Translucent arrives!

Over the next few days, Solomon kept up his usual routine, arriving at the audiovisual store for work on time, his expression unchanged, giving nothing away.

He even made a point of attending Robin's funeral, keeping a low profile and watching throughout.

It was at that funeral that he saw the figure he had expected.

In a corner of the crowd, a man with a thick beard and sharp, brooding eyes silently watched the distraught Hughie.

Billy Butcher.

Solomon smiled knowingly to himself. The gears of the plot had begun turning steadily. Butcher would soon approach Hughie and drag him into the vortex of the fight against Vought International.

In the days after the funeral, Solomon stayed by Hughie's side day and night under the pretext of keeping him company and comforting him, volunteering to work the night shift and watch the store with him.

As the only other eyewitness at the scene, Solomon had long since become Hughie's confidant. Immersed in grief and anger all day, Hughie had confided in him more than once about wanting to sue Vought International and get justice for Robin, and especially hoped Solomon would testify.

But Solomon could only turn him down tactfully, time after time. He had already signed a nondisclosure agreement and taken hush money. If he rashly testified, not only would he have no chance of winning, he would also thoroughly enrage Vought International and bring death upon himself.

The night deepened. The audiovisual store was particularly deserted at that late hour, and the streetlights shone through the windows, washing the floor in a dim yellow glow.

Just then, a tall figure pushed the door open and entered, bringing the darkness and a hostile air with him. It was Billy Butcher.

Hughie forced himself to perk up and went to greet him out of habit, politely asking what he needed, only to hear a string of baffling remarks the moment the man opened his mouth.

He frowned, suppressing his confusion, and remained polite:

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

The bearded man slowly turned, his heavy gaze settling on Hughie, his tone carrying a hint of mockery and insight:

"I won't give you any more trouble, Hughie. I heard about Robin."

Hughie looked utterly stunned. The man before him was a complete stranger, yet he had called him by name and knew about Robin's tragic death. He instinctively asked:

"Sorry, who are you?"

Butcher did not answer his question, continuing on his own, every word precise and striking at the truth:

"She wasn't even in the street when it happened. She was a whole step away from that curb! And you didn't take Vought's compensation!"

Then Butcher changed tack, his gaze suddenly shifting to Solomon, who had remained silent inside the store, with undisguised scorn.

"Unlike that pussy, who meekly took the money and signed an agreement to keep his mouth shut!"

Solomon shrugged. Was this the butterfly effect? That line wasn't in the original show.

Of course, he had not been in the original show either.

Hughie's brows knitted tightly, his confusion deepening as he asked again:

"That's right, but who exactly are you? How do you know all this?"

Butcher still did not answer Hughie's questions. He simply stared fixedly at Solomon, his presence intensely oppressive.

Solomon's expression did not change. He immediately stood and said calmly:

"You two talk. I'll go for a walk."

With that, he walked unhurriedly out of the audiovisual store, pulling the door shut behind him and shutting their conversation inside.

The night breeze outside was slightly cool. Solomon looked up at the pedestrians coming and going along the street, his blood surging uncontrollably, his heart filled with excitement and anticipation.

It was here.

Everything was about to begin.

Tomorrow, as long as the plot went as expected, he would be able to defeat his first metahuman!

Inside the store, only after Solomon left did Butcher slowly pull an FBI credential from his pocket and show it to Hughie, his voice cold and certain:

"Butcher. Billy Butcher."

A short while later, Butcher left the audiovisual store with the troubled Hughie.

Before leaving, Hughie specifically asked Solomon to help watch the store.

Solomon nodded in agreement and stood quietly at the entrance, watching their figures gradually disappear into the depths of the night.

The next day, near a bench in the city park, Solomon watched from a distance as Hughie talked face-to-face with Starlight, the newest member of the Seven.

Solomon watched quietly without approaching to interrupt.

Although he was very interested in this metahuman whose eyes glowed at particular moments, Starlight was an indispensable key character in the later plot.

To avoid interfering too much with the plot, triggering a greater butterfly effect, and disrupting his plans, he had to preserve the original course of events as much as possible and proceed steadily.

Afterward, Solomon returned to the audiovisual store as usual and learned from the owner that Hughie had taken the day off.

He understood. Hughie must have been following Butcher's arrangements at that moment, sneaking into Vought International to plant a bug.

And tonight would be the decisive night.

Translucent would discover the bugging, follow Hughie back to the audiovisual store, and confront and attack him.

This was the first perfect opportunity he had waited for through days of lying low, his first step toward extraordinary power and completely rewriting his fate!

Time quietly passed. Daylight faded, and darkness fully enveloped the city.

Deep into the night, a car slowly pulled to a stop outside the audiovisual store.

Inside the dim car, Hughie and Butcher's figures were faintly visible as they spoke in low voices.

A short while later, the car door opened, and Hughie got out alone, his head lowered and his shoulders slumped, his face full of dejection and heaviness as he slowly walked back to the store.

Solomon's gaze lifted slightly. According to the established plot, Translucent would arrive any moment, followed immediately by a fight with Hughie.

Translucent was a superhuman and a member of the Seven, while Solomon was just an ordinary person. If he took even one hit from him, he would be done for.

To be safe, he had to hide first.

"Hughie, you're back. Perfect timing. Watch the front for me. I'm going to sort out the backlogged stock in the storeroom."

Solomon spoke at an even pace. Without waiting for the troubled Hughie to respond, he turned and headed for the storeroom in the back.

He tucked the high-voltage stun baton into his waistband, its cold touch steadying him further.

This high-powered stun baton was a backup he had prepared long ago. He had carried it every day since his first day working at the audiovisual store, making it part of his routine, all for this moment and to avoid arousing suspicion afterward.

Entering the storeroom, he reached back and firmly shut the door, completely shutting out the light and noise from the front.

Time passed second by second. The storeroom was so quiet that he could hear only his own heartbeat.

After an uncertain number of tens of minutes, a heavy, muffled crash suddenly came from the front of the store!

Here he was!

Solomon instantly tensed, his fingertips brushing the stun baton at his waist as he took several deep breaths to suppress his agitation.

Then a continuous barrage of impacts and the crashing of overturned tables and chairs erupted in the front. The entire store trembled slightly, and the sounds of fierce fighting pierced the door, clear and grating.

Just then, the tightly shut storeroom door was abruptly pushed open.

Hughie stumbled inside in a sorry state, blood streaming from his forehead and running down his cheeks, his hair plastered to his skin with blood, his body covered in dust, and his eyes filled with terror and panic.