After being berated by Angelina, Dodger could no longer stay in Seven Tower and fled as if escaping.
At this moment.
In the livestream, comments flew by one after another.
'I knew he was slandering Homelander. What a piece of trash. I'm unfollowing!'
'This is too much. I thought he had some solid evidence, but it was all guesswork.'
'Garbage. He only knows how to chase clout. How is he any different from those media reporters? Unfollowed!'
Watching the stream of abusive comments on his phone screen, watching his follower count plummet off a cliff.
Dodger Wilson's heart bled.
"It shouldn't have turned out like this."
"The doctor clearly told me Angelina was seriously injured."
"Since when could Homelander heal severe injuries?!"
"He turned me into a Joker. He humiliated me in front of millions. He ruined my career!"
Thinking of this, Dodger suddenly turned back toward Seven Tower and gave it the finger.
*
*
*
Inside a townhouse in some neighborhood.
A man was looking at his phone.
"Sweetheart, what are you watching?"
A fairly attractive woman handed him a cup of coffee.
The man took the coffee, put down his phone, and said, "This idiot offended Homelander."
The woman glanced at the phone. On it was a man who had just walked out of Seven Tower.
"Who is he?"
"A third-rate reporter. He wanted to get famous by smearing Homelander, but it backfired."
The man pulled the woman close and said with a grin, "Sweetheart, what do you think? If I twist off this idiot's head and give it to Homelander, would he let me join The Seven?"
The woman held his face and said, "Absolutely. Then our Mr. Blue Hawk will be a member of The Seven."
*
*
*
Inside an old apartment, Liquid Man, dressed in a long trench coat, stared at a tablet.
Angelina's face on the screen looked pale, but she did not look like an injured patient overall. She was righteously condemning the owner of the livestream.
"Impossible."
Then his phone rang.
Liquid Man glanced at it. It was his employer, O'Connor.
After thinking for a moment, he answered and activated the recording function at the same time.
Then O'Connor's voice came through the phone.
"Tell me what the hell is going on!"
"Are you screwing with me?!"
"Why is that woman still alive?!"
Liquid Man was about to explain, but O'Connor gave him no chance.
"You've already taken my money. You'd better put Angelina—my dear little niece—into a cold coffin!"
Then the call ended.
Liquid Man fell silent for a moment, then opened the recording and listened to O'Connor's words again.
*
*
*
Seven Tower, 88th floor.
In the CEO's office, Edgar exited the livestream and turned off his phone.
He closed his eyes and smiled. Addressing the empty office, he said, "How do you think Homelander healed a severely injured girl?"
"Organ damage and serious internal bleeding cannot be treated by simply closing the wounds."
The office was quiet. No one answered.
Edgar opened his eyes, looked around, and continued, "I know you're here, Translucent."
"Homelander sent you to watch me, didn't he?"
"He's changed a lot. Do you know why?"
Still, no one answered.
Edgar gave a short laugh. "It seems The Deep's death scared the wits out of you."
"It's fine. Just keep staying silent."
"I only have one request."
"When I use the restroom, don't stare at me. Thank you."
After saying that, Edgar lowered his head and continued working.
At that moment, one leaf on a potted plant behind the Vought CEO moved on its own, despite there being no wind indoors.
*
*
*
Seven Tower, Maeve's room. Azu stood by the window with his hands on his hips, looking into the distance.
"Don't you have your own room to go to?"
Maeve had already taken off her Battle Armor. Dressed lightly and showing off her long legs, she lay on a beach chair.
Azu turned around, walked over to Maeve with a smile, and brazenly reached out to gently cup one side of her face.
"As a teammate, I felt obligated to come check on you."
Maeve glanced at the hand on her face but did not remove it. She merely said, "Well, you've seen me now."
"As you can see, I'm fine. I've recovered."
Azu's hand moved lower. "That's hard to say. I think it's necessary for me to give you a full-body examination."
Maeve chuckled. "Just an examination?"
Azu extended one finger, lightly hooked her collar, and asked with a smile, "What else would it be?"
But at that moment, Azu's phone rang.
Maeve discreetly pressed a hand against her chest as well. "I appreciate the thought, but I think you have something else to deal with now."
Azu smiled, said nothing, and left the room.
After hearing the door close, Maeve let out a slight sigh of relief. Looking at the ceiling, she murmured.
"What's with that guy?"
"He seems like a completely different person."
"And he wants to reform The Seven."
"Still, if I don't have to do commercials, movies, or reality shows, that wouldn't be so bad."
In the blink of an eye, Sunday arrived.
That afternoon, Azu shut down all surveillance cameras in the Training Room and trained with Angelina in hand-to-hand combat.
"Come at me."
Azu smiled and beckoned with his hand.
Angelina shouted and rushed forward. Her explosive speed was incredibly powerful. If it had been anyone other than Azu, they probably would have seen only an afterimage.
A vicious knee strike slammed into Azu's abdomen, but it failed to knock him down as Angelina had expected.
She circled around Azu, punching and kicking him. Every strike was enough to kill an ordinary person, but landing on Azu, they felt like nothing more than scratches.
Azu stood still. He even had time to open his Status Bar and look at the talent, 'Steel Body.'
After Angelina attacked him for quite some time, the talent reluctantly gained just 1 point of proficiency.
"It looks like routine training barely increases proficiency. I need actual combat for more noticeable improvement."
As Azu was thinking this, Angelina leaped up, climbed onto his shoulders, clamped his head between her thighs, then twisted her waist hard, trying to throw him down.
But Azu did not budge.
Then Azu raised a hand and caught Angelina's hand. Smiling, he said, "It seems I'm not suited to be your sparring partner. Let's stop here for today and do another kind of exercise."
Angelina's face immediately flushed red.
As they exercised, Azu said, "The person who tried to assassinate you that day—Annika from the Criminal Analysis Department provided some useful information. I believe it was a Super called Liquid Man."
"That guy is on our Blacklist. He's a professional assassin."
"Now that he knows you're alive, he'll definitely make a move. I need your cooperation. That way, your revenge drama can begin."
Angelina's voice trembled. "Everything... will be as Master commands."
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