Chương 84: Chapter 84: "Hurricane"
"I understand," Samuel Young said, steering the conversation away from nanotechnology. He continued, "Atlas's focus for the coming year will be on civilian matters, such as the reconstruction of Earth-01 and Earth-03, to improve the quality of life for our company's residents as much as possible.
However, the Prime Universe, which enjoys a semblance of order, needs a 'hurricane' to sweep away the filth. Only then can the company and humanity have a conducive environment for growth."
A conducive environment?
"Boss, are you planning to take action against Vought International?" Alexia suddenly perked up.
"Yes," Samuel Young confirmed without hesitation. "Our company's health insurance services, which are affordable for most people and deliver on their promises, have been labeled as unfair competition by those people, accusing us of intentionally starting a price war.
Even now, many media outlets on the East Coast continue to smear our insurance business as a scam.
Next year or the year after, the company will launch extraterrestrial colonization projects, update the healthcare system, and roll out more civilian technologies and new energy products.
In the military sector, Atlas has a large stockpile of outdated weapons and equipment that needs to be sold off. Such large-scale operations inevitably infringe on various industries' interests, with Vought International being just one of them.
But for humanity to progress and develop continuously, each of these projects is indispensable.
Since they claim we initiated this unfair competition, let them experience what real 'unfair' competition is like. Vought International will be our primary target, and along the way, we'll also deal with those inhuman superheroes."
"Hmm, I've always preferred physical competition; it's much more straightforward," Alexia agreed, noting that Vought International's current struggles were closely linked to the Tyrant project she had spearheaded.
Samuel Young didn't comment on that, instead pondering the next steps in the "business war."
Today, in the Prime Universe, the date was January 10, 1996.
The third space gate had opened on September 12, 1995, so the next possible opening date would be November 11, 1996.
From January 10 to November 11, there were still ten months.
In *The Boys*, the protagonists revealed the truth about Compound V to the public through online media, but Vought International's PR team responded quickly, stabilizing the stock price and restoring its reputation.
Therefore, as Alexia suggested, the most effective way to deal with Vought would indeed be through physical means.
Vought International's board members are all protected by superhumans assigned for their security, such as Black Noir, who follows Stan Edgar's orders.
At this stage, Atlas's single-soldier weapons are capable of breaching the defenses of and eliminating most superhumans without causing mass destruction or harming innocent civilians.
Sending in a specialized unit of Hunter teams, skilled in assassination and stealth, could cripple Vought's leadership, rendering them unable to respond effectively.
Next comes the "stock price war."
The internet age in the Prime Universe was ushered in by Atlas, which means the media is under Atlas's control.
Publicly revealing that most superheroes are drug addicts and thrill-seeking killers, and exposing the truth about Compound V, would have a much more devastating impact on Vought, especially with their leadership incapacitated.
As small investors and shareholders lose confidence in Vought and begin to sell off their stocks, without leadership or a PR team to manage the crisis, the stock price would plummet, eventually leading to the suspension of trading.
However, Vought International's top "product," Homelander, is the primary target Atlas needs to address.
Among the strategies to deal with Homelander, one involves Sanguinius, whose psychic powers, enhanced by Samuel Young, now make him capable of facing Homelander in direct combat. But since Sanguinius is not yet fully adept at controlling his powers, Samuel Young needs to personally train him for a while.
Another plan involves reprogramming Soldier Boy's brain.
After nearly two years of research, the bioengineering department has made significant progress. While the reprogrammed Soldier Boy has lost his autonomy, becoming more like a reanimated warrior, he is an excellent "biological weapon."
He can currently follow simple commands, though further testing and adjustments are needed.
In addition to the brain programming, the bioengineering department has focused on studying the unique radiation emitted by Soldier Boy.
This radiation has a powerful suppressive effect on Compound V. If a superhuman were hit by Soldier Boy's high-powered energy blast from his chest, they would lose all their so-called superpowers.
