Could Soldier Boy Handle It?

The office was as bright as if a small sun had appeared inside.

Starlight stopped in the end. The intense light lasted less than a second; she did not dare actually blind a Vought executive.

Madelyn covered her eyes and wailed.

Roger was worse off, clutching his face and rolling on the floor in pain, tears and snot streaming down together.

The entire office was a mess.

Starlight's chest heaved, traces of light still lingering in her palms, but she ultimately did not strike again.

She could not kill without batting an eye like Soldier Boy. Even her attack just now had only come from a moment of anger.

Anger at being bullied over and over, anger at Vought's filth, anger at having her dignity trampled on. Most importantly, Starlight felt that her ideals had been scorned.

First The Deep, then Madelyn. Both of them seemed to mock the very identity of Superheroes.

Why was her original wish to simply save people betrayed time and again?

It took Madelyn more than ten seconds to recover a little of her vision. Her first reaction was not anger, but shock.

I'm a vice president of Vought!

Whether it's Maeve or A-Train, they're all afraid I won't renew their contracts. They don't want to lose their fame, wealth, and status.

What gave this Starlight the right to attack me? How dare she?

"My eyes! My eyes!!" Roger rolled on the floor.

Madelyn peered through her fingers. "Are you insane? Attacking me and an investor-do you know what this means?!"

"My eyes hurt so much!" Roger was still wailing.

Starlight looked coldly at Madelyn. "All I know is that you were just forcing me to sleep with that bald guy."

Roger screamed from the floor, "I'm blind! Call an ambulance!"

No one paid him any attention.

Madelyn's expression grew thunderous. "You're finished. Do you know how many media resources Vought has? If I want, the United States will know tomorrow that you attacked a company executive."

"You'll be kicked out of The Seven. You'll go from a superhero to someone everyone despises. Your mother, Donna, will be ashamed of you."

Starlight scoffed and turned to leave, but her steps faltered when she heard Donna's name.

Her mother, the person she had always relied on and respected. Starlight becoming a superhero had also been Donna's decades-long dream.

Starlight suddenly gave a mocking smile. With her back to Madelyn, she remained silent for several seconds, then said without turning around:

"Madelyn, you know, I used to respect you. I thought you were a successful woman."

"Now I realize you're just a madam in a suit."

With a bang, the office door slammed shut.

Roger was still clutching his eyes and screaming. "Madelyn, fuck you! Are you deaf? Call an ambulance!"

Madelyn stood there, seeing double no matter what she looked at, her eyes hurting like hell, but her anger overwhelmed all of it.

She had never expected things to turn out like this, for a newcomer who had only just joined The Seven to dare speak to her that way.

Madelyn slowly clenched her fists and turned her head. "Roger, Vought has a medical team on the fifty-ninth floor. Come with me."

Snot smeared all over his face, Roger tentatively opened his eyes. Finding that he could not see anything clearly nearly scared him to death.

"Madelyn, what the hell is in your head? I'm blind! Tell the medical team to come up!"

When Starlight reached the corner of the corridor, she stopped and glanced back, her thoughts in turmoil.

That was a vice president of Vought.

She regretted acting so impulsively a little, and Soldier Boy's face flashed through her mind.

Although Soldier Boy had said he would hold up the sky if it fell, this was no ordinary matter.

At best, it was an impulsive act. At worst, it was a supervillain going to great lengths to infiltrate Vought and attack its executives.

Ultimately, her confidence to strike had come from the responsibility Soldier Boy had shown he was willing to shoulder.

Could Soldier Boy handle this?

Starlight opened her phone's contacts and called Soldier Boy.

A minute later, the busy tone sounded. No one answered. She called again, but there was still no answer. By her third call, she had almost memorized the automated female voice's lines.

Starlight's brow furrowed deeper and deeper. What she did not know was that Soldier Boy had resolved the superhuman disturbance at the Fried Chicken Shop and was now absorbed in flying, crashing around everywhere like a human missile.

As for his phone, because it had been hacked, he had thought it was broken, found a random lake, and used it to skip across the water.

"Fuck," Starlight cursed under her breath.

After much hesitation, she decided to tell her mother what had happened today. In her mind, her mother might have a solution.

This call connected extremely quickly, after barely a single ring.

"Sweetheart, what made you think to call me? I saw you helping with the air disaster rescue on TV. You must have lots of advertisers looking to work with you now, right?"

Before Starlight could speak, Donna rattled on and on, words spilling out like beans from a sack.

Not a single sentence asked how she was doing in The Seven.

Starlight hung up in irritation and gave a self-mocking smile, feeling somewhat helpless.

This had to be dealt with immediately. Even a second's delay could bring earth-shattering changes.

The problem was that Soldier Boy was nowhere to be found. He might have no manners, but he seemed the most reliable. Who else could she turn to besides him?

Starlight covered her face in defeat and slid down the wall to sit on the floor.

The cold sensation was so sharp that it suddenly made her think of someone.

Homelander.

The name that should have come to mind first was precisely the one she had subconsciously overlooked. The fundamental reason was that she disliked Homelander deep down, and was even a little afraid of him for no apparent reason.

She always felt that something was not quite right with this captain.

Meanwhile, in Vought's publicity department.

Homelander faced the camera, brimming with passion.

"I wasn't thinking about anything at the time. I was just pushing my potential as far as I could to save every single person."

"But I want you to know that ordinary people's bodies can't withstand my Super Speed."

"But! Vought received the news several minutes later than the White House. That was the root cause of this tragedy! If the White House allowed superhumans into the government system, I think more people would have survived!"

By the end, his eyes had reddened, as though he truly regretted it.

Once the segment was finished, Ashley Barrett raised her hands. "Perfect! Sir, once this video goes out, we're sure to succeed!"

Without the camera keeping him in check, Homelander finally showed his true colors.

His expression of concern for the country and its people instantly turned to impatience:

"Fuck, why do I need these idiots' support just to join the National Defense System?"

As he spoke, he kicked the newly laid red carpet, instantly tearing a gash in it.

The staff member behind the scenes responsible for arranging the set gritted their teeth.

Ashley Barrett swallowed and said cautiously, "The mother and daughter who survived have been waiting a long time. Would you like to go film a heartwarming promotional video with them now?"

Homelander frowned.

Each of these trivial tasks was easy enough to complete on its own, but piled together, they easily became irritating.

Forget it. For the approval ratings.

"Take me there." Homelander waved impatiently.