"Very good."
Edgar seemed satisfied with Vogbaum's reply and then continued, "Given the suspicion that the CIA and all arms dealers are involved in the abduction of soldier boy, the plan to bring the envoys of the homeland to the forefront needs to be brought forward.
Ms. Stewell, please inform the media team, especially the comic book and novel editors who are developing the origins and superpowers of Homelander, to ensure that Homelander is portrayed as an omnipotent and the most powerful superhero in history, bar none."
"I understand." Madeline nodded slightly and suggested, "Sir, I think it would be more natural to drop the 'The' from 'Homelander' and use the title 'Homelander' instead."
"As long as it satisfies the board and ensures the company's continued profitability, these are decisions you can make yourselves."
Edgar said without objection.
"Okay, then leave it to me."
While Vought's top brass discussed who orchestrated the attack, in Accra, the capital of Ghana, which is 10,000 kilometers away from New York and has a time difference of 5 hours ahead of New York, the sun was already setting.
The orange red light dyes the clouds, and with the pleasant tropical climate, golden beaches and turquoise ocean to the south, it looks like a resort paradise.
If it weren't in Africa, Accra would be a popular destination for tourists from all over the world, but it's also associated with negative things like war, disease, and robbery...
Even though Ghana is considered to be at a relatively high level in terms of security, education, health, and medical care across the entire African continent, no one dares to risk their own safety and hesitates to come here.
However, Accra has undergone a dramatic transformation without anyone noticing.
Overlooking the city, its central blocks and streets are framed by various conspicuous black and yellow warning fences, as these areas are undergoing large scale renovations, transformations, and construction.
Many construction sites have erected the unfinished prototypes of skyscrapers, apartments, or office buildings that are hundreds of meters high.
Meanwhile, some construction sites are digging downwards, seerningly trying to improve, or even rebuild, the city's underground power, water, and electricity systems as much as possible.
Furthermore, the construction team seemed tireless, and even as darkness fell, nothing could stop them from working late into the night, continuing their construction efforts.
Based on the prominent red 'A' markings on their uniforms and protective gear, it's easy to guess that they are Atlas employees, belonging to one of the largest and most extensive departments, and one that consumes the most funds.
Engineering Department.
The Engineering Department has several branches, such as the engineers who operate with the ARS Company and have higher authority and access to core secrets, as well as regular personnel gathered in Accra city to build infrastructure.
Since the completion of the Accra campus, which is responsible for the production and testing of the next generation of weapons, Atlas has begun to radiate and expand outward from the campus, and has continuously summoned engineers deployed around the world to the campus.
After all, Accra is closest to the ruins containing the portal, making it the most suitable location to develop into a stronghold second only to Seattle.
Between 1993 and 1994, Atlas's arrival directly spurred rapid economic development in the region.
Many family members and friends also followed the construction workers to Accra, intending to stay there long term, and thus became the main consumer group in the area.
The other 30% of the construction team consisted of locals who were rigorously selected by the human resources department through a series of exams and tests.
Ensuring that the selected local employees are loyal is the most important thing. Secondly, they should have a sense of responsibility and professionalism. And third should have no violent nature that would disrupt the work environment
Of course, this is not directed at any particular place or person, but rather that Atlas goes through the same process when recruiting new employees, regardless of location.
The company treats every team and employee who is truly integrated into the core equally. For example, the elite ARS Third Infantry Company, which provides support to Leon, was equipped with mechanical exoskeletons and the latest individual weapons earlier than the Hunter Company led by Arthur Morgan.
Similarly, most of the Thunder Warriors who can be directly deployed to combat and carry out missions are assigned and arranged by the Hunter Company.
While feelings of comparison and envy cannot be truly eradicated, Atlas transforms these emotions into healthy competition.
The company or department with the best performance this year will receive corresponding equipment, weapons and rewards. Even if it comes in last place, Sui Yang, as the boss, will give it a consolation prize out of his own pocket. There is no pie in the sky.
But the prerequisite for all of this is to successfully become an employee who has signed a legally binding contract with Atlas, and in reality, 90% of people fail at this step.
As for the local population in Accra, the actual figure is much higher than 90% due to various factors.
Besides infrastructure, which Atlas excels at and seems to love the most, the security situation in Accra has also improved significantly.
If one continue to observe from a bird's eye view, it is not difficult to find that there are often pairs of people, armed with guns, patrolling the streets with soldiers wearing dark blue combat uniforms.
If they find that there is traffic congestion, these soldiers will also act as traffic police, rushing to the scene to direct and clear the traffic.
These armbands, all marked with a red 'A' symbol, identify soldiers who are actually regular mercenaries of Atlas, providing contracted services to unofficial clients.
A private company, in principle, has no right to interfere in the maintenance of public order in a city.
But once Accra's police department, and even emergency services and public departments such as fire departments and hospitals, received sponsorships from Atlas in the hundreds of millions of dollars, all the problems were solved.
The personnel providing emergency services were disbanded and reorganized, and Atlas was put in charge of training, screening, and appointing them.
If it weren't for the principles of sovereignty, international consensus, and certain restrictions imposed by international law, Atlas and Sui Yang would have been fully capable of buying the entire country of Ghana.
All of this has not yet attracted much attention from the outside world, but given the current efficiency and pace of the sweeping renovations and reorganizations, it is only a matter of time before the outside world becomes aware of it.
However, Atlas's public relations department is already preparing countermeasures to deal with all sorts of tricky topics fabricated by the media for the sake of sensationalism and traffic, such as "Atlas is interfering with the sovereignty of other countries! Desecrating democracy!" and "Atlas Corporation is trying to legalize its colonial practices!"
In response, Sui Yang would like to summarize by quoting Jonathan Irons, the villain from Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.
"Drop a few bombs, overthrow a dictator, and declare democracy on ruins? Don't be ridiculous. People need protection, rules, boundaries, security, and the infrastructure to support everything."