256. Chapter 256: Operation Begins! Heading to the Airport!
......
A week later, a press conference was held at Vought International Headquarters.
Standing at the microphone was President Stan Edgar. He placed his right hand on the podium and looked down at the reporters below, speaking in a deep voice.
"Regarding the events that occurred recently, I express my deepest apologies. Due to someone's oversight, Stormfront became a superhero under Vought. Allowing a racist who attempted to disrupt peace and intentionally provoke war to infiltrate the ranks of superheroes is clearly my dereliction of duty. We will definitely learn from this lesson, reflect deeply, conduct strict investigations, and resolutely prevent similar incidents from happening again!"
Stan Edgar reached out and adjusted the position of the microphone.
"Fortunately, Homelander was able to step in promptly and eliminate Stormfront, this black sheep, for us. Here, I must commend Homelander's decisiveness. It is precisely because he acted decisively enough, giving Stormfront no chance to escape, that the danger was nipped in the bud, preventing things from developing in a worse direction."
Speaking of this, Stan Edgar glanced at Homelander.
Facing the camera, Homelander slightly raised the corner of his mouth. The constantly flashing lights made his face appear somewhat pale, giving the impression of forcing a smile.
"As everyone knows, I am also a black person, so I am well aware of the situation of my companions. Regarding racial discrimination, I maintain an absolute zero-tolerance attitude. Not just me, but Vought International as well."
Stan Edgar's remarks earned him a large round of applause.
Although some white reporters showed disdain on their faces, it was quickly masked by the smiles they put on. There was no other way; this was, after all, politically correct.
"Mr. Jervis."
Stan Edgar left the podium and handed the position over to Xia Shang.
Xia Shang walked to the microphone with steady steps. His appearance made some female reporters in the audience's eyes light up.
His well-tailored off-white suit, combined with his tall and upright physique, perfectly highlighted Xia Shang's extraordinary aura. Especially the muscle definition faintly visible beneath his clothes, it made the female reporters in the audience drool. Of course, the added identity didn't hurt; Vought Vice President, this title alone was worth hundreds of millions of US Dollars.
Xia Shang's expression was serious. After scanning the audience, he spoke, "From today onwards, I will no longer hold the position of Vought Vice President."
As soon as his voice fell, it caused an uproar.
"Mr. Jervis, did I hear that correctly? Were you fired by Vought?"
"Mr. Jervis, could you tell us the specific reason?"
"Is it related to Stormfront? Why did you recruit Stormfront into Vought in the first place? Did you know Stormfront's true nature back then?"
"Is there another hidden reason behind the scenes for your resignation?"
The reporters raised their right hands one after another, loudly throwing out their questions.
However, Xia Shang ignored them. Instead, he turned and nodded to Stan Edgar, then walked directly out of the Vought press conference hall.
...
A black Cadillac was driving on the road to New York Airport.
Xia Shang held the steering wheel with one hand and looked down at the time on his watch.
Hmm, there were still two hours until the time he agreed upon with Hughie.
At the current car speed, there was plenty of time.
It seemed Billy and the others had already obtained information on Soldier Boy's hiding place; otherwise, they wouldn't be flying to Russia without a clear purpose.
An hour later.
Xia Shang arrived at the agreed location ahead of schedule.
Given Billy's identity as a wanted criminal, they would most likely have to choose to take a private airplane to Russia. While waiting, Xia Shang slowly closed his eyes. Leaving Vought temporarily didn't cause him any loss. Anyway, he had already analyzed all the superpowers he needed to analyze. Currently, only Homelander's super strength remained to be fused. However, it probably wouldn't take long before this superpower belonged to him.
He briefly calculated his next goals.
First was Soldier Boy. His super defense and the energy chest blast that could counteract Compound V were of high value. Next was Mindstorm, and finally, Billy's laser eye and Hughie's teleportation. However, based on Hughie's performance in the source material, his superpower was actually more like spatial movement. If it involved space, then its potential was enormous.
But this would only be known after analyzing it.
Xia Shang opened his eyes and summoned the panel.
"9120." He looked at the value on the panel and murmured softly.
Meanwhile.
Inside a small van.
Hughie looked out the window somewhat nervously.
They had visited Mallory a few days ago and learned the truth about the war from her.
Undoubtedly, it was very dirty.
It was during the Cold War period. The MS countries were frantically stockpiling nuclear bombs, leading to empty national vaults. Coupled with the fact that war was a money-burning machine, the two major military blocs were basically holding on by a thread at this time. Although there were no large-scale wars, the speed of burning money hadn't decreased at all. There was no other way; if there was no money, they had to find ways to make money. So both sides continuously sold weapons to some underdeveloped countries that happened to be in the midst of war and needed weapons.
But buying weapons cost money, and fighting wars also cost money. Some local factions, having no money at all, had to resort to flour as hard currency.
However, a certain military bloc didn't refuse, after all, this stuff was indeed valuable. But it only tacitly allowed this stuff to be sold in black person communities in the United States, intending to make black people self-degenerate and self-destruct, thereby causing black person groups to gradually lose discourse power until they completely disappeared.
Of course, this plan was not something that could see the light of day.
So they found Payback, who handled the dirty work. As a result, during the transportation process, they were attacked by another military bloc. At that time, the government didn't expect these guys to be completely useless; describing them as a motley crew couldn't be more fitting. In just one encounter, Payback suffered heavy losses. Even in the end, their leader, Soldier Boy, was captured by the opponent's airplane.
After the war ended.
The CIA signed an agreement with Vought, deciding to completely seal the incident.
Mallory later forming The Boys was also because of this war. On the battlefield, she personally witnessed her colleagues and comrades being killed by Supes. At that time, she realized that keeping these guys would sooner or later be a scourge. Facts proved that her prediction was correct. Lamplighter's large fire plunged her into endless pain.
"Hand over the stuff."
Billy, who was driving, suddenly said.
"Starlight has told me everything."
Hughie was startled, then immediately denied it three times, "I don't know what you're talking about? I'm not hiding anything from you, don't talk nonsense."
"Are you sure?" Billy looked in the rearview mirror.
After a few seconds of stalemate, the stubborn Hughie had no choice but to pull a fruit-green serum from his pocket.
"This is? Compound V?"
Billy looked at the temporary Compound V in Hughie's hand through the rearview mirror.
Only then did Hughie realize that Billy was bluffing him! "Oh, shit! I knew Starlight wouldn't tell you everything on her own." Hughie was a little exasperated, then he asked somewhat unwillingly, "How did you figure it out?"
"Come on, the wrinkles on your forehead these past few days could trap a fly. It's practically written on your face, 'I have something on my mind, come and ask me about it'." Billy's mouth curled into a sneer.
(end of chapter)