| Just Became Homelander, and You're Telling Me This is Marvel?
Chapter 40: The Cheap Son of a Popularity Cash Cow
As soon as those words came out, Lin An, standing a few steps away, almost failed to hold back his laughter.
"New Daddy?"
If Butcher heard this "New Daddy," he would surely burst a blood vessel on the spot.
His wife, whom he had spent eight years searching for, had dumped the kid she bore with his arch-enemy back onto the enemy just to keep him in the dark, and now this kid was calling him "New Daddy."
What a damn extreme NTR plot.
He had rewritten this scene to be even more explosive than the original.
Becca's psychological defenses were instantly shattered by those words.
She covered her mouth tightly, her shoulders heaving violently, tears gushing out through her fingers.
"No, that's not it, Ryan! How could Mommy not want you? Mommy loves you the most."
"Then why didn't you take me with you?" Ryan buried his face in his mother's neck, crying like an abandoned young beast.
"Because Ryan has grown up." Becca's voice trembled uncontrollably, and she forced herself to squeeze out a smile that was uglier than crying, "You are different from other children. You have very powerful strength inside your body."
"Mommy is just an ordinary person and can't teach you." Becca cupped that small face, "Only your biological father can teach you. He is a Superhero; he can teach you to control your strength and not hurt others. Go with him, okay?"
Ryan was stunned, then nodded while sobbing.
Whenever he lost his temper, his eyes would burn and glow red; he had even almost hurt his mother several times, and he had long been terrified of his own abilities.
Lin An stood in the shadows, watching this melodrama with cold eyes.
When women are overwhelmed by so-called love and guilt, the decisions they make are often outrageously stupid, but this just happened to save him a lot of trouble.
It was time for the old father to make an entrance.
Lin An adjusted his facial muscles, switching to a gentle expression with just the right amount of guilt and infinite tolerance, and stepped out.
"Who said Mommy doesn't want you?"
A deep, highly magnetic voice echoed through the café.
Becca's body stiffened abruptly.
This time, Lin An wasn't wearing that highly oppressive Stars and Stripes suit.
A well-fitting suit outlined his perfect inverted-triangle physique, making him look like an impeccable upper-class elite.
In his hands, he carried two huge shopping bags that were almost half as tall as Ryan.
"Ta-da!" Lin An walked up to the table and set the bags down heavily, causing a muffled sound of plastic blocks colliding.
Ryan's crying stopped abruptly.
He poked half his head out from Becca's arms, his blue eyes instantly drawn to the toys in the plastic bags.
"What is this?"
"Didn't you say a couple of days ago that the spaceship on TV looked cool?" Lin An crouched halfway down, his line of sight level with the little boy.
He pulled out a huge, out-of-print Death Star gift box with one hand and pushed it in front of Ryan.
"The biggest spaceship Daddy could find. Over seven thousand pieces, enough for you to build until your hands go numb."
Top-tier Lego with over seven thousand pieces.
Let alone a child who had been under house arrest for years and hadn't seen much of the World, even an adult otaku would have his knees go weak on the spot.
Ryan's eyes instantly lit up amazingly.
That top-tier plastic temptation of the industrial age directly sucked away all his sadness.
Tears were still hanging on his long eyelashes, but his small hands were already clutching the packaging box tightly.
"Is it... for me?" Ryan glanced at Lin An timidly.
Becca watched her son instantly distracted by the toy, her heart filled with mixed feelings.
Is blood relation really so magical? Could a single toy bridge eight years of fear and emptiness?
Lin An sneered inwardly.
Kids don't know jack. Whoever buys them the most expensive toys, whoever takes them out to show off—that's their real dad.
"Of course it's for you." Lin An extended his large palm and rested it on that soft blonde hair.
The movement was gentle, "I promised you, did you forget?"
Ryan bit his lip, his voice as faint as a mosquito's: "Thank you... Daddy."
Daddy.
When these two words landed, Becca's tears lost control again. She turned her head abruptly, covering her eyes tightly with the back of her hand.
But Lin An's heartbeat skipped a beat.
A lifelong bachelor in his past life, becoming a father upon transmigrating.
This defenseless call fell into his ears, and a certain hidden nerve deep within the body of Homelander was fiercely plucked.
The instinct of genes lacking love, what the hell.
"Alright, a real man doesn't shed tears." Lin An stood up, his gaze sweeping toward Becca, his tone deep and solemn.
"Go deal with your business with Butcher. Vought International's intelligence network will wipe away all traces; no one will disturb your World for two."
Becca took a deep breath, suppressing her emotions.
She looked up at Lin An with a hint of pleading.
"He is very afraid of the dark. He can't drink caffeinated beverages or he'll suffer from insomnia all night. If he loses control..." Becca's voice trembled, "Don't blame him. Please, teach him."
"I have experienced the pain of losing control of my strength; I will never let my son suffer that again. I will use everything to protect him." Lin An spewed out an Oscar-level line without hesitation.
I'm not only going to teach him how to control his strength, but also how to smile for the cameras, and how to use Heat Vision to burn ants that get in his way to ash!
My seed must be the most popular, top-tier second-generation star in this Universe!
Becca clearly believed this nonsense.
She crouched down one last time, hugging Ryan, who had already started unwrapping the Lego, tightly, and planted a kiss on his face.
"Mommy loves you. Goodbye."
Ryan held the Death Star box and waved, his sadness long since washed away by thousands of plastic blocks.
