"Please wait a moment."
Hearing Supervisor Mick call out from behind, Starlight's nerves tightened, but she still turned back calmly.
She put on a charming smile, "Is something wrong?"
Supervisor Mick looked a bit embarrassed. He scratched at his receding hairline and said, "Well, it's like this… could you give me an autograph?"
Starlight paused for a second, then relaxed. She smiled and said, "So you're a fan of mine."
"No, no, no," Supervisor Mick waved his hands, "Actually, it's my son. He's your super fan."
"He even wants to buy your suit."
"You know what?"
"His room is covered with your posters, and his computer is full of your videos."
"You're his idol."
"Of course, I like you too."
Supervisor Mick said awkwardly.
Starlight smiled, "Thank you for your support. So, where do you want me to sign?"
"Oh, just a moment."
Supervisor Mick quickly found a notebook, flipped it open, and said, "You can sign here."
Starlight took the paper and pen he handed over, then wrote "Starlight" in the notebook and even drew a smiley face.
"Ha, my son's definitely going to love this autograph."
Supervisor Mick then took out his phone, "Can we take a photo together?"
"Of course."
Starlight adjusted her suit, then held her collar with one hand and slightly crouched down so that Supervisor Mick would look taller.
After taking the picture, Supervisor Mick thanked her repeatedly and personally escorted Starlight out of the laboratory.
Once she stepped outside, Starlight finally let out a breath.
"That scared me to death. I thought I'd been found out."
"Luckily, he just wanted my autograph."
She quickly returned to the event venue, and not long after, she went back to acting as a guide.
———
[Monday]
[Drummond Castle Base]
Minister Connor adjusted his appearance and looked toward Secretary of Defense Wilson's long-legged secretary.
"Ms. Megan, how do I look right now?"
Connor looked at the beautiful secretary. She had striking features and a hot figure. Even wrapped in professional attire, her body could rival a Victoria's Secret supermodel.
Especially her full red lips, like ripe cherries, made people want to take a bite.
Looking at Minister Connor, Megan smiled and said, "You look fine. No need to worry."
At that moment, the roar of aircraft engines sounded.
Soon, two C-5 transport planes landed on the distant runway. As they came to a stop and their hatches opened, soldiers began stepping out one after another.
They were all Delta Force soldiers, recalled and assembled into a 500-man combat unit.
To be placed under Homelander's command.
Each of these soldiers had sharp features and keen eyes, carrying an unruly, untamed air.
They carried all kinds of equipment and marched forward in large strides.
Under the blazing sun, they looked like a force forged from steel as they came to stand before Minister Connor and Megan.
A middle-aged officer stepped forward, a teasing smile on his dark face.
"Good morning, Minister Connor."
"Lieutenant Cotty reporting."
"Here is our roster. Please review it."
He handed over a document.
Then he extended a large hand covered in hair.
Lieutenant Cotty wasn't very tall, but he was powerfully built. His tight muscles made his uniform look like it was about to split.
He was like a steel ingot, giving off a sense of hardness and sharpness.
Minister Connor hesitated for a moment before shaking his hand.
Fortunately, the lieutenant didn't apply force. He only gave a light shake, then smiled, "So, where is our commander?"
Just as he asked that, a sound like a supersonic jet tearing through the air rang out above.
The soldiers looked up.
Under the blazing sun, in the blue sky, a blurred black shadow flashed past.
Then it suddenly stopped and dropped straight down.
BANG!
A massive shockwave blew outward, nearly knocking the soldiers' caps off.
Lieutenant Cotty grabbed his cap, a smile appearing on his face.
In the distance, on the training ground scorched by the sun to the point it seemed ready to smoke, a figure stood up straight.
For that instant, it felt as if a giant had risen, giving even these battle-hardened soldiers an indescribable sense of pressure.
Then they saw clearly, a man in a black suit, a red cape fluttering behind him.
Homelander!
Alex set Maeve down, then walked forward with a smile, spreading his hands and saying loudly, "So, these are my soldiers?"
"Minister Connor?"
Over the weekend, he had already received a notice from the Department of Defense.
He knew that on Monday, Wilson would hand over a 500-man unit to him.
Now that he finally saw them, looking at these fierce soldiers, Alex was very satisfied.
They were the elite among humans. Individually, they might not compare to superhumans.
But they excelled at coordination. In squad combat, ordinary superhumans were no match for them.
Even someone like Maeve could still be killed if the coordination was good enough.
Not every superhuman was as powerful as Alex. Even someone like Maeve, considered relatively strong among superhumans, there were still many ways for ordinary people to kill her.
For example, luring her into a trap and suffocating her with poured concrete.
Or capturing her and sinking her into the deep sea.
Or throwing her into a steel furnace and burning her at thousands of degrees.
Ordinary superhumans were far from unkillable.
Only someone like Alex, who could withstand a nuclear bomb, was truly troublesome.
