321. Chapter 320: Shout My Name Loudly! Who Am I!
What's more, Soldier Boy is extremely self-centered. Once he believes he's doing the right thing, he won't show respect to anyone, even if God himself showed up.
This is completely the opposite of Homelander. Homelander cares too much about his image and reputation, so he can be easily controlled by the Media. But Soldier Boy is different. First and foremost, he sees himself as a hero from a fairy tale, a hero who leads humanity to defeat villains.
Therefore, he has a considerably flexible moral bottom line. In other words, his moral bottom line serves himself.
This is also why he felt guilty about accidentally killing passersby. After all, Soldier Boy never intended to kill them.
If Soldier Boy were standing On Stage tonight, and he believed everyone below the stage deserved to die, he would probably use a nuclear explosion to clear the entire venue, and he would feel completely justified throughout the process. He wouldn't care about social public opinion or negative impacts. What he wants is absolute obedience.
If Soldier Boy were to manage The Seven, Starlight and the others would be in trouble.
Because if anyone dared to say a bad word about him, or expressed dissatisfaction with his management, the result would definitely not be as simple as a verbal warning like Homelander. Even if you were already asleep, Soldier Boy would drag you out of bed, make you kneel in front of Vought Tower, and admit your mistakes in front of the News Media and the vast public.
And you'd have to express your most sincere apologies to him personally. However, Soldier Boy would most likely not accept, but would stand aside and mock you mercilessly.
Furthermore, if you wanted to join his team, your image and personality had better meet his requirements. Otherwise, if Soldier Boy didn't like you, he wouldn't care about team cohesion or any of that bullshit like team friendship.
Even with a camera shoved in your face, he would mock you from head to toe, inside and out. And when he was laughing heartily, you'd better laugh along, or you'd have to repeat the process of admitting your mistake mentioned above.
Payback back then didn't just experience Soldier Boy's bullying once. Black Noir, who was originally of normal intelligence, was directly beaten into brain damage by Soldier Boy after a conflict with him, and suffered from severe psychological illness, needing to rely on animated characters that popped out to comfort himself. It could be said he was utterly miserable.
Of course, even towards his own girlfriend, Crimson Countess, Soldier Boy never showed mercy. But in his own view, his actions were completely normal. After all, he just wanted to build a team that was absolutely obedient to him, so what was wrong with that?
Combining these factors, it's no wonder Crimson Countess and the others teamed up to betray Soldier Boy.
But Soldier Boy had considered them his most trusted and reliable partners. Therefore, Soldier Boy was furious about their betrayal.
"What? Starting to accept your son?" Xia Shang said with a smile.
Oh right, to prevent their conversation from being overheard by Homelander, he had specifically constructed a soundproof barrier around them. Its principle was based on a certain soundproof material, a transparent and sponge-like flesh and blood tissue that could effectively absorb the sounds they emitted. And with a single thought, he could change its structure to allow sounds from the Outside World to enter the Barrier.
Unexpectedly, Soldier Boy snorted after hearing this. "Hmph! He's just a copy of me, and an effeminate copy at that."
To put it bluntly, he didn't think much of Homelander at all. Unless Homelander's future performance could earn his approval, Soldier Boy would rather scrap him and start over.
"Poor guy."
Stuck with a Father like that, Xia Shang couldn't help but feel a touch of pity for Homelander. "Hearing you say that, you probably won't be too satisfied with the surprise I prepared." Xia Shang shook his head. He had originally planned to tell Soldier Boy the address where Ryan was being held, but now it seemed Soldier Boy might not go to save his grandson. In that case, the fantasy value that was almost within reach, like a cooked duck, flapped its wings and flew away.
"Just say what you have to say, don't beat around the bush with me." Soldier Boy's patience was gradually wearing thin.
"The address where Ryan is being held is on this."
Xia Shang took out a card from his pocket, preparing to tear it up.
"You know where Ryan is being held?" To his surprise, Soldier Boy actually reached out to stop Xia Shang's action, his face showing surprise.
Well, well, could there be a grandparent-grandchild bond even in Soldier Boy? But judging from his performance in the original plot, Soldier Boy didn't seem like someone who would value family ties. After all, no Grandpa would point his chest beam at his own grandson.
Soldier Boy seemed to see the surprise in Xia Shang's eyes, so he gestured towards Homelander On Stage. "Ryan dared to kill people in the street. Does he dare? A guy who has to vent his grievances in this way, is he even worthy of being my son?"
To be honest, Xia Shang was stunned. He really hadn't expected that Ryan, who had accidentally shot passersby with Heat Vision, had unexpectedly gained Soldier Boy's favor.
"Hmm, maybe Ryan isn't like you think. What if you meet him and find he's similar to Homelander?" Xia Shang asked curiously.
"It's normal for his personality to change after being locked up for so long. After all, he's still young. No matter how he turns out, I can straighten him out!" Soldier Boy, who had been imprisoned for forty years, even felt empathy for Ryan. As for Homelander, in his opinion, he was beyond saving, unless he was melted down and remade.
"In that case, I wish you all the best. I hope you can rescue your grandson from prison as soon as possible." Xia Shang smiled and handed the card to Soldier Boy.
He estimated that this incident could increase his fantasy value by at least several thousand, but only if it caused a big enough stir. Thinking of this, Xia Shang looked at the Reporter in the Front Row and Homelander On Stage.
Presumably, soon, people across the United States would witness a family drama.
...
"Roger, cut the livestream quickly! And block all signals in the venue." Seeing the situation escalating and gradually getting out of hand, Ashley Barrett quickly instructed the event equipment manager, attempting to salvage the current situation.
"Don't turn off the livestream! Roger!" Hearing the voice, Homelander glanced in Ashley Barrett's direction.
"See? Those people with power! With influence! They control my throat, making me unable to speak! They try to cover my mouth, restrict my limbs, turn me into a damn puppet! Control me like a marionette! The sad thing is, their plot succeeded! But have you, watching the livestream, ever thought that since they can control me, they can damn well control you too! Maybe you've already been controlled, but you haven't realized it! But now I have realized it! I refuse to compromise with the powerful! I am the hero of all the United States, not a puppet in their hands! Please, those of you watching the livestream, stand up and shout my name loudly! Who am I!"
"Homelander! You are the true hero!"
Among the crowd below the stage, there were quite a few loyal fans of Homelander who suddenly stood up, their faces fanatical, raising their arms and shouting!
(end of chapter)