The Stalker

After Butcher put away the evidence, both he and Mother's Milk let out heavy sighs of relief. All they had to do next was take it to the CIA, and they would finally earn the CIA's recognition and support.

This counted as the only good news amid today's string of terrible events.

Li Wei was also very satisfied. Butcher had given him a large vial as well, and he could now try running some experiments with it.

The many superpowers he had obtained through copying had nothing to do with Compound V.

He had always wanted to know: if he got hit by Soldier Boy's chest blast, would he only lose Angel's powers, or all of them?

As for the specific research candidate, he still needed to consider it carefully.

There were not many people qualified to access Compound V, capable of researching it, largely unconnected to Vought, and potentially usable by him.

After much deliberation, Li Wei felt there might only be two and a half candidates, but none of them was perfect.

The first was Dr. Edison Cardoza, who was in charge of The Woods project at Godolkin University. He had spent years professionally researching Superheroes, so his relevant experience was incredibly extensive. And judging by his name alone, one could tell he was no ordinary man.

The second was Head-popper's husband, Samir Shah, who was also the director of Vought's R&D center.

He had used his position to hook up with the newly adult Head-popper back then, which had left her adoptive father, CEO Edgar, very dissatisfied for a time. But his abilities were beyond doubt—he was genuinely excellent.

As for the final half, it was a Third-rate Superhero called Sage Sisters, a black woman with dreadlocks.

She claimed to possess the greatest intelligence in the world, capable of developing cancer cures and even solving global warming.

Yet after her debut, no one paid attention to her at all. Vought quickly gave up on her entirely and had not even invited her to join Vought's research team.

Nor had she released any useful scientific materials or research results to the public. At present, she seemed to be holed up in that dump called Detroit, living as a shut-in.

It was easy to imagine just how much of a fraud she was. Li Wei strongly suspected she was another product of political correctness, or perhaps Vought had hyped her up so much that even she had come to believe it.

But compared to the first two, she had one advantage: she would be very easy to control, and the cost of trial and error would be extremely low.

Any Superhero would at least possess enhanced physical abilities. Yet this black woman was a special case—her body had received no enhancement whatsoever. Only her head and brain possessed a certain degree of regenerative ability.

As long as Li Wei put a bullet through her heart, she would be instantly killed like any ordinary person!

After looking around, Butcher found nothing else of use, but there was still one problem to deal with.

"Gambit, what do you think we should do with this Super-powered Baby?"

Li Wei answered without hesitation, "Of course we leave him here. I'm not raising a child, and I don't even know whether he has parents. The education I received growing up and my moral character won't allow me to kidnap a child."

Adults like Kimiko were another matter. Besides, he had not kidnapped her—he was simply doing his best to provide her with a safe home.

If she followed the main group, she would only run around like a homeless dog all day, getting wanted at the drop of a hat while staying wary of pursuit by Vought's Superheroes.

Although Kimiko felt somewhat stifled now as well, it was unquestionably far better by comparison.

And Li Wei was certain this situation would not last much longer!

Hearing Li Wei say that, Butcher stopped dwelling on it. He had to admit that, for one brief moment, he had indeed felt the impulse. He had once believed that every Vought Superhero deserved to die.

But the other party was only a baby. It would be many years before he grew into an adult and became Vought's accomplice, so he would not pose a real threat for now.

Mother's Milk, standing nearby, looked rather grim. He had worked with Butcher for years—how could he not understand what Butcher meant by asking that question?

Butcher had not acted on it this time, but he really had entertained such a dangerous thought!

Damn it. In his quest for revenge against Homelander, this man was nearly being driven insane.

Just then, Li Wei suddenly warned them, "Careful. I hear footsteps and the sound of guns being cocked!"

"Fuck, they must have found us!"

They had gotten in so smoothly it was unbelievable, as if they were returning home. They had not encountered a single security guard, and there were no cameras in the room. They had already found that absurd at the time.

But after they had stayed for so long, the other side had finally reacted!

Li Wei snorted. "You handle them first. After all, I need to look after this Super-powered Baby."

