A Draw, That's All

"Mr. Edgar, Ron and Starlight are quite close—could this be..."

Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, Madelyn ventured a suggestion.

"No."

Edgar had been tracking Ron's every move and knew about his time with Starlight, but that wasn't the breakthrough point for controlling Ron.

"We need to strike a delicate balance, not resort to blunt threats that leave no room."

He shook his finger, speaking gravely.

Even if Ron and Starlight's relationship ran deep, using someone close to him as leverage to threaten and control—once that card was played, it would push the other party into opposition.

"Madelyn, you're afraid. You've lost your composure."

Edgar stared into her eyes, his tone turning slightly heavy.

That suggestion just now was a foolish move.

"I'm sorry, sir."

Faced with his displeasure, Madelyn's voice trembled with unease.

"Today's events were too much of a shock. I..."

She had always harbored a surface-level fear of Homelander beneath her friendly demeanor, and now that fear ran deeper, compounded by the unpredictable Ron.

Not everyone could be like Edgar, who seemed to have some trump card against superhumans, never flustered by any incident they caused.

"I know. I can't blame you entirely."

After studying Madelyn for a moment, he shook his head—a man who usually presented a calm and gentle face.

A moment later, Edgar made up his mind.

"Time reveals a person's character. Let's shelve the Ron issue for now. He's been with the company too short a time to draw conclusions."

"If we truly can't find a way to control him, I'll report to the board and consider making him part of the upper echelon—perhaps allocate him some shares, bring him onto the board, make him an honorary president."

Not everyone could be manipulated like a puppet. If Ron had no strong desires or glaring weaknesses, other approaches would have to be considered.

"The board? Honorary president?"

Madelyn was taken aback.

She had worked diligently at Vought for over twenty years, only climbing to vice president. Ron, barely a few days in, might get a seat on the board and become honorary president?

"He's smarter and more rational than Homelander. He's suited for the upper ranks.

If Vought's interests become his own, he'll naturally stand with us."

Edgar mused.

Binding the other party with shared interests, turning a potentially uncontrollable force into an ally to safeguard one's own interests—this was a common tactic in capital and business.

People protect what's theirs—it's human nature.

"In fact, this was originally a discarded plan from the company on how to permanently control Homelander."

He spread his hands, revealing a secret.

Vought's board had considered it long ago, but Homelander's intellect and temperament as he grew up—even without granting him access to the deepest power and secrets—made him utterly unfit to be one of the public-facing decision-makers of a commercial empire.

Besides, if they had the means to control him and turn him into an obedient tool, why elevate him to stand on equal footing?

But the newly emerged Ron was different.

"Did a superhuman homicide occur in New York this afternoon?"

Madelyn nodded. "Behind a supermarket in District XC, a gang was killed. The scene suggests a superhuman did it.

The police have been told to close the case as gang retaliation. The Crime Investigation Department is tracking the superhuman."

"Leak some of the company's 'inside information' to Ron. Have him handle this. See if he's willing."

Edgar's expression turned stern as he gave the order.

It was a trivial matter, something Black Noir used to handle for the company. But Edgar wanted to use it to better gauge Ron's character.

At the same time, Vought's internal affairs contained many things that ordinary people would find utterly dark. A soft-hearted person couldn't be one of the decision-makers of this commercial empire.

"Old Captain and New Member! Internal Conflict in The Seven?" "Is the Mightiest Superhero Still Homelander?" "The Island Battle That Flattened Everything!"

The next day, a sensational story dominated the front pages of every major newspaper in America.

Homelander and Dark Star, the newest member of The Seven, had fought on a deserted island in the Atlantic called Resengoal, nearly leveling it.

Every report included photos of the island after the battle—the surface reduced to dust, as if ravaged by a nuclear bomb and a hurricane. It was shocking.

"Is this really not the aftermath of a government hydrogen bomb test?"

"So powerful! If we'd had heroes like this in WWII, the Nazis would've been crushed long ago!"

"Aren't they both in The Seven? Why did they fight?"

"Vought says it was a friendly spar between teammates."

"Look at these photos—there are actually such powerful beings among the superheroes protecting us..."

This immediately sparked shock and discussion among the public. The battle on the deserted island set off a wave of fervor, centering on the superheroes, with particular focus on Homelander and Dark Star.

"Is this real?"

In the apartment, staring at the newspaper photos of the devastated island, Starlight nearly spat out the coffee she'd just sipped while sitting at the dining table. Her expression froze as she asked in surprise.

"What?"

"You fought the most powerful superhero on Earth? Yesterday?"

"Yes." Emerging from the bathroom after a shower, wearing only a simple bathrobe, Ron nodded while drying his hair.

"But when I came to find you yesterday, you acted just like usual."

When she'd visited yesterday afternoon, she and Ron had gone out for dinner, watched an opera she liked, and returned home to sleep together through the night—no different from any other day.

Yet only this morning, through the newspaper, did she learn that Ron had fought Homelander over the Atlantic yesterday morning, nearly sinking an island.

"What did you expect me to look like?

Face full of wounds, hands wrapped in bandages?"

Sitting down at the table, he cut into an egg pancake and raised an eyebrow.

"No, I mean, how come you seem so unconcerned about this?"

"That's Homelander—the most powerful superhero on Earth. You fought him for so long, leveled an island, and didn't get a single scratch!"

Starlight was certain Ron hadn't been injured. Not a wound on him, full of energy—she'd known since last night.

"It was just a draw, not a win."

Though he was sure his strength was now on par with Homelander, which gave him some reassurance, it was merely an inconclusive fight.

Even if he'd won, he wasn't the type to get overly excited about defeating someone.

Ability Points: 125,000

Ron glanced at the panel and smiled.

If there was anything that could bring him slight satisfaction, it was that his Ability Points had increased by nearly 80,000, almost back to their original level.