Do Your Best? No, You Have to Risk Your Life!

"Welcome to Dodger's livestream."

"I'm your good neighbor, good friend, Dodger Wilson, always bringing you firsthand information!"

"It's been a while, and a lot of friends have said I've fallen off."

"That's a rumor. I'm still fighting, friends."

"I'm still committed to exposing the truth for everyone!"

"Just like this time, Homelander has once again been pushed into the eye of the storm."

"Now even the National Security Agency can't stand it anymore. Yeah, what have superheroes brought us over the years?"

"Are they really protecting us?"

"Or is protecting us just an amusing game to them? Do they simply not care about us at all?"

"Otherwise, why are there so many victims of superheroes?"

"As far as I know, many innocent people have been injured or even killed because of superheroes."

"I know a woman who was saved by a Superhero, but that hero never considered how fragile an ordinary person's lumbar spine was while saving her."

"As a result, that woman had the misfortune of spending the rest of her life in a wheelchair."

"There are many more examples like this."

"And the number of unlucky people injured or even killed by superheroes every year is shockingly high."

"If you ask me, Vought should release those figures. Superheroes should also follow the law and think more about us ordinary people when they play their hero games!"

In a room, Butcher smoked a cigarette and wore a roguish grin as he watched the freelance writer foam at the mouth in front of his phone camera.

"The viewer count is skyrocketing. Didn't expect this guy to actually have a knack for it."

Beside him, a short man fiddled with a computer.

Suddenly, a dumbbell landed on the table, nearly smashing his computer.

The short man spread his hands. "Damn it, Mammal, don't just throw your stuff around."

"Shut up, Frenchie. Or do you want to have a go with me?"

A burly Black man stood with his hands on his hips.

Frenchie gave the Black man the middle finger, then said to Butcher, "But public opinion alone can't kill Homelander."

"And honestly, shouldn't we start by hitting a weaker, smaller target?"

"Like an onion, we need to peel it layer by layer. Instead, we're doing this—Homelander isn't an onion. He's a cactus, and a giant one at that."

"One wrong move, and our hands will be full of needles."

Butcher turned around and looked at his old partners. He had spent plenty of effort and breath getting these two troublesome bastards together.

"Public opinion can't kill Homelander, of course, but it can get him covered in shit."

"He's in trouble now, and we're going to throw another log on that fire."

"Whether it burns him to death doesn't matter. What matters is that it can draw his attention away. Got it, you idiots?"

Mammal checked the time. "You'd better get to the point. I still have to pick Jenny up from school."

Frenchie whistled. "Wow, Mr. Mammal is a good dad now, too."

Mammal grabbed him by the collar. "Say one more word and I'll stuff you in a trash can."

"Besides, I am a good father. Always have been."

Frenchie poked the Black man in the waist with a handgun beneath the table. "If you don't let go, I'll treat you to some bullets. Hope you like these hard little beauties."

"I said enough, you idiots."

Butcher curled his lip. "Are you two going to keep squabbling, or are you going to help me keep an eye on a trashy bitch?"

"Which bitch?"

Frenchie and the Black man separated.

Butcher gave a short laugh. "The Female. A-Train's woman."

"Maybe she knows why A-Train was tearing through the streets."

Mammal spread his hands. "A-Train's already dead. Is there any point investigating him now?"

"Don't know. But do you have a better option?"

"Or do you want to go challenge Homelander directly?"

Butcher pointed at the door. "If the answer is no, then do as I say."

*

*

*

Seven Tower.

Ashley had just finished dealing with reporters and was already overwhelmed when she received word that Homelander was looking for her.

"Maybe I should just quit."

"I can't keep doing this job."

Though she complained, Ashley adjusted her emotions in time before entering the command center. She put on a smile and walked in with renewed energy.

"Homelander, what can I do for you?"

Azu gave the woman a casual glance and smiled. "Ms. Ashley, do we have someone in the company who can shapeshift?"

"Transmuter?"

Ashley nodded. "We do have someone like that."

"Call him over. I need something from him."

Twenty-five minutes later, a sexy white woman with wavy blonde hair and blue eyes walked in.

"Good afternoon, Homelander."

A faint golden light flickered in Azu's eyes. "Show me your original form. Don't waste my time."

Seeing that there was not a trace of a smile in Azu's eyes, the blonde beauty immediately transformed into a greasy-faced, fat-eared man.

Only then did the corners of Azu's mouth lift slightly. He turned his back and faced the city beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows. "I'd like to ask you for a favor."

Transmuter was flattered. "It would be my honor to serve you."

Azu nodded. "Though I'm not a government official, common sense tells me that the Supreme Court accepting the Security Bureau's complaint so quickly and preparing a hearing within three days—"

"—seems a little unbelievable. It's as if someone is pushing all this from behind the scenes and clearing every obstacle for this matter."

"I know you can infiltrate government departments, so I want you to find out who is doing this."

"Who wants to send me to prison so badly."

Transmuter shuddered. This was not a good job. The waters ran too deep—deep enough to drown him.

He could not help hesitating.

Azu did not urge him. With his hands behind his back, he seemed to turn into a stone statue.

Second by second, time passed. Transmuter was drenched in sweat, and in the end, his fear of Azu overwhelmed everything else.

He wiped away his sweat. "I'll do my best to handle this."

"No, no, no."

"Doing your best isn't enough."

Azu turned around. A cloud from nowhere drifted over and blocked the sunlight outside, dimming the command center considerably.

In Transmuter's eyes, Homelander became an overwhelmingly oppressive figure. Then his eyes lit up gold, as though a sun were hidden within them.

"You have to risk your life."

"Risk your life to uncover the truth for me. Do you understand?"

Transmuter's teeth chattered faintly. "Understood, Homelander."