107. Chapter 107: Crisis Reversal, Homelander's Contingency Unleashed
The next day, Madelyn Stillwell received a joint summons from the FBI and the CIA. At first, she didn't pay it much mind; after all, it wasn't the first time she'd been interrogated by the FBI, and she always managed to emerge unscathed.
"Madelyn Stillwell," Susan said, sitting across from Madelyn Stillwell and turning slightly, "we have obtained evidence of Vought's illegal activities and crimes. Moving forward, we hope you will actively cooperate with our investigation and cease all of Vought's current activities."
Susan had long wanted to curb the power of the Vought behemoth. Now, with the evidence provided by Billy, she could finally get rid of this long-standing burden on her mind.
"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't quite catch your meaning," Madelyn Stillwell said, still maintaining a calm and composed smile.
"You and your company are finished, unequivocally, completely finished. How about that, do you understand now?"
If she weren't mindful of the staff present, Susan would even want to open a bottle of champagne to celebrate this great moment.
Her words made Madelyn Stillwell realize the seriousness of the matter.
Previously, the FBI's attitude was also poor, but they would never say things like Vought was finished. Since the other party dared to say this, it indicated they might really possess some crucial evidence against Vought.
Seeing the smile disappear from Madelyn Stillwell's face, Susan continued, "For the past half-century, you have been instilling in Americans the idea that your Superheroes are Children of God."
"You need to understand the seriousness of injecting illegal drugs into babies," Susan said, taking out that vial of Compound V.
Seeing the blue liquid in her hand, Madelyn Stillwell's expression darkened further.
"This isn't even the worst part. What did you do to this person? Why did you do this?" Susan said, placing the image of Kimiko in front of Madelyn Stillwell.
"I've never seen her before," Madelyn Stillwell said. This time, she was telling the truth; she truly didn't know who the girl in the image was.
Afterwards, Susan demanded that Madelyn Stillwell withdraw the Military Bill. She would not allow Superheroes to access the United States' military forces.
"Impossible," Madelyn Stillwell replied. "The bill has already entered the Full House voting stage."
"Then find any reason to withdraw it," Susan pressed. "If you agree, we can return to the previous situation. We will still be the Authorities and the Army, and you will just be a bunch of assholes running around in capes."
Susan stated that if Madelyn Stillwell refused this request, she would make all the evidence in her hands public to all Media.
By then, besides having to face the accusations of people across the United States, Vought International's shares would also fall to zero, and there would also be a large number of civil lawsuits as well as criminal charges.
Just then, a CIA staff member walked up to Susan's side and brought her some bad news.
"Let's stop here for now," Susan said. "You think about it."
With that said, Susan stood up and left the Interrogation Room, then turned and walked into the Monitoring Room nearby.
On the screen in the Monitoring Room, footage of the Navy SEALs' operation was playing. A staff member nearby said to Susan that about twelve minutes ago, the Navy SEALs had apprehended the mastermind behind the Flight 37 incident. But during this process, the Navy SEALs encountered a man with the word 'Naqib' tattooed on his chest.
While speaking, the staff member also pulled up the surveillance footage from that time.
What they saw was that man's chest emitted a reddish-white light. Immediately after, the light spread across his entire body. The result was that in the next second, endless flames burst forth, igniting the entire House. The Navy SEALs were all killed. The subsequent screen image shocked Susan even more: that man was actually able to walk out of the sea of fire safely and unharmed after the explosion.
"Naqib means 'leader'," the staff member explained. "That should be his Supe name."
Susan stared in disbelief at Naqib on the screen. "Are you saying they have a Superhuman Terrorist?"
Returning to the Interrogation Room, Susan's face was grim. She looked at Madelyn Stillwell and said, "I never thought you Vought would be so utterly depraved. But I have to say, you won. Still, I always believe that a company with no bottom line will eventually face retribution one day."
Susan was currently unable to ascertain how many Superhuman Terrorists Vought International had converted. She simply couldn't believe what kind of disaster these guys would cause once they arrived in America.
"I don't understand?" Madelyn Stillwell couldn't understand at all what the other party was saying.
Could it be that Homelander stepped in and threatened them? "You will understand," Susan said. "Tomorrow, people from the Ministry of Defense will come looking for you again."
And so, Susan left the FBI's Interrogation Room frowning. After she returned to Vought Tower, she only then figured out what exactly had happened through various connections.
