I'm Going to Be Famous!

"Caw! Caw..."

The crows flapped their wings in a panic, yet they bravely stood before the young girl, assuming a defensive posture.

After Ryan landed, the gust of wind he stirred up lifted the girl's skirt, causing her to glare at him. "Which reserve team are you from? How dare you barge into my territory!"

Competition existed among superhumans, and the rivalry between those newcomers who had yet to be signed by Vought International was particularly fierce.

For reserve team members like the Countess of Crows, the competition was even more brutal, often involving matters of life and death.

After all, one had to eat, right?

Especially in a place like New York, where every inch of land was worth gold, superhumans had their territories strictly divided.

The girl, who possessed a strong sense of territoriality, had only one reaction upon seeing a superhuman: another person here to steal her turf.

She had already been driven away several times; she had finally found a neighborhood not yet occupied by a reserve team, and she hadn't even been happy for two days before someone dropped from the sky...

A kid?

"You're out and about at such a young age?" the girl asked, surprised once she finally saw Ryan's face clearly.

"Reserve team? What's that?"

Ryan returned the question with one of his own.

But as soon as he asked, he waved his hand dismissively and said, "Forget it, that's not important. I'm just looking for someone to ask for directions."

"Do you know where Vought Tower is? New York is just too big."

The crows landed back on the girl's shoulders. She tilted her head as if listening, and only after the crows finished did she reply, "Cameron tells me you don't have any malicious intent, so I can give you directions."

"Uh... kid, what are you doing going to Vought Tower? You're so young, the reserve teams wouldn't take you, would they?"

The mention of the reserve team once again piqued Ryan's curiosity. "So, what exactly is a reserve team? I've never heard of it. Could you explain it to me?"

Ryan hadn't even seen the finale of the fourth season when his life in his previous world came to a halt, so naturally, he didn't know who the girl before him was.

He was equally ignorant of any reserve teams or youth hero groups.

"A reserve team is, of course..."

"Oh."

Ryan had an epiphany.

Although the girl on the rooftop with the heavy smoky makeup was a bit incoherent, he was quite good at summarizing and extracting the key points.

Simply put, the purpose of a reserve team was:

Talent pool—cultivating and screening substitutes for The Seven, ready to step in whenever a main member had an issue.

Commercial monetization—targeting the teenage idol market, acting as social media influencers, selling merchandise, and taking on endorsements.

Grassroots labor—handling minor city cases, disaster relief, and patrols (most of which were staged), while they took on the dirty and exhausting work.

After understanding what a reserve team was, Ryan looked the girl over and scanned the rooftop.

He pointed at a tent. "So this is your... secret base? That's so cool!"

The girl turned bright red instantly.

Are you blind, kid!

Rolling her eyes, the girl retorted, "Yeah, this is my base. I am the Countess of Crows, after all; naturally, I have to stay outside with my crows."

"Alright, alright, kids sure have a lot of annoying questions."

The girl wasn't in the mood to chat anymore. She pointed in a direction and urged, "Fly that way, Vought Tower is over there."

"Is that so? Thank you, Countess of Crows."

Ryan thanked her very sincerely.

Although he had teased her a moment ago, she had still kindly pointed him in the right direction, so there was no harm in thanking her.

Just as he prepared to take flight again, a sonic boom suddenly echoed through the air.

The next moment, amidst the shockwave of a powerful gust of wind, a figure wearing a cape styled like the Stars and Stripes slowly rose from a half-crouched position.

"Hom-Homelander!!!"

"Caw, caw, caw!!!"

Azu glanced at the girl, then at the startled crows on her shoulder that were flapping their wings in an attempt to flee.

He raised an eyebrow; she was a superhuman, but also a person of no consequence.

In his eyes, the superhuman population wasn't even as important as the general public—at the very least, his image didn't require the approval of these superhumans.

Unless they were selected for The Seven, they wouldn't even warrant a second glance from Azu.

Azu turned his attention to Ryan. "Son, you've flown quite a distance on this little trip..."

He paused for a second, then continued with a smile, "Uh, did you get lost? Haha, luckily I went... ahem, ah, let's go. Dad just happens to want to take you somewhere."

"Mm."

Ryan responded with a low, dejected hum.

Azu frowned; his son's reaction felt a bit off.

However, upon second thought, Ryan had just parted ways with his mother, so it was inevitable that he would be feeling down and upset.

"Let's go, son."

Azu said nothing more, merely nodding at the dazed girl standing nearby before taking flight to wait for him.

Ryan took off shortly after, pausing for a brief moment before the two figures, one large and one small, rapidly flew off in the opposite direction to the one the Countess of Crows had just pointed out.

On the empty rooftop, a gust of wind swept down from above with a sudden whoosh.

The Countess of Crows jolted, snapping out of the intense shock of suddenly seeing Homelander and inadvertently hearing that he had a son.

She widened her eyes in disbelief and asked the crow blankly, "I didn't mishear that, did I? Homelander called that brat... his son!!"

"Caw..."

"Homelander has a son! I, I... I'm going to break this story! I'm going to be famous! I... wait a minute..."

The girl's expression suddenly shifted to one of terror: "I gave that brat... ah, no, I mean that cute, handsome, dashing, and cool kid the wrong directions. He won't tell Homelander, will he?!"

With Homelander leading the way, Ryan didn't need to worry about the route.

He merely added the pretty girl he had just encountered to his list of potential supporting cast members for his script, but his superhero script still required some preparation time before it could be put into motion.

Therefore, he wasn't in a rush to consider roles, and he cast the Countess of Crows to the back of his mind in an instant.

As he flew in silence, he pondered how to perform during his upcoming conversation with Homelander, while also giving some thought to their future dynamic.

Sincerity!

Using pure, genuine heart to bridge the distance between them was the safest and most effective way to soften a person's heart.

But...

Ryan shook his head inwardly.

He had many secrets of his own; he couldn't be absolutely sincere in front of Homelander.

Therefore, it had to be selective sincerity.

He would show his heart, but not all of it.

He would offer tenderness, but with boundaries.

He would openly display his reliance on his father.

He could also exhibit the purity and obedience of a youth to satisfy Homelander's long-unfulfilled need for fatherly love and belonging, using genuine, tangible affection to soothe the man's sensitive and fragile heart.

But at the same time, he had to demonstrate the ability to grow up quickly.

Leaving his mother's wings, it was only natural that his growth rate would accelerate.

In the process of this growth, he could hide his own schemes and calculations.

"We're here, son."

Ryan snapped back to reality; beneath his feet stood a towering building located in the heart of the city.

The skyscraper, constructed entirely of silver-blue glass curtain walls, twisted slowly from bottom to top like a giant crystal spear gleaming with cold light.

Embedded in the upper half of the building was a massive matte-black number 7, along with the most conspicuous row of letters.

"VOUGHT!"