allendalepharm Chapter 72 Transition Between the Old and the New, Unexpected Situations
Chapter 72 Transition Between the Old and the New, Unexpected Situations
Chapter 72: The Transition Between the Old and the New, Unexpected Situation (Please subscribe, more chapters tomorrow)
The next morning.
Li Yuan walked into the Water Building with a light smile on his face, as if nothing had happened, looking like he was in a very good mood.
As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, I saw Ashley walking towards me with her head down, her face gloomy, and her steps hurried. Her hair was messy, and she had dark circles under her eyes. Even her clothes were the same as yesterday, as if she hadn't changed them at all.
Looking at her, so full of resentment that she looked like a female ghost, it was as if she had been working overtime all night without sleeping.
"Hi, Ashley," Li Yuan greeted her politely.
Upon hearing her name, Ashley looked up abruptly, her lifeless eyes taking almost a second to focus on Li Yuan.
"Wow! Crimson Dawn, I'm so glad you still managed to find your way back to the Water Tower!" Ashley suddenly made an exaggerated expression on her face, her tone strange and exaggerated.
Suddenly remembering something, she stepped forward abruptly, her expression almost contorted, and said, "Could you please tell me why you suddenly left the Faith Expo yesterday, and where did you go?"
"Relax, relax." Li Yuan waved, his face still bearing that cheerful smile. "If I said I didn't know, would you think I was just giving you the runaround?"
"Really? Wow~ That's a really nice answer!" Ashley's eyes widened again, her expression saying, "Do you think I believe you?"
Li Yuan shrugged: "There's nothing you can do if you don't believe me, it's just the truth."
"When I woke up in the morning, I found myself in a church, as if I had been praying all night."
Ashley stared intently at Li Yuan for a full seven or eight seconds before suddenly saying, "Very good, remember to say the same thing to the fans later."
Li Yuan nodded: "Of course, Ashley, I feel great, but you don't look too well. You should get some rest."
"Thank you for your concern, I'm fine," Ashley said, stepping into the elevator.
As the elevator doors closed and began to descend, Li Yuan smiled and shook his head.
He knew why Ashley was acting this way today; the reason, of course, was yesterday's Faith Expo.
At yesterday's expo, Ai Shili was mainly responsible for the activities of Patriot, Li Yuan, and Xingguang.
As a result, none of the three of them were easy to deal with.
Needless to say, the content of his speech completely contradicted the intended purpose of his speech.
Li Yuan's debut activities went very well in the first half, but after he pulled off a big stunt without notifying anyone in advance, he quietly disappeared all night, and no one could reach him no matter how many times they called him.
As for Xingguang, after Li Yuan disappeared, she did not perform according to the pre-rehearsed lines, but went on stage to accuse herself of being molested at the Water Company, which once again ignited public opinion.
It can be said that in one day, the Wotech Group stirred up three storms on the Internet, and the popularity was off the charts. The reporters on the scene that day certainly got to enjoy the drama.
Surprisingly, the controversy surrounding Li Yuan, a newcomer who had just debuted, was the least significant.
Although he already had a lot of clever ideas, he was still too young and couldn't compare to the others.
dong dong!
Looking at the door of the senior vice president's office, Li Yuan raised his hand and knocked lightly twice.
"Please come in," Madeline's voice came from inside the door.
Li Yuan pushed open the door and walked straight to the sofa, where he sat down. He greeted Madeline, who was sitting behind her desk, "Good morning, ma'am."
Madeline looked Li Yuan up and down for two seconds before nodding slightly: "Good morning, Crimson Dawn."
She slowly got up from her office chair and walked over to sit down on the sofa opposite Li Yuan.
Then, looking down at Li Yuan with the air of a superior, a stern but unsmiling smile appeared on his face: "You really are a reckless young man. I remember telling you that your every word and action represents the company, and you should report before saying or doing anything, right?"
"Do you realize how much impact your unauthorized actions will have on Walter?"
"There are a dozen or so people in the company who have spent hundreds of hours working diligently for your debut activities. Are you really going to let all their hard work and effort go to waste?"
"Wow, that's quite a serious accusation, Ms. Madeline." Li Yuan put on an exaggerated expression with a very theatrical performance.
"However, I think my actions should have had a positive impact on the company's image."
"After all, the impact of the other people's speeches at the Faith Expo on the group—heh, I won't comment on that. I think just listening to the voices on the internet will make it clear."
