You Will Become One of The Seven!

"Angel, I have to admit that Vought did underestimate your abilities and rate of growth."

The gray-haired Black elderly man, wearing glasses and an immaculate suit, looked quite refined as he spoke.

"Haha, Mr. Edgar, I must admit, meeting you surpasses your reputation."

The moment they met, Li Wei had scanned him through the system. The result showed that he was an utterly ordinary elderly human, without the slightest superpower.

Yet despite that, his presence was terrifyingly powerful. He could even suppress someone as unruly as Homelander.

Edgar's expression did not change. "But before our formal meeting, I still underestimated you."

Li Wei casually pulled over a chair and sat down with an imposing air. "Was it because I showed no fear of you?"

If he were dealing with Starlight or Maeve, he could put on a little act. But before an old fox like Edgar, there was no need to waste time. That would only be insulting each other's intelligence.

"You seem confident that even if you leave Vought, or become Vought's enemy, you can still live very well."

"Is it Tek Knight's support, or your superpower that can heal wounds?"

Li Wei was not surprised in the slightest. If Tek Knight knew, there was no reason Edgar would not.

"Maybe it's both. But I have no intention of becoming Vought's enemy."

That was the truth. Why would he want to oppose Vought?

Was he supposed to discipline those Superheroes, or avenge the innocents killed by them?

But the people they killed were Americans or illegal immigrants. What did that have to do with him, a Chinese man with a thoroughly Chinese soul?

If he happened to come across something, he would not mind stepping in. Otherwise, he did not have that much spare time.

Edgar nodded. "I agree with that. But you must be trying to gain the greatest possible benefit from this, or you would not have worked with those thugs."

Li Wei's gaze immediately sharpened. Inwardly, he cursed Butcher and the rest of those bastards from head to toe. Compared to his own cautious conduct, those people were far more likely to expose themselves first and drag him down with them.

A-Train was Vought's fastest-running Superhero, but there were several other Superheroes whose speed exceeded one hundred meters per second.

Shockwave, the one who had raced A-Train before, could exceed three hundred meters per second. He was just as swift as the wind.

If Edgar had secretly assigned them to take turns watching, investigating, or even following him, it would have been perfectly normal for his identity as Gambit to be exposed.

Then he quickly relaxed. If Edgar truly bore him ill will, he would not have invited him here. Homelander would have come knocking instead.

Damn it. Later, he would definitely call those stupid idiots and give them a proper scolding.

"You know all of it? Including Compound V?"

"Yes. Homelander is simply too stupid. Even now, he still has not realized that Vought's foundation was never him, but Compound V."

"Yet he has recklessly spread it among terrorists. Does he want that eastern superpower to learn this secret as well?"

Li Wei curled his lip. "Mr. Edgar, you know I'm of Chinese descent, right?"

"Yes, but I also know that no matter what you may be thinking, you will not contact them, at least not now. Otherwise, it would only bring them danger."

This was not a threat, merely a straightforward statement of a reality both of them understood perfectly well.

Vought's founder had been German. Its roots were in America, and nearly all its shareholders were white. That meant it could never cooperate with a certain eastern superpower or the Ice Kingdom.

Moreover, now that Compound V had been exposed, the American authorities would never permit it.

Even if Edgar made such a proposal, he would probably be shot eight times in the back the next day and declared dead by suicide.

Li Wei could not be bothered to waste more breath on him. "Fine, Mr. Edgar. You can tell me your true purpose now. I assume you've already made your preparations?"

There were indeed only two people in this room, but more than ten others were hidden in a concealed compartment.

Some of them had steady, powerful breathing and were likely well-trained bodyguards.

The others had weak breaths and were most likely Vought's elderly, frail shareholders.

At the same time, Li Wei caught a faint scent of blood. There was no need to say more. Someone inside had definitely injured himself on purpose, waiting for Li Wei to demonstrate his superpower personally.

Even if they had inferred some things from the examination on A-Train's side, they still needed to confirm it with their own eyes.

Furthermore, Li Wei was almost certain there was more than one camera in this room. The footage of his treatment later would be livestreamed or recorded and sent to even more important people.

But for now, the conversation between him and Edgar should remain confined to a very small circle.

Edgar nodded. "Yes. We want to know the extent of your superpower. Some also want to know whether, like the Angels of myth and legend, you can heal the sick, save the dying, or even resurrect the dead."

"Heh. At least for now, I'm nowhere near capable of that. I can only stimulate cell growth to heal some simple superficial wounds."

"It was not even very obvious on A-Train. It would be even less so on anyone else."

Li Wei thought these people really dared to dream. Resurrection? Their appetite was huge.

Edgar's expression remained unchanged. "That is consistent with our calculations. So we are not investing in your present, but in your future."

