You Will Become One of the Seven!

"Angel, I have to admit, Vought underestimated your abilities and rate of growth."

The gray-haired, bespectacled, impeccably suited black elder spoke with a refined demeanor.

"Haha, Mr. Edgar, I have to admit, meeting you in person surpasses your reputation."

The moment they met, Li Wei had the system scan him. The result was a perfectly ordinary elderly human, utterly devoid of superpowers.

Yet this very man possessed an aura so formidable it could even suppress someone as unruly as Homelander.

Edgar's expression remained unchanged. "But before our formal meeting, I still underestimated you."

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

If it were Starlight or Maeve, he might have put on a bit of an act. But in front of a sly old fox like Edgar, wasting time on that was just insulting both their intelligences.

"You seem to have enough confidence to live very well, even if you leave Vought or become its enemy."

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

Li Wei wasn't surprised at all. If Tek Knight knew, there was no reason Edgar wouldn't.

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

That was the truth. Why would he fight Vought?

To discipline those superheroes? Or to avenge the innocents who died at their hands?

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

If he happened to stumble upon something by chance, he might deal with it. Otherwise, he didn't have that kind of free time.

Edgar nodded. "I agree with that. But you must be trying to extract the maximum benefit from this. Otherwise, you wouldn't have cooperated with that group of thugs."

Li Wei's gaze sharpened instantly. He cursed Butcher and the rest of those bastards in his mind. Compared to his own cautious approach, they were far more likely to have been exposed first, dragging him into it.

A-Train was Vought's fastest superhero, but there were several others who could exceed 100 meters per second.

That Shockwave who raced A-Train before could hit over 300 meters per second, just as swift as the wind.

If Edgar secretly sent them to take turns watching, investigating, or even tailing him, it would be perfectly normal for his Gambit identity to be exposed.

Then he quickly relaxed. If Edgar truly meant him harm, he wouldn't have invited him here. Homelander would have come knocking instead.

Damn it, he was definitely going to call and curse those idiots out later.

"You know everything? Including Compound V?"

"Yes. Homelander is far too foolish. He still hasn't realized that Vought's foundation has never been him, but Compound V."

"Yet he recklessly spreads it to terrorists. Does he want that Eastern superpower to learn this secret too?"

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're thinking, you won't contact them. At least not now. Doing so would only bring them danger."

It wasn't a threat, just a simple statement of a reality both understood clearly.

Vought's founder was German, its roots in America, and its shareholders were almost entirely white. That inherently prevented it from cooperating with that Eastern superpower or that icy nation.

And now that Compound V was exposed, the American government would never allow it.

Even if Edgar made such a proposal, he'd probably be shot eight times in the back the next day and ruled a suicide.

Li Wei couldn't be bothered to waste more breath. "Alright, Mr. Edgar, let's get to your real purpose. I'm guessing you've already made preparations?"

There were only the two of them in this room, but hidden in some concealed compartment were about a dozen people.

Some had steady, powerful breathing—likely well-trained bodyguards.

Others had weaker breaths, probably Vought's aging shareholders.

Li Wei also caught a faint scent of blood. No need to guess—someone had deliberately injured themselves, waiting for him to demonstrate his superpower.

Even if they'd inferred things from A-Train's examination, they still needed to see it with their own eyes.

And Li Wei was almost certain there were multiple cameras in this room. His healing session would be broadcast, or even recorded, and sent to even bigger shots.

But for now, the conversation between him and Edgar would likely stay within a very small circle.

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

"Ha. At least for now, I'm far from that. I can only stimulate cell proliferation to treat simple superficial wounds."

"It wasn't even that obvious on A-Train. Let alone anyone else."

Li Wei thought to himself, these people really dared to dream. Resurrection? Such big appetites?

Edgar's expression still didn't change. "That matches our calculations. So we're not investing in your present, but in your future."

He reached out and pressed a button. A man with a bleeding arm pushed open a hidden door and walked in. Judging by his slightly pale complexion, that wound hadn't been cut just now.

Li Wei didn't waste time. He gathered a faint glimmer of light in his hand and pressed it around the wound.

Edgar watched as the injury closed up in an extremely short time, leaving no scar behind.

