The moon hung in the sky above a secluded villa outside Godolkin University.
In the living room, Wade, Cate, Jordan Li, Andre, and Luke sat around the sofa. Snacks and drinks were scattered between them, and the atmosphere was heavy.
"Let us speak first," Jordan Li said, breaking the silence. "We participated in several DEA raids and seized a large amount of drugs and blue crystal."
"According to the case files and intelligence, this stuff is everywhere in Mexico. The origin is very scattered, and it flows into the country through various secret channels. No wonder it is so expensive."
Luke picked up a glass of water and took a big gulp. "We read the interrogation records and medical reports... After ordinary people take it, their strength and speed skyrocket. If they are lucky enough not to die after the drug wears off... there is a certain chance they will actually gain superpowers."
"What is the price?" Wade asked calmly.
Andre raised his head, his tone heavy. "It is life. Every time that unstable ability is used, it is a huge overdraft on the body. Records show that everyone who gained the ability... eventually died, and died very quickly."
He paused and added, "Before we came back, we also saw Queen Maeve and Homelander in the city. They were fighting some Supe terrorists who were causing chaos... Now that I think about it, that might also be..."
Wade held the tablet and brought up the organized list of information. "Cate and I discovered a complete supply chain at the port. Combining that with what you said..."
"It can be inferred that Vought Corporation must be using 'blue crystal' in Central and South America to create a large number of Supes with inferior abilities who do not live long. They trick these people onto cargo ships under various false pretenses and smuggle them into the country through strictly controlled free ports."
"They have bribed inspectors at the ports, and these'special cargoes'... are transported to various places just like that. We... also obtained footage of A-Train and Black Noir 'handling' the cargo for show."
Cate played the video recorded on her phone. In the picture, A-Train and Black Noir were "heroically" fighting some crazy-looking Supes with many abilities, and the scene was extremely bloody.
The room fell into dead silence.
The coin in Andre's hand stopped flipping and was tightly clenched in his palm; Luke opened his mouth, unable to say any words of defense.
"They... what do they consider living people to be?" Jordan Li punched the carpet, his body trembling slightly with anger. "Just to create a hero-show style screen performance? This is simply... inhumane!"
Luke dejectedly slapped his head hard. "So The Seven are all like this! And I used to be a fan of them... A real hero should not be that kind of person who wears tights, poses in front of the camera, and ignores life."
Wade looked at everyone and tapped the table. "We have figured out a complete drug-population-experiment-show process. You decide what to do."
"It must be exposed!" Jordan Li raised his head sharply, eyes determined. "We cannot let them continue like this! Are the lives of illegal immigrants not lives?"
Vought Corporation's actions have already touched the bottom line of humanity.
"I agree to expose it," Andre said in a deep voice. "But we must ensure absolute safety and not bring trouble upon ourselves."
"Yes!" Luke immediately agreed. "We can anonymously send the files and videos to major news media."
Jordan Li's ideas became active. "Or, find those high-traffic network platforms and spread it using untraceable encryption methods."
Everyone discussed, proposing various anonymous plans based on modern media technology, with only one core demand: to find a balance between the breadth of dissemination and their own safety.
Wade listened quietly, and only when the discussion subsided did he slowly speak up, proposing a completely different plan.
"What you all said is very good, but by spreading it directly through news media and the internet, given Vought Corporation's resources and means, they might be able to trace it." He looked at Cate. "I have a safer way that is not afraid of being traced."
Everyone's eyes focused on him.
"Cate and I will make a few more trips these next two nights," Wade said with a bright smile. "After we disguise ourselves, we will visit areas rampant with gangsters, find those thugs and drug dealers... and let our senior 'persuade' them."
Cate, who had been silent on the side, nodded.
Wade continued to explain, "Let these guys, who already have a bad track record, go to local media to report anonymously, and spread this information and videos on the internet."
"The source will be completely randomized and spread across multiple cities. No matter how powerful Vought Corporation's PR department is, even if they clean out all the gangs in the area, they will not be able to find anything."
Once these words were spoken, the room fell into silence again.
Jordan Li and Andre nodded slowly. "Let's do it!"
After a brief astonishment, Luke applauded. "This might be a good way to uphold justice without implicating us."
The night outside the window grew thicker, the people in the villa dispersed, and a storm stirred up by Godolkin students quietly arrived.
In the early morning, in a back alley in the South Side of Chicago that reeked of urine and rot.
A burly man with a guillotine tattoo on his neck had just finished a drug deal and was humming a tune while counting money.
Suddenly, he felt his neck tighten, he wanted to scream in horror, but could not make any sound.
