Splinter!

His strength and hearing had each increased by 0.1 levels, and his defense had increased by 0.01 levels, much as he had expected.

Solomon pushed the door open and returned to the van. As soon as he sat down, Butcher looked up, gave him a once-over, and teased him casually.

"Oi, where the hell did you run off to?"

Solomon rolled his eyes, his tone blunt.

"None of your fucking business."

Butcher raised an eyebrow. Rather than getting angry, he curled his lips into an amused smile.

"Oi, that's a fucking terrible attitude!"

Solomon simply raised his middle finger, not bothering to play nice.

"If you've got something to say, spit it out!"

In fact, Solomon had been nearby and heard every word as Butcher threatened The Female for information.

The information he possessed was even more detailed than what Butcher and his group knew.

He knew that A-Train secretly delivered Compound V near Uncle Dan's Noodles downtown every time, and that all those illicit drugs were intended for the imprisoned Kimiko.

Kimiko was being held in the basement of a supermarket near the noodle shop.

But the original show's timeline was vague, and he could no longer remember exactly when Butcher and his group would find her.

Listening to their surveillance and search plans, Solomon quickly weighed the pros and cons.

With his super speed and invisibility, he could easily search every supermarket and basement nearby on his own and find Kimiko quickly.

But the biggest problem was how to subdue her. Kimiko's healing ability was nearly impossible to counter. Conventional attacks could not defeat her; only halothane could effectively sedate and restrain her.

But he had no way to get halothane. He did not even know where to get it.

He could find some if he made a point of looking, but there was no need.

Rather than blindly wasting his effort, he might as well go along with Butcher.

He only needed to wait quietly for them to pinpoint her location, then borrow the halothane Frenchie had prepared. He could easily take Kimiko down, secure a top-tier healing ability, and grow stronger with zero risk.

As he thought, Butcher looked up at Solomon and asked:

"Shen, anything you want to add?"

As soon as he spoke, everyone in the van turned to look at him.

Solomon remained calm and spoke evenly.

"Contact me as soon as you find the place. Also, prepare some halothane in advance. There's probably a supe hiding at the site, so it's a precaution."

Butcher nodded thoughtfully and turned to Frenchie.

Frenchie made an OK sign, his tone confident.

"No problem. Halothane is easy to get. Piece of cake."

Butcher looked at Solomon again.

"You're not coming with us?"

Solomon raised his middle finger, sounding annoyed.

"Fuck, I don't want to spend another second with you. Contact me when you find the place."

With that, he stayed no longer. He turned, stepped straight out of the van, and left without a backward glance.

Watching his resolute departure, Butcher slowly curled his lips into a meaningful smile.

Once he was out of sight of the surveillance van, Solomon immediately took out his phone and opened Firecracker's livestream.

The stream was still quiet, with only a handful of viewers online.

He put his money to work and bombarded her with private messages. His straightforward overtures and money transfers soon won Firecracker's trust, and the two successfully arranged to meet in person at noon the next day.

Solomon did not return to his own place. Translucent had been missing for days, so Vought International must have noticed something was wrong. His remains had most likely already been laid before Homelander.

The entire city was surely being investigated in secret by now, so returning home would be somewhat dangerous.

He located their meeting place for the next day and booked a nearby hotel, planning to stay there temporarily until things blew over.

Finding a secluded alley with no cameras or foot traffic, Solomon put on his goggles. With a thought, he instantly activated his super speed.

With a faint hum, his figure vanished on the spot.

Wind howled past his ears as the streets on either side blurred into streaks of light, racing backward.

Although this was not his first time activating super speed, Solomon still felt his blood surge with incomparable excitement.

It was the same with any ability. Using it for the first time brought nerves and apprehension, but once he became proficient, all that remained was sheer exhilaration and a sense of control.

He raced along, constantly making slight adjustments to his balance while moving at high speed, practicing turns and braking. Bit by bit, he honed his control over his super speed and kept working on his weaknesses.

He practiced along the way until late into the night. Only when darkness had fully settled did he come to a steady stop in the alley beside the hotel.

At noon the following day, inside the hotel room.

Solomon stripped off all his clothes. With a slight shift of thought, his body turned completely transparent, blending perfectly into the air.

The embarrassment and awkwardness of being naked while invisible had long since vanished. Repeated exposure had already made him accustomed to this state.

Since no one could see him anyway, being naked while invisible was no different from being clothed.

He silently left the room, arrived at the agreed location, and waited quietly in hiding.

Before long, an RV slowly approached and came to a steady stop by the roadside.

Firecracker opened the door and stepped out first, with Splinter close behind.

Four Splinter duplicates with identical faces and builds emerged from the vehicle one after another, spreading out around Firecracker as her personal bodyguards and watching their surroundings.

Solomon's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. What exactly counted as a defeat according to his cheat? Did he have to defeat the original, or would defeating a duplicate count too?

If all four before him were duplicates and the original was hiding elsewhere, acting rashly would only alert them.

Firecracker headed toward the agreed location with the four Splinters. To be safe, Solomon did not follow them, instead making his way straight toward the RV.

Given Splinter's almost pathological attachment to and adoration of Firecracker, he would never let her face danger alone.

Either the original was among those four, or he had stayed in the RV to oversee things.

If he was in neither place, that could only mean Solomon was a little unlucky.

The instant Solomon drew close to the vehicle, a smile appeared on his lips.

It seemed Lady Luck still favored him. There were sounds inside the RV; someone was clearly still in there.

He took a deep breath, exerted force with his bare hands, and violently tore the RV's door open before stepping inside.

Splinter only had an ordinary person's physique to begin with. Controlling his strength precisely, Solomon delivered a chop to the back of his head.

Splinter did not even have time to react. His vision went black, and he collapsed unconscious.

"Ding! Defeated supe: Splinter. Ability acquired: Self-Duplication."

Name: Solomon

Strength: Level 1.2

Energy: Level 1

Defense: Level 2.02

Hearing: Level 1.2

Vision: Level 1

Speed: Level 3

Abilities: Carbon metamaterial skin, super speed, bone spikes, self-duplication

Self-duplication: Can separate independent duplicates from the original body's flesh. Duplicates perfectly inherit all of the original's attributes, abilities, states, and weaknesses; they possess independent self-awareness and can act alone or fight cooperatively. The original can share all duplicates' vision and perceptions. If the original dies, all duplicates perish, while the destruction of a duplicate has no effect on the original. All duplicates must remain within 300 meters of the original. Beyond this range, they completely lose the ability to move and become immobilized.