"Visiting" A-Train

"Gambit, the CIA told me the Navy SEALs launched an operation in Damascus, Syria, targeting Al-Qaeda members. They took out the mastermind behind Flight 37."

"Oh, and then?"

Li Wei thought to himself that Americans really were something—whenever trouble hit, they always went after the easy targets to vent their anger.

Even though the hijackers on that plane were all typical white men, they still found a way to pin the blame on someone else outside.

"Then they ran into a man with 'Nakib' tattooed on him. His body let out an energy blast and wiped out the entire elite squad on the spot."

"Huh?"

Li Wei immediately put on a very surprised expression: "Butcher, are you saying Vought created another Supervillain over there?"

"Supervillain? That term's pretty fitting. Yeah, that's exactly what happened."

"What's the CIA's reaction?"

"Their action against Vought is on hold again. They need Vought's supes to deal with this Nakib—after all, no one knows how many more Supervillains like him are out there."

"Yeah, if you find one cockroach, there's bound to be countless more hiding in the dark."

In terms of pure destructive power, an average third-rate supe couldn't match a missile, but when it came to overall practical value, a third-rate supe was still more than a step ahead.

"When did this happen?"

Li Wei knew full well that given the value Butcher and his crew had shown so far, the CIA definitely wouldn't be feeding them real-time intel—even if Butcher had once been the deputy director's lover.

"Two days ago. Nakib's already been killed by Black Noir. The Department of Defense has agreed to keep Compound V under wraps, and we've been put on the wanted list."

On the other end of the line, Butcher's voice was full of frustration.

With Gambit's full support, they'd barely managed to get their hands on key evidence, and now not only had things made no progress, but because of that Nakib guy, Vought's plan to integrate supes into the military had been massively accelerated!

"Well, looks like you guys need to try finding a new backer."

"Yeah, we're going after Soldier Boy next!"

His old flame had promised him the CIA would protect Mother's Milk's family and Hughie's dad, but they themselves had to leave the country for a while to lie low, and also to track down Soldier Boy.

But before leaving, Butcher decided to do one more thing—hurt Homelander badly.

From his former boss, Colonel Mallory, he'd gotten another crucial piece of intel: Homelander had weaknesses too. He had some twisted emotional connection with Vought's Vice President, Madelyn.

"Well then, safe travels?"

Li Wei had no idea how bold Butcher was being. He just felt pretty satisfied—with those bastards leaving the country, he wouldn't have to babysit them anymore.

"Thanks. Also, you want the CIA deputy director's personal number?"

"Oh, so they're not completely stupid. Give it to me—might come in handy someday."

Back when he'd saved Kimiko, he'd casually made up the alias "Wolf Claw" for her, and it had fooled the onlookers at the time.

But after a detailed investigation, any smart person would find too many inconsistencies. The CIA wasn't completely useless.

After hanging up, Li Wei bought some gifts at a roadside supermarket and headed toward a Vought-affiliated hospital.

He was going to visit a very special patient—one with both legs broken—just like he'd done a few days ago.

That's right, it was A-Train, one of the Seven!

Compared to Butcher and his crew's miserable situation, Li Wei's plan was steadily moving forward.

On the very afternoon he'd killed the Sage Sisters, Vought held a grand funeral for Translucent and announced they'd be selecting someone qualified in both ability and morality to replace him and continue serving the people of America.

As a hot second-tier supe, it was perfectly understandable that Li Wei showed considerable interest in this.

The first thing he did was visit supes near New York one by one—after all, in the supe world, networking was crucial.

But in reality, Li Wei had two goals.

One was to freeload their abilities. Sure, most supes with any real power had been sent out on assignment, and the ones left under the Seven's nose were almost all third-rate among third-rates.

But 0.1 tons of strength per person, accumulated over time, was still pretty decent.

He'd been doing this for a while now. Starting from New Jersey, he'd been meeting supes in neighboring Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Delaware, and so on.

Thanks to his reputation, status, and generous spending, he'd already made quite a few fair-weather friends.

And this was just the beginning. Besides Washington D.C., America had 50 states and over a dozen islands of various sizes, all with supes scattered around. He still had plenty of work to do.

As for the other goal—it was to use them as informants.

Li Wei had known for a long time that Kimiko had been missing for ages without being found, let alone captured.

But with Vought being squeezed by the CIA, the FDA, and even Congress over Compound V, the situation was dire. Homelander would inevitably release more beings like Kimiko.

Homelander wanted them to stir up chaos in America so the supes could step in and save the day, and also salvage Vought's bad position.

Especially after that Nakib guy was accidentally discovered by the Navy SEALs, Homelander would definitely speed things up.

Even if it were him, he'd do the same.

If nothing unexpected happened, Kimiko's brother would soon arrive in New York.

With these third-rate supes as his eyes, he'd be able to spot him quickly.

Likewise, he'd already given similar instructions to Blue Hawk and others back in New Jersey.

When she learned about this, the misled Starlight eagerly and proactively offered to formally introduce him to The Seven.

