At the lakeside camp, the bonfire had burned down to mere embers, casting a glow on five faces that had finally calmed down a little.
"God..." Jordan Li slumped into a folding chair, grabbed a can of beer, and took several heavy gulps. "I've never... never seen a scene like that. Homelander... how could he bring himself to do that?"
"They're drug dealers, Jordan." Luke sat down next to her and clinked his glass against hers. "They were manufacturing blue crystal illegally, harming society, and they even attacked us. Homelander and the others... they were carrying out justice."
"Right? Even if the method was... a bit intense."
Andre said nothing, merely looking down and using water to wipe the blood off his coins.
Kate curled up by the fire, her hands tightly clutching her knees as she whispered with a trembling voice, "I heard so many voices... that woman who turned into a wild boar, and the one who used vines—they just wanted to protect their families..."
Andre handed her a tissue and comforted her in a low voice, "But they attacked us. Maybe... maybe Homelander and the others were right. Those superpowered criminals really are dangerous."
Wade listened quietly, knowing the timing was right. He pulled a blood-stained package from his pocket and opened it under everyone's confused gazes.
"I found something... at that site earlier."
Three or four bottles of deep blue serum and blood-stained files were exposed in the firelight.
"This is..." Jordan stood up, took the files, and began reading. "Vought Corporation's confidential files... compound v (Modified Version) Voluntary Subject List and Secret Placement Agreement."
Luke's brow furrowed as he stared at the items, speaking up first: "What does this prove? Who knows if it's fake?"
"These things might have been stolen from a Vought Corporation lab... these people were making drugs themselves; they deserved to die!"
"Are you blind? It says 'Voluntary Subject Agreement' on it!" Jordan shook the stack of files in his hand, his voice rising. "Those Mexicans didn't look like they'd had much schooling... do they look like people who could understand files like these?"
"Maybe it accidentally fell out of a helicopter, or it's just a movie script or something." Luke took the files and flipped through them, his voice also getting louder. "Are you saying Homelander and the others were massacring innocent civilians? That's just ridiculous!"
"Oh, come on, the evidence is right in front of us." Jordan shifted back into his male form and sneered, "Keep lying to yourself then!"
Luke's eyes glowed with golden light, his embarrassment turning into anger: "Enough, Jordan! You'd rather believe those drug dealers than trust The Seven? They're heroes!"
"Stop arguing, everyone." Andre quickly reached out, moving between the two. "Whatever the truth is, arguing is pointless."
"We're from the Crime Fighting Academy, the heroes of the future. Our duty is to follow orders and maintain stability, not... secretly indulge in these conspiracy theories."
"Is this the so-called compound v? Is this what we were injected with as kids?" Wade swirled the blue serum bottle in his hand and sighed, "Maybe Andre is right. With some things, the more you know, the more trouble you're in."
Kate looked up at Wade and asked with a raspy voice, "What... what else do you know? How did you find this... did you feel something was wrong from the beginning?"
Aside from Jordan Li, who was still fuming, Luke and Andre also looked over, their eyes filled with inquiry and scrutiny.
Wade met their gazes but didn't answer Kate's question directly.
"All I know is... many people died today, and dead people don't lie."
He shook the package in his hand.
"The truth is right here. It won't disappear because of our arguments, our avoidance, or because we pretend not to see it."
Wade's gaze swept across Luke's stubborn face, Andre's avoidant eyes, Jordan's anger, and Kate, who was crying incessantly.
"We can choose to hand it over to the school or Vought, trusting that they will provide a perfect explanation." Wade held out the package. "Or..."
Jordan Li walked over and snatched the package: "Or, we can look after it for these dead people... for a while."
Having finished, Wade ignored the varying expressions of the group, picked up his toiletries, and headed toward the lake. "It's late. Let's wash up and get some sleep."
Luke's low voice came from behind him: "According to the rules, it should be handed over."
Jordan Li countered sharply: "I don't agree!"
By the lake, Wade conjured a whirlpool to wash away the bloodstains on his body: 'The seed of doubt has been sown. Now, I just have to wait... Will they choose to resist? Or compromise?'
...3:00 AM, by the lakeside.
The bonfire was out, and all was silent. Figures shifted within the camp tents as everyone slept.
Wade sat cross-legged on a large boulder, the airflow around him circulating slowly, causing the sand and stones within a five-meter radius to sink.
Suddenly, light footsteps approached from behind, and he immediately retracted the gravity around him.
"Something the matter?"
Kate, with a long, thin cigarette in her mouth, stepped into the water. "It was too hot, so I came out to cool off."
Wade floated closer silently, stopping a few paces from her. "You put on quite a show just now... quite an appetite too, enjoying two portions of food all by yourself."
Kate blew out a ring of grey smoke and licked her lips. "What, are you jealous? I wouldn't mind doing it once with you..."
"Luke and Andre really fall for that act of yours, don't they? Fragile, needing protection." Wade's eyes shifted as he gathered all the smoke around her. "But they aren't stupid... do you really think you can keep them in the dark forever?"
Kate kicked at the water, saying nonchalantly, "I don't know what you're talking about. Everyone was very confused tonight; I just did what needed to be done."
"Including guiding them to believe those 'voluntary subjects' were just irredeemable drug dealers, and that Vought's handling of it, while crude, was excusable?" Wade flew above her, looking down at the pitch-black lake. "What's the reason? To maintain that perfect hero dream in Luke's heart? Or to complete the mission Shetty gave you, ensuring they don't think too much?"
Kate was silent for a few seconds, then threw away her cigarette butt and growled in a low voice, "And what about you? The all-knowing Wade Thompson."
She scooped up a handful of water and splashed it into the air. "Playing with fire will get you burned. Why do you think Shetty indulges you?"
"Because she, like me, sees everything clearly. You're just a dog with some value that needs to be put on a leash!"
Wade didn't beat around the bush, asking in a deep voice, "What do you know about The Woods?"
"Hahaha... it seems you don't have the ability to copy all of someone's memories. I won't be intimidated by you!" She bent over laughing for a while, then looked up. "Go ahead and tell Luke and the others. Let's see if they'll believe a calculating, Institutional Orphan with creepy powers... or their companion who's with them day and night, and Shetty, who represents the school's authority?"
"When that time comes, I'd say there's an eighty percent chance you'll be sent to 'The Woods' for treatment due to mental instability."
"Very good. But you're wrong about one thing... Shetty allows me to move freely within the school because she and I are the same kind of person." Facing this blatant threat, Wade actually laughed.
"It seems the 'care' she gives you can't fill the void, can it? A balance maintained by drugs, desire, and disguise—how long can it last?"
"You damn bastard! Did you peek at my memories again?" Kate picked up a few stones and threw them at Wade in the air. "What do you actually want?"
Wade neither dodged nor avoided them, using the airflow to gently press down on Kate's head. "I'm more pragmatic; I believe in mutual benefit. I'm just looking for someone who understands, so we can see together... just how deep this quagmire beneath our feet really is."
"If you wade through it alone, it's easy to get stuck. With two people, at least we can pull each other out."
After speaking, he slowly descended. "So... regarding 'The Woods', what else do you know? Or rather, what are you willing to... reveal?"
Kate took off her red glove, narrowed her eyes, and held out her hand. "Heh... what I want, you might not be willing to give."
"Hard to say." Wade didn't hesitate and shook her hand.
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