Chapter 321: Nobody Understands Vought Better Than Me! Backstabbing Edgar!
"Very good." The thunderous cheers undoubtedly gave Homelander a strong shot in the arm. He raised a confident smile and provocatively glanced at Stan Edgar.
As if saying, even without Vought, he is still the hero of the United States people! The true uncrowned king! Homelander held the microphone in one hand, pointing at the large screen behind him with the other, and said in a high-pitched tone: "Is it fair to let a hero retreat behind the scenes while bringing the incompetent to the Public Stage? It's no exaggeration to say, everyone here, nobody understands Vought better than me! Clearly, Vought is now rotten to the core, like an old person who has entered their twilight years, with outdated ideas, selfish, and heartless."
Facing Homelander's almost direct accusations, Stan Edgar didn't respond, but his gaze grew increasingly cold.
"I have never thought about being Vought's leader, I can say with 100% certainty, but I cannot stand by and watch a company that could be called great continue to rot away little by little, until it perishes completely. I think I must make up my mind and change all of this myself!"
At this moment, Homelander looked towards Victoria Neuman below the stage.
Victoria Neuman nodded slightly, responding. Immediately after, under Stan Edgar's cold gaze, she walked towards the On Stage.
The reporters at the scene were so excited they could barely breathe. With excited expressions, they aimed their cameras at the two. For a moment, the flashing lights of the cameras clicked continuously.
"No wonder you said the good show was just beginning. Is this matter related to you?" Soldier Boy wasn't stupid either. He quickly suspected that this usurpation incident was a grand play orchestrated by the guy beside him and Homelander working together.
"Unfortunately, you guessed wrong. This matter really has nothing to do with me."
Xia Shang shook his head. Fortunately, however, some details are different from the original plot. At least the newly promoted Ashley Barrett is not qualified to be Vought President, so Vought International's CEO will likely be Homelander. Therefore, he can gain some Fantasy Value. Furthermore, Xia Shang was also looking forward to seeing what Vought would become in Homelander's hands, but based on his performance in the original plot, Homelander is just a guy who looks good but is useless.
He knows almost nothing about corporate management.
But this is exactly what he wanted to see.
By constantly suppressing Vought and creating a large amount of negative public opinion, thereby making Homelander doubt himself, this is quite interesting to think about.
Furthermore, by that time, the flustered and desperate Homelander, who would he turn to for help first? Stan Edgar? Impossible. Homelander wouldn't be able to bring himself to do it. So there is only one candidate: him, Xia Shang.
Xia Shang, a smile on his face, wore an expression very similar to Stan Edgar's earlier, as if everything was under control.
"I'm very happy everyone could attend this gala." Victoria Neuman said methodically.
Just last night, Homelander suddenly found her and used her daughter as a threat, threatening that she must come forward and backstab Stan Edgar.
At the same time, Homelander also gave her a sweetener, which was Compound V. This made Victoria Neuman realize that to survive safely in this world full of Supes, she herself must also have superpowers. So she injected Compound V into her daughter's body.
"I am Congresswoman Victoria Neuman, Director of the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs. In the year since our establishment, we have been combating illegal Supe activity and have achieved significant results. Data shows that in the past year, incidents of Supe crime across the United States have decreased by 70%. This means that tens of thousands of families have received our protection.
During this period, the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs has cooperated with Vought International within the scope of its duties. During this cooperation, we detected that Vought International may have engaged in certain illegal activities. Here, I want to thank the most powerful person at Vought International, Homelander, for bravely stepping forward and providing us with..." Speaking of this, Victoria Neuman glanced at Stan Edgar, a trace of apology flashed in her eyes. However, she quickly composed herself.
"...evidence regarding CEO Stan Edgar's crimes, revealing the crimes he committed at Vought." "Oh my God! My God, this is insane!"
"This is absolutely a historic moment!"
"I didn't hear that wrong, did I? Homelander actually reported Stan Edgar by name, holy hell~!"
"I swear, this is definitely tomorrow morning's headline."
The reporters below the stage went wild. They rushed to Victoria Neuman, disregarding their image, raising their hands one after another, asking loudly: "Excuse me, is tonight's charity gala a long-planned conspiracy between you and Homelander?"
"Does the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs possess genuine incriminating evidence? Aren't you worried about being sued by Stan Edgar?"
"Congresswoman Victoria Neuman, the incident involving babies being injected with Compound V, is it related to Stan Edgar? Or rather, is he the mastermind behind the scenes?"
Victoria Neuman ignored the almost frantic reporters and continued speaking: "In the coming days, the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs will investigate the accusations against Mr. Stan Edgar, including extortion, perjury, and obstruction of justice."
"Vought International must adhere to the highest ethical and legal standards. Regardless of who is involved, or what authority or wealth they possess, the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs will investigate thoroughly."
Click! Click!!
Under the surrounding flashing lights, Stan Edgar slowly and expressionlessly took off his glasses and said nothing.
"Too soft-hearted." After hearing the accusations against Stan Edgar, Xia Shang got up and walked outside. To think they even brought up extortion. It was clear Homelander didn't want to put Stan Edgar to death. Otherwise, given his position at Vought International, he could easily obtain more damning evidence.
But the incriminating evidence he presented now coincidentally fell into an awkward middle ground; although it was enough to remove Stan Edgar from power, it was far from fatal.
After leaving Vought Tower.
Xia Shang returned to the Villa, while Soldier Boy called Legend.
"Have you found that person's true identity?"
On the other end of the phone, Legend, smoking a cigar and writing his memoirs, shook his head and said: "I asked a friend from a government agency to investigate, but nothing was found. I suspect he might have changed his appearance, had plastic surgery, and the name he used is likely fake."
"Don't worry, give me another week, and there should be some leads."
"Got it." Soldier Boy hung up the phone, looking at the card he took out of his pocket that recorded Ryan's detention location, not knowing what he was thinking.
(End of Chapter)