A Deal

Edgar fell silent for a moment before saying quietly, "Homelander, you can't just put a nail by my side."

Azu smiled and gestured with his chin toward 'Starlight' in the distance. The young woman was curiously looking around.

The Black man shook his head. "She isn't a nail."

Azu shrugged, then leaned forward slightly so he could whisper into Edgar's ear.

"I'm guessing you know that I was the one who kicked this young lady out."

"But you brought her back."

"So let's not play the 'I'm innocent' game, shall we?"

Edgar's eyes flickered. After a moment, he looked up and smiled. "You win."

"Fine."

"A deal."

"We're good at those, aren't we?"

"No problem. What's your friend's name? I'll arrange for her to study at my side. I'll teach her every trick I know."

"Although I don't know what you're planning, I trust you, Homelander."

Azu lightly pressed a hand against the Black man's shoulder. "Pleasure doing business with you."

Then he clapped his hands and laughed loudly. "Welcome, Miss Annie."

"No, I should call you 'Starlight,' right?"

Starlight looked nervous, but she put on a sweet smile. "Thank you, Homelander."

"Oh, could you give me an autograph?"

Azu looked her up and down. "Where do you plan on having me sign?"

Starlight hurriedly pulled out a notebook, opened it to a page, and handed it to Azu.

Azu smiled, signed his name on the blank page, then summoned Ashley and had the assistant show 'Starlight' around.

"Well then, I'll be going."

"You can have your friend come find me on the eighty-eighth floor anytime."

Edgar said with a wave.

The Deep hurried two steps forward. "Mr. Edgar, then what about me?"

Edgar glanced at him and smiled. "I heard Homelander has an assessment for all of you. Work hard, The Deep."

"No, I—"

Without giving The Deep a chance to speak, Edgar walked out of the command hall.

The Deep awkwardly looked toward Homelander, looking utterly at a loss.

Looking at this traitor, Azu's lips curled into a smile. He walked over and lightly patted The Deep's shoulder.

"You and Mr. Edgar seem to get along quite well."

The Deep shuddered and hurriedly said, "Boss, let me explain."

"Mr. Edgar was the one who asked to speak with me. You know, I had to listen to him, so—"

"It's fine."

Azu draped an arm around his shoulders. "It's really fine, The Deep. I'm not holding it against you."

"By the way, Mr. Edgar mentioned the assessment just now too."

"How about we get it over with today?"

The Deep tried hard to maintain his smile. "Your call, boss."

"But should we bring the others?"

"Or we could livestream it. The ratings would definitely be great."

Azu said with a smile, "No, no, no. Like I said before, we're not doing reality shows anymore, so internet livestreams and all that are a thing of the past."

"Understand?"

Only then did The Deep force out a smile. "Understood."

"Then let's go." Azu clapped his hands and headed toward the hall's exit. "I'll wait for you at the pier."

He turned back, his smile dazzling. "The Deep, you're not going to run away, are you?"

Then, without waiting for The Deep's answer, Azu walked out of the hall.

The wind at the pier was strong.

Azu arrived early. After waiting twenty-five minutes, The Deep finally showed up.

"Well, buddy, are you ready?"

Azu spread his hands and shouted.

The Deep wore a bitter expression. "Boss, I'm not feeling too well today. Could we do this another day?"

Azu put one hand on his hip and beckoned The Deep over with the other.

Only after The Deep came close did Azu whisper into his ear, "Run!"

The Deep froze and looked at Azu.

The blond white man's face held a brilliant smile, yet there wasn't the slightest warmth in his eyes.

He suddenly understood something. He rushed toward the pier, dove forward, and plunged into the water.

The moment he entered the water, The Deep dove swiftly like a submarine before shooting away like a torpedo.

He was actually quite fast underwater!

In the blink of an eye, Azu could no longer see him.

Azu smiled, blasted into the air with a boom, paused briefly, then flew toward the sea like a jet.

He scanned the surface and quickly spotted the target hiding beneath the water.

The Deep!

Azu skimmed across the sea. The next second, he plunged into the water.

He tore through the seawater and flew beneath the waves, shooting toward The Deep at full speed.

When he saw The Deep's back, Azu's eyes lit up. Two dark-red beams blasted out, slicing through the seawater toward their target.

The Deep nimbly veered off course underwater, letting the two dark-red beams graze past him. Then he made all kinds of agile movements, dodging the sweeping Laser Eyes.

A moment later, Azu stopped firing his Laser Eyes. His smile remained unchanged. Seeing that The Deep was still alive and kicking, he was in no hurry to kill him.

But at that moment, information appeared on his retina.

Your 'Laser Eyes +1' proficiency is full.

It has now upgraded to 'Laser Eyes +2'.

Laser Eyes +2: Cutting power +110%, penetration +50%, overall power +85%. Attacks will gain the accompanying effect 'Explosion.' The 'Explosion' effect can be manually turned on or off.

You gained the derived talent 'Insight' while upgrading 'Laser Eyes.'

Insight: Allows you to obtain basic information about a target.

Laser Eyes had leveled up.

And he had gained a derived talent!

Azu was in high spirits as he used 'Insight' on The Deep.

Information immediately appeared before his eyes.

Name: The Deep

Life Level: Level 4 (Supers)

Status: Panicked

That was it?

Azu studied the information before him, which resembled his own Status Bar.

But there was awfully little information.

It did not even display what Talents The Deep possessed.

It seemed only after 'Insight' leveled up would it reveal more.

At that moment, Azu suddenly noticed several schools of fish swimming toward him.

He saw The Deep point at him, and countless marine creatures charged at him wildly.

Seriously?

Did he think these sea creatures could stop me?

Azu could not help laughing as he shook his head. He suddenly accelerated, carving out a trail of bubbles underwater and instantly crashing into the schools of fish.

In an instant, who knew how many marine creatures were smashed to pieces by him.

The Deep could understand the words of marine creatures, so his ears were filled with the screams and wails of countless creatures as they died.

He could not help covering his ears. Then, watching Homelander fly toward him, The Deep gritted his teeth, abruptly raised both hands, and shoved them toward Azu with all his strength.

The seawater roared, forming a powerful underwater current that blasted toward Azu like cannon fire.

Azu crashed through it without a care, shattering the current directly. Then his eyes lit up, and two red Laser Eyes screamed toward The Deep.

The Deep hurriedly shot upward, allowing the two dark-red beams to pass beneath his feet.

But this time, although the Laser Eyes missed, they suddenly expanded.

The light rapidly swelled. The next second, the Laser Eyes exploded violently, raising a red fireball in the sea.

The blast's shockwave created a violent upward current that carried The Deep with it, launching him out of the sea and hurling him into the air!