A Chance Encounter with The Deep!

So that was it. When I tested it on Mesmer back then, he probably reacted the same way. I just didn't notice.

Solomon inwardly counted himself lucky. Thankfully, this experiment had cleared things up; otherwise, he would definitely expose himself the next time he used it on someone else.

After reading the memories, Solomon raised his hand and slapped the clone twice across the cheeks.

Soon, the clone slowly opened his eyes. His gaze gradually cleared, and he slowly sat up from the floor.

Solomon immediately asked the clone what he had felt. From the shared perspective of the original and the clone, the Memory Reading just now had been very obvious.

But to the clone himself, it had only felt as though he had fallen unconscious and had a chaotic nightmare filled with fragments of his past.

An ordinary person would most likely dismiss it as a strange dream and give it no further thought.

But someone who frequently dealt with Supes, was meticulous, or knew that Memory Reading abilities existed would probably immediately realize that someone had pried into their memories.

After this round of experiments, Solomon thoroughly understood how to use Memory Reading.

The safest approach was still to guide the target into thinking about the information he wanted, sensing the intelligence that way and avoiding detection through directly reading their memories.

With the Memory Reading experiment concluded, Solomon looked at the clone beside him, who was now fully awake. Understanding his intent, the clone took a deep breath and nodded slightly, ready.

The next second, Solomon narrowed his eyes slightly. Two dazzling blue laser beams instantly shot from his eyes and struck the clone precisely.

A faint sizzling instantly filled the air. Wherever the lasers passed, even the air seemed to warp from the scorching heat.

The blue lasers remained fixed on the clone's chest, their glare too dazzling to look at directly. The sizzling sound of burning grew increasingly distinct, even accompanied by a hint of a scorched smell.

The clone's brows instantly knitted tightly, and his expression darkened slightly. He could clearly feel waves of searing heat spreading from his chest, accompanied by bursts of sharp, stabbing pain.

It felt as though countless tiny sparks were burning against the surface of his skin, but the pain remained bearable and had not exceeded his limits.

Meanwhile, Solomon felt a sour, swollen ache in his eyes, as though sand were grinding against his eyeballs. Discomfort instantly swept over him, but fortunately, the soreness did not last long and vanished in an instant.

He tried adjusting the energy output of his laser eyes, hoping to lower the lasers' temperature somewhat, but he struggled to control the energy precisely. The output fluctuated, nothing like the smooth process he had imagined.

Solomon simply closed his eyes, stopping the lasers. The blue glow in his eyes gradually faded, and they returned to normal.

He quickly stepped forward and carefully examined the clone's chest. A faint, dull gray tint had appeared where the lasers struck, and the surface was covered with a few extremely shallow thermal-shock cracks. Apart from that, there was no other damage.

At this stage, his laser eyes still could not penetrate the defenses of carbon-fiber super skin.

But against ordinary Supes, especially those whose defense was only level 1 and who lacked special defensive abilities, they should easily pierce their bodies or even cut them straight in half.

His thoughts shifted, and he recalled the rubberization ability he had just obtained from Ezekiel.

With a thought, Solomon raised his right hand. His arm instantly became soft and elastic, his skin taking on a faint rubbery texture. It could also freely stretch and contract, extending several meters with complete flexibility.

He tried extending his rubberized arm toward a distant chair, lightly winding his fingertips around one of its legs. With a slight tug, he pulled the chair steadily in front of him. It felt flexible yet powerful, without the slightest stiffness.

A trace of curiosity flashed in Solomon's eyes, and he lowered his head to glance at his crotch.

With a thought, a certain part instantly began to lengthen. But when he tried making it bigger, he found it extraordinarily difficult. No matter how hard he tried, he could not achieve the desired effect.

Moreover, after it lengthened, its original hardness vanished entirely, leaving only a rubberlike softness with no strength to speak of.

He could not help curling his lip, grumbling inwardly.

This rubberization ability is way too different from the Gum-Gum Fruit in One Piece. Not only is it incredibly restrictive, but the ability itself is much more rudimentary. It's nowhere near as overpowered.

With the experiments concluded, Solomon deactivated his various abilities and glanced out the window.

It had long since grown dark. Night enveloped Vought Tower and the surrounding buildings, and the city's neon lights spilled through the windows into the apartment, casting scattered patches of light and shadow.

He knew full well that Ashley was busy dealing with the Faith Expo's follow-up matters, so he simply gave up on going to see her.

"I didn't go to the club yesterday. I should go check it out today."

Solomon murmured to himself, and with a thought, JS climbed out of bed.

He straightened his clothes, turned, and walked out of Translucent's apartment.

But he had only just stepped out of the apartment and taken a few steps when a familiar figure approached him, speaking enthusiastically.

"Hey, brother! Heading out too? Where are you going? Don't tell me you're going to the club too? We can go together!"

Solomon looked up and saw The Deep in his green uniform, a smile on his face as he strode toward him.

His gaze lingered on The Deep for a moment as the relevant plot instantly flashed through his mind.

If he remembered correctly, at tomorrow's Faith Expo, Starlight would publicly expose the scandal of The Deep forcing himself on her, and Vought International would exile him for a while.

In other words, this guy would be leaving in a few days.

An almost imperceptible trace of amusement flashed in Solomon's eyes, but he put on an enthusiastic expression and nodded.

"Of course. Come on! Let's go together!"

The smile on The Deep's face instantly grew even brighter. He hurried forward and walked beside Solomon toward the elevator, his tone full of credit-seeking.

"Brother, I'm serious. You really ought to thank me properly. If I hadn't put in a few good words for you with Homelander, you never would've had a chance to replace the previous Translucent and join The Seven!"

Solomon reached out and pressed the elevator button. As the doors slowly opened, he stepped aside to let The Deep enter first, then followed him in, replying in an even tone.

"Really? Then I really do have to thank you."

The Deep completely failed to notice the perfunctory note in Solomon's voice. He draped an arm over Solomon's shoulders, patted his back, and said generously:

"No need to be so polite with me! The previous Translucent and I were good brothers. Unfortunately, he was murdered. Your abilities are a lot like his, and I hope we can become good brothers like he and I were, looking out for each other!"

The elevator doors slowly closed, leaving just the two of them in the cramped space.

Solomon slowly turned his head, his gaze settling on The Deep's honest-looking face. A playful smile curled his lips as he asked:

"Since you want to be good brothers with me, you should know what I did at the club, right?"

(The book's in its evaluation period, brothers, so please show some support. Send a few gifts, tap follow for updates, and keep reading over the next few days. Thank you, everyone!)