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[email protected]/Heroicverse
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"From the public relations scandal you got into last year, until your recent repeated defiance of superior orders, you should have expected such an outcome."
Stan Edgar seemed to deliberately not want to give Homelander any face, and continued to coldly correct him, "In other words, the company is still willing to spend a lot of money to hold a farce like a birthday party for you, which is already giving you a lot of face and showing a lot of old sentiment…
However, if you think this party cannot continue without your participation, then you are welcome to leave and try it now."
Obviously, Stan Edgar was deliberately targeting Homelander for not following his orders last night to go to Hell's Kitchen to save face for Vought Corporation.
Actually, for him, whether or not the stock price could be recovered was not important.
What was important was that Homelander must not be allowed to break free from the control of the higher-ups and do as he pleased.
Otherwise, it was very likely to cause a series of extremely adverse chain reactions for Vought Corporation.
[John, you made the right choice. You shouldn't be subjected to such accusations. That black-Hearted man simply doesn't understand your value and your importance to Vought Corporation…]
[It's time for you to take that position… Only then will you truly experience what extreme pleasure feels like!!]
This time, Homelander did not reject the magical voice that suddenly echoed in his mind. The expression on his face changed several times, but he ultimately suppressed the urge to go on a killing spree on the spot.
Now was not the time…
So, after squeezing out a stiff, fake smile, he turned and left.
However.
This did not mean that he had chosen to compromise.
On the contrary, with the help of the 'Wise Man,' he had already thought of a way to counterattack.
"Alright, Stan, deliberately trying to screw me over, huh?"
"Let's see who gets the last laugh!"
…
Night fell.
Homelander's birthday party was held as scheduled.
First, several members of The Seven performed singing, dancing, and rap on stage, and then it was finally Starlight and Homelander's turn to make their grand finale appearance.
According to the previous rehearsal, Starlight should first deliver a hypocritical speech, and then take the opportunity to promote a newly established non-profit foundation under Vought Corporation, encouraging her fans to actively donate and pay their 'IQ tax' for their idol!
But…
After going on stage, Homelander, in full view of everyone, roughly pushed Starlight aside, walked alone to the microphone, stared at Stan Edgar who was sitting below, and said with a sneer:
"I've had enough of these stupid arrangements. No one can order me to do anything I don't like, because… I'm not like other superheroes. I never make mistakes, I'm stronger than everyone else, and smarter. I'm the best superhero… I'm not going to be some weak garbage that needs to apologize everywhere because of your arrangements!"
"Sometimes I really don't understand why you stupid higher-ups insist on making me into such a useless person?"
The audience, whose atmosphere was originally lively, suddenly looked bewildered.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What kind of act is Homelander putting on?
And Stan Edgar remained silent with a solemn expression.
He never expected that Homelander would dare to openly challenge him during a live broadcast.
This was undoubtedly a severe challenge to his prestige and his entire career.
If looks could kill right now, Homelander would probably have been shot dead by him a thousand times over.
This damn bastard, do you really think I wouldn't dare to sideline you?
Alright, we'll see!
Ashley Barrett, the little assistant who had been waiting backstage, was so scared that her brain almost crashed on the spot. She quickly urged the director, who was also in a state of bewilderment, beside her:
"Quick, play the damn commercial… Roger, quick, play the damn commercial, something big is really going to happen this time."
However.
Homelander on stage, with his super hearing, heard her words and immediately pointed to the backstage, shouting loudly:
"Ashley, no one is allowed to stop the live broadcast without my permission, or I'll blow all your heads off."
Then he continued to speak to the audience and the camera below:
"All my life, from birth until now, there have always been people trying to control me…"
"Those rich and powerful guys, they fear my abilities, which is why they constantly try to manipulate my consciousness and control my actions through various methods, thereby turning me into a puppet who obeys them unconditionally."
"I have to say, for a period of time in the past, they indeed succeeded."
"But… that was only because I wanted them to succeed."
Homelander spoke with enthusiasm, first pointing to Stan Edgar below the stage, then aimlessly pointing to everyone else present.
"Guess what, if those guys can really control me, then that means they can definitely control you too."
"No, I should say they are already controlling your thoughts now, you just haven't realized it yet."
"So. I'm f*cking fed up!!"
"I no longer want to be forced to make stupid apologies on camera because of a small accident during a rescue."
"I'm fed up with suffering all sorts of unequal oppression and targeting because of my own power…"
"Honestly, you ordinary people should really thank God for creating perfect superhumans like me for the peace of Earth."
"Because I will help you through difficulties when danger arises."
"Open your eyes and take a good look, how did the recent battles that I wasn't involved in all end up in such a tragic situation?"
"So, all of you damn well admit it, you need me…"
"You need Homelander's salvation!!!"
"And those so-called Avengers, and street heroes, they simply cannot save America."
"Only I, Homelander, am the only one who can save you!"
At this point.
Homelander paused slightly, then with a fierce gaze, he spoke into the camera in an almost roaring yet extremely deep voice:
"You are not true heroes."
"I am the true hero!"
"I am the true hero!!"
"I am the true hero!!!"
The entire performance hall seemed to fall into a deathly silence.
Everyone stared blankly at the "sincere" Homelander on stage.
They didn't know what kind of abnormal behavior the other party would make in the next second.
But just then.
A middle-aged bearded man in the audience, wearing a yellow T-shirt unique to Starlight's fan club, suddenly threw his cup of cola at Homelander and shouted loudly:
"Die, fascist, you're just a stupid B with superpowers!!"
