I'm Not Asking for Your Opinion

Federal Reserve Bank.

The incident was over, and the police were handling the aftermath.

Police tape had been set up outside the bank, keeping pedestrians from getting close.

The entire street had even been temporarily closed to traffic as officers collected parts and fragments.

All of it was watched by a pair of eyes.

It was a man holding a newspaper and wearing a baseball cap. Standing among the pedestrians, he was utterly unremarkable.

"Homelander is still pretty strong."

"The Overlord Armor didn't even last a minute before it was taken out."

"It never even got the chance to attack him."

"Terrifying."

He took out his phone, its screen displaying a set of data.

"Still, we got the data we needed."

"Using Homelander's data for targeted upgrades, the next-generation armor should be even more powerful."

The man sighed again. "If we could replicate the Subject Zero Battle Armor's technology, there'd be no need for all this trouble."

"Reverse engineering can only get us scraps."

As he spoke, he organized the data into a file and sent it to an address.

'Olga Weapon Research Laboratory'!

The Seven's headquarters.

Ashley hurried toward the command hall and saw Homelander and Edgar coming out.

The two chatted and laughed as though they had forgotten that Madelyn, the Vice President, had died that morning.

She had been the Vice President!

Not an ordinary employee, but an important figure who could meet with Senators!

Yet to Edgar, it seemed no more significant than a dead cat or dog.

From the looks of it, Vought had no intention of holding Homelander accountable at all.

With that in mind, Ashley silently reminded herself.

She needed to figure out what kind of attitude she should take when serving Homelander.

Watching Homelander see Edgar into the elevator, Ashley loosened the top two buttons of her shirt and pulled open her collar before stepping forward.

"Something happened, Homelander."

Azu turned and glanced at her. The woman's collar was wide open, revealing her cleavage. Wasn't she afraid of catching cold? The building's central air conditioning was blasting chilly air.

"What is it?"

Azu asked calmly.

Ashley said succinctly, "It's A-Train. He killed a civilian."

A-Train?

Scenes from the TV series immediately flashed through Azu's mind.

The main plot is finally starting!

Seeing that Homelander said nothing, Ashley immediately added, "You don't need to worry."

"I've already had the Public Relations Department take action."

"They'll arrange for A-Train to apologize on television. The company's lawyers will give the victim's family a humanitarian compensation check, and this will be over soon."

"This has always been how we handle things. There haven't been any problems so far."

A smile gradually appeared on Azu's face.

He reached out and stroked Ashley's cheek. "Really no problems?"

The hand that could easily crush her head was gently caressing her face.

Ashley grew so nervous that even her breathing became strained.

Just as she was about to say something—

Homelander said, "We're not doing that this time."

Ashley: "???"

"Ashley, just because there haven't been problems before doesn't mean there won't be any later."

"A volcano hasn't erupted only because the time hasn't come yet."

Azu smiled and walked toward the command hall. "Tell A-Train to get his ass in here."

A moment later.

The command hall doors opened.

Facing the floor-to-ceiling windows with his back to the doors, Azu knew A-Train had arrived without needing to turn around.

"Homelander, you wanted to see me?"

A-Train sounded somewhat nervous. The Black man still had bloodstains on him that had not been cleaned off.

Azu did not turn around.

With his hands behind his back, he looked out over the vast city beyond the window.

"What happened?"

A-Train cleared his throat. "This morning, I was chasing a group of bank robbers. I was passing through the street when that girl suddenly jumped out."

"I accidentally hit her. Fine, I admit I got distracted, but it wasn't my fault."

After saying that,

he saw Homelander beckon him over.

The Black man walked over to Azu's side.

Azu reached out and patted his shoulder, then turned his face slightly, his smile brilliant.

"What do you gain from lying to me?"

A-Train still wanted to explain. "Homelander, I—"

Suddenly,

he could not breathe.

Because Homelander had one hand around his throat.

The immense strength in that hand was slowly squeezing the air out of his lungs.

Even so,

the smile remained on Homelander's face.

Then A-Train heard the leader of The Seven say, "I don't care what you did."

"But you killed someone."

"One 'sorry' isn't enough to make this go away."

"I need you to cooperate with our public relations team."

"Later, Ashley will arrange for you to apologize to the victim's family."

"At that time, every TV station in the city will broadcast it live."

"So I need you to show enough sincerity."

"Do you understand?"

Only after saying that

did Azu release him.

A-Train broke into a violent coughing fit.

Leaning against the edge of the desk, he raised his head. "But she was just a civilian. Do we really need to go this far?"

Azu turned around with his hands behind his back. "I'm not asking for your opinion."

He smiled. "I'm giving you an order."

"Understand?"

A-Train swallowed. "Understood."

After attending his girlfriend Robin's funeral, Hughie returned home with his father. They sat silently on the couch.

"Robin's funeral was such a grand affair."

"Did you see how many people came?"

"Everyone respected her. The place was full of love."

His dad kept talking.

Hughie knew he was trying to comfort him.

But right now,

he was not in the mood for it.

Then a news report appeared on the television.

In the footage, A-Train got out of a car, the Black man wearing a grim expression.

A reporter beside him thrust forward a microphone. "A-Train, are you here to apologize to the victim's family?"

"How did you hit the victim?"

"A-Train, what were you doing at the time?"

Faced with the reporters' questions, A-Train remained silent and kept walking.

As the footage switched, the scene changed, and Hughie froze slightly.

The place on TV looked familiar.

It looked like the street outside his home?

Just then, voices sounded outside the house, followed by the doorbell.

A moment later.

Hughie and his father came outside.

Camera flashes went off without pause.

Amid the dazzling bursts of light, he saw the goggle-wearing Superhero, A-Train.

He saw the murderer who had killed his girlfriend!

For a moment, Hughie had the urge to rush forward and punch him.

Then,

Ashley beside A-Train raised a hand, signaling the reporters to quiet down. She cleared her throat and put on a professional smile.

She looked at Hughie.

"Hello, Mr. Hughie."

"I'm Ashley from Vought."

"We deeply regret what happened to Miss Robin."

"A-Train himself also wishes to personally offer you his deepest condolences."

"And an apology."

For a moment,

Hughie thought he had misheard.

A Superhero was apologizing to him in person?

Then Ashley glanced at A-Train.

The Black man, who had not taken off his goggles, looked around. Speaking incredibly fast in a voice that was almost inaudible,

he said,

"Sorry."

During the new-book period, I really need readers to keep up with the latest chapters. Please support me, everyone, and don't stockpile chapters for now. Thank you.

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(ω) Thank you~~

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