Interrogating Mesmer!

Mother's Milk spoke first.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Butcher slowly raised his head and looked at them, a hint of mockery in his voice.

"What else? Your dear Supe friend Mesmer sold us out and passed our information to A-Train. For all we know, Homelander already knows where every one of us is."

At those words, everyone erupted, their faces filled with terror and panic.

Hughie in particular went rigid, his face deathly pale and his voice trembling.

"Wh-what? Homelander knows about us? Fuck! What do we do now? Do we run? Where can we go? Are we going to survive?"

Just thinking of Homelander's terrifying laser eyes sent chills through him. He feared Homelander might fly over the next second and blast his head apart.

Frenchie clutched his head and took a deep breath, his face filled with regret and self-reproach.

"Fuck! This is all my fault. We should never have gone to Mesmer!"

Mother's Milk frowned deeply as well, his expression utterly grim and his voice full of anger and disappointment.

"Fuck! That bastard Mesmer! I trusted him so much. I even felt sorry for what he'd been through, and he just sold us out like that?"

Watching them panic, Butcher couldn't help shouting at them.

"Oi, quiet! Everyone calm the fuck down! What good is panicking? Our good friend Shen has already caught that bastard Mesmer. We're heading over right now to find out exactly how much he told A-Train and see how much A-Train knows about us."

They immediately fell silent and exchanged astonished looks.

"Shen caught Mesmer?"

"How did he manage that?"

"Maybe A-Train doesn't know the specifics about us yet. Otherwise, he'd have come knocking already."

With no time to dwell on it, they immediately followed Butcher and hurried to the address Solomon had sent. They drove at breakneck speed the whole way and reached the secluded alley in just over ten minutes.

When they arrived, Solomon was sitting casually on Mesmer with one hand in his pocket. Only when he saw them approaching did he slowly stand up, his voice carrying a hint of impatience.

"What took you so long? Slow as hell."

Butcher stared fixedly at the unconscious Mesmer on the ground, his eyes glinting coldly. He strode forward and asked in an icy voice,

"What did he tell A-Train? Has all our information been leaked?"

Solomon waved a hand, pulled Mesmer's phone from his pocket, and tossed it to Butcher.

"How would I know? I only heard them mention the Frenchman, and then A-Train left. Ask him what they actually said yourselves, or look through his phone."

Butcher caught the phone, quickly unlocked it, and found the video. On the screen, the faces of Butcher, Frenchie, Hughie, Mother's Milk, and Kimiko were all clearly visible.

Hughie, Frenchie, and Mother's Milk leaned in for a look. A chill instantly ran through them, and their faces grew even paler.

Once that video fell into Homelander's hands, they would be completely exposed.

Burning with rage, Mother's Milk took two steps forward, grabbed Mesmer by the collar, and delivered several hard slaps, striking him so forcefully that he woke him up.

"You bastard! What exactly did you tell A-Train?! Did you leak everything about us?!"

Mesmer groggily opened his eyes. At the sight of Mother's Milk's savage expression, his whole body stiffened, and he snapped fully awake.

He instinctively turned to look. Butcher, Frenchie, and Hughie were all there, along with Kimiko, whose eyes were vicious and whose whole body radiated menace.

He had seen Kimiko in action with his own eyes. He knew how brutal she was and how easily she could tear someone to pieces.

"N-no! I didn't say anything!"

Mesmer trembled all over in fear and hurriedly shook his head in denial, his voice panicked.

"I only chatted with A-Train for a bit. I didn't mention anything about you. Believe me!"

"Still trying to lie!"

Mother's Milk's anger flared even higher. He raised his fist and slammed it into Mesmer's face, drawing blood from the corner of his mouth.

He had a family, a child. If A-Train found them, the consequences would be unthinkable.

That was something he absolutely never wanted to see!

The thought that his family might be endangered because of this filled him with anger and lingering fear.

His own mercy had nearly condemned his family to a fate beyond saving.

"I saw the video on your phone with my own eyes, and I heard your conversation with A-Train. You still dare claim you didn't say anything?!"

Whenever he thought of the danger his family might face, he couldn't control his rage.

Mesmer was dizzy from the beating, blood running constantly from the corner of his mouth. Yet he still didn't dare tell the truth and could only desperately defend himself.

"I really didn't say anything! A-Train came to me. He said he was looking for that Frenchie and asked if I'd seen you. I really didn't dare tell him anything about you!"

Solomon leaned against the wall with his arms folded. He raised an eyebrow, a flicker of amusement crossing his eyes.

The guy certainly knew how to spin a story. He had clearly approached A-Train himself to inform on them, hoping to trade Butcher and the others for a chance to return to Vought. Now he had turned it around so that A-Train had approached him, making himself the "innocent party."

Mother's Milk hesitated. Looking at Mesmer's panic-stricken expression, which didn't seem feigned, he couldn't help wondering.

Could he really have said nothing?

If he really had leaked their information, A-Train would probably have come knocking long ago rather than waiting until now.

Butcher took two steps forward and crouched in front of Mesmer, his voice cold and edged with menace.

"Did A-Train come to you, or did you go to A-Train? You'd better tell the truth. Otherwise, we'll have Kimiko tear your limbs off to jog your memory!"

As though she had understood Butcher's words, Kimiko gave Mesmer a savage smile, her eyes filled with murderous intent. Mesmer trembled in terror, his face as white as paper.

"I-I swear to God, I really didn't tell A-Train anything about you!"

Mesmer cried out in fear, his voice full of pleading.

"Please spare me! I'll leave this city right away. No, I'll leave the country right away! I'll never come back, and I'll never interfere in your business again!"

Just then, the phone in Butcher's hand suddenly vibrated. A message popped up from A-Train, containing just one short sentence.

"Homelander will be on your rooftop at nine tonight. You'd better not hold anything back."

As Butcher read the message, a cruel smile slowly curled his lips. He turned the phone around and held it in front of Mesmer, his voice chilling to the bone.

"Oi, look what we have here. Seems you'd be better off leaving this world, so you can't keep running around snitching and causing us trouble."