It was already 9:40 when Chen Mo arrived back at the Vought building, twenty minutes before the meeting.
The elevator doors opened, he stepped inside, and pressed the button for the 51st floor.
Just as the doors were about to close, a hand reached in through the gap.
Wearing silver-gray goggles, with thick, knobby fingers.
The doors sprang open, and A-Train walked in.
He was wearing a blue and silver tight-fitting athletic suit, with his goggles pushed up onto his forehead, revealing a young Black face.
Clearly, he had just returned from somewhere outside; as for where, heaven only knew.
His speed allowed him to be anywhere on Earth within a day.
“Hey, morning, A-Train.” Unlike Translucent, who was a close confidant of Homelander, he and A-Train were both bottom-tier, so they got along pretty well.
There used to be a Lamplighter, too.
“Morning, The Deep.
I guess you just came out of the ocean,” A-Train said, noticing the water stains on Chen Mo’s clothes.
“Yeah, I went for a swim.
You know, the ocean is pretty comfortable this time of year,” Chen Mo shrugged.
“Where are you coming back from?” Chen Mo paused and asked again.
If he remembered correctly, during this period, A-Train had been acting as a runner for Vought, giving him access to large amounts of Compound V.
“Ran a trip to the West Coast,” A-Train spread his hands.
“You know how it is.” Chen Mo didn’t press further.
It really was Compound V.
The elevator stopped at the 51st floor.
The two walked out, one after the other.
The air conditioning in the conference room was even colder than in the elevator.
Homelander was already standing in front of the glass curtain wall, looking down at the pedestrians below, who were the size of ants.
Seven seats were arranged in order around an oval table, with Homelander’s by the glass curtain wall.
The first on the right was Translucent, who was carefully reading through several reports.
The second on the right was The Deep’s.
Chen Mo walked over there, sat down, and turned to look to his side.
At the very end on the right was Black Noir, who was resting his face in his hand, lost in thought.
He glanced across to the opposite side: On the left were Queen Maeve, A-Train, and Starlight.
She hadn’t arrived yet, and her seat was empty.
As long as Homelander didn’t speak first, no one else would make a sound, because that would usurp his authority as leader.
Chen Mo simply continued to practice his Telekinesis, focusing his attention on his heart.
Seventy-two beats per minute; perfectly normal.
At least it wasn’t racing like it was yesterday when he met Homelander.
“Ding.” The elevator doors opened.
It was Starlight.
“Hello, Starlight.
I didn’t expect you to be late for your first meeting.” Homelander hadn’t even turned around yet, but his super-senses had already identified the newcomer.
He turned to look at Starlight.
“Sorry, Captain, I…” Starlight felt Homelander’s pressure.
“Call me Homelander from now on,” he said while sitting down on his exclusive throne.
“Maybe the new recruit is under too much pressure.
Perhaps she stayed up late last night because she was excited,” Chen Mo said to smooth things over.
He wanted to look out for the new recruit.
Starlight, who had reached her seat, looked at Chen Mo, a ring of light glowing in her eyes, and said through gritted teeth, “Don’t worry, I’m fine.
And I’m right here, I’m not going anywhere, and nothing will happen in the future either.” Chen Mo rubbed his nose and grimaced.
It seemed the young lady was still holding a grudge about last night.
“Can we start the meeting?
I have a very serious crime here,” Translucent interrupted their conversation.
Compared to the others, he cared more about his own money.
“These filthy, despicable bastards released a pirated version of my movie only three weeks after it premiered.” “And on Fifth Avenue, there are pirated Homelander T-shirts everywhere.
This is basically stealing money out of our pockets.
Each of us is entitled to 4%.” At this, Translucent became somewhat agitated, wishing he could snap those people’s necks.
“What?
You guys each get 4%?” A-Train expressed his disbelief; he had never received these dividends.
“Maybe it’s even higher,” Queen Maeve said, stirring up trouble as she sipped her coffee, enjoying the spectacle.
“Hey, everyone, don’t be like that.
There’s no need for us to argue over this pocket change,” Homelander had to clean up Translucent’s mess; only he could suppress everyone’s dissatisfaction.
