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Starting in 'The Boys' to Become the Ultimate Lifeform_chapter_0362_en
Chapter 362
Chapter 361: Deterrence! A Perfect Match!
"Alright, that's not important."
At this moment, the waiter approached them with a tray, then bowed slightly and said respectfully, "Two glasses of soda water, and our house specialty, cherry puffs. Please enjoy."
Afterwards, he placed the soda water and food from the tray onto the table. Having done this, he stepped back several paces and bowed again, "Please let me know if you need anything. I hope you enjoy your meal."
"An interesting superpower, just like the Doppelganger." Stan Edgar turned his head to glance at the departing waiter, then his gaze returned to Xia Shang's face, and he asked softly, "But he can only imitate a person's appearance, while you seem to be able to imitate superpowers as well."
"To be precise, it's not imitation."
Xia Shang shook his head slightly. Immediately after, his eyes glowed with red light, and deep within his eyes, a kind of wild energy seemed hidden, exactly like Homelander! "It's that I inherently possess those superpowers." Xia Shang raised the corner of his mouth, revealing a hint of unrestrained smile. At the same time, a strong sense of oppression, centered around him, spread wildly in all directions, as if the entire restaurant had been paused, and the atmosphere instantly quieted down. Stan Edgar's heavier breathing could even be faintly heard.
"I possess far more superpowers than you can imagine."
As soon as Xia Shang finished speaking, in an instant, the tables, chairs, and benches in the restaurant simultaneously levitated and slowly rotated around the two of them. This scene was very much like a grand spectacle from a sci-fi movie, but because the restaurant was located in a remote area, only Stan Edgar was fortunate enough to witness this sight.
"In fact, killing you would probably take me less than a second, and the methods you used to deal with Homelander are basically ineffective against me." Xia Shang slightly raised a finger, and a steel dinner knife zipped to a stop at Stan Edgar's neck, just one millimeter from his skin. "Why don't you take a guess why I haven't made a move against you yet?"
Xia Shang retracted his laser eye, smiled, picked up the soda water from the table, and took a small sip. In the extremely quiet surroundings, he seemed to be waiting for Stan Edgar's answer.
At this moment, Stan Edgar's expression remained calm, but his Adam's apple subtly bobbed, and at some point, his temples were soaked with sweat. His right hand, placed under the table, was clenched into a fist. Clearly, his mind was not as calm as his outward appearance suggested.
The heavy-hearted Stan Edgar tried his best to maintain his dignity. He exhaled a murky breath, placed his hands on the table, and interlaced his fingers, saying, "This indicates that I still have use value to you, otherwise my fate might not be much different from Stormfront's."
"Mr. Stan Edgar is indeed smart." Xia Shang smiled and put down the glass in his hand. The moment the bottom of the cup touched the table, the floating items in the surroundings seemed to have been rewound, and immediately returned to their original positions.
"If I were smart, I wouldn't have promoted you to Vice President. As your nation's saying goes, it's like raising a tiger that will eventually devour you." Stan Edgar pulled at his facial muscles, saying a string of awkward words with a forced smile.
"I knew a long time ago that you and I are the same kind of person. Indeed, my judgment was accurate," Stan Edgar said, stabilizing his emotions and continuing, "But I must be grateful for this, because it means we still have the possibility of cooperation. Tell me, I want to know what use value I have to you.
Oh, and I should remind you, I am no longer the Vought President. If you want to become President, I'm afraid I won't be of much use."
"Homelander is just your mascot. The person truly in control of Vought has never changed. Otherwise, the one who became Headmaster of Godolkin now should have been me." Xia Shang directly exposed Stan Edgar's words.
Stan Edgar, exposed, wasn't annoyed. He just smiled.
"Of course, I don't care who becomes Principal." Xia Shang, sitting at the table, took out a USB drive and placed it next to the glass. "If you're thinking of staging a comeback using the virus or Cate, I advise you not to indulge in wishful thinking."
The smile on Stan Edgar's face vanished without a trace. He frowned and said in a deep voice, "What do you want me to do? Push you to become Vought President?"
Unexpectedly, Xia Shang shook his head after hearing this. "Vought President holds no appeal for me." In reality, he couldn't stay in The Boys forever. After all, The Boys' level is only two stars, and he would eventually have to leave The Boys for higher-level Worlds. However, this didn't mean The Boys World would become worthless. Even if he left The Boys, The Boys would still continuously provide him with Fantasy Value, and The Boys World was a rich vault of superpowers for him.
