Chapter 35.
"Every time I'm upset, my mom buys me a lollipop, and then I feel really, really happy!" the little girl said with a wide smile.
Li Yue's anger instantly melted away. He couldn't help but squat down to the girl's level and gently took the lollipop from her tiny hand.
"My mom said you saved us, so she asked me to give you a lollipop. Don't be sad, big brother!" she added.
Before Li Yue could respond, the little girl turned and ran toward a beautiful woman, who scooped her up and lovingly petted her head. The woman then looked at Li Yue and smiled warmly.
"Thank you for saving us!" she said. Li Yue couldn't help but wonder how she, a fellow American is not hating him.
"Get out! Get out!"
Li Yue's previously bright mood was completely ruined as he heard the loud shouts from the group of hostages. He looked around and saw that the hostages had split into two groups. One group, which was made up mostly of white people, continued to berate him, while the other group stood silently, waiting for the police to rescue them.
"Wow, look! Homelander is here!"
"Homelander, please tell your servant to leave, and we'll be saved as long as you come!"
Li Yue was about to intervene when an excited voice echoed from behind him.
"Thunder, it looks like everyone likes me more now!"
It was Homelander. He walked up to Li Yue, waved at the crowd, and then whispered something to him while leaning in close.
"Thunder, I have to criticize you. You're a superhero with superpowers, so why are you letting these inferior humans insult you and remain indifferent?" Homelander continued. "We should be the rulers of this world! Watch and learn, my friend!"
Li Yue was confused. He wasn't sure what Homelander was planning, but he had no choice but to watch as he walked toward the group of people who had been shouting at him.
"I heard you like me so much," Homelander said with a smile, addressing the group of hostile hostages.
"Yes! We like you so much! We're your fans! It's so great to see you!" several of them exclaimed.
Some of them were genuine fans, hoping for Homelander to rescue them. But more of them had been mocking Li Yue, feeling emboldened by their numbers and thinking that Li Yue wouldn't dare retaliate.
"Since you like me so much, you must want my autograph, right?" Homelander asked with a grin.
"Of course! It would be an honor!" they eagerly replied.
The situation seemed more like a fan meeting than a life-or-death hostage situation.
"But how can I sign without a pen?" Homelander asked, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Oh! I know! I can leave you a signature you'll never forget!"
With that, the smile on Homelander's face disappeared, and his eyes began to glow a deep, unsettling red. In an instant, two red beams shot out, cutting through the crowd. The people who had been insulting Li Yue were sliced in half, their bodies falling to the ground in a horrific display.
"Ah! It's a murder!" someone screamed.
"Everyone, run! He's killing people!"
"Silence!" Homelander shouted, his eyes still glowing red. "Anyone who dares to speak will be next!"
The remaining hostages immediately fell silent, too scared to make a sound. Li Yue was shocked, unable to believe what he had just witnessed. Homelander had killed the people who insulted him–—just like that.
Among the hostages, the little girl's mother hurriedly covered the girl's eyes and mouth, trying to protect her from the brutal scene.
"How do you feel?" Homelander asked, turning to Li Yue with a sadistic smile. "Does this make you happy? You saw me do what you probably wanted to do yourself, right? We are superhumans, chosen by God, meant to rule this world. These human lives are like ants to us!"
As he spoke, he turned his gaze toward one of the gangsters who had been hit by Li Yue earlier and was wearing a bomb vest.
Homelander's eyes glowed brighter. "This can't be reported by the media, so…"
In a flash, the red beams shot out again, hitting the bomb. There was a massive explosion.
Boom!
The blast was deafening, sending flames and shockwaves throughout the bank. Glass shattered, and the force of the explosion sent debris flying everywhere. Li Yue and Homelander were unharmed by the blast, but the hostages around them were caught in the destruction.
The heat from the explosion scorched Li Yue's clothes, and he was thrown back by the force of the shockwave. He could feel the searing heat on his skin, and his uniform was instantly burned to rags.
Seconds passed, and the chaos gradually died down. Only Li Yue and Homelander remained standing amidst the carnage. The remnants of the hostages lay scattered across the ground, their bodies torn apart by the explosion.
"Don't say anything when we leave," Homelander's voice echoed in Li Yue's ear. "As long as you follow me and don't betray me, you can do whatever you want."
Li Yue didn't go out. He looked back at the explosion site, unsure of what to think. After all, Homelander had done it for him, but Li Yue felt no gratitude toward him.
"I'm sorry we're late. We only arrived when the gangsters detonated the bomb. We couldn't rescue them. We couldn't save those innocent people!" Homelandersaid, his expression suddenly filled with pain and remorse. His face changed quickly, and Li Yue was stunned by his acting skills.
The combat suits of both Homelanderand Li Yue had been destroyed in the explosion, but with Homelander's excellent acting, he managed to earn the sympathy and comfort of the crowd.
"We don't blame you. You did your best!" "Yes, don't blame yourself. The gangsters were too cruel!"
It had to be said, Homelander's acting was outstanding. If he were to participate in the Oscars, he would definitely win a little gold man!
