Temporary Compound V

In a park near Vought International, Alvin leisurely enjoyed his afternoon tea.

He doubted even Vought International could imagine that the audacious criminal who kidnapped The Invisible Man and sent threatening packages was right under their noses.

Alvin wasn't afraid. The packages were sent discreetly, ensuring Vought International couldn't trace their origin.

Besides, The Invisible Man was already dead, and the tracking chip was thoroughly destroyed.

Under these circumstances, unless Vought International had a superpower like "precognition," they would have no way of finding him.

"Heh, if nothing unexpected happens, Vought International will probably choose to sweep this under the rug."

Alvin looked at Vought International's tall building, roughly guessing their next move.

The sudden appearance of someone who knew Homelander's past secrets meant there was a high probability of events spiraling out of their control.

And as Vought International's most important "asset," they absolutely could not allow any unforeseen circumstances to arise with Homelander.

Therefore, Vought would first suspect internal personnel involved in the relevant plan from years ago, and then, to ensure Homelander remained under control, they would inevitably impose restrictions.

But the more restricted he became, the more Homelander's rebellious streak would be ignited.

Alvin had long prepared a second "surprise" for Vought International and Homelander, though now wasn't the time.

"Excuse me, may I sit here?"

A voice suddenly chimed in. Alvin turned his head to see a very young girl, blonde with blue eyes, a ponytail, and dressed casually.

"A beautiful girl like you, I don't think anyone would refuse," Alvin said humorously.

"Thank you."

The girl blushed slightly and shyly sat down beside him.

There were very few chairs in the entire park, and the other spots were occupied by homeless people. Then she saw the young man sitting alone on the bench.

He was a rare type of handsome, with perfectly proportioned features, gracing a face like a Greek sculpture. Especially his deep brown eyes, which seemed to hold a watery tenderness.

"Hello, I'm Annie," the girl said, secretly observing Alvin and mustering her courage to introduce herself.

Annie?

Alvin froze for half a second, then looked at the girl before him again. "Are you Starlight?"

"You, you know me?" Starlight was clearly surprised, her eyes lighting up with a hint of glee.

At this point, Starlight hadn't joined The Seven yet, but Alvin quickly reacted and spun a lie. "Of course, I watched your talent show, it was great!"

"Actually, it wasn't that good. Many people are better than me," Starlight said, lowering her head shyly. Her eyes darted towards the handsome young man, her heart thumping uncontrollably.

"Please don't say that, you're truly amazing."

Alvin swiftly switched personas, adopting the demeanor of a fan. He took the girl's hand, his gaze sincere and fervent. "I believe you can definitely become one of The Seven!"

"R-really?"

With her hand held by the handsome young man, Starlight became even more bashful. The tips of her ears turned red, and her voice was barely a whisper. "Th-thank you, you're the first person to praise me like this."

Of course, the above actions weren't universally applicable. Alvin's only gratitude was towards his predecessor for leaving him such a handsome appearance.

"It should be my honor to be this close to my idol."

Alvin tightly held her delicate hand, gazing at the blushing Starlight with eyes that could make a dog fall in love. "Miss Starlight, I think perhaps God heard my inner voice, which is why He let me meet you here. Today is simply my lucky day."

Starlight felt dizzy. Unlike other supers who messed around, she had been a pure girl her whole life, full of anticipation and dreams of love.

And today, meeting this handsome, refined young man in the park made her feel like love had arrived.

Alvin watched as Starlight became immersed in her "love" fantasy, a slight smile playing on his lips. He thanked his predecessor's appearance again for assisting him.

He wasn't a simp, and he had no interest in Starlight whatsoever.

The reason for feigning affection was simple: Starlight would later join Vought International and become part of The Seven.

Furthermore, Starlight's superpower wasn't weak, especially her durability, which was top-tier, capable of preventing Black Noir's attacks for half a day. Improving their relationship now wouldn't hurt his future plans.

"No, you don't have to call me Starlight, you can call me Annie."

Starlight's face was flushed, like a shy, blooming flower. Her mind was already starting to fantasize about having children in the future.

It was too crazy; her heart had never beaten so fast, as if she were being drawn into those deep, affectionate eyes.

Starlight gazed lovingly at Alvin and slowly closed her eyes.

Does this mean she wants me to kiss her?

Alvin's eye twitched. He just wanted to get closer, not offer himself up.

Fortunately, his phone rang just in time, breaking the ambiguous atmosphere.

"Sorry, I need to take this call."

Alvin glanced at the caller ID – it was Butcher – and answered.

"We got what you wanted. When do we trade?" Butcher got straight to the point.

"Okay, send me the address. I'll be there soon."

Alvin nodded calmly, hung up the phone, and looked apologetically at Starlight. "I'm sorry, something urgent just came up."

"Um. Can we... see each other again?" Starlight bit her lip, a sliver of hope mixed in her watery eyes.

"Of course, Miss Starlight."

Alvin maintained his affectionate gaze, scribbled down his phone number, and handed it to Starlight. "If anything happens, you can always come to me. I'm willing to be your most loyal listener and fan."

"G-goodbye, Alvin."

Starlight carefully put the phone away and waved. "I'll call you~"

Once Alvin disappeared from sight, she suddenly thought of something and said with some regret, "Oh no, shoot, I forgot to ask his name!"

"Is this what you told me was important?"

The Black man, Marvin, glared at Butcher, who was eating pizza, his eyes wide with anger. "You said we were going to investigate Compound V, and that's why I agreed to come back. But all we're doing is spying on some damn Claw Woman?"

"My dear brother, don't be so impatient."

Butcher swallowed the last piece of pizza, licked his fingers, and flashed a familiar smile. "According to my intel, Claw Woman is Locomotive's lover."

"So you want to watch their XX show?" Frenchie also didn't understand why they had to stare at Claw Woman.

Butcher explained simply and plainly, "The reason is very simple. She has Compound V at her place."

"Wait, you guys, stop arguing!" At this moment, Hughie, through the monitor, discovered the target had left. "Claw Woman is out. She's probably going live for her workout. We have about an hour."

"Excellent, Hughie, you stay here and monitor."

Butcher rubbed his hands together and stretched his muscles. "Marvin, Frenchie, come with me."

The three of them disguised themselves as maintenance workers and swaggered into the apartment. Frenchie made full use of his little skills, picking the lock with a piece of wire.

"We only have an hour, hurry up!"

Butcher glanced at the layout and shouted, "Marvin, you search the bedroom. Frenchie, you search the bathroom and kitchen. I'll take the living room!"

Time was tight, and the three of them didn't waste any words, immediately diving into the search.

"Found it!"

Suddenly, Marvin in the bedroom made a discovery.

He came out holding a box of dark blue serum and looked at Butcher. "This thing must be the 'Compound V' you were talking about, right?"

Butcher glanced at the serum. "This should be it."

Just then!

Hughie's urgent and panicked shout suddenly came through the headset. "No, bad! Claw Woman is back all of a sudden! Get out fast!"

Hearing this, the expressions of the three men changed. Looking at the messy room, there was no time to clean up.

Are you kidding me?!

If Claw Woman found them, all three of them would die here!

"Get out!"

Butcher hurriedly urged the other two to retreat.

However, the moment they opened the door, they ran right into Claw Woman at the stairwell.

The two sides stared at each other, stunned for a few seconds. The air seemed to freeze, with a strange atmosphere flowing.

Daily request for follow-ups. Follow-ups during the new book period are really, really, really important. Without follow-ups, it means no recommendations, and without recommendations, it means starvation.