Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Taking a Risk
"Criminal Investigation Unit?"
Madeline gave a self-deprecating smile and said, "John, without the full support of the Pentagon and the New York Police Department, how could they have locked onto Soldier Boy so quickly? Have you ever thought about that?"
"Uh..." Homelander was at a loss for words.
The core members of Vought immediately realized that this was information deliberately leaked by Soldier Boy to the investigation team. Clearly, it was a trap.
Not long ago, Soldier Boy had registered accounts on major social media platforms and video-sharing sites, adding tags like "#Superhero," "#VoughtInternational," and "#BloodForBlood" to draw attention. He uploaded a ten-minute video.
In the video, Soldier Boy, with long hair and a beard, wore his classic dark green outfit from the 1980s. His expression was cold as he began to speak in a deep, serious tone.
He first admitted that he was undeniably a jerk and deserved to be judged by the law, but he shouldn't be the scapegoat for Vought International, the U.S. government, and his former teammates' betrayal.
As he spoke, the video showed footage of experiments conducted on him by Soviet scientists.
In the middle of the video, Soldier Boy dropped another bombshell, revealing that his former teammates were nothing like their glamorous public images—it was all a façade.
At this point, the video also included a heavily censored montage, exposing Vought's annual "Herogasm" event to the public.
Soldier Boy would occasionally add commentary, describing scenes of drug use, rape, and sadistic killings during the event, until the video finally ended.
Within ten minutes of being uploaded, the video quickly surpassed a million views. After an hour, it skyrocketed to sixty million, spreading across the globe almost instantly.
Many people who had been harmed by superheroes' so-called "vigilante" actions, or those who had witnessed such brutality firsthand, flooded the comments section, causing the video's popularity to soar even higher.
In the past, Vought's PR team would have pressured major platforms to take down all related videos, released a clarification statement, and pursued legal action against the so-called defamers.
But unfortunately for Vought, Soldier Boy had also attached document links in the video descriptions on all platforms, exposing numerous secrets of Vought International.
At this point, the public didn't just lose trust in Vought; they were furious.
In many southern cities across the U.S., citizens spontaneously formed militias and began attacking all Vought-owned assets.
Externally, chaos reigned, and Vought's stock price plummeted.
Internally, morale was unstable as well. Stan Edgar and the entire board of directors had gone missing collectively earlier this morning.
There was no need for further speculation; Madeline and the remaining key members of the company knew they were facing a well-prepared ambush from a formidable enemy, and the situation seemed almost impossible to resolve.
The worst part was that the enemy pulling the strings had also exposed Vought's and the CIA's covert operations against Russia online, directly escalating tensions between Washington and Moscow.
Vought had become a public enemy.
Yet the Criminal Investigation Unit managed to pinpoint Soldier Boy's location even before the military or the police. If this wasn't a trap, what else could it be?
Homelander was slow to catch on, but he finally understood the meaning behind Madeline's sarcasm.
His thoughts were simple and direct—if he could take care of Soldier Boy, the root of the problem, there might be a chance to turn the situation around, save the company from its peril, and emerge as a hero in everyone's eyes.
At this moment, having composed herself, Madeline stood up and said, "John, you stay. The rest of you, leave."
Seeing this, the remaining key members reluctantly put aside their work and left the room one by one.
Once the automatic doors closed, the conference room fell into silence, leaving only a bewildered and lost Homelander, and Madeline, who was unbuttoning her collar.
Madeline approached the increasingly nervous Homelander, gently caressing his cheek with her left hand while her right hand roamed his body. She spoke in a seductive tone:
"John, would you do anything for me?"
"Of... of course." Homelander swallowed hard.
Hearing this, Madeline hooked her left arm around Homelander's neck, pulling them closer, and changed her tone: "Then go kill Soldier Boy. And kill everyone who stands in your way—leave no one alive. Let the whole world know who you are and just how powerful you truly are."
"I..." Homelander hesitated.
To be honest, ever since he was a child, he had been forced to watch the experiment footage of Soldier Boy, and had been influenced by countless movies and TV shows. Deep down, Homelander still harbored a sense of reverence and fear toward Soldier Boy.
Secondly, he was considering whether killing everyone might be a bit too extreme.
"What's the matter? Don't you want to?" Madeline pretended to be disappointed and distanced herself from Homelander.
"No... no, I'll go right now!"
As if making up his mind, Homelander no longer hesitated or wavered. He immediately turned and left the conference room.
Before long, Homelander's swiftly flying figure flashed past the left side of the floor-to-ceiling window and quickly disappeared.
"Whoosh!"
Confirming that Homelander was truly gone, Madeline breathed a sigh of relief, collapsing into a chair with her hands trembling uncontrollably.
Madeline knew full well the consequences of doing this, but Vought—or rather, she herself—had no other choice. The only one she could rely on and use was Homelander.
Because if Vought fell, as the actual mastermind behind kidnapping, threats, and murder, Madeline would face certain doom, with the best outcome being death.
She didn't want to die, nor was she willing to give up. Now that the board of directors was gone and she was the only remaining senior executive at Vought, she might as well let Homelander use the opportunity of killing Soldier Boy to exert his power and take one last gamble.
Who knows, it might just bring a glimmer of hope.
...
Not long after.
About 120 kilometers from Manhattan, there was an island named Gardiners.
Since it wasn't the peak tourist season and the island was currently closed, there should have been only a dozen or so staff members on Gardiners Island.
But, floating in the air, Homelander frowned.
In the past few seconds, he had circled the island twice but hadn't seen a single person.
The only heat source was inside a warehouse on the southern side of the island.
It seemed the staff had been deliberately sent away, and he was debating whether to go or not.
But the thought of possibly receiving a "reward" from Madeline afterward made Homelander stop hesitating. He headed straight for the warehouse.
Boom!
In an instant, the roof was effortlessly pierced by Homelander, who now stood in the dusty, dimly lit warehouse.
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