If not for the blood still there, if not for having seen the man cut himself with his own eyes, he might have doubted the bodyguard had ever been hurt!

At almost the same moment, Li Wei heard the collective breathing of those old men in the hidden compartment grow much heavier. And for the first time, a smile bloomed on Edgar's face.

He rose and applauded of his own accord, saying, "Brilliant, Li Wei. You've truly impressed us."

"Then what do I get?"

Li Wei sat back down. If the other party didn't give him a satisfactory answer, he wouldn't leave so easily.

Edgar reached out and pulled out a document: "This is a share transfer agreement. It contains Vought stock worth 30 million. Sign it, and it's yours."

"And as you continue to reveal more and stronger abilities in the future, this number will keep changing. Becoming one of us isn't out of the question."

In truth, he had prepared several similar agreements in advance. It was just a pity he hadn't been able to hand over the most valuable one to Li Wei. He believed those who came after him would share the same regret.

But this one was still quite generous—not just because of Li Wei's abilities, but also because of the intelligence he had displayed.

Compared to Homelander, he seemed more suited to be the leader of The Seven. Unfortunately, there was still a significant gap in combat power between them.

Li Wei raised an eyebrow. "Just this?"

Thirty million sounded like a lot, and it actually was. His liquid cash plus all of The Boys' stocks, shares, and the like added up to roughly the same number.

But considering Vought's stock price had already exceeded 300,000 per share, it didn't seem like much anymore.

As the world's largest and only superhero conglomerate, Vought's stock had never fallen—only climbed higher and higher. The old men panting behind the scenes were richer than the last.

Edgar's expression didn't change. They had never intended to brush him off with such a paltry sum.

"Second, as long as you stop cooperating with those thugs, we won't pursue your past actions."

"Likewise, as long as you keep that Japanese woman in check, we won't interfere. If you need it, we can even package her as a superhero and formally bring her into Vought. What do you think of 'Wolf Claw'?"

Li Wei let out a scoff. "That's hardly a promise. You not pursuing it doesn't mean Homelander won't."

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

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

If Homelander dared to kill Madelyn today, would he dare to kill other shareholders tomorrow—or even him, the CEO?

True, they had no superhero capable of opposing him now, not even his contingency plan. But they wouldn't just let this matter slide.

"And also, we've made a decision: Angel, you will inherit Translucent's position and become a member of The Seven!"

This time, Li Wei was genuinely surprised. Though he had entertained similar thoughts before, shouldn't Vought have brought out Stormfront?

"You must have already arranged another candidate, right?"

Edgar's expression remained unchanged. "Her value isn't as high as yours."

Although Stormfront was a true veteran of Vought, her race, personality, and preferences made her a ticking time bomb.

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

Previously, out of face-saving and the fact that her abilities were indeed formidable, they had planned to let her temporarily join The Seven to satisfy her ego—it was part of the deal she had agreed to.

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

After all, after years of reckless spending, her stake in Vought wasn't even 20% of his. Setting aside her identity, she had no say in Vought's affairs.

And it wasn't like she had nothing to do. Vought had just assigned her a former member of The Seven—A-Train—as her deputy. What more could she complain about?

Only then did Li Wei nod with satisfaction. "Now, I have one small request. I hope you'll agree to it."

This time, he didn't bring up Homelander. He knew full well that Edgar had no good way to deal with him either. If he pushed too hard, it might trigger Homelander's rebellious streak and make things worse.

"Go ahead."

"I want to obtain a position as a specially appointed teaching assistant at Godolkin University, but I won't actually teach any classes."

"There's an old saying in the East: 'Returning home in riches without showing it is like wearing brocade in the dark.' I trust Mr. Edgar understands?"

This was both his request and a test.

He didn't believe the other party was unaware of what happened in The Woods.

Edgar's expression didn't waver in the slightest. "I'll call President Intiara Shetty shortly. You can return to Goda University tomorrow with a new identity. Do you need me to have Ashley arrange some advance publicity?"

Li Wei couldn't help but laugh. "Haha, no need. I'm not that flashy."

"Then... pleasure doing business?" Edgar extended his hand.

"Pleasure doing business!"