The Deep stood up from his fire-themed office chair, walked over to Starlight, and knelt down to help pull her jeans back up.
Starlight stared blankly at the man who had preserved her last shred of dignity, tears inexplicably welling up in her eyes.
She clearly hated him so much, yet she was crying over this sudden display of tenderness.
Madelyn watched The Deep with a playful, half-amused, half-annoyed look.
“The Deep, you’re not playing for keeps, are you?”
*You piece of shit, promiscuous beast, filthy merman.
I don’t want to hear the word “love” coming out of your fishy mouth.*
Just as Homelander represented volatile unpredictability, the stereotype of The Deep was deeply etched into the minds of every Vought executive.
He was nothing but a piece of useless trash, a failure who could never make anything of himself.
The common people held the Supes in awe, loved them, and treated them like gods.
But only the Vought executives who actually worked with them knew what these people really were.
Just like Hollywood stars, they were nothing but cash cows for those in power.
And as tools, they needed to act like tools.
Madelyn looked at The Deep with great interest, wanting to see what kind of nonsense would come out of his smelly fish mouth.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t mind settling both of them at once.
The Deep looked at the woman in front of him.
She was tall, with long hair cascading over her shoulders, possessing the rich, ripe allure of a mature woman.
The bloom of Western women was indeed short; one moment they were cute young girls, and the next they had entered the world of mature women.
But their bloom was also long enough.
At least in the category of mature women, elite white women certainly had a unique, captivating appeal.
With a polite smile, The Deep said to Madelyn, “Madelyn, I think making Starlight please her fans with a sexualized body is a complete waste of her potential.”
A smirk played on Madelyn’s lips.
She tossed the supersuit back to a timid Ashley behind her and crossed her arms.
Her cleavage practically spilled out, the buttons of her white shirt under far more pressure than they were ever meant to bear.
“The Deep, do you think I care what you think?”
These words didn’t make The Deep flinch, but they stung Starlight, who was standing behind him.
It turned out that even a veteran like The Deep was nothing more than an object of casual humiliation in Madelyn’s eyes.
This made Starlight feel like her future was bleaker than ever.
The Deep, however, was indifferent to Madelyn’s mockery.
Respect wasn’t given; it was earned.
Useless people didn’t deserve dignity.
This direct confrontation with Madelyn was his first step toward reclaiming his voice.
“Madelyn, you can reject my advice, but you can’t doubt the eye of a seasoned pervert.
In the eyes of men like us, if we just want to see skin, there are countless websites to choose from.
On the contrary, the more tightly wrapped a woman is, the more we want to tear away that ‘disguise.’ We would throw endless amounts of cash into that bottomless pit just for a chance.”
The Deep made a gesture of rolling up cash and stuffing it.
That crude, vulgar gesture instantly made Starlight roll her eyes.
*This despicable, shameless, vulgar, filthy pervert.*
The tiny shred of goodwill Starlight had just developed for The Deep was instantly shattered by his own hands.
Yet, Madelyn’s arched eyebrows twitched upward, a hint of delight appearing on her face.
She looked at The Deep with newfound respect.
“Go on, The Deep.”
“Madelyn, I once heard a line from a Chinese song: ‘The unobtainable is always desired.’ What we can’t have is always the most beautiful.”
The Deep’s words seemed to peel away Madelyn’s armor, gently plucking at her heartstrings.
“Who is Starlight?
She’s America’s sweetheart, a devout Christian.
In the eyes of the public, she’s as pure as a saint.” The Deep snatched the supersuit from Ashley’s hands.
He tore the revealing, skimpy strip of fabric—which had a tight crotch design akin to a gymnastics leotard—to shreds.
He smiled faintly.
“And purity should look pure.
Only then does it trigger the desire to corrupt it.”
*Clap!
Clap, clap!*
Madelyn couldn’t help but applaud The Deep, a trace of appreciation appearing on her face for the first time.
“Very good, The Deep.
I’m surprised you have such high insight.”
The Deep said modestly, “It’s just a bit of practical experience.”
“Is that so?” Madelyn’s gaze drifted downward for a brief second, and she smiled.
“I accept your suggestion.
Starlight’s suit shouldn’t be so revealing.
Ashley…”
“Yes, Ms.
Madelyn.”
“Redesign Starlight’s suit.
Aside from her face, I don’t want a single inch of her skin showing.
Turn her into Vought’s angel, Ashley.”
After personally seeing Madelyn and Ashley out, The Deep closed the office door.
Only then did Starlight dare to let out a long, heavy breath.
Her black hoodie rose and fell with her chest.
Right after that came the blatant, unshielded gaze of the smelly fish.
Starlight rolled her eyes, but she also felt a sense of pride.
Looking at the man, she reluctantly mumbled, “Thank you.”
“What?”
Starlight glared at The Deep.
She pursed her lips and finally said, “The Deep, I thank you for what you did today.
But I still won’t forgive you for the monstrous thing you did to me.
In my eyes, you’re still a beast.”
One thing was one thing.
Starlight felt she was being very clear about her boundaries.
The Deep smiled and followed her lead.
“As you can see, everything I did today was to make up for my impulsive behavior yesterday.”
