside and strode into the cold storage.
In the center of the cold storage was a single, solitary bulletproof glass display stand.
Inside the low-temperature storage tank of the display stand lay an ancient glass test tube.
The liquid inside was a deep, dark blue, emitting a mesmerizing glow under the dim lights.
This was the origin of everything.
Lin An stepped forward and smashed the bulletproof glass, which was capable of withstanding Rocket launcher strikes, with a single punch.
The alarm lights flashed frantically, and the red light reflected on Lin An's face.
He reached out and took the test tube without a care, the cold touch spreading through his gloves all over his body.
"Bo... Boss!" the supervisor shouted from outside the door, scrambling to get away.
"You can't touch that! That's the first generation compound v! The concentration is too high; without dilution, the survival rate for direct injection is less than 0.1%! You'll explode and die!"
"Shut up."
Lin An didn't even turn his head.
Of course, a normal person would die if they injected it.
But he was Homelander; this body had been thoroughly modified by countless doses of Compound V since he was a child.
For him, the first-generation serum was not poison, but the final piece of the puzzle to complete his genetic defects.
Without the slightest hesitation, he pulled out the metal stopper of the test tube.
He didn't look for a syringe; instead, he used his fingernail to cut a shallow scratch on his left wrist—this steel body could only be easily breached by himself.
He aimed the mouth of the test tube at the wound, and the dark blue liquid instantly seeped into his blood.
The test tube was empty.
Lin An casually threw the glass tube on the ground, shattering it to pieces.
One second.
Two seconds.
Nothing happened.
The supervisor outside the door covered his eyes, not daring to look, fearing that in the next second, this top-tier Superhero would explode into a mist of blood.
But Lin An just stood there quietly.
At first, it was an extreme cold.
This cold sensation quickly spread along his veins to his heart, and then, his heart contracted violently, emitting a muffled sound like a war drum.
Thump!
The sound was so loud that even the supervisor outside the door could hear it clearly.
The next moment, that coldness instantly transformed into a magma-like scorching heat!
Lin An suddenly raised his head, the veins on his neck bulging out.
His eyes glowed red, and a violent energy was about to burst out.
Sizzle—!!
Boom!!
The high-density alloy ceiling was cut into fragments like paper and scattered everywhere; Lin An didn't even notice the debris hitting him.
So good! It felt so good!
He didn't feel the pain of tearing; instead, it was an outrageous sense of comfort.
It was as if Homelander, who had been starving for decades, had just suckled fresh breast milk... ugh, pfft!
It was like a person who had been locked in a tiny cage for decades was suddenly placed on a vast prairie, and every cell in his body was cheering wildly!
His bones emitted faint cracking sounds, and his muscle fibers were torn and reorganized under the high temperature, becoming denser and tougher.
Chapter 32: Physical Enhancement, Magneto Crashes the Party
In his mind, the cold system prompt finally sounded.
[ Ding! ]
[ Detection of high-purity first generation compound vinjection! ]
[ Host genetic sequence reorganization beginning... repairing defects... ]
[ Repair complete! ]
[ Congratulations to the host! Telomerase activity in cells has been permanently locked, and the aging process has completely stopped. You have acquired the trait: Immortality (Pseudo). Note: Only immune to natural aging and common diseases; can still be killed by physical/magicmeans. ]
[ Basic physical attributes increased by 10%! ]
[ Cellular self-healing speed increased by 30%! ]
[ Stamina recovery speed increased by 50%! ]
Lin An exhaled a heavy breath of hot white mist.
He looked down at his hands.
There was no change in appearance; he hadn't turned into some muscle monster, nor had he grown any extra organs.
But he could clearly feel that the invisible shackle within his body had broken.
Although the increase in strength was only ten percent, not exactly earth-shattering, the feeling of endless vitality was extremely obvious.
It seems that in the original work, Homelander's strength didn't really skyrocket after obtaining the first generation compound v.
However, the last system prompt about the "stamina recovery speed increased by 50%" caught Lin An's attention.
He clenched his fists, feeling the heat flow in his lower abdomen running wildly like a nuclear reactor, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up wildly.
"I am not only an immortal being now, but also a damn perpetual motion machine."
"With the current strength of my kidneys, let alone seven times a night, even if I went at it for a week straight, I probably wouldn't even break a sweat."
"Now, when I go back to deal with that top-tier female Agent Natasha, I'll definitely make her know what a real Superhero is!"
"What do workers lack? They lack stamina and longevity, and now I have both."
