"You!"
Homelander walked toward the motionless Soldier Boy, his pupils glowing brighter in the dim space.
"If I take you down, I can finally become a true hero!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the interior of the warehouse was instantly illuminated by a bright red light.
Twin high-powered lasers shot from Homelander's eyes, striking Soldier Boy square in the face.
Boom!!
A powerful impact erupted as the blinding red light engulfed Soldier Boy's head.
Homelander, convinced he had the upper hand, steadily increased the power of his lasers as he advanced, a smirk forming on his lips.
Trap? Now, Homelander believed he could solve any problem. Whoever it was, he could take them down with ease!
Clink... clink...
At that moment, Soldier Boy pulled the pin on a larger-than-average grenade and tossed it beside Homelander, where it rolled to his feet.
A grenade? How laughable.
Boom!!
A low-intensity explosion erupted beneath Homelander's feet.
?!
Yet, this low-intensity explosion managed to interrupt Homelander's laser attack, even causing him to stumble, nearly losing his balance.
This... This is impossible!
His childhood had been marked by abuse and torture; Vought had tested every possible attack method on him, and he had withstood it all.
But that was just a grenade! How could it hurt him?!
Homelander was utterly shocked.
He turned to look at Soldier Boy, only to see that Vought International's first "star" product was still standing in place, expressionless and unmoving.
However, Soldier Boy's head, red and overheated from the high-powered lasers, seemed to be approaching its limit. Homelander believed that just a bit more effort would be enough to break through.
But why had the grenade pushed him back? And why did Soldier Boy appear... dazed, almost dumbfounded?
Before he could figure out these questions, Homelander felt a gust of wind coming from behind him.
?
He turned around to see an "angel" descending from the breach in the ceiling, white wings beating gracefully.
Having wings wasn't uncommon among superhumans, but what caught Homelander's attention was the angel's height—nearly two meters tall.
The angel was extraordinarily handsome, with a perfectly proportioned physique, clad in black protective gear and armor, contrasting sharply with his pure white wings.
But what puzzled Homelander the most was that, upon seeing this being, he felt an unexpected sense of... calm?
"Hey! You're—"
Swish!
Before Homelander could finish his question, the silent "angel" launched a swift attack, becoming a blur of white as he charged.
!!
The speed was incredible, nearly catching Homelander off guard... No, his own speed had suddenly slowed!
He barely dodged the angel's right punch, but the left hook was already crashing into Homelander's right cheek.
Bang!!
Homelander's body was thrown uncontrollably through the air, eventually colliding with a pile of scrap metal, where he finally came to a stop.
"Ugh..."
Lying in the scrap heap, Homelander's ears rang incessantly. Blood trickled from his left nostril, and his vision swam.
He was dazed and in pain.
Struggling to get up, Homelander realized that the grenade earlier had severely weakened his powers.
This meant that he could be killed at any moment!
And this angel was clearly well-trained; in terms of combat skills, Homelander was no match, especially with Soldier Boy, who appeared mentally incapacitated, also present.
Should he keep fighting? Or run for his life?
Forcing himself to regain clarity, Homelander saw the angel springing from the ground again, swiftly closing the distance.
!
Homelander quickly rolled to the left, and as he narrowly avoided the attack, his eyes flashed red.
Zzzzzzz!
Two low-powered but fast-moving laser beams shot toward the angel's right side.
Buzz—Boom!
But a barely visible barrier absorbed the lasers, causing a small explosion between them.
Taking advantage of this, Homelander quickly escaped the scrap heap, successfully putting some distance between himself and his opponent, hovering in mid-air.
Using his x-ray vision, Homelander saw through the smoke, noticing that the angel had also been affected by the lasers and explosion, knocked back several meters.
His laser eyes worked!
So all he needed was to maintain his distance and keep using high-powered lasers—he still had a good chance of winning.
Homelander was convinced that no one could match his speed and agility in the air.
Just as Homelander was about to take action, the angel suddenly flapped his wings forcefully, dispersing the thick smoke, and pulled out a retractable spear from his side.
Clang!
With a flick of his wrist, the angel extended the spear, the sharp tip glinting as it quickly thrust toward Homelander's position.
!!
Seeing this, Homelander immediately dodged.