In the end, the crowd didn't push all the blame onto the superheroes like they did in the superhero movies Li Yue had seen before, where the heroes would be criticized and verbally abused. Some even took the lead in clapping, comforting Homelander and Li Yue, who were both wearing tattered suits.
Li Yue found the situation very ironic. No matter how good real superheroes were, they would always face accusations from some people. Yet this fake "guardian Homelander" was treated gently by the public!
At this time, Madeleine's office was discussing the disappearance of the Translucent–.
"Vice President, Translucent has been missing for a week, and countless fans have been asking about him. If he doesn't reappear in the public eye soon, it could spark suspicion! If public opinion falls into the hands of those with ill intentions, it could be very damaging for us."
Madeleine's assistant spoke up, explaining that the matter was now beyond her control and she needed Madeleine's guidance.
"Hmm... What's the current situation with Starlight's support?" Madeleine asked after a pause, avoiding the direct issue of Transparency.
"After the incident last week, Starlight's support skyrocketed, surpassing some members of the Seven, such as Deep, A-Train, and Black Noir. However, Starlight is resisting our arrangements and is reluctant to cooperate," the assistant replied.
"Alright, then we'll announce that Translucent has retired from the Seven and Vought Corporation has decided to have Starlight take over his position." Madeleine thought for a moment. Since Translucent hadn't appeared again, it was likely that he was gone, and dragging things out wasn't helpful. It was better to let Starlight take his place directly. Even though there might be public doubts, with the right strategy, Starlight's popularity could continue to rise.
It was worth noting that Starlight's support had already surpassed Deep and A-Train, and she –was only behind Thunder and Queen Maeve. Interestingly, Li Yue's popularity had caught up to Queen Maeve's, and if not for his identity issue, he might have even surpassed her.
"But Vice President, Starlight is somewhat opposed to our arrangement. What should we do?" the assistant asked quietly, reminding Madeleine of Starlight's resistance.
"I'll find time to talk to her. Also, make sure to prepare Starlight's staffing and publicity plan as soon as possible, and get her ready with various talking points for emergencies. Don't make any mistakes!" Madeleine replied.
"Got it, I'll get on it right away."
"Good. Call me if you need anything."
–The next day, Li Yue seemed calm on the outside, but inside, he was far from peaceful. After saving others, he had been insulted, and Li Yue was very angry. He even thought about beating them up, letting them feel a punch as big as a sandbag!
However, Li Yue had not expected Homelanderto go as far as to kill everyone. It wasn't enough to just kill the group of people who had insulted him—he killed everyone!
Li Yue didn't complain further about Homelander's cruelty, but he began to question himself. He had the power to save everyone, but he only saved the mother and daughter. Why hadn't he done more?
Li Yue didn't save the others. He watched them explode and die. If he had rescued everyone, it would surely have been noticed by Homelander. Li Yue couldn't afford to have his actions attract his attention.
In simple terms, Li Yue couldn't risk losing the opportunity to grow rapidly while staying close to Homelander. Therefore, Li Yue suppressed his instincts and avoided doing anything that would draw attention to himself. This was exactly what happened today.
Li Yue realized that since entering this world and joining the Seven, or since discovering that he could rapidly grow his strength by staying near Homelander, his character had begun to change. Before, Li Yue had thought of himself as someone who wasn't a saint, but if he saw someone in danger, as long as they weren't his enemy, he would usually help them.
However, now Li Yue found that not only could he save himself from death, but he could do so without any regret. In fact, he even began to long for the power of Homelander, imagining a life where he could do whatever he wanted and kill anyone who made him unhappy!
At this moment, Li Yue could only silently remind himself to stay grounded. Even though he couldn't be a true superhero who sacrifices his life to help others, at least he needed to be conscientious and not kill the innocent indiscriminately!
Thinking about this, Li Yue reflected on himself. After this week, his strength had increased significantly—by almost 16%. With his previous progress, his total strength was now almost one-fifth of Homelander's.
His progress was far from unsatisfactory. If things continued like this, Li Yue could become another superhero in less than a month, at least in terms of strength. By then, he wouldn't have to be like he was now—just a shadow, following Homelander around.
A little more than twenty days passed, and Li Yue had now been in this world for almost a month. During these past twenty days, no major events occurred. The protagonist group, whether they were truly respecting Li Yue's wishes or just delayed by other matters, had not made any significant moves.
Li Yue, on the other hand, had finally evolved his strength to about seven-tenths of Homelander's. However, the good news came with some bad news. Li Yue noticed that, despite still following Homelander, his ability to evolve seemed to have hit a bottleneck. The rate of progress had slowed down drastically!
This made Li Yue feel a bit depressed. He estimated the situation: now, he could only increase his strength by less than one-thousandth per day. Although the progress was still significant, Li Yue couldn't accept such a slow rate of improvement.
At this rate, it would take almost a year for Li Yue to evolve to perfection and match the strength of Homelander!
A year... That's not too long, but Li Yue couldn't wait that long!
...…
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