Tonight's gains had far exceeded expectations.
First, he had subdued Butcher and Frenchie, solving major headaches.
And he had obtained the immortality serum.
"Destiny is on my side!"
"Whatever Marvel protagonist or Mutant protagonist, get out of the way! I, Homelander, am the protagonist of this World!"
After feeling smug for a while, he glanced at the remaining equipment.
There were some scattered frozen serums stored around that he didn't understand, so he left them be, waiting for Frenchie to join so he could figure them out himself.
Everything is ready, all that's missing is traffic!
He bent his legs slightly, preparing to crash through the ceiling and fly back to the company to tease the little black cat.
Just then, the specially encrypted phone inside his suit suddenly vibrated.
Lin An frowned.
Only Madelyn knew this number.
He took out his phone and pressed the answer button, his tone somewhat impatient: "You better have some good news, Madelyn. I'm in a very excited state right now, and I don't want to hear bad news."
On the other end of the line, Madelyn's voice carried a hint of undisguised nervousness and excitement.
"Boss, there's a problem with the Battle Royaleregistration system."
"A problem?" Lin An raised an eyebrow. "Did the server get overwhelmed? Let the technical department handle such trifles."
"It's not a server issue," Madelyn reported quickly.
"It's the registration list. In the past hour, the system backend intercepted several extremely special registration applications. The technical department cross-referenced them with facial recognition and the S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted database and discovered some big trouble."
"Give me names."
Madelyn swallowed hard. "People from the Brotherhood of Mutants have snuck in. And... Magneto has just sent us a video message."
Lin An's eyes narrowed instantly.
Magneto?
This old man isn't staying in his plastic prison; why is he coming here to join in the fun?
"What did he say?" Lin An's voice lowered.
"He said..." Madelyn paused, seemingly imitating Magneto's condescending tone.
"He said that since Vought International dares to treat Mutants like monkeys for human entertainment in the coliseum, he will personally prove on this stage to the whole World that Mutants are the pinnacle of evolution. He wants to turn this Battle Royale into the opening ceremony for Mutants ruling the World."
The call ended.
The underground cold storage was terrifyingly quiet.
Lin An stood on the spot, head lowered, his shoulders beginning to shake slightly.
A few seconds later, a burst of irrepressible wild laughter echoed through the cold storage.
"Hahahaha! Good! Too good!"
Lin An laughed until tears almost came out.
He had been worrying earlier that without heavyweight contestants, the explosive points of this Battle Royalemight not be dense enough.
Now it's great; Magneto, this top-tier villain who comes with global aggro, has jumped into the pot himself!
This old man is a walking traffic nuke! If he dares to stir up trouble during the live broadcast, the ratings will surely skyrocket!
Mutants ruling the World?
"On my turf, you're just a super experience pack used to farm popularity points!"
Speaking of which, this Marvel Universe is really a mess, and the timeline is all over the place.
Never mind, the more chaotic, the better. If it doesn't get chaotic, how can I grab the headlines?
...
The strong wind tore through the night sky, and Lin An, like a red and blue meteor, dove into the brilliant neon sea of Manhattan.
Awesome.
Too awesome.
Not only did he get the immortality serum, but even top-tier traffic like Magneto jumped into the pot voluntarily; this luck is simply Heaven force-feeding him.
Lin An hovered in the clouds above the top floor of Vought Tower, feeling the endless, even somewhat excessive, stamina in his body, the corners of his mouth stretching almost to his ears.
The special phone in his pocket vibrated.
It wasn't Madelyn's workaholic line; it was his private number.
Lin An took out his phone, glanced at the caller ID, and pressed the answer button.
"Hey, big hero, good evening." Tony Stark's iconic, slightly annoying and lazy voice came from the other end of the line.
In the background, the crisp sound of ice hitting a glass could be vaguely heard. "Didn't disturb you saving the World, did I?"
"Spit it out, Tony." Lin An hovered hundreds of meters in the high sky, overlooking the bustling traffic below.
"I just finished dealing with a few disobedient scums and I'm in a good mood, don't force me to come through the signal and beat you up."
"Still such a short temper." Tony chuckled.
"I've been so busy I haven't had a moment to rest; the mess Obadiah left behind almost buried me."
"But the good news is, with that old guy dead, plus our joint security plan announced, those annoying board of directors old fossils have finally completely shut up."
Listening to Tony's bragging, Lin An sneered.
This is the damn face of these capitalists.