Becca put on her sunglasses to hide her red, swollen eyes, turned, and quickly pushed open the glass door, disappearing at the end of the street.
Go ahead, go back and find your grumpy, bearded husband.
Lin An stared at her retreating figure, his mouth finally curling into an extremely wicked arc uncontrollably.
Butcher acts as his security Captain at Vought Tower, while Becca provides psychological counseling to Butcheroutside.
And the core bond between these two is now sitting at his feet, hugging a Lego set.
This game of chess is an absolute landslide victory.
"Let's go, kid." Lin An picked up the remaining bag with one hand and, with the other, naturally took that soft little hand.
Leading Ryan out of the café.
A pitch-black stretch Lincoln was parked on the shoulder. The driver respectfully opened the door.
Sitting in the luxurious leather back seat, Ryan placed the Lego on his lap, his eyes sparkling as he stared at the high-rises speeding past outside the car window.
"Where are we going?" Ryan turned his head, the initial timidity fading, replaced by a layer of dependence on his father.
"To our new home." Lin An leaned back against the seat, pulled an Evian mineral water from the car fridge, and unscrewed it, "A very, very big house. There's a whole wall of screens for you to play games, and a special training ground for you to practice..."
He pointed to his own eyes.
"Practice this."
Hum—
Deep within Lin An's pupils, two balls of scarlet light suddenly lit up.
Faint, yet exuding an absolute aura of destruction, even the temperature inside the car cabin soared instantly.
Ryan didn't shrink back; instead, he widened his eyes in excitement.
"Can I be like you too?"
"Of course. You have my blood flowing in your body." Lin An looked at the little monster with infinite potential in front of him, his mind already beginning to plan the script for their first father-son live stream.
Ding—
At this very moment, the long-silent system notification sound in his mind rang out like a thunderclap.
[Detected that the host has successfully bound the important blood relative "Ryan"!]
[Special bond "Father and Son" has been activated!]
[As the host's biological son, the host can claim an 80% commission on all popularity points generated by Ryan in the future!]
Crack!
The plastic water bottle in Lin An's hand burst with a bang, splashing ice water all over his hand.
80%?!
That's a full 30% higher than Iron Man! This isn't a son, this is a walking, humanoid popularity points cash cow with critical hit multipliers!
"Daddy, what's wrong?" Ryan was startled by the bursting water bottle.
"It's nothing."
Lin An wiped the water off his hand, grinned, and revealed a brilliant smile that was fanatical to the extreme. He pulled Ryan into his arms.
"Daddy was just thinking about how to make you a Superhero as righteous as Daddy."
Chapter 41: Showing Off Fatherly Love and an Agent's Daily Babysitting Routine
"This is your playground, kid."
Lin An pushed open the heavy lead door and snapped his fingers.
With a crisp sound, the Underground Room, which was as large as three basketball courts, instantly lit up with cold white light.
The above-ground part of this Villa was for enjoyment, while the underground level was an exclusive superpower training room that Lin An had spent thirty million dollars forcing Tony Stark to work overnight to remodel.
The walls were entirely covered with Stark Industries' latest energy-absorbing armor, with a holographic simulation generator in the center, and a few crates of high-explosive grenades piled in the corner as toys.
Ryan held the massive Death Star Lego box, his mouth agape in an 'O' shape. His blue eyes sparkled under the lights.
"Dad, are these... all for me?"
"Of course." Lin An reached out to ruffle the soft blonde hair, already calculating frantically in his mind.
This was a money-printing machine that came with an 80% commission! How could he not invest some upfront costs?
As long as this kid could act cute and fire some lasers in front of the camera, wouldn't his popularity points pour into his account like a waterfall?
"Do you like it?" Lin An squatted down, looking directly into Ryan's eyes.
"I love it!" Ryan nodded vigorously.
"I'm glad you like it. But before we play with these toys, we have to take our first lesson." Lin An stood up and turned to look at Natasha, who was standing not far away. "Is the equipment set up?"
Today, Natasha had changed into a black-and-white maid outfit, even wearing a pink apron.
This was, of course, Lin An's wicked sense of humor.
Having the dignified Black Widow treated as a babysitting maid by him, the sheer contrast alone was highly amusing.
"The cameras are aligned, three angles, streaming simultaneously across the entire web." Natasha walked over, holding a tablet in her hand. Her gaze swept between Lin An and Ryan, her expression extremely complex.
Over the past few days, she had been trying to see through this man's cards.
He was brutal, greedy, and treated human life like grass, throwing Translucent directly into the Pacific Ocean as prey.
But now, squatting in front of an eight-year-old boy, there was actually a hint of genuine patience in his eyes?
Was he a heartless monster, or just an awkward but good father?
Natasha's memories of the Red Room began to act up again.
She too had been raised as a weapon, and seeing a child like Ryan, who was born with destructive power, she instinctively felt a protective urge born of shared misfortune.
"What are you dazing off for?" Lin An reached out without hesitation and pinched Natasha's slender waist.
Natasha's body suddenly tensed, and she barely resisted the urge to punch that obnoxious face.
"Is this how you usually teach kids?" she whispered, giving Lin An a 'coy' glare.
"Do I need to report to you on how I raise my kid?" Lin Anleaned close to her ear, deliberately lowering his voice, his warm breath brushing against her sensitive earlobe.
"What, trying to step into the role of the mistress and stepmother so soon? If you want to bear one for me, I can satisfy you tonight."
Natasha bit the tip of her tongue, forcing her gaze back to the tablet.
