Mindstorm

A few hours later, in a secluded meeting room at Godolkin University, a gaunt little old man who looked to be in his fifties or sixties hurriedly thanked Li Wei.

"Angel, I'm truly grateful that you could get Mr. Edgar to recommend me. Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity!"

Li Wei smiled and proactively shook the man's hand. "You're a senior to me. I grew up listening to stories about Payback and Soldier Boy."

"I genuinely believe that a super with such outstanding talents as yours shouldn't just fade into obscurity, so there's no need to thank me. Besides, I actually have a favor to ask of you."

He hadn't expected Edgar to pin this little bit of credit on him too—the man really knew how to handle people.

He also fully understood why Mindstorm was so emotional. Even though the old man was wearing a suit that looked quite refined at first glance, anyone with a bit of knowledge could tell it was a style popular at least a decade ago, not to mention the fraying at the edges.

This showed that Mindstorm's daily life had been rough. He genuinely needed this chance to reignite his second spring.

It also gave Li Wei a rough idea that the man probably had some principles and bottom lines.

Otherwise, with his mental superpowers, he could have casually mind-controlled a few people on the street and never ended up in such a sorry state.

Still, the system hadn't prompted that Mindstorm had any replicable superpowers, which meant that even in his strongest field, he hadn't surpassed Li Wei or Kate.

When he heard the words "Soldier Boy," Mindstorm's mouth visibly twitched, but he still hurriedly humbled himself and thanked Li Wei.

It seemed that even a super who had made a name for himself decades ago had learned to bow his head and endure after so many years of hardship.

Even facing Li Wei, who wasn't even a third of his age, he acted like a schoolboy waiting for his homework to be checked.

Seeing Mindstorm like this, Kate, who was following behind Li Wei, couldn't help but feel a sense of disillusionment. As a fellow mental super, the man had been something of a half-idol to her.

At the same time, she was quite curious.

Rumor had it that his superpowers were very similar to hers, but after this close encounter, she felt he might actually be a bit weaker than her.

And like her, Mindstorm couldn't freely control his telepathy. That was why Principal Intralla and the professors had given them a brief introduction before practically fleeing the room—their minds held too many secrets they couldn't reveal.

According to Li Wei, her inability to control it freely was partly due to her young age and partly because the medicine Intralla had given her had backfired.

But Mindstorm had had his superpowers for so many years—why still couldn't he control them freely?

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

What she could realize, Li Wei and Mindstorm naturally could too.

In fact, that was the real reason Mindstorm was so emotional. Ever since awakening his superpowers, he had been trying to escape the voices of others' thoughts.

But he had never succeeded. Those bastards never quieted down even when sleeping, and it had nearly driven him insane.

Because of this, he had stayed away from cities and lived in isolation.

When he first got this notice from Edgar, he had planned to make one last big pile of cash, live it up for a while, and then find a place to kill himself. He was truly fucking sick of this life.

But when he actually arrived here, he was pleasantly surprised to find that he couldn't read the minds of the two people in front of him. This was the first time in his life he had encountered such a thing.

If he could figure out the secret, maybe he wouldn't have to die. He could enjoy the worship of the world like other supers, instead of their fear, and he could enjoy plenty of women!

Since all three of them had mental abilities, even if they couldn't read each other, a lot of unnecessary small talk was pointless.

They could all find the relevant answers from Intralla, the professors, or others.

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

He would also do his utmost to pass on his many years of experience and knowledge in mental abilities to Li Wei and Kate.

As for keeping things confidential and not letting others notice anything unusual, that was the bare minimum.

Perhaps it was a common flaw among mental supers, but his physique had barely been enhanced at all. Facing Li Wei, who also had mental powers, he had no ability to fight back.

If he exposed Li Wei's secrets and Li Wei was displeased, death would be the only thing waiting for him.

Li Wei wouldn't even need to act personally—Kate could probably drag his consciousness into a mental space and kill him, just as he had done to many enemies before.

Mindstorm made his request so humbly, almost pleading, that Li Wei naturally wouldn't refuse. He really did need to recruit some underlings.

After becoming one of The Seven, he couldn't handle every trivial matter himself, or what difference would there be from before?

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

Li Wei wanted Kate to face her abilities positively, to truly master them through constant use, and even push her superpowers further, so he suggested she stop taking the medicine.

But for Mindstorm, who was already in his sixties, what the hell was the point of pursuing progress? He'd rather do whatever was comfortable!

So the two quickly reached an agreement and fully cooperated.

Then Li Wei suggested that Mindstorm try to read Intralla's mind sometime and figure out who made those drugs. Ideally, they could get their hands on the formula themselves, to avoid being controlled by others later.

He wasn't being entirely generous—he simply considered that Intralla also knew Mindstorm's weakness. If he didn't bring it up first, Intralla would definitely find a time to propose it herself.

This made Mindstorm quite grateful. To be honest, he hadn't known before that this drug came from Intralla. His telepathy had its limits.

With it passively radiating like this, he could only hear what the other person was thinking at that very moment. If the person wasn't thinking about the drug, or had simply emptied their mind, how the hell was he supposed to know?

At the same time, a faint resentment toward Intralla, and even Vought, began to brew in his heart.

He didn't believe Intralla could have developed this special drug on her own. Vought must have created it and handed it over to her.

But Vought had known he had been tormented by this problem for years and had never proactively sent him the medicine—because they thought he had no more use!

Sure, maybe after today, Intralla and Vought would both offer him the drug, but it was too late. He didn't care anymore. Now, he only acknowledged Li Wei!

Even though he couldn't read the man's thoughts, Mindstorm's feelings were written all over his face. This made Li Wei sigh inwardly. It seemed that after so many years of torment, Mindstorm had become quite extreme.

Fortunately, Edgar had delivered him right to his doorstep.

Otherwise, if Homelander or someone else had dug him up, who knows how much trouble that could have caused.

But taking in Mindstorm was only the first step; there was still a little work to do afterward.

If Butcher and the others managed to find Soldier Boy, Soldier Boy would surely seek revenge against his former teammates from Payback—Mindstorm included.

After all, the reason Soldier Boy had been captured and sent so far away was due to Vought's tacit approval, even direct orders, and the betrayal of his own teammates.

The only fault lay in Soldier Boy being too unhinged, so unhinged that even Vought couldn't tolerate him.

And by then, Vought already had Homelander as a stronger replacement, so sacrificing him was only logical.

If Li Wei remembered correctly, Edgar had even been involved in planning that whole affair.

Confirming some details, sharing a few untold stories from Payback's past, and passing on some mental techniques to Kate.

Then Mindstorm warned Li Wei and Kate about one thing: it was best not to casually use mind control on high-ranking government officials.

Ever since he had emerged as the first superhero of this kind, Vought and the authorities hadn't focused on how to refine his abilities, but on how to defend against and counter him.

Though they had spent decades researching without achieving exactly what they wanted, it wasn't as if they had made no progress at all.

They had developed an electromagnetic device that could slightly resist mental abilities and trigger an alarm.

While mental-type superheroes were extremely rare—previously only a handful like Mindstorm and Mr. Mesmer—and the equipment was prohibitively expensive and notoriously bulky, making it impossible to carry around, it hadn't seen widespread use.

But someone at Edgar's level, or the President, Vice President, would likely have a full set; Vought headquarters certainly would.

And that was intel from over a decade ago; they might have made improvements by now, like miniaturizing the device to make it portable.

This put Li Wei on alert. It seemed he needed to be cautious until he had fully investigated the matter.

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

If the need arose, they could simply send him in as a detector for a spin, and then Li Wei and Kate could make their move!