"To be honest, I even think that without my involvement, the group's reputation would probably be—"
Li Yuan smiled, stopped there, and didn't say anything more.
Madeline gave Li Yuan a deep look, and for a moment she was unsure whether his previous behavior was a momentary impulse or a well-thought-out plan.
She paused for a moment, then finally nodded, a genuine smile of appreciation appearing on her face: "Clear and logical, well-reasoned, very good."
"You're right, so I think it's time for you to truly join the Super Seven."
Li Yuan didn't show much excitement on his face, but just smiled faintly as if he had expected it: "This is really good news."
Madeline stood up from the sofa: "Go back and prepare well. The official notice will be issued soon."
""
"Besides, I don't need to personally teach you what to say to the fans, do I?"
"Of course." Li Yuan also stood up from the sofa, said goodbye casually, and walked out of the office.
In the corridor, Deep Sea, dressed in a green bodysuit, brushed past him, knocked on the door, and entered Madeline's office.
Facing Shenhai, Madeline got straight to the point with a serious expression: "Shenhai, the company has decided to transfer you to Ohio for a while."
Shen Hai's heart skipped a beat, and he repeatedly said, "Wait, wait, wait, why?"
"OK, OK, I know I was a bit confused a while ago, but—"
Madeline interrupted him before he could finish: "Do you really want me to tell you what you did to Starlight?"
Seeing Shenhai standing there awkwardly, his expression gradually darkening, she changed the subject: "This is also to protect you. Otherwise, if Xingguang really exposed it directly, you would be truly finished."
"Now, you can issue an apology statement first, and then gradually downplay the impact of this matter. You can still come back in the future."
Under Madeline's patient persuasion, Deep Sea finally had no choice but to lower his head and say with a bitter expression, "Yes, Ms. Madeline."
Because of Starlight's revelations at the Faith Expo, the Water Group has been thrust into the spotlight.
Fortunately, they have extensive experience in covering up scandals.
Finally, with the release of Deepsea's apology video, this matter was finally put to rest online.
As a result of this incident, Starlight gained the upper hand in negotiations with Madeline and acquired some autonomy.
On this day, the members of the Seven received a message from Homelander, asking them to assemble in the conference room.
At this point, the Invisible Man was dead, and the Deep Sea had been transferred out. The only remaining original members of the Super Seven were Maeve, Starlight, and...
The locomotive and four people in black.
-
However, when they arrived at the conference room, they discovered that Li Yuan, a newcomer who had only recently joined Water, was the first to arrive.
They weren't familiar with Li Yuan, and although they had some guesses, they didn't say much and each played on their phones.
Finally, Homelander arrived late, and as he did, the metal door to the conference room slowly closed.
"Oh~ Red Dawn, welcome to the Super Seven." Homelander glanced around at the people in the conference room, then smiled kindly at Li Yuan sitting in the corner.
He clearly knew about this all along; Madeline had obviously already informed him.
"You're too kind. I'm truly flattered. Thank you, my countryman." Li Yuan stood up from his chair, a warm smile on his face.
He looked at everyone one by one, and then slowly said, "Hello everyone, I am Crimson Dawn. From now on, I officially join the Super Seven."
After greeting everyone else in turn, he sat back down in his chair.
"Welcome, brother." Led by Homelander, the rest of the group sparsely applauded.
But then Homelander's tone suddenly changed. As he walked around the conference table, he said, "There have been quite a few personnel changes in our team lately."
"Furthermore, I feel like it's been a while since I've had a heart-to-heart talk with you all."
"I've noticed that some of the people here seem to be behaving unruly, suspiciously, and unreliable lately."
He suddenly raised his hand and pointed to a corner of the conference table.
The person sitting there was dressed in a black battle suit equipped with many small swords and other cold weapons, with a mask and helmet covering his head, and not a single inch of his skin showing.
At that moment, Homelander's voice rang out: "It wasn't you, Black, you've always done a great job."
Then, he made an almost 180-degree arc in the air and pointed at Li Yuan, who was sitting in another corner: "Of course, it's not you either, Crimson Dawn, you just joined."
He took two more steps and stopped in the middle of the conference table, behind his own seat, with his hands behind his back, looking at the others: "But you remaining people have really disappointed me."
"The enemy has invaded our backyard. Stay alert, my friends."
