How Did Homelander Become a Girl?

At this point, Edgar had yet to become Vought's true leader, but he had already recognized a problem earlier than most scientists and senior Vought executives.

Power that could not be replicated had no commercial value, while power that could not be controlled was an even greater risk that a corporation had to eliminate in advance.

After the meeting ended, Vogelbaum did not give up on SOL-0.

On the contrary.

Edgar's words had given him a new direction.

If they could not analyze this baby, then they would use it as a foundation and create a similar experimental subject from an embryo.

Vought possessed Compound V, vast amounts of genetic data from Superheroes, and sufficiently advanced embryonic technology. They might not be able to replicate SOL-0's unknown condition, but they could try to create a life-form that was just as stable, just as powerful, and truly belonged to Vought.

A few days later, a sealed silver box was delivered to the underground Research Center.

Vogelbaum put on his gloves and personally checked the samples inside. At the very top of the file was a name.

Soldier Boy.

Vought's strongest and most influential Superhero at the time. The box contained samples of his blood, tissue, and reproductive cells. Soldier Boy had actually provided these things willingly, but he had no idea that Vought had been secretly collecting and storing his genetic material.

"Use Soldier Boy's genes as the foundation."

Vogelbaum gazed at the equipment in the cultivation room, his eyes burning as though he were looking at a treasure that was about to be born.

"Rescreen the Compound V compatibility."

"We need an individual who has been enhanced from the embryonic stage."

The research assistant beside him asked:

"What's the project number?"

Vogelbaum suddenly looked through the glass toward SOL-0 in the Observation Room in the distance.

"Since we're going to create an individual capable of replacing the existing heroes..."

"Let's call it the HL Project."

"Homelander."

Homelander.

Lin Mo discovered the project by accident several months later.

By then, he was already capable of crawling a little.

With limited sunlight and nutrition, his body grew significantly faster than that of an ordinary baby, but he had always suppressed his performance, never letting Vought discover his true limits.

He was occasionally taken to different areas of the laboratory for examinations. During one transfer, the cart stopped briefly outside the embryonic cultivation area.

Through two glass walls, Lin Mo saw a large number of cultivation devices. One of the Incubation Chambers was operating.

An incompletely formed embryo floated in the transparent liquid. Beside the Incubation Chamber was a highly classified project file.

Lin Mo could see only part of it.

[Compound V embryonic compatibility: Stable.]

[Sex: Female.]

Female?

Lin Mo was stunned for a moment, then felt relieved. There were far too many female Superhumans in the original story. Perhaps the person inside was Maeve or Neuman.

The time came to early 1981.

After being cultivated in an artificial womb and undergoing accelerated gestation, HL-01 completed the birth procedure ahead of schedule.

That day, Lin Mo happened to be taken to the embryonic area again for a cellular energy test.

As he passed an independent Observation Room, he heard a baby crying.

The sound was faint, yet more powerful than an ordinary baby's cry.

Lin Mo controlled his upper body, raised himself, and turned his head.

Through the thick glass of the Incubation Chamber, he saw a blonde baby girl.

Her skin was pale, her eyes were not yet fully open, and numerous monitoring cables were connected to her body.

Several researchers stood around the Incubation Chamber, recording her vital signs.

The baby girl seemed to sense something.

She slowly turned her head, opened her eyes, and gazed directly at Lin Mo on the cart through the glass.

Lin Mo originally thought she was merely another special experimental subject created by Vought.

That was until the electronic file beside the Incubation Chamber finished refreshing. At the very top, a prominent line of red English text appeared.

PROJECT HOMELANDER.

Below it was her official experimental number.

HL-01.

Lin Mo quietly stared at the blonde baby girl inside the Incubation Chamber, utterly dumbfounded.

After a long while, he slowly uttered a sentence in his heart.

"Seriously..."

"How did Homelander become a girl?"

The experimental subject of the Homelander Project was actually female? Homelander in the original story was clearly a man. Could it be that this world had already diverged from the beginning?

Just as this thought arose, the system interface that had been dormant in his mind for a long time suddenly flickered.

[Detected an unknown alteration in a key plot individual.]

[Deviation in the worldline has occurred.]

[Analysis of the source of the deviation failed.]

[Host, proceed with caution.]

Immediately afterward, that faint light in his mind went completely dark.

No matter how Lin Mo called out to it, the system did not respond again.

1983.

The sixth underground floor, Vought's experimental observation area.

Lin Mo stood before a mirror that was nearly as tall as he was. He raised both hands and carefully straightened the white child's shirt he was wearing.

The shirt had no buttons and was simple in design, but a line of black numbers was printed across the chest.

SOL-0. That was the codename Vought had given him. In addition, they had given Lin Mo another name.

Carl Lin Mo.

Three years had passed. He had grown from a baby who could only lie in an incubator into a child who could walk and speak independently.

The boy in the mirror had black hair and fair skin. His features had not fully matured, but their outlines were already becoming distinct.

Judging solely by his appearance, he was not much different from an ordinary three-year-old Asian child—at least, that was what Vought was willing to believe.

"Raise your arms."

A researcher's voice came from the speaker overhead.

Lin Mo lifted his head, his expression relaxed, with just the right amount of confusion.

"Like this?"

His pronunciation was not yet perfectly clear, and he deliberately kept his speaking speed at the level expected of a three-year-old child.

"A little higher."

Lin Mo obediently raised his arms higher.

A scanning device moved slowly along his body, recording his skin temperature, bone density, and cellular activity one by one.

He had undergone this kind of examination more times than he could count.

At first, he had been rather interested and even calculated how many tests he underwent each day. Over time, however, he had grown numb to it.

Later, he could not even be bothered to count. Vought's research on him had never stopped.

Electricity, extreme temperatures, impacts, radiation, drugs...

There was even specialized Sonic Stimulation designed for individuals with powers. The first time Lin Mo encountered this sonic attack, he had been quite fascinated. He had stood there in a daze at the time. The sound waves had no effect on him at all, and he had nearly blown his cover.

The danger of these experiments continued to increase as he grew older, but the results did not change much.

Low-intensity electric currents caused no damage. High and low temperatures could only make him uncomfortable. Even when minor wounds occasionally appeared, they healed on their own before the researchers finished recording them.

Vought ultimately classified his abilities into three categories.

Superhuman defense, rapid recovery, and slight physical enhancement.

The word "slight" was the result of three years of painstaking restraint on Lin Mo's part.

In reality, his current strength was already enough to deal with everyone here with ease. If he did not need to hide his identity, he could even tear open the metal door of the Observation Room with his bare hands.

But what meaning would that have?

Beyond the door was a corridor. Beyond the corridor was the security area, and behind the security area were several more underground facilities.

Even if he could escape the underground Research Center, there was the entire city outside, along with Vought's personnel and intelligence networks spread across the country.

A three-year-old child had no identity, no money, and no understanding of the specific social conditions of this era.

Where could he run?