The Worst Possible Turn of Events

Hughie had already wrapped the teddy bear and walked over, sensing that something was off.

Azu turned around and took out a credit card. "Much obliged."

Flattered, Hughie accepted the card, quickly completed the transaction, and handed the wrapped teddy bear in its bag to Azu.

Azu said, "Leave it with you for now. I'll come get it later. Right now, I want to have a few words with the agent."

He smiled as he passed Butcher, pushed open the door, and walked into an alley behind the video store.

He stood with his back to the alley.

After a while,

he heard footsteps.

Azu turned around and saw Butcher walk in with a grim expression.

Butcher the Butcher, one of the protagonists of The Boys.

He had spent his entire life working to overthrow Supers and take down Homelander.

The driving force behind it all was that Homelander had cuckolded him.

At that moment, Butcher habitually flashed a rogueish grin. "Looks like you know who I am. So, are you going to kill me here?"

"You've got a recording going, haven't you?"

"Or are you livestreaming?"

"Where's the camera? Want me to smile at it? I'm very good at that." Azu sounded utterly unconcerned.

Butcher froze for a moment.

Just as Azu had said, he was livestreaming, intending to expose Homelander's vile deeds directly online.

But he hadn't expected Homelander not to care.

Still, with no way out now, Butcher simply went all in and said in a low voice, "Didn't you want to talk to me about Becca?"

"Then tell me, who is Becca?"

At that moment, a line of text floated through Butcher's livestream chat: Who is Becca?

No one answered. There weren't even ten viewers.

It couldn't be helped. He had too few followers.

But soon, one viewer posted: Oh my god, Homelander. It's really Homelander.

What kind of godly stream is this? It actually got Homelander on camera.

Can I go promote this in other livestreams?

At a time like this, Butcher naturally had no time to answer.

He stared at the man in Stars and Stripes before him.

Azu smiled. "Isn't Becca your wife?"

Butcher laughed. "Then why do you know my wife's name?"

Azu pointed at him. "Don't you already know the answer?"

"I want to hear you say it yourself. What, does the great Homelander have a moment when he doesn't dare come clean?" Butcher's eyes began to light up with excitement, like a hunter who had caught his prey.

Azu smiled. "I'll pretend I don't understand your attempt to provoke me."

"As for why I know your wife's name, she probably told me while we were sleeping together."

"Is that the answer you wanted?"

Dense red veins immediately spread through the corners of Butcher's eyes.

The livestream's viewer count had already surpassed a thousand, and it was still climbing.

Messages began appearing across the screen one after another, no longer as quiet as before.

Oh my god, did I hear that right? Homelander slept with this guy named Butcher's wife?

Huge scoop, the scoop of the century! Brothers, get this trending! Homelander, 666!

No! The Homelander in my heart isn't like this! Homelander, please, don't ruin the image I have of you.

Can the idiot above shut up? Homelander is a person too. What's wrong with sleeping with a woman?

The problem is, she's a married woman. That's immoral!

How do you know? Were you there? Are you Butcher? Do you know whether they were divorced?

The livestream chat immediately erupted into a fierce argument.

Butcher let out a heavy breath. "Did you just sleep with her?"

"No, you illegally took her by force, against her will!"

"You're a despicable bastard, a filthy coward who doesn't dare admit it, who doesn't dare tell the truth!"

I think you're right.

But what does Homelander sleeping with your wife have to do with me, Azu?

Pushing aside those messy thoughts,

Azu smiled and said, "This matter is indeed a little complicated, but I didn't come tonight to defend myself. I came to resolve things between us."

"Maybe you won't believe me, but the me of today is already very different from the one you know."

"But it doesn't matter."

"I don't need your approval."

"I only want to solve this problem."

"Mr. Butcher, if you're willing, I'll give you ten million dollars."

"On top of that, I'll help you find Becca and send the two of you out of this country."

"I'll find you a place where no one knows you, where no one will disturb you."

"You can reconcile and start a new life. What do you think of my proposal?"

Butcher was stunned again.

He had considered that Homelander might fly into a rage. He had also considered that Homelander might deny everything.

But he had never expected Homelander to make such an offer.

And Becca wasn't dead?

No, that was impossible!

That's right, this bastard knows I'm livestreaming and is saying this on purpose!

Butcher's slightly wavering gaze became resolute once more.

Messages flew through the livestream chat one after another, raining across the screen.

Homelander is a real man. He did it and owned it. I'm a fan now!

Trash. He really did sleep with someone else's wife. I'll never like you again, Homelander!

Come on, it's ten million dollars. Even if she doesn't want to wear Homelander's hand-me-downs, she can just find someone else.

Idiot, can feelings be measured with money?

I hereby declare that Homelander has fallen from his pedestal tonight!

But Homelander knew he was being livestreamed and still dared to admit it. I'd say ninety percent of the men in this chat don't have that kind of courage.

In the alley,

Butcher laughed and shook his head. "Money."

"You people always pull the same stunt."

"Every time, you try to buy us off with money."

"But do you think it works every time?"

"No!"

"Homelander, I'll be watching you."

"I'll peel that hypocritical outer layer off you, one layer at a time."

"I'll let the world see just how ugly you really are!"

"This isn't over between us."

Azu laughed, his feet rising slightly off the ground as he flew into the air and looked down at Butcher. "You know what?"

"This is the worst possible turn of events."

He had developed murderous intent.

He had no intention of playing cat and mouse with Butcher.

Since Butcher had no intention of reconciling, only one of them could survive.

Azu certainly did not want to die.

Nor did he want to wait for Butcher to come looking for trouble with Soldier Boy in the future.

But at that moment,

Azu's ear twitched, and he suddenly looked to the left.

A red light flashed from a window in a building. Then the glass shattered, and a sniper round shot toward Azu's forehead at blinding speed.

Azu did not move at all, allowing the sniper round to strike his forehead. The bullet compressed layer by layer before finally exploding into countless tiny fragments that fell to the ground.

At the same time, Azu heard faint gunfire in the distance.

When he looked back into the alley, Butcher had already taken the opportunity to leave, slipping into the crowd.

Bang!

Another bullet shattered against Azu's face.

Azu's expression immediately darkened.

Being interrupted twice while handling serious business made him very unhappy.

His figure instantly blurred, leaving behind a blue afterimage as he shot at high speed toward the sniper's location.