"How Many Did They Send?"

Before the Carcharodons and the Investigation Department began their operation.

On the streets of the UED capital, a cold wind swept scraps of paper and dust through the deserted plaza.

The once-thriving commercial district was now nearly empty. Holographic billboards still flickered, but no one stopped to watch.

Heavily armed soldiers had set up checkpoints at every intersection. Armored vehicles crushed shattered glass and discarded electronics beneath their treads, their engines roaring harshly through the deathly silent city.

Outside the UED headquarters building, the once-pristine glass curtain walls were now covered in cracks. Several areas had been damaged by Molotov cocktails, their blackened scorch marks plainly visible. A riot had clearly taken place not long ago.

Three layers of blast walls had been added around the building. Automated turrets and snipers occupied the high ground, and any unauthorized person who approached would immediately be suppressed by gunfire.

Inside, security protocols had been raised to the highest level—

Biometric identification, brainwave verification, quantum encryption... layer upon layer of protection had nearly turned the building into an isolated fortress.

Yet no matter how airtight their defenses were, they could not conceal one fact: the threat they feared most, that figure in the red cape, had vanished without a trace.

In fact, after completing his cover mission in Antarctica, Homelander had quietly returned to the Stealth-class vessel.

At that moment, he floated inside the vessel's maintenance bay while nanoscopic repair systems adjusted his Biological Force Field and replenished his energy reserves.

His eyes were slightly open, icy blue irises glimmering faintly in the darkness. He resembled a dormant beast, ready to tear through the battlefield again at any moment.

Moreover, the UED had to contend with more than just preventing Homelander's next assault. Public opinion had utterly collapsed.

The UED's internet regulatory agencies