At the mention of what happened last night, Starlight’s eyes involuntarily began to glow.
Her entire body trembled slightly.
“You bastard!
Do you know how important chastity is to a Christian girl?”
“I know.
That’s why the priests shine their holy light on little boys.”
*WTF?*
The energy crackled in Starlight’s palms.
If she weren’t in her own office, and if The Deep hadn’t just saved her from a disaster…
Seeing the light gathering in her hands, The Deep immediately admitted he had crossed the line.
Looking at this beast who was quick to apologize but never changed, Starlight gritted her teeth.
“The Deep, if you ever dare defile my faith again, I will…
I will…”
“Not defile your faith, but defile…”
A flash of light erupted as if a hundred incandescent bulbs had turned on at once.
The tangible blast of energy sent The Deep flying.
“Pah!
Pah!”
The Deep rose miserably from the wreckage.
The office desk, chair, and an entire bookshelf had been reduced to ruins.
Yet he grinned.
“Well, look at that.
We have to remodel now, whether we want to or not.”
Starlight was utterly speechless.
This man’s skin was thicker than a politician’s.
Dusting himself off, The Deep showed no anger.
He walked up to Starlight and brought up the subject again.
“Starlight, I know it’s insignificant, but I still want to say I’m sorry for yesterday.”
The girl’s heartstrings tugged.
Afraid to look into his sincere eyes lest she pathetically soften and forgive him, Starlight immediately turned her head away and said bitterly, “The Deep, do you think saying sorry makes up for a crime?”
“I know it can’t make up for the harm you suffered.
But the cause of this actually isn’t me…
it’s you.”
The Deep pointed his index finger at Starlight.
Victim-blaming?
Starlight whipped her head back, her eyes filling with resentment as they began to glow gold.
“What did I do wrong?”
“You’re too beautiful!” The Deep said with an exaggerated expression.
“Your angelic face makes me want to possess you completely.”
Starlight had never expected him to use such beautiful words to praise her looks.
Her mind went blank, the golden glow in her eyes faded, and she stood there dazed, looking like a little rabbit munching on a carrot.
The Deep continued, “I couldn’t control my desires.
You are so beautiful.
The moment I saw you, you reminded me of my first love.
She was my classmate.
She had soft, long blonde hair just like you.
Back then, to get her attention, I always pulled her hair on purpose, and she would turn around and call me a bastard.
She always had an angelic smile for everyone else, but she only got angry at me.
You see, she treated me differently from others.
She loved me.”
As The Deep told the story with such vivid emotion, Starlight could actually picture the helplessness of his so-called first love.
So even as a kid, The Deep had been so dense about relationships.
Pulling a girl’s hair to get her attention wouldn’t make her like him; it would only make her despise him more.
And now, as an adult, he was using that same juvenile tactic to get her attention.
*It’s understandable…
Bah!
Understandable my ass!*
Starlight felt a sudden wave of fear—fear that her hatred for him was slowly slipping away.
When she looked up, she realized he was already standing right in front of her.
*Thud.*
The girl was pinned firmly against the office door by the man.
Inhaling the scent of her hair, The Deep said affectionately, “Starlight.
I’ve already lost her once.
I don’t want to lose you too.”
The girl’s panic reached its peak.
“I…
I’m not…
Mm!”
Her small fists pounded on his chest, but her lips parted involuntarily, allowing him to do as he pleased, making her feel as if she were drifting across the seven seas.
Only when Starlight was practically gasping for air did he finally release her.
Kissing her flushed earlobe, he whispered tenderly, “Starlight, give me a chance, okay?”
Starlight gasped for air, but when she felt his hand moving, she suddenly snapped back to reality.
She pushed him away violently and opened the office door.
“The Deep, I already have a boyfriend.
Please leave.”
The Deep wanted to say more, but Starlight didn’t dare listen to another word.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to; she simply didn’t dare.
This man was like a demon whispering sweet temptations in her ear, trying to drag her down to the depths of hell to dance with Satan.
In a scramble, she shoved him out of the office and slammed the door shut with a loud *bang*.
Thrown out of the room, The Deep didn’t feel discouraged at all.
Instead, a triumphant smile played on his lips.
*Gotta love that Western savior complex and forgiving nature.*
*No matter how terrible the crime, as long as I repent, all is forgiven, right?*
The Deep had no actual intention of dating Starlight.
The reason he put so much effort into her was twofold.
First, it was to prevent her from snapping in the future and exposing last night’s events to the media, which would completely destroy his reputation.
Second, just like with A-Train, she was his first chess piece to deal with The Boys.
Directly dealing with either Homelander or The Boys was far too dangerous.
One wrong move, and his lights would be snuffed out.
A-Train and Starlight were the links connecting him to both Homelander and The Boys.
Through them, he could gather intelligence and manipulate them to relay his ideas to Homelander and Butcher.
There was an old Chinese saying: *When the snipe and the clam grapple, the fisherman wins the prize.*
*I tell you guys to read the Art of War, and you act like I’m trying to hurt you.*
His phone rang.
He swiped to answer.
A-Train’s excited voice came through the speaker: “Bro, you’re literally Martin Luther King!
That wimp actually called me on his own initiative and said he’s willing to settle.”