In a conference room at Vought Tower, Chen Mo had a blanket draped over his shoulders and forced a weak smile onto his face, slumped in his chair.
The Deep sat beside him, holding a cup of coffee and sneaking a glance at him every so often.
Translucent leaned against the glass wall, his face invisible, but Emotion Sensing showed a bright yellow cluster of gloating.
Maeve was the last to arrive.
She pushed the door open, glanced at the visibly weak Chen Mo, and twitched her lips.
"Still alive?"
Chen Mo looked up.
"What, disappointed?"
Maeve raised an eyebrow.
"You can still talk tough. Guess you weren't hurt badly enough."
The Deep gave a couple of awkward chuckles.
"We're all teammates here. Don't be like that. A-Train just had a brush with death. A monster that terrifying might have left him traumatized."
Translucent snorted.
"Traumatized? Did he run so fast the wind hurt him?"
Chen Mo took a strategic sip of water.
Good grief.
Was this really a superhero team?
It was more like a girls' dorm, the kind where they'd fight over a place in the bathroom line.
The conference room door opened again.
Homelander walked in.
The room fell silent at once.
The Deep put down his coffee cup and sat up straight.
Translucent quieted down too.
Maeve put on a serious expression.
Homelander was pleased with that.
"Now that's more like superheroes."
He took his place at the head of the table, wearing the sunny smile he always had on television.
"Guys, something very bad happened last night."
Vought's head of public relations stood beside him and promptly switched on the screen.
An aerial image of the ruined club appeared.
A charred estate, a collapsed hall, broken glass covering the ground, and a mansion torn to pieces.
The Deep swallowed as he looked at it.
"What kind of monster did this?"
Chen Mo looked at the screen and wanted to applaud himself.
The set, the marks, that post-production special-effects look-it's good enough to win an Oscar.
The head of public relations went on. "The company will classify this incident as an attack by an extremist criminal organization. After the attack, A-Train successfully brought back vital intelligence and helped the police secure the scene to prevent innocent people from getting hurt."
Translucent laughed.
"Helped? That's a very generous way to put it."
Homelander turned to look at him.
Translucent shut up at once.
Chen Mo clicked his tongue inwardly.
Homelander really is something. He's got these people trained like dogs.
Maeve folded her arms.
"The question now is, where's the monster?"
The head of public relations looked troubled.
"We haven't found it yet. The underground level was severely damaged, and some of the drugs and experimental data were lost."
The smile faded from Homelander's face.
"So we can only tell the public that the Seven don't know much about this yet?"
The head of security broke out in a sweat.
"We're investigating."
"Investigating?"
Homelander repeated softly.
The head of security turned even paler.
Chen Mo kept his head down, delighted.
Yes, just like that~
The more chaos, the better.
The head of public relations hurried to change the subject.
"One more thing. The company has decided to announce a new member of the Seven in a few days."
The Deep's eyes lit up.
"A new member?"
Maeve frowned.
"Who?"
The screen changed.
A blonde girl stood on a stage, wearing a wholesome smile and a fresh-looking costume, her palms glowing faintly.
Starlight.
Chen Mo's eyelid twitched.
The plot is finally starting.
Starlight is about to join the team, Hughie's girlfriend gets killed by A-Train, and Hughie joins the Boys.
But the problem is, I've already eaten A-Train.
So what reason does Hughie have to join the Boys now?
The Deep stared at the screen, his gaze turning lecherous.
"She looks so innocent."
Maeve glanced at the Deep, looking even more disgusted.
"You'd better keep your mouth shut."
Homelander smiled.
"Starlight will be an excellent addition. This is a good thing for the Seven."
The head of public relations looked at Chen Mo.
"A-Train, you'll be cutting back on public appearances for the next few days. We'll present last night's attack as you being heroically injured and needing time to recover."
Chen Mo looked up, showing some dissatisfaction.
"Cut back on appearances? What about my endorsement deals?"
The head of public relations hurried to reassure him.
"Don't worry, A-Train, your endorsement deals won't be affected. On the contrary, the image of a wounded hero will be more compelling, and your endorsement fees will go up a little."
Chen Mo fell silent for half a second.
"So I'll make more money just lying around?"
The Deep's expression stiffened.
A low chuckle came from Translucent.
The head of public relations' lips twitched.
"Yes, you could put it that way."
Chen Mo leaned back in his chair.
"Then I have no objections."
Homelander glanced at him.
In Emotion Sensing, that cold cluster of displeasure appeared again.
Chen Mo immediately added, "Of course, if the company needs me to track down the monster, I'm ready to go at any time."
Only then did Homelander's emotions settle down a little.
"Good, A-Train. That's what being one of the Seven is about."
After the meeting, everyone left one after another.
The Deep leaned in and lowered his voice.
"Bro, did you really fight that monster? How strong is it?"
Chen Mo looked at him.
"Stronger than you."
The Deep's expression froze awkwardly.
"No kidding. My home turf is the sea."
Chen Mo patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't worry. Next time I see it, I'll suggest it jump into the sea before eating you."
The Deep stopped smiling.
As Maeve passed by, she glanced at Chen Mo. Her emotions were complicated, with little suspicion and more of a sense of exhaustion.
"Lay off the drugs, A-Train. You look even more abnormal than before."
Chen Mo grinned.
"Thanks for your concern."
Maeve rolled her eyes.
"I'm not concerned about you. I'm afraid you'll drop dead at a press conference one day and make the rest of us work overtime."
Chen Mo watched her leave.