So, a 500-man, well-equipped special forces unit was a force that couldn't be ignored.
Handing such a force to Alex could also be seen as a kind of compromise by the Federation.
A temporary compromise.
"Yes, Homelander."
Minister Connor said loudly, "They're yours."
Immediately, some dissatisfied murmurs arose among the soldiers.
"What did that old guy say?"
"They're yours? Since when did we become merchandise?"
"That sounds like an insult. We're not gifts to be handed over."
"Silence!"
Lieutenant Cotty roared. He turned around, hands behind his back, and shouted with full force, "You bunch of wimps, if you've got something to say, say it out loud."
"Otherwise shut up. Don't gossip behind backs like girls!"
The soldiers chuckled, but no one argued.
If they were like wolves, then Lieutenant Cotty was a tyrannosaurus.
He had already tamed this pack.
Alex brought Maeve over, first shook hands with Minister Connor, then met Secretary Megan.
The female secretary handed him a document, "Homelander, this is the authorization from the Department of Defense."
"Starting today, you are the commander of this Delta Force unit."
"Lieutenant Cotty will report directly to you."
"Any mission, any order, you can relay it through Lieutenant Cotty, and this unit will carry it out flawlessly, without any compromise."
As Megan spoke, she lightly licked her full red lips. A few strands of her wind-blown hair drifted across her face, giving her a hint of allure.
Alex took the document, smiled slightly, then looked toward Lieutenant Cotty and the soldiers.
That made Megan feel a bit disappointed.
As the Secretary of Defense's secretary, her position wasn't high, but her influence within the department rivaled that of generals and ministers.
For administrative officials like Minister Connor, Megan even held slightly higher standing.
A woman like her naturally had no shortage of admirers.
Yet there were very few men she found worthy.
Even now, she was still single.
In her mind, only a man like Homelander was worthy of her.
Especially that day when Homelander barged straight into the Department of Defense conference room, it shocked her, but also stirred some unusual thoughts.
No woman disliked powerful men. The stronger the woman, the more she secretly longed to be conquered by someone even stronger.
But now, Homelander seemed completely uninterested in her.
Megan couldn't help but wonder, 'Is my makeup not refined enough today?'
'Or is my perfume too strong?'
'Or maybe this professional outfit makes me less attractive?'
While she was reflecting on her own shortcomings, Alex had already walked toward the man like a steel ingot.
Lieutenant Cotty extended his hand first.
"Hello, Commander."
"Hello, Lieutenant."
Alex shook his hand, then looked around at the soldiers and smiled, "Good morning, soldiers."
"I assume you're ready?"
"From here on, your opponents won't be soft targets who just spray bullets."
"They'll be superhumans with all kinds of abilities."
A black soldier with an oily sheen on his face and explosive muscles under his uniform flashed a grin of white teeth.
"Leave it to us, Commander."
"As long as it's not someone like you—"
"For anything else, you can just sit in the office drinking tea and watch us blow their balls off."
Laughter broke out immediately.
Although the soldier knew his limits and understood they weren't a match for Alex, it wasn't hard to tell from their tone that they didn't really feel any obedience toward him.
Nor did they believe he could command them.
They were more inclined to treat Alex like those officials in the Department of Defense, someone who sat in an office giving orders.
The rest would be handled by their own officers, by Lieutenant Cotty.
Alex's lips curled up, "Gentlemen, I think you've got it wrong."
"I'm a man of action."
"Sitting in an office drinking tea isn't my style."
"Or are you questioning my command ability?"
The soldiers looked at each other, then someone chuckled softly, "You're strong, sure. But when it comes to commanding battles…"
He trailed off with a smile.
Alex wasn't angry. He smiled and said, "How about this, I'll command a team of 20, and Lieutenant Cotty will command another 20."
"Let's run a live exercise."
Lieutenant Cotty quickly said, "I don't think that's necessary."
"Commander, they're just joking."
"No need to take it seriously."
Alex waved his hand, "No, I think it's very necessary."
"Give it your all, Lieutenant Cotty."
"If I find out you're holding back, I'll demote you."
Cotty looked helpless and could only say, "Alright."
According to Alex's arrangement, the two of them each led twenty soldiers in a simulated hostage rescue mission.
Lieutenant Cotty's side played the kidnappers.
Alex's side handled the rescue.
At the beginning, Cotty was somewhat careless, thinking Alex had no military experience.
So his defenses were relatively loose, and Alex defeated him in no time.
After that, Cotty became fully alert, setting up tight defenses and using various modern external equipment.
Even so, this time he only lasted fifteen minutes longer before being defeated again.
They went through several more rounds, but without exception, all ended with Alex's victory.
The soldiers under Alex's command were especially astonished, because every order he gave was different, yet incredibly precise.
These detailed and precise commands made the unit function like a finely tuned machine, without a single mistake, efficient and deadly.
What they didn't know was that Alex had already done his homework before arriving.
