I'm Not Afraid to Tell You

"Ah!"

The Deep let out a long scream.

Thrown into the air, he now began to fall back down.

He looked at the sea, only to see bubbles constantly rising from the surface. Suddenly, the water exploded, and Homelander flew out from the sea.

"Wait!"

"Boss, listen to me!"

The Deep shouted, but Azu paid him no mind. He accelerated upward, slamming his body into The Deep's.

The Deep's face instantly flushed red. The collision churned his stomach, and less than a second later, another surge of force struck his abdomen, sending out a ripple.

Secondary Impact!

The Deep let out a "whoosh" as he flew into the air. Azu shot off with a swoosh, flashed to The Deep's side, and punched him square in the face.

A tooth flew from The Deep's mouth, followed immediately by the 'Secondary Impact' effect, jerking his head violently and sending him flying sideways.

Azu chased after him, landing a flurry of punches and kicks. Every attack came with the 'Secondary Impact' effect.

Bam bam bam bam!

Thunderous booms echoed across the empty sea.

Moments later, Azu held The Deep in one hand. Barely alive, The Deep lifted his head with difficulty.

Under the sun, all he could see was a silhouette against the light.

The next second, two red lights gradually lit up on that figure's face.

At the dock.

An old man was fishing.

Suddenly, he heard a faint roar from the sea. Something flashed in the distance.

"Thunder?"

The old man was puzzled. Then a strong wind blew, lifting the baseball cap off his head and sending it into the air.

A hand caught the cap.

Then, a figure slowly landed on the dock.

The old man rubbed his eyes, thinking he'd misseen, and then said in disbelief, "Homelander?"

Azu smiled slightly, returned the cap to him, and glanced at the sea. "Any luck?"

The old man chuckled. "Not bad."

"Good."

Azu placed a hand on his chest and bowed. "Have a pleasant day, sir."

The old man quickly pressed down on his cap. "You too."

Azu smiled, rose into the air, and turned to fly toward the Seven Tower.

A short while later.

He walked into the command hall.

In the hall, Maeve and Starlight were talking about something, while Translucent and Black Noir sat silently in their chairs.

Hearing footsteps, everyone turned around.

Azu smiled slightly, greeting them.

Maeve looked behind him. "Where's The Deep?"

Azu walked to his seat, clasped his hands behind his back, and gazed out the floor-to-ceiling window at the city.

He let out a soft sigh.

"An accident happened."

"We've lost The Deep forever."

"What a pity."

"I suggest we observe three minutes of silence for him."

The command hall suddenly fell silent, even the sound of breathing seemed to vanish.

Maeve and the others exchanged glances. Starlight, in particular, had seen The Deep not long ago—she couldn't believe he was dead before noon had even passed!

After three seconds, Azu turned around and smiled. "Alright, everyone, don't be too sad."

"As long as you remember The Deep, he hasn't left."

Azu looked at Starlight. "Could you go and call Ashley over?"

Starlight nodded. As she was about to leave, she turned back. "Mr. Homelander, may I ask you a question?"

"Just call me Homelander."

Azu smiled. "What do you want to ask?"

Starlight glanced up at the hall's ceiling. "I heard Mr. Edgar say that you eliminated me. Can I know why?"

Azu nodded lightly. "If this were the old Seven, I would absolutely welcome a lively, cute girl like you to join."

"However, you should have heard what I said to the reporters."

"The future Seven will shoulder the responsibilities of heroes, which means we'll face many challenges."

"Some of them might very well cost us our lives."

Azu looked Starlight up and down. "So when I saw a cute girl like you wanting to join, I couldn't bear it."

"Can you accept that reason?"

Starlight bit her lip lightly. "Actually, I'm not afraid of sacrifice."

Then she walked out of the hall.

Maeve shrugged. "She's young, but she's not stupid."

"If she were smart enough, she'd quit now instead of playing Edgar's so-called hero game." Azu smiled in rebuttal.

Then he looked at Translucent.

"Do me a favor."

"Keep an eye on Edgar. See what he's up to behind the scenes."

"I believe he's probably got the lab working on a way to deal with me right now."

"If you find anything, can you tell me?"

The command hall fell silent again, the atmosphere heavy, as if filled with concrete.

No one expected Homelander to just come out and say it—that he was targeting Edgar, going after the company president.

Wasn't he afraid of someone snitching?

Maeve suddenly thought of something.

The Deep had an accident.

Queen instantly understood what Homelander meant.

I'm not afraid to tell you my plan.

But if anyone wants to snitch, just look at The Deep!

Translucent quickly said, "I'll go right away."

Azu waved his hand, letting him leave.

Just then, a line of text appeared on his retina.

[Warning: 1 hour and 11 minutes until Disaster Event.]

As the text faded, Ashley walked in.

"You wanted to see me, Homelander?"

Azu nodded. "Issue an obituary. The Deep died in an accident during the assessment."

Ashley's smile froze on her face.

She held back the urge to pull her hair out and forced herself to keep smiling. "Okay. Anything else?"

"Bring me the contestant list again."

Azu looked around the room. "Looks like we'll have a new member joining us soon. I'm looking forward to it. What about you?"

Vought International Department Store.

This day was just like any other, the mall bustling with people.

On the first floor, a gift company was holding a raffle, drawing a large crowd of onlookers.

Rick, the mall's security chief, walked through the crowd, scanning every person who passed him.

Rick had been in this line of work for over ten years. Retired from a special forces unit, he was meticulous in his duties. Since he'd taken over as security chief, the mall's safety record had been spotless.

It was what he was most proud of.

As he walked, his radio crackled.

"Mr. Rick, you'd better come. We've got a situation."

"Got it."

A few moments later, Rick walked into the mall's security office. Several security guards stood on high alert, staring at the main screen.

The screen was filled with a face, but it wore a rabbit mask, revealing only a pair of green eyes.

"Listen up. There's a bomb in the department store right now. Once it detonates, it'll release a lethal gas that can kill everyone inside within five minutes."

"If you don't want anyone to get hurt, you'd better do exactly what I say!"

A newbie begging for support and follows. No follows and I'll die, 555.