But instead of overshooting, the angel quickly adjusted his stance, swinging the spear at Homelander once more.
Swish—Swish!
The sharp blade whistled through the air, echoing through the spacious warehouse.
Homelander, hovering above, barely managed to dodge. His left cheek and forearm were grazed by the blade, leaving several cuts.
"No... no..."
Panic overwhelmed him.
He had no chance to put distance between them, and he had no advantage in close combat. The grenade had taken away his most reliable defense.
If that spear pierced his chest, he would die...
He would really die!
Run!
Driven by survival instinct, Homelander completely lost his courage to fight the angel. He tilted his head upward, ready to accelerate away.
What mattered more—pleasing Madeline and becoming a "true" superhero, or staying alive?!
But in that instant, the angel seized the opening, thrusting the spear into Homelander's left side.
Squelch!
The spear pierced through his body, blood pouring from the wound.
"Ugh... no..."
With that blow, Homelander felt all his strength leave him, his body going limp.
The angel then lifted his left foot, kicking Homelander in the abdomen.
Bang!
The force sent Homelander crashing back to the ground as the angel pulled the spear from his body, shook off the blood, and retracted the weapon, placing it back in the magnetic holder on his side.
As the angel landed on the ground and looked at the fallen Homelander...
"Please... don't kill me... I'm begging you..."
The "superhero" had lost all his previous arrogance, now reduced to tears, pleading for his life.
Seeing this, the angel—Saint Giles—couldn't help but frown slightly.
After six months of psychic training, he could now project a psychic barrier and sense the emotions around him.
The feedback from his senses told Saint Giles that Homelander was indeed terrified, but it was somehow different from ordinary fear.
"..."
Saint Giles sighed silently.
He walked over to the sobbing Homelander, gazed at him, and said, "I'm sorry, but I can't grant your request. However, my father once said that if you had grown up in a relatively normal environment, you might have become a hero who yearned for justice and sought peace."
"Unfortunately, there is no 'what if' in reality. But I can promise you that you'll die painlessly."
"A normal environment...?"
The first thing that came to Homelander's mind was the show he had recently been watching, *The Simpsons*.
He couldn't understand Homer's behavior, yet he longed for a father like him, and a mother as nurturing as Marge.
The last thing Homelander saw was Saint Giles kneeling beside him, bringing a knife-hand strike down on his neck, followed by darkness as everything went completely silent.
At that moment, Saint Giles reported through his earpiece, "This is Saint Giles. Mission accomplished within the time limit. Proceed to clear the site and transfer the target's body."
"This is Hunter 001, understood."
After hearing the confirmation, Saint Giles stood up, looking down at Homelander, whose life had ended due to severe brain damage. He couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy.
He knew from his father and Dr. Ashford (Alexia) that Homelander was an "experiment" born through unnatural means, having endured a hellish childhood in a research facility.
Though Saint Giles and his brothers couldn't be considered normal humans, he couldn't imagine what their lives would have been like without their father's guidance.
Saint Giles wasn't sure how they would have turned out as adults, but he was certain that their personalities would have become even more extreme.
Not long after, several hunters with activated optical camouflage arrived at the warehouse, transferring Homelander's body into a sealed black bag.
After securing the body, Saint Giles, Soldier Boy, who had been in standby mode, and the hunters all left the warehouse together.
Outside.
The setting sun reflected on the ocean, but the "sea breeze" in front of the warehouse seemed a bit strong and cold.
In fact, a medium-sized transport vessel, still in stealth mode, was parked in the open space in front of the warehouse.
The "cool sea breeze" was the byproduct of the engine's cooling system rapidly cooling down.
The transport vessel, using a rotating wing structure, was the next-generation troop carrier codenamed "Silver Gull," a project Atlas had been researching since 1994.
Equipped with two nuclear fusion engines, it had the capability to enter orbit, although it could only sustain flight for sixty minutes in a vacuum.
So far, only two prototypes had been produced for testing, one of which had been delivered to the Hunter unit—specifically, the Silver Gull currently before them.
Once Saint Giles and his team had boarded, the pilot closed the hatches on both sides and maneuvered the Silver Gull to lift off vertically, disappearing into the gradually darkening sky.
