Mindstorm

A few hours later, in a secret reception room at Godolkin University, a skinny old man who looked to be in his fifties or sixties eagerly thanked Li Wei.

"Angel, thank you so much for having Mr. Edgar recommend me. Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity!"

Li Wei smiled and took the initiative to shake his hand. "You're one of my seniors. When I was little, I often heard stories about Payback and Soldier Boy."

"I sincerely believe that a Superhero with outstanding talent like yours shouldn't be buried like this, so there's no need to thank me. Besides, I have something I need your help with."

He really hadn't expected Edgar to credit him with even such a minor favor. The man really knew how to handle people.

He could also fully understand why Mindstorm was so excited. Though he was dressed in what looked like a very refined suit today, anyone with even a little knowledge could tell that it was a style that had gone out of fashion at least a decade ago. The edges were even worn.

That showed Mindstorm had been living badly. He truly needed this chance to enjoy a second spring.

It also more or less confirmed Li Wei's guess that the man had principles and a bottom line.

Otherwise, with his psychic powers, he could have mind-controlled a few people on the street at random and never ended up in such a pathetic state.

Still, the system gave no indication that he possessed any powers that could be copied. That meant that even in his strongest field, Mindstorm still hadn't surpassed Li Wei or Kate.

When he heard the words "Soldier Boy," Mindstorm's mouth visibly twitched, but he hurriedly remained modest and thanked him.

It seemed that even a Superhero who had become famous decades ago had learned to bow his head and endure after so many years of hardship.

Even before Li Wei, who was less than a third of his age, he acted like an elementary school student waiting for his homework to be checked.

Seeing Mindstorm like this, Kate, who stood behind Li Wei, couldn't help looking as though her fantasies had been shattered. As another psychic, he had practically been half an idol to her.

At the same time, she was rather curious.

It was said that his powers were quite similar to hers, but after this close encounter, she felt that he seemed even weaker than she was.

And much like her, Mindstorm couldn't freely control his telepathy. That was why Principal Intralla, the professors, and the others had nearly fled the room after giving them a brief introduction. They had too many secrets they couldn't let others see.

According to Li Wei, her inability to control it freely was partly because she was young and partly because the medicine Intralla had made her take had backfired.

But Mindstorm had possessed his powers for so many years. Why was he still unable to control them freely?

Did that mean he was actually far less formidable than Vought had once boasted?

What she could realize, Li Wei and Mindstorm naturally could as well.

In fact, that was the real reason Mindstorm was so excited. Ever since awakening his powers, he had always tried to escape the voices in other people's minds.

But he had never succeeded. Those bastards weren't even quiet when they slept, and it had nearly driven him mad.

That was why he had stayed far from cities and lived in isolation.

When Edgar had notified him this time, he had planned to make one last huge sum of money, enjoy himself for a while, then find somewhere to kill himself. He was fucking sick of this life.

But once he actually got here, he was delighted to discover that he couldn't read the thoughts of the two people before him at all. It was the first time he had ever encountered such a thing.

If he could uncover the secret behind it, perhaps he wouldn't have to die. He could enjoy the public's worship rather than their fear, just like other Superheroes, and enjoy plenty of women too!

Since all three of them possessed psychic abilities, even if they couldn't read one another's minds, there was no need to say much pointless nonsense.

They could all find the relevant answers in Intralla, the professors, or other people.

Mindstorm quickly confessed his troubles to Li Wei and voluntarily stated that if Li Wei could help him solve this problem, he would become Li Wei's most loyal lackey from then on!

He would also do everything he could to teach Li Wei and Kate the many experiences and insights he had gained regarding psychic powers.

As for keeping things secret and not letting others notice too much was wrong, that was the most basic requirement.

Perhaps it was a common flaw among psychics, but his physical constitution had barely been enhanced. Against Li Wei, who also possessed psychic abilities, he had no ability to fight back at all.

Once Li Wei's secret was exposed, if Li Wei bore a grudge against him, only death awaited him.

Li Wei wouldn't even need to do it himself. Kate likely had the ability to drag his consciousness into a mental space and kill him, just as he had once done to many enemies.

