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Chapter 40.
A video less than ten minutes long swept across the internet like wildfire. Within just a few hours, almost everyone had seen it. The speed of information transmission in the internet age was truly astounding.
At this moment, the phones at Vought Group were ringing off the hook. Countless fans of Homelander, along with curious onlookers, were frantically calling for more information.
The call operators were overwhelmed and no longer dared to pick up the phone—because every time they did, they were met with furious questions demanding to know whether the contents of the video were true.
The operators themselves had no idea whether it was real or not. But even if it was, they could only say it wasn't.
It wasn't just the frontline staff who were stressed out—Madeleine, the Vice President of Vought Group, was equally anxious. After failing to contact both Homelander and Thunder, she had a sinking feeling that everything shown in the video was indeed real.
Even government officials—who were mostly already tied up with Vought Group—were now calling to inquire about the situation. Madeleine was left to deal with these old political foxes, and it was even more exhausting.
She had already watched the video several times. Holding onto a last shred of hope, she ordered the best technical team at Vought Group to verify whether the video had been tampered with.
At the same time, she gave instructions to track down the person who posted the video and get them to delete it—by any means necessary. She also mobilized her PR team to negotiate with all the major platforms, willing to pay any price to get the video taken down before it spread further.
But the results were disappointing. Her team reported back that there were no signs of tampering—the video looked entirely genuine.
She had to admit, the people in the video were –indeed Homelander and Thunder. But –the strength Thunder showed was vastly different from what he had previously revealed to the world.
Homelander—acknowledged as the world's strongest superhero—had been completely overwhelmed in the video. And now, with no sign of Homelander anywhere, a very bad feeling gnawed at Madeleine.
Why did Li Yue join the Seven? Why hide his strength? Why approach Homelander, only for this to happen?
These were the questions haunting her now. No wonder he had dared to speak so boldly to her that morning—perhaps because he had already achieved his goal and no longer feared her at all.
With all this happening, she had completely given up hope that the government would approve the superhero program. Now, her only concern was minimizing the fallout from this incident—keeping Vought Group's stock price from tanking would already be a small victory.
However, the world outside was far from calm. Even though Vought Group had moved quickly to suppress the video, and most major sites had taken it down, they couldn't stop the public discussion.
After initial disbelief and skepticism, some nosy and curious netizens couldn't help but visit the scene from the video to investigate.
What they found was shocking—a massive, bowl-shaped crater over a kilometer wide and several hundred meters deep, exactly like the one in the video. Some of them recorded footage of the site and uploaded it online.
This new discovery blew everyone's minds. It confirmed that the events in the video had actually happened. At this point, major social media platforms could no longer control the spread. The conversations exploded.
And then came the flame wars between fans.
"Homelander must be the good guy! He saw Thunder sneak into the Seven with evil intent and exposed him. Thunder got mad and killed him! That's what really happened!"
— said diehardHomelander fans.
"Hah! All superheroes are trash. Thunder must've been too handsome and powerful for that loser to handle. Jealousy made Homelander attack first, but he underestimated Thunder and got owned!"
— responded Thunder's fangirls and fanboys.
"I am the Keyboard Warrior! Born of chaos, fueled by online rage. Wait… wrong script. Never mind."
— added someone else, because internet.
In short, the internet was in utter chaos—full of keyboard battles, cyberbullying, and verbal abuse.
But Homelander was a veteran superhero, widely considered the most beloved in America. His popularity and fanbase far outweighed Thunder's.
As a result, Thunder's supporters were quickly overwhelmed. Public opinion tilted in favor of Homelander.
News outlets and blogs started pushing headlines like:
"Thunder is a dangerous villain! Homelander fought him to protect the people but was tragically defeated!"
"Thunder's status unknown after explosive battle!"
The twisty plot resembled something straight out of a drama series—just like the ones Li Yue used to watch. And just like in those dramas, people chose to believe whatever fit their personal narratives or aligned with the loudest voices online.
Nearly eight hours later, Li Yue finally woke up from a deep, dreamless sleep.
"Man... I haven't slept like that in forever. I used to meditate instead of sleep after I started training, but this... this was nice," Li Yue murmured, stretching.
Ever since he completed his studies at Kamar-Taj, he hadn't rested like a normal person. Sleeping again for the first time in ages felt surprisingly comforting.
"David, did anything happen while I was asleep?"
(E/N : "David" is the name Li Yue gave to the AI inside his suit—built with Tony Stark's latest nanomaterial, capable of withstanding solar heat. So no worries there! I changed it from David ☺ )
"Sir," the AI responded smoothly, "while you were resting, a video of your battle with Homelander went viral online. I investigated—it was recorded by a youth who accidentally captured it and uploaded it to the internet."
"This youth is named Ryan. He's 25 years old. Based on his digital footprint, we can confirm he came here as a tourist. During your battle with Homelander, he happened to be on a mountain across from the scene and captured the video. His ancestry—"
"Okay, okay, David, I didn't ask for his entire life story!"
Li Yue cut off the AI's report mid-sentence, then asked, "He hasn't gone back yet?"
"He hasn't left, sir," Xiaodu replied.
Li Yue sighed in exasperation –but, thinking of him as a fellow tourist, decided to give a friendly warning.
"David, send him a message—tell him to get out of here and go home."
Meanwhile, in a luxury hotel, the young man himself was grinning as he watched his video blowing up online.