"The live stream signal is connected. Three-second countdown. Three, two, one, we're live."
Lin An instantly switched back to his flawless, warm smile.
He walked in front of the camera, picking Ryan up with one arm and letting him sit on his forearm.
"Good afternoon, my dearest viewers. I am your Homelander." Lin An waved at the camera, his tone as casual as if greeting a neighbor.
"Today, we're not talking about work, nor are we talking about saving the World. Today, I want to introduce you to the most important person in my life."
He looked down at Ryan. "This is my son, Ryan."
At this moment, the global network crashed for a full three seconds.
Vought International's servers let out an overburdened groan.
All the trending lists on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebookwere instantly swept by the same hashtag—[Homelander's Son]!
The system notification in Lin An's mind went off like a string of firecrackers.
[Ryan triggered exclusive attention, 80% commission has been credited, popularity points +20,000!]
Awesome.
So fucking awesome.
This money-printing speed would make even the Federal Reserve weep tears of jealousy.
"Ryan, say hello to everyone." Lin An squeezed Ryan's small hand.
Still a bit camera-shy, Ryan shrank back into Lin An's embrace and whispered, "H... hello, everyone, this is my dad..."
The bullet comments instantly went wild.
[Holy shit! Is this for real? Homelander actually has a son?!]
[This little boy is way too cute! Those blue eyes are exactly the same as Homelander's!]
[Wait, does his son have superpowers too?]
Lin An glanced at the bullet comments on the screen beside him, a smirk playing on his lips.
Hooked already? The real show is just getting started.
"Many people might be curious about how a Superheroraises a kid in their daily life."
Lin An set Ryan down and walked over to the metal table in the center of the training room. On the table lay a bag of marshmallows and several long iron skewers.
"Actually, it's no different from ordinary people. For example, on a weekend afternoon, teaching your kid to roast a marshmallow."
Lin An picked up an iron skewer, threaded a plump white marshmallow onto it, and handed it to Ryan.
"Hold this."
Ryan obediently took it.
Lin An didn't grab a lighter, nor did he grab a blowtorch.
He simply stood behind Ryan, placing both hands on the boy's shoulders.
"Look at the marshmallow, Ryan. Concentrate." Lin An's voice became low and guiding.
"Feel the heat inside your body. Don't be afraid of it. Guide it to your eyes. Just like you do when you're angry, but this time, let's be gentler."
Ryan swallowed hard. He stared intently at the marshmallow.
"But... Mom said I shouldn't just look at things with my eyes, or they'll burn up."
"Your mother is right, but that's for ordinary people. I'm your dad, and I bought this house, so if it burns, it's on me." Lin An chuckled. "Come on, give it a try."
Ryan took a deep breath.
Buzz—
A faint red glow lit up deep within the little boy's pupils.
The next second, two hair-thin crimson beams shot out from Ryan's eyes, hitting the marshmallow with absolute precision.
Sizzle!
The surface of the marshmallow instantly caramelized, giving off a sweet, sugary aroma.
"Beautifully done!" Lin An praised loudly.
Ryan turned his head in excitement. "Dad, I did it!"
But he forgot that his Heat Vision was still on.
As he turned his head, the two crimson beams swept across half the room.
Sizzle—
A deep, charred groove was instantly sliced into the wall not far away.
Worse still, the beams cleanly sliced through the custom handmade Italian leather sofa set worth a hundred thousand dollars.
The sofa collapsed with a crash, its foam stuffing instantly catching fire and emitting thick, billowing smoke.
Ryan was scared stiff, the red glow in his eyes instantly dying out. He stood there, at a loss, his eyes turning red with tears.
"I'm sorry... Dad, I didn't mean to..."
The bullet comments fell briefly silent at this moment, before erupting into an unprecedented frenzy.
[Holy shit holy shit holy shit!!!]
[Is that fucking Heat Vision?! This little kid can shoot lasers from his eyes?!]
[Damn, I recognize that sofa brand, it's at least a hundred thousand dollars, just gone like that! The cost of raising this kid is way too high!]
[Homelander is going to lose his temper, right? This brat has caused a huge disaster!]
Chapter 42: Natasha's "Guidance" and the Eve of the Battle Royale
Natasha stood behind the camera, her heart in her throat.
She knew Lin An's temper too well; the man was a tyrant at his core, and with Ryan acting so recklessly, he was bound to lose control.
She was even prepared to rush up and protect the child.
However, Lin An did not get angry.
He didn't even look at the burning sofa; instead, he knelt down and scooped Ryan into his arms.
"Why are you apologizing?" Lin An patted Ryan's back, smiling with extreme arrogance. "That's my boy! The power is good, but your aim is a bit off. Next time, remember not to turn your head while firing."
Ryan was stunned.
He had expected a harsh scolding, but instead, he received a warm embrace and praise.
He buried his head in Lin An's broad shoulder and nodded vigorously.
"Holy crab, this is fatherly love!"
"I didn't expect Homelander to have such a tender side. Rumor has it he has no wife; I want to marry him so bad!"
"Looking forward to little Ryan growing up to be a little Homelander and becoming his father's successor!"
"Oh my god, this scene melted this old mother's heart. Homelander isn't just that high-and-mighty Superhero; he's an ordinary father too~"
[Ding! Host has displayed perfect fatherly love, triggering global empathy! Popularity points critical hit!]
[Ryan's commission of 80% has arrived. Popularity points +80,000!]
Lin An laughed wildly in his heart.