As he spoke, he could not help muttering to himself. Why had Starlight not arrived yet? Had he really shaken her off? If so, she was far too useless!

Although Li Wei had sounded the warning early, when seven or eight well-trained security guards carrying submachine guns rushed in, Butcher and Mother's Milk, who had only handguns, could do little besides take down two with the initial ambush before they were completely pinned down.

There was no helping it. Their firepower was not even in the same league, and their shooting skills were not much better than the enemy's—certainly nowhere near enough to make up for the disparity in firepower.

Seeing the enemy closing in step by step, no matter how unwilling he was, Butcher could only keep signaling to Li Wei, who was sitting in the corner watching the baby, begging him to help.

Since Butcher was not stupid enough to shout Li Wei's alias, Li Wei naturally pretended at first not to notice his looks at all.

Only after thirteen minutes had passed and Li Wei had successfully copied Cold Light Laser Eyes did he take out his handgun.

Relying on his exceptional physical abilities, he fired several shots—pop, pop—and every one was a headshot, cleanly killing the remaining security guards.

Butcher and Mother's Milk were dumbfounded. Seriously, man? You were a Vought Superhero, and you were killing people with a gun?

Li Wei rolled his eyes. "Why are you looking at me like that? Would you rather I used my powers and had Vought at my door the next day?"

"Being killed by bullets and being killed by my superpowers leave completely different wounds, okay?"

He had noticed this issue long ago, which was why he always carried at least two different handguns.

At first, they had mainly been for Old Black. If any Old Black pissed him off during his regular beatdowns, he would dispense justice afterward.

In America, around forty to fifty people died in gunfights every day just according to official records. The real number being dozens of times higher would not be surprising at all.

Free America, gunfights every day. That was no joke.

America operated on the principle that officials would not investigate unless someone filed a complaint, and Old Black and their families generally were not clean either.

To say nothing else, they had definitely participated in plenty of group activities like zero-dollar shopping. Naturally, they would not be foolish enough to call the police.

So the Old Black Li Wei had shot had not caused even the slightest ripple.

Now, his handguns had once again come in handy here. The guns and ammunition had all been smuggled through the black market, so Vought had no way to trace them.

Butcher was speechless again. What you said made so much sense that I had no way to refute it!

After stuffing the Super-powered Baby back into his original spot, Li Wei thought for a moment and did not take away the lollipop in the baby's mouth. Candy was bad for a baby's teeth, but he did not have teeth yet, so it did not matter!

Once that was settled, they quickly left. After the earlier gunfight, the small hospital was practically deserted, so no one caused them any trouble.

But when Li Wei glanced at the large security camera by the entrance, he could not help calling out to Butcher's retreating back, "Hey, when Vought catches you, don't sell me out!"

As he spoke, he raised his hand and fired twice, shattering all the cameras.

Butcher clearly staggered in the distance. Fuck, all he wanted now was to get the things in his hands to the CIA as quickly as possible, so he could at least barely obtain an official identity.

Then, once Vought discovered them, he would not be immediately taken out!

After they left, Li Wei also prepared to go. He would first run more than ten miles, then take a cab back to New Jersey.

He was becoming more and more eager to acquire a speed-type superpower. Otherwise, too many things were genuinely inconvenient.

Unfortunately, there were currently only two famous speed-type Superheroes under Vought: A-Train and Shockwave. Both were doing very well, making it difficult for Li Wei to become friends with either of them.

Just then, his ears twitched as he heard a somewhat familiar engine sound.

After being delayed for so long, Starlight had actually found him again. Li Wei decided to temporarily pull her name out of the trash heap.

Well, for Starlight, who had never attended Godolkin University or received any related training, perhaps she was feeling quite proud of herself right now?

After thinking about it, Li Wei found a place where the hospital staff would not notice him, but Starlight could easily spot him. Then he took out his phone and openly began looking through the photos he had just taken of the Super-powered Baby.

Not long after, when he reached the pictures of the little guy using Cold Light Laser Eyes, an exclamation suddenly sounded behind him.

"Oh my God, is this why you've been acting so mysterious lately and hiding from me?"