Using his "information domain" ability, he had gathered countless military cases from around the world and memorized them.
During command, he used "quantum sub-brain" to perform precise calculations. With his computational capacity, not to mention a 20-man team, even an army of 200,000 or 2 million, he could command with ease.
After a full day of this, even Lieutenant Cotty admired Alex deeply, let alone the other soldiers.
Afterward, the unit was stationed at Drummond Castle Base, ready to deploy immediately whenever Alex needed them.
———
Returning to the city, with some free time, Alex opened his status panel.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
— Name: John (Homelander)
— Life Level: Level 6 (Legendary)
— Status: Normal
— Talents: Heat Vision +2 (187/500), Deep Space Flight (36/200), First Cosmic Velocity (74/200), Biological Force Field +2 (261/500), Divine Strength (119/200), High-Speed Regeneration (15/200), Eye of Truth (21/200)
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
'Hmm! After fighting Superman, some of the talents' proficiency increased.'
'I still have 61 "proficiency essences." Should I use them to enhance talents, or save them?'
'Wait until I gather 100 and exchange for the "Enchantress Heart"?'
Alex thought for a moment, "Having one more 'crazy chick' isn't that big a deal. Strengthening myself is more practical."
Without hesitation, he started pouring the "proficiency essences" into "Biological Force Field."
[Biological Force Field proficiency +20]
[Biological Force Field proficiency +20]
[Biological Force Field proficiency +20]
[Your 'Biological Force Field +2' proficiency is full. It has now upgraded to 'Biological Force Field +3'.]
[Biological Force Field +3: Your force field is further enhanced. Interaction strength increases, coverage range expands by 200%, and you gain the effect of 'Magic Resistance'.]
After investing 12 proficiency essences, his Biological Force Field leveled up.
And now, it had gained "Magic Resistance."
Although it was resistance rather than immunity, at least against magic-type opponents, Alex would have a clear advantage.
He then invested another 16 proficiency essences into "Heat Vision."
[Heat Vision proficiency +20]
[Heat Vision proficiency +20]
[Heat Vision proficiency +20]
[Your 'Heat Vision +2' proficiency is full. It has now upgraded to 'Heat Vision +3'.]
The effect of Heat Vision +3 was similar to before, but the temperature cap increased again, reaching 500,000 degrees.
As a result—
Alex's status panel changed.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
— Name: John (Homelander)
— Life Level: Level 6 (Legendary)
— Status: Normal
— Talents: Heat Vision +3 (0/800), Deep Space Flight (36/200), First Cosmic Velocity (74/200), Biological Force Field +3 (0/800), Divine Strength (119/200), Super Regeneration (15/200), True Sight (21/200)
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
After all that, he only had 33 proficiency essences left.
"For now, this will do."
Alex let out a breath.
At that moment, a line of information appeared on his retina.
[Warning: 2 hours 07 minutes until disaster event.]
'Oh, a disaster event is about to happen?'
———
["And now, we bring you Vought's variety show, 'Superheroes'!"]
["In each episode, we interview a superhero."]
["And today's guest is, Shockwave!"]
["That's right, the man whose speed rivals A-Train."]
["Now, please welcome, Shockwave!"]
On the TV screen, a stage appeared as music began.
A sunny, handsome man danced and sang like a pop star.
In a luxurious living room, Number Zero, possessing a black bodyguard, spoke, "These are also superheroes?"
Sipping red wine, Arnold, president of Olga Corporation, smiled, "Why not?"
"What do you think? Don't they look like clowns?"
"Originally, Homelander was supposed to be that kind of clown too. But now that clown has become a Department of Defense official."
"And I heard he just took over a Delta Force unit."
"Damn it, he's gaining real power."
"So when are you going to parasitize him?"
Number Zero looked at the TV, "No need to rush."
At that moment, on TV, the host interviewed Shockwave, ["Hey, I heard you know Starlight, one of The Seven?"]
Shockwave nodded, ["Yes, we used to be friends. Very close friends."]
["Really? But now Starlight is a shining star. Is there anything you want to say to her?"], the host asked.
Shockwave smiled, ["I wish her well, and I'm happy for her."]
["But I'll catch up to her."]
["I've already applied to join The Seven. I want to be part of them, and I believe I can do it."]
["When that time comes, I'll be able to see Starlight again."]
Watching the TV, looking at Shockwave, Number Zero spoke, "That one called Homelander, is he the leader of The Seven?"
Arnold nodded, "That's right."
Number Zero narrowed his eyes slightly, "Then can you arrange for this 'Shockwave' to join The Seven?"
Arnold froze for a moment, then his eyes lit up, "Don't tell me you're planning—"
Number Zero nodded, "I think it's time to switch bodies."
"A superhuman body should be stronger than this one."
"And if that superhuman body can enter the Seven Tower and get close to Homelander, even better."
Arnold burst into laughter and stood up, "I'll make the arrangements!"
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