"Dude, this is gonna make me famous!"
Xu Xiaoning could hardly contain his excitement.
Ding! Ding!
Two text messages arrived. He opened them curiously.
"Brother, there are ghosts. Stop the trade!"
"What the heck is this?" He frowned, confused, and quickly opened the second message.
"Haha, just messing with you! But seriously, bro, heads-up—Vought Company is tracking the source of the video. Take my advice and run. No need to thank me. I'm just a good guy who never leaves a name."
Ryan froze. He had captured the battle between Li Yue and Homelander while hiking, filming the airborne clash from afar. He couldn't believe what he was seeing and naturally recorded it. After they disappeared from view, he eagerly reviewed the video, thrilled with what he'd caught, and immediately uploaded it online before hurrying back to his hotel.
It had taken him nearly an hour to descend the mountain and return. But when he checked the video again, he was hit with a wave of comments—most claiming the video was fake. His excitement turned to frustration, and when the platform deleted the video an hour later, he was furious.
Then came the twist.
Just when he thought all was lost, the video started going viral again from others reuploading it. His spirits soared—until those two messages arrived.
"Sh*t… I'm not even safe here!"
He suddenly realized this wasn't like posting something online in his country. Over here, a company like Vought could erase him like swatting a fly.
He felt a chill down his spine. If this person had already found out who he was, then Vought's people wouldn't be far behind.
Without a second thought, he grabbed his bag and bolted out of the room. He didn't even bother checking out—he had only one goal now: get back to his country. Fast.
"This is nuts… I just wanted to film some sightseeing!"
On his way to the airport, he frantically checked flight bookings on his phone—only to find all the seats sold out.
Ding!
Another text popped up.
"Used your info to book the next available flight—first class. Just go to the airport and pick up the ticket. No need to thank me, I'm just a decent guy. Oh, and the payment? Already taken care of, check your account."
Ryan was speechless. His eyes welled up.
"Whoever you are… thank you, comrade. I owe you my life!"
Overwhelmed but grateful, he rushed toward the airport.
Unbeknownst to Ryan, just minutes after he left the hotel, a group of a dozen burly men in black trench coats and sunglasses entered the building. One of them stepped up to the front desk and asked coldly,
"Has the guest in Room 705 checked out yet?"
After learning that Ryan hadn't checked out, the group rushed to his room. But when they broke down the door, the room was empty—he was already gone.
"Sir, Mr. Ryan successfully boarded the plane. It's scheduled to take off in three –minutes. Nothing unusual happened. However, after he left the hotel, a group of people forcefully broke into his room."
"Understood. End all surveillance on him," Li Yue replied after receiving the update from Xiaodiao. His earlier warning had finally been proven right.
Meanwhile, seated in first class, Ryan had no idea that if he'd left just thirty minutes later, he might never have gotten the chance to see the majestic mountains and rivers of his homeland again.
At that moment, a deep sense of homesickness overwhelmed him. For the first time in his life, he felt a desperate yearning to return home—to the peaceful, stable life he once took for granted.
"Mr. Li, Miss Starlight is calling again. This is her 59th attempt since your break. Would you like to answer?"
"Pick it up."
Li Yue was reviewing the latest headlines on Tony's transparent mobile phone—one he didn't usually carry, but had left at home. As David's voice rang out and mentioned the 59 missed calls, Li Yue felt that ignoring her any longer would be unreasonable.
"Thank goodness, Li Yue! You finally answered! Where are you? Are you hurt?" came Starlight's anxious voice the moment he picked up.
"I'm fine now, really. No need to worry," Li Yue replied in a casual tone, downplaying his situation.
"That's a relief... but I need to ask, are the things being said about you online true? They're calling you a villain. They say you joined the Seven with ulterior motives and that you killed the Homelander…"
"I don't believe any of it! I don't believe you're that kind of person!"
Li Yue was quiet for a moment, touched by the sincerity in her voice. Then he answered, his voice more open than usual.
"Well... some of it is true. I did have my own reasons for joining the Seven, though I can't go into details. And yes, I did fight the Homelander. I killed him. That part's true. But to call me an irredeemable villain? That's slander. I won't claim to be a hero, but I know I'm not a bad person either. And trust me, the Homelander wasn't the saint people thought he was."
Perhaps it was because Starlight was the first person to truly believe in him, or maybe it was her unwavering kindness, but Li Yue found himself unable to lie to her. Her faith touched something deep inside him.
"I believe you," Starlight said softly. "And I believe the truth will come out eventually."
"I won't tell anyone. If you ever need anything, call me. I'm not as strong as you, but I'll always be there for you."
"Goodbye, Li Yue."
Before he could respond, she hung up.
Li Yue stared at the screen for a moment, then smiled.
"So this is what it feels like to be trusted… not bad at all."
Though he had prepared for the storm of public backlash and didn't believe the online slander would affect him much, the feeling of being genuinely believed in—without question—was something new and deeply comforting.
And while Li Yue had confidence in his strength and resilience—enough to stand alone against the world if needed—this simple act of faith moved him more than any show of power.
What he didn't know, however, was that Starlight wasn't the only one who believed in him.
Somewhere, a mother and daughter watched the news on TV.
"Mom, those uncles and aunties on TV are lying, right? Big Brother is a good person!"
"Yes, sweetheart," the mother replied, her eyes warm. "Your Big Brother isn't just a good person—he's a hero who saved us."
...…..
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