He reached out and pressed a button. Immediately, a man with a bleeding arm pushed open a hidden door and walked in. Judging from his slightly pale face, the wound clearly had not just been cut.

Li Wei did not waste any time. He gathered a faint glow in his hand and pressed it against the edge of the man's wound.

Edgar watched with his own eyes as the wound rapidly closed in an extremely short time, leaving not the slightest scar.

If not for the blood still remaining around it, and if he had not personally watched the man cut himself earlier, he might have doubted whether the bodyguard had truly been injured at all!

Almost at the same time, Li Wei heard the breathing of those old people in the compartment grow markedly heavier. For the first time, a smile bloomed on Edgar's face.

He rose voluntarily and applauded. "Wonderful, Li Wei. You have truly made us see you in a new light."

"So, what will I receive?"

Li Wei sat back down. If they could not give him a satisfactory answer, he would not leave easily.

Edgar took out a document. "This is an equity transfer agreement. It contains thirty million dollars' worth of Vought stock. Once you sign it, it will be yours."

"And as you display more and stronger abilities in the future, that figure will continue to change. It is not impossible that you may eventually become one of us."

In truth, Edgar had prepared several similar agreements in advance. Unfortunately, he had not been able to give Li Wei the most valuable one. He believed the people behind him shared the same regret.

Still, this one was already extremely generous. It was not merely because of Li Wei's abilities, but also because of the intelligence Li Wei had displayed.

Compared with Homelander, he seemed better suited to lead The Seven. Unfortunately, there was still a considerable gap between their combat abilities.

Li Wei raised an eyebrow. "That's all?"

Thirty million sounded like a lot, and it was not a small sum. His liquid cash, combined with all of The Boys' stocks and equity, amounted to about the same figure.

But considering that Vought stock was already worth more than three hundred thousand per share, it did not seem like much.

As the world's largest and only Superhero conglomerate, Vought's stock price had never fallen. It had only continued rising. Every one of those old men breathing heavily behind the wall was richer than the last.

Edgar's expression remained unchanged. They had never intended to fob him off with this little money.

"Second, as long as you do not continue working with those thugs, we will not pursue your previous actions."

"Likewise, as long as you keep that japanese woman under control, we will not interfere. If you need it, we can even package her as a Superhero and officially bring her into Vought. What do you think of 'Wolf Claw'?"

Li Wei sneered. "That hardly counts as a promise. You not pursuing the matter does not mean Homelander won't."

"In fact, there are some matters concerning him as well. We will do our best to divert part of his attention."

At this point, Edgar's expression became somewhat serious. They strongly suspected that Madelyn had been killed by Homelander.

Homelander dared to kill Madelyn today. Would he dare to kill other shareholders, or Edgar himself, tomorrow?

Indeed, they currently had no Superhero capable of opposing him. Edgar's backup plan could not do it either. But they would not simply forget this.

"And we have one more decision: Angel, you will take Translucent's place and become one of The Seven!"

This time, Li Wei was genuinely somewhat surprised. Although he had considered something similar before, was Vought not supposed to bring out Stormfront?

"You should have already arranged another candidate, shouldn't you?"

Edgar's expression did not change. "She is not as valuable as you."

Although Stormfront was a true founding-era member of Vought, her race, personality, preferences, and so on meant she was destined to be a ticking bomb.

A Nazi would only send Vought's stock price plummeting.

Previously, out of consideration for appearances and because her abilities were indeed exceptionally powerful, they had planned to let her temporarily join The Seven and enjoy it for a while. That had also been one of her conditions.

But now that they had a better choice, replacing her was only natural.

After so many years of reckless spending, she did not even own more than twenty percent of Vought's stock. Without considering her identity, it was not her turn to call the shots at Vought.

Besides, she would not be left with nothing to do. Vought had even just assigned a former member of The Seven—A-Train—as her deputy. What could she possibly be dissatisfied with?

Only then did Li Wei nod in satisfaction. "Then I have only one small wish now. I hope you can agree to it."

This time, he did not bring up Homelander again. He knew full well that Edgar had no particularly good way of dealing with Homelander either. If he forced the issue, he might provoke Homelander's defiance and make the situation even worse.

"Please, tell me."

"I hope to obtain the position of specially appointed teaching assistant at Godolkin University, but I will not actually teach those students."

"There is an old saying in the East: 'Returning home in glory is better than walking in brocade at night.' I trust Mr. Edgar understands?"

This was both a request and a test.

He did not believe Edgar was unaware of what had happened in The Woods.

Edgar's expression did not change in the slightest. "I will call Principal Intiara Shetty later. Tomorrow, you can return to Goda University under a brand-new identity. Do you need me to have Ashley arrange some advance publicity?"

Li Wei could not help laughing. "Haha, there's no need for that. I'm not such a showy person."

"Then, happy cooperation?" Edgar took the initiative and extended his hand.

"Happy cooperation!"