Chapter 338: The Enraged Media and Press!
"Billy, what's your plan now? Are you still going to look for Mindstorm according to the original plan?" Hughie walked up to the coffee table and wiped his ears with the tissue on it.
"Mindstorm is useless now."
Billy tossed the empty beer can in his hand, then took out a brand new, unopened pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He tore off the outer plastic film, then ripped a small opening in it. After tapping the cigarette pack against his palm, he pulled out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. "I originally wanted to use Soldier Boy's eagerness for revenge to help him find Crimson Countess and the TNT Twins, and by doing so, gain his trust and favor, so he would cooperate with us to deal with Homelander and Mr. Jervis together. But now he has a better option, so he definitely won't choose to continue cooperating with us. If that's the case, even if we find Mindstorm, it will be meaningless."
He flicked the lighter on with a snap, watching the flickering flame, and continued in a deep voice, "It seems we've been pushed into a dead end, but it's not impossible to turn the tables."
"Turn the tables? With what? Even with Kimiko and Starlight, or even other Supes, we probably can't deal with Homelander and them."
Hughie frowned, asking in confusion.
Billy didn't answer, remaining silent for a few seconds. He used the lighter to light the cigarette and took a deep drag, as if only nicotine could keep his brain absolutely clear at this moment.
Phew... He exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. In just a few breaths, the cigarette between his fingers had completely burned out, leaving only a charred butt clamped between his fingers.
"We haven't lost yet, everything has just begun..."
"Brother, are you kidding me? At a time like this, can't you just say what you need to say all at once?" Billy's hesitant words made Hughie extremely anxious.
"Homelander needs to bear the consequences of his loss of control." Billy flicked the cigarette butt away, watching it roll onto the ground, scattering a few sparks.
"I'm going to completely destroy his reputation."
"You plan to manipulate public opinion? To maximize the impact of this incident?" Hughie seemed to understand Billy's meaning, but he still felt it wouldn't work. It wasn't like they hadn't tried this method before; it wasn't completely useless, but the effect was minimal. After all, Vought could easily resolve every public opinion storm. Although this time was more serious, he expected the result would be no different.
"Vought International has a vested interest relationship with the Media. Just us speaking out online probably won't have much effect. It'll likely be like before, a lot of noise but little action."
"But this time is different. I don't believe Homelander killed all the Supes present. As long as we can find the surviving Supes and unite with the families of the deceased, we can definitely deliver a heavy blow to Homelander and Vought International." Before Hughie could point out the flaws in the plan, Billy spoke again, "Of course, according to Vought International's usual style, they will definitely shirk responsibility and likely push the blame onto us. But you should know, there must be traces of Heat Vision left on the corpses at the scene. That's an undeniable fact, unless Homelander is willing to expose the existence of Temporary Compound V and say that those people were shot and killed by me using Heat Vision. But would ordinary people believe that? An incredibly important and dangerous thing somehow ended up in the hands of a Criminals? That's undoubtedly a joke."
Billy smoked cigarette after cigarette. The unpleasant smell of smoke quickly filled the entire Basement, but Hughie and the others didn't seem to mind.
"So you want to take down Vought International and Homelander this way?" Hughie plopped down on the sofa. Although Billy's plan seemed perfect, he felt something wasn't quite right, until he caught a glimpse of Ryan beside him out of the corner of his eye and finally understood the key to the problem.
"Even if the plan succeeds, at most Homelander will just become The Female everyone hunts. We still can't take him down, let alone with Soldier Boy now by his side."
Billy smiled after hearing that. Of course, his plan couldn't be just this. "Suppose I have Ryan come forward and record a video, saying that he was forced to use his Laser Eye to kill those people under Soldier Boy's threat. What do you think Homelander will do to protect his popularity and his so-called hero halo?"
"Under the strong demands of the people of the United States, he'll make a move against Soldier Boy, maybe even kill Soldier Boy," Hughie said slowly, his expression shocked.
"That way, the two of them will have no possibility of cooperation anymore. The former father and son will become true enemies." A sinister grin appeared on Billy's lips. Since he couldn't have Soldier Boy, Homelander wouldn't either.
...
The next morning, inside Vought Tower, a smug Homelander was showing Soldier Boy around his territory, constantly boasting about his achievements.
"Don't worry, I just need to work a little magic, and I can completely whitewash you. Then you can rejoin Vought." Homelander stopped in front of the Meeting Room because he saw Stan Edgar standing at the doorway.
Stan Edgar glanced at Soldier Boy beside Homelander, then turned around with a cold face and walked into the Meeting Room.
Why is he here? The smile on Homelander's face froze, and he followed him in.
"Taking Vought from me was the biggest mistake you've ever made, because Vought International is about to be destroyed by you!" Stan Edgar waved his hand, throwing the newspaper at Homelander's face.
"Although Vought's financial situation has some minor issues, it's not to the extent of destroying Vought, is it?"
Homelander grabbed one of the newspapers and started reading it. However, the bold red font on it stung his eyes like a blade.
[RIDICULOUS SUPERHERO! A SHAMELESS SCOUNDREL HIDING BENEATH A GLOSSY EXTERIOR!]
[KILLER MONSTER! HOMELANDER!]
[THE HORRIFYING TRAGEDY THAT OCCURRED IN VERMONT!]
Every word made Homelander's pupils shrink. There was no longer a trace of a smile on his face, replaced by tension and fear.
He bent down and picked up every newspaper on the ground. The headlines were all different.
[MADMAN! DOES HE EVEN DESERVE TO BE A UNITED STATES HERO?!]
[A TRAGEDY WITH AT LEAST THIRTY DEATHS, THE INHUMANE HOMELANDER!]
...Without exception, almost all the newspapers were overwhelmingly blaming Homelander! At the same time, a group of protesters had gathered below Vought Tower, and their numbers were growing, a dense crowd, their momentum extremely powerful.
(End of this chapter)
Translator's Note (Short Story Long):
My car tires got holes in them—two of them! I had to walk 40 to 45 kilometers just to reach a damn tire shop. Took me 7 hours. No internet connection the whole way. What started as a good trip turned into a full-on disaster.
My legs were swollen to twice their normal size.
So yeah, I think that's a solid enough excuse for not uploading yesterday.
I still don't know what kind of cursed road that was—not a single tire shop for more than 10 kilometers! And it was 2 a.m.
At that point, I was pretty sure I was trapped in some low-budget horror movie. Like, all I needed was a creepy little shopkeeper to show up and boom, I'd be the main character in a cheap horror flick.