E/N : Wassup people! How you all doing?
I hope good.
Yeah, nothing's particular to talk about, just wanted to say hi!
Yep, that's it.
Your Allfather Author - PrimorDious.
....
Chapter 29.
Li Yue quickly entered the bathroom and locked the door to avoid being disturbed.
The reason he had joined the Sevens was that it gave him a chance to get close to Superman—to experiment. The "golden finger" he had used before to copy Darwin's evolutionary ability had failed once.
During his last return to the Marvel world, Li Yue had attempted an experiment by using Tony Stark as a subject and transmitting superpowers to him. But afterward, he didn't feel any changes—his thinking didn't become sharper, nor did his mind become clearer.
This left Li Yue a little disappointed. Was it because Tony didn't actually have any superpowers? He then tried again, this time on Thor. Still, there were no changes.
This made Li Yue nervous—was his golden finger broken? Did it come with a warranty? Ugh!
With these doubts lingering, he was ready to try again after arriving in this new world. Of course, he couldn't just pick anyone for the experiment—Homelander was clearly the best candidate. Even though his powers were much weaker than the real Superman's, he was still incredibly powerful. In fact, he had no weaknesses like Superman's kryptonite.
Even if Li Yue's golden finger didn't work, by staying close to Homelander, he could still use his own evolutionary ability to slowly evolve himself—though it would take time.
...
At this moment, Li Yue focused on the changes in his body. He felt as though all the cells in his body had been activated—they were continuously dividing, reorganizing, and dividing again... endlessly repeating.
He could feel his body growing stronger with each passing second. His strength was climbing rapidly.
He even had a fleeting illusion that, with one punch, he could blow up the entire building he was in! Of course, this was just a side effect of the sudden power surge.
After a few minutes, Li Yue noticed that his physical growth and strength gain had started to slow down. He couldn't precisely gauge how strong he was now—he only knew that his body was brimming with massive energy, ready to respond to his will.
As Li Yue tried to focus on his transformed body, he realized the changes weren't over yet.
Suddenly, he felt a tingling sensation in the nerves around his eyes. Instinctively, he covered his eyes with his hands, but the pain vanished as quickly as it came. In the next instant, his eyes no longer felt any discomfort.
Li Yue opened his eyes again—and was stunned. The world looked completely different. He could clearly see airflow, the fine lines on his palms—his vision was now like a microscope.
When he focused harder, he found that his eyes could actually see through the door in front of him and observe the bathroom's interior.
He then pushed his concentration further and looked through the bathroom wall. He could clearly see the Seven members in the meeting room.
"This is... x-ray vision?"
Li Yue was stunned. A power that many men dreamed of was now his—just like that.
"But this doesn't feel like just x-ray vision!"
Thinking of Homelander's abilities, Li Yue became more excited and couldn't wait to test further.
Focusing once more on his eyes, he slowly gathered the energy from his body's cells and directed it toward them.
He immediately felt heat building around his eyes. If anyone else had been there, they would have noticed his eyes glowing faint red—getting brighter and brighter. The glow was eerie and mysterious, almost intimidating.
When the energy gathered in his eyes reached its peak, Li Yue felt he could no longer suppress it.
He needed to release the energy. But he was still in the bathroom—if the impact was too big, he'd be discovered for sure!
Thinking quickly, Li Yue raised his hands in front of his eyes. In an instant, they transformed into a silvery-white metallic form!
He then let go of the energy in his eyes. Two deep-red beams shot out, hitting his hands—now made of adamantium. He could feel the immense force impacting his palms!
The red beams lasted a few seconds before fading. His eyes gradually dimmed and returned to normal.
Looking at his palms again, Li Yue saw they had turned red under the heat of the eye beams—burned! The heat from those beams was terrifying.
(Li Yue: I literally burned myself.)
But something still felt off—he was far from reaching the level of Homelander!
And yet, the changes in his body weren't over...
...
