He Was Asian

Vought International headquarters.

In the top-floor conference room, New York blazed with light beyond the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows.

More than a dozen Vought International executives sat along both sides of the long table.

Among them were members of the Board of Directors, representatives of the Military, and department heads responsible for Superhero marketing, public relations, and political lobbying.

Two files were displayed side by side on the large screen at the end of the table.

On the left was Joanna.

Blond, she wore a blue combat suit whose preliminary design was complete, with a red cape in the colors of the American flag draped over her shoulders.

File codename: [Homelander]

On the right was Lin Mo.

Black-haired and dark-eyed, he looked calm in his file photo. There was no smile on his face, and his expression gave nothing away.

The codename field in his file, however, remained blank.

Stan Edgar sat midway down the table, his hands clasped in front of him.

"There's been no dispute over the plan to put Joanna in the Super Seven for some time."

He spoke evenly. "What we need to discuss now is Lin Mo."

A white board member sitting opposite him frowned.

"I don't think there's anything to discuss."

"Lin Mo isn't suited to joining the Super Seven."

Edgar looked at him.

"Why?"

"His abilities are certainly sufficient."

The board member opened the file in front of him.

"According to the Research Center's assessments over the past few years, his strength, durability, and recovery rate already exceed those of the vast majority of active Superheroes. He qualifies as a top-tier Metahuman."

"But the Super Seven isn't chosen on strength alone."

"We have to consider public image, market acceptance, and whether Americans would be willing to see him as a national hero."

The conference room fell briefly silent.

Edgar's expression did not change. He remained as unflappable as ever.

Lin Mo had once wondered whether Edgar had taken Compound V himself, and whether his superpower was a permanently straight face.

"To put it more bluntly."

The board member raised his head.

He glanced at Edgar before speaking slowly.

"He's Asian."

The air seemed to freeze.

Another executive, one responsible for marketing, immediately chimed in.

"American society is particularly sensitive right now."

"Economic competition with Japan, Asian immigration, and rising ethnic tensions in some regions could all affect how the public receives him."

"Joanna has already been chosen to lead the Super Seven. There's no need to add an Asian man who might stir up political controversy."

Edgar looked at the speaker and took a deep breath.

"So, in your view, Lin Mo's abilities, his upbringing, and his relationship with Joanna all matter less than the color of his skin?"

"This isn't about skin color."

At the immediate denial, the faintest sneer touched Edgar's lips.

"Of course."

"Whenever you talk about skin color, the first thing you say is that it isn't about skin color."

The atmosphere in the conference room grew even more strained.

An older board member seated at the head of the table tapped its surface.

"Edgar, watch your attitude."

Edgar turned toward him.

"What's wrong with my attitude?"

"As a businessman, I'm considering the company's interests as a whole."

"I'm not targeting any race."

The older board member's face darkened.

"Don't twist an ordinary business discussion into a racial issue because of your own identity."

The room went utterly quiet.

Several executives who had been about to speak closed their mouths.

They could all hear that the remark was no longer aimed solely at Lin Mo.

Edgar was Black.

Even though he had risen to the heart of Vought's power structure and now oversaw its most important Superhero project, some still believed he did not belong in his position.

Edgar watched the older board member in silence.

"My identity?"

His voice remained calm, but it had grown colder.

"I thought we were discussing Lin Mo."

"It seems some people's real objection goes beyond an Asian man joining the Super Seven."

Anger flashed in the older board member's eyes.

"Are you accusing the Board of Directors of racial discrimination?"

"I'm only repeating what you just said."

Edgar leaned back slightly.

"Lin Mo is more than powerful enough."

"There's nothing wrong with his image."

"His intelligence, emotional control, and ability to assess situations in the field are better than those of most of the company's active Superheroes."

"Yet the one issue you keep returning to is that he isn't white."

A public relations director hurried to smooth things over. "It isn't that simple."

"The Super Seven represents America."

"We have to choose heroes who best fit the mainstream public's idea of what a hero looks like."

Edgar cut him off.

"Aren't Asians American?"

"That's not what I said."

"Then what did you mean?"

The public relations director opened his mouth but had no answer.

Edgar did not let him off, pressing on in a firm voice.

"According to population statistics, the Asian community is growing rapidly."

"They have a higher average level of education and considerable spending power."

"Vought has long wanted to expand into Asian markets, yet you won't let an Asian join the company's most important hero team. You want their money, but you're afraid of an Asian face appearing in the Seven."

"And you call that business judgment?"

The head of marketing frowned and objected. "The Asian market and the American market are two different things."

"Besides, Lin Mo has no experience appearing in public. He hasn't even received complete training for his hero persona."

"He can be trained."

"His personality is too cold."

"That can be adjusted too."

"He has no loyalty to the company."

At that, Edgar paused.

Then he looked toward Joanna on the screen and asked another question.

"Do you think Joanna is loyal to the company?"

No one in the conference room answered.

They all knew the answer. The reports Edgar had supplied over the years made it clear.

Joanna followed Vought's arrangements because Lin Mo was at her side.

She agreed to train, film promotional videos, and learn heroic lines she did not understand for the same reason: Lin Mo would praise her afterward.

Vought could control Joanna not because the company held any important place in her heart, but because Vought controlled Lin Mo.

Edgar picked up the remote on the table and brought up their psychological evaluations.

"Eighteen years of research have established that Lin Mo is Joanna's only stable and irreplaceable emotional anchor."

"If Joanna joins the Super Seven as Homelander, she will inevitably demand that Lin Mo leave the Research Center with her."

"And then?"

"How do you plan to answer her?"

"We can refuse," one board member said coldly.

Edgar looked as though he had heard something so stupid he could barely keep from laughing.

"Refuse?"

"How exactly would you refuse?"

The blunt question made quite a few faces around the table change.

Edgar steadied himself, then continued. "As she is now, she could destroy the entire underground Research Center in a minute."

"Once she leads the Super Seven, has a public identity, and has gained a large following, you plan to tell her Lin Mo has to stay in the laboratory?"

"Do you think she'll accept that?"

"Or do you think Vought's current security forces can separate them again?"