In Long Island Estate's restaurant, sunlight shines on the long oak dining table through the intact half of the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The tender beef brisket is filled with rich tomato soup, and when paired with the freshly cooked white rice, it exudes the aroma of carbohydrates that will make your fingers twitch.
The brief but bloody battle just experienced at Backyard didn't seem to leave any shadow on this family at all.
Lynn sat at the main seat and slowly poured the soup on the rice with a spoon.
"That's my beef!" Reggie shouted while holding a fork.
A piece of fat and thin ribbed beef brisket was originally heading towards his plate Accio, but suddenly turned a corner in mid-air and fell steadily into the bowl next to Tommy.
"I've been injured and I need to eat more meat to supplement my nutrition."
Reggie pointed to a band-aid that had just been put on his arm, with an unconvinced look on his face.
The mutated Doberman bit into his sleeve, leaving a shallow blood mark. Although with his recovery ability, he might not even be able to see the scar tomorrow morning, this does not prevent him from using it as a bargaining chip for meat.
"Being bitten by a wandering wild dog only means that you are lazy when running around."
Tommy penetrated him mercilessly, then put the piece of beef into his mouth and chewed it in front of Reggie.
Annie sat opposite them, watching the two boys bickering, and couldn't help covering his mouth and laughing softly.
The plate in front of her had already been John piled with the most beautiful pieces of vegetables Wagyu meat.
John is in a very good mood today.
He was wearing the still spotless white shirt and sitting up straight.
He showed a disdain for the childish food-grabbing behavior of Reggie and Tommy as a big brother.
After all, he had just completed the cleaning task assigned by Lynn at Manhattan today, and Lynn even praised him for doing it perfectly.
"Lynn, I've kneaded that dough again and put it in the refrigerator."
John turned his head, Azure looked at Lynn with his eyes asking for praise, "We can make bear biscuits this afternoon."
"Okay, let's do more in the afternoon and bake some without sugar for Buddy." Lynn smiled and nodded.
When he heard his name, Golden Retriever Buddy, who was lying under the table chewing a big bone, immediately raised his head, wagging his tail and barking twice.
It seemed to be in even better spirits than in the morning, and the long golden hair on its body even had an incredible sheen to it in the sunlight.
Kevin sat at the end of the dining table, carefully crushed a small grain of rice and threw it into the new glass kettle next to him.
Goldfish Charlie in the kettle happily swam up, swallowed the rice in one gulp, and then spit bubbles at Kevin through the glass.
If it weren't for the small pool of blood still remaining on Backyard Lawn, no one would have believed that this palm-sized, seemingly harmless ornamental fish had just swallowed an adult Chimpanzee alive half an hour ago.
The lunch ended with the children's noise and the crisp sound of tableware clinking.
Lynn has always liked this kind of hustle and bustle full of fireworks.
At this time, the atmosphere in the top-floor conference room of Manhattan and Vought Tower was somewhat solemn.
The surveillance video of F Line subway station is being played in a loop on the big screen, as well as some blurry pictures taken by passers-by.
In the picture, the blond boy wearing a white shirt appeared like a god, and the dazzling red light vaporized hundreds of mutant mice in an instant.
Edgar sat at the end of the long table, with his hands crossed on his chin, looking at the screen expressionlessly.
Madelyn stood aside, holding a thick stack of public relations reports in his hand.
Her face was a little pale, but her eyes revealed a sense of joy and a kind of enthusiasm that could not be concealed.
"President, Public Relations Department has suppressed all the news. The unified statement to the outside world is that an illegal chemical waste leak occurred in the sewer, causing the rat colony to mutate. As for the disappearance of the Payback people, we temporarily claim that they went on a long-term secret overseas mission."
Madelyn turned to the next page of the report and raised his voice a few points, "But the appearance of John caused a huge sensation. Now the entire New York citizens are discussing the perfect boy who saved the subway passengers. Polls show that the public's favorability and admiration for him have soared to an unprecedented number in just three hours."
In Madelyn's opinion, this is a perfect crisis public relations.
Not only did it solve a fatal problem, but it also brought this lofty star, who could only be seen on the screen in the past, to the public.
But Edgar did not show any happy emotions.
He turned off the screen and turned his head to look at the high-rise buildings outside the window with deep eyes.
"Madelyn, why do you think John went to save those civilians in the subway?"
Edgar suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question.
Madelyn was stunned for a moment and answered subconsciously, "Because that is the hero setting we gave him. He needs to protect civilians to gain reputation..."
"No."
Edgar interrupted her, his voice so cold and without any fluctuation, "He doesn't care about the life and death of those people at all. He went there just because Lynn asked him to clean up the garbage in the sewer."
The conference room fell silent instantly.
Edgar knows exactly what price he paid.
In order for Lynn to clean up this mess, he completely gave up all control over Vanguard Camp.
Those children, especially John, who possesses the power to destroy heaven and earth, are now completely out of Vought International's control.
They are no longer the company's products, no longer Public Relations Department's puppets, they have become the sharpest knives in Lynn's hands.
With just one word from Lynn, John can save hundreds of people in an instant, or burn the entire Vought Tower to ashes in the next second.
This feeling made the capitalist, who had always been in control of the overall situation, feel a deep sense of powerlessness.
The red dedicated phone on the table suddenly rang.
Madelyn glanced at the caller ID and his breathing stopped for a moment.
It's Long Island Estate calling.
Edgar was silent for two seconds, then reached out and picked up the phone.
"Lynn, Lower Manhattan's matter Public Relations Department has been dealt with completely. Is there anything else you need the company to cooperate with?"
Edgar's tone remained calm, but his attitude had undergone a subtle change.
For a qualified capitalist, wealth is the most important thing.
The gentle and casual voice of Lynn came from the other end of the phone, and you could even vaguely hear the noise of several children fighting for game controllers in the background.
"It's nothing serious. It's just that an unruly stray dog at home broke the floor-to-ceiling window of Backyard. Now the wind is blowing in and it's a bit cold."
Lynn's voice is very relaxed, like complaining to a neighbor about the weather.
Edgar narrowed his eyes slightly.
He knew that the one who broke the glass was definitely not a stray dog, but the highly intelligent Chimpanzee who escaped with Compound V.
But since Lynn said this, it means that the trouble has been completely eliminated.
It didn't even stir up any unnecessary ripples.
"I understand, I will have the company's best engineering team go over immediately."
"It doesn't take too many people, just replace the glass. Oh, by the way, I asked Logistics Department to buy a few boxes of Buddy's favorite beef-flavored dog chew tape. I have sold out all the ones in the nearby supermarket."
Lynn finished explaining casually and hung up the phone directly.
Listening to the busy tone on the phone, Edgar slowly put down the receiver.
He looked at Madelyn, who was standing aside and did not dare to express his anger, and readjusted the cuffs of his suit.
"Ask the engineering department to go to Long Island to repair the glass. Remember, only repair the glass, don't look too much, don't ask too many questions."
In Long Island Estate, Lynn put down the phone and walked to the refrigerator in the kitchen to get a can of iced Coke.
The sun outside the window is still bright, the potholes on Lawn have been filled up again by Tommy with Telekinesis, and Reggie is washing the soil on the ground with a water pipe.
John and Annie are lying on the counter, using molds to press the dough into cute bear shapes.
Buddy waggled its tail and came to Lynn's legs, opened its mouth and yawned.
Lynn looked down at the silly Big Golden Retriever, raised his fingers and tapped it lightly on the head, then opened the can of Griphook and took a sip of the cold carbonated drink.