What Xia Shang wanted to achieve was to make more humans become Supes. Therefore, before leaving, he wanted to find a suitable Candidate.
Someone to help him promote Compound V to the world. And Stan Edgar, right before him, was the best Candidate.
"Victoria Neuman is just one step away from becoming Vice President. I want you to join forces with her after she takes office and vigorously promote Compound V." Xia Shang stated the true purpose of his visit.
"Victoria Neuman has long since become Homelander's person. She won't listen to me."
Stan Edgar hadn't expected that what Mr. Jervis valued in him was actually this.
"Transforming Vought International into a pharmaceutical company is something I considered a long time ago. Unfortunately, I'm afraid it's difficult for me to restrain Homelander anymore. He's like a wild beast that's tasted blood; once the wildness inside him is triggered, it's hard to pull it back." Stan Edgar voiced his concerns. In his view, Homelander had become different from before, harder to restrain, harder to control.
"I will figure out a way to handle Homelander. You don't need to worry about that."
Xia Shang stood up and looked at Stan Edgar, saying, "I am different from Homelander. Once you lose your use value in my eyes, a more suitable person will replace you."
"As a Black person who has worked for the Vought Board of Directors for so many years, I understand exactly what you mean."
"You don't need to worry about the old geezers on the Vought Board of Directors. From today onwards, you only need to work for me." After saying this, Xia Shang walked out of the restaurant without looking back.
…………
"Get up!" Emma Meyer, wearing only a tank top, yanked open the curtains, then climbed up the stairs to Marie Moreau's window.
She grabbed a corner of the bedsheet and pulled it back forcefully.
"What's going on?" She saw Marie Moreau, with messy hair, looking at her with a tired face. Marie Moreau also had deep dark circles around her eyes, looking like she hadn't slept all night.
"Did you stay up all night?" Emma Meyer asked.
"I didn't sleep at all."
Marie Moreau climbed out of bed and walked towards the washroom. "I've been thinking about whether or not to tell Golden Boy what happened yesterday."
(End of Chapter)
"Alright, that's not important."
At this moment, the waiter approached them with a tray, then bowed slightly and said respectfully, "Two glasses of soda water, and our house specialty, cherry puffs. Please enjoy."
Afterwards, he placed the soda water and food from the tray onto the table. Having done this, he stepped back several paces and bowed again, "Please let me know if you need anything. I hope you enjoy your meal."
"An interesting superpower, just like the Doppelganger." Stan Edgar turned his head to glance at the departing waiter, then his gaze returned to Xia Shang's face, and he asked softly, "But he can only imitate a person's appearance, while you seem to be able to imitate superpowers as well."
"To be precise, it's not imitation."
Xia Shang shook his head slightly. Immediately after, his eyes glowed with red light, and deep within his eyes, a kind of wild energy seemed hidden, exactly like Homelander! "It's that I inherently possess those superpowers." Xia Shang raised the corner of his mouth, revealing a hint of unrestrained smile. At the same time, a strong sense of oppression, centered around him, spread wildly in all directions, as if the entire restaurant had been paused, and the atmosphere instantly quieted down. Stan Edgar's heavier breathing could even be faintly heard.
"I possess far more superpowers than you can imagine."
As soon as Xia Shang finished speaking, in an instant, the tables, chairs, and benches in the restaurant simultaneously levitated and slowly rotated around the two of them. This scene was very much like a grand spectacle from a sci-fi movie, but because the restaurant was located in a remote area, only Stan Edgar was fortunate enough to witness this sight.
"In fact, killing you would probably take me less than a second, and the methods you used to deal with Homelander are basically ineffective against me." Xia Shang slightly raised a finger, and a steel dinner knife zipped to a stop at Stan Edgar's neck, just one millimeter from his skin. "Why don't you take a guess why I haven't made a move against you yet?"
Xia Shang retracted his laser eye, smiled, picked up the soda water from the table, and took a small sip. In the extremely quiet surroundings, he seemed to be waiting for Stan Edgar's answer.
