The frenzy in the square ignited the entire United States via radio waves.
"Event of the Year!"
" Vought Heroes Team, the guardians of the new era!"
"Who is that pink-haired girl? She's so cool! I'm in love with her!"
Newspaper headlines were dominated by the footage, and television played a loop of slow-motion replays of Wei breaking a military knife with a single punch.
The "V" logo is deeply intertwined with the images of Starlight, the Guardian, and Vi, becoming a symbol of safety, hope, and... a new kind of violence.
Lynn looked at the report that the finance department had just submitted.
All of this is within the script.
Just then, that familiar notification sound rang in his mind.
[Breaking News Live Broadcast]
[Conditions: The villains attack a public place, the entire attack is broadcast live, and the hero saves civilians in front of the camera]
[Comment: A heroism bursting with realism is always the best advertising. You understand this perfectly, delivering a truly immersive experience to the audience.]
[Reward: One chance to draw]
Wow, what a pleasant surprise!
Lynn put down the report and leaned back in the soft executive chair.
This is what he truly expects: dividends from the system.
"Start extraction."
A virtual roulette wheel appeared before my eyes.
Countless powerful, eerie, sacred, and evil names swirl within it.
The pointer spun rapidly, finally coming to a slow stop amidst the frenzied, chaotic, and illogical atmosphere.
The roulette wheel disappeared.
A long silence fell over the office.
Lynn's composed demeanor was replaced by surprise.
The card floated silently in Lynn's consciousness.
The card depicts a figure from behind wearing a purple suit.
He tilted his head slightly, his pale skin contrasting eerily with his scarlet lips.
Beneath her emerald green hair were a pair of eyes that could see through all pretenses and gaze into the deepest madness of human nature.
Joker.
A name, yet it represents a kind of disorder.
His "assets" each have their own troubles.
The Soldier Boy's arrogance needed to be corrected with violence.
The Cheetah's wild nature is untamed and needs to be suppressed with a more advanced predatory instinct.
Hannibal's elegant cruelty needs to be guided by the reins of "art" and "food".
But the Joker is different.
He wasn't pursuing money, power, or even death.
What he enjoys is watching the edifice of civilization crumble under the tiny match he lit.
It is a piece of virus code that cannot be compiled. Once implanted, it will cause the entire system to crash completely in the most unpredictable way.
The current Vought Empire is like a precision instrument that has just been assembled and is operating at high speed.
Every gear and every part is still in the break-in period.
Throw the Joker in?
It would be a spectacular scene, but that's not what Lynn wants.
"An interesting variable."
Lynn snapped out of her thoughts.
"But it's not the right time yet."
He made a decision.
This card will become his deepest trump card.
This card will be quietly drawn from the bottom of the deck someday in the future.
What he needs now is order, a controllable market that can generate stable profits.
Time is the greatest filter.
It washes away memories, changes the landscape, and turns the idols of one generation into just a name in the textbooks of the next.
Over the years, no further "achievements" have been activated.
Lynn's empire entered a long period of silent expansion.
The Vought Tower, underground laboratory.
Soldier Boy, Human Torch, Vi, Hannibal, Ada Wong, Selene Kayle...
All of Lynn's non-undercover core "assets" are standing here.
They watched as the enhanced serum, gleaming with a ghostly blue light, was brought forward by the robotic arm.
"This is a blessing."
Dr. Horton's voice carried a religious fervor.
It will wash away the dust of mortal life from you, allowing your life form to reach perfection. Time will leave no trace on you.
The Soldier Boy stared at the vial of liquid with a complex expression.
He recalled the moment years ago when Lynn trampled his dignity underfoot.
Over the years, he remains a hero Center of Attention, and the Eternity tough guy on the Marlboro cigarette cover.
But only he himself knew that he was nothing more than a weapon that had been polished to a gleaming shine.
Now, the owner will plate this weapon.
He did not resist and was the first to step onto the injection table.
Wei is the last one.
She looked at the vial of serum and pursed her lips.
"Why make such a fuss? It's just a shot."
She lay down on it without a care in the world.
For her, never growing old means being able to fight for justice forever.
As for loyalty?
That man gave her a stage where she could throw punches to her heart's content, and that was enough.
Late 1980s.
On the streets of New York, a young man wearing a "V-Style" Flame series retro trench coat brushes past a punk youth wearing a jacket printed with the V-Style fist logo.
On the giant screen in Times Square, the latest war epic, " Fist of Freedom," starring Soldier Boy, is playing.
In the movie, he is all alone in a foreign jungle, using a star shield to destroy an evil military base.
The movie theater erupted in applause.
People have long forgotten the quagmire and suffering of that real war.
All I remember are the "correct memories" Vought wrote for them, the "correct memories" that guarantee victory for heroes.
The " Justice Trio " consisting of Starlight, Guardian, and Vi remains the most frequently seen superhero team.
Their daily routine involves appearing in various corners of the city under the "precise guidance" of the Vought Security Department.
Stop the "random" acts of destruction created by Dark Iron, Soundwave, Bloody Mary, and others.
Dark Iron has already "escaped" twelve times.
Each time, he would cause millions of dollars in property damage in Manhattan, only to be "hard-won" subdued by the combined efforts of the Guardian and Vie.
People hated this invulnerable monster, yet secretly longed for his next appearance.
Because that means they'll get to see another spectacular live hero show.
In Lynn's office.
Motoko Kusanagi is reporting on a brand new plan.
"Boss, according to Dr. Horton's latest report, the production line for Compound V is ready for mass production. We have selected Washington, D. C., Chicago, and Los Angeles as the first pilot cities for the super-powered communities."
"We will create a new batch of Metahuman in these cities, each with unique abilities and not under our direct control, through accidental leaks and random awakenings."
Lynn looked at the three marked cities on the holographic map.
"Very good."
Selling heroes and villains only in New York would be too small a market.
He wanted to show the entire United States, and even the world, the "threat" and "value" of Metahuman.
When monsters are no longer unique to New York, when your neighbors, your colleagues, might one day suddenly breathe fire or possess superhuman strength...
Only then will people willingly entrust their safety, their future, and even their wallets to the only company that can "manage" and "define" heroes.
The old script has been played out for far too long.
It's time to introduce a completely new book to this world.