Burning a sofa is nothing; he would be happy to burn a hundred sofas for this much popularity!
After livestreaming for a while longer, Lin An blew a kiss to the camera.
"Alright, that's all for today's stream. I'm going to teach my son how to put out the fire he started."
"Remember, my dear friends, Vought International will always bring you a safer tomorrow. Bye~"
Natasha cut the livestream feed.
She looked at the smoldering sofa, then at Lin An, who was using a fire extinguisher to teach Ryan how to spray white foam, and the scales in her heart tilted once again.
He didn't get angry.
He was actually patiently teaching the child.
Perhaps he was just driven crazy by the Vought International laboratories, and deep down, he still longed for family and warmth.
Natasha's gaze softened.
She walked over and took the fire extinguisher from Lin An's hand.
"I'll handle this. You take him to wash his hands; the marshmallows have melted all over them."
Her tone had unknowingly lost some of its defenses and gained a hint of genuine gentleness.
Lin An keenly captured this change.
The psychological defenses of the top Agent had cracked again.
How could he let such an opportunity to strike while the iron was hot slip by?
Lin An did not release the fire extinguisher; instead, he took the opportunity to grasp Natasha's hand.
His rough fingertips gently rubbed against the delicate skin on the back of her hand.
The Black Widow in a maid outfit was too stimulating; his heart had been itching for a long time.
"Ryan, go upstairs to the bathroom and wash your hands yourself." Lin An ordered without turning his head.
The little guy, being very sensible, took his toys and ran off on his short legs; he understood that his father needed some alone time.
The large Underground Room was left with only the two of them.
The fire had been extinguished by Lin An, but he hadn't let go of the hand he was holding.
"What are you doing?" Natasha tried to pull her hand back, but Lin An's strength was astonishing, pulling her closer bit by bit.
"Parenting guidance, of course." Lin An looked down at her, a wicked smile curling his lips.
"You were watching me the whole time while I was teaching Ryan just now. What, do you think I'm doing a pretty good job as a father?"
Natasha turned her head away, refusing to look into those aggressive blue eyes.
"I just thought that you were… a bit more human than I imagined."
"Human?" Lin An scoffed, wrapping his other hand around her slender waist and pressing her entire body against his.
Through the thin maid outfit, Natasha could clearly feel the astonishing heat and hard muscle contours radiating from his body.
"Did you forget? I'm a monster who lacks love." Lin Anburied his face in the crook of her neck, taking a deep breath of her fragrance.
"Taking care of a child is exhausting, Secretary Natalie. As a personal assistant, shouldn't you give me some tangible encouragement?"
"The child is still upstairs…" Natasha's voice trembled. She tried to push Lin An away, but her hands, pressed against that hard chest, couldn't muster any strength.
The thrill of being completely conquered surged from her marrow once again.
Her reason was frantically warning her to stay away from this dangerous man, but her body honestly went limp.
Lin An's fingers moved up along her waist, stopping at the full curves and gently kneading them.
"Stop pretending, little black cat." Lin An's lips brushed against her earlobe, his voice hoarse and deadly, "The way you looked at me earlier, you clearly wanted to be 'guided' by me severely."
Natasha's face flushed red; during their last intense battle, this powerful man had indeed given her the long-lost nourishment she craved.
Her originally steady breathing rhythm was completely thrown into chaos.
She simply closed her eyes and gave up on that last bit of futile resistance.
The row of complicated hidden buttons behind her was violently torn open by Lin An.
The fabric, losing its restraint, slipped down her smooth skin to the crooks of her arms.
The soft, startled assets sprang out.
The surrounding air was completely ignited by their rapidly rising body temperatures.
Lin An lowered his head, leaving a punitive, light bite on her completely defenseless softness.
"Ah!" Natasha let out a gasp.
Lin An ignored it, domineeringly turning her around and then slamming her against the half-broken sofa armrest.
Natasha held onto the armrest, and Lin An held onto Natasha… In the Underground Room, only increasingly rapid and intertwined breathing sounds remained.
Time passed quickly.
Over the past half month, Lin An had lived extremely comfortably.
During the day, he livestreamed, teaching his cheap son, Ryan, how to use Heat Vision to precisely ignite barbecue grills and perform high-altitude bungee jumping.
At night, he practiced what he preached in the bedroom, guiding Natasha on how to be a qualified personal secretary.
This corrupt capitalist lifestyle was simply too excessive.
But the main show had to begin.
In the Pacific Ocean, on a deserted island named Hero Island.
There were less than twelve hours left until the global premiere of the "Superhero Battle Royale."
On the island's highest peak, an all-metal ring-shaped building was firmly embedded in the rock. This was a masterpiece rushed out by Stark Industries—the VIP panoramic viewing platform.
Lin An stood in front of a huge bulletproof floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the pitch-black jungle beneath his feet.
"Ten million U.S. dollars a ticket, two hundred seats, sold out in 10 minutes."
Lin An swirled the bourbon in his hand, the ice cubes clinking crisply against the glass. "I heard it's already been bid up to twenty million U.S. dollars on the black market?"
"Twenty-five million." Pepper walked over in high heels, holding an electronic list, her brows furrowed.
"The people coming are all heads of first-tier consortiums, new favorites from Silicon Valley and Wall Street, and even several oil tycoons from the Middle East. This is too crazy."
"Is it crazy?" Lin An took a sip of his drink and turned to lean against the glass.
