Starlight's exclusive interview went live the next day.
It took place on an independent news platform.
It was called Voice of Truth.
It was a small online media outlet with only three hundred thousand subscribers, known for daring to speak the truth and enjoying a pretty good reputation among young people.
As an independent outlet, it wasn't controlled by Vought, so the public trusted it.
At the same time, being a small platform meant it had a low barrier to entry, which kept Madelyn from interfering.
The host of Voice of Truth was an Asian girl whose temperament was very similar to Starlight's. The two young women sat together and chatted, and the scene itself was deeply affecting.
girls help girls
As a result, within five minutes of going live, the number of viewers online topped two million.
The interview shot to the top of the trending lists across multiple platforms.
Ten minutes later, the audience had reached five million.
Lu Heng got another glimpse of just how terrifying Starlight's popularity was.
The host began asking questions.
"Annie, have you seen the video that's been circulating online?"
Starlight nodded. She wasn't wearing her Seven uniform today, just simple civilian clothes. She looked pure and wholesome.
She looked like an ordinary girl, not a high-and-mighty superhuman or superhero.
That was also the narrative angle Lu Heng had suggested.
If she wanted to present herself as a victim, she had to return to the identity of an ordinary person. Otherwise, people wouldn't be able to empathize with her.
It was like celebrities always saying how hard they had it, how difficult it was to make money, and how grueling filming was, even though they earned hundreds or thousands of times more than ordinary people.
How were ordinary people supposed to empathize with that?
"Did what happened in that video really happen?"
"It did."
Starlight's voice trembled, and tears nearly fell from the corners of her eyes.
She looked so pitiful.
Even Homelander, watching from outside the screen, couldn't help praising her acting.
"The night after I joined The Seven, The Deep found me and attacked me in the conference room."
"I was terrified. I didn't know what to do. He was a veteran, and I was new. I wasn't even sure if fighting back would cost me my place on The Seven."
The live-chat exploded as soon as viewers heard that.
[My heart goes out to Annie!]
[The Deep is an animal!]
[What the hell is Vought doing?]
[This is oppression! This is chivalry!]
[Damn The Deep! No wonder I've always disliked him. What a bastard!]
[Do you think Starlight's still a virgin?]
[Hey, you! Quit trying to make your big sis Annie laugh!]
The host handed her a tissue. Starlight clutched it in her hand and continued.
"But that video wasn't complete. Someone deliberately cut off the second half."
"What happened in the second half?" the host immediately pressed.
"Guardian kicked the door open and stopped The Deep."
The host promptly played the full video.
On-screen, Lu Heng kicked the conference-room door off its hinges. The runes on his uniform stood out clearly.
He stood in front of Starlight, shielding her from The Deep.
"Shut up!"
The Deep tried to explain, but Lu Heng silenced him with a single line.
Then the two of them faced off.
The Deep tried to use his status to intimidate Guardian.
But Guardian stood his ground without fear, upholding fairness and justice.
In the end, Starlight really hadn't given it away for nothing!
The live audience immediately topped ten million.
The comments scrolled so fast that no ordinary person could read them. All they could see was a flood of subtitles.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
[Guardian!!! My Superman!]
[You're the real hero!]
[I'm crying. I really am.]
[The big head or the little head?]
[Vought doesn't deserve such a wonderful hero as Guardian!]
[He really did that! I'm sobbing!]
[I can't believe Guardian wasn't corrupted by Vought, that cesspool. Good for him!!]
Next, Starlight began telling the Homelander narrative.
"Afterward, Guardian reported what had happened to Homelander."
"Homelander was furious. He'd been secretly investigating The Deep and A-Train, gathering evidence."
"This press conference was Homelander's official decision after he'd obtained ample evidence."
"But someone didn't want the truth to come out the right way, so they stole the video and deliberately cut off the second half. They wanted to turn this into a scandal and damage The Seven."
"They're not only hurting me. They're hurting Guardian, Homelander, and everyone who believes in justice!"
Starlight spoke with complete sincerity because she truly believed this narrative.
At least most of it was true...
Guardian really had saved her.
Homelander really had kicked The Deep off the team.
The interview lasted forty-five minutes.
The number of viewers peaked at twenty-three million.
That figure pushed Voice of Truth, a small media outlet, into the mainstream and made it widely known.
Less than an hour after the interview ended,
public opinion had completely reversed.
Guardian's heroic rescue of a damsel in distress spread across the internet.
The claim that Homelander had been secretly investigating all along was also widely accepted. His approval rating stopped falling and began to recover.
It even rose 0.8 percentage points above its level before the press conference.
Guardian's public image had entered the top five among all superhumans in America.
Even Vought's stock stopped falling and began to rebound.
Edgar lowered his newspaper and looked at Madelyn on the sofa beside him.
"You said Guardian was a spy? It doesn't seem that way now."
"He's just an immature young man who still holds on to basic ideals of justice. We've seen countless people like him in the past, but this time you failed to see it and only made him dislike you."
"That would be bad enough, but you can't even look at the world from the company's perspective. Let's leave it at that. I'll report to the board."
"From now on, Ashley will take over as the company's spokesperson on public relations. You stay put and deal with the Godolkin matter."
Madelyn clenched her fists.
To keep her from meddling, Lu Heng had deliberately gone to a small independent media outlet.
She hadn't even had a chance to interfere.
Now even Edgar no longer believed her theory.
Meanwhile, Lu Heng opened the system panel.
The number on it began to climb.
Current Ability Points: 99,214 / 100,000
Lu Heng watched the number on the panel go up bit by bit.
99,800
99,900
99,950
[Congratulations, host. Ability Points have reached 100,000/100,000]
[Level up: Lv.2 → Lv.3]
[Unlocking new abilities...]
Lu Heng opened his eyes.
An unprecedented surge of power welled up from deep within his body, burning like lava.
Every cell in his body was rebuilding, strengthening, and evolving.
His muscle fibers, bone density, and sensory acuity... all increased dramatically.
[Level: Lv.3]
[Strength: 3,000 tons]
[Speed: Mach 30]
[Defense: Immune to tactical nuclear weapons]
[New abilities: Unobstructed X-ray vision, Omega Beams]
[Space flight: 2 weeks]
[Current Ability Points: 0 / 250,000]
Lu Heng looked at the stats on the panel and took a deep breath.
Three thousand tons of strength! Mach 30 speed!
An Elite Warrior of Viltrum!
A weaker one, that was.
His upgrade had only improved his bloodline. Combat strength had to be built up over a lifetime. By Viltrumite standards, Lu Heng's current age was about the same as a newborn baby's.
But he'd gained two more abilities.
X-ray vision and Omega Beams.
That was freaking awesome!
Viltrumites had neither X-ray vision nor energy beams. The system Lu Heng had brought with him seemed to be some kind of enhanced, heavily modified version.
Lu Heng raised his head and looked at the chimney of an abandoned building in the distance.
He narrowed his eyes.
Two red points of light appeared deep within them.
Sss—
Two blazing red beams shot from his pupils, striking the chimney five hundred meters away with pinpoint accuracy.
The metal chimney glowed red from the heat, softened, and slowly collapsed like a candle.
Could these Omega Beams be the Darkseid version?
Lu Heng blinked. His eyes felt perfectly fine.
That hadn't even been close to full power.
All right!
Now he could be Homelander's daddy!
A new quest notification popped up on the panel.
[Quest Update]
[Main Quest: Establish an irreplaceable position within Vought]
[Side Quest: Find Translucent]
[Side Quest: Butcher's next move]
[Side Quest: The Holy Seven: Cate and Jordan]
[Side Quest: Edgar's favor]
Before you continue