“I hope we’ll be here to discuss how many people we’ve saved this week, okay?” At this point, Chen Mo remembered that The Deep was supposed to raise his hand in agreement like a student trying to please a teacher.
That look was just something else.
But now it was Chen Mo sitting here, and he didn’t want to be a sycophant, especially since Homelander hated that kind of thing the most.
Starting from today, he was going to change his image and show everyone a different The Deep.
Of course, everything had to be done slowly.
After the meeting, everyone returned to their own lives; when there were no missions, everyone was busy with their own affairs.
As for Chen Mo, he prepared to go find Madelyn Stillwell to find an excuse for his frequent future disappearances.
He asked her secretary.
Madelyn Stillwell was on the 80th floor, in her other office.
Chen Mo stood in front of that dark wooden door.
On the right side of the doorframe was an embedded frosted glass panel with the words “M.
Stillwell” and “Senior Vice President” printed on it.
He knocked on the door, and a “Come in” came from inside.
Chen Mo pushed the door open and walked in.
Madelyn Stillwell was buttoning up her shirt, and if he wasn’t mistaken, she wasn’t wearing a bra underneath.
“Oh, are you feeding the baby?
Sorry to disturb you,” Chen Mo said, feeling a bit awkward.
He wasn’t quite used to the boldness of Westerners.
“No, I’m pumping.
I’ve been at it for thirty minutes, and I’ve got less than eight milliliters,” Madelyn Stillwell said, holding up the bottle in her hand.
…I’m not Homelander, your tricks don’t work on me, but he still had to say something.
“Actually, I think you’re amazing.
Deciding to have a child at this age is really great,” Chen Mo said while rocking the cradle nearby, inside which the baby was sleeping soundly.
“That’s very considerate of you to say,” Madelyn Stillwell said with a smile.
“So, what brings you to see me today, The Deep?” “I’d like to request an adjustment.” “What kind of adjustment?” Madelyn Stillwell signaled for him to continue.
“A schedule adjustment.” Chen Mo said the words he had prepared.
“I’ve found that training by the ocean is more effective than in Vought’s training room.
My abilities…
need water.
Real seawater, not the pool in the training room.” “You know, once I enter the ocean, my tracker stops working, so I wanted to notify you in advance.” Madelyn Stillwell looked at him, thought for a moment, and said, “A reasonable enough excuse.
How long do you need?” “Whenever I don’t have work.” Madelyn Stillwell frowned slightly and stood up.
“The Deep, you have to realize that you are a Vought superhero, not a lone wolf.
Vought International needs you.” “Yeah, I know, ma’am.
Vought raised me, how could I ever abandon them?” Chen Mo said quickly; he had to show his loyalty at this moment.
“Do you remember how you used to contact me remotely in the ocean?
Just place a large orange sphere at the pier.
The schools of fish will recognize the color and notify me, and I will return to Vought as soon as possible to follow your arrangements.
I promise!” Chen Mo knew he had to convince Madelyn Stillwell; this was the most important part of his plan.
If he couldn’t reasonably disappear for a period of time every day, then many things couldn’t be carried out at all.
Madelyn Stillwell twirled a pen in her hand, pondering The Deep’s words.
Chen Mo stood there, his hands hanging at his sides, like a docile and obedient student listening to his teacher’s arrangements.
“Half an hour,” Madelyn Stillwell said.
“What?” “After placing the beacon, you have to be back at Vought within half an hour.
After all, you are a member of The Seven, and Vought can’t do without you.” Madelyn Stillwell, that old fox, was using her tactics again.
She looked at Chen Mo with eyes full of trust.
She had a method for everyone.
“Okay, no problem.
I will definitely follow your arrangements, ma’am.” Who couldn’t act?
Chen Mo looked at Madelyn Stillwell with an expression that said, “Only you understand me, and I’m willing to go through fire and water for you.” “Good,” Madelyn Stillwell was very satisfied with her results.
“If there’s nothing else, you can leave now.
I’ll have my secretary add this to your schedule.” “Okay, ma’am.
If you have any instructions, I will definitely carry them out,” Chen Mo said, slowly backing out of the office, afraid that this woman might change her mind.