A Personal Meeting

No one in the room spoke.

Refusing Joanna's demand was certainly not out of the question.

The problem was, who would do the refusing?

And who would bear the consequences after she lost control?

What Vought wanted was a superhero commodity that could create profits for the company, not a Homelander who might turn around and destroy the company at any moment because of Lin Mo's issues.

Seeing those around him fall silent, Edgar let out a cold snort.

"Lin Mo joining The Super Seven isn't just about utilizing his abilities."

"It's also about stabilizing Joanna. As long as he stays by her side, Joanna will be much more cooperative with the company's arrangements. He can likewise become a bridge between Vought and the Asian community, helping the company gain broader market support."

"From the perspectives of commercial value, team stability, and political interests, letting him join is undoubtedly the most rational choice."

That elderly board member seemed to have caught onto some important information and said coldly, "You seem to place a great deal of importance on Lin Mo."

Edgar raised his eyes to look at him and sneered, "I never place importance on any single individual."

"What I place importance on is solely a person who can create value for the company."

"This is precisely what you've always claimed to care about most, or do your standards change when the person creating the value isn't white?"

"Enough!"

The elderly board member slammed a hand down on the tabletop.

The dull echo reverberated through the conference room.

"Do not bring your personal emotions into the board meetings!"

"Personal emotions?"

A trace of overt anger finally appeared on Edgar's face.

Yet this anger did not cause him to lose control; instead, it made his voice carry even greater pressure.

"From the start of the meeting until now, I've provided capability data, market data, psychological reports, and risk assessments."

"And what are the reasons you've provided?"

"Skin color."

"Race."

"And the so-called mainstream American image."

"Now, you're telling me that I'm the one making decisions based on personal emotions?"

The two men stared at each other across the long table.

The atmosphere in the conference room had grown tense to the extreme.

Several executives even subconsciously averted their gaze, unwilling to become embroiled in the conflict between the two parties at this moment.

Edgar did not yet completely control Vought, though his position was high enough.

The projects he was in charge of were also important enough. Once Joanna officially joined The Seven in the future, he could become Vought's true person in power, rather than having people with greater seniority and more shares in the current board constantly restricting and obstructing him.

Yet before the Joanna Project truly translated into commercial results, Edgar did not possess sufficient capital to directly ignore all opposing opinions.

A moment later, another board member spoke up to break the deadlock.

"Let's postpone the decision."

"Joanna hasn't officially joined The Super Seven yet."

"Lin Mo's public image, market reaction, and political risks also require a more complete evaluation."

"We will re-vote in a few days."

This was clearly a compromise.

The opponents were unwilling to agree immediately.

Nor would Edgar allow them to veto it outright; the simplest method was simply to drag the issue out.

Once more people completed private interest exchanges, they would decide whether Lin Mo could enter The Super Seven.

The elderly board member said with a gloomy face, "We will revote in three days."

"Prior to that, no one is permitted to privately disclose the relevant plans to Lin Mo or Joanna."

Edgar did not speak; he merely calmly tidied the documents in front of him.

After the meeting concluded, the attendees left one after the other.

As he walked to the doorway, the head of marketing from earlier slowed his pace slightly and called out to Edgar.

"Edgar."

He glanced back.

"You should be well aware that they aren't going to easily let an Asian person into The Seven."

"Especially not right now."

Edgar stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the lights of the New York night.

"I am aware."

"Then you still insist?"

"They will agree."

The head of marketing frowned slightly, somewhat uncomprehending.

"You seem very confident."

Edgar turned around.

"Vought has never truly cared about what race a hero is."

"They only care about whether they can make money and whether they can exert control."

"Once they realize the cost of refusing Lin Mo is higher than accepting him, all the reasons concerning race brought up just now will instantly vanish."

"Yet the vote count is disadvantageous to you right now."

"The vote count will change when the time comes."

"How will it change?"

Edgar did not answer.

The head of marketing watched him for a moment before finally turning and leaving.

The conference room doors closed.

Edgar stood alone in place. The screen still retained Lin Mo's profile, which differed from the other superheroes cultivated by the company.

Edgar had actually understood long ago that Lin Mo had known since childhood that the researchers were utilizing him. Having met Lin Mo multiple times, he naturally knew that Lin Mo and he were essentially the same type of person.

He cooperated with the experiments yet never truly trusted Vought. On the surface, he appeared to lack obvious aggressiveness, but Edgar was very clear that this sort of person was the most dangerous kind.

A Supe who lost emotional control was not terrifying, because Vought could predict his behavior.

He could be manipulated using anger, fear, praise, or public opinion.

Yet Lin Mo had never completely exposed his true thoughts.

The only controllable factor, however, was that Lin Mo's strength was not yet that formidable. Still, if they continued to treat him as a test subject who could be arranged at will, problems would arise sooner rather than later.

Edgar disliked uncontrollable risks. Rather than waiting for Lin Mo to make his own choice, it was better to proactively offer him a plan that looked sufficiently appealing.

Status, freedom, qualification to enter The Super Seven, and the opportunity to leave the bunker alongside Joanna.

These things might temporarily trade for his cooperation.

As for the board's orders...

Edgar picked up Lin Mo's file and turned off the large screen. No one was permitted to privately disclose the plan to Lin Mo.

That was indeed the case.

Yet he had no intention of disclosing anything to Lin Mo; he merely wanted to go and personally see this young man who had been locked away by Vought for eighteen years.

And by the way, ask him whether he was willing to become a hero.

Edgar walked out of the conference room and said to the assistant waiting outside, "Arrange the itinerary for tomorrow to the Research Center."

The assistant froze for a moment.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Do we need to notify Dr. Vogelbaum to prepare for a meeting?"

"Unnecessary."

Edgar handed Lin Mo's file over to him.

"I am not going to see Vogelbaum. I am going to see Lin Mo and Joanna alone."

The assistant looked down at the photograph on the file.

"But the board just requested--"

Edgar halted his footsteps and merely gave him a faint glance.

The assistant immediately swallowed back the rest of his words.

"Understood."

Edgar continued walking forward.

The elevator doors behind him slowly opened.

Before stepping into the elevator, he spoke one final sentence:

"There is one more matter."

"Do not let the other board members find out about this trip in advance."

"Yes."

The elevator doors gradually closed.

Edgar stood within them, his face devoid of expression.

The board believed that as long as they dragged out the vote for a few days, they could continue to retain the initiative.

Yet they had overlooked one thing.

What truly decided whether Lin Mo could join The Super Seven was never the ballots in their hands.

It was Lin Mo himself, as well as Joanna.

As long as these two individuals explicitly put forward a demand, the board's so-called choices would be reduced to a single one.

As for whether Lin Mo was willing to accept Vought's arrangements...