The drug dealer's feet left the ground, he was dragged into the shadows deep in the alley, and then floated up out of thin air.
Wade, wearing a bandit mask, stood on the rooftop, controlling the airflow tentacles that bound the opponent, pressing the man firmly against the brick wall. "Little blonde, it's your turn."
Cate walked out from behind Wade, looking at the struggling drug dealer in front of her, a flash of disgust in her eyes. "He stinks!"
Wade urged, "Hurry up, is now the time to be squeamish?"
Cate frowned slightly, her fingertips touching the other person's greasy forehead. A wave of nausea surged into her throat, she forcibly suppressed it and concentrated.
The drug dealer's struggle stopped, his eyes became vacant and confused.
Wade quietly observed from the side using Mental Control, seeing Cate's mental energy first probe into the prefrontal cortex, then the hippocampus and amygdala. 'What are you doing?'
Cate's mental fluctuation came out: 'I replaced his experience of being attacked and controlled with "accidentally finding a mysterious USB drive".'
'I set a near-term goal for him: starting at 8:00 AM tomorrow, spread the videos and files on the USB drive to the internet, and submit them to all local news media.'
'I also implanted an inexplicable intense hatred for Vought Corporation in him as a driving force for execution.'
The whole process lasted a full minute, and the drug dealer passed out.
Wade immediately discovered a problem: Cate's mental energy output had disconnections, and she could not output stably and efficiently like he could.
This was caused by dual problems in spirit and body, combined with Cate's recent habitual resistance and submissiveness after being suppressed, there was clearly a big problem.
'If this continues... won't I be reverse-domesticated by her? No!'
If the two's deformed relationship continues to develop, it will become more and more twisted, and Cate is very likely to develop to another extreme, or even have a mental breakdown.
Wade had not fully mastered the [Mental Control] ability, this was not the result he wanted.
Cate gasped, her face pale, and hurriedly sprayed disinfectant to clean her fingers. "Don't you also know how to use Mental Control? Why don't you do it yourself?"
Wade beckoned, stuffed a USB drive into the drug dealer's pocket, and gently transported him back to the alley entrance with airflow.
In the alley, the drug dealer climbed up blankly after less than two minutes, muttering, "Damn, why did I sleep here... Vought Corporation scum... just wait!"
Watching him stagger away, Wade turned to Cate and flicked her forehead. "You are already mine, exercising a little... is that not okay?"
Cate turned her head away, feigning anger. "I, I am not your subordinate!"
Wade thought of her series of morbid behaviors earlier and said, "From now on, you are not allowed to call me master again, just call me by my name."
Cate hurriedly grabbed his hand, lowered her head and said in a muffled voice. "Why? Don't you want me anymore?"
"No reason, I'm tired of hearing it." Wade wrapped her in airflow and flew into the high sky. "Also, you are not allowed to take the medicine Shetty gave you, that stuff is useless."
Cate said timidly, "Bu, but... if I don't take it... I will hear strange voices, and my head will hurt a lot."
Wade took her hand, his mental energy spreading gently. "Believe me, try to face it instead of avoiding it. I will help you."
Wade did not rudely erase Cate's memories, but built a solid "dam" outside her unbearable memories, isolating those accusing, abusive voices and embarrassing memory fragments.
Cate felt the memories in her brain about causing her brother's disappearance, her parents treating her as a monster, long-term confinement, and her inner remorse and anger gradually fading, as if covered by a layer of fog.
The clamor in her brain gradually faded away, and an unprecedented sense of peace enveloped her.
Cate wept, hugging the person beside her tightly. "Thank you... I feel... much better."
"Avoiding it is not shameful." Wade stroked her hair, silently probing the state of her cranial cavity, and used cell-level control to repair some of the damage in Cate's brain. "It's hard to face your own past, keep working hard... We should go, there is still a lot to do."
Ten minutes later, Detroit, abandoned factory.
A guy handling stolen cars was hung upside down on a rusty steel beam by Wade with airflow, and Cate reached out to complete the mental command implantation.
A police car on night patrol passed by, and Wade had to use airflow to make a noise in the distance to lure it away.
Fifteen minutes later, Miami, dock warehouse.
A gang middleman conducting an illegal gun deal was paralyzed by the eerie sight of his own pistol hovering in front of his forehead, and Cate's mental energy took advantage of the situation to enter.
Overnight, hundreds of people addicted to crime in the East Coast urban cluster had commands implanted in them without their knowledge.
A whistleblowing operation with gangsters acting as messengers and vanguards was ready.
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