Ten minutes later, Li Yue exited the bathroom and walked into the meeting room—only to find that Starlight had already arrived. As a stand-in member, she wasn't officially part of the team, but she had come mainly to greet Li Yue.
Strangely, Starlight had returned to her old self—her face radiating optimism. After greeting Li Yue confidently, she left.
Li Yue officially participated in the Sevens' meeting as a member for the first time.
But no one talked about saving the world, ensuring public safety, or reducing crime in the city.
Instead, they discussed fighting piracy to protect their earnings—how pirated versions of their movies had hurt their income.
They debated which commercials would bring the most profit, what kind of TV shows would attract the most viewers...
Li Yue didn't say a word the entire time. He had no idea how to contribute—he was completely clueless about all this.
Still, he didn't waste the opportunity. He released his mental energy and began to observe Homelander closely.
At first, he only probed a little—he was afraid of being detected. But surprisingly, Homelander didn't notice his spiritual exploration at all. Did Superman have negative resistance to psychic energy?
Realizing he couldn't be detected, Li Yue boldly deepened his investigation and fully activated his evolutionary abilities.
He discovered he had acquired all of Homelander's powers: enhanced physique, super strength, x-ray vision, heat vision... even flight!
Naturally, this should've made him ecstatic. But sadly, he soon realized that whether due to a problem with his golden finger or simply by design, the power he copied amounted to only about one-tenth of Homelander's.
Even so, it was enough to make him a hero capable of standing above most others.
But against Homelander himself? It would be like a child fighting an adult—he'd be crushed effortlessly.
Well... at least he could run.
So Li Yue made a decision—to stay with the Sevens, and especially close to Homelander, so that he could continue to evolve in his presence, constantly growing stronger.
"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. We don't want the new member attending the meeting for the first time to think we're all corrupted by money! We'll discuss this later—let's wrap it up for today."
Homelander smiled at the silent Li Yue and officially ended the meeting.
Li Yue stood up and walked out—he was heading to talk with Madeleine about something.
Soon, Li Yue arrived at the door of Madeleine's office and raised his hand to knock.
Knock knock knock!
"Come in!"
A voice came from inside. Li Yue pushed the door open and stepped in, making sure to close it behind him.
"Thunder, it's you! Come, have a seat. Is there something you need from me?"
Madeleine looked up and, upon seeing Li Yue enter, her face immediately lit up with a smile, and her tone softened noticeably.
It's worth mentioning that based on Li Yue's powers, the Water Company gave him the nickname "Thunder."
Li Yue had actually suggested being called "Thor" instead, but the idea was rejected. They argued that "Thor" made him sound distant and unapproachable—like the gap between mortals and gods—which wouldn't help him connect with fans.
So, "Thunder" remained his codename, sounding both powerful and approachable.
Li Yue didn't object—he figured the name didn't really matter anyway.
"Ms. Madeleine, I need your help with something,"
Li Yue said as he sat down across from her, getting straight to the point without any formalities.
"Oh? You just joined the Seven—what's the problem?"
Madeleine asked with mild surprise and curiosity. She held Li Yue in high regard, which was why her tone toward him was unusually gentle.
"Ms. Madeleine, I've just joined the Seven and don't have any reputation yet.
Because of my background, it's inevitable that some people will look down on me or resent me."
"So, I want to make a request. Could you arrange for me to work together with Homelander? With his support, my popularity will grow quickly, and I'll be able to bring benefits to the company sooner."
"Also, if I'm with Homelander, even if someone wants to target me, they probably won't show it openly in his presence. That way, the company's image won't be affected."
After Li Yue finished speaking, he quietly waited for Madeleine's response.
Of course, all this talk about popularity and the company's interests was just an excuse. His real goal was to stay close to Homelander so he could continue to evolve and grow stronger. That was his true objective.
"Hmm… you make a valid point. Alright then, go ahead and shoot your promotional video today. Tomorrow, I'll talk to Homelander,"
Madeleine said after thinking it over for a while, essentially agreeing to Li Yue's request.