Boom!
The warehouse where Saint Giles and Homelander had fought was soon engulfed in flames from an explosion.
The blast was so intense that it could be seen clearly from several kilometers away on the opposite shore. However, it would take time for the police and fire departments to dispatch helicopters and ferries to the island.
...
Meanwhile, in the Southern Hemisphere, it was the middle of the night in Ghana.
Compared to 1993, Ghana's capital, Accra, had undergone a complete transformation.
The city center was now dominated by tall office buildings and apartments, with the Atlas branch tower standing as the city's landmark, rising over 500 meters.
Surrounding the center were bustling commercial streets filled with large malls, bars, and various entertainment venues.
Further out, the city's main residential, educational, and working districts were neatly organized, with buildings, blocks, and streets all laid out in an orderly fashion.
The coastal area was lined with resort hotels, complemented by tropical plants like coconut and palm trees, golden sandy beaches, and clear ocean waters, making it a true vacation paradise.
The dramatic changes in Accra could be seen worldwide through the internet.
Thanks to Atlas's investments and interventions, public safety had vastly improved, leading to a surge in tourism over the past year.
Even late at night, the city was still bustling with activity.
At a busy intersection, one could see traffic lights, signposts, bus stop navigation maps, and even buildings adorned with holographic projections.
Sometimes, an overhead monorail train would pass through these holographic advertisements, giving Accra the distinct vibe of a "city of the future."
At this moment...
In the Atlas Central Hospital.
On the 28th floor of the inpatient department, in a single room with a window facing south...
"Boss, why did you suddenly come here...?" A weak voice echoed through the room.
The speaker was an elderly man lying in bed, his thinning white hair arranged in a "Mediterranean" pattern.
Sitting by his bedside was none other than Atlas's founder, Samuel Young, dressed in business-casual attire.
Hearing the old man's question, Samuel smiled and countered, "I was about to ask you the same thing, old friend. Why did you insist on coming all the way to Accra for treatment?"
"It's more beautiful here than anywhere else." The old man smiled back, turning to gaze at the city's nighttime scenery outside the window. He marveled, "Only here can you truly feel the world developing in the way we had always hoped... It's truly mesmerizing."
"..."
Samuel's smile gradually faded.
After a moment of silence, he spoke again, "Zhaofeng, you've reached retirement age long ago. It's time to stop pushing yourself and take a well-deserved rest. The projects on Ark technology and nanorobots can be handed over to your students; they're just as capable as you were in your prime."
"Yes, the students have surpassed the teacher, but it's hard to let go. Still, I can't deny that I'm getting old." The old man, Zhaofeng, turned his head back to see Samuel's serious expression and said calmly, "Boss, everyone's time is finite. I may be old-fashioned, but I'd rather accept death naturally than prolong my life through consciousness transfer."
Raising his voice, Zhaofeng insisted, "I just got too engrossed in reading at home recently, didn't eat properly, and ended up with malnutrition. Besides, I'm only sixty-seven—not that old!"
"Compared to me, you're indeed not old." Samuel shook his head slightly, a hint of helplessness in his tone. Then, he stood up and said, "Alright, old friend, I respect your choice. But after you're discharged, you must visit the biology department to have your consciousness and memory copied. When the world finally becomes what we envisioned, I hope *you* will still have a chance to witness it with your own eyes."
---
*Author's Note: The timeline in this book will be extended.*
The pace will slow down as much as possible.
The cycle for opening space portals is 414 days. The first few worlds are "very useful" ones.
However, there will be worlds later on that are "less useful," so I might gloss over them or use other techniques to depict certain periods when the portals have already opened, and so on.
(Feel free to suggest movies and games in the comments for this chapter, haha~)
Meanwhile, there will also be interludes about what changes are happening in the main universe under the guidance of Atlas and the protagonist.
Currently, Atlas's focus is on developing the main universe and Universes 01 and 03.
To ensure the safety of all bases and successfully carry out large-scale construction projects, Homelander and Vought must be dealt with.
The main universe faces more threats than just Vought; after all, lunar and Martian colonies have yet to be developed.
Lastly, thank you all for your support and suggestions, as well as for your subscriptions, tips, recommendations, and monthly votes!
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