"Not crazy enough? You put the richest and most death-fearing group of people on this Planet together with thousands of Mutants and super-powered criminals who could go crazy at any moment on the same island!"
Tony Stark walked over from the control console, obvious dark circles under his eyes.
He had stayed up for three consecutive nights to finish the defense system for this building.
"Correction, Tony. They aren't on the island; they are in the Stark-made bulletproof boxes two hundred meters above the ground on the perimeter."
Lin An said indifferently, handing the empty glass to Natasha behind him.
Natasha silently took the cup and turned to pour more wine.
She had now completely adapted to this kind of menial work, or rather, she dared not adapt otherwise.
These days, Natasha had been exhausted… This guy was just too fierce; he didn't seem to need rest at all.
The famous saying from China, "There are no barren fields, only exhausted oxen," did not apply to Homelander at all.
It didn't matter… her sacrifice had value; she could stay by Homelander's side in this core circle at any time.
Natasha comforted herself.
"The bulletproof boxes might not be able to defend against Magneto!"
Tony scratched his hair. "If that old madman is determined to tear this place down, all of us will turn into meat paste falling from high altitude."
"That's why I spent 300 million to buy your newly developed anti-magnetic coating and energy shields."
Lin An grinned, smiling with extreme shamelessness. "If this glass breaks, it's a quality issue with Stark Industries. Tomorrow, your company's stock will plummet to the center of the earth."
"Fuck you!" Tony rolled his eyes and cursed.
This bastard had truly mastered the art of shifting blame to the extreme.
Lin An looked at Tony's exasperated appearance and felt a sense of relief in his heart.
That's right.
Tie everyone to his chariot; they rise together and fall together.
What did these rich people spend over twenty million U.S. dollars to come here for?
They came for that high-and-mighty, perverted pleasure of watching the perverts at the bottom tear each other apart like Beasts.
Chapter 43: The Savior Who Sells Fear and the Airdropped Hulk
Early the next morning.
The first rays of sunlight pierced the sea mist of the Pacific Ocean, shining down on the dense rainforest of the deserted island.
The observation deck was already bustling with noise.
Those tycoons, usually dressed in suits and ties and mouthing platitudes about morality, were now holding champagne, staring fanatically at the holographic projection screens outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.
There was one hour left until the broadcast started.
"All drone units are in position. Three hundred fixed camera positions, one hundred high-speed tracking cameras, and we even used three space satellites for the broadcast." Natasha looked at the data on her tablet and reported to Lin An, "The signal towers are operating normally. The global synchronous broadcast lines are already at full capacity."
"Very good." Lin An straightened his cape and walked over to Tony.
"I still think this is too crazy." Tony lowered his voice, "A one-hundred-million-dollar prize, plus your irresponsible propaganda—there are nearly a thousand lunatics on this island right now. Once the fighting starts, the casualties will definitely be astronomical."
"Tony, do you think I'm holding this Battle Royale just to show off?" Lin An suddenly stopped smiling, his eyes becoming cold and hard.
Tony was stunned: "Isn't it?"
Lin An turned around, looked at the tycoons chatting and laughing outside with their wine glasses, and then looked at Pepper and Natasha beside him.
"Traffic and money are just means, not the end." Lin An's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of the three people.
"Why do you think ordinary people worship Superheroes? Why are they willing to pay money for Vought International's security services?"
"Because we saved them?" Tony answered tentatively.
"Wrong. Because they know they could die at any moment." Lin An sneered, his blue eyes revealing a chilling clarity.
"Humanity is a very forgetful species. Without war, without disaster, they start complaining about the privileges of heroes, complaining that our existence disrupts the balance. Just like those idiots who hold up signs protesting Mutants on the streets every day."
Lin An pointed his finger at the vast jungle outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.
"So, I have to give them a reminder."
"I am going to throw all these thousands of monsters and lunatics in there and remove all the rules. I want billions of people around the World to sit on their comfortable sofas, eating popcorn, and watch with their own eyes just how terrifying these lunatics are, and how dangerous this Worldis!"
"I want to shove the ultimate fear directly into their eyeballs and carve it into their brains through the internet!"
Lin An clenched his fists tightly.
"After they finish watching this live broadcast, when they are so scared they can't sleep at night, terrified that their next-door neighbor might suddenly shoot lasers out of their eyes..."
"At that point, who can protect them? Those politicians who only know how to bicker? Or those ordinary soldiers holding rifles?"
Lin An grinned, revealing a mouthful of stark white teeth, his smile arrogant to the extreme.
"Only me. Only Vought International! Only us 'monsters' who are feared by them can deal with monsters."
"I want to make Vought International the only pillar of support for all of humanity. I want them to beg me on their knees to protect them!"
Silence.
In the corner of the VIP room, no one spoke, and the sound of glasses clinking against the table was exceptionally clear.
Tony's hand holding the wine glass froze in mid-air.
Pepper covered her mouth in horror.
Even Natasha, who had seen countless conspiracies, felt a bone-chilling cold creep up her back.
What kind of logic was this?
Create a purgatory yourself, release the demons for the whole World to see, and then sell tickets and talismans as a savior?
This was simply stitching the greed of capital and the brainwashing of a dictator into the perfect state.
This twisted logic sounded absurd, but the three people present sadly realized they couldn't refute it.
Because human nature is just that Base.
"You lunatic... you are a complete lunatic." Tony swallowed, squeezing out a few words dryly.
"Thanks for the compliment." Lin An patted Tony's shoulder and turned to walk toward the live broadcast console in the center of the observation deck.
