What Was Homelander Going to Do?

"Only you know whether it was fake or not. Lies don't hurt people; the truth is the sharpest blade." Lu Heng did not care in the slightest that his phone had been destroyed.

He had plenty of money now. He could just replace it with a few more later.

"This is all your fault! If it weren't for you, why would these people keep hounding A-Train? They even dragged me into it and started insulting me!"

Homelander still blamed everyone else.

"That's not how it works. They already disliked you. Even if nothing had happened to A-Train, would that stop them from finding some other excuse to insult you?"

Lu Heng's words snapped Homelander awake again.

He had a point. Haters would always be haters. Did they need a reason to hate on someone?

"Then what do you think I should do?"

"Simple. Since people suspect The Seven are rotten from within, conduct an internal review and use the opportunity to kick out everyone with dirty secrets."

Homelander looked skeptical, as if he were saying, Do you think I'm an idiot?

Wouldn't that turn everything into a complete mess? Who would go out of their way to prove their own innocence?

What if he tried to show himself off, only to expose his own ass instead?

"See? You're getting worked up again!"

Lu Heng placed a hand on Homelander's shoulder, as familiar as if they were old buddies. "Listen to me first!"

Homelander's brows twisted together, but he did not resist Lu Heng's gesture.

"An internal review doesn't mean investigating at random. You're the captain of The Seven. You have the authority to decide who stays and who goes, right?"

"Mm."

"Good. Now think about it. Who in The Seven can actually help you, and who is holding you back?"

Homelander did not answer directly. Of course he knew who the dead weight was.

The Deep was dead weight—cowardly, lecherous, and saddled with disgusting fish-like organs. Every day, he messed around with sea creatures.

A-Train was dead weight too. He had taken so many drugs that he nearly ran someone over, then got slapped in public by a rookie.

Translucent was the worst kind of dead weight. Other than turning invisible to peep on people, he had no combat value whatsoever.

Black Noir... he barely had any presence at all.

The only one Homelander truly cared about was Maeve.

Maeve was the missing piece of the perfect partner in his fantasies.

Unfortunately, after learning his true nature, Maeve had started liking women.

"See? You already know the answer in your heart." Watching the changes in Homelander's expression, Lu Heng pressed harder.

"What good do The Deep and A-Train do you by staying in The Seven? Their scandals could break at any time. When that happens, the media's first question won't be for them. It'll be for you."

"Homelander, did you know about the things they did behind the scenes?"

"Will you say, 'I didn't know,' and get called an idiot playing dumb? Or will you say, 'I knew all along,' and get accused of covering for them?"

Homelander's temple twitched. Lu Heng had struck right at the heart of it.

No matter which option he chose, he would be the one who suffered.

"But what if you took the initiative and cleaned house?" Lu Heng suddenly changed tack, lowering his voice.

"You step forward and personally announce an internal overhaul of The Seven. You personally kick out the rotten elements. What will the public think of you?"

"They'll think Homelander really is the most righteous. Not only does he protect the country, he ensures his team stays clean and upholds pure justice. He doesn't even spare his own people when they make mistakes."

"That image would be more effective than filming a hundred or a thousand promotional videos."

Homelander's breathing quickened. He knew Lu Heng's proposal was actually very feasible.

Seeing Homelander take the bait, Lu Heng rejoiced inwardly.

He knew Homelander's personality too well.

Homelander did not care whether The Deep, A-Train, or even Madelyn lived or died. He only cared about one thing.

Whether the public loved him!

"But... Vought—"

Lu Heng had been waiting for those exact words.

"Vought?" He chuckled softly.

"Bro, do you think Vought cares about your image?"

Confusion replaced Homelander's expression. "I'm Homelander, Vought's biggest brand. As long as I'm here, Vought stands!"

"You're wrong. Vought doesn't care about you at all. They only care how much money The Seven brand can make."

"The Deep's merchandise brings in three hundred million dollars a year, and A-Train's co-branded sneakers bring in five hundred million a year."

"You tell me, why has Vought never dealt with them?"

"Besides, were there no superhumans under Vought before you?"

"Don't forget that Black Noir is from the older generation of superhumans. He used to be Soldier Boy's teammate!"

"As for your falling approval ratings and damaged image, those are your problems, not Vought's. Once a product is no longer useful, Vought will simply replace it. They have never cared whether the product itself lives or dies."

"In other words, they can replace A-Train. They can replace The Deep. So why can't they replace Homelander?"

"Do you think you're special? Before you, there was Soldier Boy. After you, there are superhumans like me. Can you really say Vought doesn't have an underground lab secretly creating superhumans stronger than Homelander and easier to control?"

Homelander's expression grew uglier and uglier. He did not fly into a rage, nor did he lash out at Lu Heng.

His lips merely trembled slightly. "Madelyn wouldn't do that to me!"

Lu Heng laughed inwardly, but his face remained stern as he said, "Madelyn has a child. Who do you think she cares about more, that child or you?"

"You're just work. That child is her real family."

"Impossible!" Homelander was nearly in tears.

He knew everything Lu Heng said was true, but deep down, he did not dare imagine it, not even the worst possible outcome.

This was the world's strongest superhuman, a pitiful man whose body and mind had both been designed.

"Have you ever thought about what your relationship with Vought really is?"

Lu Heng did not continue provoking Homelander over family. Instead, he threw out another crucial question.

Homelander said nothing.

"You're the captain of The Seven, America's strongest superhero, and the guardian angel in the public's eyes."

"But in Vought's financial reports, you're only an SKU number."

"Your face is printed on lunch boxes, your name is written on T-shirts, and your voice is recorded into dolls."

"They cut you into hundreds of millions of pieces, put a price tag on every piece, then sell them to the entire world."

"And then? All the profits go to Vought, while the honor goes to... heh, honor is only temporary..."

"Once something goes wrong with you, infamy will nail you to the pillar of shame, never to recover. Remember, the public loves creating gods, but they love destroying gods just as much!"

"This isn't a partnership. We usually call it..."

Lu Heng paused for a second.

"—parasitism."

Parasitism! Parasitism!! Parasitism!!!

The word expanded endlessly in Homelander's mind. He had completely fallen into Lu Heng's trap.

Homelander's pupils trembled faintly.

[Key Character: Homelander]

[Emotions fluctuating violently: self-doubt / shaken psychological dependence / shaken sense of belonging to Vought]

[Ability points gained: +4,217]

Current ability points: 68,070 / 100,000

Over four thousand points. As expected of Homelander!

"I think my words have already touched your soul deeply. You can go back and think it over."

Lu Heng gave Homelander's shoulder one last pat, then left directly.

There were no cameras in this corridor anyway. Even if Homelander went insane afterward, what did that have to do with him?

He and Homelander were bitter enemies, utterly irreconcilable!

He would never say such heartfelt things!

The next morning.

Vought Tower, Madelyn's office.

The phone rang.

Madelyn picked it up. After hearing only the opening words, her face turned extremely ugly.

"What do you mean Homelander wants to conduct an internal overhaul of The Seven?"

"What does cleaning house mean?"

"What exactly is he trying to do!?"

Madelyn hung up and called someone else.

"Stan, we have a problem!"

This time, she was truly panicking. Homelander had caused a huge disaster.