With Me Here, She Won't Die

Seven Tower, 88th floor.

Angelina, strikingly beautiful and elegant, watched the television before her. On the screen, a blue figure slammed into the parking lot, sending a four-armed freak flying.

The camera cut to a blonde woman.

"Did everyone see that?"

"I'm now in the parking lot of Vought International Department Store. The hostage situation here has already been resolved by Homelander and Queen Maeve."

"But there's a new development."

"A monster from who-knows-where is currently fighting Homelander."

Another wave of gasps erupted from the TV.

Homelander had been wrapped up like a mummy in countless cables, but soon enough, he broke free with Laser Eyes.

Angelina's eyes sparkled. In a voice only she could hear, she murmured, "Master is truly amazing."

Just then, the phone on her desk rang.

President Edgar summoned her. By the time Angelina walked out of his office with a stack of files, the TV report had already ended.

A flicker of disappointment crossed the girl's face. She carried the stack into the copy room.

The copy room was quiet. Following Edgar's instructions, Angelina made three copies of each document.

"Thanks to Master's recommendation, I got this job—assistant to Edgar, president of Vought."

"I need to seize this chance to learn from Mr. Edgar, to learn how to run a corporation."

"But when will Master help me get my revenge?"

At the thought of revenge, Angelina's eyes blazed with fury.

Just then, from a vent behind her, strands of black, viscous liquid seeped through the grille.

It dripped silently to the floor. Moments later, a figure rose from the liquid, taking the shape of a man in a long trench coat.

His face dark, he stepped soundlessly up behind Angelina. Black liquid, like crude oil, welled up in his palm.

It twisted and stretched into a short blade.

The man in the trench coat clamped one hand over Angelina's mouth and drove the black liquid blade into the girl's soft body with the other.

As he moved to stab again, a scream rang out behind him. A company employee had walked into the copy room and seen everything.

The trench-coated man abandoned Angelina without hesitation, sprinted to the window, and leaped out!

The moment he cleared the window, his body liquefied into a pool of black slime, clinging to the outer wall of Seven Tower.

He slithered swiftly, then slipped through a crack in a window on the 83rd floor.

Some time later.

On a street behind Seven Tower, a manhole cover cracked open. A sheet of black liquid oozed out.

It slid under a black sedan, and when it reached the far side of the vehicle, it reshaped into a man in a long trench coat.

He strode quickly into a nearby alley.

By the time he reached the main street, a luxury car pulled up and stopped nearby.

The door opened, and the trench-coated man climbed in.

Inside the spacious cabin, a man wearing a ruby ring asked in a low voice, "Is it taken care of?"

The trench-coated man nodded. "Done, Mr. O'Connor."

"Miss Angelina's organs are pierced. She won't survive the night."

The man called O'Connor snorted. "Liquid Man, you should have killed my dear niece outright."

"Not just left her badly wounded!"

Liquid Man shrugged. "What's the difference?"

"She won't live through today anyway."

"Besides, do you know where that is?"

"That's Seven Tower!"

"Homelander could come back any minute. I'm not dying for money!"

O'Connor took out a case and tossed it to the man across from him. "Half the payment is here."

"If Angelina dies tomorrow, you'll get the other half."

Liquid Man partially liquefied his body, absorbed the briefcase into himself, and got out at the next intersection.

Once the door closed, O'Connor glanced out the window at the distant Seven Tower.

He let out a laugh. "Angelina, dear niece, you thought hiding in Seven Tower would keep you safe?"

"Hahahaha."

As the luxury car drove off, a blue streak flashed across the sky reflected in the window.

Azu carried the limp Maeve toward the Seven Tower, a faint smile on his lips. "Want to go to my room? You look like you could use a lie-down."

Maeve chuckled. "I'm guessing I won't be the only one in that bed, will I?"

"So forget it. Just take me to the lounge."

Azu shook his head. "Dear Maeve, you underestimate me."

"I'm not one to take advantage."

"Besides, if I wanted to do something, even at your best, you couldn't stop me."

Maeve was unimpressed. "At least I could fight back."

Azu winked. "That would only make it more exciting."

Just then, he heard the wail of an ambulance pulling up to the base of the Seven Tower.

"What's going on?"

Azu flew straight into the command hall with Maeve in his arms, set the Queen down in a chair, and called for Ashley.

"Homelander, you're finally back."

Ashley got straight to the point. "Miss Angelina was attacked. It looks bad."

Azu's expression flickered.

He'd finally found a promising pawn. What a waste if she died now.

Without another word, he flew out of the command hall, chasing the ambulance that had already left the Seven Tower and was heading for the hospital.

En route, Azu opened the shop. He didn't bother checking the new additions.

He spent 50 Proficiency Essences outright and exchanged them for an NK Gene Modification Potion—Improved Version.

Then he dropped down onto the street, turned around, and raised a hand at the oncoming ambulance, signaling it to stop.

"It's Homelander!"

"Why's he stopping an ambulance?"

Pedestrians turned to look and pulled out their phones to snap pictures.

Inside a parked car nearby, a man with his face hidden under a hat sat bolt upright.

He stared at Homelander in the middle of the road and muttered, "I smell a story."

"Ha, I thought I'd miss the scoop at Vought International Department Store, but looks like I'm getting an exclusive right here on the street!"

He pulled out his phone, logged into his livestream, went live, and dashed out.

By then, the ambulance had stopped right in front of Azu, its bumper just a centimeter from his palm.

The door swung open, and a doctor jumped out, hands raised in confusion. "Homelander, what are you doing?"

"Is there a Miss Angelina in there?" As he spoke, Azu had already scanned the rear compartment with his Laser Eyes, spotting Angelina on a mobile bed with a respirator.

Without waiting for the doctor's answer, he walked over, grabbed the window frame, and tore the entire side panel off the vehicle.

The nurse inside screamed and stumbled back, collapsing beside the bed.

The doctor shouted from behind, "Homelander, stop! This young lady is critically injured. She needs to get to the hospital immediately."

Azu turned his head and smiled. "With me here, she's not dying."

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