"Only you know if it’s fake or not. Lies don’t hurt people; the truth is the sharper blade." Lucas didn’t care at all that his phone was ruined.
He had plenty of money now; he could just replace it with a few new ones later.
"This is all your fault! If it weren’t for you, how would these people be hounding A-Train, and even starting to curse at me too!"
Homelander still shifted the blame onto others.
"That’s not how it works. They didn’t like you to begin with. Even if nothing happened to A-Train, would that stop them from finding another excuse to insult you?"
One sentence from Lucas brought Homelander back to his senses.
That made sense. Haters are always going to be haters; do they really need a reason to hate you?
"Then what do you suggest I do?"
"Simple. Since people suspect there’s rot inside The Seven, you should initiate an internal investigation and use the opportunity to kick out those who are dirty behind the scenes."
Homelander looked skeptical, as if he were saying, "Do you think I’m an idiot?"
Doing that would just cause chaos! Who has the spare time to prove their own innocence?
I’m afraid that instead of saving face, I’ll end up exposing my own rear end.
"Hey, look at you getting impatient again!"
Lucas placed a hand on Homelander’s shoulder, acting as familiar as a best friend. "Listen to me first!"
Homelander’s brows furrowed, though he didn’t resist Lucas’s gesture.
"An internal investigation doesn’t mean a chaotic one. You are the leader of The Seven; you have the power to decide who stays and who goes, right?"
"Hmm."
"Good. Now think about it: within The Seven, who can actually help you, and who is just dead weight?"
Homelander didn’t answer directly; he certainly knew who the dead weight was.
The Deep was dead weight—cowardly, lecherous, and sporting disgusting fish-like organs, hanging out with sea creatures every day.
A-Train was also dead weight; he did so many drugs he nearly killed someone, and then got slapped in the face by a rookie in public.
Translucent was the worst of the worst; he had no combat value other than turning invisible to peep on people.
Black Noir... his presence was practically non-existent.
The only one Homelander truly cared about was Maeve.
Maeve was the missing piece to the puzzle of his ideal partner.
Unfortunately, after Maeve learned his true nature, she started liking women instead.
"See? You actually know very well in your heart." Lucas watched the changes in Homelander’s expression and continued to press his advantage.
"What good does it do you to keep The Deep and A-Train in The Seven? Their scandals could explode at any moment. When that happens, the media won’t ask them first—they’ll come to you."
"Homelander, did you know about what they were doing behind the scenes?"
"Are you going to choose to say ’I don’t know’ and get called ignorant, or say ’I actually knew all along’ and get called an accomplice?"
Homelander’s temple throbbed; Lucas had truly hit the nail on the head.
No matter which one he chose, he would be the one to suffer.
"But what if you take the initiative to clean house?" Lucas shifted his tone, lowering his voice slightly.
"If you step up, personally announce an internal reorganization of The Seven, and personally kick out those dirty elements, how will the public view you?"
"They will think, ’Homelander is truly the most righteous. He doesn’t just protect the country; he ensures the purity of his team, upholds absolute justice, and doesn’t tolerate wrongdoing even from his own people.’"
"That kind of image is more effective than filming a hundred or a thousand promotional clips."
Homelander’s breathing became rapid; he knew that Lucas’s plan was actually quite feasible.
Seeing Homelander take the bait, Lucas felt a surge of joy internally.
He knew Homelander’s personality too well.
Homelander didn’t care about the lives of The Deep, A-Train, or even Madelyn; he only cared about one thing.
And that was whether the public loved him!
"But... what about Vought?"
This was the sentence Lucas was waiting for.
"Vought?" He chuckled lightly.
"Bro, do you think Vought cares about your image?"
Confusion replaced Homelander’s expression. "I am Homelander, Vought’s biggest brand. As long as I exist, Vought exists!"
"You’re wrong. Vought doesn’t care about you at all; they only care about how much money The Seven brand can generate."
"The Deep’s merchandise sells for $300 million a year, and A-Train’s collaborative sneakers sell for $500 million."
"Guess why Vought has never dealt with them?"
"Besides, were there no Supes under Vought before you?"
"Don’t forget, Black Noir is an old-generation Supe. He was a former teammate of Soldier Boy!"
"As for your dropping approval ratings and damaged image, that’s your problem, not Vought’s. Once a product is useless, Vought will only replace it; they never care about the life or death of the product itself."
"In other words, if they can replace A-Train and they can replace The Deep, why can’t they replace a Homelander?"
"Do you think you’re special? Before you, there was Soldier Boy, and after you, there are Supes like me. Can you honestly say Vought doesn’t have an underground laboratory somewhere, creating Supes who are stronger and easier to control than Homelander?"
Homelander’s expression grew increasingly ugly. He didn’t fly into a rage, nor did he get angry at Lucas.
He only trembled slightly at the lips. "Madelyn wouldn’t do that to me!"
Lucas was snickering inside, but on the surface, he said coldly, "Madelyn has a child. Do you think she cares more about that child, or more about you?"
"You’re just work; that child is her real family."
"Impossible!" Homelander was on the verge of tears.
He knew what Lucas said was the truth, but deep down, he didn’t dare to imagine even the worst-case scenario.
This was the world’s most powerful Supe—a pitiful man whose body and mind had been engineered.
"Have you ever really thought about what your relationship with Vought actually is?"
Lucas didn’t continue to provoke Homelander regarding family, but instead threw out another critical question.
Homelander said nothing.
"You are the leader of The Seven, the strongest superhero in the country, and the guardian deity in the hearts of the public."
"But in Vought’s financial reports, you are just an SKU number."
"Your face is printed on lunchboxes, your name is written on T-shirts, and your voice is recorded into dolls."
"They cut you into billions of pieces, slap a price tag on each one, and sell them to the whole world."
"And then what? The profits all go to Vought, and the honor goes to... heh, honor is only temporary..."
"Once you run into trouble, infamy will nail you to the pillar of shame, and you will never be able to turn things around. You should know that the public loves to create gods, but they are just as fond of destroying them!"
"You two don’t have a partnership. We usually call this..."
Lucas paused for a second.
"—Parasitism."
Parasitism! Parasitism!! Parasitism!!!
This word magnified infinitely in Homelander’s mind; he had completely fallen into Lucas’s trap.
Homelander’s pupils trembled slightly.
[Key Character: Homelander]
[Emotional Volatility: Self-doubt / Mental dependency wavering / Sense of belonging to Vought wavering]
[Evolution Points Gained: +4,217]
Current Evolution Points: 68,070 / 100,000
Went up by four thousand; as expected of Homelander!
"I think my words have touched your soul deeply. You can go back and think it over clearly."
Lucas patted Homelander’s shoulder one last time and left directly.
Anyway, there were no cameras in this hallway. Even if Homelander went crazy later, what would that have to do with him?
He and Homelander were like fire and water, irreconcilable enemies!
He certainly wouldn’t say those heartfelt words!
...
The next morning.
Vought Tower, Madelyn’s office.
The phone rang.
Madelyn picked it up, and upon hearing the first few words, her expression turned extremely ugly.
"What do you mean Homelander is going to conduct an internal reorganization of The Seven?"
"And what does ’cleaning house’ mean?"
"What on earth is he planning to do!?"
Madelyn hung up the phone and dialed another person.
"Stan, we’re in trouble!"
This time, she was truly panicked; Homelander had caused big trouble.