A drone wobbled through the air, trailing smoke, before tumbling down.
Luckily, it wasn't too high above the ground and landed softly in a patch of grass, avoiding any major damage.
Moments later, two young men, who had originally been filming a wilderness special but pivoted to documenting Homelander's actions, came running towards it in a panic.
"Where's my drone? I saw it fall somewhere around here!"
"There! Over there, Charlie, look!"
They quickly retrieved the drone from the grass.
"Man, it's pretty banged up," Charlie muttered in distress.
Tony inspected the drone from every angle, flipping it over to check for damage. "If I hadn't told you to fly it back right away, we wouldn't even have anything left to salvage."
"Got it!" Tony said triumphantly, holding up the memory card he pulled out of the drone.
"Hope this thing isn't corrupted."
"Otherwise, all our hard work will go down the drain."
---
On the Interstate
"Homelander! Homelander! Homelander!"
The soldiers were cheering wildly. What had seemed like an imminent disaster had been averted, all thanks to Homelander's deadly precision with his heat vision.
Their fear of death dissolved in the victory. They could return home safely, meet their families again, and even enjoy dates with their sweethearts. The relief and gratitude toward Homelander swelled within every soldier.
Meanwhile, text notifications flickered across Homelander's retina.
[You've perfectly resolved the incident.]
[Incident Severity Rating: D-]
*[Perfect Rating Rewards: 1. Proficiency Essence*11 | 2. Black Bat Circus Coins | 3. Multiverse Crate (Random)2]
[New items have been added to your store.]
Proficiency Essence.
Black Bat Circus Coins.
Multiverse Crates.
There were more rewards this time, and they were better than before.
Does the severity of an incident affect the rewards? Could it mean higher-rated missions give even more exciting prizes?
Hearing the soldiers' cheers snap him back to reality, Homelander shelved the thought and turned toward the troops, offering them a bright smile. He raised his hand in a crisp salute.
The soldiers, still overwhelmed with emotion, returned the gesture, standing as straight as arrows.
With a nod, Homelander slowly rose into the air, adjusted his trajectory, and soared off toward Silver Tree Town.
He had to retrieve Angelina.
On his way back to the Seven Towers, he opened his status screen.
---
[Name: John (Homelander)]
[Life Level: 5 (Extraordinary)]
[Status: Normal]
[Abilities: Heat Vision (45/200) | Flight+2 (29/100) | Super Speed+2 (19/100) | Steel Body+2 (76/100) | Super Strength+2 (22/100) | Regeneration+1 (13/30) | Insight+1 (21/30)]
[Inventory: Dim Proficiency Essence6 | Proficiency Essence11 | Black Bat Circus Coins | Multiverse Crates*2]
---
Both Flight, Super Speed, and Super Strength had leveled up!
He immediately checked the ability upgrades.
---
[Flight+2: Flight Height +115%, Speed +55%, Maneuverability +40%.]
[Super Speed+2: Speed +230%, Unlock: 'Afterimage'—leaves a phantom at the starting point to confuse enemies.]
[Super Strength+2: Base Strength +155%. Other effects remain unchanged.]
---
Satisfied with the upgrades, Homelander closed his status screen and opened the store to see what new items were available.
Three new items were listed.
---
[NK Gene Modification Serum: Black Widow]
Description: A targeted genetic serum that retains 'enhanced' abilities and allows users to awaken the "Thread Manipulation" power upon injection.
Price: 60 Dim Proficiency Essence
---
[Targeted Talent Capsule: Absolute Accuracy]
Description: Generates a gene segment granting "Absolute Accuracy." Your ranged attacks will always hit a marked target as long as it's within your sightline.
Price: 10 Proficiency Essence
---
[Targeted Talent Capsule: Self-Replication]
Description: Generates a gene segment allowing for "Self-Replication." Create up to 20 duplicates. The first clone retains 80% of your power, and each additional clone divides that strength further.
Price: 10 Proficiency Essence
---
Hell yeah!
Homelander almost dropped Angelina from excitement.
The first item obviously came from the Emma Department Store incident, while the latter two were derived from the recently concluded Silver Tree Town mission.
The gene modification serum didn't pique his interest.
But the other two...
"Absolute Accuracy" would ensure his heat vision never missed. As long as the target was in his line of sight, the attack would connect. The only way to survive it would be through special abilities, like dimensional projection or teleportation.
Then there was "Self-Replication."
For the average person, it was a gimmick at best. But in Homelander's hands? It was pure gold.
The first clone would have 80% of his strength. Even though further clones would split the power among themselves, they would all benefit from his constant upgrades.
As his abilities improved, so would theirs. With enough progression, he could effectively create an army of Homelanders.
The potential was game-changing.
Yes, the capsule cost 10 Proficiency Essence, meaning other upgrades would have to wait.
But it was worth it.
The sooner I buy it, the sooner I reap the rewards.
Without hesitation, Homelander purchased the capsule. It now sat comfortably in his inventory.
---
Back at the Seven Towers, Homelander set Angelina down gently. After a brief pause, he gave her a new directive.
"Your training will have a new focus from now on."
Angelina blinked her large, expressive eyes at him, clearly eager for whatever came next.
"When you've mastered capturing liquids with shadows, we'll proceed with 'that plan.'"
He smiled. "How soon we start depends entirely on you."
Angelina's crimson eyes glowed with determination. "I'll do my best, Master."
Exiting the elevator, Homelander almost ran into Ashley.
"Homelander! Finally, you're back."
"The wardrobe department has been asking about you non-stop. Do you have time for them now?"
Homelander gave a small, amused smile. "They've waited this long. I'm sure they won't mind waiting just one more day."
Ashley nodded before adding, "Oh, by the way, Annika from Criminal Analysis stopped by earlier. She said she had updates on your investigation."
She glanced at her watch. "But she's probably off work by now."
"Do you have her address?" Homelander asked casually.
Ashley's eyes widened in surprise.
"You're planning to visit her in person?"
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