Mindstorm had made such a humble request, practically begging him, so Li Wei naturally didn't refuse. He truly needed to recruit some underlings as well.

After joining The Seven, he couldn't personally handle every trivial matter. Otherwise, how would he be any different from before?

And as it happened, Kate had the medicine Intralla had given her, which could temporarily block this effect.

Li Wei hoped Kate would face her abilities positively and truly master them through constant use, perhaps even take her powers a step further. That was why he had suggested she stop taking it.

But for Mindstorm, already in his sixties, what the hell was there to pursue in terms of improvement? Of course he would choose whatever made him comfortable!

Thus, the two sides quickly hit it off and reached a complete agreement.

Li Wei then suggested that Mindstorm find time to try reading Intralla's mind and figure out who had made those drugs. It would be best if their side could get control of it, so they wouldn't be at someone else's mercy in the future.

It wasn't entirely because he was being generous. He simply considered that Intralla knew Mindstorm's weakness too. If he didn't bring it up first, Intralla would definitely find a chance to do so.

That made Mindstorm rather grateful. Honestly, he hadn't known those drugs had come from Intralla. His telepathy had limits too.

When it passively radiated outward like this, he could only hear what someone was thinking at that very moment. If they weren't thinking about the drugs, or simply emptied their minds, how was he supposed to know?

At the same time, he began to harbor a faint resentment toward Intralla, and even Vought.

He didn't believe Intralla could have developed such a special drug all by herself. Vought must have made it and handed it to her.

Yet Vought had clearly known that he had been troubled by this problem for many years, but had never taken the initiative to bring him the medicine. They simply believed he no longer had any value!

Yes, perhaps after today, Intralla and Vought would both voluntarily offer him the drugs, but it was already too late. He no longer cared. Now, he only recognized Li Wei!

Though he couldn't read Mindstorm's thoughts, they were written all over his face. Li Wei couldn't help feeling that after so many years of torment, Mindstorm had become extremely paranoid.

Fortunately, Edgar had sent him to Li Wei.

Otherwise, if Homelander or someone else had rediscovered him, who knew how much trouble he might have caused?

However, after taking Mindstorm in, there was still one small matter to handle.

If Butcher and the others could bring Soldier Boy back, Soldier Boy would definitely seek revenge against his former teammates in Payback, including Mindstorm.

After all, the reason Soldier Boy had been captured and taken so far away back then was precisely because Vought had tacitly approved of it, if not directly ordered it, and because his teammates had betrayed him.

The only blame was that Soldier Boy had been too insane, so insane that even Vought could no longer tolerate him.

And at the time, Vought already had Homelander, a stronger replacement, so sacrificing him had been the natural course of events.

If Li Wei remembered correctly, Edgar had participated in planning the whole thing back then.

After confirming some details, recounting some little-known stories about Payback, and teaching Kate some psychic experience,

Mindstorm reminded Li Wei and Kate of something else: it was best not to casually use mind-control abilities on high-ranking government officials.

Ever since he had appeared as the first Superhero of this type, Vought and the government had not thought about how to help him improve his powers, but how to defend against and counter him.

Though they had spent decades researching and still failed to develop what they truly wanted, that didn't mean they had gained nothing at all.

They had developed an electromagnetic device that could slightly resist psychic abilities and sound an alarm.

Psychic Superheroes were extremely rare. Previously, there had only been a handful, such as Mindstorm and Mr. Mesmer. The equipment was also extremely expensive, and inconveniently bulky, making it impossible to carry around, so it had not been widely adopted.

But people on Edgar's level, or the President and Vice President, should all have complete sets. Vought headquarters definitely had them too.

And that was old intelligence from more than a decade ago. Perhaps they had made some improvements since then, such as shrinking the equipment down so it could be carried on a person.

That made Li Wei somewhat more alert. It seemed that until he got to the bottom of this matter, he really needed to be more cautious.

Still, it wasn't a major problem. They all knew Mindstorm's abilities couldn't be fully controlled.

If there was ever a need, they could simply send him around first as a detector, then let Li Wei and Kate make their move!