A creature of legend?

"Ashley, zoom in on that thing." Homelander rested his chin on his hand, his gaze locked on the screen.

Under Ashley Barrett's control, the satellite image zoomed in again and again.

Thick clouds churned, and part of the thing's outline finally emerged.

Long, thick, and pitch-black all over.

Its body lay hidden deep in the sea of clouds, winding and coiling, its occasionally exposed scales reflecting the sunlight.

The entire conference room was so quiet they could have heard a pin drop.

A-Train was the first to break. "Fuck, how big is that damn thing?"

Even Translucent temporarily took his mind off the restroom and sucked in a breath. "Is that thing a snake?"

Starlight shook her head. "Even Titanoboa was only fifteen meters long. This thing is clearly much longer."

"Oh my God!" Ashley covered her mouth with a cry, her eyes wide.

The next second, Vought's satellite readings appeared on the big screen.

Unknown organism, estimated body length: 200+ meters, estimated body diameter: 15+ meters.

Homelander unconsciously rose to his feet, a gleam flashing in his azure eyes, growing brighter and brighter.

He suddenly felt a little anticipation.

The Deep huddled in a corner, his face bruised and swollen. Looking at the creature on the screen, he suddenly swallowed:

"Why does it remind me of a legend from that mysterious great nation in the East?"

Everyone turned to look at him.

For once, The Deep was serious. "It's a Jiaolong. In Eastern legends, these creatures can fly through the sky and dive into the sea."

A-Train instinctively wanted to argue, but couldn't find the words.

Through the sky and into the sea.

The sea was The Deep's territory. Maybe he really had seen a creature like that in the ocean.

Most importantly, the thing in the satellite image really did look far too much like one.

Its thick body appeared and disappeared in the sea of clouds. It had no wings, yet it could soar freely.

Even its movements were unlike a snake's. It looked more like it was swimming through the sky.

Starlight stared at the screen and said quietly, "I watched some documentaries about Eastern mythology when I was little. If we're just going by its outline, it really does look a bit like one."

The Deep immediately perked up. "Right! I told you it was a Jiaolong!"

Starlight rolled her eyes. She had no fondness for The Deep whatsoever now.

"Wait a second," Translucent asked in confusion. "Have you ever seen one of these so-called Jiaolong in the ocean?"

Silence fell for a moment as everyone waited for The Deep's answer.

The Deep was still smiling. "Uh, no. The fish in the ocean have never told me about one."

As though sensing everyone's speechless stares, he added, "It is a legend, after all."

His laughter grew a little awkward.

Stormfront, however, looked at The Deep and smiled with interest.

Maeve frowned. "There's no point discussing what it is."

She pointed at the screen. "That thing is about to hit the plane. Every passenger will die."

The airliner high in the sky knew nothing of this and continued along its designated route, the lives of hundreds of passengers rapidly approaching danger.

The corners of Homelander's mouth slowly curled into a smile. His gaze stayed on the churning clouds, watching that enormous creature.

Something truly worth his effort had finally appeared.

Homelander raised a hand to stop the discussion. "I'll go bring it down."

Just then, the conference room doors suddenly opened.

Click, click, click.

The sound of high heels striking the floor rang out as Madelyn walked in.

Her expression was unusually grave. "Homelander."

Without wasting a word, she went straight to the point. "We just received a call from the White House. They've noticed this too."

"Military radar has also locked onto the target, but that thing is over the city. They can't use conventional weapons."

"If The Seven can resolve this crisis first, we can leverage public opinion. No one will be able to stop us from joining the national defense system."

A-Train's breathing immediately quickened. Translucent's eyes widened, and even Maeve froze for a moment.

Because they all knew what that meant.

Vought would possess genuine state power. This was what Edgar had always dreamed of.

Homelander merely watched Madelyn quietly. In the past, he would have rushed out without hesitation upon hearing something like that, because it was what Vought wanted him to do.

But now, his gaze first fell on the airliner before turning back to the churning sea of clouds.

Soldier Boy would be very happy if he heard I'd saved these people.

Homelander weighed things up inwardly and slowly spoke. "How many people are on the plane?"

Ashley immediately answered, "123 passengers."

"Got it." Homelander nodded.

Madelyn paused slightly. This response had clearly exceeded her expectations. "Maeve, go with Homelander."

Homelander had already begun rolling his shoulders, while Maeve rose straight to her feet with a slight smile.

A little over ten seconds later, Homelander wrapped an arm around Maeve's waist, and the two figures shot into the sky.

Watching them, Madelyn's heart pounded. Edgar's words still rang in her ears.

"Madelyn, the initial phase of my plan has begun."

"In a little while, find any excuse to send Homelander to deal with the thing in the sky."

Only two cold commands.

Without Homelander's support, Madelyn no longer even had the right to ask questions in Edgar's presence.

She had no way back. She didn't know what Edgar's plan was, but she could only pin her hopes on it.

She hoped Soldier Boy would die in this plan.

Elsewhere, in one of Vought's top-secret laboratories, far from the city.

Edgar held a cup of coffee while the research director beside him reported quietly, "The V Plan test subject's condition is stable."

"Homelander is approaching the test subject. Estimated time until contact range: one minute."

Edgar's eyes remained impassive. "Begin recording."

The research director nodded.

Edgar looked at the satellite screen. The red dots representing Homelander and Maeve were approaching the clouds at an astonishing speed.

"You really used that thing?"

An older man with graying hair walked into the laboratory.

Dr. Vogelbaum, Vought's chief scientist and the developer of Compound V.

Edgar turned unhurriedly. "Only Scarlet First-Generation V has any chance of hurting Soldier Boy."

Dr. Vogelbaum's face was conflicted. "You know this will kill a lot of people. Stop."

Edgar said nothing. He merely picked up several sheets of documents from a nearby table and tossed them onto the floor.

Vogelbaum pressed his lips together helplessly, crouched down, and picked them up one by one.

As he read their contents, his hands gradually began to shake.

His family's movements over the past seven days were all recorded in these documents, even down to how many times they used the bathroom each day.

Several photographs were attached to the documents. They had been taken inside his home, and Vogelbaum had noticed nothing at all.

Edgar looked down at him and held out a hand.

Every wrinkle on his aged face conveyed composure.

The more composed he was, the more frightened Vogelbaum became. In Edgar's eyes, his family were not lives.

They were merely tools to threaten him with.

Vogelbaum closed his eyes in anguish. Creating Homelander had left him wracked with guilt to this day, and now he was about to step into another human tragedy.

Smack.

The two hands clasped together.

Vogelbaum gave in. In a hoarse voice, he asked, "How many milliliters of Red V did you use?"