"I'll arrange for you to work alongside him and appear in the public eye together. But it will still be Homelander taking the lead, with you assisting him."
"But with that arrangement... what about Queen Maeve?"
Madeleine paused with a slight frown. She wasn't sure how to adjust the team structure if Li Yue was paired with Homelander.
"I think it would be better for Queen Maeve to partner with Starlight. Both are female heroes, and that combo will appeal greatly to male fans. We can also use them as a symbol—showing that not only men can be superheroes who save the world, but women can too!"
Li Yue quickly offered his suggestion, afraid Madeleine might change her mind.
"Oh? That's actually a good idea! Let's go with that,"
Madeleine nodded in agreement.
"Once your promo video is done today, we'll distribute it across major TV networks. The slogan will be the one you said yesterday: 'With great power comes great responsibility!'"
"What do you think?"
Madeleine seemed to value Li Yue's opinion quite a bit, even seeking his input for the promotional campaign.
This surprised Li Yue a little, considering Madeleine's character in the show—she was known to be extremely dominant, even managing to keep the all-powerful Homelander under her control. Though eventually, things did spiral out of her hands.
But this also showed just how ruthless Madeleine's methods could be. Yet now, she was actually asking for his opinion—which made Li Yue feel it was best not to express himself too much. Drawing her suspicion would not be good.
"I'll follow all of the Vice President's arrangements,"
Li Yue replied solemnly.
"Alright, in that case, go and finish your promotional video. If anything comes up, feel free to come directly to me."
Madeleine, seeing that Li Yue agreed without protest, didn't say anything more and allowed him to leave.
Li Yue had already achieved his goal, so there was no reason for him to stick around.
"Oh? Just joined the Seven and already learning how to latch onto power? Not bad at all."
Madeleine looked at Li Yue's departing figure and chuckled to herself.
She assumed Li Yue just wanted to stick close to Homelander and boost his popularity as fast as possible.
At the same time, Hughie arrived at the headquarters of the Seven. He had finally agreed to Billy's plan.
Earlier that morning, Hughie had met a girl who was also in a bad mood. The two, equally frustrated by life, ended up comforting each other. That moment of shared vulnerability reignited Hughie's fighting spirit and gave him the courage to face the future.
Fueled by this renewed determination, Hughie called Billy and told him he was ready to go through with the plan—to seek justice for his girlfriend at last.
Billy stayed silent on the phone for a few moments before responding and setting up a meeting spot.
When they met, Billy gave Hughie a small bugging device. It was simple to use and small enough to fit inside a phone—perfect for Hughie to smuggle into the Seven's building.
Hughie then called his lawyer, telling him that he agreed to sign the confidentiality agreement—and that he would even forgo the compensation. The only thing he wanted was for A-Train to apologize to him in person.
The lawyer didn't hesitate and quickly agreed.
Hughie made his way to the Seven's headquarters. After a tense moment at the security check, he managed to get through safely. His phone, which carried the bug, remained undetected.
His plan was simple: wait for the right opportunity to plant the bug somewhere inside the Seven's office, and the mission would be complete.
When Hughie finally saw A-Train, his calm exterior was at odds with the rage bubbling inside him. Just looking at the man's figure brought back the horrible memory—his girlfriend's blood-covered body and the hollow stare he'd received after she was gone.
Hughie took a deep breath, steadied himself, and forced a handshake—signaling that he accepted the apology.
A-Train didn't linger. He said his piece and quickly left.
Before signing the agreement, Hughie excused himself to the bathroom. There, he took out his phone to remove the bug. However, due to his nervousness, he accidentally dropped it just outside the bathroom door.
Fortunately, no one saw it, and he managed to retrieve it and sneak it under the table in the conference room.
But what Hughie didn't realize was that as he left the bathroom, a smooth, almost invisible figure slowly emerged from the shadows.
If Li Yue had been there, he would've been speechless.
"I originally planned to save you from your tragic fate…But you just had to walk right into it yourself."
...…
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