Li Wei knew full well that she genuinely wanted to help him, and that she also wanted to use this chance to mend their relationship—both were true.

But since it was Starlight's goodwill, he didn't refuse.

In fact, he generously rewarded her several times, filling her up like a cream puff.

Even though they weren't boyfriend and girlfriend anymore, some things could still be done.

Thanks to Starlight's consistently good image and the increasingly hot shipping between her and Li Wei, The Seven naturally wouldn't snub him, which allowed Li Wei to probe out all of their superpowers.

Well, Black Noir was an exception—that guy made excuses to avoid him.

As for A-Train, who was bedridden with serious injuries, Li Wei showed extreme enthusiasm. He visited him every single day, and today was no different.

After all, to acquire the other's superpower, he couldn't afford to skip a day.

It was indeed a bit troublesome, but the upside was safety and no risk. And today, Li Wei decided to try something new!

After entering the hospital, as expected, Li Wei was immediately surrounded by a crowd of fans.

His consecutive days of visiting A-Train had already been spread across the internet by busybodies.

Considering his total followers across multiple social media platforms had exceeded eight million, it was perfectly normal for people to camp out here every day.

Especially after Vought found out about this and secretly bought some fake fans, the crowd grew even larger.

Li Wei was still quite friendly toward these people who helped him make money.

But he didn't have the time to sign autographs or take photos with each one. He just randomly picked ten lucky individuals and told the rest to scram and stop wasting hospital resources.

Of course, he didn't say it that rudely. He used a more elegant and acceptable way of speaking.

As a superhero who had professionally studied performance techniques at Godolkin University, this was nothing.

And surprisingly, these brainless fans ate it up. They became even more fanatical about Li Wei, believing he was among the most refined superheroes out there.

They all clamored for Li Wei to join The Seven, offering to pool their money to help him campaign.

Just like running for president required massive publicity, they thought running for The Seven must need it too—at least that was their logic.

This left Li Wei quite baffled. He felt they were all delusional.

Normal celebrity worship was fine, but you guys—poor souls earning only a few hundred bucks a week—pooling money to help a multimillionaire like me? Are you kidding me?

Shaking his head to clear those messy thoughts, Li Wei adjusted his facial expression and pushed the door open: "Hey, A-Train, feeling any better today?"

A-Train smiled in greeting: "Li Wei, you're here. I feel great today. I think in about ten more days, I'll be able to stand up again!"

In the beginning, A-Train had only been polite out of respect for Starlight.

On the second day, he started to feel surprised and suspicious—wondering if Li Wei wanted something from him, or even to do him harm.

After all, there was only one vacant spot in The Seven. Li Wei might not succeed in being chosen, but if he took A-Train out, his chances of standing out would instantly increase by 100%!

But as Li Wei came to visit him day after day without fail, A-Train's thoughts gradually shifted.

Maybe, just as Li Wei said, he really did envy his superpower and was his super hardcore fan!

"Heh, not bad. Did Nathan come by today?"

Even Li Wei had to admit that compared to A-Train, his brother Nathan was a rare good person. Considering he was also black, that made it even rarer.

"Yeah, he came. He had to go take care of the kids, you know how it is—those little ones are at that headache-inducing age."

Saying this, A-Train couldn't help but feel a bit dazed. Nathan's current life was something he had once fantasized about.

He had imagined marrying The Mesmerizer, having children, growing old together—but reality wouldn't allow it.

Now that The Mesmerizer had exposed the secret of Compound V, even though he had sent her abroad and Homelander was temporarily too busy to deal with it, as long as that Asian woman wasn't found, neither of them was truly safe.

In fact, if Homelander suddenly remembered this one day and ordered him to personally kill The Mesmerizer, he wouldn't be the least bit surprised—Homelander was that brutal.

Li Wei casually set down his things and said with a hint of mystery: "I've got a little special something today that might help you leave the hospital early."

As he spoke, Li Wei gathered a faint, warm glow between his fingers, which gradually spread over his entire body.

Thanks to the angle he had deliberately chosen, his appearance now looked exactly like a priest from a game—one with radiant wings of light, no less.

After some experimentation during this period, he had finally developed a new use for it.

Although it was still far from being a true healing technique, combined with the superheroes' physical enhancements, it could greatly accelerate cell regeneration and proliferation.

Especially on A-Train, who already had the superpower of Enhanced Metabolism—the effect would be particularly noticeable.

But Li Wei wasn't kind enough to let him leave the hospital early. He would carefully control the efficiency, letting A-Train feel obvious results at first, then half-heartedly slack off for the rest of the time.

What he really wanted was to use this contact to copy A-Train's superpower!

A-Train also noticed the pose Li Wei had deliberately struck. Since he played games in his spare time too, his mouth fell open in shock.

"Oh my god, man, are you seriously turning into a healing angel or something?"

"Heh, so? Want to give it a try?"

"Ha, why not? Whether it works or not, Li Wei, you'll be my best friend. I'll fully support you becoming one of The Seven!"