Solomon looked at Starlight, whose eyes still held a hero's passion and original ideals, and added evenly:
"You're determined to be a hero, protect ordinary people, and avoid slaughtering innocents. The simplest way is to rise to the top and take power. Once you sit in the highest seat, you get to decide every rule here."
At those words, everyone present had their own thoughts.
Homelander immediately perked up. He raised an eyebrow and gave Starlight a teasing look, his voice carrying a playful, probing edge.
"Oh? From what JS just said, Starlight, you've got your eye on my position as captain?"
Starlight's heart tightened, and she instantly panicked. She hurriedly waved her hands emphatically, looking flustered as she rushed to explain:
"No! I have absolutely no intention of taking the captain's position. I was only asking about the rules! You're the Seven's one and only captain, irreplaceable and undisputed!"
Watching Starlight frantically admit her mistake and bow in submission, Homelander's lips curled high. His eyes brimmed with utter conceit and satisfaction, his tone brazenly arrogant.
"That goes without saying. I'm the only person in the entire world who can hold the Seven together and keep all the chaos in check."
Sitting to one side, Maeve knitted her brows tightly and silently watched the triumphant Homelander, a profound sense of strangeness and unease churning within her.
The Homelander before her seemed completely different from the obsessive, deranged, mercurial man she remembered.
The decisiveness to push through reforms and reshape the rules seemed entirely beyond his mental capacity and vision.
Doubts multiplied in her mind. First, Edgar had mysteriously disappeared, then Ashley had abruptly risen to power and taken over as Vought's CEO.
In just a few days, Vought had been turned upside down internally, and now even the Seven's core