"Prepare to cut to my hologram. The good show is about to begin."
Meanwhile.
Nevada, a secret U.S. Military underground Base.
General Ross was wearing a crisp Military uniform, his hands behind his back, staring intently at the huge tactical screen on the wall.
On the screen was the countdown to the start of Vought International's Battle Royale.
"General, a call from the White House. They are very dissatisfied with this global live broadcast by Vought International, believing it seriously challenges the authority of the government." The adjutant stepped forward and reported cautiously.
"Dissatisfaction is useless! What can those politicians do besides protest? Don't they still have to rely on the capitalists of Wall Street for support? The Presidenthimself is the biggest capitalist; do you think there's no one pushing for this Vought show behind the scenes?" General Ross snorted coldly, a fanatical light flashing in his eyes.
He turned around and strode toward the deepest heavy isolation zone of the Base.
"However, Vought International wants to step on the whole World to show off?" General Ross gritted his teeth, the muscles on his face twitching slightly, "In their dreams. The violence machine of this country can only ever be in the hands of the Military."
The heavy blast door slid open slowly on both sides.
A strong smell of blood and formalin rushed towards them.
The heavy blast door slid open slowly on both sides.
A pungent smell of medical sedative rushed towards them.
In the center of the containment area was a suspended hibernation pod made of high-strength titanium alloy.
Dozens of thick pipes were connected around the pod, continuously pumping in a special agent potent enough to sedate an elephant.
"Bruce Banner." General Ross stood outside the one-way blast glass, coldly watching the emaciated man in the hibernation pod who was in a deep coma.
To capture this living nuclear bomb that had been hiding everywhere, he had exhausted almost all his trump cards.
He had lost two entire elite special forces units and had even almost been sent to a Military court by The Pentagon.
But now, it was all worth it.
"General, the gamma radiation levels in the target's body are extremely unstable. Once the heart rate exceeds two hundred per minute, the sedative will completely fail..." The adjutant looked at the red warnings flashing on the monitor from time to time, breaking out in a cold sweat.
"Unstable is good." General Ross's mouth curled into a cruel arc.
He turned his head to look at the adjutant: "Load him along with the hibernation pod into a heavy airdrop transport plane. Coordinates: that crappy hero island of Vought International in the Pacific Ocean."
The adjutant's eyes widened in horror, his voice trembling: "General! You want to throw him into the scene of the Battle Royale? Once he wakes up and turns into that green monster, the whole island will be smashed to the ground by him! Maybe the tycoons in the VIP observation deck will also..."
"What I want is for him to smash that island; if those tycoons die, even better. Who to blame? The only one to blame is Homelander!" Ross stared fixedly at Homelander's arrogant face on the screen, his eyes extremely vicious.
"Let the whole World see clearly just how terrifying the ultimate weapon that those cowards at the White Housedare not use is. Go and give that arrogant Homelander, and those Mutant scum..."
"Send an appetizer that can crush their bones."
Chapter 44: Harvesting a Billion in Traffic, the Bloody Carnival Ignited by Airdrops
One hour later.
The sea fog over the Pacific Ocean was violently torn apart by the deafening roar of engines.
Lin An's righteous face was magnified to a hundred meters tall by hundreds of Stark Industries heavy-duty holographic projectors, looking like a golden deity radiating holy light, suspended above the desert island.
"This World is sick."
Lin An's voice, transmitted through the giant loudspeaker matrix spread across the island, crashed against everyone's eardrums like rolling thunder.
He wore that iconic Stars and Stripes costume, the smile at the corners of his mouth possessing the compassion of a savior.
He knew exactly what these netizens wanted to hear.
"Every day, innocent people are hurt on the streets by superpowered criminals, while those so-called law enforcers are powerless."
Lin An opened his arms, looking down at the pitch-black rainforest beneath his feet.
"Therefore, Vought International has decided to step up. We need stronger heroes, we need an iron fist that can truly maintain World peace! And this island is their litmus test!"
"The final ten people will each receive one hundred million U.S. dollars, as well as an official seat as a Vought International Superhero!"
"Five."
"Four."
"Three, two, one. Game on, everyone."
Five heavily modified heavy transport planes swept across the sky above the desert island in a fan shape.
The giant tail hatches popped open simultaneously.
High-altitude air currents poured in frantically.
No parachutes, no safety ropes.
One thousand superpowered individuals who passed the preliminary selection were mercilessly thrown out of the cabins like dumplings.
The losers trying to mumble their way through were screaming as they were blown about by the gale in mid-air, while the real monsters declared their arrival in all sorts of bizarre ways.
Someone suddenly spread a pair of giant fleshy wings on their back, someone ignited into flames and smashed toward the ground like a meteor, and others simply expanded their bodies into giant balls of flesh, snapping a dozen towering trees.
Lin An's gaze swept across the monitoring screens.
On the screen for camera seven, a few young men and women wearing leather jackets and dyed hair were excitedly yelling in mid-air.
One of them, a blond, sprayed high-pressure air currents from his hands, steadily supporting himself and his two companions.
Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters uniforms worn underneath.
Lin An scoffed aloud.
These problem teens from the Mutant school, usually locked up in school learning about peaceful coexistence, had long been driven crazy.
Who wouldn't want to show their face in front of billions of people globally?
Meanwhile, on the VIP viewing platform.
Charles Xavier was not sitting in a wheelchair.
