Ashley turned to look at Lucas, her eyes full of a plea for help.
But Lucas ignored her.
He walked into the conference room, sat down in the empty seat next to Starlight, and crossed his legs.
"I think Homelander is right."
Everyone’s eyes were focused on him.
Especially Homelander’s.
"What is The Seven? It is the symbol of justice for all of America!"
"Since it is a symbol, it must be clean and pure!"
"There are bad apples in the team; if they aren’t cleaned out, they will eventually drag down the whole group."
Lucas glanced at The Deep on the screen, then looked at A-Train, who was slumped in his chair.
"Instead of waiting for a scandal to break and being forced on the defensive, we should take the initiative and prove to the public that The Seven has the ability to self-purify."
"This is positive for Homelander’s image and for the long-term brand value of The Seven."
"Capital is short-sighted; they only care about the immediate term, squeezing out maximum profit, and never consider long-term management."
He turned to look at Ashley.
"Short-term commercial losses are something Vought, with its deep pockets, can afford, but if the credibility of The Seven collapses, that would be the real catastrophe."
Ashley’s lips were trembling.
Nonsense, it’s not your money being lost, so you can say whatever you want!
I’m the one who’s going to lose my job!
Ashley was on the verge of a breakdown.
Homelander, however, was very pleased to hear this.
The look in his eyes as he gazed at Lucas carried, for the first time, a hint of... approval.
"See, Guardian supports me, and he was the one nominated by Edgar to oversee The Seven!" Homelander stood up, his cape unfurling behind him. "It’s settled."
He turned to Ashley.
"Notify the PR department and prepare a press conference."
"What?" Ashley’s voice cracked.
"I want all the people of America to see with their own eyes that Homelander’s team has no room for any trash."
A-Train completely collapsed.
The Deep disconnected the call immediately.
He was probably taking his anger out on that octopus right now.
Translucent, Black Noir, and Maeve all had different reactions.
Only Starlight expressed strong support for Homelander.
[Key Character: A-Train — Emotional Breakdown]
[Evolution Points Gained: +1,247]
...
[Key Character: Queen Maeve — Curious, Appreciative]
[Evolution Points Gained: +876]
...
[Key Character: Homelander — Excited, Inflated, Sense of Approval]
[Evolution Points Gained: +1,533]
...
Current Evolution Points: 71,726 / 100,000
The door to the conference room was pushed open again.
Everyone turned to look.
Madelyn stood at the doorway.
She was wearing a perfectly tailored black suit, her makeup was exquisite, and her expression was feigned calmness.
Lucas’s Super Hearing picked up her heart rate.
It had already spiked to over 100.
She was forcibly suppressing her anger.
"I heard!" Madelyn’s voice trembled slightly, but she kept it as steady as possible. "Our team leader has some ideas?"
Homelander met her gaze, and the two stared at each other for a moment. Madelyn walked in with a smile, one hand resting naturally on Homelander’s arm.
Her chest brushed against him ever so slightly, hoping to use this to calm Homelander’s emotions.
"Shall we talk? Should we step outside? Or right here?"
Homelander glanced at the others in the conference room.
"Right here is fine; there’s nothing between us that needs to be avoided!"
Madelyn didn’t want to put on this act in front of everyone, but Homelander gave her no choice.
"Fine." Madelyn had to switch tactics. "I heard your idea from Ashley. You want to clean up the internal chaos, display it to the public, and improve your image, right?"
"Correct."
"That’s a very good idea."
As soon as Madelyn finished speaking, everyone was stunned.
Even Homelander himself thought he had misheard.
He had already prepared a speech to counter Madelyn’s opposition, but she had agreed right away?
"But your method is too crude, not smart enough!" Madelyn shifted her tone. "Think carefully: if you announce kicking out A-Train and The Deep in public, how will the media write about you?"
"They won’t write ’Homelander is wise and decisive’ or ’Homelander is a righteous judge’!"
"Their headlines will be ’The Seven in Infighting, Uneven Distribution of Power’."
"’Vought Management Out of Control, Facts Prove Private Capital Controlling Supes is an Insult to Taxpayers’."
"’Superhero Team Falling Apart, Where Does Public Trust Go?’"
Madelyn’s words caused Homelander to gradually regain his calm.
Her hand slid from Homelander’s forearm to the back of his hand, the soft skin touching, causing Homelander’s resolve to begin to crumble.
This woman knew too well how to deal with Homelander.
"Listen to me, the direction of public opinion is not something you can control; these things require the support of a professional team!"
Madelyn leaned in gently to Homelander’s ear. "Let me arrange it, okay? I will use the most dignified way to let A-Train and The Deep leave, while maximizing the improvement of your image!"
"It only needs... one week!"
She looked up into Homelander’s eyes, her gaze as gentle as if she were looking at her own child.
...
[You should know, Madelyn has a child, that child is her family, while you are just a job!]
...
Lucas’s words, for some reason, suddenly echoed in Homelander’s mind.
A rift of suspicion had already formed.
Homelander was by nature a suspicious and sensitive person; at this moment, he only felt that Madelyn’s tactics were familiar.
For the past ten years, she had always used this method to make him submissive.
First agree, then guide, utilizing physical contact and maternal radiance.
While Homelander was suspicious, Lucas also timely provided a god-tier assist.
"Madelyn makes a point."
Everyone looked at him.
Only Madelyn’s eyes were full of wariness.
"But I have a question."
Lucas crossed his legs, tapping his fingers on the armrest. "You said give you one week to handle it in the most dignified way."
"Then I want to ask, how long did Vought take to handle it with dignity when A-Train did drugs and hit someone last time?"
Madelyn’s smile froze.
"Three days!" Lucas answered his own question. "Within three days, Vought’s PR department fabricated a ’mind control’ narrative, bribed several mainstream media outlets, and washed A-Train from a perpetrator into a victim."
"It was indeed handled with dignity."
"But what was the result?"
He took out his phone—emmm... his phone was crushed by Homelander yesterday.
Lucas turned to look at Homelander: "Bro, you still owe me a phone."
Homelander didn’t reply, but the corner of his mouth twitched wildly.
Lucas turned to Starlight: "Annie, let me borrow your phone."
Starlight was stunned for a moment, then took her phone out of her pocket and handed it over.
Lucas opened social media, flipped to the topic page related to A-Train, and turned the screen toward Madelyn.
"Look at the comment section."
[Mind control? Who are you kidding, A-Train is clearly a junkie.]
[Vought is whitewashing again, disgusting.]
[Does Homelander know his teammate does drugs? If he knows and doesn’t stop it, how is he any different from A-Train?]
[To the guy above, you think Homelander is a good bird? He might be the biggest cancer in The Seven!]
[In short, I can’t trust The Seven anymore; everyone has seen through Vought’s script routines!]
Lucas read them out one by one, making sure everyone in the conference room heard them clearly.
Homelander’s expression darkened visibly.
Especially the last two comments, which were clearly directed at him.
In fact, the internet is just like that; it’s impossible to have a perfect person.
Even a living saint would get scolded a couple of times if put on the internet.
But Homelander wasn’t that rational.