She's one of the few people in the Seven who still acts human.
Translucent was the last to come over. Chen Mo couldn't see him, but his footsteps stopped in front of him.
"I keep feeling like there's something off about you today."
Chen Mo looked up.
"What are you trying to say?"
The colors of Translucent's emotions flickered.
Probing, amusement, and a hint of mischievous excitement.
"Nothing. I just think you got pretty badly scared."
Chen Mo smiled.
"If you want to find out, you can take me on."
Translucent fell silent for two seconds.
"Forget it. You'd better keep resting."
The footsteps receded.
Chen Mo looked down at his palm.
Blacklight moved stealthily beneath his skin.
Translucent's ability was very tempting.
Transparent skin, diamond hardness, and the ability to infiltrate.
But there wasn't much chance for now.
He still had to play it safe.
Chen Mo changed into A-Train's regular clothes and left the medical floor.
Along the way, Vought employees stepped aside for him when they saw him.
Some expressed concern, some sucked up to him, and some sneaked glances at him.
Emotion Sensing laid all of it out before him.
Fear, admiration, jealousy, disgust.
The building was as dazzling as a palace, but the people inside were each worse than the last.
Chen Mo entered his private elevator and pressed the button for the parking level.
First, he would leave Vought Tower and go back to check on Allen and Mia.
At the very least, he had to make sure the little girl hadn't torn Allen's house apart.
The elevator doors had just opened when Homelander's voice came out of nowhere behind him.
"A-Train."
Chen Mo stopped in his tracks.
Homelander stood at the end of the corridor and walked toward him with a smile.
"Come have a quick chat with me."
The employees nearby immediately lowered their heads and went around them.
Chen Mo clicked his tongue inwardly.
This guy really has too much time on his hands.
On the surface, Chen Mo stopped at once.
"Of course, Captain."
Homelander walked up to him, his gaze sweeping over his face.
"The last batch of goods has all been dealt with, right?"
"Yes."
"All right, put that on hold for now. You said last night that the monster eats people?"
"Yes, Captain."
"It ate those superhumans?"
"I saw it with my own eyes."
Homelander was silent for a few seconds. Then his smile suddenly grew brighter.
"Interesting."
Chen Mo felt a slight tightening in his chest.
Homelander wasn't afraid.
He was excited.
Like a child hearing that a new toy had arrived at the toy store.
"If you see it again, notify me immediately."
Homelander reached out and gently straightened Chen Mo's collar.
"Don't go running off on your own again."
Chen Mo suppressed his instinctive urge to fight and said quietly, "Understood."
Homelander left, satisfied.
Chen Mo walked into the elevator. The instant the doors closed, the corners of his mouth slowly curled upward.
Want to see the monster?
You'll get your chance.
But not yet.
Half an hour later, Chen Mo changed his face to that of an ordinary white man and left through Vought's employee entrance.
His black skin receded, his battle suit withdrew, and Blacklight stripped away his tracking chip.
People came and went along the street.
Chen Mo was just about to return to Allen's house when his feet suddenly rooted to the spot.
Over by the intersection, a young couple were pressed together, kissing.
The boy wore glasses and had a youthful, awkward expression. He didn't even know where to put his hands.
The girl smiled sweetly, rose onto her toes, and gave him a kiss.
Hughie.
And his girlfriend, Robin.
Chen Mo narrowed his eyes.
In the original plot, A-Train would slam into Robin here, turning her into a cloud of bloody mist.
Now A-Train was in his stomach.
Would that tragedy still happen?
A car turned the corner in the distance, moving at a good speed as the driver looked down at his phone.
Chen Mo sighed and walked over.
"Hey, man."
Hughie jumped and quickly let go of his girlfriend.
"Huh? What is it?"
Chen Mo pointed toward the curb.
"You can kiss, but don't stand so close to the edge. Watch out for cars."
Hughie froze for a moment, then hurriedly pulled Robin back.
The car tore past, skimming the curb. The driver even stuck his head out and yelled a curse at them.
Robin's face went pale.
"Oh my god, thank you."
Hughie realized what had happened too and nodded repeatedly.
"Thank you, really. Wait, you look so familiar."
Chen Mo put on A-Train's celebrity smile and discreetly adjusted his disguise back a little.
Hughie's eyes went wide.
"Oh my god!!! You're A-Train?!"
Robin covered her mouth too.
Chen Mo held up a finger.
"Keep it down. I'm on vacation."
Hughie was so excited that his hands shook.
"Can I get a picture with you?! I love you! I'm a huge fan!!"
Chen Mo looked at the face that A-Train should have kicked into the abyss and smiled.
"Of course."
Hughie raised his phone.
Click.
The photo captured the moment.
In the picture, Hughie was grinning like an idiot, Robin was leaning against him, and Chen Mo stood behind them, giving a thoroughly halfhearted thumbs-up.
After the photo, Chen Mo patted Hughie on the shoulder.
"Stay alive, man."
Hughie blinked.
"What?"
Chen Mo had already turned to leave.
"Nothing. Enjoy your date."
Behind him, Hughie was still excitedly showing Robin the photo.
Chen Mo turned the corner, and the smile slowly faded from his face.
A-Train hadn't hit anyone.
Hughie hadn't lost his girlfriend.
Although he wouldn't get to sleep with Starlight, he wouldn't have to get involved in all this crap either.
As for the plot.
"Forget it."
Chen Mo looked up at Vought Tower in the distance.
"It's just a plot. Watch me push it back on track."