Using his powerful telepathy, he had directly taken over the body of a Wall Street military-industrial tycoon.
This fat shell was holding a glass of top-tier champagne, sitting on a leather sofa in the front row, with two scantily clad female companions standing beside him.
But in those eyes, there was a depth and sorrow belonging to Professor X.
He couldn't stop them.
He simply couldn't stop these problem students with their immature, youthful minds.
Charles stared fixedly at the landing trajectory of that blond on the holographic screen.
His mental power was like an invisible giant net, silently covering that area.
As long as these children encountered fatal danger, he would forcibly interfere with the attackers' consciousness, even if it meant risking brain damage.
[Ding!]
A crisp system notification exploded in the depths of Lin An's mind, sweeter than any symphony in the World.
[Detected that the number of global online viewers has instantly exceeded one billion! Data is continuing to soar at a rate of millions per minute!]
[Host has created the World's hottest reality show, triggering mass hysteria! Reward: 500,000 Popularity Points!]
Five hundred thousand!
Lin An leaned back in his boss chair, feeling so comfortable that every pore of his body relaxed.
Doing big things really brings in popularity points fast.
As long as all these perverts and lunatics who usually hide in the gutters are thrown out into the sunlight to bite each other, netizens all over the World will willingly stuff traffic into his pockets.
In the giant circular monitoring room on the top floor of Vought Tower, an entire wall of screens was refreshing frantically.
Server load alarms for Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook were blaring in unison.
[Holy crap, holy crap! That guy who turned into a meatball is too fierce!]
[This is the real Superhero selection! Homelander is awesome!]
[I'll bet ten bucks that the fire-breather won't survive the first episode!]
[Any shitty reality show compared to Homelander's show is just shit! I love Homelander!]
Bullet comments covered all the live broadcast streams like an avalanche.
Lin An took a deep breath, grabbed the special microphone on the table, and cut directly into the global live broadcast's public channel.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to hell!"
Lin An's voice was as excited as an underground boxing announcer high on adrenaline, "Look at our contestants! They are like a pack of wolves that haven't eaten in three days, thrown into a sheep pen without fences! Who will be the hunter? And who is the prey?"
However, ten minutes passed.
The atmosphere in the monitoring room became somewhat eerie.
One thousand superhumans landed on the island, yet the expected chaotic brawl did not happen.
The vast majority of people were camping. Finding cover, hiding in caves, some even buried themselves in the dirt. It was too peaceful.
"Madelyn." Lin An slammed the bourbon whiskey in his hand onto the table, the ice cubes clinking against the glass, "The ratings curve has flattened. Are these losers waiting for the New Year?"
"Boss, do you need to activate the circle-shrinking mechanism?" Madelyn asked while looking at the data on the tablet.
"No rush, add some catalyst for them." Lin An's mouth curled into a cold sneer, "Drop the airdrops."
A minute later, four stealth drones disabled their optical camouflage over the desert island. A shrill air defense siren instantly resounded across the island.
Four giant black metal supply crates, trailing glaring red smoke, smashed into four areas of the island.
The island-wide broadcast sounded again, Lin An's seductive voice echoing through the woods.
"Everyone, food delivery. The four airdrop crates that just fell contain the latest anti-superpower weapons developed by Stark Industries. Get them, and you can easily tear your opponents apart."
"However, there are only three hundred weapons, first come, first served."
The silence lasted only three seconds.
Boom!
The slaughter was ignited instantly.
In order to grab those three hundred Stark weapons that could increase their chances of winning, this group of superpowered individuals completely tore off their disguises and turned into wild dogs biting each other.
Bright flashes of energy collisions, screams, and the roar of falling trees erupted continuously in the jungle.
Just five minutes later, dozens of glaring blue lights lit up all over the desert island.
That was the life-saving mechanism designed by Tony Stark.
As long as the surrender button on the bracelet was pressed, a high-intensity energy shield would instantly pop up, wrapping the contestant in an absolutely safe sphere.
"I surrender! I'm not playing anymore! Help!"
On the skyline, Stark Industries' rescue drone fleet was diving at maximum speed.
Mechanical claws precisely latched onto the shields that were glowing blue, preparing to lift and carry away the dozens of frightened contestants.
Lin An looked at the cowards being hauled away on the screen and curled his lip.
Tony's moral compass was a bit high, insisting on adding a rescue mechanism, which somewhat affected the show's effect.
But the next second, the image on screen nine made Lin An regain interest.
Chapter 45: A Bloody Start, Who Is the Villain?
Deep in the jungle, a burly man with muscles bulging like rocks and sharp bone spurs covering his arms had clearly been driven into a killing frenzy.
Like a violent Beast, he locked his gaze onto a man who had just pressed the surrender button and was trembling inside a blue shield.
The rescue drone had just lowered its mechanical claw.
The bone-spurred man let out a wild roar, his legs kicked the rocks on the ground into pieces, and his entire body shot into the air like a cannonball.
Bang!
With one punch, he smashed the two-hundred-thousand-dollar rescue drone into a burst of fire!
Burning parts rained down on the blue shield below.
"No! You can't kill me! I've already surrendered!" the man inside the shield screamed in despair.
The bone-spurred man landed on the shield with a sinister grin.
Clasping his hands together, his ten half-meter-long bone spurs, like a pile driver, hammered frantically against the deep blue energy barrier with terrifying kinetic energy.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Each blow made the shield flicker violently, and the piercing sound of the energy overload alarm echoed through the jungle.
