On the stage, Ashley looked completely lost. Her mind had gone blank.
'Where am I?'
'What am I doing?'
'Right, I was trying to calm the crowd.'
'What is Homelander doing?'
'Did he just call everyone below pigs? Idiots?'
'Has he lost his mind?'
'Why would he do this?'
'Is there something wrong with his head?'
Ashley pinched the spot under her nose as hard as she could. If she didn't, she felt like she would pass out.
Homelander was tearing down his own image.
'How is anyone supposed to work under these conditions?'
'Why did I ever take this job? I'm quitting! I'm quitting!'
After Alex pointed at them and cursed them out, strangely enough, no one answered back with insults.
Whether they had been overwhelmed by Alex's presence or simply hadn't expected Homelander to explode like this, everyone below stood there in a daze.
After a while, a boy with glasses who looked like a student raised his hand.
He said quietly, "But you killed someone, sir."
Alex laughed, "That's right. I killed someone."
"But it was an accident! Do you understand what an accident is?"
"Before you accuse me of killing someone, why don't you look at how many people I've saved?"
"Forget everything else."
"Just think about the night Manhattan fell. How many people survived because of me?"
"What? Have you all conveniently forgot it?"
Alex pointed at the crowd, "Then let me tell you, you idiots!"
"When I was flying around saving people, where were all of you?"
He pointed at a greasy, creepy-looking man.
"You were probably at home watching dirty videos while taking care of yourself with one hand."
Then he pointed at a woman who was holding a man while still making eyes at other men.
"You were probably busy trying to steal someone else's husband."
Alex casually pointed at people throughout the crowd, "You were busy playing games."
"You were probably busy sitting at your keyboard criticizing other people."
"..."
"So tell me, when I was saving people, why didn't any of you come out and praise me?"
"But now that I accidentally killed one person, everything I've done before means nothing to you?"
"So now I'm some unforgivable villain?"
"I'll tell you why that civilian died by accident."
"Because I was overseas hunting down a real criminal."
"And if it weren't for me, every one of you idiots would have had a gun pointed at your head and been forced to eat your own shit!"
"After everything I've done, did I ever ask any of you for a single cent?"
"No. Never."
"So you've been getting my services for free. What gives you the nerve to come out here and pick faults with me?"
On the stage, Ashley's mouth hung open as she stared at the scene in disbelief.
Several hundred people stood below.
Homelander had pointed at them and cursed them without holding back. Not only did no one protest, some of them had already started nodding. They were just short of applauding him.
'What is wrong with these people?'
'Havw they all gone crazy?'
'Do they really enjoy being scolded that much?'
But at that moment, a man suddenly jumped up, pulled a pistol from behind his waist, and shouted, "No matter what."
"You're still a murderer!"
"Die, killer!"
Bang!
He fired.
The bullet struck Alex's forehead, flattened on impact, then dropped to the ground.
Cries immediately broke out around them.
People instinctively crouched down and covered their heads.
Only the gunman remained standing.
Alex smiled, "You're brave."
"But you're also very stupid!"
BOOM!
Two golden beams shot through the air, leaving two black holes in the gunman's face.
He fell back.
The people nearby quickly backed away, leaving an empty space around the body.
A moment later, police officers finally pushed their way through the crowd.
The protest was over.
The police dispersed everyone.
Alex returned to Seven Tower and saw Stormfront holding her phone with a smile on her face.
Hearing footsteps, she looked up at him, "You were amazing just now."
"I've wanted to do that for a long time."
"But you know, we're not as brave as you."
"Look at this."
"Your speech is getting tons of views. It's only been a few minutes, and it's already passed one million."
She waved the phone in front of Alex.
On the screen, Alex saw himself speaking while comments flew across it.
[I think Homelander is right. These people have nothing better to do.]
[Am I the only one who thought what Homelander said was satisfying?]
[Why do you people like a crazy murderer?]
[Homelander's a dumbass. I said it. If he's got the guts, let him come through the internet and hit me!] [T/N: Bro is gonna regret saying that.]
Alex smiled, then suddenly disappeared.
Stormfront froze and looked around, wondering where he had gone.
Soon, a new comment appeared on the screen.
[Holy shit, he really can come through the internet and hit me!] [T/N: LMAO!]
———
[Willis Pharmaceutical Company]
The light from a phone screen reflected on the face of a man with a cybernetic eye.
Dr. Kyle, who was in charge of the Chimera Project, watched the video of Homelander cursing the protesters and snorted.
"That arrogant bastard!"
Just then, his phone rang.
The caller ID showed Wilson.
"Hello, Mr. Secretary."
Dr. Kyle answered, "Homelander visited you this morning?"
"The Chimera Project isn't finished yet."
"That's right. Compound No. 6 still isn't stable enough."
"Yes. I'll do my best to finish it as soon as possible."
"All right. I'll head to the Department of Defense building now."
Still talking on the phone, Dr. Kyle walked away.
As his car left the company, a cleaning company's vehicle drove into the pharmaceutical facility.
After parking in the garage, the doors opened.
Workers wearing black-and-yellow cleaning uniforms got out carrying various tools.
One of them was clearly Asian.
It was Kimiko's younger brother, Kenji.
A man wearing a badge marked "Team Leader" lowered his voice.
"Listen carefully. This company is a secret research facility under the Federal Department of Defense."
"They copied Compound V and created Compound No. 6, which is more efficient and more powerful."
"Based on the information we've gathered, Compound No. 6 is already ready for real combat."
"If we can get our hands on this weapon, our Shining Light Army will be unstoppable!"
The others all nodded, including Kenji.
The team leader looked at Kenji.
"You stay here and cover us. Keep the engine running. The moment we're back, we leave immediately."
Kenji nodded, climbed into the vehicle, and sat in the driver's seat.
The others put on masks, picked up their tools, and entered the building.
———
When Alex returned to Seven Tower again, his phone rang.
After answering, he heard the voice of "Druid" Levin.
["Sir, I lost Kenji."]