Research analysis suggests that the radiation Soldier Boy continuously emits is similar to gamma radiation.
After all, during his captivity, the former Soviet Union used every means possible to test him, effectively turning Soldier Boy into a "mobile nuclear reactor."
The bioengineering department has named this radiation Gamma-5.
With the detailed data on Gamma-5 uploaded and shared, the research department's single-soldier equipment development team has begun designing weapons specifically to counter superhumans.
Soon, Vought International will no longer pose a threat to humanity in the Prime Universe.
As for how to deal with the superhuman species…
Statistics show that there are over 10,000 superhumans in New York State alone, accounting for 20% of the total superhuman population in the United States.
The total number is around 50,000, nearing 60,000.
Vought International's roots are deep in New York and the U.S. East Coast, with many private hospitals, welfare institutions, and schools, using these established systems to inject Compound V into newborns.
Although the vast majority of individuals who gain superpowers lean towards being scum, believing themselves to be superior to regular humans, many physically disabled children are imprisoned by Vought in welfare institutions and special schools for experimentation.
Therefore, Samuel Young plans to use Gamma-5 to remove Compound V from the superhuman population.
There are also a few "wild" superheroes who, not yet absorbed into Vought's official units, still retain a genuine desire to save the world.
For example, Queen Maeve and Starlight.
But based on the timeline, Starlight may not have been born yet, while Queen Maeve, who is about the same age as Homelander, should be around 16 or 17 years old now.
In the series, Queen Maeve, in her forties, is trapped in a state of helplessness and frustration, unable to change the world under Homelander's threat and Vought's control.
Even so, Queen Maeve still adheres to certain principles, as seen in the third season finale when she selflessly shields others from Soldier Boy's mini "nuclear blast."
Thus, superheroes like Queen Maeve, who are essentially still "human," could be considered for recruitment into Atlas after Vought's complete downfall.
After a few moments of silence.
Samuel Young stopped thinking about how to deal with Vought, turned, and began walking out of the bioengineering center. He instructed Alexia, "Try to have Soldier Boy fully tuned by September this year."
"No problem, leave it to us." Alexia waved her hand as she faced away from Samuel.
Leaving the bioengineering center.
In the semi-open corridor, Samuel Young looked at Sanguinius and Ryan, who had been waiting for some time, and smiled faintly, saying, "For the next few months, you'll be learning by my side, understand?"
"Understood, Father."
—
…
"Wow~! Wow!"
Loud applause echoed through the vast auditorium.
The lights gradually brightened, and the holographic screen suspended at the front of the auditorium went dark.
It was clear that the content just shown had excited the guests, reporters, and cameramen seated there, who all expressed their enthusiasm with applause.
Soon, a male host in a black suit returned to the podium, wearing a professional smile as he addressed the audience:
"Heh heh, it seems everyone is quite excited about Atlas's maglev train. And why wouldn't you be? Something that seemed like it belonged in science fiction movies and games is now about to become part of our everyday lives.
We owe this to the Atlas research team for breaking through technological barriers and successfully refining stable room-temperature superconductors, once again pioneering the future of our world!
Now, it's time for the moment you've all been waiting for—the Q&A session. Has everyone decided on their questions? Let me see…"
As he finished speaking, the reporters in the audience eagerly raised their hands, hoping to be chosen.
After all, today was September 3, 1996, the day of Atlas's annual review and future outlook conference. Every reporter present was desperate for the chance to mention their news agency and name on camera.
Atlas's conferences were typically the top news event in September and October every year. Getting a chance to speak was one of the fastest ways for a journalist to boost their industry reputation.
"You there, yes, the friend in seat 16 in section B, what would you like to say?"
As the host's voice echoed, part of the auditorium lighting focused on a short-haired male reporter wearing glasses.
!