After speaking, he sat down again as if nothing had happened, in full view of everyone, and nodded slightly towards a Pirate girl wearing a white baseball cap in the corner.
And he secretly rejoiced: If he could earn $1000 just by publicly cursing Homelander once, how great would it be if this job were available every day!
However.
The next second.
Sizzle—
Bang—
Accompanied by a red laser beam, more than half of the middle-aged bearded man's head was instantly blown off.
Blood plasma mixed with bone and flesh residue sprayed evenly in a fan shape onto the faces of every audience member behind him.
This sudden scene directly stunned everyone present.
Kill… killing people???
But what was incredibly eerie was that.
In the vast venue, not a single person screamed.
A strong will to survive made everyone seemingly "lose their voice" collectively, all trembling in their seats, not knowing what to do.
But fortunately, the Pirate girl in the white baseball cap in the corner reacted first, raising her hands with excitement and cheering towards Homelander on stage, who had already sobered up from his initial anger, his eyes unfocused, and even a little bewildered:
"Yeah, that's it, this is a true superhero!!!"
Other audience members who had come to their senses also raised their fists under the control of their survival instinct, cheering along, "F*ck yeah!!!"
On stage, Homelander listened to the rising waves of applause and cheers below, and the worry that had just risen in his heart instantly vanished.
And at this moment, the magical voice echoed in his mind once again.
[John, do you see? They finally know who the strongest man in the World is now… From now on, you only need to follow your own heart.]
[And this pleasure is your deserved reward.]
The moment the voice fell, Homelander suddenly felt an extreme pleasure he had never experienced before.
This feeling was different from any sensory stimulation he had experienced previously.
It even transcended the pleasure that "Getsuga Tensho" and "matters between men and women" could bring him.
It could be said to be a brand new version that Homelander had never experienced.
It made him want to indulge in it.
So much so that his good brother, unknowingly, stood up uncontrollably.
And on his forehead, the purple rune symbolizing Slaanesh finally lit up!!
...
…
Sokovia.
Hyperspace Group.
Karl sat on the Golden Throne, "generating power" while browsing the project progress and financial statements submitted by Zemo.
Since Selena successfully "acquired" Rand Industries through the Hell's Kitchen riot half a month ago.
Hyperspace Group's tentacles finally successfully expanded to the U.S. mainland, and opened up a good situation in the relevant fields.
Although in this process, it was repeatedly maliciously obstructed by some mysterious external forces (specifically S.H.I.E.L.D.).
But in the end, everything was smoothly completed with the strong support of General Ross and the Department of Defense.
In addition, after Dr. Samuel Stern finally successfully discovered the "Life Energy Essence Particles" contained within the dragon bone through a large number of experiments.
The dragon bone beneath the Financial Building also officially began an orderly excavation operation.
And during this period.
Dr. Samuel Stern also, in his spare time (busy with this and that), utilized the Extraordinary Factors extracted from the blood samples of William, the ancestor of werewolves, and Alexander Corvinus, the "Immortal + Immune,"
Respectively injected "New Super Soldier Serum 2.0 – Werewolf Version" and "New Super Soldier Serum 2.0 – Immune Version" into a total of twenty soldiers who successfully passed the screening in phases three and four.
Currently, these twenty super soldiers are undergoing 24/7 physical monitoring.
However, if this trend continues, it probably won't be long before the Thunder Warrior Battalion, composed of various different military branches, can be officially formed!!
At the same time, the "Super Immunity Vaccine (single-dose injection)", based on the "special antigen" from Alexander Corvinus's blood sample, which can directly transform viruses infecting his body into substances beneficial to himself, thereby achieving an "immune" effect, has also been officially approved for development.
Moreover, as long as the initial research and development phase is successfully completed, production and processing can be directly carried out using the advanced pharmaceutical enterprises received from Rand Industries.
This not only saves a lot of time, effort, and financial resources on tedious matters such as reinvesting in factory construction, setting up production lines, and recruiting pharmaceutical research teams.
It also greatly shortens the production cycle of related vaccines and future production capacity issues.
It is not difficult to imagine what an incredible sensation this super vaccine will cause worldwide once it is released in the near future.
It is bound to create immeasurable wealth for Karl.
However.
For an old hand at marketing like Karl, he naturally understands the principle of scarcity.
If he didn't take the opportunity to play a little hunger marketing and first thoroughly fleece those wealthy big spenders around the globe, what justice would there be?
Of course, these are all later matters…
But in this process, one point greatly annoyed and frustrated the "research fanatic" Dr. Samuel Stern.
That is, the "immortality gene" in Alexander Corvinus's body is not only completely ineffective on other people, but it also immediately becomes completely ineffective and disintegrates under the influence of some mysterious force as soon as it leaves his body.
Fortunately, Karl had anticipated this and never held much hope from beginning to end, so he naturally wouldn't feel disappointed.
As for the remaining financial statements in the document, Karl directly chose to skip them, casually tossing the folder to the blonde little secretary standing beside him, and then looked at Zemo, who was sitting quietly opposite him, and asked:
"Has Selena found anything new recently?"
Zemo nodded upon hearing this and immediately reported, "According to the latest news from Miss Selena, a large-scale sacrificial ritual similar to the Blood God Cult occurred in California last night, causing at least nearly a thousand civilian casualties…
However, the relevant information is currently under strict official blockade, so the outside World is temporarily unaware of it."
Karl's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this, "It seems these guys are finally starting to act!!"