His expression gradually became somewhat frightening, and his voice rose: "We are not even—no longer the group of seven."
"If it weren't for Crimson Dawn joining us, we'd only have five of us left!"
He paused slightly, observed the reactions of everyone present, and continued, "But now, I finally know why."
As he spoke, he picked up the remote control on the table and pressed a button on a large screen on the wall.
A picture of a young man immediately appeared on the big screen.
Upon seeing the picture, the others present didn't react much, except for Starlight, who suddenly sat up straight, looked at the photo on the screen with a puzzled expression, and asked in confusion, "Why—is Hughie's picture on there?"
She was both shocked and confused, not understanding why her boyfriend, with whom she had only recently started a relationship and whose eyes had lit up several times, would suddenly be mentioned by her father.
Maeve chimed in, "I don't understand, who is this guy?"
Homelander smiled knowingly and said, "This guy's name is Hugh Campbell, and he's currently dating Starlight."
Upon hearing this, the rest of the Super Seven turned to look at Starlight.
Homelander wasn't finished: "He was also one of the murderers of the Invisible Man."
Starlight's body trembled: "Wait, what? He is—"
Homelander ignored her, walked to the screen, and said to himself, "They blackmailed Claw Woman, Ezekiel, that mind-reading Mezmer—God knows who else."
Hearing these repeated accusations being leveled against her boyfriend, Xingguang quickly retorted, "No, no, no, this is ridiculous—why would he do such a thing?"
A strange smile appeared on Homelander's face. He raised his arm and pointed at one person: "That's a good question. You're next, Locomotive."
"Huh?" The locomotive was stunned when he heard that he was involved, and his face was full of confusion.
"Oh, locomotive, haven't you remembered anything yet?" Homelander shook his head speechlessly, then pressed the remote control again.
The photo on the big screen suddenly began to shrink, revealing that the image of Hughie that had been displayed was only a part of the whole photo.
The complete photo shows Ashley's back, as well as Hughie and Locomotive shaking hands.
Upon seeing the photo, the train engine finally realized what had happened and gritted his teeth, exclaiming, "Shit—I know who he is!"
Homelander sneered, "Oh, so you finally remembered him."
"You smashed his girlfriend's body, that girl named—Luo Bin or something?"
The locomotive nodded solemnly, as if finally remembering: "That's right, I remember him. I saw him outside the Claw Woman's house."
He turned his head to look at Starlight beside him: "You're dating this guy?!"
Starlight's heart was pounding. After taking a deep breath, she quickly protested, "I don't know what's going on, but Hughie wouldn't do such a thing!"
Homelander gave a slightly strange smile: "Indeed, that's true."
"After all, he's just an ordinary person, and judging from his appearance—he's not in good shape."
"But what if someone helps him? For example—someone who helps him see Ezekiel and drives away the deep sea—"
Hearing this, which was practically a direct address, Starlight hurriedly stood up, waving her hands repeatedly: "Wait, I—"
Before she could finish speaking, Homelander abruptly interrupted her.
At this moment, Homelander's face turned stern, his eyes flashing with a simmering red light, and his voice was icy and chilling, filled with a warning: "Put your hands by your sides and sit down!"
Faced with Homelander's firm orders and the red laser eyes that seemed ready to shoot at him at any moment, Starlight was filled with fear. Even his breathing became rapid. He immediately stopped talking and sat back down in his chair.
At this moment, not only Starlight, but also Homelander, whether it was Black, Maeve, or A-Train, all became subconsciously tense in the face of the imminent eruption.
The only exception in the arena was Li Yuan, whose expression was calm as he silently sensed and calculated something.
Seeing that Starlight was frightened by him, Homelander contentedly withdrew the red laser that was about to shoot out from his eyes.
He smiled smugly, walked to Starlight's side, his face contorted with rage, and roared almost as if to say, "I know what you want to say. You want to blame the Deep Sea incident on him being at fault first."
"But look at what you've done! You've indeed weakened the Super Seven and fulfilled the dreams of those criminals!"
"Right after you joined the Super Seven, we lost two players!"
"If you were in my position, what would you think?"
Overwhelmed by the imposing presence of her compatriots, Starlight's breathing became increasingly rapid, and tears welled up in her eyes: "No, I—"
"Shut your mouth!" Homelander pressed close to Starlight, his outstretched finger almost poking her face.
"Enough, Homelander!" Maeve stepped forward. "She has no idea!"
