John, I Want to Play a Game with You!

[Navigator: Alvin]

[Race: Human]

[Class: Scavenger]

[Anchor World: None]

[Remaining Energy: 0.1 units]

[Remaining Source Power: 0 units]

[Anchor World: None]

[Stay Duration: Seven Days]

When he woke up and looked at the Navigator panel, Alvin rubbed his brow. "Time passes so quickly. In the blink of an eye, it's already the third day."

He had basically given up hope of replenishing the Navigator System's energy.

He had asked whether electrical power could be used to replenish its energy, but the answer had been no. The specific reason was complicated, but it was probably because the energy level was too low.

Unless it was the amount of electricity supplied to all of America, it would be little more than a drop in the bucket for the Navigator System.

Nuclear energy did meet the requirements, but the problem was that it had to be at least on the level of controlled nuclear fusion. The world of The Boys had clearly yet to overcome that technological hurdle.

All things considered, Alvin had only seven short days left!

"Next up is Homelander."

Alvin drew a deep breath, because this decision was extremely dangerous.

Homelander was the most dangerous character in the entire series, modeled after the Superman of the neighboring DC universe.

Although he had been weakened in every possible way, he was still far beyond anything an ordinary person could handle. The slightest misstep could get him killed by a single laser blast.

Moreover, Homelander definitely belonged to the category of twisted and demented personalities.

This character was like the reverse side of DC's Superman—a "superman" who had not been adopted by the Kents, but had instead grown up in a distorted environment.

Of course, Alvin was no reckless fool. He would never do something that amounted to suicide.

Although Homelander acted perverse and extreme in every way, he was actually more like someone who, starved of love and desperate for attention, was extremely fragile inside.

That was thanks to Vought International, which had planted those seeds during Homelander's childhood in order to control him.

They had implanted psychological flaws in Homelander: a need to be loved, a mother complex, a craving for recognition and attention, and more.

There had been a ridiculous scene in the series. Homelander was impervious to bullets, could fly at supersonic speed, and had invincible Heat Vision, yet he had panicked because his approval rating had dropped by 9.5 percent.

He shouted all day about "I am God," then stood atop a high-rise in the dead of night and masturbated at the moon.

At least in Alvin's opinion, Homelander in the early stages was nowhere near that deranged. He was still in a relatively controllable state.

As long as he handled things carefully, even Homelander could perhaps be "traded with."

"I hope everything goes smoothly on Butcher's end."

After washing up, Alvin left the hotel.

Next, he needed to make some preparations. Facing Homelander was far too dangerous. At the very least, he would wait until the temporary Compound V arrived before considering it.

Using a public telephone by the roadside, he called Butcher. "I need Hughie to help me simulate The Invisible Man's chip signal. Can he do it?"

"What are you planning to do?"

Butcher's voice was clearly tense.

"Nothing much. I'm inviting a friend."

Alvin's tone was light and casual, as if he were merely making small talk.

But to Butcher, it only deepened his unease. "Listen, don't do anything reckless. If Homelander finds out, we'll all be buried alongside you!"

"Don't worry, Mr. Butcher." Alvin looked up at the towering Vought building across the street and smiled faintly. "I'm not going to treat my life as a joke."

The conference room on the highest floor of Vought International looked like an ancient Greek building, perfectly blending modern and classical styles.

In the enormous circular hall, the most eye-catching feature was the triangular conference table. The seven chairs beside it belonged to the famous and beloved supergroup, The Seven!

Queen Maeve, Black Noir, Deep, and Locomotive had arrived at the conference room early, preparing for their routine daily meeting.

Before long, Homelander arrived. He strode into the conference hall and habitually swept his gaze across the room, his brows knitting together. "Where's The Invisible Man?"

"Maybe he stayed out too late last night?" Locomotive shrugged, completely unconcerned.

Homelander's expression darkened. Clearly displeased, he sat in his usual seat. He was just about to lecture them when Ashley, the head of Human Resources, ran in with a pale face and a look of panic. "N-no, something's wrong! Something terrible has happened!"

"Ashley, calm down."

Homelander maintained his imposing demeanor and asked in a low voice, "What exactly happened?"

"The Invisible Man—the Invisible Man was kidnapped!" Ashley swallowed nervously and handed over a USB drive. "I just received a package addressed specifically to you. I thought it was a gift from a fan, but I never expected it to contain a video of The Invisible Man being kidnapped!"

The Invisible Man had been kidnapped?!

The members of The Seven present all showed strange expressions.

Homelander did not take the USB drive. Instead, he glanced at Locomotive, who immediately understood. He went over, took the drive, and plugged it into the display device beside them.

After a burst of static, the image soon appeared.

Under dim yellow lighting was a room that had clearly been abandoned for a long time. It was filthy and disorderly, with yellowing stains covering the walls.

At the very center of the room stood an iron cage welded from steel bars. It appeared to be empty, yet curses continuously rang out from inside.

"That's The Invisible Man's voice!" Locomotive said.

The video was immediately interrupted, replaced by flickering static.

Several seconds passed. Just when they thought it was over, a deathly pale mask suddenly appeared on the screen.

At first glance, the mask made people intensely uncomfortable.

Its cheekbones and nose bridge jutted sharply from the rest of the face, while its eye sockets and jaw were sunken inward. The proportions of its features were grotesquely distorted.

Strange bloody spirals had been painted across its cheekbones. Its lips were coated in something resembling fresh blood, while two blood-red eyes dotted with black pupils stared straight at them like the vengeful ghost from a horror film.

Even though they had seen plenty of vicious criminals, that mask still made them feel uncomfortable both physically and mentally.

"Hello, John. I want to play a game with you."

"Many people live in this world without ever knowing why they were born. They simply drift along out of habit."

"Some people are born happy and cherished by their parents, yet never understand gratitude. Others must spend their entire lives making up for the regrets of their childhood."

"God gave you power capable of anything, but the price was taking everything else away from you."

"You long to be 'loved,' yet willingly sink into a sweet nest woven from lies, deceiving yourself."

"So I've given you two choices."

"The rules of the game are simple. Find my location, then rescue The Invisible Man."

"I planted a bomb inside The Invisible Man. You have twenty-four hours. If you fail, I'll release this video to the public."

"By then, people will discover that the omnipotent god of their imagination is nothing more than a pitiful, unloved mortal with a defective personality."

"And you, John, will fall from the heavens back to the mortal realm."

"That is the price of the game."

The video ended frozen on the mask's sinister eyes, sending chills through everyone.

"W-who's John?"

Deep had not yet processed what was happening and asked blankly.

Then he saw the pitying looks Queen Maeve, Locomotive, and Black Noir directed at him.

Bang!

The next second, Deep flew backward like a cannonball and slammed straight into the display.

As Deep lay gravely injured and unconscious, his mind suddenly cleared. Oh. So Homelander's name is John.

The atmosphere in the conference room abruptly fell to freezing point.

A terrifying killing intent radiated from Homelander. His eyes were dark and savage, like a volcano on the verge of eruption. "Find him. Find him for me. I'm going to personally kill the bastard!"

Being a solo player is really boring. Won't someone say something? Anything would do~