Spotted by Homelander

Starlight walked ahead, stopped in the middle of the clearing, and turned to look at Lu Wen and Hughie as they followed her.

"Go on. What did you want to ask?"

Lu Wen cut straight to the point. "Where's the storeroom for Compound V in Vought Tower?"

Starlight's expression shifted. She looked at Hughie, who shrugged to show there was nothing he could do either.

She looked back at Lu Wen. "Why are you asking?"

"That information is my payment for helping your little boyfriend! As for what I'm going to do, that's my business."

Starlight fell silent for a few seconds, as though weighing something. She lowered her eyes, then raised them again.

"Besides the laboratories, there's a storage area on the third basement level of Vought Tower. It's usually guarded, but the ceiling is low, and there's only one entrance and exit. Through the door is a straight corridor, and the warehouse is at the end.

"Only the highest-level research and management personnel can enter. Even those of us in the Seven aren't allowed!"

When Starlight finished, she turned to Hughie. "What exactly is this guy you found trying to do?"

"Nothing else to it. All you need to know is that I'm going to make some trouble for Vought," Lu Wen answered for Hughie.

Having gotten what he wanted, Lu Wen considerately moved a little farther away, giving them enough space to talk.

Watching people argue in person was pretty entertaining.

He was crouching off to the side, enjoying the show, when a pale, naked figure suddenly appeared in front of him. Lu Wen's face instantly went cold, and he slowly stood up.

"Kid! Stay away from me! If you dare put that thing in my face a second time, I'll tie it in a knot!"

His voice icy, Lu Wen bluntly threatened the stark-naked Hughie.

"Sorry, that was an accident!"

Hughie gave an awkward smile and hurried back to put on his clothes.

To prevent any mishaps, he had injected himself with another dose of temporary Compound V. Just now, while trying to prove himself to Starlight, he had lost control and teleported straight in front of Lu Wen.

Lu Wen shifted back a little and continued watching the show.

Suddenly, flames shot into the sky from the nearby camp.

Hughie and Starlight, who were arguing over right and wrong, hurried over. Lu Wen stayed put. He knew that old popsicle had arrived.

By the time he leisurely made his way over, Starlight was the only one still standing. Marvin lay facedown on the ground with a tranquilizer dart sticking out of the back of his neck.

"Want me to help carry him away?"

Marvin woke up halfway there, and Lu Wen and Starlight went along to stay at his house.

Ever since breakfast, the guy had been cleaning his weapons-all sorts of guns and ammunition. Clearly, the older Black man was furious.

Lu Wen lounged on the nearby couch, eating the chips the older Black man had provided while searching his phone for updates on Homelander.

He planned to scout the place out first, but if Homelander was there, it would be hard to guarantee nothing went wrong.

Taking Homelander one-on-one was still a little difficult right now!

"Why? Why am I always expected to be selfless and noble? You white assholes get to lash out however you want when you're angry! Why do I have to swallow it and put on a smile? Fuck turning the other cheek! Fuck Hughie and Butcher!"

Marvin poured out his grievances to Starlight.

"Maybe... because you're the only normal person in this bunch!" Lu Wen abruptly cut in.

Marvin's mouth hung slightly open. A second earlier, his face had been angry; now it turned bewildered.

"Huh???"

"Nothing. Carry on." With that, Lu Wen went back to looking at his phone.

Their argument was interrupted by a call to Starlight. Vought wanted her back! Starlight hoped Marvin could wait an hour for her.

Marvin said nothing, but his silence was answer enough.

Seeing Starlight leave, Lu Wen said goodbye to Marvin and left too. He was going to scout the place out first.

There wasn't really any need. He was just afraid they would ask him to help out at that orgy venue in Vermont later!

He had no desire to see it in person. Never mind whether it would give him a stye-the air there had made him feel he needed to disinfect the screen when he watched it!

He certainly didn't think a place where a bunch of superhumans held an annual orgy would be all that clean.

Before leaving, he looked at Marvin, who was still preparing his weapons, and silently gave him a sympathetic look. Poor guy. He had no idea what he was about to experience.