"Oh? Is that so?!" Homelander stared intently at Starlight, his gaze intense, as if he could see right through her skin and into her heart.
"Her only mistake was being foolishly deceived! She was clearly bewitched by that Hugh Campbell and tricked into revealing information!" Maeve continued to defend Starlight.
Homelander turned to look at her with some surprise: "Wow~ I can't even remember the last time you gave an opinion!"
He slowly walked up to Maeve, looked her over for a while, and then suddenly whispered, "Fine, then I'll give you that courtesy."
Turning to look at the locomotive beside him, Homelander patted him on the shoulder: "You've caused this mess, you're responsible for cleaning it up!"
"Yes, Fatherlander," the locomotive replied without hesitation.
"Very well, meeting adjourned!" Homelander clapped his hands with a smile, tossed his Stars and Stripes cape, and strode away.
The locomotive arrived at Hughie's house without stopping, and threatened his father's life, calling Hughie to come home alone immediately.
Soon, Hughie returned home alone, openly and honestly.
The locomotive checked the area around the house and, finding no one else, was immediately relieved.
But he didn't expect that, in addition to Hughie, Kimiko would also be with him.
This superhuman, created from the compound he personally transported, had already hidden in the Hughie family's attic. Taking advantage of his inattention, it jumped out and broke his thigh with a stick!
However, although Hughie, Butcher, and the others were not immediately arrested, they were forced to go into hiding due to the pursuit and interception by the Vought Group's security department.
In order to bring down the Super Seven and Vought, and also to save their own lives, they handed over all the evidence they had collected, including the vial of compound five, to Susan, the CIA deputy director they knew well.
Based on this dirt, Susan immediately summoned Madeline Steelwell, the vice president of the Vought Corporation in charge of the superhero division, for questioning.
Looking at Madeline, who remained calm and composed across from her, Susan said confidently, "For the past half-century, Walter has been instilling in the public the idea that superheroes are chosen by God."
She held up the glass tube containing Compound No. 5 and gestured: "But in reality, they were all created from this stuff!"
"You've been secretly and illegally injecting babies with this drug. If this gets exposed, you're finished, and your company is finished too!"
Madeline's expression changed slightly: "What do you want?"
Susan smiled triumphantly and stated her conditions: "Your superheroes cannot enter the defense and military system, otherwise—"
Madeline immediately shook her head in refusal: "Their joining is a done deal; the councilors will vote to approve it sooner or later!"
Susan gave a dismissive smile: "Then withdraw this proposal!"
"Use whatever excuse you want, but this proposal must be withdrawn no matter what!"
"What if I refuse?" Madeline wasn't one to give in so easily.
"That will all be made public, Walter's stock price will plummet, followed by civil lawsuits and criminal prosecutions. You can expect to spend the rest of your lives in jail!" Susan said with absolute confidence.
Just then, the door was pushed open from the outside, and a CIA agent walked in and handed Susan a note.
Susan opened the package, glanced at it casually, and stood up. "We're done talking. That's all."
After saying that, she walked straight out.
Walking down the long corridor and into another room, she immediately asked, "What happened?"
One of her subordinates immediately reported to her: "Ten minutes ago, the SEALs located the mastermind behind the 37 transatlantic flight incident."
"So? What's the problem?" Susan frowned slightly, a bad feeling suddenly rising in her heart.
"You'll see when you see it." The subordinate picked up the remote and pressed a button, and a video immediately started playing on the screen.
This is a battle scene recorded by the equipment on the commando soldiers. Along the way, they smoothly killed enemies one by one, went straight into the enemy's lair, and finally executed the target on the spot after confirming the target's identity.
"Good, the objective is achieved. Did I miss anything?" Susan asked her subordinate.
"The key is in the later part," the subordinate said, starting to fast-forward the video.
Soon, a shirtless man appeared on the screen, with some strange patterns tattooed on his chest.
Facing gun barrels from all directions, the man's body suddenly lit up, accompanied by a violent explosion, and the video ended there.
Just as Susan was about to bow her head in silent mourning, she suddenly noticed that her subordinate had pulled up another video, which, judging from the angle, seemed to be from a surveillance camera located high up.
In the video, a person walks out of a house that has just been exploded and looks defiantly in the direction of the camera.
Looking at the tattoo on his chest, it was clearly the same shirtless man from before.
He was completely unharmed!