Tony Stark's pride and joy, the portable shield, held on for a full minute in the face of absolute violence.
Crack.
A crack spread across the surface of the shield.
The next second, the shield shattered with a boom.
The bone spurs pierced the man's chest without resistance, lifting him into the air like a skewer of candied hawthorn, before tearing him clean in two.
A rain of blood mixed with entrails splattered wantonly across the grass nearby.
The entire online comment section went completely crazy at this moment.
Global netizens were completely ignited by this raw, bloody spectacle.
"Holy shit, holy shit!!! The shield was smashed?!"
"Didn't they say there was an absolute safety mechanism? This is fucking real death!"
"This is so exciting! This is what you call a Battle Royale! That bone-spurred guy is too fierce; I just tipped him ten Rockets!"
"Hit him! Hit him hard! I bet my entire fortune on this tough guy!"
[Ding, explosive start, gained 100,000 global popularity points.]
No one sympathized with the weak; everyone was reveling in the slaughter.
The anonymity of the internet magnified the darkest bloodthirsty desires in the human heart.
The donation amount in the livestream room was jumping frantically at a rate of tens of thousands of dollars per second.
Meanwhile, on the VIP viewing platform.
There was no fear here, only deafening cheers.
"Kill him! Tear him apart!"
A Middle Eastern oil tycoon wearing a turban was so excited that he crushed the wine glass in his hand, not even caring that red wine had splashed all over him.
He was frantically operating the holographic betting panel in front of him, his eyes filled with a morbid craving for stimulation.
"I'm adding another twenty million U.S. dollars! I bet that Mutant with the bone spurs survives the first round!" the oil king roared, not caring about the money at all.
To this group of powerful people who controlled the World's wealth, human life was not worth mentioning.
The Battle Royale had only just begun.
The betting pool set up by Lin An outside the arena had already accumulated an astonishing one billion U.S. dollars.
This was just an extremely expensive electronic cricket fight; money was just a number, and entertainment was what mattered most.
Charles, possessing the body of a tycoon, closed his eyes.
He could sense the passing of those young lives on the island, and he could also sense the nauseating greed in the minds of the rich people around him.
This World was truly beyond saving.
Vought Tower, top-floor monitoring room.
"My shield..." Tony Stark stood in front of the screen, his brows furrowed tightly.
He looked at the torn-apart corpse, his expression grim.
This madman completely ignored the surrender mechanism he had set up.
He tapped quickly on the virtual keyboard and pulled up the background information of the deceased.
[Serial killer, responsible for seven human lives, escaped from prison.]
Seeing this line, Tony Stark opened his mouth, but ultimately swallowed the words he wanted to say.
He deserved to die.
But he still felt slightly uncomfortable with this kind of bottomless slaughter.
Hughie, standing to the side, covered his mouth tightly with both hands, his stomach churning violently.
"My God. This is too cruel. Aren't we going to save him?" Hughie's voice trembled.
Lin An leaned back in the boss's chair, his hand holding the whiskey as steady as a mountain.
Facing Hughie's inability to bear it, he just shrugged indifferently.
"Save people? Hughie, do you have some misunderstanding of the word Battle Royale?"
Lin An took a sip of iced liquor, his eyes as cold as if he were looking at a group of dead ants. "They signed a life-or-death contract and took an appearance fee. Since they wanted to make a name for themselves, they had to be prepared to leave their lives behind."
"I provided a rescue mechanism, and Tony Stark's planes did take away a batch of people. But if they were unlucky enough to run into a tough opponent, then they can only blame their own bad luck. In the adult World, greed comes with a price."
"Shut up, you coward."
Butcher strode to the screen, the hem of his black trench coat whipping up a breeze.
He had a thick cigar in his mouth, his bloodshot eyes staring fixedly at the gore on the screen, and the corners of his mouth curled into an extremely exaggerated, even twisted, smile.
"Cruel? This is called art." Butcher exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, his eyes as fanatical as a cultist.
He extended a rough finger and tapped heavily on the face of the super-powered being on the screen whose head had just been half-blown off.
"Look at these bastards. Usually, they rely on having some superpowers to run rampant in the streets, treating ordinary people like bugs to be crushed. And now? Give them a little dog food, and they start biting each other."
Butcher turned his head, looked at Lin An sitting in the boss's chair, and gave a thumbs up.
"Homelander, I used to think you were a bastard, but I'm taking that back now. This move of yours is simply brilliant."
Butcher paced excitedly, his leather shoes making dull thuds on the carpet. "We should lock all these damn monsters in a cage and let them kill each other until not a single one is left. This is true purification."
Lin An's hand holding the wine glass froze in mid-air.
He looked at Butcher's face, flushed with extreme excitement; the madness and murderous intent in his eyes were a hundred times purer than the perverts on the screen fighting for airdrops.
Lin An cursed 'holy shit' in his heart.
This is absurd.
This is so fucking absurd.
Who is the real villain here? I just wanted to earn some popularity points and run a large-scale Battle Royalereality show to farm traffic.
You, the bushy-browed, big-eyed discipline inspector, actually want to use this show to commit genocide against superhumans?
The leader of The Boys has now become the most steadfast supporter of Vought International, not only helping him manage discipline but also highly praising his inhumane 'raising Gu' behavior.
This plot development is even more outrageous than any web novel I've ever read in my past life.
"Don't get too excited, Butcher." Lin An held back his laughter and downed the whiskey in his glass.
"This has only just begun; these small fries are just the appetizer."