At this moment, Stan Edgar's expression remained calm, but his Adam's apple subtly bobbed, and at some point, his temples were soaked with sweat. His right hand, placed under the table, was clenched into a fist. Clearly, his mind was not as calm as his outward appearance suggested.
The heavy-hearted Stan Edgar tried his best to maintain his dignity. He exhaled a murky breath, placed his hands on the table, and interlaced his fingers, saying, "This indicates that I still have use value to you, otherwise my fate might not be much different from Stormfront's."
"Mr. Stan Edgar is indeed smart." Xia Shang smiled and put down the glass in his hand. The moment the bottom of the cup touched the table, the floating items in the surroundings seemed to have been rewound, and immediately returned to their original positions.
"If I were smart, I wouldn't have promoted you to Vice President. As your nation's saying goes, it's like raising a tiger that will eventually devour you." Stan Edgar pulled at his facial muscles, saying a string of awkward words with a forced smile.
"I knew a long time ago that you and I are the same kind of person. Indeed, my judgment was accurate," Stan Edgar said, stabilizing his emotions and continuing, "But I must be grateful for this, because it means we still have the possibility of cooperation. Tell me, I want to know what use value I have to you.
Oh, and I should remind you, I am no longer the Vought President. If you want to become President, I'm afraid I won't be of much use."
"Homelander is just your mascot. The person truly in control of Vought has never changed. Otherwise, the one who became Headmaster of Godolkin now should have been me." Xia Shang directly exposed Stan Edgar's words.
Stan Edgar, exposed, wasn't annoyed. He just smiled.
"Of course, I don't care who becomes Principal." Xia Shang, sitting at the table, took out a USB drive and placed it next to the glass. "If you're thinking of staging a comeback using the virus or Cate, I advise you not to indulge in wishful thinking."
The smile on Stan Edgar's face vanished without a trace. He frowned and said in a deep voice, "What do you want me to do? Push you to become Vought President?"
Unexpectedly, Xia Shang shook his head after hearing this. "Vought President holds no appeal for me." In reality, he couldn't stay in The Boys forever. After all, The Boys' level is only two stars, and he would eventually have to leave The Boys for higher-level Worlds. However, this didn't mean The Boys World would become worthless. Even if he left The Boys, The Boys would still continuously provide him with Fantasy Value, and The Boys World was a rich vault of superpowers for him.
What Xia Shang wanted to achieve was to make more humans become Supes. Therefore, before leaving, he wanted to find a suitable Candidate.
Someone to help him promote Compound V to the world. And Stan Edgar, right before him, was the best Candidate.
"Victoria Neuman is just one step away from becoming Vice President. I want you to join forces with her after she takes office and vigorously promote Compound V." Xia Shang stated the true purpose of his visit.
"Victoria Neuman has long since become Homelander's person. She won't listen to me."
Stan Edgar hadn't expected that what Mr. Jervis valued in him was actually this.
"Transforming Vought International into a pharmaceutical company is something I considered a long time ago. Unfortunately, I'm afraid it's difficult for me to restrain Homelander anymore. He's like a wild beast that's tasted blood; once the wildness inside him is triggered, it's hard to pull it back." Stan Edgar voiced his concerns. In his view, Homelander had become different from before, harder to restrain, harder to control.
"I will figure out a way to handle Homelander. You don't need to worry about that."
Xia Shang stood up and looked at Stan Edgar, saying, "I am different from Homelander. Once you lose your use value in my eyes, a more suitable person will replace you."
"As a Black person who has worked for the Vought Board of Directors for so many years, I understand exactly what you mean."
"You don't need to worry about the old geezers on the Vought Board of Directors. From today onwards, you only need to work for me." After saying this, Xia Shang walked out of the restaurant without looking back.
…………
"Get up!" Emma Meyer, wearing only a tank top, yanked open the curtains, then climbed up the stairs to Marie Moreau's window.
She grabbed a corner of the bedsheet and pulled it back forcefully.
"What's going on?" She saw Marie Moreau, with messy hair, looking at her with a tired face. Marie Moreau also had deep dark circles around her eyes, looking like she hadn't slept all night.
"Did you stay up all night?" Emma Meyer asked.
"I didn't sleep at all."
Marie Moreau climbed out of bed and walked towards the washroom. "I've been thinking about whether or not to tell Golden Boy what happened yesterday."
(End of Chapter)
