He's Slandering Me

[Key Character: Maeve -- Emotional State: Shy, Shocked, Curious, Bisexual]

[Ability Points Gained: +8,567]

Current Ability Points: 119,774/250,000

Oh ho!

Does kissing Maeve really contribute this many ability points?

It seems stimulating a cold, aloof queen really pays off!

The next day.

Lu Chen went to find A-Train early in the morning; he was curious about where that guy had been making his fortune lately.

After leaving The Seven, A-Train had received a hefty settlement, so he should have had plenty of time to live a life of luxury and ease.

But it seemed he wasn't doing very well.

Brooklyn, a dilapidated apartment building.

Lu Heng stood in the hallway, looking at the paint-chipped door in front of him.

From the crack in the door came the smell of cheap perfume and weed.

Lu Chen knocked on the door politely.

"Who the f*** is knocking?"

A sharp female voice rang out.

Popclaw was wearing a loose camisole, her eyes dark-rimmed and her hair a mess, yet her figure was still incredibly stunning.

Popclaw: Ability is mediocre, a third-rate actress, hoping to go public with A-Train.

But for now, she could only rely on A-Train's money.

When she saw that the person at the door was Lu Heng, her pupils visibly trembled.

"Gu... Guardian?"

"I'm here to see A-Train. Hiss, this smell is truly awful—the stench of weed and... is that semen? Do you two have nothing better to do?"

Popclaw stepped aside to let him in, and Lu Heng floated inside.

The apartment wasn't large, just a one-bedroom, with takeout boxes and empty liquor bottles scattered everywhere.

On the coffee table sat some leftover "protein powder," along with a cloth bag; through his X-ray vision, he could see small vials of blue liquid inside.

Compound V.

A single dose of permanent Compound V was worth 20 million dollars, and the black-market price was even higher.

Had A-Train blown all his savings of many years on this?

On the living room sofa, A-Train was lying down, lost in a mesmerizing hallucination.

In his dream, he had returned to The Seven and become its leader, with even Homelander groveling at his feet, and that damn Guardian was only fit to lick his joystick!

Until a light cough came from above.

"It seems you've been living quite comfortably during your days away from The Seven, haven't you?"

The familiar voice, the familiar tone.

"F*** off!" A-Train muttered, not caring in the slightest.

In his own dream, could he really be bullied by him?

Lu Heng looked at Popclaw with interest; on the wall behind her hung her own artistic photos.

Now, however, she looked terrified.

"Hey, A-Train, stop sleeping! Guardian is here for you!"

Popclaw shoved her hookup, but A-Train acted as if he hadn't heard a thing.

"Lick my toes, f*** Guardian!"

"Where's your bathroom?"

Lu Heng asked.

"In, inside!"

Because she was so agitated, her low-cut camisole slipped down to her navel, and Lu Heng had seen everything he should and shouldn't have.

Emmm.

He couldn't muster the slightest interest in a junkie...

Lu Heng wrapped a basin of water in his force field and splashed it directly onto A-Train's face.

"F***!!!"

A-Train jolted awake from the bed, a foul, unpleasant odor radiating from his body.

"What the hell is that smell? Popclaw, what kind of water are you using?"

Lu Heng hovered in mid-air, pinching his nose.

"Toilet water, obviously. You guys even left some leftovers behind; you sure know how to eat!"

A-Train froze in place the moment he heard Lu Heng's voice.

His expression twisted into one of terror.

"G-Guardian?"

"That's right, your daddy!"

Lu Heng nodded.

A-Train instinctively took a step back, but accidentally triggered his super-speed and slammed into the wall.

"W-what are you doing here? I've already quit The Seven! I have nothing to do with you people anymore!"

"Oh, talking like that really breaks Daddy's heart!"

Lu Heng drifted toward A-Train.

"Kicking you out of The Seven was supposed to be a test. I didn't expect you to be such a lost cause."

Doing drugs, screwing around, wallowing in despair—and that wasn't even the half of it. A-Train's physical condition at this moment was absolutely abysmal.

His blood was as thick as jelly, and his heart had severe issues. Even if he never used his powers again for the rest of his life, he wouldn't have a peaceful end.

"W-what did you say? I still have a chance to return to The Seven?"

A-Train grabbed onto the hope like a drowning man, his face instantly lighting up with joy.

But Lu Heng just stared at him, not saying a word.

A-Train realized something immediately and slapped himself across the face twice.

"I'm not human! How dare I let a man like you lick my joystick!"

"I was wrong! I'll never touch drugs again!"

"As long as you let me back into The Seven, I'll do anything you want!"

Popclaw watched from the side, not shocked, but delighted.

A-Train had a chance to return to The Seven?

Wouldn't that mean she could ride his coattails, watch her traffic skyrocket, and make a triumphant return to the film industry?

"Yes, yes, exactly! A-Train knows he was wrong, please forgive him, sir!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk!"

Lu Heng shook his head, his face full of disdain.

"Look at you. The fastest speedster in America. In your prime, even Homelander had to put in effort to catch you. Now you've fallen so low that you're spending your days doing drugs with a third-rate actress. Your promises aren't very convincing!"

Popclaw's face turned pale.

"I remember A-Train used to be such a bright, cheerful boy. When did he turn into this? Don't tell me that after meeting Popclaw, he was led astray by bad habits and fell this far!"

As Lu Heng's words landed, A-Train's confused expression suddenly smoothed out.

He nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.

"Yes, yes, it's all Popclaw's fault! I came from a poor black family; my father left when I was young, leaving my mother to raise the two of us. After I grew up, I studied hard and worked to bring beautiful blessings to the world!"

"A-after... after I met Popclaw, I turned into this!"

"Sir! You have to save me! You're the only one in the world who can save me!"

Lu Heng grinned. "Heh, this kid isn't stupid! He knows how to climb the pole!"

As the conversation deepened, Popclaw's face went white.

This... that's not how it happened...

A-Train was a regular at the superhero club long before this; he was a junkie from the start...

It wasn't me...

He's slandering me! He's slandering me!!!

But Lu Heng just shot her a look, and Popclaw was too terrified to speak.

That was the Guardian, a terrifying existence whose laser eyes could vaporize a bunker in the Middle East. Who would dare act out in front of him?

"Clean this place up, you two wastes of space who do nothing but screw from dawn till dusk. I have a mission for you. A-Train, report to Vought tomorrow."

Lu Heng used a telekinetic force to pull a towel from the bathroom and tossed it onto A-Train's face.

He seemed to sense something and instinctively glanced at the camera.

"Holy shit!"

"Can someone tell me why the hell the Guardian is here?"

"And A-Train was kicked out of The Seven by him? I thought it was Homelander!"