She sat at the computer desk, looking at the video on the computer screen, which she didn't know how many times it had been shared. "Naqib..."
"Could it be because of the Compound V that got out? But this is actually good news." A smile returned to Madelyn Stillwell's lips. It seemed things had truly taken a turn. The Ministry of Defense and the FBI, pressured by the Superhuman Terrorist's threat, would definitely allow her Military Bill to pass smoothly.
......
Inside a Villa in the New York Suburbs.
Billy called Xia Shang. Because Susan had told Billy that a special situation had arisen and she could not guarantee the safety of the four-person investigation team, Billy and the others had to find a way to save themselves.
Just then, he thought of the mysterious Xia Shang.
"Hey, listen man, we need your help now." While calling Xia Shang, Billy told Hughie to go find Starlight.
"Why?" Hughie was a bit confused.
Billy slightly moved the phone away and started yelling at Hughie: "Please use that peanut-sized brain of yours to think! Before long, Vought will pin the blame for killing Translucent on us. By then, Homelander will definitely send Starlight and the others to openly hunt us down.
You go find Starlight now, tell her everything about the Compound V, let her understand what the so-called Children of God really are, so she won't have time to come after us."
Then, Billy put the phone back to his ear.
"What do you need me to do?" Xia Shang said calmly.
"Help us find a place that's safe enough, or tell me that damn Homelander's weakness!"
The time left for Billy was running out. He wasn't resigned to just sneaking away like this to hide Overseas. He wanted revenge!
"I can't do the former," Xia Shang replied, "but I do have a bit of a lead on the latter."
Xia Shang's words made Billy instantly perk up. He asked impatiently, "You know Homelander's weakness?"
His tone contained a hint of surprise.
Unexpectedly, Xia Shang shook his head. "No, I don't know. But perhaps one person does know. At Vought, the only person Homelander trusts is Madelyn Stillwell. Homelander's emotion towards her is very complex; there's both familial affection and love. If there is one person who knows Homelander's weakness, that person is most likely Madelyn Stillwell."
"Madelyn Stillwell, Vought's Vice President?" Billy frowned.
"That's right," Xia Shang said.
If Madelyn Stillwell doesn't die, how can I rise to power? Such a risky matter naturally has to be left to Billy and the others.
"Thanks," Billy said and hung up the phone. At this moment, he had already made a decision.
In the Villa's living room, Xia Shang looked at the phone in his hand showing the call had ended, smiled slightly, and tossed it onto the sofa. Homelander's weakness? Xia Shang narrowed his eyes. Now was not a good time for Soldier Boy to make an appearance.
This guy, just like Homelander, is a bomb that is still uncontrollable. One Homelander is enough to give him a headache, let alone releasing a second Homelander. If he just wanted to analyze his superpower, that would be putting the cart before the horse.
Right now, he hasn't even gotten his hands on Homelander's superpower, let alone Soldier Boy's superpower. Xia Shang estimated that Soldier Boy's superpower's fusion condition would only be more stringent than Homelander's. Since he couldn't fuse it immediately, there was no need to do something so difficult and unrewarding.
Xia Shang summoned his panel. [Blazing Wings Fusion in progress, Current Progress: 96%]
Just then, Xia Shang turned and walked towards the Basement. His back gradually bulged with two lumps. When he arrived at the empty Basement, the lumps transformed into two arms. Swish! The arms rapidly extended, shooting out countless thorns and bone spikes. In the blink of an eye, the bone spikes formed two hideous wings with a wingspan of several meters.
Xia Shang manipulated the wings to wrap around the two mannequins beside him. As thick black smoke rose, the two mannequins were melted into a puddle of black liquid in just a few breaths.
Xia Shang shook his wings, shaking off the black viscous liquid.
Then, he walked to the table where the iron cage was placed. Inside the iron cage were a few lab mice Xia Shang had bought for experiment.
The lab mice in the cage seemed to sense Xia Shang's approach and were immediately scared into a ball, trembling.
"Although I can manipulate other creatures through blood manipulation, there are also certain limitations," Xia Shang said. He placed his hand over the iron cage. Just then, a strand of blood thread dangled down from his fingertip.
The instant the blood thread touched the lab mouse, it was like a living thing, drilling directly into the lab mouse's body.
At first, the lab mouse showed no abnormality, but soon, it suddenly convulsed violently and fell onto the ground covered with sawdust.
