"New elements? different natural laws? … I can feel it! So, you are really capable of travelling across the worlds!" Alessa said excitedly, her tone that was as icy as ever now shook with a hint of surprise. She was evidently astonished that Jon possessed the ability to travel between worlds.
"Can you feel the structural boundaries of this world?" Jon asked curiously.
Although the world of the Boys was more advanced than the one Alessa had previously inhabited, it was unusual for someone to guess the structure of this world right away.
"Don't be surprised. Remember, I've created two worlds myself. I understand the basic concepts of world laws quite well," Alessa said proudly, her eyes filled with joy.
"I see," Jon nodded, his gaze drifting past Alessa to the sprawling urban expanse that lay before them. It was a world alive with technological marvels yet underpinned by dark secrets.
Then, Jon opened the system panel to check the tasks issued by the system. The holographic display flickered in the dim light, casting an eerie glow on his face.
[Current Universe: the Boys]
[Remaining time: 60 days]
[Main Mission Activated: Judge Homelander, Reward: 4000 Penalty Points (Current Progress: 0/1)]
[Main Mission Activated: Judge Stormfront and Reveal Her Nazi Identity, Reward: 4000 Penalty Points (Current Progress: 0/1)]
[Side Mission Activated: Judge Soldier Boy, Reward: 3500 Penalty Points (Current Progress: 0/1)]
[Side Mission Activated: At Least Judge 20 Corrupted Superheroes, Reward: 3000 Penalty Points, plus 500 Penalty Points for each additional corrupted superhero judged (Current Progress: 0/20)]
[Side Mission Activated: Bring Down the Vought Company, Reward: 2000 Penalty Points (Current Progress: 1/0)]
[Side Mission Activated: Bring Down the Church of the Collective, Reward: 1500 Penalty Points (Current Progress: 1/0)]
[Legendary Mission Progress: Judge a thousand sinful souls across all worlds. Current progress: 81/1000]
"The rewards for these missions are quite generous," Jon remarked, though his voice betrayed the weight of the challenge that loomed ahead. The tight deadline, the monumental tasks — it was a daunting proposition. Despite the rich rewards, completing these tasks within two months was challenging.
For Jon, judging the Homelander, Stormfront, and Soldier Boy seemed relatively simple. Their abilities were fiery and more destructive than his, but his Hellfire could completely counteract their healing abilities, and his Penance Stare could directly annihilate their souls.
However, the real challenge lay in the subsequent tasks—bringing down Vought Company, the Collective Church, and killing twenty corrupted superheroes. To take down Vought Company and the Collective Church required a significant amount of incriminating evidence to ensure they never recover from his fatal blow in the public, or to kill everyone in these organizations outright, although there were still many innocent people within them.
As for the twenty corrupted superheroes, without the necessary information, it was difficult to locate them across the planet, let alone in just two months.
While pondering, Jon's gaze inadvertently landed on a billboard featuring the latest movie poster of the Seven. Interestingly, although they were called the Seven, there were now only six members. The city's lights flickered off the faces of the superheroes, casting long shadows that seemed to whisper of the turmoil within their ranks.
Due to various reasons, the members of the Seven had been changing in recent times, hence there was now a vacant spot.
Suddenly, an idea popped into Jon's mind: "Maybe... I could join the Seven, then slowly deal with them from inside~!" His voice was a mixture of cunning and excitement.
Bringing down the Vought Company that Jon had been worried about, as well as the difficulty in finding corrupted superheroes due to information issues, could all be resolved by joining the Seven. The Seven also had access to a lot of information. By joining them, Jon could gather information on other superheroes. With this information, Jon could then systematically find and eliminate the corrupted superheroes.
"Alright, that's the plan then~!" Jon said to himself, his determination now renewed. He looked out at the city, its lights a beacon in the dark, calling him to action.
To join the Seven, the first step was to generate public support. Once he gained enough popularity, it would create an opportunity for him to join.
However, there was another problem. In this world, all superhero powers originated from a drug known as Compound V, while his powers were genuine. If he joined the Seven, Vought Company would discover that he was not a product of Compound V right away.
Vought Company was essentially not a superhero company but a pharmaceutical corporation. If they found out Jon was a genuine superpowered individual and not a product of Compound V, they would likely find an excuse to take him for research instead of letting him join the Seven.
Although Jon was not worried about Vought Company's trouble, it still would affect his plans. Therefore, next, he needed to acquire a dose of Compound V and inject himself to become a genuine superpowered individual.
However, it was uncertain what kind of superpowers the Compound V would bestow on him. Of course, it could also turn him into a monster. Many failures of Compound V had turned into monsters, confined in a psychiatric center known as the Sage Grove Center. If he ended up like that, it would be a huge loss.
Luckily, now with Alessa's help, if injecting Compound V gone wrong and was about to turn him into a monster, she could immediately use her power to expel it from his body. Her gaze met his, filled with a steely resolve that reassured him. But this meant he might have to adjust his plan.
However, Jon could imagine that if his plan succeeded, there would essentially be no more superhumans in the world. By taking down the source—Vought Company—and most of the superheroes dying in his flames, only morally upright superhumans like Starlight would remain. Without the support of the drugs, superhumans would gradually fade from public view.
And Jon would truly become the nemesis of heroes. Yet, he pondered the future beyond his actions, a future where ambitious companies like Vought might still emerge, exploiting the remaining superhumans and developing new drugs to create their own armies or seek even higher profits.
But that was something Jon could not manage unless he could stay in this world forever; such problems would never truly be solved.
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