250. Chapter 250: Scapegoat! Incriminating Evidence That Can't Be Whitewashed!
After Xia Shang sat down, Stan Edgar spoke again: "The speed at which this incident is escalating is beyond our imagination. Vought is currently under unimaginable public pressure. The public, the NYPD, and even the Office of Supe Affairs all want us to provide an explanation as soon as possible. If we can't handle this in time, the reputation of Vought and the superheroes will be severely damaged. I won't repeat how serious this is. Furthermore, given the current situation, it's basically impossible to rely on external forces to suppress the public opinion."
"Mr. Edgar, I heard that Homelander did not leave Vought Tower when the incident occurred. Many employees can prove this. Doesn't this mean that someone impersonated Homelander, killed Stormfront, and their purpose was to frame Homelander?" the head of the Publicity Department said.
"But the public won't believe it. They will only think Vought is covering up the truth and trying to whitewash Homelander's crimes," Xia Shang shook his head.
At this point, no one would believe Vought's defense or the so-called evidence.
"Then we can't just let the public opinion develop like this, can we? At least the appearance of another person can distract them," the head of the Publicity Department said in a deep voice.
"Mr. Edgar, I think you need to see this."
Ashley Barrett walked into the meeting room again with her mobile phone and came to Stan Edgar's side, saying anxiously.
Looking at the photo on the mobile phone screen, Stan Edgar's complexion became even uglier. "Put this photo on the display screen."
"Okay."
Soon, everyone's attention was drawn to the images appearing on the display screen.
"This..." After seeing the tragic state of the corpse, the head of the Publicity Department almost vomited on the spot. His face instantly turned pale. After all, the impact of the photos before him was too great.
The reactions of the other department heads were similar to his. Having lived pampered lives, they had never seen such a bloody scene.
On the contrary, Xia Shang and Stan Edgar, whose faces remained unchanged, became the anomalies among them.
"Who sent this out?" Stan Edgar asked.
"It's unclear. It's a small account that isn't registered, and these photos haven't been banned, which is very strange," Ashley Barrett clicked on the publisher's information and replied.
"The wounds on the corpse are all scorching traces left after heat vision cutting. Currently, the only one who can do this... is probably..."
Xia Shang didn't say the name.
But everyone present already had the answer in their hearts.
At this moment, even Ashley Barrett suspected that there was something wrong with her memory. Homelander clearly didn't leave Vought Tower, so how could there be injuries caused by laser eye on Stormfront?
On the other side.
Billy and the others also saw the news on the television.
"Holy crap?! Homelander actually killed Stormfront." While sighing, Frenchie couldn't help but reveal a smile of satisfaction.
Only Billy stared intently at Homelander on the television. This matter was too unbelievable, so unbelievable that he couldn't comprehend it.
"Something's not right. Homelander isn't a good person, but he's not an idiot either. How could he attack Stormfront in public, and even kill her?" Billy felt there was something fishy about this matter. "Also, if I were Homelander, I would never let Stormfront's corpse be discovered by others. This was clearly done deliberately by someone."
"Are you saying someone impersonated Homelander and killed Stormfront?" Hughie frowned.
At this time, Kimiko smiled and made a few gestures to Frenchie.
"Kimiko says, no matter who killed Stormfront, they are her friend." "I think Kimiko makes sense."
Hughie strongly agreed.
"I feel like this matter is definitely related to someone," Billy slowly exhaled.
"Are you referring to the Mysterious Person?" Hughie quickly guessed who Billy was referring to.
"This guy probably has several superpowers, or rather, this guy can imitate other people's superpowers." Even though he saw the wounds on the corpse that only laser eye could create, Billy still didn't believe the killer was Homelander.
"What exactly does he want to do?" Billy muttered.
"Who cares?"
Hughie was still very happy about Stormfront's death.
"Don't forget, our primary mission now is to find Soldier Boy." Some time ago, Hughie and the others found other members of the Blood Vengeance Squad, Soldier Boy's ex-girlfriend Crimson Countess and his sidekick Gunpowder. From them, they obtained a lot of useful clues and learned that Soldier Boy didn't die on the spot back then, but was captured by Russian Special Forces.
Meanwhile.
Inside the meeting room, a dead silence fell.
In front of these few photos, their previous ideas were shattered. It was clear that with these photos, Homelander was definitely going to be the scapegoat. Even if they presented various pieces of evidence proving that Homelander did not leave Vought Tower at the time of the incident, it would be useless. No one would believe the evidence they provided, and it wouldn't even serve to distract.
"Actually, it's not impossible to whitewash Homelander," Xia Shang suddenly said.
Although the photos sent out by Mallory were equivalent to solid proof, it wasn't entirely hopeless.
"Tell us."
Just then, Homelander actually pushed the door open and walked into the meeting room. He scanned everyone's faces and finally his gaze landed on Xia Shang's face.
Through Parasyte Sensing, Xia Shang had already discovered Homelander eavesdropping outside.
"I hope everyone can see this." Xia Shang took out the mobile phone he had prepared in advance and placed it on the table in front of him.
"What is this?"
The head of the Publicity Department next to him couldn't help but pick up the mobile phone curiously. When he saw the photos on it, he subconsciously opened his mouth wide, and his pupils trembled accordingly.
"Let me see." The other department heads, after successively getting the mobile phone, all showed shocked expressions.
"How do you have this?"
The head of the Publicity Department's voice trembled slightly.
"A few days ago, Queen Maeve found me. She accidentally discovered these photos in Stormfront's bag. At first, she originally wanted to hide them, but after thinking about it, she finally found me and wanted me to give an opinion," Xia Shang smiled slightly.
"I originally wanted to find a suitable time to hand over these photos, but I never got the right opportunity, so I put them aside. However, it's not too late to take them out now. They can just help Homelander."
"What a coincidence," Stan Edgar said with a fake smile, looking at the group photo of Stormfront and those Nazi officers on the mobile phone.
(End of this chapter)