A few seconds later, the lab mouse shakily stood up. Except for its movements being stiffer than before, everything else was normal.
"Not enough."
After saying this, he dangled down another strand of blood. The lab mouse injected with the second strand of blood immediately became much more agile in its movements, almost exactly the same as before.
This is because Xia Shang's blood contains his consciousness. The more blood he injects, the more natural the object he is manipulating will become. However, once the blood leaves his main body, it is equivalent to rootless duckweed and will dissipate before long.
Furthermore, as the object he is manipulating becomes stronger in strength, the more blood needs to be injected. If it were someone of Homelander's level, he estimated that even if he drained himself dry, he wouldn't be able to control them for more than a few seconds. It can't be helped; as of now, his consciousness and cellular life level are not considered strong.
In addition, he can also possess others. However, the target he possesses will usually become brain dead immediately.
In summary.
Xia Shang believed this ability has a certain development potential. If he could fuse more talent abilities related to blood, it would surely become even more perfect.
Meanwhile.
In order to figure out if what Hughie said was true, Starlight bought a train ticket overnight and returned to the small city of Des Moines, where she met Her Mother.
Under her persistent questioning, Her Mother finally told her the truth.
Upon learning that she was truly Vought's experiment subject, Starlight's faith of many years was directly shattered. In an instant, her proud Child of God identity became a joke.
While feeling incredibly lost, Starlight also felt waves of nausea. She now felt like she was an artificially synthesized monster.
"How much money did they give you?" Starlight demanded, looking at Her Mother.
"They didn't give me money," Her Mother replied. "They only paid for the basic medical expenses."
Her Mother shook her head.
"Why?" Starlight didn't understand.
"Because they promised you would have the opportunity to live an extraordinary life, powerful, successful, and special," Her Mother explained, and as she did, she also wanted to touch Starlight's hair to comfort her. "Who wouldn't want their child to live a life like that..."
Her arm was slapped away by Starlight. Starlight said angrily, "You made me think I was chosen by God!"
"Wasn't it?" Her Mother countered. "It was God who brought Vought to our House, and that's how you came to be."
Looking at the Mother before her who, for vanity, treated her own child as an experiment subject, the anger in Starlight's chest surged. She yelled loudly at Her Mother.
Her eyes were filled with resentment. At this moment, any explanation or apology from Her Mother seemed incredibly futile. Finally, she angrily rushed out of the House.
......
Early the next morning.
Homelander pushed open Xia Shang's Office door. He took a few photos printed with the heads of Billy and others and placed them in front of Xia Shang. "Mr. Jervis," he said, "according to Vought's investigation, these few people are the real culprits behind killing Translucent. I want you to issue a nationwide manhunt for them on the entire internet. Once there is any trace of them, report it to me immediately."
"No problem," Xia Shang said. He looked at the few photos on the table; they were all very clear full-body photos. He didn't know where Homelander got them from.
"As soon as possible," Homelander said with a detached expression.
"You have to believe in the strength of netizens," Xia Shang said with a smile.
Xia Shang smiled and put the photos away.
"Oh, right," Xia Shang said, looking at the computer screen. "Currently, a video has leaked on the internet. Although that video was quickly banned across the entire internet, it still caused heated discussion among people."
"Are you referring to the video of the Superhuman Terrorist wiping out the Navy SEALs?" Homelander asked, showing a sunny smile. He stood with his hands behind his back, standing at Xia Shang's Office's floor-to-ceiling window, the corner of his mouth seeming to carry a hint of smugness.
Xia Shang nodded. "That's right," he said. "Some netizens have already started questioning Vought. Since they are Children of God, why would they become Extremist Terrorists?"
Homelander frowned, turned and looked at Xia Shang. "Can you find those people's IP addresses?"
"Yes, I can," Xia Shang replied, "but there are quite a few netizens raising questions. If I were to find all of them, it would take some time."
"Never mind," Homelander said. "Dealing with them one by one is too troublesome. I'll leave this matter for you to handle entirely. It's best to make those guys shut up within a short period of time." Seeing that Vought International's submitted Military Bill was about to pass, Homelander didn't want any complications.
"Since among Jesus' disciples there was even a traitor like Judas, for a few bad guys to appear among its Children is also very normal."
"That's right," Homelander said, satisfied, placing his hand on Xia Shang's shoulder.
(End of Chapter)