Realizing he had been chosen, the reporter quickly stood up and carefully worded his question: "Hello, host. My name is Holger Nathan from the *Philadelphia Daily*. On behalf of everyone here, I'd like to ask, how has your company managed to achieve absolute dominance in so many fields?"
"Oh, my friend, that's a tough question to answer," the host responded, feigning difficulty before jokingly adding, "Perhaps it's because Mr. Young pays such high salaries and benefits that the research team is working all out, producing a ton of equipment and formulas I can't even begin to understand?"
This non-answer elicited a round of laughter from the audience.
"Got it, host.
Thank you for your reply."
The reporter knew the host wouldn't give a serious response but was satisfied that he had achieved his purpose, smiling as he sat down.
"Next up… the friend in seat 14 in section D, please tell us your question."
The light moved, finally focusing on a short-haired female reporter.
She looked surprised, not expecting to be chosen after raising her hand with the crowd.
Frowning slightly as she stood up, she seemed to hesitate about whether to ask the question her boss had given her.
But in the end, for the sake of a hefty bonus and keeping her job, she nervously asked, "Hello, host. I'm Natalie Weiss from the *New York Morning Post*.
I... I want to ask, what is your company's stance on the recent incident where the supposedly dead Soldier Boy exposed the truth about Compound V online?"
!!
Upon hearing this question, the auditorium fell into a brief, pin-drop silence.
Everyone present knew this topic was sure to ignite controversy, but no one dared to bring it up at an Atlas conference.
Atlas's intimidating military background was one thing, but it was also an invited event. Asking such a contentious question seemed like deliberate provocation.
The girl was too young and hadn't yet experienced the harsh realities of the workplace. It was clear she had been set up by her own company, which was trying to stir controversy while also having a scapegoat to blame.
"Ma'am, your question is even harder to answer than the last one," the host replied, once again showing a troubled expression but without displaying any panic, "Recent news and media reports have shown that Vought International's Compound V serum was created through various extreme experiments on young children and innocent people.
While I can't predict Vought International's fate, I can tell you that Atlas's stance has always been clear: we will never use innocent people for biological experiments.
Finally, I hope everyone refrains from asking similar questions."
"Understood..."
The female reporter, now sweating profusely, returned to her seat, and the light quickly moved away from her.
Those around her felt sorry for her, thinking the young girl's career path would now be particularly difficult.
However, no one noticed that the female reporter, with her head down, had a calm expression, completely free of worry or panic.
It was as if her earlier nervousness was merely an act?
In fact, this "troublesome question" was a setup orchestrated by Atlas's PR department, using personnel they had planted in the *New York Morning Post* months ago. The goal was to deliver yet another blow to Vought International.
—
…
While the annual Atlas conference was being held at the Atlas headquarters building on the West Coast, nearly 4,000 kilometers away in New York.
Vought Tower.
99th-floor conference room:
"Our trading volume dropped by 68% this morning, and it's down another 15% in the last six minutes."
"Ms. Stillwell, we can't reach Mr. Edgar by phone."
"We've also lost contact with the entire board. What should we do?"
All the key members responsible for Vought's operations were gathered here, trying to deal with the most severe PR crisis they had ever faced.
Because if they failed, they would all spend the rest of their lives in a never-ending prison.
The only remaining senior executive, Vice President Madelyn Stillwell, sat at the "V" shaped table, staring blankly out the window.
It seemed that the usually impeccably dressed female executive was completely at a loss for solutions.
First, the abducted Soldier Boy suddenly reappeared, expressionless as he described Vought's operations online and uploaded a large amount of genuine, detailed documentation.
Then the board went missing, the stock price collapsed…
This was a checkmate.
Just then, the previously chaotic and tense conference room suddenly fell silent.
?
Sensing something was wrong, Madelyn turned her chair around and saw Homelander quickly striding toward her, urgently saying, "The crime investigation unit has locked onto Soldier Boy's exact location! We can tell the public he's a Russian spy, and if you let me… let me handle him, we might have a chance to save the company's reputation!"
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