On a street corner opposite Vought, Lu Wen leaned against a lamppost at the mouth of an alley, drinking the ice-cold Coke he had just bought while observing Vought's main entrance.

"Hey... you're that guy from the news."

Lu Wen's expression froze for a second. Then he slowly turned around...

Homelander wore a skintight blue suit, his cape hanging behind him, his red boots glinting in the sunlight. His hair was neatly combed, his expression relaxed, and his gaze carried a scrutinizing focus.

Lu Wen thought helplessly, Why is he here?

A minute earlier, Homelander had just left the taping of that damned TV show and was looking down over New York from the rooftop to calm himself. His super vision suddenly caught a familiar figure.

"You've got the wrong guy," Lu Wen said calmly.

"There's no way I've got the wrong guy!" Homelander took a step forward. "I've watched the footage of you fighting Soldier Boy plenty of times. Your stance, your gait, the width of your shoulders-I remember it all! Coming here alone to scout the place out. You've got some nerve."

Lu Wen didn't back away. "I said I was passing through."

"You've got nerve, but you're not much of a liar." Homelander took another step forward.

"Do you know what I hate most? People doing things in my city that I don't know about. People doing things in my building that I haven't permitted. People showing up in my sight without giving me a clear answer."

He stopped and tilted his head. "You have no file, no records, and you're not on Vought's list. That leaves only two possibilities!

"One, you've hidden yourself very well. Two, you don't belong here at all. Either way, it makes no difference to me. Unstable elements should be dealt with."

"Then deal with me." Lu Wen shrugged.

Homelander wasted no more words. He moved.

Lu Wen felt a tremendous force slam into his chest, with air roaring past his ears. Homelander had him by the chest and was flying him off somewhere!

In midair, Lu Wen stared at Homelander's gradually reddening eyes, clamped both hands around his head, and then... squeezed hard!

"Aah!!!"

"Hraaah!!!"

Both men roared in midair! In the end, they crashed together into a patch of woods on the outskirts.

"Fuck you! You yellow monkey!" Homelander shook his head and stood up, hurling abuse at Lu Wen.

The bastard was so strong. Just now, he had felt as though his head was about to be crushed!

"You unweaned white pig! Crawl back into your stroller!"

"I'm going to tear your mouth apart."

The blue figure rushed across the seven or eight meters between them in an instant, moving so fast that the dust on the ground rose in a gray-white trail behind him.

His fist whistled toward Lu Wen's face. Lu Wen tilted his head aside, dodging it, and the searing rush of air past his ear scraped painfully against it.

Lu Wen didn't wait for a second punch. As he turned sideways and lowered his body, he drove an uppercut into Homelander's chin.

The punch landed solidly, knocking Homelander's head back. The muscles in his neck briefly tightened before springing back!

He didn't retreat. After landing, he swung a fist back into Lu Wen's shoulder, sending him staggering sideways three or four steps until his back struck a tree.

The trunk shook, and a few leaves drifted down.

As Lu Wen steadied himself, he grabbed the front of Homelander's suit with both hands, slipped his right leg between Homelander's legs, and hooked outward. Using his weight and momentum, he forcibly brought him down! They both toppled to the ground and rolled halfway over through the fallen leaves.

Lu Wen ended up on top and drove two punches into Homelander's face in succession. The third was blocked, then a palm pressed against his chin and shoved him backward.

The next instant, two red laser beams shot toward him. Lu Wen raised his arms to block them. The scorching beams stung his skin, but they couldn't actually break through his defenses.

Lu Wen charged through Homelander's Heat Vision, throwing a punch at his left ribs! Homelander caught it, then caught his other hand as well!

Both strained against each other, neither able to break free for the moment!

Homelander's eyes lit up again! Red beams burned against Lu Wen's face. Lu Wen turned his head to keep them out of his eyes, taking them head-on with the skin of his face!

The scorching beams heated his skin like a red-hot branding iron!

While dodging, he had already opened the system panel in his mind, found [Winter Soldier/Military Combat (Green)], and clicked to purchase it. Two thousand points were instantly deducted, and warmth spread from his chest into his limbs, as though something inside his body had briefly opened up.

Trait activated. Time remaining: 60 seconds.

The system notification flashed past...