The surveillance camera had been burned into a charred black hole, wisps of blue smoke rising from it.
A pungent, burnt odor permeated the air.
Meanwhile, in the secret monitoring room on the top floor of Vought Tower, a dead silence erupted into sheer panic.
“Signal lost! Both video and audio from Consultation Room Three have completely cut out!”
“Homelander’s emotional index just hit an all-time high!”
“What did he do? What did he do to that doctor?”
Ashley’s face was as pale as paper.
She clutched the communicator, her knuckles white with strain, screaming into it frantically, “Homelander? John? Please respond if you hear me! Report your status!”
The only response from the communicator was cold static.
They had completely lost control of the room.
Now, everything happening inside that room had become an unobservable black box.
Inside the consultation room, the atmosphere was a hundred times more perilous than before.
Without surveillance, it meant Homelander could do whatever he wanted without leaving any evidence behind.
Lynn’s heart pounded violently in his chest, but he forced himself to maintain an exterior of absolute calm.
Homelander slowly withdrew his gaze.
The terrifying red glow in his blue eyes had faded, returning to normal.
He walked over to Lynn step by step, taking his time.
He didn’t speak.
He merely looked down and studied Lynn, like a child inspecting a newly acquired, intricately structured toy.
“How did you know all this?”
After a long pause, Homelander finally asked.
His voice was very soft, yet carried an unquestionable gravity.
Lynn knew his answer had to be seamless.
He couldn’t say he had read the script.
He could only package his explanation in a logic Homelander would accept.
“I didn’t need to know. I only needed to observe,” Lynn said, meeting his gaze.
“Every single one of your actions tells a story.”
“You like looking down on people from a high vantage point, which shows you need to constantly reaffirm that you are superior to everyone. This is a compensatory behavior stemming from childhood insecurity.”
“You hate it when people hesitate in front of you, because it reminds you of being rejected and evaluated—taking you right back to that lab, waiting for the researchers to grade you.”
“You are always smiling, not because you are happy, but because you know that when you don’t smile, you look closer to the ‘monster’ you refuse to acknowledge.”
These words were half precise psychological analysis and half merciless provocation.
Homelander listened.
The expression on his face didn’t change, but Lynn could feel the suffocating pressure radiating from him growing stronger.
He didn’t like being seen through.
Yet, he couldn’t stop himself from wanting to hear more.
Right then, the cold prompt of the system echoed in Lynn’s mind once more.
[Novice quest completed.]
[Reward: Low-spec Heat Vision (Level 1) is being distributed…]
[Ability Description: Can release a weakened heat vision for a short duration, lasting three seconds. The power is insufficient to harm high-tier Supes. Cooldown: 1 hour.]
A faint burning sensation emanated from Lynn’s eyes, accompanied by a slight, stinging pain.
He immediately lowered his head and blinked, using the motion to conceal his fleeting discomfort.
He could not let Homelander notice anything unusual.
Homelander indeed failed to notice this subtle movement.
All of his attention had been captured by Lynn’s words.
“So, in your eyes, I’m just a… pathetic test subject?” Homelander asked softly, a storm brewing in his voice.
“No,” Lynn shook his head.
“You are a test subject who survived. The ones who didn’t survive are the pathetic ones.”
These words inexplicably pleased Homelander.
He suddenly smiled.
Not that formulaic, perfect smile plastered on his face, but a genuine, cruel, and approving grin.
“Interesting,” he said.
“Those doctors before only used a bunch of nonsense to tell me I was fine, that I was healthy. Only you dare to speak the truth.”
Alarm bells rang wildly in Lynn’s mind.
This was by no means a good sign.
Homelander’s “interest” was itself a deadly form of possessiveness.
Sure enough, Homelander reached out and gently patted Lynn’s shoulder.
The force wasn’t heavy, yet it made Lynn feel as if he were being pinned down by a slab of solid steel.
“From today onward, you are the only one allowed to perform my consultations,” he declared, his tone leaving no room for refusal.
“My emotions, my thoughts, my… everything, will only be open to you.”
“And you,” Homelander leaned down to Lynn’s ear, whispering in a voice only the two of them could hear, “can only look at me.”
With that, he straightened up, gave Lynn one last look, turned, and strode out of the consultation room.
It wasn’t until the heavy metal door clicked shut behind him that Lynn finally let out a long breath, his back already drenched in cold sweat.
He had survived.
And he had obtained his first superpower.
Lynn didn’t leave immediately.
He stood in place for a few minutes to settle his racing heartbeat before finally walking out of the consultation room.
In the hallway outside, Ashley and several security chiefs were waiting anxiously.
Seeing him emerge completely unscathed, they all wore expressions of sheer disbelief.
“Dr… Dr. Lynn, you…” Ashley stammered.
“The consultation is over,” Lynn said calmly.
“Mr. Homelander’s emotional state is currently stable.”
With that, ignoring the stunned looks of the crowd, he walked straight toward the restroom.
He shut the door and locked it.
Standing before the mirror, he looked at his pale but composed face in the reflection.
Then, he shifted his gaze to a piece of stainless steel trim next to the faucet.
He concentrated, imagining the heat vision described by the system.
In the next second, a faint red glow flickered in his eyes in the mirror.
Two crimson beams, thinner than toothpicks, shot from his eyes, striking the metal trim with pinpoint accuracy.
*Sizz…*
A soft hiss.
Two needlepoint-sized black burn marks were seared into the metal plate.
The red glow lasted for less than three seconds before vanishing.
Lynn felt a dull ache in his eyes, but the sheer ecstasy in his heart was impossible to suppress.
It was real!
He had truly obtained a superpower of his own!
Though it was still incredibly weak, this was a start!
He splashed some water on his face, forcing himself to calm down.
As he stepped out of the restroom, he heard two security guards conversing in hushed tones nearby.
“He actually survived… Why didn’t Homelander kill him?”
“No idea. Maybe… this new doctor is more dangerous than we thought.”
Lynn paid them no mind and walked straight back to his assigned office.
Just as he sat down in his chair, the internal telephone on his desk rang urgently.
Lynn picked up the receiver.
From the other end of the line came Ashley’s voice, shaking with clear trembling and a hint of awe.
“Dr. Lynn, the Board of Directors wants to see you.”