I Must Give Him Positive Feedback

At one point, Billy regained consciousness.

Footsteps echoed, and he squinted, shielding his eyes from the blinding sunlight.

"Awake, hey friend..."

Homelander raised his hand in a breezy greeting, his tone overflowing with such smugness it was practically palpable. His delight was written all over his face: "You've been out for quite a while. You can thank me for saving you later, but for now... come on, you're going to love this."

Love what?

Ryan's level-one super hearing had granted him senses unknown to others. The moment Homelander descended from the sky, he had realized the scene he'd been waiting for was finally unfolding.

Hearing the mockery and malice in Homelander's words, Ryan nearly burst out laughing.

By all accounts.

The woman at the dining table, his biological mother in this life, Becca, was the lover of Billy Butcher.

He should have been the child of those two.

But surprises were everywhere, especially in this world of superheroes... or rather, super-villains... what should one even call this bunch of lunatics?

In any case, nothing that happened in this world was a surprise; it was all just part of the spectacle.

Homelander, the superhero, had raped his mother, which meant the candidate for his biological father had changed.

The meeting about to take place was, unsurprisingly, an act of Homelander's twisted sense of humor and revenge; he intended to claim his wife's child as his own son right in front of Billy.

Ryan played along, feigning surprise: "Mom, I think I heard something outside."

With that, he hopped off the dining chair and ran toward the door.

Becca hurriedly set down her knife and fork, her mind racing. Vought International personnel never appeared while they were eating—what was happening?

Since birth, Ryan had possessed the complete memories of his previous life.

He had never experienced the "mystery of the womb," so he was perfectly clear about everything happening around him.

He remembered vividly how his mother, Becca, had struggled, fought, and compromised with Vought International to ensure his safety.

One of Becca's core beliefs was that the only person capable of defeating Homelander had to be someone of his own bloodline.

That was him, Ryan.

Did Vought International not worry about Homelander losing control? Even though they had carefully woven human weaknesses into him since childhood, what if?

Therefore, Ryan, the natural-born superhuman inheriting Homelander's blood, had inevitably become the only entity capable of keeping Homelander in check.

He was an insurance policy!

At age two, Ryan naturally awakened his first superpower: heat vision.

With that, he unlocked his cheat code.

Oh, of course, he kept all of this hidden.

At age five, his second superpower, Steel Body, was activated through performance experience points, and it had since been upgraded to level two.

He knew clearly that Vought International and his mother, Becca, were raising him primarily to suppress the awakening of his powers and to mold a perfect personality, so he continued to hide his abilities without a hint of suspicion.

At age six, Ryan had a rare burst of acting that earned him a massive amount of experience points, allowing him to activate super hearing and super vision simultaneously.

Although these powers were definitely neutered versions compared to Superman's.

But that didn't matter; what mattered was that for all these years, Ryan had been waiting for this very moment.

To prepare, he had spent every quiet night in his room simulating how he would perform when the time came.

Should he be overwhelmed with excitement?

No. He understood the concept of a father, but in the Truman-esque fake world maintained by Vought, his brain had been conditioned to feel no paternal bond.

Whether it was good or bad, it shouldn't exist for him.

He weighed and measured every detail, repeatedly rehearsing his expressions, tone, and gestures, striving for perfection without a single flaw.

After all, the Homelander of this time hadn't yet gone completely off the rails or fully turned to the dark side.

He craved love, but he detested deception above all else.

He was even capable of heartlessly killing Madelyn Stillwell for it.

One had to remember, this woman wasn't just a high-ranking Vice President at Vought International; she was the vital anchor for Homelander's human weaknesses.

She had even gone so far as to give birth repeatedly over the years just to provide Homelander with a source of warm milk.

Yet, when Homelander discovered her deception, he killed her without a shred of mercy.

So, when Homelander tried his best to sound casual, asking, "Hey kid, do you know who I am?" Ryan threw himself entirely into his performance.

He tilted his head, feigning confusion: "Who are you?"

"Ha, ha, I'm your father, kid."

Ryan was visibly startled. He turned to look at Becca, confused: "Mom, didn't Johnny say my father died like a hero? Is he...?"

Becca's expression was indescribable.

The fear of Homelander was buried deep within her, and this sudden confrontation left her completely submerged in that terror.

"Johnny?"

A sinister flicker crossed Homelander's face; this man was a dead man walking.

Ryan replied naturally, "Johnny is the administrator for this community. He always comes to check on me, and I like him a lot."

"Although he gives me injections every time he visits, oh, it hurts so much."

Inside the surveillance room.

The head administrator, Johnny, turned deathly pale and collapsed onto the floor, unable to utter a single word.

He watched the screen as Homelander let out a theatrical laugh, cold sweat drenching his entire body in the blink of an eye.

"Very good. It seems you like him quite a bit. As your father, son, I will be sure to reward him properly."

Homelander stepped forward and placed his palm gently against the side of Ryan's face. "But Johnny was wrong about one thing, son. Your father is a hero, but I didn't die."

"How could someone as powerful as me possibly die?"

"So you really are... my dad?"

"Of course! Of course! I am your dad!"

Ryan's emotions flowed naturally. He followed the state of mind he had rehearsed countless times in the dead of night, actively sinking into the persona of an innocent child longing for his father's company.

His clear eyes began to brim with moisture.

It wasn't an abrupt burst of tears, but the stinging ache of long-suppressed anticipation finally giving way.

With a hint of incredulous, youthful joy, Ryan said, "I don't want to worry Mom, but Vicky, Finney... they all have fathers. When they are sad or upset, when they face danger, their fathers are always by their side."

"Oh... son~"

Homelander felt an emotion he had never experienced before.

He didn't know who Vicky or Finney were, but he truly felt it—that touch of blood-connected resonance he had craved for so long.

His son wanted a father, too.

That was what mattered most!

Unable to hold back any longer, Homelander pulled his son into his arms and hugged him tight. "Son, I will be by your side from now on."

"Mm!"

Ryan replied in a muffled voice, "With Mom, too."

"Fine."

Ryan's performance continued; though he said nothing more, his entire being radiated a sense of joy.

That emotion even began to influence Homelander.

"Homelander..."

Homelander looked up. Becca stared at him with eyes woven with hatred and fear, then glanced at her husband, Billy, standing behind him.

She mouthed silently: "Let him go, or else..."

"I will tell Ryan the truth!"